The Foreign Exchange – Dear Friends: An Evening With The Foreign Exchange
FE+ Music: 2011
What began as a side project for Little Brother emcee Phonte has morphed into the focus of his music career. Phonte and Nicolay as The Foreign Exchange debuted seven years ago during a very short lived revival of Native Tongue-isms with their praised conscious lounge set Connected. Four years later FE alienated many of that fan base as they transformed into a full blown contemporary adult R&B act and gained a whole new audience. Leave It All Behind was decades old rhythm & blues in debt to the synth-croonings of 80s R&B acts and the progressive soul of late 90s / early aughts UK acts like 4Hero, Jazzanova and Bugz in the Attic. Last year’s Authenticity simplified, but further defined The Foreign Exchange’s formula as they expanded the team to include acts like Zo!, Darien Brockington, and Yahzarah.
With Dear Friends: An Evening With The Foreign Exchange, FE explores the possibilities of their sonic textures through the scope of an acoustic set recorded in February of this year. Dear Friends features seven songs form the last two records, Zo!’s “Greatest Weapon of All Time” sung by Sy Smith, “Lose Your Way” off Nic’s City Lights, Vol. 2, and a cover of James Taylor’s “Something In The Way She Moves”. The songs expose Phonte’s limited vocal range, but also highlight his excellent song writing abilities and ear for melody. The ways in which FE’s songs define, and depict the various modes of being in love, struggling with love, and falling out of love as an adult, has few equals in contemporary music.
Even with the seriousness of the content, Phonte’s comical commentary in between songs and the chemistry between the players and singers aid in creating a feeling of warmth and familiarity. No song shines more brightly in the set than the up-tempo country interpretation of “Daykeeper”. Here Phonte and Sy Smith’s duet humorously captures the spirit of the original only to move it into an impressive live chopped-n-screwed movement that finally ends with stuttering acoustic funk. The audience in the recording loves it and fans will find it undeniable. If FE is your cup of jasmine tea R&B, definitely check their pleasing live explorations on Dear Friends; they even include two new studio songs and a live DVD of the performance.
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3.5 out of 5
