Synth-Funkateer BusCrates Is Ready to Ascend

Pittsburgh might not be the first city that comes to mind when you think of music, but Orlando Marshall — better known as BusCrates to fans — is decidedly proud of his hometown's musical legacy.

"Pittsburgh has a very rich musical history," he tells New Times. "We can lay claim to some of the finest jazz musicians, including luminaries like Ahmad Jamal, Art Blakey, and George Benson. Syreeta Wright, Stevie Wonder's former wife and songwriting partner, was also from here."

"They all share a common thread," he adds. "They all left Pittsburgh to further their careers and did well for themselves. Pittsburgh is a great launch pad since there are fewer distractions and a relatively low cost of living, but it can only take you so far before you hit a ceiling."

That will undoubtedly sound relatable to any musician from Miami. Long before pandemic-era market forces jacked up the cost of living here to astronomical proportions, diminishing opportunities forced local working musicians to pursue their calling elsewhere.

Marshall is the first to admit that fate might have exile in store for him too. "While Pittsburgh is always home, relocating someplace where I can go to help further my musical career is in the future," he says.

The time may be ripe for Marshall to think bigger than his hometown, and that's because no single city can contain the blaze of sheer talent displayed on Control Center, his sophomore album, which was just released by way of Brooklyn on Bastard Jazz Recordings.

If the Steel City has a rich jazz heritage, as Marshall attests, its DNA is clearly woven through this collection of sleek, laid-back synth-funk jams. But the album's sound is just as indebted to the boom-bap rhythms of East Coast hip-hop as it is to jazz.

Marshall's enduring interest in hip-hop has seen him collaborate with Grammy-nominated rapper and fellow Pittsburgh native Wiz Khalifa. But just as Pittsburgh is too small a geographical area to contain a talent of Marshall's caliber, hip-hop is too sonically limited a music genre to contain Marshall's evolving musicianship.

"At first, I was doing 100 percent sample-based hip-hop," he says. "But after a few years, I got to a point where I needed a change and didn't feel like I should be relying solely on records to create something. A lot of the stuff I would sample were synth or electric piano sounds, so I figured it would be better if I can just learn how to make and play these sounds myself. I'm not formally trained or anything, but I've always had an ear, so I was able to conjure up different ideas."
Modest though he is about his powers as a musician, Marshall's natural flair on the keyboards and knack for overbite-inducing melodic hooks are brimming on Control Center. The album is a blissed-out, kaleidoscopic wonderland of vintage analog synth tuneage.

"I wanted to go a little crazier with the synths," he explains. "Synths are the backbone of my creative process and artistic structure. I've always gravitated toward synth sounds since I was a child and had no idea what a synthesizer was. They perfectly express some of the sounds that pop up in my head when I'm in the studio recording."

Marshall's growing mastery of pop songcraft is evident on the album's standout track, "On My Way," a sexy, soulful nod to '90s R&B featuring the sultry voice of Soraya Watti.

"Soraya found me on Instagram," he explains. "I followed her back, watched a video of her singing, and really dug what I heard. I messaged her asking if she'd wanna do some music together, and thankfully she obliged. She's a breeze to record with, and I would be more than happy to do more songs with her."

Of course, it's probably safe to say that no matter how sophisticated Marshall gets in the producer's seat or how virtuosic on the keys, he won't soon be losing touch with his DJ roots. That's how he got the name BusCrates, after all. "It refers to the days of me using public transportation and hauling two crates of 12-inch vinyl to whatever place I was playing," he says.

DJing runs in the Marshall family and is the source of his generational wealth of music knowledge. "My dad did some DJing back in the early '80s," he says. "Growing up, I listened to a lot of different things. My dad would play stuff by Stevie Wonder, Gil Scott-Heron, and even some of what is now referred to as yacht rock — artists like Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers. I definitely got a very healthy dose of funk: Slave, Ohio Players, George Clinton, and Brass Construction, just to name a few."

It's certainly the well-rounded musical education you should expect of any DJ worth their weight in vinyl. And it definitely makes BusCrates a welcome guest selector at Dante's HiFi, where he'll pop his Magic City cherry on July 7.

"I've never been to Miami before, so this is super exciting," he says. "I'm bringing with me lots of funk, boogie, and a hint of disco, and I'm playing all seven-inch 45s."

BusCrates. With Lumin. 9 p.m. Friday, July 7, at Dante's HiFi, 519 NW 26th St., Miami; danteshifi.com. Reservations cost $25 via exploretock.com.