After my post and giving the album more spins,  I had to say I still wasn’t as amped about Quadron as my BFF Dee or DJ Brainchild, who is pretty much the reason why our circle was put on to them.I was definitely far more warmed up than I was after I posted about them and kept the album, also titled Quadron, on my iPod for a few more weeks, but I wasn’t head over heels. However, something has occurred since that post that has made me really eat my words.

I’ve seen Quadron perform live.

Quadron has been signed stateside to Plug Research (who also have such awesome artists on their label like Bilal, Shafiq Husayn, and Om’Mas Keith) and are now starting to make their way around the country to meet their growing fan base. They performed in LA recently and did a very small, intimate show at the Cornerstone/Suite 903 offices. I have no sort of pull so Dee, being the tastemaker that he is, let me tag along on his invite.

All that was set up in the room was a mic, midi keys and controller, and a laptop. They did a 3-song set of Pressure, Simili Life, and Slippin. I have to say that Coco’s singing is the truth. Sometimes in an intimate setting like that people are very conscious of their sound and not in a good way-either they hold back or ham it up. There’s something about being very present in a space but yet you are able to express what you need to without giving it all away and not being reserved. Coco definitely was able to balance and had the group in attendance bound. Robin Hannibal on keys/production/co-writing just brings it all together. Speaking of Robin Hannibal, why the hell didn’t I put 2 and 2 together and realize that I was already familiar with him musically from Owusu and Hannibal???? Seriously, if you haven’t heard Living With Owusu and Hannibal stop reading this and get yourself to iTunes or Amazon and buy it. Its just got everything-broken beat, Beach Boys covers, sexy soulful strut music, futuristic funk, all that. I’d do it no justice trying to describe it any further. Listen for yourself. However, this little fun fact was not what turned me over to them. Their performance did that. I know a lot of folks in the “audience” were familiar with them but a lot were not, yet they managed to captivate every single one there, including myself, with just 3 songs and 15 minutes.

So why didn’t I like their album on the first go-around? I don’t know! Living with Owusu and Hannibal immediately clicked for me and Quadron just didn’t-not that the two are entirely comparable-they are not at all. I’m just going to chalk it up to not wanting to hear something so deep and moody at the time  which makes sense why I dug  “Jeans” which is more upbeat and why I stupidly threw out that Little Dragon comparison. (Which also explains why I dug Machine Dreams more than Little Dragon since that album is also far more upbeat). I’m in far more somber moods nowadays so Quadron is fitting right in . Jokes. However its playing off well with Living With Owusu and Hannibal, which I’ve put back on my iPod and I’ve been playing the two albums all morning quite happily.

I can’t wait until June 24th. You’ll soon know why.