Jazz musician Terrace Martin has teamed up with house producer and singer Channel Tres for a breezy new collaboration. On their new single, “Chucks,” the two describe a day in Los Angeles, while on foot in their favorite shoes — Converse, also known as Chuck Taylor’s.
On the song, Tres makes nods to the City of Angels, by rap-singing, “Walkin’ on the street I see cop cars / Walkin’ on the street that’s the boulevard / It’s that motherf*ckin’ hustle and bustle sh*t / Know what I’m sayin’”
Throughout the thumping, groovy beat, Martin’s signature saxophone riffs give the song a dreamy feel.
In a press release accompanied by the track, Martin describes it as “a sonic picture that represents New Los Angeles. The driving pulse of the song represents the tempo of traffic, the bass line is the attitude of a true Angeleno, the space that Channel commands with his vocals closely relates to the motion of water. At the end of the day it’s goin’ to make you move and feel good about being alive.”
Tres also explained that lyrically, he wanted to pay homage to his west coast childhood.
“This record is about reminiscing and grieving my past,” Tres said. “I grew up on Long Beach Blvd. and a lot of things took place there. I remember the donut shop, the car wash, the Compton swap meet, and I tried to best articulate that feeling with space and groovy production. Chucks were also my choice of shoe growing up — they cost $25 at the swap meet, and they looked good. I had a bunch of them.”
You can check out “Chucks” above.