Animal Ventura Returns with Hip-Hop-indebted "No Gravity" (Pat Van Dyke Remix) Feat. John Robinson from 2017 EP Forrest St.
Forrest St. was "recorded over five days in Jersey City, NJ. Forrest St. shows the diverse music pallete of Brazilian-born, Sydney-based singer-songwriter, Fernando Aragones [Animal Ventura]. Produced by drummer/composer, Pat Van Dyke with the help of amazing NYC-based musicians. Animal Ventura's Forrest St. EP, additionally, features contributions from aforementioned "amazing NYC-based musicians," such as bassist Jordan Scannella, keyboardist David Stolarz, pedal steel player Jonny Lam, vocalist Laura Stiit, melodica player Shannon Stitt, trumpet player Richard Polatchek, tenor sax player Jeff Hackworth, trombonist Peter Lin, and other talented players.
As long-time supporters of fellow New Jersian, Pat Van Dyke AKA PVD, it's no secret, we were, also, big fans of Animal Ventura's 2017 effort, Forrest St. Now, a little more than two years later, Animal Ventura & PVD have returned with a remix of Forrest St. opener "No Gravity." Pat Van Dyke re-worked the original arrangement and recruited his Modern Vintage & Kiss The Sky collaborator, John "J.R." Robinson to add a verse and some vocal riffing. "No Gravity" (Pat Van Dyke Remix) is vaguely reminiscent of 90's Jazz/Hip-Hop, particularly, "Left & Right" by D'Angelo, Method Man & Redman. Both Animal Ventura's Forrest St. EP and "No Gravity" (Pat Van Dyke Remix) Feat. John Robinson are currently available to stream, download, etc. on your digital streaming service of choice.
"Well, I've always been a fan of [Pat Van Dyke] & John [Robinson AKA J.R.]'s collab's and when I asked Pat to produce my album, Forrest St. I had this idea of getting J.R. to sing on the opening track, "No Gravity," but for some logistical reasons, we couldn't make it work, at the time. I think J.R. was away on tour somewhere, anyway, maybe, a year after the album was out, I asked Pat if he was up for doing a remix of the song and luckily, J.R. was around this time and we were able to piece the track together. I'm super-stoked with the result and feel quite lucky to collaborate with such incredible musicians, like PVD & J.R."
- Animal Ventura (@animalventura)
"This collaboration came together, on my end, through [my] long-time collaborator and friend, Pat Van Dyke, who told me he was producing Animal Ventura's album, however, at the time, I was touring in Europe and [was] too busy to be a part of the album. Pat, then, hit me up after the album was done, etc. and played me a [rough] version of the "No Gravity" [(Pat Van Dyke] Remix) beat and I was definitely into it. Once I heard Animal Ventura's vocals and the concept, I was immediately inspired because, as a writer, these days, I am more inspired by things that pull me out of my comfort zone. It, also, helped that I recently returned from my first trip to Australia, so the awesome time I had was fresh on my mind. Float to the vibes, yo!"
- John "J.R" Robinson (@johnrobinsonmusic)