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We are living an old style black music boom. Many artists nowadays compose black music in a very classic style but most of them - especially in the USA, UK, Australia, France, Germany, Finland, Spain...- simply dedicate themselves to do funk. Nobody makes REAL soul music of classic 70’s style at the moment! Glen Anthony Henry is an authentic soul singer . his music riminds us of those old and beautiful albums recorded in the 70’s, silky soul music with those sweet and magic touches of the flutes, the horns - and the strings. Glen Anthony Henry and Carlo Coupé love Marvin Gaye and Chicago sound too: Curtis Mayfield, Leroy Hutson... The heritage of these masters are present on „Relax & Love“ but this essence is filtered by the contemporary sensibilities of two great artists of today.
Glen Anthony Henry is a soul singer from L.A., California. A passionate defender of the afroamerican movement he started singing in churches and studying the works of old masters of 60’s and 70’s soul. In 1998 he collaborated with Erykah Badu, did lead and backing vocals (f.e. Wagon Cookin.., Samy Deluxe...) with many different artists in Europe and the USA. In 1999 he moved to Palma de Mallorca, doin’ a show with The Majestics at a Motown Records Tribute Concert. Glen Anthony stayed there for four and half years. Then in 2000 thanks to his friend Elmore Richmond who introduced him to Dr. Dre, long story short outcome: on „Let..s Get High“ on Doctor Dre's „The Chronic“ masterpiece in 2001 Glen did the backing vocals to that track as Anthony. Glen is living in Madrid today. He’s one of the best soul singers in the world believe it!
Carlo Coupé is a renowned spanish composer, arranger, B3 hammond-organ player / keyboardist, producer and of course DJ. The man behind the infamous spanish group The Sweet Vandals (he was the creator, hammond organ player, writer of many of their tunes and producer of their first album entitled „The Sweet Vandals“). Carlo Coupé started his professional career in 1999 doin’ 4 albums in which he played jazz, soul, pop, brazil, funk.... Later in 2003 he created Funxplosion - the first spanish instrumental deep funk band.
The first time Carlo met Glen was in may 2006. Seeing him perform and sing in another project during this spanish festival left a deep impression upon the composer and producer. In january 2007 Carlo wrote to Glen and suggested him that they should work together. Glen said yeah. And they started the job writing and recording „Relax & Love“.
The work system of this project was easy: Carlo wrote and arranged the songs instrumentally and Glen adds his voice, vocal melodies and his lyrics. The album was recorded, mixed and produced by Carlo at his vintage studios (Funkorama Studios 3 & 4) where instruments, amplifiers, microphones, preamps, processors are originally from the 60’s and 70’s. The takes have been recorded on an 8-track tape-machine. The album was recorded in two sessions: the first between april and may and the second from october to november 2007. Glen sung the lead and even added some backing vocals, Carlo played synths, electric piano and Hammond organ while he was conducting the band too. The backing band with a total of 16 different instrumentalists consists of musicians from these fine acts: Speak Low, The Sweet Vandals and Funxplosion.
In September of 2007 Unique Records released the first 45 of Glen Anthony Henry. “Hope” (UNIQ130-1) is a wild soul funk stormer which has become an anthem from scratch, played by many famous international DJs in the scene like Keb Darge, Snowboy. The album entitled “Relax and Love” will be released on CD and LP in spring 2008. The second single taken from the debut album will be entitled “I Don..t Know” which is yet another delicate and beautiful modern soul masterpiece just like the whole album is!
This is a set that will appeal to lovers of fast, furious no-nonsense funk. Glen Anthony Henry keeps the tempo up, he keeps the instruments real and the funk flows like lava from a huge great funky 70s soul volcano. Fans of the greats such as The Soul Searchers and the J.B.’s will feel at home with Glen’s style of music. Here we have 11 tracks of smouldering funk and midtempo grooves dealing with social issues and relationships, and the set was recorded live without any post-recording jiggery-pokery. Check the fast and furious opening song “Fired Up” for starters. The prominent horns, funky bassline and groovy organ make this a fantastic cut. “Relax And Love” follows on more gently, containing some wah-wah guitar, flute and live drums. The arrangement is superb and Glen really is in tune with his backing band. “Doin’ It” is an early ‘70s styled gem of spiritual and mental positivity with plenty of flute and keyboard riffs. You’ll love it! Following this is the beautiful “I Don’t Know, and the angle that Glen takes on this track, as the whole album, is one of being REAL. The raw, unhindered instrumentation and the gritty, oft insightful, lyrics make this CD a memorable listen. This is far removed from the mainstream teenage-bedroom R&B fare and is yet another excellent release for us grown-up folks who know how to sort the wheat from the chaff, and know the difference between real soul and fad.
“Beautiful Vida” will underline what I have just said. The funky J.B. type groove is sensational and is one you can genuinely FEEL. Like James Brown, Glen is an exponent and minister of truth. A heady statement, but I feel it’s true nonetheless. The late 60s clattering beats of “Hope” is the perfect vehicle for this type of message, and proving that all is not too heavy Glen drops the tempo for the real winner “Go With It”. Real strings and flute win hands down again, and is a sure-fire winner in anyone’s book. The final track sees the return of the old squeezebox and organ, making it a VERY 1970s affair. This CD should, and deserves, to be MASSIVE. There is something for everyone on here, and the man has nothing to prove to me. He is the epitome of a real soul artist and carries the torch that most of today’s so-called R&B artists didn’t even know had been lit and carried in the first place. Highly recommended.
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