Solera by Honest Lee

A Solera is a set of barrels used to age wine, a process invented by the Spanish and Portuguese to create even aged wines. Instead of bottling each year's wine, half was saved to combine with the next year's harvest, and this cycle repeats for decades. In Spanish the word Solera can also mean a base or foundation.That's the key to Honest Lee's debut album Solera, its all fresh and original music, but mixed with remnants of the past, while paying homage to the foundation. Always with a nod to the roots, but moving forward into new territory Honest Lee has produced a nine track album of classic downtempo, funky trip-hop and chillout.

Honest Lee is Mylie Durham IV, co-founder of Growroom Productions, the home for a number of DC area artists and creative projects over the past 15 years. Over the same period Honest Lee has played in and helped manage The Mighty Heard and Three Man Soul Machine. He toured extensively with ESL Music artist The Funk Ark and also appears on their critically acclaimed album “High Noon”. A few years ago what began as a collaborative project in Growroom Productions became a functioning record label, with its 25th release coming early 2019. Honest Lee is also one-half of igloo two, who recently released their second album on the label.

Listening to the entire Solera album is to take a voyage through the musical moods and influences of Honest Lee, who plays all of the instruments heard throughout. The title track comes in with some heavy reverb and takes it up a notch with some chunky hip-hop beats to create a warm analog vibe. Pajarito is one of the standout tracks, funky latin soul with a floating melody, like the little birds above in the clouds. Showcasing Honest Lee's diverse musical background is the modus operandi here, and that comes through on Let's Go To War, with its afrobeat guitars driving the track along with lush chords and steady percussion.

This is mood music, and on Snatched the mood is early 90's hip-hop with its rugged beats and gritty flow. Island Joint is just that, a tropical soul workout best enjoyed from a hammock, the track's acoustic guitars take you there. From the head-nodding grooves of The Highway Files to the sultry wah-wah guitars and patient breaks of Undulating Funk to the heavy organs and soul stylings of Waxy Stax, the album finishes strong, leaving no stone unturned.

Honest Lee is Mylie Durham IV, co-founder of Growroom Productions, the home for a number of DC area artists and creative projects over the past 20 years. Over the same period Honest Lee has played in and helped manage The Mighty Heard and Three Man Soul Machine.
He is one half of igloo two, and drummer in A-tet and The MOD.