UGLY DUCKLING
MOVING AT BREAKNECK SPEED
“Party people hold onto your hats!”
Ugly Duckling is back with their fifth full length album MOVING AT BREAKNECK SPEED.
After more than a decade in the music business, Young Einstein, Andy Cooper and Dizzy
Dustin are well accustomed to the recording process and for their latest LP the boys dug
deep into their bag of tricks to create what they feel is their most dynamic and complete
release to date. MOVING AT BREAKNECK SPEED is an exciting and musically exotic,
adventure story that has our desperate heroes circling the globe to outrun an evil gang
of super criminals determined to put an end to UD once and for all. The record is made
up of 14 power packed tracks that showcase Ugly Duckling’s classic production sound
and the humorously soulful and flavor-rich vocal styles of Dizzy and Andy. “By the time
you work on your fifth record, you ought to know how to do it, right?” asks Andy. “I think
we put all of the pieces together to make a really, really good album”.
Keep movin’, that’s the new philosophy/
It’s not the destination, it’s more about the odyssey
- $100 WEEKEND
Inspired by the extensive touring and constant performing that have taken Ugly Duckling
around the world many times over, MOVING AT BREAKNECK SPEED captures the
troubadour spirit of a traveling hip hop band. “We’ve always wanted to make an album
like this but we needed to do a decade of research first,” jokes Dizzy. “Now that we’ve
worn out a couple passports, we can speak about globetrotting.” Einstein chimes in,
“When you’re touring for a living it feels like it’s you against the world, and that’s a big
part of the new album.” The opening track KEEP MOVIN’ gets the record off on the right
foot with ominous fanfare and eerie Spanish trumpets combined with pounding drums
and an intensely defiant vocal performance. Andy says about the song, “We haven’t
always had an easy time. Being an independent group we’ve sometimes struggled to
stay in business and KEEP MOVIN’ showcases the attitude we have about our music with
lines like: ‘We made it this far and we can’t quit now no way no how!’”. $100 WEEKEND
takes a more laid back approach to the travel theme with a story about a youthful,
weekend getaway to nowhere in particular while I WONDER WHERE SHE IS NOW, a
melancholy but sensual groove, ponders the whereabouts of all the international ladies
that the band has come across and lost track of.
MOMENTUM, the album’s second track, is Ugly Duckling 101 with a signature Einstein
drum break leading into a high-powered horn section that will make you happily
lightheaded. ELEVATION is one of the groups catchiest tracks yet with Stax records
influenced organ bits, tight funk guitar riffs and a bassline that could move a Buckingham
palace guard. Other standout tunes include SPRINT! (at 135bpm Ugly Duckling’s fastest
song ever) on which Andy and Dizzy vocally chop the rhythms up like a sushi chef on
uppers and HOW IT USED TO BE, a moving reminiscence about happy yesteryears that
showcases an epic musical arrangement with echoes of the Ugly Duckling classic I DID IT
LIKE THIS. The album culminates with ENDLESS SUMMER, a warm, beachside bouncer
which gives the album’s weary travelers an appropriate ride off into the sunset. “You can
smell the salt in the air and get sunburned with that one”, says Dizzy.
I haven’t got a plan or a grand design/
I find myself chasing what I can’t define
- KEEP MOVIN’
In terms of production, Ugly Duckling is as solid as ever. Einstein and Andy dug deep into
the crates to develop a sound that was both banging and in line with the international
themes of MOVING AT BREAKNECK SPEED. “It’s kind of like the soundtrack to an
adventure movie but funkier,” says Einstein. “Even the DJ song has a story”. Young Einstein
is referring to the track EINSTEIN BUYS A MONKEY, which features his very fast hands on the
turntables in a Bossa Nova scratch showcase that tells the tale of an out of control
primate (only on an Ugly Duckling album, right?) Einstein goes on, “we are always looking
to do something that we have never done before but also keep it UD.” Fans of the Ugly
Duckling production style will not be disappointed by the new music. All of the tracks
are filled with crispy drum loops that support a wide array of boldly melodic and
constantly changing arrangements. “We love the power of a good chord progression
and we’re always looking for something magical,” beams Andy. “When we come up
with a part that sparks our collective imagination, the songs sometimes write themselves”.
Ugly Duckling makes music that can lift the listener to another place and with this new LP,
the band did everything but buy their plane tickets.
UD lives as fugitives/
A few steps ahead of the music biz
- SPRINT!
MOVING AT BREAKNECK SPEED showcases a group operating at peak level. For years
Ugly Duckling has made a living on the run, keeping their heads above water with
nothing but musical passion and an unbending conviction about how things should be
done. The new album exemplifies that journey along with the band’s unshakable and
relentless attitude of determination, mixed with their unique sense of positivity and humor.
While many artists change with the latest industry projections or so-called technological
advances, Ugly Duckling has always put their music where their mouth is. For as long as
they’ve been around and despite the ups and downs of a career in entertainment,
they’ve somehow held their ground. MOVING AT BREAKNECK SPEED, in a fantastically
imaginative and larger than life way, explains how they’ve managed to do it. “We will
never compromise,” states Dizzy defiantly. “We’ll just keep movin'”.
Track listing:
1. KEEP MOVIN’ 2. MOMEMTUM 3. $100 WEEKEND 4. ELEVATION
5. I WONDER WHERE SHE IS NOW 6. ONE-HORSE TOWN 7. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN (IN THE
BIG CITY) 8. HOW IT USED TO BE 9. EINSTEIN BUYS A MONKEY 10. RUN FOR THE LIGHT 11.
SPRINT! 12HOMECOMING 13. THE BREAKNECK THEME 14. ENDLESS SUMMER
Album credits:
Lead vocals: Andy and Dizzy
Scratches: Young Einstein
Character voices in order of appearance:
Ugly Duckling as “your desperate heroes”
Victor (ironically named) as “El Diabolico”, the evil and frustrated leader
Dago as “Igorito”, his incompetent and effeminate assistant/henchman
Tamika as “Sapphira”, the sultry villainess and “Gertie-May”, the country girl
Tru Beatz Crew as “Das Evil Germans”, failing, yet again, to take over the world
Tiko as “Mortimer the monkey”
Background singing on ELEVATION: Josh Fischel
Japanese sweet-talk on I WONDER WHERE SHE IS NOW: Hiroko
Southern Belleze on I WONDER WHERE SHE IS NOW: Missy Lawmaster
Yelling on ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN and ELEVATION: Brian, Ashley-Dominique and Clout
All songs written and produced by Ugly Duckling
All songs recorded and mixed by Andy “Lil’ Fade” Carpenter and Jon “Big Poppa” St.
James at F-1 Studios in Fullerton, California
Interludes mixed by Jungle Josh Barlow at Triple-Pop Studios in Lakewood, California
Mastered by Magic Moe at The Sound Château
Cover illustrations by Justin Ridge
Photography by Noel J. Hadley
Art design by Kevin Cooper
www.uglyduckling.us