After Laughter / Didn't I

To round out these warm summer months, Night Owls are back at it, bringing you more Jamaican-inspired re-imagined classic soul hits for the club or backyard party this time featuring Berkeley's Destani Wolf and London's Hollie Cook for another double A-Sider. First up, Night Owls take on Wendy Rene's classic Stax beat diggers holy grail "After Laughter," featuring recurring Night Owls' soul sister Destani Wolf. Wolf captures the pain and heartbreak of the original while Night Owls speed things up ala Clive Chin's Impact sound meets Duke Reid aimed at the dance floor with their signature Jamaican bounce. And... those verbed out, haunting background vocals and Booker T. Jones' hooky organ part that gave RZA the bedrock for his production on Wu-Tang Clan's '93 cut "Tearz" are prominently featured in this version. "After Laughter" is a timeless gem in American soul music, now re-imagined and dubbed by the finest in the game. On the flip, Night Owls teamed up with London's own Hollie Cook to re-imagine Oakland soul man Darondo's "Didn't I" in the tropical rocksteady vein Hollie is famous for from her years with Prince Fatty. Night Owls guitarist and producer Dan Ubick always knew the potential "Didn't I" had for a fuller sound from back when his group The Lions (with Night Owls Blake Colie and Dave Wilder) were label mates with Darondo on Luv N' Haight/Ubiquity Records. The original's mostly stripped-back guitar and string arrangement are replaced here by a dubbed out Jack Ruby-inspired Black Disciples affair that Cook floats over like rocksteady Queen pouring her heart out and echoing Darondo's plaintive delivery.