For this year’s first Song of the Day, I would like to start off with a song that displays the best of what today’s music scene has to offer. “Building a Ladder,” by Hiatus Kaiyote gives you the feeling of an eagle soaring over a vast ocean, then landing and jamming out with George Clinton. Though the band is from Australia, they have soaked up the best of American soul and funk music. Once the extended piano intro is over, drummer Perrin Moss comes in hard with a hip-hop break, before dropping one of the most stuttering, Dilla-esque drum beats ever played. The harmonic structure of the song is complex for neo-soul music, but Hiatus makes it flow together like a river of chocolate for your ears. Singer Nai Palm has a voice like liquid silver, bringing the clarity and feeling that gives this song its incredible sense of uplifting spirit. The songs ends with an ethereal outro, the band does hits on cue with Palm’s voice, and it slowly builds until you too feel like you’re “building a ladder of love.” It was an interesting choice by Hiatus to put this as the last track of their most recent album, as it is more of an opener than a closer, but maybe it’s just the band’s way of letting us know that even though the album is over, their sweet, sweet grooves will never die.

Keep it real,

Erez