Champagne Bubblebath "Mixtape: Volume One" LP (Clear Vinyl)

Champagne Bubblebath's studio debut is an inspired exploration that splits the difference between psychedelic garage funk and golden-era instrumental hip-hop. Polyrhythmics' drummer Grant Schroff dreamt up this beat tape project to pass time during the pandemic. Eventually he drafted longtime bandmates Ben Bloom (guitar) and Jason Gray (bass), along with Seattle's six-string maestro Jimmy James (True Loves, Parlor Greens) to bring his smoked-out vision to fruition. In March of 2026, the quartet is set to unfurl an ambitious, swaggering ten-track opening salvo. Mixtape: Volume One is a fantastic voyage from the annals of funkafied late-'60s rare-groove into mid-'90s crate-digger backpack boom-bap. Champagne Bubblebath delivers the goods, a medicinal expression session that's sure to move the crowd.

Originally conceived as a throwback beat-tape of minimalist garage-funk grooves, Seattle's Champagne Bubblebath swaggers on the scene right on time and live on arrival. Alter-ego brainchild of Polyrhythmics' drummer Grant Schroff, the endeavor steadily blossomed from vanity side-project into a full-blown live band and studio release. Due in March 2026, Champagne Bubblebath's eponymous Mixtape: Volume One uncorks a vibey debut offering where space is the place; ten tracks rich in deep-pocket vamps and dubbed-out psychedelic soundscapes. Schroff sits confidently in the captain's chair, pushing moody shades of late '60s jazz-funk/rare-groove blended with mid-'90s backpack boom-bap, leaning into a sampledelic mentality of rhythmic elements swimming in analog sound design. Schroff taps a few familiar faces to facilitate his vision: Polyrhythmics' Jason Gray (bass) and Ben Bloom (guitar) both join the fray, along with famed Emerald City funk guitar OG Jimmy James (True Loves, Parlor Greens), with whom Schroff has old-school roots working with Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio many moons ago. Tracked and mixed at Gray's Blue Mallard Studio, Champagne Bubblebath's Mixtape: Volume One effectively blends elements of Check Your Head-era Beastie Boys', steezy Soulquarian outtakes, Pete Rock beat chops and psilocybin Khruangbin, plus postcards from the Mothership. All freshly baked with just enough of their own native tongue to flip the script forward and make your head bob like emergency brakes.