Clementi Soul Unit By Kenzo Nagari & The Sugar Bees Is Like A Nostalgic Doo-Wop Daydream

It’s time to get sentimental (Credit: Courtesy of Clementi Soul Unit)

The Clementi Sound saga continues in a soul-tinted form, and boy, is it a blast from the past that’ll make you go “gee-whiz”. If the Clementi Sound brand rings a bell, you might be thinking of the Clementi Sound Appreciation Club, the backing band of local rapper, Mary Sue. But while that identity carries more hip-hop muscle, this other offshoot – Clementi Soul Unit – barrel-rolls into an unforgivingly vintage direction that sounds like it’s been dusted off your parents’ record shelves.

Clementi Soul Unit is the brainchild of Kenzo Nagari – who brandishes his guitar prowess with Clementi Sound Appreciation club – and The Sugar Bees, a Singapore-based jazz vocal trio who’ve been revitalising classics since 2018. Together, they pen a love letter to the retro soul of yesteryear with a Singaporean inflection, and they’ve already gained global traction with coverage on American soul labels and Japanese soul radio shows. Following the success of their debut single last September, Kenzo and The Sugar Bees go back in time again for their next double release. And it’s hard not to get swept up in the nostalgia.

Kenzo and The Sugar Bees have been playing together for a few years now (Credit: Courtesy of Clementi Soul Unit)

Starting with “Maria”, Clementi Soul Unit float like a fleeting daydream, with vocal harmonies caressing like velvet and slow-paced arrangements reviving that good ol’ doo-wop flavour of the ’50s. It’s the kind of smoky and sugary stance that sends a chill down your spine in a good way, like something sentimental you’ve missed along the way. And while “Maria” feels forlorn, “A Part Of Me” shines like the sun bursting through dark clouds. The Sugar Bees glide in and out of solo deliveries and snug harmonies impeccably; wholesome and tender like a warm embrace. Strings and horns further coalesce into a gorgeous mass of sound, offering a romantic and languorous pace that you feel bad for interrupting. Listening to these two tracks consecutively feels like a short-lived fantasy, but in fact, that’s the inspired reality Clementi Soul Unit find comfort in.