(June 9, 2025) Throughout the first half of the 1980s, Italian disco-funk collective Change bridged international barriers of soul and dance music by pairing soulful European composers, musicians, and producers with top American R&B voices such as Jocelyn Brown, Luther Vandross (unknown to the public at large at the time), and Deborah Cooper. Six albums’ worth of funky and danceable soul fare saw the studio group expand to include input from further stateside musical talent like then-burgeoning powerhouse production duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and the multifaceted Timmy Allen.
Change were out of the spotlight for several decades following the death of co-founder Jacques Fred Petrus. Then, in 2018, Petrus’s partner, Mauro Malavasi, rekindled the group name and concept with the warmly received Love 4 Love LP, introducing lead vocalist Tanya Michelle Smith via an authentically conceived selection of new material building on the modern soul and boogie fusion of Change’s ‘80s output. Now, the reformed ensemble—under the production of Stefano Colombo—has returned with Embrace, led by the airy and emotively layered midtempo groove “Unconditional Love.”
On “Unconditional Love,” Smith drives the flowing melodies with a calm and steady command enhanced by subtle flourishes of her rich alto through the verses and choruses. Ambient keyboard and synth-bass padding and a drum track that is part eighties-synth-funk and part lounge-laden urban contemporary provide an even-keeled and inviting mood from top to bottom. For longtime Change fans, the feel may bring to mind shades of latter-day ‘80s hits such as “Let’s Go Together” and “Mutual Attraction”—two of their more straightforward R&B singles from 1985’s Turn on the Radio album.
Take a First Listen to Change’s “Unconditional Love” as the venerable band embraces a new chapter in its soulfully sonic book.
