For those unaware, a lifetime ago, Christian de Mesones was a New York City cabbie and heavy metal bassist who had a voracious appetite for the seedy decadence the Big Apple’s music scene was known for in the 1980s.

Determined to change his life, de Mesones did a complete one-eighty, got clean and changed his musical muse to jazz funk. Dedicating his “second life” to pursuing his newfound passion for contemporary jazz and deep soul grooves spiced with Latin rhythms, de Mesones will release his second album, You Only Live Twice, on April 12th, 2024, on the That 555 Lyfe label.

Christopher Valentine produced nine of the album’s ten tracks, all but one of which are original songs written or co-written by de Mesones.

1. “You Only Live Twice”
2. “Sexy Beast” with Bill McGee and Rob Maletick
3. “Throb!” (Bass Godz Remix) featuring Bill Dickens, Brendan Rothwell, Andrew Gouche and Vail Johnson
4. “Arrival”
5. “Stay” (Big New York Remix) featuring Nes Powers
6. “Sweetnight”
7. “Capsule In Space”
8. “In His Vision” featuring Eddie Baccus Jr.
9. “Hispanica” featuring Bob James
10. “Don Pedro” featuring Jaared Arosemena

A movie buff, de Mesones is a big James Bond fan and the secret agent’s presence is felt twice on the album, including within the opening title track (released as a single last year), the _________ of “You Only Live Twice,” and that is backed by the ____________ of “Sexy Beast” (with Bill McGee and Rob Maletick), the ______________ of “Throb!” (Bass Godz Remix, which features Bill Dickens, Brendan Rothwell, Andrew Gouche and Vail Johnson), the ________________ of “Arrival” and then we get the _______________ of “Stay” (Big New York Remix, which features the vocals of Nes Powers).

Along next is the _______________ of “Sweetnight” and then the other Bond-connected song on the album is along next in the shape of John Barry’s “Capsule In Space,” and they are then backed seamlessly by the _____________ of “In His Vision” (featuring Eddie Baccus Jr. and written for, and inspired by, his father-in-law ), the recording rounding out on the ______________ of “Hispanica” (featuring Bob James), coming to a close on the ____________ of “Don Pedro” (featuring Jaared Arosemena, and written in memory of his late father).

“I have always believed in the power of composition,” de Mesones admits. “One song can change the world. In my case, one of my own compositions forever changed mine. Before releasing ‘Hispanica’ as a single, I felt it was my strongest composition to date. It was featured on my previous album as a vocal track, and on the advice of my radio promoter, it was reimagined as an instrumental. I immediately knew I wanted a piano for the melody. Having the legendary Bob James play on it was a fairytale come true. It has become one of the most meaningful experiences of my career,” said de Mesones.

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