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Leela James
"My Soul"
RELEASE DATE:
25 May 2010
Label:
Stax
Genre:
R&B, Blues, Soul & Stax
From the very first track on her 2005 debut album Leela
James has captured the gritty, emotion-drenched essence of
artists like Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Mavis Staples,
Marvin Gaye and has made it her mission to bring it all back
- pushing the music forward with a fresh, contemporary
perspective that remains faithful to the music's deep and
powerful roots.
My Soul,
set for release on May 25, 2010, marks Leela James' debut on
Stax Records, a division of Concord Music Group. The move to
Stax - the legendary home of some of the greatest soul and
R&B artists of the past half-century - is a fitting
destination for a vocalist who has committed herself to
preserving the soul tradition.
The new album comes on the heels of high praise from
soultracks.com, the online source for all things soul and
R&B, who recently bestowed a 2009 Readers' Choice Awards to
James in the category of Female Vocalist of the Year.
Indeed, James has come to own the music that has inspired
her since her teenage years. Her commanding live
performances have become can't-miss thrillers, placing her
among today's most electrifying international concert draws.
"The title of the album pretty much says it all," she
explains. "I just wanted to go into the studio and do what
moved me at the time, and not think about it too much or not
allow it to be something that was too planned. That's what
great soul music has always been about from the very
beginning - something very raw, very authentic and very
true."
The first single off
My Soul
is "Tell Me You Love Me," a track that James co-wrote with
Andrea Martin and Gordon Williams. The track was produced by
rap and hip-hop producer Gerrard Baker (Toni Braxton, Billy
Crawford, Masta Ace), who deftly inserts a sample of James
riffing on a line from "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," the
classic ballad made popular among soul audiences by the
Manhattans in 1978.
"This is one of my favorite tracks on the record," says
James. "It's a song about someone who's really trying to
make love work, which is the same message you hear in ‘Then
You Can Tell Me Goodbye.' Great songs are great songs, no
matter when they're recorded, or by whom. And sometimes two
great songs blend together well, like they do here."
Other noteworthy tracks on
My Soul
include the churning opener, "Ain't New To This" (also
produced by Baker), a proud and defiant declaration of
survival in the minefield known as the music business; and
the bouncy "Party All Night," penned by James and produced
by Carl "Chucky" Thompson, who previously worked with Leela
on 2005's
Change Is Gonna Come.
Other notable producers on that debut record were Kanye West
and Commissioner Gordon among others.
Thompson also handled the production of "Mr. Incredible, Ms.
Unforgettable," a sultry duet between James and vocalist
Raheem DeVaughn. "Raheem and I are good friends, and we'd
been talking for some time about doing something together,"
says James. "We finally happened to be in the same place at
the same time, and we just made it happen. It really wasn't
something that we planned. It was just something spontaneous
that took its own course."
Aside from Baker and Thompson, James enlists the services of
a number of other producers on
My Soul,
including Kadis & Sean ("So Cold"), Carvin & Ivan ("It's
Over," "If It's Wrong"), Steven "Supe" White ("The Fact
Is"), Ray Murray ("I Want It All") and Butter ("Supa Luva").
While James may have been surrounded by talent in the making
of
My Soul,
the record is ultimately her personal statement - not just
about the music's rich past but about its present and its
future as well. Her arrival at Stax may position her among
legends, but she's well aware that she still has much to do
and say.
"To be on the premier soul label is a validation of what
I've accomplished with my music and what I stand for," she
says. "I've always been a champion for this music. This
album is my version of soul. It's my experience of soul.
It's what soul means to me, and I want to share it with
you."
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