Honne, Cheat Codes, Lucinda Lane Make Music to Turn You On
State Street Welcomes Sensual Electronic R&B, EDM, and Jazz in October
DIGITAL LOVE: Let’s talk about sex, baby, and the music written to inspire more impassioned instances of it worldwide. In the weeks ahead, S.B. will welcome two huge names in electronic music who have made a name for themselves with their sensually pleasing tunes: London’s electronic-soul duo Honne, who will get the slow grinds churning at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club (1221 State St.) on Tuesday, October 11, at 9 p.m. with Ravyn Lenae, and on Sunday, October 16, at 9 p.m., L.A.’s production trio Cheat Codes will get booties shaking at Eos Lounge (500 Anacapa St.) with Matoma, Steve Void, and Baynk.
While temperamentally different and geographically distinct, both acts have, in their ways, helped to soundtrack and enhance all manner of lovemaking and dating, fields that in 2016 have never before been more inclusive — or more technologically entwined. This year, Honne released the full-length Warm On a Cold Night, full of intimate and soulful electronic pieces that at once bring to mind the rainy nights of England and the loving and cozying necessary to outlast them, whether with a longstanding partner or that evening’s smartphone catch.
When asked how the duo makes such tender music, James Hatch and Andy Clutterbuck said they look to the greats like Motown and Michael Jackson to inform their musical romancing. With both members in committed relationships, a lot of the source material comes firsthand, music born of love instead of a fishnet for more. “We want our music to be respectful for both sexes,” Hatch said, calling their music a “celebration of the great things that love and relationships and sex can bring.”
“We really strongly feel that anybody should be able to feel love, whether it be a man and man, woman and woman, woman and man — love makes the world go around,” Clutterbuck said.
Cheat Codes, meanwhile, love to make loving fun, and so do their listeners. The trio has landed a simultaneous pair of hits — “Sex” (featuring Kris Kross Amsterdam) and “Let Me Hold You (Turn Me On)” (featuring Dante Klein) — that are currently huge in Europe. Born of a Salt-N-Pepa sample, “Sex” was sprung organically into the world to address a very universal theme. “Everybody is on this world because of sex,” said Matthew Russell, one third of the production trio.
Cheat Codes are one of the moment’s most shining examples of genre-melding, with joyfully sample-heavy songs that could be considered equally EDM, house, and pop, with enough crowd-pleasing elements to fit in on just about any dance floor. What’s more, many of their songs started as acoustic numbers, with songwriting being a core emphasis of the creation process.
The trio began as a self-starting entity, and looking back on their broker days, Russell recommends rising DIY musicians to use what’s right in front of them. “Always take all the resources you have, and move forward from that,” he said. “A lot of people have more resources than they realize.” As they say, it’s not what you have, but how you use it.
ACOUSTICAL LOVE: Lest it seem love has become strictly digital nowadays, what with most arrangements and encounters occurring through a series of swipe-rights and emojis, there are other acts to remind us that more acoustic sounds can harmonize just as well with heart-stuff as can synths and drum machines. The soulful jazz duo Lucinda Lane will soothe your Sunday, October 9, at 7:30 p.m. at SOhO with lovely, crooning, Sunday-lounging vibes, perfect for some late-night winding down and love reinvigorating. Romance your sweetheart, and jazz his or her or their heart out.
