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The Commotions

On The Commotions: Volume 3, the 12-piece Ottawa-based band expands substantially on their ‘soulicious’ blend of jazz and Motown. From the funk-fuelled lead single and opening track, ‘Feel The Commotion,’ through to album closer, ‘You Complete Me’ (a song intended as a love letter to their growing audience), the album plays out like the band’s high energy live shows, with The Commotions unleashing an even bigger, funkier sound and throwing the doors open to greater collaboration within the band and with some very heavy-hitting arrangers.

On Volume 3, the approach is “Go big or go home,” says bandleader/tenor saxophonist Brian Asselin, an ethic he shares with each of his fellow Commotions: vocalists Rebecca Noelle, Jeff Rogers, and Mackenzie Di Millo, fellow horn players Mike Lett (Tenor Saxophone), Caelan Roberge-Toll (Bari Saxophone), Trumpet players Ed Lister and Eric Littlewood, as well as drummer Jeff Asselin, bassist Ken Seeley, keyboardist, Deniz Lim-Sersan and guitarist David Gaw.

That comes across loud and clear on every track on Volume 3, with the band mining a familiar vein of funk, jazz-inspired soul but stepping out collectively and individually in a way that’s entirely fresh yet refreshingly old-school.

On every track, there’s an intentional musical or lyrical flex. “We really opened up the floodgates in terms of songwriting,” Asselin says. “All the songs are co-writes with someone in the band or outside it," including co-producer Alex Mastronardi, vocalists Noelle, Rogers, and Di Millo, and songwriters Matthew Chaffey and Ron Weiss.

Volume 3 also features guest arrangers Mark Ferguson (Manteca), Dave Eskridge (Tower of Power), Philip Lassiter (Prince), and Michael B. Nelson (Cory Wong, Prince), with whom Asselin either collaborated (on songs like ‘Nothing But You’) or invited to provide their own arrangements, such as Ferguson’s work on the standout ballad, ‘Where Does The Love Go?’

That ‘go big or go home’ mentality has always been a hallmark of The Commotions’ records; on both their debut, Let Me See You Dance as Delbert and The Commotions, and 2017’s Volume II, which Asselin describes as a rebirth, owing to the addition of multiple local lead singers and a name change to The Commotions.

“But for Volume 3,” Asselin says, “we pulled out all the stops,” recording, re-recording, and refining the tracks on Volume III until they perfectly suited the band’s evolving sound.

“This album was years in the making,” Rogers adds. “There was lots of time to refine the works in progress. And we’re very proud of where the songs have gotten to. Writing together and taking lots of time with the songs brings a familiarity that translates on stage, and the collaborations with guest arrangers bring a fresh sound we can dig our teeth into.”

The results speak for themselves on tracks like their re-recording of 2020’s ‘New Suit’ – a tune Asselin describes as “the deepest plunge into the waters of Motown The Commotions have taken to date,” displaying their efforts to make an already massive sound even bigger, and diving even deeper collectively and individually in search of new ways to put their signature stamp on a classic sound.

“Our sound evolved from playful pop-soul fusion to something more musically arresting and thought-provoking, challenging even, with imaginative, less traditional arrangements,” Noelle says. “But Volume 3’s weight was born out of a general feeling many of us experienced these last few years on planet Earth – the desire to break away from all parameters and explore new avenues. This album truly sent us on that much-needed adventure.”

Nowhere is that more evident than on ‘Calm Before the Storm’ written by Asselin and Gaw and co-arranged with Lassiter, which features a chill-inducing storm of jazz choral vocals.

“But what also sets The Commotions apart are the strings,” Asselin continues. Few bands incorporate strings as much as The Commotions, and even fewer in the way they do on Volume 3. “We had six string players, four violins, one viola, and a cello, but we tripled them, so it sounds like an 18-piece orchestra,” he says enthusiastically.  

Over time, The Commotions have become known for stretching out sonically and lyrically, putting a singular twist on a seamless mix of genres and eras from classic to cutting-edge current, and for presenting a message lyrically that’s as timeless as it is timely.  

“In this particularly divisive day and age, it feels more important than ever to come together, support one another, and do our best to make positive change in our own lives and the lives of others,” Di Millo adds. “We’ve intertwined these messages throughout The Commotions Volume 3, in the hopes of providing listeners with opportunities to see themselves, their experiences, and their passion for change - within it.”  

That’s true across the board on Volume 3, notably on ‘The Time Is Now,’ an old-fashioned jump/swing track with a modern, lyrical twist exhorting listeners to use their time wisely and live in the moment. “It’s something everybody’s guilty of,” Asselin says, laughing. “Anytime we have time to reflect, instead of reflecting on the here and now, we’re on our devices. That’s what the song is about – saying the time is now to live your life instead of living it through technology.”  

It’s a thread they tease out further on the rollicking, rock-tinged ‘What Are We Waiting For?’ and on ‘Show Some Love’ – songs that, on the surface, read like love songs but are, in fact, a call to action and a reminder that no matter how isolated you feel, you’re not alone. No matter how weak you feel, you can find strength by coming together with others.  

“’Show Some Love’ is a call for help,” Asselin says bluntly. Rebecca and I wrote that in 2018. Obviously, then, we had no idea what we’d be going through in 2020 and now around the world. It’s really about the fact that if you want to see change in the world, you have to start by being that change. And then it trickles down.”  

Ultimately, The Commotions: Volume 3 is the kind of album that rarely gets made these days by a band that’s a rarity in itself, with a sound that not only prompts an uncontrollable urge to move but also has the raw and lasting emotional impact – and wow factor - that only a group of highly trained players, playing real instruments, in real-time, can inspire.