Cover Art + Design: RYAN MASSAD STEP INTO THE KITCHENDEBUT ALBUM - SOUNDING LOVELY!
MARIYA MAY - MO DOUGLAS - PETER QBWRITTEN, PRODUCED, & PERFORMED BY:MARIYA MAY & MO DOUGLAS TENOR SAX: PETER QB STEREOPHONIC MASTERING: TIMOTHY STOLLENWERK DOWNLOAD/STREAM Sounding Lovely!: TDRCO, Bandcamp, Tidal, Spotify, Apple Music "A cool late night album, its melodies and rhythms will soon have you snared." - Graham Duff ("Top 20 Albums of 2023") "Communicating a Concern" is the new video from the album Sounding Lovely! by Portland-based Step Into the Kitchen. Borrowing from a wide, melodic pastiche of genre and mood and fusing the lot into a layered and harmonious soundscape, "Communicating a Concern" works as several musical pieces in one linear track, resolving thusly into bleary sonic groove, upbeat hum and syncopation, and singsong bass-laden dubscape. Step Into the Kitchen's resident songsters Mariya May and Mo Douglas have for years fashioned sturdy musical bedrock out of tossing the rubble of their wide range of influences into the tumbler, and then grooving on the idiosyncrasies that shake out. "Communicating a Concern" charts the shores of similar territory, with the track sailing easily between familiar ports and unknown waters, culminating in a color wheel flow of feel and melody that's vaguely familiar but wholly original. Stockholm, Sweden-based Bobby Nelson adds an additional layer of visual interest with his similarly flow-form produced video, hazily introducing celestial imagery and clandestine alien observers in the night sky as a compliment to May and Douglas' more earthbound musical sensibilities. They are among us, and you should give them a listen. (Reed Burnam)
It's unusual to discover an album wherein all the tracks hold together so well that you find yourself under a kind of spell for its duration. "Sounding Lovely!" by Step Into The Kitchen kicks off with Mariya May's beautiful harmonic Oooh's and then drops the listener into a melodic groove that may have you dancing before making way for a dreamy horn blasting in from another dimension, reminding one of filmmaker/composer Mike Figgis. Trance-inducing, wildly spontaneous, and dusted with cosmic pixie dust, "Sounding Lovely!" is tribal and wild and Joyous and reverb-y - an enormous success in mood exhalation and world-creation. "Sounding Lovely!" provides Maximum engagement for the senses, and in the end you're like "No! Don't go away..." (Robert G. Nelson) VIDEO: "Just Living is a Kick" from Sounding Lovely! |
New Single & Video by 'STEP INTO THE KITCHEN'
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Step Into The Kitchen to trip out on a spaghetti space western, thru a sepia-toned kaleidoscope world of the in-between. Sure, you can meditate on your way to a funky party, but we're blasting all the way to the outer realms today. Words escape but still voices ring out and envelope you - don't worry, it's cozy in here. We're going all the way to the edge, and oh yeah, we'll be rewarded for our efforts. Talk about a vibe shift, this latest jam from the otherworldly collective is a true perception-altering adventure, not to be taken lightly. Check your measurements and sift accordingly, this is "A Fruitful Tenure". (Bryan Bruchman) |
'Step Into The Kitchen' Release Debut EP
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Soups and Starters is the inaugural EP from Portland-based band Step Into The Kitchen, out February 17, 2022. From opening track "Roll Out These Triangles" to closer "A Long Peak at the Script", Soups and Starters is a collection of groovy, head-nodding sonic harmonia, underpinned by a seamless mixture of dub, R&B, and psychedelic haze that drips off every track, seeping out to settle into the deep green valleys of Western Cascadia. Though clocking in at just under 12 minutes, there's a lot going on here - aforementioned "Roll Out These Triangles" is an ecstatic reggae-infused dust-up hum-along, while dub-drenched "Pan or Grittle" could be passed off as a Black Ark b-side. Standout track "Thicken and Set" is easy listening for more discerning sets of ears, and album closer "A Long Peak at the Script" pulls in rhythmic vocal incantation and mellow flute lines to induce a dreamy nod to exotic locales just beyond recognition. If you're looking to chase off some of the late winter blues, this sunshine-infused outing may be just the ticket. Get it while the oven's hot. (Reed Burnam)  |
New Single by 'STEP INTO THE KITCHEN'
DOWNLOAD/STREAM: Limited Run, Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, Tidal, Amazon Music
The latest single from Portland-based band Step Into The Kitchen, "The Cream of Portland's Gourmet Set" conjures a euphoric glow with its ethereal vocal layers and vibrant instrumentation. Bright mandolins converge with trickling guitars for a soundscape fit for blue ocean waters and swaying hammocks. The track's first half struts a summery glistening, while a haunting twist past the two-minute mark lends a psych-forward mystique. The vocals assume a lusher, nocturnal tone as the track progresses, complemented by a sturdy acoustical backbone that finishes into a seamless conclusion.
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Portland Band 'STEP INTO THE KITCHEN' Release Debut Single
DOWNLOAD/STREAM: LIMITED RUN, BANDCAMP, SPOTIFY, TIDAL, APPLE MUSIC, AMAZON MUSIC
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"A crackling and prolific 2022 for Step Into The Kitchen...this latest single 'A Fruitful Tenure' takes us on a journey immersed in nature on endless roads. After the first minute and a half the pace changes drastically and becomes urgent, hopeful, and more joyful. An instrumental piece of great intensity that could easily become the soundtrack of some film set on the American West Coast." - Artisti Online |