Love Harder by The Jade

Having carved out a place in the contemporary club scene with releases on Glitterbox/Defected, Boogie Angst & Lovemonk Records amongst others, Madrid’s Casbah 73 recently shed his skin and is now ready to introduce The Jade, a live ensemble that prioritises emotion, excitement, and the art of the song. Led by Oli Stewart (Casbah 73), the project brings together a remarkable group of players. At its core, this is about people: musicians in dialogue, shaping rhythms and melody, singing songs from the heart, that shared pulse based on a timeless musical vocabulary.

Opening with the exuberant "Let The Light In," this is sizzling hi-jazz and sunny soul, shot through with a dose of funky Afro-Latin rhythms for good measure. Josh Hoyer leads the charge, delivering a powerhouse vocal performance, while Nia Martin and Deborah Ayo bring that gospel glow. As, indeed, they continue to do so throughout, especially on the deep, soulful standout "When Love Left" or the shimmering, street soul meets Brit-funk feel of "Change!"

Experience the spontaneity and playful nature of tracks like "Si No Me Quieres Esperar" (with Cuban maestro Ale Gutiérrez on vocals), infused with funky Latin and Brazilian rhythms, as well as sparkling, alien disco dub in the form of "Space Lines." There’s no-holds, hands-in-the-air, fluid disco club grooves on "What It Takes" and driving, riotous, soul-jazz grooves on Being Seen. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, the band change it up and stretch out with beautiful jazz-funk instrumentals like At The Queensboro or lush sonic gem "On That Strange," a track that feels like a long, blissful afternoon fading into evening, with things left unspoken in the air and mystery in its kinky grooves.

The Jade’s sound is post-pout, studs up, raw soul, free from modern dancefloor tyranny. It’s intimate disco, dead-selfie freedom, Afro-Latin jazz-dance and Iberian funk all rolled into one, rooted in emotion and shot through with a healthy dose of funky bad ass groovism. Genres that blend and bleed into each other, following one simple idea: songs and the expressive power of live instrumentation.

Coming at you from behind the Iberian Curtain (Madrid!) and spearheading the resistance, you’ll find Chavi Ontoria on keys and David Salvador on bass, forming the rhythmic foundation. They’re joined by the rousing horns of Josué García and Dani Herrera, and the vibrant voices of Deborah Ayo and Nia Martin. All the way from Montevideo, guitarist Nico Ibarburu weaves his spell-binding grooves, while top-notch artists such as Josh Hoyer, Angela Gooding, Ale Gutiérrez, jazz trumpet player Malcolm Strachan, and others broaden and enrich the project’s emotional and musical range. The Jade is a celebration of the human touch with a lot of love.

The Jade - Love Harder
Release Date June 2025
Label Lovemonk Records

Tracklist
01. The Jade - Let The Light In
02. The Jade - Change!
03. The Jade - On That Strange
04. The Jade - Space Lines
05. The Jade - Promises of Tomorrow (Reprise)
06., The Jade - At The Queensboro
07. The Jade - Nos vamos a encontrar (Interlude)
08. The Jade - When Love Left
09. The Jade - Being Seen
10. The Jade - Si no me quieres esperar
11. The Jade - What It Takes
12. The Jade - Need to Get Back