Presenting Penrose Records

What better way to christen Daptone’s fledgling imprint Penrose Records than with “Can I Call You Rose?,” a sumptuous and serendipitously titled mid-tempo premier by San Diego’s blossoming young soul serenaders, Thee Sacred Souls. Stepping off the stage after their very first club date, Josh, Sal, and Alex were tugged aside by producer Bosco Mann whose seasoned ears had been tickled by their set. Backs were patted, hands were shook, and three days later heads were bobbing in Mann’s Riverside studio, as the Souls laid their first notes to tape.

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Can I Call You Rose b/w Weak For Your Love

Thee Sacred Souls - Can I Call You Rose

Since exploding onto the scene with his debut 45, “Rosegold” and it’s anthemic follow-up, “I Don’t Care," Jason Joshua has built a dedicated following for his distinctive latin-soul sound and his notoriously titillating live performances. Following a string of homegrown Miami recordings with the Beholders on his own Mango Hill Records, Jason hopped the plane to Riverside to gather the Penrose Scholars for a session with his friend Bosco Mann, where he was eager to prove that just like a record, there’s more than one side to a man: “Language of Love” finds an ebullient Jayjo bubbling over an uptempo, guiro-laced latin-soul groove, while on the flip, “La Vida es Fría” slows to a dark crawl over which his Bataan-esque bilingual croons of cold-world sadness intertwine with mournful violins. But there is a glimmer of hope in the end as he enjoins us, We can work it out / If you know what I’m talking about...

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Fria b/w Language Of Love

Jason Joshua - Language Of Love

It’s about time someone put this cut on a 45!  As one of the most popular groups on today’s So-Cal soul scene, Thee Sinseers need little introduction. Their performance of “Seems Like” live at the Recordium went viral to the tune of over a million views, making them thee in-demand group for souldies parties up and down the coast. I heard they even played one party where the crowd wouldn’t let them leave the stage before playing “Seems Like” for the third time. When asked what song they wanted to cut for their Penrose session, singer, songwriter, and man-who-can-play-any-instrument, Joey Quiñones didn’t hesitate to answer, “We need a proper recording of that song.” And so it was done. In the candle-lit studio, the band delivered unto us a starkly intimate rendition, stripping the tune down to its underthings, and laying bare Joe Q’s euphonious exhortations.

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Seems Like b/w Seems Like (Instrumental)

Thee Sinseers - Seems Like

Though Bryan Ponce and Adriana Flores share the stage with Joey Q as part of the East LA souldies outfit Thee Sinseers, they really step into the spotlight with The Altons, a group they themselves founded along with drummer Caitlin Moss and bassist Gabriel Maldonado . On this their debut single on Penrose, Bryan sings the lead with a smoky-sweet falsetto that bends tenderly from growl to howl and back again. The group takes a turn through a classic Miracles-style mid-tempo groove on the A-side, leaving you helplessly addicted to their sweet eponymous refrain, When you go that’s when you’ll know…

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Penrose Records Vol. 1

The Altons - When You Go (Thats When You'll Know)

Los Yesterdays originated in an Altadena garage when Gabriel Rowland teamed up with his old friend Victor Benavides. Rowland, a long time drummer and eccentric creator of multitudinous soulful things, took charge of recording as well as playing all the instruments, while Benavides wrote and cut vocals. The project pretty much stayed in their garage for a few years until a mutual connection brought them to the attention of Tom Brenneck and Gabe Roth, who both dug the songs and offered to join in on guitar and bass respectively so that the duo might be able to perform their music live. The four soon found a handful of gigs behind them and a Penrose recording date in front of them. The latter from which sprang the celestial reverie of “Tell Me I’m Dreaming,” a full-throated pop-souldie complete with orchestral percussion and co-ed chorus, as well as “Time,” a dark psychedelic meditation with a rawness that betrays the garage in which it was conceived. Though the production rings with the high-ceilinged echoes of the Penrose studio, the songs retain in whole the idiosyncratic architecture that could only have been hatched by two mad geniuses in a garage.

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Presenting Penrose Records

Daptone Records