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Thursday, December 21, 2000 is winter solstice. The sun will dip to its lowest elevation maximizing the nighttime hours. Put some soul into the longest night of the year and head down to Mercury Lounge for Velour Recordings’ Winter Soulstice party with Velour artists Topaz and Kudu as well as The Squad and singer Ekene with an all-star band including Eric Krasno of Soulive.
Velour is the perfect host for the evening. This indie label has been producing and supporting improvisational music for the New York scene since 1997. Although diverse in style, the Velour artists share an amazing musicianship and flair for music that maintains its power and connection to the body and soul. Velour compares themselves to "a family of performing artists" rather than a traditional record label.
"We want to get the bands heard in the best capacity in New York City," explained David Wallace, head of Velour A&R. While many labels claim to use the "piggyback" approach – one act jumps on the more established and well known band’s back to get more exposure – Velour actually puts this philosophy to work. "We hooked up Soulive with Project Logic and now Topaz has taken the reigns for other artists," David Wallace elucidated.
The psychedelic soul jazz group Topaz is anchoring Thursday’s big event to introduce new audiences to the music of Kudu, The Squad and Ekene. Rachel Seiden, Topaz’ manager and Velour employee, is excited about the night. Seiden anticipates that “This night will bring a lot of different people together to perform, dance and discover new music.”
Topaz are in the midst of an east coast tour in support of their latest release, Listen! Thursday night will be their last area performance of the year 2000. Topaz has emerged into a Manhattan favorite after successful gigs at No Moore and two opening slots at the Bowery Ballroom this year. Topaz revealed that he is looking forward to returning to New York City to play Mercury Lounge “because the venue has one of the best sound systems in Manhattan.”
Kudu are also excited to return to New York and perform at Mercury Lounge. With their modern fusion of frenetic drum n’ bass rhythms, hip-hop bass lines and soulful, jazzy lyrics, Kudu is releasing their debut album in February. Sylvia, Kudu’s lead vocalist, explained that they are “happy to have any opportunity that Velour gives us to showcase our music. They have been very supportive to us from the inception of our group.” If you didn’t get to check out Kudu at their coming-out party at the Bowery Ballroom last month, be sure to see them at the Soulstice party.
R&B songstress Ekene is making her New York Debut on Thursday night. Ekene just finished work on Goldie’s forthcoming album. On Thursday night, a band comprised of Eric Krasno (Soulive), Adam Deitch (Average White Band), James Hurt (Blue Note Recording Artist) and Matt Rubano (Lauryn Hill) will join Ekene.
The Squad will also perform on Thursday night. The band is comprised of former members of Lettuce (Eric Krasnos’ band). The Squad’s sound has been dubbed a “signature D’Angelo meets Kool and the Gang style.”
The shortest day of the year can only mean that the night will be very long. Fill in the night with great music at the Mercury Lounge this Thursday.
Sari Rosenberg
JamBase New York City Correspondent
Go See Live Music!
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