Curtis Harding – mashup meditation on Soul.
Putting Friday to bed with Curtis Harding, in session for Lauren Laverne at BBC6 Music on October 14 of this year.
Curtis Harding (born June 11, 1979) is primarily a soul artist, his “slop ‘n’ soul” style carries the influence of genres including blues, gospel, psychedelia, R&B, and rock. His first album, Soul Power (2014), was followed by Face Your Fear in 2017, with production from Danger Mouse and Sam Cohen.
Harding was born in Saginaw, Michigan, and his family settled in Atlanta when he was a teenager. He was exposed to music at an early age as his family toured with his mother, who was a gospel singer. In the 2000s, Harding backed CeeLo Green, and he formed the R&B/garage rock band Night Sun in Atlanta with Black Lips members in 2009.
His musical style has elements that are not usually found in soul, like vintage synthesizers sounds and a psychedelic feel. Both of his studio albums include soft strings under his “cooing vocals”; on other songs, his “strong, passionate vocal style” moves into the falsetto range with spirited brass blazing. The Orlando Weekly writes:
Harding’s take on soul can be more than a little garage-minded. Live, however, his band’s grooves were lusciously classic, though broadened by some rock kick and psych expansion. Like a great old soul record, the crack quintet were radiant from the jump. With deep guitars, beefy rhythm section and plush keys and sax, this is a unit built for sonorousness. But making it all smolder is Harding’s rich voice, an athletic balance of young vigor and sweet wear. The sum total is a thing of velvet and muscle.
In addition to his mother, Harding has said that his influences include Mahalia Jackson, MC Lyte, Bob Dylan, Albert King, the Everly Brothers, and Ronnie Dyson. In 2015, Michael Hann of The Guardian cited Harding and Leon Bridges as “the new stars of classic soul” with other modern recording artists having brought the genre back into mainstream culture. Harding believes that soul’s popularity is simply cyclical, and that its resurgence is “just the way people are.”
Thanks Wikipedia for helping these bloodshot eyes out.
Press Play and relax. My work is done here. Waitin’ on the weekend.
