Tag Archives: soul

Re-charge your Sunday nights at The Piano Works Farringdon

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Everyone knows Sundays are the new Saturdays and we have just the solution for a much needed Sunday night elixir. London’s popular late-night, live music venue The Piano Works have come up with the perfect excuse to reclaim your Sunday evenings by launching live music performances by the legendary Patrick Alan and his Righteous Ten.

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If you would like to spend the evening with the man who helped launch the careers of Amy Winehouse and Christina Aguilera then Sunday nights at The Piano Works are just for you. We were lucky enough to attend the launch and were instantly transported to what can only resemble a funky Manhattan Jazz Club. The Cocktails were a perfect accompaniment to bobbing along at the bar to some of the most perfectly executed soulful hits finished off with a mesmerising tribute to Prince. The energy and soul that oozes from the band was infectious throughout the venue with many punters up on their feet by the end. We simply couldn’t resist. Feel free to really indulge in a little Sunday night therapy and order a dish or two from the menu. From tapas-style dishes to a variety of filled rolls and salads you will not go hungry here. Everything is well-made, fresh and satisfying, we recommend the Soft-Shell Crab Roll. All in all, we couldn’t think of anything else we’d rather be doing on a Sunday night, the ambience is uplifting and we will definitely be back for more. Patrick Alan will continue his residency on the first Sunday of every month.

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For listings or more info visit

http://pianoworks.bar

Ron Littlejohn & the Funk Embassy “Shining On” | Music Profile

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Ron Littlejohn & the Funk Embassy, music, music profile, music newsWe are always searching for good music that more people should listen to. This funk/soul band definitely fit into that category. Have a listen to the track below.
Band: Ron Littlejohn & The Funk Embassy
Location: Montreal / Toronto, Canada
Styles: Funk/Soul
Similar to: Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield,  Marvin Gaye, Al Green
CD: Shining On

Accolades:
– Ron Littlejohn (Songwriter, Singer) : opened for James Brown, Maceo Parker, Bettye Lavette, KOS, Holly Cole, War

– Thierry Matrat (Songwriter, Keyboards) : Opened for Warren G, The Roots (Lyon, France)
– Olivier Babaz (Bass) : played in multiple countries & festivals : Montreal Francofolies and Jazz Festival, Sakifo Music Festival (Reunion Island), Jazz In Marciac (France), Angeradona (Madagascar), Jazz a Port-Au-Prince (Haiti), Milatsika Festival (Mayotte), New Morning (Paris, France)

Kevin Turcotte : recorded and toured with Time Warp, The Mike Murley Quartet, Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, Don Byron. Played with Tito Puente, Dave Holland, Kenny Kirkwood, Pat LaBarbera, Bill Grove, Kenny Wheeler…

Alana Bridgewater : voice of the 2008 Olympic Bid. In 2007 she was nominated for a Gemini Award for her contribution to The Gospel Christmas Project (CBC). Alana has a recurring role on Nickelodeon Jr.’s Dino Dan. In 2008 she played the role of ‘Killer Queen’ in the Toronto production of ”We will Rock You.

Award won (Funk Embassy alone, not with Ron Littlejohn):
International Songwriting Competition, 2012, Dance/Electronica Category, with the single ‘Unity’

Members/Instruments:
Ron John Littlejohn : Vocals, Lyrics
Alana Bridgewater : Vocals
Dwight Chase : Drums
Joe Hackl : Guitar
Olivier Babaz : Bass
Moise Matey : Percussions
Kevin Turcotte : Trumpet
Thierry Matrat : Keyboards, Songwriting, Producer
Guillaume Larouche : Flute (A day in San Francisco)
Etienne Lebel : Trombone (Unity)
Steve Donald : Trombone (Soul Devotion, My Magination)
Glenn Crosse : Solo Guitar and Video Production (Shining On)
DJ Mana : Turntables (Soul Devotion, The Village)
DJ Horg : Turntables (Cream #9, Unity)
Obed José : Graphic Arts, Animated Movies (A day in San Francisco, Unity)
Production:
EP produced by Thierry Matrat
Recorded mixed by :
– Jason Steidman at Number 9 Studios, Toronto, On, Canada
– Karl de Serres at Saint-Phonic Studios, Montreal, Qc, Canada
– Mastered by Steve Corrao at Sage Audio, Nashville, Tn, USA (except ‘Shining On’, mixed and master by Glenn Crosse, Toronto)

Tracklisting:

1- Shining On
2- Seem Like Yesterday
3- Light Me Up
4- Soul Devotion
5- Cream #9
6- My Magination
7- A day in San Francisco
8- Emma Lee

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Bio:

Ron Littlejohn & the Funk Embassy is a funk collective founded by main songwriters Thierry Matrat and Ron Littlejohn. It’s members have achieved amazing things on their own, including opening for James Brown (Ron) and The Roots (Thierry). The project features Ron Littlejohn on vocals, Thierry Matrat on keyboards, Alana Bridgewater on vocals, Olivier Babaz on bass, Joe Hackl on guitar, Moise Matey on percussion, Dwight Chase on drums, and many other talented musicians contributing to individual tracks.

The project began with Thierry Matrat, who, after a long history as a hip hop artist in France, started the Funk Embassy project in 2009. He began composing music originally with the intention of creating soul/funk songs for rappers. After many collaborations, he decided to switch the project’s focus and hire the best musicians and singers he could find. Craigslist made this happen, and it was Craigslist Toronto that brought Thierry and Ron together.

Unknowingly, Thierry has found the perfect person to help him spearhead the ideal direction for his music. Ron Littlejohn had a long history in the Toronto soul/funk scene with his popular group Planet Earth, who Thierry listened to for “5 seconds before he knew Ron was the singer he was looking for”. Prior to finding Ron, Thierry has advertised in Montreal and found three very notable funk musicians in Olivier Babaz (bass), Joe Hackl (guitar) and Dwight Chase (drums).< Thierry and Ron recorded the initial music by communicating through emails as to what the song structures and melodies should be. Music was then recorded in studio in both Montreal and Toronto. After the initial demos, Ron recommended additional musicians to complete the collective needed for the debut album (Steve Donald, Kevin Turcotte and Alana Bridgewater).Fast forward to Fall 2013, and Ron Littlejohn & The Funk Embassy are preparing to see their album “Shining On” released (Oct 19).

About the inspiration for the title track “Shining On”, Ron says “When I was about to become a father, some friends actually became resentful at the idea of me having new priorities. This hurt me like a bitch. I wrote this song to my unborn daughter trying to tell her no matter how mean the bastards get, keep on shining. I think it’s the best song I’ve ever written. So I thank those negative folks for the inspiration.”

Inspired by their heroes such as Isaac Hayes, James Brown, Curtis Mayfield,  Marvin Gaye and Al Green, the album was a labor of love, consisting of work and dedication from some of Toronto and Montreal’s best soul/funk artists, ironically brought together by a songwriter from Lyons, France.

The Tomas Doncker Band | Music Profile

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tomas doncker band, howlin wolf, ep, music, music profile, soulFor this music profile I am bringing you a band I really think are brilliant: The Tomas Doncker Band, they have a great soulful vibe and make stunning music. They sound like proper old soul music with a modern touch and you can now catch their new album: “Power of the Trinity…A Slight Return”

Fresh on the heels of his June 2013 release “Howlin Wolf EP”, which The Huffington Post said “definitely conveys the original emotion of dark brooding — the raw elements and power of the bluesman”, The Tomas Doncker Band are back with a new release entitled “Power of the Trinity…A Slight Return” (The GLOBAL SOUL Mixtape Volume 1), to be released through Doncker’s own True Groove Records.

“Power of the Trinity…A Slight Return”, Tomás’s latest release, is a Global-Soul meditation on the legacy of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie. It features contributions from legendary bassist/producer Bill Laswell, Ethiopian singers Ejigayehu “Gigi” Shibabaw and Mahmoud Ahmed, legendary Ethiopian guitar hero Selam Woldemariam (who also served as production consultant for the project), saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum, trumpet and horn arrangements by Steven Bernstein, international Avant-Funk Super star Joseph Bowie, and a host of New York’s finest jazz, funk and rock musicians.

Doncker’s describes his definition of global soul as “The sound of our collective conscience. The unified rhythm of heart beats creating a positive, spiritually uplifting force for good. Musically speaking it is not genre specific, but in fact genre inclusive. It is the best of what we have to offer to each other, from Brooklyn to Ethiopia, and everywhere in between.”

The EP is being released in support of The Studio Samuel Foundation’s 1Hundred Girls Impact Plan (www.studiosamuel.org), a charity that supports young women in Ethopia.

“We must become members of a new race, overcoming petty prejudice, owing our ultimate allegiance not to nations, but to our fellow men within the human community.”
H.I.M. Haile Selassie I

Artist: Tomas Doncker Band
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Styles: Global Soul/Roots/Fusion/Funk/Blues/Psychedelic Rock/World
Similar to: Taj Mahal, Seal, Fela Kuti, The Souljazz Orchestra, Cody Chessnutt, Gary Clark Jr.
CD: Power of the Trinity…A Slight Return
Accolades:
Interviewed on CNN, 11 feature performances for N.Y.C. Summer Stage(2013), 2010 Shanghai Folk Festival, 2010 World Expo (also in Shanghai), 2012 Milwaukee Summer Fest, 2012 N.Y.C. Summer Stage (6 shows-including Central park), Performed at 2012 Artist of the year (Conversations Magazine), Performed at U.N.Global Peace day event (Linzhou, China-11), Opening act for Ethiopian mega-star Teddy Afro at B.B. King’s N.Y.C(2/22/13), Featured on Howlinwolf.com.

Ill Funk Ensemble “The Duality” | Music Profiles

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Band: The Ill Funk Ensemble
Location: Albany, NY
Styles: Hip-hop/R&B/Soul
Similar to: The Roots, Talib Kweli, Soulive, Common
CD: The Duality

Accolades: Ill Funk has performed live with Grammy-winner Mr. Cheeks of the Lost Boyz, opened for Naughty by Nature, Shontelle and Young MC and placed forth in a national competition to perform at Royal Family Affair with Soulive in 2011. They have also had a placement on the show “Road Trip Nation” and honorable mention in the John Lennon song-writing competition.

Members/Instruments:
Jermaine Wells – Lead Vocals/Freestyle
BJ FitzGerald – Guitar/Lead Vocals
Dennie Brooks – Drums
Joe Stoner – Keyboards/Backing Vocals
Duane Etienne – Bass/Backing Vocals

Walking on sticky floors, stepping on to a stage that’s too small for their swagger, let alone their equipment, setting up under dim lights and dropping a sound check on an unsuspecting audience. Eyes look up, jaws drop and the phones come out, inevitably texting their friends to come check out this band, this Ill Funk.

That scene has played out weekly for the Albany-based band, The Ill Funk Ensemble, since 2006 to great results. Described by reviewers as “a kind of 21st century mash-up of Kool & the Gang and the Isley Brothers” and “all hot sand and asphalt”, Ill Funk takes hip-hop and R&B in a different, yet oddly familiar direction. Perhaps it’s the blend of old and new school vibes, the warm smile of Jermaine Wells, the lead singer, or the obvious fun the band has whether they’re recording or performing live; whatever it is, the band has made the most of its position by performing all over the Northeast, selling nearly 1,000 hard copies of their debut album, Catching Wreck, having more than 1,300 combined likes on their Facebook pages and over 15,000 views on their YouTube channel. They’ve even been blessed to perform live with Grammy-winner Mr. Cheeks of the Lost Boyz, Naughty by Nature and Young MC and placed forth in a national competition to perform at Royal Family Affair with Soulive in 2011. They have also had a placement on the show “Road Trip Nation” and honorable mention in the John Lennon song-writing competition.

Slick, smart, engaging and legit, The Ill Funk Ensemble is humble in its origins, ambitious in its goals and will be releasing their second album in Summer of 2012.

Tracklisting:
1. She’s Fearless
2. Afraid of Heights
3. Amazing
4. Bringin’ the Heat (using a cleared sample of Quincy Jones’ theme from Sanford and Son)
5. Hot, Crazy Good Love
6. Interlude One
7. Different Day (feat. Michael Gaydusek)
8. Find a Way (feat. Steven Atkinson)
9. She’s Fearless (Reprise)
10. Interlude Two
11. My Gosh
12. The Duality

Websites: www.illfunk.com, www.facebook.com/illfunk, http://illfunk.bandcamp.com/, www.reverbnation.com/theillfunkensemble, www.youtube.com/illfunk09, twitter.com/#!/illfunk

 

A Hard STrainGE Gonna Call

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Well folks, here’s a duo which just about sums up everything I’ve mentioned up to now while writing for this delightful magazine. Great songs, great playing and just about every style of rock and roll music on one album.

STrainGE (Strange Rain) are in fact two drummers from London who are both deeply absorbed in musicality from doo-wop, rock, pop, soul, garage, punk, progressive, freakbeat, psychedelic etc. etc.

All the tunes are recorded in lo-fi, which makes the songs stand up even more as there’s no room for overdubbing or production tricks. It’s just plain and simple soul-shattering music – written, played and sung by two musicians. Enjoy!

http://www.beggarsharvest.co.uk/page3.htm