SOUL BROTHER RECORDS

The second  in this (annual?) series out of Soul Brother showcasing five Independent 'Organic Soul' artists. There are three tracks by each artist starting off with the wonderful Yahzarah (interview and album review featured elsewhere on the site). The tracks are Blackstar, Nova and Love is you. Whether it's 'Blackstar's laid back throbbing groove and sensual vocal overdubs, or 'Nova's more melodic chorus and almost spoken vocal, or 'Love is you' and it's jazzy interludes and operatic vocal, the potential here will hit you.

Julie Dexter from Birmingham, UK but now out of Atlanta, Georgia, shows her jazz leanings on 'Peace of Mind' and 'What do I do' - both very much jazz influenced but wholly different in groove and application. 'Ketch a vibe' a feel good song but almost in a relaxed Drum and Bass style.

Kevin Chandler Band, three tracks from Kevin's first album pSoul pSychadelica which is all self written and self produced. A deep and thought-provoking lyricist and spirituality also comes through on 'Higher'. 'Art of Dreamin' features a more prominent vocal and 'Nommo' is a spoken word song but is soulful nonetheless with it's groove and it's lyric.

Real Kofy Brown's three tracks kicks off with the spacy, jazzy ambient 'Do'. 'Ya don't stop' also a jazzy vibe with hard beat and spoken vocal. 'What could it be' is more traditional neo soul (if we're ready yet to be traditional in this genre!) Personally I prefer this to the three tracks but certainly a dynamic voice in any event.

No Style but Soul, I confess is new to me. They are apparently a production team formed some years ago and this is their first public release. 'Sweet Potato Pie' reminds me so much of another song, maybe it's just the title, but it hasn't hit me yet as to what it is! 'Ghetto Dream' illustrates both the vocal talents of Val Kelley to the full and also the instrumentation, which was recut for this release. The best of their trio of tracks. Concluding with 'Be with you' a bouncy but laid back little item with distant vocals and somehow humorous instrumentation.

Again it's is great to see these artists getting exposure over here and I hope it will lead to more sales for these guys. I am not sure however that this album is as strong as the first but hey big up to Soul Brother for putting it out.