When you get down to it features stellar contributors: a track produced by Deepchild, mixes by Pete Mayes (Pnau), Bob Scott (Inga Liljestrom), William Bowden (acclaimed mastering engineer) and Richard Sanford (Van She, Delta Goodrem); guest musicians Rory Toomey (Metabass n breath), Campbell McGuiness (Entropic); and additional production by Morganics and indie legend Tom Kazas (The Moffs).
TJ brings his soul sound to life with a four-piece band: drummer Jared Underwood (CODA, Jimmy Barnes, The Whitlams), guitarist Conrad Harris (Entropic, Miss Donne,) and bass player Josh 'Schoix' Wermut (Steve Spacek, Lordz of the Fly and Aya Larkin).
Influences
Curtis Mayfield, D'Angelo, John Legend, Prince, Fat Freddy's Drop, Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel, Tom Waits, The Roots, Daniel Lanois, Bruce Springsteen, Deepchild, Platinum Pied Pipers, Marvin Gaye, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Joe Henry, Mos Def, Common, Elvis Costello, Bill Withers.
Sounds Like
TJ Eckleberg takes the inner-city blues into a sexy, soulful corner, as much inspired by Curtis Mayfield as John Legend. It's dirty sex music in the same way as Robert Johnson singing "Won't you come on in my kitchen??" The bass lines rumble and moan - tremolo guitars and breathy vocals ride a current that enfolds as it grooves.
Singer, songwriter and producer TJ Eckleberg has been performing and recording in Sydney for over twenty years. TJ has produced four distinctive solo albums - the jazz-tinged Waiting Room (1997); 2SER album of the week SUPERHYDRATED (2000); the spoken word / tone poem work illumineon (2003) and 2008’s soulful When you get down to it - winnowed through five years and over fifty songs. He has featured as a vocalist and collaborator with internationally renowned DJ Deepchild, as well as Jimmy James and Future Classic; performed alongside Morganics, The Whitlams, Jackie Orzcascky, and Trakky Dax; and his producing credits include Wei-Zen Ho's TUFA, Rachel Holmshaw's Something Urban, singer / songwriter Andrew Collis & Leadlight.
