[Cover photo credit to Jason Chinnock]

The Dallas-based Soul/Funk duo Silver Skylarks have released their title track single “Number One Set and Sound,” featuring rapper / producer Large Professor (Nas, Tribe Called Quest) on vocals. The track arrives via Skylark Soul Co. The full album will arrive May 3rd, 2024.

Jeff “Skin” Wade from the band shares about the track:

The groove on Danny’s [Balis] demo felt very ‘70s New Orleans to me, and that had to be the foundation. But there were Clinton-funk elements that stood out too and I think the vocals from Austin singing duo US! captured that and pushed the song over the top. Plus getting a verse from one of my hip-hop heroes in Large Professor made it a standout track for me without a doubt. 

Silver Skylarks’ debut album The Number One Set and Sound was created when songwriter/musician Danny Balis and Producer Skin Wade teamed up to turn several of Balis’ pandemic demos into “the type of record that collectors/diggers, groove aficionados, DJ’s and hip-hop producers would be elated to discover and add to their crates.” 

Wade says:

Danny was in a prolific mode of song-writing and just cranking out one killer demo after another. It was obvious to me that he was on a vibe deviating from what we were doing with Bastards of Soul and could easily lead to a separate project/sound more aligned with what I used to search for in my old hip-hop/beat-digging days.

The duo enlisted a crew of friends and guests to fill all the varied roles they envisioned to complete the sound. They added Lunar RAE on traps and Jordache Grant on keys to round out the sound alongside Balis’ bass.

Special guests and contributors also include Adrian Quesada (Black Pumas), Rapper/Producer Large Professor (Nas, Tribe Called Quest), Grammy-winner Mark Lettieri, and Robert Ellis as well as a very special contribution from DOC (Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg), just to name a few.