Toronto artist and producer Dan Lee, the man behind the Lee Paradise moniker, made some considerable critical waves with his 2020 album The Fink.
This new release actually makes sure that it confirms the album’s title – Lee Paradise &Co., whereas it is a truly collaborative effort. with Lee taking the role of the producer and guidance of the project, with a cast of no less than nine other players taking on instrumental and vocal roles.
It seems that this time around Paradise was fascinated by the so-called library music of yesteryear – recorded music that can be licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media. Yet, at the same time, Lee didn’t just want to re-create or emulate the sounds of library music at its (old) best but wanted to actually bring it up to date and give it a complete, modern overhaul and at the same time, give it an authors’ stamp that it actually deserves.
Were he and his collaborators successfulin this effort? Yes, and on all accounts. They have, at the same time, kept the spirit of the library music, giving it a new modern stamp and giving it an individual personal tone, removing any traces of generic from it. Quite a feat on all accounts.
