Resistance is a 2018 funk odyssey by keyboard maestro, vocalist, composer,
producer, arranger and astral traveller Brandon Coleman.
A regular fixture in the Kamasi Washington band, wylin’ out on the keys or
wielding his keytar, Coleman is introduced onstage as Professor Boogie.
Resistance represents a new chapter in the funk dynasty that spans Funkadelic,
Herbie Hancock, Parliament and Zapp through to DāM-FunK and DJ Quik as the Los
Angeles resident salutes his musical heroes and honours their ethos of freedom
and experimentation in his search for funk’s future.
Resistance is a powerful statement from an artist who is passionate about
hybridity and innovation – stitching together threads from boogie, disco,
electro, jazz, funk, R&B and soul.
The list of artists who Coleman has collaborated with is simultaneously
inspiring and exhausting. From Mulatu Astatke to Ciara and Childish Gambino to
Shuggie Otis… but one of his most consistent studio partners during the last
decade has been R&B icon Babyface.
It is fitting that Resistance should arrive on the imprint founded by Flying
Lotus – a perpetual freethinker and champion of genre exploding. The pair
have worked together on music for Bladerunner and Coleman played on Until the
Quiet Comes and You’re Dead!.
…Resistance merges R&B, soul, electro and funk in a package
that's compact and complete.
8 Exclaim!
Resistance is an ample, though sometimes stretched-thin, mix of the old and the
new; a debut record dubbed by the label as a “funk odyssey,” it appears
remarkably well polished.
7/10 Under The Radar
A frequent collaborator of Babyface, Flying Lotus, and Kamasi Washington, the
Los Angeles keyboardist brings a wide range of inspirations to bear on a fun,
frothy record that’s slathered with vocoder.
6.7 Pitchfork
Funk-jazz polymath Brandon Coleman's sophomore LP is a memorable record by an
unabashed futurist steeped in funk, jazz, electronica, and everything
in-between.
PopMatters