Grammy-nominated multi-genre band Lettuce has unveiled their latest single “NDUGU” via Round Hill Records. The track was lifted from the group’s forthcoming record Resonate, due out May 8. Lettuce is typically known for its groovy power funk sound, but “NDUGU” shows the band experimenting with an afrobeat sound. The music bounces lively through the five minutes, with short horn sounds and fanciful guitar work. A chilling trumpet solo by Eric “Benny” Bloom is heard halfway through the song before the other bandmates escalate to Benny’s level and power through the rest of the track to make for a climactic outro. 

“I was watching a video on YouTube of Herbie Hancock performing live in the early 80s with the legendary Leon ‘Ndugu’ Chancler on drums,” shares drummer Adam Deitch. “Not only was it ridiculously funky, Ndugu was so IN it that he was doing this side-to-side shoulder dance while playing. I was struck by the visual as much as the audio of the groove and so inspired that I immediately started writing the tune as a tribute to that sort of energy I had just witnessed. The song ‘NDUGU’ was born that night. It starts with a hard groove and powerful horns, then gets a snake charmer vibe in the bridge! It’s become one of our favorites to play. Hope y’all dig it!“

Resonate will follow the bands’ 2019 album Elevate, which earned Lettuce a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. On Resonate, which plays like a master class in funk sub-genres, Lettuce continues to be celebrated boundary-pushing innovators in funk nearly three decades into their acclaimed career, blurring the lines and smashing it up with jazz chords, psychedelic passages, big horns, strains of soul and go-go, hip-hop elements and a joyful, uplifting improvisational sound all their own.

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