With more and more musicians going the independent road and releasing their music with no major labels involved you can hear more often what the artists’ real music sounds like and that is often a fusion of various styles that combines funk, soul and rock that can’t be pigeonholed. Take Yewande for example or Shayna Steele, Monique Debose or Nadir.
Nadir, pronounced Nay-deer, was born Curtis McFarlin but changed his name to Jonah Nadir Omowale. Nadir is Arabic meaning rare and unique and Omowale is Yoruba for child who has returned home. He started making music in Nashville, TN, but moved to Detroit, MI, in 1999 to boost his musical career and to do something other than country.
And something other is what we get on Distorted Soul 2.0. The music is always hand-made with real drums, guitars, rhodes, piano etc. and all songs were written or co-written by Nadir who also produced/co-produced the songs. There’s the vigorous funk-rock of Slave or Daddy’s Cane, the earthy soul of Fortune & Fantasy or SoulMate (two of my favourites songs here), or the midtempo funk of Sanctified. But Nadir can get smooth too with the slow groover All Over You or the impressive afro-brazilian influenced Queen Of Sheba.
Although can hear influences by Sly Stone, Lenny Kravitz, Isley Brothers, Tony Toni Tone and others in Nadir’s music he has really developed a sound and style of his own and Distorted Soul 2.0 is very different from what I’ve heard in a long time and that’s what makes this album special. With Nadir’s ability to fuse different music styles this album may not appeal to you at first listening and it may be a nightmare to any major label’s promotion department, who don’t know how to handle quality and multifaceted music, but don’t let that be your loss.
Tracklisting of Distorted Soul 2.0: 1. Prelude to Revolution/ 2. Slave/ 3. Daddy’s Cane/ 4. All Over You/ 5. Sanctified/ 6. Conspiracy (featuring Rev)/ 7. Leave It Alone/ 8. Evolution Is Revolution (featuring Iayaalis)/ 9. Fortune & Fantasy/ 10. The Low Road/ 11. SoulMate/ 12. Superstar (revisited)/ 13. Can’t Leave It Alone/ 14. Queen of Sheba/ 15. The Revolution is Now | released 2005 by Eclipse America Productions
For more infos visit distortedsoul.com and cdbaby.com and read an interview with Nadir here.
[If you want to discuss the Nadir’s music, you can leave your comment below and also use the forum]
2005/3/6 at 20:38
Thanks for the insightful review, Dirk!
One point you made was particularly interesting to me:
“…Nadir’s ability to fuse different music styles…may be a nightmare to any major label’s promotion department, who don’t know how to handle quality and multifaceted music…”
I have been frustrated with major labels for a long time, both as an artist and as a consumer. I agree that most often they do not have the vision to imagine the potential of recordings that challenge the norm or are outside the tiny little boxes that marketeers have created.
I am hopeful, however, that there may be a slight shift in this regard because of two recent examples where major label marketing crossed those lines. One was with the last Outkast record, “Speakerbox/The Love Below”. It was almost a novelty that they released the first two U.S. singles simultaneously in two different markets - “The Way You Move” to urban and “Hey Ya” to pop. This strategy was a huge success, and helped launch the duo to a new stratosphere.
Of course, they were an established act with a big budget who had a big fan in then Arista CEO L.A. Reid. Reid was subsequently fired from that position, possibly because he was taking such risks with BMG’s money.
Another example that is probably a more appropriate analogy is with Van Hunt. Capitol has also been marketing him to urban and adult alternative radio simultaneously. They even put him on a short U.S. tour with Boney James to introduce him to the smooth jazz audience.
Though Capitol hasn’t spent a ton of money on Van, they are showing a great deal of patience with his project by working to build a grassroots following from the ground up. Wow! What a novel concept from a major label - artist development!
Is this the beginning of a larger trend? Probably not, but perhaps there are a few more label execs out there who have the guts to accept the challenge of marketing “quality and multifacted music.”
Your site proves that music lovers often have different and divergent tastes that defy these narrow categories. By marketing quality products to consumers who appreciate quality, a company can build a larger more loyal audience which could ultimately lead to a stronger, more robust industry.
2005/13/6 at 21:21
[…] Nadir’s not your average musician. A fact all who have heard his recent album Distorted Soul 2.0 will surely confirm. And he’s one of the few […]
2005/14/6 at 04:37
Nice article but one point I want to make is his original name was Kurtis W. Mcfarland. You are correct in that some of his major musical influences are Lenny Kravitz, Sly stone, and the Isley brothers but also include Funkadelic. He is an awsome musician and vocalist. I have had the opportunity to work with him and we have had a problem with being classified as a particular genre of music in trying to get air play but one thing is prevelaint in our endeavors. Everyone likes the music, even if they are not sure what to label it. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Nadir on occassion. In fact that is my trumpet lick you hear in soulmate. Glad you liked it. I am not a member of the band though, I am just his brother.
2005/14/6 at 17:08
I love Nadir’s music. I have booked the group a few times and have seen the excitement that generates from his live performances. Audiences are embracing his style. He is on Fire in my book. And I am a 51 year old white woman,nuff said!!!
Terri Koggenhop
Mack Ave Records