There have been plenty of stories about artists who refuse to play their biggest hits, either thanks to decades of artistic growth, or just plain growing sick of them. But Aquakultre’s Lance Sampson got a head start on disliking “Wife Tonight” before it was even released. The song almost didn’t make the album. We’re glad he changed his mind.
Previously released in 2016, Sampson felt the song wasn’t living up to its full potential, to the point that it just wasn’t working for him. It took a remix to bring fresh life and whole lot more funk to the track.
“Performing the song is where I started to realize my dislike for it. The backing track was so washed with autotune and it just felt like I wasn’t giving my all every time I performed it. Very mellow original track that should be kept listening material only. But man, once them guys added that spice to it? That glow? I was like this is what this song SHOULD be!”
The band are front and center on “Wife Tonight,” with Nick Dourado lighting up the track on his Wurlitzer right out of the gate. Bringing more than a little Stevie Wonder circa 1972’s Talking Book magic to the single, Dourado’s key work is absolute fire. The funk coming off off of this one is something else.
“I have to give all he credit to the band on this one,” laughs Sampson. “Because the original version of this song I actually disliked to the point where I never wanted to perform it, and Nick’s desire for the song took over and one day during practice he came up with this lick on his Whirly, and Jeremy, Nathan and him just turned it into this amazingly funky jam that I fell back in love with.
“It felt like I settled for something I wasn’t quite sure of, and when I heard their version of it something clicked like they knew exactly what it was missing. Ultimately, that moment, I feel, brought my trust in their craft to an ultimate high. I loved it so much, the remix made the album and I’m glad we chose to keep it on.”
Aquakultre’s the long-awaited LP, Legacy, recorded at the National Music Centre in Calgary, AB is being released on Friday, May 8, 2020 via Black Buffalo Records.