An Evening with Silk Sonic is the debut studio album by the American musical superduo Silk Sonic, which is composed of the American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars and fellow singer and rapper Anderson .Paak. The album was released by Aftermath Entertainment and Atlantic Records on November 12, 2021. Silk Sonic recruited the American musician Bootsy Collins—who came up with the name for Mars's and Paak's duo—for the narration, and American record producer D'Mile to compose the album. Recording sessions took place from early 2020 to mid-2021 at Shampoo Press & Curl Studios in Los Angeles.
Several critics said An Evening with Silk Sonic was crafted from elements of R&B, soul, funk, hip-hop, and pop music. Silk Sonic were inspired to create an album on which they could capture the sound of the 1960s and 1970s. Their main goal was to bring people together and make them feel good. The lyrics explore themes—such as seduction, romance, reconciliation, and materialism—that were featured on Mars's previous albums. While .Paak's lyrics usually address contemporary matters, such as the social tensions resulting from identity, politics, self-expression, and repression, those specific issues are not addressed on this record.
An Evening with Silk Sonic debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 104,000 equivalent album units and became Mars's second and .Paak's first number-one album on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It also peaked in the top-five in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, and produced five singles: "Leave the Door Open" and "Smokin out the Window", which were commercially successful, "Skate", which charted moderately, and "Love's Train" and "After Last Night", which both had minor commercial success. "Leave the Door Open" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Mars's eighth and .Paak's first number-one song in the United States, as well as reaching number one in Israel, Malaysia, and New Zealand.
An Evening with Silk Sonic received widespread acclaim from music critics. It is the most acclaimed studio album of Mars's career and .Paak's second most—after Malibu—per Metacritic. Reviewers praised the collaborative album's retro sensibility and the chemistry between Mars and .Paak. At the 2022 Grammy Awards, "Leave the Door Open" won four Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song. Several publications listed the album as one of the best records of the year, and Billboard named it the seventh-best album of 2021. The album was also promoted via the concert residency An Evening with Silk Sonic at Park MGM (2022), along with a number of performances at various award shows.
Background Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak met in 2017 while touring together on the European leg of Mars's 24K Magic World Tour (2017–2018). The two were seen in the studio working with Nile Rodgers and Guy Lawrence of Disclosure. They quickly became friends and decided to collaborate. In an interview with the New Zealand radio DJ Zane Lowe for radio station Apple Music 1, Mars said that most of the album is "rooted in [.Paak's] drum beats". He continued, saying that he works "backward from the guitar or piano", whereas .Paak's "music is percussion-driven, derived from old-school Motown influence." They credit each other for the sound that models Silk Sonic. According to American record producer and songwriter D'Mile, Silk Sonic became a project after he, Mars, and .Paak worked on a song together.
.Paak says Mars considers every detail of a song, such as its theme, its sounds, and how it would engage people with the chorus, while .Paak is more of a free form, perceptive, and "What's the vibe?" musician. The latter affirmed that they were inspired by the 1960s, 1970s, and "the old school". According to Mars, they reunited in the studio during the night to drink and play music they enjoy. .Paak said the duo was influenced by Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, and Prince. The duo "bonded over their love of classic soul" and would usually play for each other songs they loved. .Paak was not sure the project would become a reality if the COVID-19 pandemic had not occurred, since they would have otherwise been playing shows at that time.
Silk Sonic decided not to address the police killings and the pandemic in their music. Mars further, "A good song can bring people together...so that was our mindset with the whole album. If it makes us feel good, and resonates with us, that's gonna be infectious and make other people feel good." .Paak said that both of them have suffered a lot during their lives and this album is their way to cope with it. Nevertheless, Silk Sonic recorded a track with "heavier" substance, but Mars was uncertain if he wanted to include the song. When they finished the session, Mars first played the recording for himself and when .Paak listened to it they decided to reject it. Mars has mixed every album he released since his debut, by listening to it in his Cadillac CTS to know how it would play in "real-world scenario".
Recording In early 2017, after .Paak and Mars met on tour, they decided to get together in the studio with no intent, besides their mutual appreciation and affection. At this point, the duo decided to try to turn the "backstage in-jokes" into songs. The first thing they wrote together started with one of them saying the sentence "Smoking out the window". They imagined a "stressed-out" man smoking too many cigarettes, as he tried to find his way out of "anxious" situations, and saying this phrase. When they got together in the studio, the "joke" was turned into a hook. Once the tour ended, the sessions were put on hold.
In February 2020, Mars was listening to what they recorded, and "it hit the right chord". So, he called .Paak to join him in the studio. It was the latter's birthday but, despite being drunk, he met with Mars. When they started to write a song, "a competitive" but a friendly spirit emerged as they were trying to improve on the work. .Paak affirmed that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, they decided to get together in the studio instead of "trying to make music long-distance". In the studio, the duo would jam, trying to understand how to make people feel good with the songs they created from scratch and what was missing on the tracks, having to recreate a song from scratch at times. Mars and .Paak tried to create a dream setlist, they dubbed it as "the setlist of doom". However, they needed someone who could "thread" all the songs. They both admired American musician and singer Bootsy Collins, who not only came up with the name for Mars's and Paak's duo but also hosted the album.
Mars reunited with frequent collaborators, the American songwriter and producer Brody Brown and the Canadian recording engineer Charles Moniz, to record An Evening with Silk Sonic. Mars found D'Mile on Instagram and heard his composition on Lucky Daye's debut studio album, Painted (2019). Then, he asked the American singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy to get in touch with the producer. Once in the studio, D'Mile wanted to make a good impression by finishing the track that Mars had started and do nothing else until he completed it. However, the latter told him "we're here all the time. I would love for you to come rock with us." D'Mile became one of the core composers of the album. The duo also worked with the American rapper and record producer Dr. Dre, who gave feedback on the project. Homer Steinweiss, the drummer of the Dap-Kings, who had previously worked with Mars on Unorthodox Jukebox (2012) and 24K Magic (2016), also contributed to the album by playing drums on a song.
To achieve the sound they were aiming for, Silk Sonic and Moniz had to reach out to elderly "session guys" and read "old drumming magazines". They needed the right gear, such as Ludwig Drums with Remo Ambassador heads, Giovanni Hidalgo congas, a Hohner Clavinet D6 keyboard, a Danelectro sitar, a Trophy Music mini-Glockenspiel, and a Solid State Logic mixing board. Afterward, they were "emulating old-school playing styles and recording them", using one or two mics and several musicians playing at the same time in the same place. Despite having all the instruments to re-create the sound they were not able to do so at that time. According to .Paak, they were "fucking bashing!", while the ones that came before them were "tiptoeing".
Silk Sonic disclosed their process when re-working a small section of a song that pays tribute to Philadelphia soul and features a "string section and a sampled rainstorm". Its lyrics detail a heartbreak and how to deal with it afterwards. Mars, D'Mile, and .Paak heard each instrument isolated and realized that the drums were not adequate. .Paak replayed the drum section for 20 minutes, as Mars and D'Mile gave their reactions. Once the drumline was established, Mars turned their attention to the piano section, which took ten minutes for them to find an arrangement everyone enjoyed. According to D'Mile, all the tracks they came up with are included on the album, except for one. Some songs on the album would have various versions that D'Mile liked, but Mars would be unhappy with. So, they would remix it so that everyone, from Mars to the engineer's assistant, liked it. An Evening with Silk Sonic was recorded at Shampoo Press & Curl Studios in Los Angeles.
Composition
An Evening with Silk Sonic explores several genres, including R&B, soul, funk, early hip-hop, and pop. The album includes the R&B ballads "After Last Night" and "Leave the Door Open". "Fly as Me" and "777" are both funk tracks, with the latter demonstrating a "rock-leaning" style. "Smokin out the Window" and "Put on a Smile" are heartbreak songs, with the latter being a power ballad. An Evening with Silk Sonic also features disco on the track "Skate". "Love's Train" is a funk and soul cover of the Con Funk Shun song of the same name. The last track on the album, "Blast Off", is a psychedelic soul song evoking Earth, Wind & Fire in 1979. According to Stereogums Vivek Maddala, Silk Sonic created "new paths compositionally" with "Blast Off". Its "underlying musical architecture contains many surprises, and even some harmonic innovations—things".
"Leave the Door Open", "Smokin out the Window", "After Last Night", "Put on a Smile", and "Blast Off" all feature key changes that have been praised by various critics. Album lyrics address topics featured in Mars's previous albums, such as "seduction, romance", reconciliation, and materialism. While .Paak's lyrics usually address contemporary matters—such as "the tensions of identity, desire, success, politics, self-expression and repression"—these are not represented on the record.
The album opens with "Silk Sonic Intro", where the duo shows their intention of "locking the groove" and it features guest vocals by Bootsy Collins. The duo's lead single, "Leave the Door Open", is inspired by the sound of the Spinners, the Stylistics, and the Manhattans. Its lyrics are an "erotic invitation" from the singer to a woman, encouraging her to come over to his house. "Fly as Me" is a track inspired by James Brown and Parliament, but with a modern approach. Mars performs a "simplistic bold chorus", while .Paak raps "hollering from a 1977 Monte Carlo." The latter's "assertive drumming" was compared to that on the compilation albums Ultimate Breaks and Beats. The song's lyrics are a "celebration of proud extravagance and wealth." The slow jam of "After Last Night" describes a woman who is "sweet-sticky/thick and pretty" and able to make a "player try on monogamy". It also shows the duo departing from their "player lifestyle" following a pleasurable date.