Silk Sonic: Nostalgia Pop

Image Courtesy of Atlantic Records

Nov. 12, 2021, was an incredible day for music. Yes, “Red (Taylor’s Version)” dropped but so did an album that could change the trend of popular music for the next decade. Yeah, “Silk Sonic” is THAT important. 

Why are we so excited about this project? It’s because “An Evening With Silk Sonic” is the musical culmination of the pop trends from the past few years. A genre that we like to call “Nostalgia Pop” is rising, with the future of music looking towards the past.

But let’s back up. “Silk Sonic” is the collaborative passion project of Anderson .Paak (whose real name is Brandon Paak Anderson) and Bruno Mars. A titan of pop music combining with the master of R&B? Certainly that’s a recipe for something unique, right? Well, not exactly. “Silk Sonic” isn’t doing anything new or unique in their music. Their music follows the blueprints laid out by James Brown, The Isley Brothers, Tower of Power, Al Green, and Parliament in a genre commonly called Soul. It’s even narrated by Bootsy Collins, the Funk entertainer that got the world to groove in the early 1970s. “An Evening With Silk Sonic” is as formulaic as any album in that decade. Except for the fact that it’s coming out in 2021, where trap music and bedroom pop are taking the world by storm. 

“Silk Sonic” defies the popular standard and boldly states that we haven’t forgotten our roots. It’s an ode to the music that built America. It’s a love letter to the chords and melodies that shifted the focus of a predominantly white audience to what Black musicians were creating. It’s the entirety of Soul Train on one LP. Each song is so perfectly crafted that you would think the musicians that Anderson and Mars imitated were in the studio, too. Listening to the album is like that one scene in Ratatouille where the critic takes a bite of food and is transported back to his childhood. Whether it's a ballad or a Funk number, each song makes you want to get up and dance. 

The concept of bringing music from older generations into the limelight is actually a trend we’re seeing more often in pop music. From Doja Cat sampling Paul Anka on “Freak Like Me” to Cardi B sampling Pete Rodriguez on “I Like It.” Sampling and covers have notoriously led to top chart spots by pop artists. As music progresses, artists look to the past for inspiration. The Free Nationals just received a tremendous amount of critical acclaim for their Soul-inspired debut album. The Black Pumas are another band tapping into the roots of their genre to dominate the charts. Although “Silk Sonic” is the first full nostalgia pop project, it certainly won’t be the last. 

The music industry had a tremendous year in 2021 after the months of isolation during the pandemic. Many artists have brought new innovations to the table, hoping to redirect the spotlight in their direction. The fact that “Silk Sonic” has garnered so much praise for going in the opposite direction is a testament to Funk, Soul, and R&B and the genres’ significant influence on music today and its timelessness. Sometimes the key to innovation is in the past.