Menahan Street Band

One of the most celebrated acts on the retro-soul scene, the Menahan Street Band are significantly more eclectic than many of their peers, as likely to be influenced by vintage jazz, world music, and classic film scores as R&B dusties treasured by crate diggers. Founded by producer and guitarist Thomas Brenneck, the instrumental group always sound soulful even when they're not strictly playing R&B, and they've cut a handful of memorable albums as well as backing other artists (most notably Charles Bradley). 2008's Make the Road by Walking, the group's debut, was full of bold atmospheric grooves that were later combed through for samples by Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, and 50 Cent, while 2021's The Exciting Sounds of the Menahan Street Band found them full of fresh ideas after a nearly ten-year break. In 2024 they issued the collaborative Tropical Man EP with Brazilian singer/songwriter Rogê.