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Conner Reeves the artist has been out of the public eye for a while, but Conner Reeves the songwriter has not stopped working. Recently he has been co-writing and co-producing tracks with Jonathan Shorten and Joss Stone for Joss’s forthcoming album. The team have previously written together for tracks on Joss’s multi platinum ‘Mind Body & Soul’ album (Jetlag, Less Is More, Snakes & Ladders) and they have recorded some 7 tracks towards the new album. Conner has also been co-writing for and with, new artist Ava Leigh who is creating a buzz and who has all the credentials to become an important and significant artist. Another of Conner’s co-writes has been recorded by Westlife and is to be released this December. Conner has established himself as a writer for other artists having written for numerous other acts including Artful Dodger, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker and Blue.
Reeves first came to our attention with his soul classic ‘My Father’s Son’ and his gold selling album ‘Earthbound’. He had a run of commercial success that saw him score 5 Top 30 singles in the UK, culminating in a Brit nomination and live dates across the globe - including support slots with amongst others, Whitney Houston. The period that followed however, saw him split with his label, the now defunct Wildstar, and hook up with new management – the same company that launched Joss Stone and her multi platinum Soul Sessions album in 2003.
Conner returned in early 2006 with a stunning EP of new music containing 3 new tracks, including title track ‘Welcome To The Future’ - a thought-provoking slice of politically conscious soul. The ‘Welcome To The Future’ EP eschews the throwaway R&B style that all too often clogs up today’s charts and firmly pins Reeves’ quality singing and song writing talents to the mast. While the title track harks back to the socially aware soul artists of the 70’s such as Marvin and Stevie, groove ballads ‘Oughtabealaw’ and ‘Something Beautiful’ are quality slices of contemporary UK soul.
Having worked closely with Future Cut, the co-writers and production team behind the Lily Allen project, the first fruits of the collaboration were contained on the critically acclaimed ‘Welcome To The Future’ EP. Still Waters Recordings, the label set up by Reeves in conjunction with Freshwater Hughes Management released the first single “Joy”.
Soul aficionados will recognise that the up-tempo and uplifting ‘Joy’ borrows heavily from Junior Walker’s 1969 release ‘These Eyes’, which perfectly showcases the authenticity and old school values that Conner and Future Cut are so passionate about revisiting and makes us realise how much the man has been missed on the UK soul scene, and music scene in general, over the last few years.
Conner Reeves the artist is busily stockpiling songs for his next album.
When asked to analyse why he chose to return to the fray now, Conner concludes that it was perhaps his frustration with the superficial and fleeting nature of much of today’s music that galvanised him into putting together a new album project for himself. Making music for his own pleasure has evolved naturally into getting back out there as an artist in his own right.
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