The band, Ginger Root, out of Huntington Beach, California, brain child of Japanese American Cameron Lew, is described as “aggressive elevator soul.” Throughout his work, there is a sense of humorous self-awareness, though he is a consummate songwriter and media producer, whose music, which incorporates everything from Chaka Khan to Paul McCartney, is sure to make your foot tap and your heart beat in time. And with his quirky sense of humor, your mouth smirk a smile as well.

His latest album, SHINBANGUMI, which is translated as “new show,” is a sort of concept album. Though the songs’ lyrics are usually earnest ruminations on how any day is “Better Than Monday” or how it feels to party “All Night,” the album was released in tandem with a number of “official videos” that make up, in quite the meta fashion, a new, entertaining television show. It is filmed as if on VHS in the seventies or eighties, (the music which Lew said he was initially inspired by,) and all of the production choices, like office papers blowing chaotically around the office or a retro chase through the streets of an unnamed city for a missing briefcase, provide a compelling story line while making fun of the shows (and the industry) that came before.

It’s a treat to be able to access Lew’s art in a number of different ways, either visually or audibly, and the album stands alone as a rousing success, even without the videos. The instrumentation, which is retro in feel, is expertly performed and there is heart at every turn. Like the song “Show 10” towards the end of the album, a tinkly soul tune, that Lew said was written when he was at a show, burnt out on his own music, but knew, when he saw an enthusiastic crowd, that he’d have to turn it up to ten for the sake of his fans.

Admittedly, without the tongue-in-cheek visuals to accompany Lew’s music, it might be relegated to just more run-of-the-mill jazz/funk/soul music that you might hear in an elevator. But that music is so widely played for a reason: it takes a lot of skill to write a song that is filled with intricate bass, guitar, and keyboard parts, and lyrics that might make you feel a melancholy pang in your heart or an ecstatic bubble of hope in your soul, no matter where you happen to be. The music has an “indie” sensibility, something like Stereolab at the turn of the century, and all twelve of the tracks on the album are bangers.

Lew said that the album came in the four years after his last album, after a lot of personal growth and change and that it not only reflects his character now but the spirit of the music that he wants to make, to a T. It’s music that’s good to put on for an energy boost, or if you want to do a deeper dive and check out the videos, it is video content as compelling as you can get on a working budget. At the center of the mocks-drama is a young girl who plays a Flying V guitar: and I think that should be enough to get you just a little interested.

Order SHINBANGUMI by Ginger Root HERE