(Creativity in Music) - Niobium LLC, a Bay Area independent music recording company, recently released two spectacular CDs from the band PHREE SOUL. The first CD, "
Inspiration", should inspire you, make you dance and cry, and bring you closer to loved ones and friends. A spiritual journey of sounds and rhythms for the soul. Phree Soul has a mature musicial style-no tired old BOOM-BOOM-POP/BOOM-BOOM-POP beats with triton preset loops here. Listen instead for lyrics with meaning, real vocal harmonies, and live musicians laying down some funky grooves over reggae, hip-hop, contemporary R&B, and jazz. . The second CD, "Soul Contact" , takes the band to another level with a mature musicial voice that blends many styles from gospel, funk, rock, jazz, soul, hip-hop, rap, even reggae. These cats listen to all of different styles and it shows by their own eclectic music. No formulas here .
Both releases has garnered worldwide radio airplay and rave reviews in music circles. They have sales in US, UK and Japan, plus digital downloads in US and UK.To listen to clips and to order "Inspiration" and " Soul Contact", please go to www.niobiumllc.com, www.cdbaby.com and www.itunes.com.
Phree Soul features the vocals and lyrics of Paul Johnson and with T on guitar, drum beats and bass. Johnson blends his R&B /gospel roots into his inspirational neo-Soul ballads and grooves. He also plays the keyboard parts, bass and drum beats. He comes from a long line of singers, musicians and recording artists. His dad played his prototype Les Paul 1950 electric guitar with Sam Cooke, and Pops Staples, among others. His mother sang with gospel greats like Aretha Franklin and Mavis Staples. His brother played keyboards with Ohio Players and and his other brothers have opened for groups like Chaka Chan and Rufus.
Johnson was male vocalist with the gospel group, the JC Jenkins Singers, voted best male ensemble at the Bay Area Gospel Music Awards for four years in the early 90s. Formerly keyboardist and vocalist for junkfunk group "Ready to Explode," they performed on stage with groups like Peter Escovedo, Fred Hammond and Commissioned, and BeBe and CeeCee Winans.
Phree Soul also features the musical talents of Phree Soul's friends. "U Will" features saxophonist Rodney Byrd, a Bay Area fixture. Connell Page, another veteran Bay Area preformer in constant demand, adds his virtuoso bass and guitar on "Thing to Do" and poppin bass to "Young Woman."
"Like Batman" features the spiritual rap of Majok, a young Nigerian in the US via the UK. He definitely lays out a deep personal journey-a story many of us can relate to; Tone helps out in background vocals on "Like Batman."
Greg Davis is back to add his funkiness on guitar at the end of "Rondezvous" and Yusef Amin helps out on the "Sometimes" voice part.
