Bonjour Mr El Calife!

Even the volcanic ash cloud couldn't stop us from making music and I recently had the pleasure to record with and exchange musical ideas with a well seasoned artist whose music is infused with Soul, Dance and World music influences: El Calife!

El Calife is a South of France based artist (lucky eh?!) with a whole suitcase full of surprises: from North African percussions, electronic grooves to Arabic chants and Dance beats. His music is exciting because it makes you want to party and travel to North Africa at the same time. His album 'Orient Flavour' will soon be available for purchase so watch out!! In the meantime, you can hear some snippets on:

http://www.myspace.com/elcalife

El Calife also played some awesome percussion parts on the upcoming Soulem album so expect some delicious Arabic flavours!

Soulem and Got to Dance

In early January 2010, Soulem and music partner Fraser Bennett teamed up to work on the Sky One produced show called 'Got to Dance'.
18 dance acts competed each week and we provided the music for their routines. Our job was to edit, cut, mix, compose and put together tracks that would fit with their routines. The judges on the show (Diversity's Ashley Banjo, The Pussycat Dolls' Kimberly Wyatt and London West End's Adam Garcia) also performed and Fraser and I worked closely with the celebrities and their choreographers in the Soulem studio.

Here are some clips to give you an idea:

Soulem - New Remixes

Here's the latest installment of remixes from the Soulem camp: Eric Roberson, Rahsaan Patterson, Robin Thicke and Marvin Gaye all in one post!

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Autumn Soul...

Brand new Soulem Productions for artists Jesse Gamage, Saba, and Mo Molokwu:

Create a MySpace Music Playlist at MixPod.com

New Artists!

In this new post I'd like to introduce 2 new talented artists I've had the pleasure tow work with recently. Although relatively new on the UK Soul scene, Mo Molokwu and Jesse Gamage are not new to music. They have spent years honing their skills as singers, songwriters and performers to produce a new brand of Soul.


Mo Molokwu focuses on crafting beautiful, Soulful songs inspired by the greats such as Stevie Wonder or Mary J Blige. They carry her messages in a simple, uncomplicated but genuine way that makes for interesting listening. I wanted to complement her talent by providing a backdrop infused with groove, tinged with Jazz and Soul, that would make her warm voice come forward. Her music has already been aired on BBC1 Xtra Homegrown podcast and on London's Bang Radio, so she is definitely one to look out for!
www.myspace.com/momolokwu

New acoustic Soul doesn't get more exciting than in Jesse Gamage's songs. At 20 something, he is already 'an old Soul' with a mature sound beyond his years. Taking his cue from artists such as Donny Hathaway, D'Angelo or Bill Withers, Jesse performs Soul in his own way, crooning at life's unrelentless pace with a warm voice that sets him apart from his Pop star wannabe peers. Each performance is effortlessly executed, a sign of a true artist who loves, lives and understand Soul music!
www.myspace.com/jessegamage

So take a good listen!

Create a MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

Soulem and Frozensoul

In 2006, Soulem and producer Fraser Freeze met on myspace through a mutual friend called Brendan 'Octave' Harding (professional engineer and producer). Fraser who hails from Bournemouth, had already established himself firmly on the Hip-Hop/R'n'B scene in the South England: as a performer, musician, singer, songwriter, Urban dancer and teacher, producer and mash-up artist. With regular gig residencies and event organising, Fraser quickly became a seasoned musician with an infectious love of music.
A truly multi-talented individual with many performance prizes behind him could not go unnoticed and we connected on a soulful level through our mutual passion of music: from Blackstreet to Stevie Wonder, Robin Thicke to Motown Soul...
Quickly, we worked on building a catalogue of songs, writing for our contacts in the States and featuring a handful of young, up-and-coming artists, travelling backwards and forwards between London and Bournemouth.
As FrozenSoul, we shared songwriting, composing (on soundtracks for theatre), production and engineering duties on many projects including the 'youtube' success called Branksome that features Hugo as well as Fraser.
The pair have recently filmed another set of Comedy videos which are being edited as we speak!
Even though we haven't collaborated together on any new material since 2008, we still regularly contribute to each other's work and lives!

Check out this FrozenSoul selection:

Create a MySpace Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Hugo and Saba - Summer 09 tracks

Here two new tracks by Hugo with one featuring Eritrean Soulstress Saba. Check them out!

Create a MySpace Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Saba and Soulem interview on Connexionfm...

MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

Saba talks about her influences, her background and the future, and Soulem talks about...food!

Cycling, freestyling and filming...

It is time to introduce an artist Soulem has had the pleasure to work with, on and off, across continents: HUGO

Freestyler, rapper, spoken word artist, philosopher, modern day poet, visionary, video creative director...the list is long and Hugo's artistry with words is quite simply awesome. His live performances are always dramatic, poignant, energetic, deep, meaningful and 'Soulful'. He is one of those rare, committed artists that stands out from the Hip-Hop crowd of cool dudes in baggy trousers, self-indulgent 'so-called' gangster-rappers et al...
Hugo was introduced to Soulem Productions through producer and mashup artist Fraser Bennett a.k.a Fraser Freeze (more on him in an upcoming post), via myspace.
I worked on producing and composing a backdrop that would compliment and illustrate Hugo's visions and art; mixing beat grooves with dramatic orchestral compositions, arabic percussions and sound design.
The result is one of my favourite and most satisfying project.
Hugo also uses the video media to great effect: he achieved over 37000 views on youtube for his collaborative work on Branksome (a comedic rap about a 'badass' neighbourhood in the South of England) with reviews from The Sun, the local Bournemouth Echo and radio station.
His new video titled 'Keep Pedalling' has already attracted over 12000 viewers on Youtube within weeks of its release.
Watch out for Hugo, he is sure to make an impact on you and the people around you:

Saba's Injera Soul

(c) Errol Photography

Here are the tracks me and Saba have worked on over the last few months.
Together, we've explored many musical directions, fusing jazz, soundtrack, R'n'B, Soul, Neo-Soul, funk and Ethnic influences.
We've had the pleasure and honour to work with some amazing musicians such as Tony Bianco on drums, Rowland Sutherland on flute and Harvir Sahota on tabla, all recorded at the Cabin studio in Crouch End.
As we work on new tracks, we are hoping to also feature other professional musicians.

What attracted me to this project was firstly Saba's voice: a fascinating mix of influences, different voice qualities ranging from child to mature woman, her range and warm tone. Secondly, Saba's openness and creativity allowed me to express different moods, mix different genres (all steeped in Soul though!) and create a tapestry or arrangements to complement her artistry.

Create a MySpace Music Playlist at MixPod.com