Soulive Honor Sly Stone, Brian Wilson and D’Angelo with New Single “Flowers at Your Feet”

Soulive, photo by Kim Evans

Soulive have returned with “Flowers at Your Feet,” the second single from their forthcoming album Flowers. After heralding their first full-length studio album in a decade and a half with “Baby Jupiter” last week, the influential and adaptive soul-jazz combo of guitarist Eric Krasno, drummer Alan Evans and keyboardist Neal Evans nods to the roots of their sound on their reverent second advance offering.

Flowers was cut at Flóki Studios on Iceland’s Tröllaskagi Peninsula, a retreat that allowed the artists to reconnect with their collective sound and totally immerse themselves in their signature telepathic interplay. All members of the 26-year trio produced the project, with Alan Evans handling engineering, mixing and mastering, and the benefit of their focused, collaborative approach is manifest in the contemplative and soul-searching psych-funk of “Flowers at Your Feet.” The second single’s instrumental and vocal contributions from Grammy-winning recording artist Van Hunt conjure the influence of greats who were foundational to the band’s style and the history of music as a whole.

“When Alan sent me the track, it immediately felt like a Sly Stone homage—and with Sly’s passing, I wasn’t sure I could add anything to make it more special,” Hunt reflected on the track in a press release. Then Brian Wilson passed, and I knew I needed to say something—to honor both of these men who shaped my musical life.

“Soulive already had the Sly & The Family Stone DNA; I wanted to bring in the Smile-era Brian Wilson color and that early-’70s Sly energy. So I pulled out the Clavinet, the Mu-Tron bass, and some stream-of-consciousness lyrics, channeling all the joy and reverence they inspired in me.

“As I recorded, I thought about Sly, Brian, George Clinton, Prince, Thelonious Monk, and D’Angelo. And now, after losing D’Angelo too, this song carries even more weight. ‘Flowers at Your Feet’ became my way of saying thank you to the innovators who built this music, and to Soulive, for keeping the garden alive.”

Flowers is set to release on Jan. 30 via Flóki Studios and is available to pre-order now. Watch the new music video for “Flowers at Your Feet” below, and read on for the album’s full tracklist.

Flowers – Soulive:

01. XL

02. Baby Jupiter

03. Flowers at Your Feet ft. Van Hunt

04. 3 Kings

05. East Side

06. Basher

07. Butter Rock

08. Vines

09. Pikes Place

10. Window Weather