Friday, February 22, 2013

Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators - Tortured Soul (2013)


The shining stars of contemporary soul music, Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators, re-emerge with their much anticipated album Tortured Soul on the Timmion Records label. The new album presents a new personal sound for the group, that was first heard in 2005 with their debut album Keep Reachin' Up.
Keep Reachin' Up drew praise from the media and audiences around the globe. The first single, If This Ain't Love, became a dance floor hit from New York clubs to the UK's northern soul circles. The second hit single, Feeling Free, was chosen as the Track Of The Year by the renowed music connoisseur Gilles Peterson in his Worldwide Awards in 2006. Keep Reachin' Up was also listed among the Urban Albums Of The Year by Mojo magazine.

Naturally, this new album has all the qualities that made their cardinal album a worldwide smash; the raw production techniques of Didier Selin, Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators' unique songwriting and self-styled musicianship, and the sultry stylings of Pekka Kuusisto's string arrangements. Several tracks also feature horn arrangements and playing by the multi-talented jazz musician, Jimi Tenor. An equally new turn is the dusky sound of these raw tracks, which could be compared to the era when Motown stepped from their 1960s pop sound to more progressive times.


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