PREMIERE : Soul Clap, Moniquea, XL Middleton - Brand New (Instrumental)

Modern funk star XL Middleton has been leading the way in the genre for over a decade now with his MoFunk imprint and he is a longtime collaborator with both Soul Clap and FSQ. This 3-track EP is the result of a studio collaboration between XL Middleton, MoFunk’s leading lady Moniquea, Soul Clap’s Charles Levine and FSQ’s Chuck Da Fonk at Empire Studios in San Francisco. ‘Brand New’ is a house anthem featuring Moniquea’s inspirational vocal, XL Middleton’s bright piano chords and wailing synth solo. The song is underpinned by Soul Clap’s devotion to house music’s gospel roots and New York and New Jersey swinging drums. ‘Feeling Wide’ taps into FSQ’s ‘80s new wave style with Moniquea’s layered, punk-funk vocals evoking New York City downtown disco. While the fast paced ‘Brand New’ is meant to uplift, ‘Feeling Wide’ is a syncopated song about self-depreciation. Charles Levine’s remix of ‘Red Light’ closes out the set with an ode to California car culture. It’s a Chicago booty house inspired take with Charles’ knocking drums set against XL’s sinister high frequency G-Funk synth lines. This one is a monster that set the Movement Detroit 2025 festival on fire.