Nicole Willis: The Soul Investigator [Interview]

Written by Imran Mirza

It really has been as long ago as 2005 since the perfect made-in-heaven collaboration of Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators came to its fruition unleashing their debut album, ‘Keep Reachin’ Up’.  Released on Timmion Records, an undeniable classic floor-filling record and soul connoisseur’s gem was unveiled, propelled by standouts including ‘Feeling Free’, ‘If This Ain’t Love’ and ‘My Four Leaf Clover’, the trans-Atlantic pairing of the Brooklyn-born, US songstress and Finland’s soul and funk power-house band garnered sterling reviews and a loyal fan base who patiently waited eight years for the follow-up record, delivered to us with glee, again, by Timmion Records in the form of 2013’s ‘Tortured Soul’.

While ‘Keep Reachin’ Up’ was glorious in its infectious enthusiasm and all-round feel-good vibes and nature, ‘Tortured Soul’ is a decidedly darker album – in both its themes and its music, adopting a more bluesy approach to many of its songs.  Few tracks on this release even seem like they’d have a home on ‘Keep Reachin’ Up’ with ‘Time To Get Business Straight’ being one of the few can’t-sit-still contenders.  By no means is this a bad thing at all – as a result of the new direction, songs are given more room to breathe and are fleshed out with more instrumental work showcasing just how unbelievingly good The Soul Investigators are.  These are conditions that Willis equally thrives under as well though – showcasing her indelible talent and ability, both as a singer and a songwriter, to get you up dancing or have you nostalgically lamenting.

Why the wait though?  Thankfully, it wasn’t a complete dip into obscurity – The Soul Investigators kept themselves busy by releasing an album (well worth your time and money) in 2012, ‘Home Cooking’, while Nicole Willis kept the collaborations coming, working with artists and musicians including Shawn Lee (‘Jigsaw’ from Lee’s ‘Soul In The Hole’ album), Pizzicato One (‘A Little Bit of Soap’ from their ‘One and Ten Very Sad Songs’) and Mr Comicstore’s single ‘Are You Ready to Party?’ (check for the excellent Discomix too!).  And still, in between all of that, Willis found the time to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Lahti Institute of Fine Arts.

With the new album’s release, it probably couldn’t get much busier, but despite it all, Nicole Willis has still taken the time to bless this site with an exclusive chat about the last eight years and what went into the creating of the new album.  Friends, it’s my great pleasure to introduce you all to… Nicole Willis.

What were some of your earliest musical influences growing up?

One of the most important things about music at home was that it was diverse. We didn't feel a limitation as to what we could listen to, who we were or what we like. We had all genres of music at home.

You recently completed a Bachelor's degree, what made you want to go back into education?

I studied art as a child because I had an inclination for it. I always enjoyed drawing and painting. However, things are tough in the States in terms of getting an education. I didn't have real possibilities to study until I got to Finland. I certainly would like to go for a Master's degree but we'll just have to see if that happens. Trying to prepare myself for that application process these days as well as performing and writing songs.

Can you talk a little about how you felt 'Keep Reachin’ Up' was received? It seems that people are constantly discovering it.

I think when we released that record, people were pleasantly surprised.  It had this cover that was very throwback and that they found themselves dancing to stuff that is not immediately considered dance music. There were other records around at the time and they probably related it to those. But now we are more established and people seem to be aware of us and our history. Sure there are new people discovering that album and hopefully ‘Tortured Soul’ as well.

Why has the gap been so long between 'Keep Reachin’ Up' and 'Tortured Soul'?

I finished my degree and then we started writing, then recorded. The life process went on as we prepared to work again and make a new record.

What made you decide on the album title, 'Tortured Soul'?

The title was actually Jukka Sarapää's idea and it just seemed to fit. I thought, "maybe we try this or that", but the title just stuck and it was like a child that you observe to see if their name suits them. It was just right.

'Keep Reachin’ Up' and 'Tortured Soul' are very different albums – was there a deliberate attempt to give this album its own identity?

I think we didn't want to make an identical style of record. Naturally, there are lots of songs to dance to on ‘Keep Reachin’ Up’ but we deliberately fed our darker side when we made ‘Tortured Soul’.  We not only wanted a distinct identity for [this album] but we also wanted to evolve as writers and try other things.

Can you talk a little about what went into making the new album?

The band worked quite in their usual way. They developed tracks and I chose the ones I thought I could write to. In the studio, Jimi Tenor, Didier Selin and myself made arrangements to back even bar verse parts, bridges and choruses. We also recorded vocal demos of many songs. Perhaps the band re-recorded some parts or perhaps not. We always write with the original guitarist, Pete Toikkanen. He's pretty essential to the sound.

How did you initially hook up with the Soul Investigators?

Apparently, Didier Selin asked for an introduction from Tommi Grönlund of Puu/Sähkö Recordings. We did a single in 2002. So I guess I could say the rest is history.

If you had to introduce a brand new listener to Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators, what song would you play them first, and why?

Maybe the first song might be ‘Feeling Free’. It's a dance song so it’s great to start off dancing.

Do you have any plans to release a further solo album?

I am nearly finished with an LP I recorded with my partner, Jimi Tenor. We are launching our own label titled Herakles Records. Our project is called Cola & Jimmu and the album title will be ‘Enigmatic’.

Record Kicks 10: 2003-2013 [Album review]

It wasn’t too long ago on this blog that we talked about the staggering achievement for the Record Kicks label reaching the milestone of ten incredible years as an independent record label specialising in the soul and funk music it garners from scouring all four corners of the globe.  Well, I say ‘staggering achievement’ but when you put music out of the quality and calibre that Record Kicks do, it isn’t ‘staggering’ at all, it’s inevitable.

This inevitable achievement has been marked by the label in 2013 with something of a ‘best of’ as they revisit 21 nuggets of funky delight from their catalogue.  Record Kicks certainly know how to put a good compilation together, and for a label with a discography as extensive as theirs, their compilations serve as great launching pads by which to explore other acts and albums they’re proud to boast.

[As a side note, their compilation from 2011 deserves special mention: ‘Mo Record Kicks, Act 2’ (helmed by Smoove, the producing half of contemporary soul duo Smoove & Turrell fame), was singularly responsible for having secured me as fan].

The track list is made up by current flag-wavers including Dojo Cuts and Hannah Williams & The Tastemakers who each appear with ‘I Can Give’ and ‘I’m a Good Woman’, respectively (impossible to have selected a bad song from either band!), and, excitingly, ‘previously unreleased’ tracks from The Liberators, The Baker Brothers and Nick Pride & The Pimptones hopefully all indicate new albums from each act this year.  Reminiscent of 2011, each of the aforementioned three bands served amongst Record Kicks’ front line assault in that year of releases, and could potentially be doing so again this year.  Specifically, Nick Pride & The Pimptones have built exceptional standards for future material by delivering an absolute scorcher for the summer, ‘Everything’s Better in the Summertime’.

Further album highlights include the Nostalgia 77 Remix of The New Mastersounds’ ‘Your Love Is Mine’ (featuring Corinne Bailey Rae), the TM Juke Remix of Gizelle Smith’s ‘June’, ‘Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover’ by The Hawk & Little Hannah Collins and ‘Much More’ by Milano Jazz-Dance Combo featuring Colonel Red.  Baby Charles covering the Arctic Monkeys’ ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor’ is also a notable highlight, proving there’s really little reason not to have this amongst your collection.

In the blog I mentioned at the outset of this article, I included a line in that particular post with ‘Here’s to another ten’, but in this case I’ll amend that to ‘Here’s to the review of ‘20 Years of Record Kicks’ I’ll be writing in another ten!’

Jose James live @ XOYO, London [9th April 2013]

The 9th April 2013 marks my fourth time seeing Jose James live, and, let me tell you… that man is a magician on stage!  As I say, I’ve seen him four times over the course of four years and he just gets better.  His stage presence has flourished and he’s been able to continually evolve, adapt and improve since the initial attention he garnered from his debut album release, ‘The Dreamer’ in 2008.  Giving a quick skim-through of his current tour diary from his own website, from now until August 2013, James is currently due to perform further dates in the UK, before moving on to Germany, Switzerland, France, Finland, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and the US.

From an interview I conducted with Jose James in 2009 [one of the proudest moments for me on this site] , he described his approach to performing live in the following way: “Creative.  I never perform the same way twice and everything is very natural and in the moment.  I want to bring my full self in performance and I give myself to it fully! I live for that moment and space and time.”  It’s a unique talent that he possesses that enables him to stand in front of an audience in the Barbican Hall, suavely decked out in a tailored suit & tie, enchanting audiences with his luxurious baritone vocal as he performs jazz classics alongside McCoy Tarner, while still being able to captivate a completely different generation and audience: leather jacket, baseball cap to the side, as he flows through his own recordings on the stage at London’s Jazz Café. 

I’m telling you.  He’s a magician.

On this occasion, it’s the stage at Shoreditch’s XOYO that would see a suited-and-booted, and sunglass-wearing, Jose James take to the stage to weave his magic. 

‘No Beginning No End’ is Jose James’s usual celebration of jazz music but he’s also made no bones about the album’s tipping of its hat towards (neo) soul music, and as well as the first half of the album merges these two genres, the ambition is fully realised in a live setting.  Throughout many of the songs performed, James & band fluently interspersed the occasional soul classic into the mix, James’s own ‘Black Magic’ found itself snugly included in the middle of show- (and album-) opener, ‘It’s All Over Your Body’; a performance of the Bill Withers classic, ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ featured Blackstreet’s, ‘No Diggity’; ‘Vanguard’ nicely included an ode to Marvin Gaye’s ‘Mercy, Mercy Me’, and the encore performance of ‘Parkbench People’ brilliantly morphed into the Roy Ayers gem, ‘Everybody Loves The Sunshine’.  At times, James introducing these songs into the performance by scratching in his own vocals between the two songs as proficiently as a DJ scratching between two vinyl records in front of a live crowd.  His improvisation, his synergy with the band, it all comes across as wonderfully spontaneous but that’s just a testament to how meticulous and calculated it all really is.  The horns play their part with sharp efficiency, alternating between subtle background harmonies during the soul numbers, to a more powerful and commanding presence when they’re allowed to unleash on the more jazz-based or instrumental numbers; Richard Spaven’s drum work – always a highlight – as he’s capable of switching styles in a moment, be it his solo drumming explosion during ‘Vanguard’, or his drumn’n’bass-esque trip during ‘Parkbench People’.

James’s banter between the songs was charming, warm and witty, with interesting stories of when he first moved to London (winter, 2006, and apparently it was particularly cold that winter, not that I specifically remember that myself though), and another highlight was at the conclusion of ‘Come To My Door’ when he notices a young lady getting ready to head off home, he quipped, "That’s f####d up when you sing ‘come to my door’ and the girl leaves".

The amazing tour band deserve as much credit for the flawless night, and included long-standing collaborator, the aforementioned Richard Spaven on drums (present on three of the four performances I’ve attended), trumpeter Takuya Kuroda who was a near show-stealer and apparently ‘soon to be a Blue Note label mate’, Kris Bowers on keys/piano and Solomon Dorsey on bass and with a cracking backing vocal to boot as well.  [I feel terrible as I can’t remember the name of, or find any details of, the excellent trombonist they had!]

If you’ve never attended a Jose James performance, really do all you can to see one for yourself – it’s not too late to hop on the Jose James bandwagon and you may as well do so now: he’s an undeniable and inimitable talent who’ll be around for a considerable amount of time to come.

31st March 2013 +

This post is inspired from the particularly excellent show I had last Sunday – had such an excellent time, had some lovely feedback and played some fantastic tunes.  So enthralled with it I was, I’ve included the playlist below:

'The Crossing' - Menahan Street Band
'Jonny' - Gizelle Smith
'Faithful Man' - Lee Fields & The Expressions
'So Much Love' - Laura Vane & The Vipertones
'Give It To Me Right' [Randy Watson Experience Remix] - Melanie Fiona
'All That' [Natural Self Remix] - Lizzy Parks
'Black Sweat' - Prince
'Hopeless Romantic' - Raheem DeVaughn
'Love Beat' [Nicola Conte Remix] - Yoshinori Sunahara
'You Were Made For Me' - Lalah Hathaway
'Washed Up' - Hannah Williams & The Tastemakers
'Where Is All The Money Going' - Cody ChesnuTT
'Call Up To Heaven' [Smoove Remix] - Kraak & Smaak f/t Lex Empress
'Changes' - Kylie Auldist
'The Little You Say' - The Revolution of St Vincent
'Come On Over' - Breakestra f/t Afrodyete
'Sho Nuff' - Sly, Slick & Wicked

2from1 @ 9: Saunders Sermons

AlbumOfTheWeek: 'No Beginning No End' by Jose James

The show also featured a 2from1 from trombonist/vocalist, Saunders Sermons, who I’m such a big fan of, and as part of this blog’s collection of archive articles and interviews from our former site, Liberation Frequency, I’ve also recently posted up an interview I carried out with Saunders from July 2010, following the release of his debut album ‘Classic Delight’.  I remember a popular response from people when they read the article was ‘it’s a bit short’ – that’s because as genuinely nice a guy he is, he comes off as really shy and didn’t give anywhere near as much info as I desired (haha), but I’m confident it’s a good read nonetheless.  If you’re unfamiliar with the name, you probably already have music by him – he plays trombone all over Maxwell’s ‘BLACKsummer’snight’,and joined him for the accompanying tour, and also contributed trombone duties to Jose James’s ‘Black Magic’ along with several songs on the recent Chris Dave mixtape which we tout here, and on the show, regularly.

Speaking of Jose James, his ‘No Beginning No End’ album finally made the cut as this week’s AlbumOfTheWeek with songs played throughout the show.  As a treat, we’ve just discovered a brand new remix of ‘Trouble’ by producer .B!, and the free download of said remix is available for your… downloading pleasure right here.
As a further update to the show, you can expect first plays of music from Laura Mvula (from her album ‘Sing to the Moon’) who we discussed in a previous post – finally got round to purchasing that album!.  We’ll also be adding music from the new Truth & Soul release, Lady, which has created such a buzz.  (I’ve yet to hear a single note from that album but will be listening to it start-to-finish in exactly four hours from the time of writing this, so fingers crossed it’s as awesome as I’m hoping!); Final release to note is the brand new one from Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators, ‘Tortured Soul’ – their first album, ‘Keep Reachin Up’ (2005) is a personal classic of mine, and I really started to doubt we’d ever get the follow-up so can’t wait to start playing songs from that one too.

Our next AlbumOfTheWeek is courtesy of The Menahan Street Band’s sophomore release, ‘The Crossing’ (to be aired Sunday 14th April), and eventually followed by the albums mentioned above over the next few weeks/months.

Remember, you can catch The Blue-in-Green Sessions every Sunday morning, 8-10am GMT on www.starpointradio.com, and catch a repeat of the show Thursday night (/Friday morning), 1-3am GMT.