Thirty years in, 3rd Force returns with Lifeforce, a richly layered reinvention that trades nostalgia for evolution and proves their global groove still runs deep.
It’s been nine years since William Aura and Craig Dobbin last released an album under the 3rd Force name. That 2016 release, Global Force, spawned two Billboard smooth jazz smashes - “Big Shot” and “Breakout” - before the duo hit pause. Dobbin pivoted to television scoring, penning music for NCIS: Los Angeles, while Aura took a very different path: planting roots in Thailand, launching educational music programs across Southeast Asia through the Playing For Change Foundation, and quite literally tending rice fields. But when the pair reunited, they disovered what thirty years of evolution sounds like when the chemistry’s still strong.
Lifeforce is proof of that in full color. It’s rich with the hallmarks that made 3rd Force a staple of smooth jazz - excellent production, deep groove, and that unmistakable global flair; but this time, the world influence is embedded in the DNA. Aura and Dobbin pull from decades of experience, not just as composers, but as citizens of the planet, crafting music that’s as much about connection as it is about rhythm.
From their 1994 debut through hits like “You Gotta Be Real” and “Here Comes the Night,” 3rd Force carved out a lane that was too expansive for traditional jazz stations but too soulful to ignore. Their genre-defiant sound pulled in ambient textures, funk energy, and global instrumentation, landing somewhere between acid jazz elegance and cinematic groove. Lifeforce pushes that formula even further with some of their most collaborative work to date.
The album celebrates the spirit that’s defined the group since Force of Nature and Vital Force turned heads in the mid-’90s. But where those early records introduced their voice, Lifeforce sounds like a seasoned conversation. It’s a return, yes, but also a reinvention.