4 Day Music Fest Showcases Indie R&B Scene
Four-day music fest showcases indie R&B scene
Andrea Daniel / Special to The Detroit News
This is a test. A music test.
Do you recognize the following names? Donnie. Inohs Sivad. Anthony David. Alison Crockett. If not, it's not surprising. These performers are part of a long and growing list of extremely talented indie-soul artists who survive below the commercial music radar.
Though they elude major radio stations and record labels, they have a large and loyal niche audience of urban, eclectic music lovers. These fans are turned on by word of mouth, Internet buzz and, here in Detroit, the promotional showcases by Urban Organic, whose slogan is "For those souls who crave more soul"
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For the third year, Urban Organic is hosting an impressive music festival -- this year called "Connecting the Dots" today through Sunday -- at various venues around Detroit.
"There are a lot of emerging artists that people don't have a lot of awareness of that people are coming into knowledge about. And there are a lot of established artists that people don't have a lot of awareness about but are just coming to know," says Urban Organic founder and native Detroiter Drake Phifer, who seeks to bridge that gap.
"It's challenging," says artist Anthony David on the phone from Atlanta. "I'm going up against those who aren't independent without their same resources. But I also don't have the same amount of restrictions." David's writing helped India.Arie's "Acoustic Soul" album receive several Grammy nominations.
Inohs Sivad, who performed in the group's first artist showcase six years ago, calls Urban Organic "a valuable resource. People still know me from that first show." Sivad released her second independently produced CD, "Changes," from her label SoundThought Recordings in August.
The Urban Organic's "Connecting the Dots" theme is typified by its "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" concert on Saturday night, with headlining act jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers, emerging artists Anthony David, Kloud 9 and Monica Blaire, and host Amp Fiddler, just back from a European tour promoting his new CD "Afro Strut."
Ayers' classic 1976 song "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" took contemporary jazz and soul/R&B music lovers by storm. The song has been covered by an array of artists, including Mary J. Blige, neo-soul singer N'Dambi and jazz group Incognito.
"Roy Ayers is one of the soul elders," Phifer says. "He, in my opinion, kinda created the blueprint for what a lot of these artists are trying to achieve in their music."
The four-day festival is about musical connections, packed with all things soul, including the Soultracks.com Music Awards, a popular Soul music Web site dedicated to studio and indie artists.
Appearing during the program are Maysa, Phil Perry, Frank McComb and others who may win awards in such categories as Album of the Year and Male/Female Artist of the Year. The event also includes a music education film series, a panel discussion about the indie-music business and parties.
"I want people to feel edified and fired up by this festival," Phifer says.
Andrea Daniel is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.
Andrea Daniel / Special to The Detroit News
This is a test. A music test.
Do you recognize the following names? Donnie. Inohs Sivad. Anthony David. Alison Crockett. If not, it's not surprising. These performers are part of a long and growing list of extremely talented indie-soul artists who survive below the commercial music radar.
Though they elude major radio stations and record labels, they have a large and loyal niche audience of urban, eclectic music lovers. These fans are turned on by word of mouth, Internet buzz and, here in Detroit, the promotional showcases by Urban Organic, whose slogan is "For those souls who crave more soul"
Advertisement
For the third year, Urban Organic is hosting an impressive music festival -- this year called "Connecting the Dots" today through Sunday -- at various venues around Detroit.
"There are a lot of emerging artists that people don't have a lot of awareness of that people are coming into knowledge about. And there are a lot of established artists that people don't have a lot of awareness about but are just coming to know," says Urban Organic founder and native Detroiter Drake Phifer, who seeks to bridge that gap.
"It's challenging," says artist Anthony David on the phone from Atlanta. "I'm going up against those who aren't independent without their same resources. But I also don't have the same amount of restrictions." David's writing helped India.Arie's "Acoustic Soul" album receive several Grammy nominations.
Inohs Sivad, who performed in the group's first artist showcase six years ago, calls Urban Organic "a valuable resource. People still know me from that first show." Sivad released her second independently produced CD, "Changes," from her label SoundThought Recordings in August.
The Urban Organic's "Connecting the Dots" theme is typified by its "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" concert on Saturday night, with headlining act jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers, emerging artists Anthony David, Kloud 9 and Monica Blaire, and host Amp Fiddler, just back from a European tour promoting his new CD "Afro Strut."
Ayers' classic 1976 song "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" took contemporary jazz and soul/R&B music lovers by storm. The song has been covered by an array of artists, including Mary J. Blige, neo-soul singer N'Dambi and jazz group Incognito.
"Roy Ayers is one of the soul elders," Phifer says. "He, in my opinion, kinda created the blueprint for what a lot of these artists are trying to achieve in their music."
The four-day festival is about musical connections, packed with all things soul, including the Soultracks.com Music Awards, a popular Soul music Web site dedicated to studio and indie artists.
Appearing during the program are Maysa, Phil Perry, Frank McComb and others who may win awards in such categories as Album of the Year and Male/Female Artist of the Year. The event also includes a music education film series, a panel discussion about the indie-music business and parties.
"I want people to feel edified and fired up by this festival," Phifer says.
Andrea Daniel is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.
The Soul of Detroit, Part 7
The soul of Detroit, Part 7
Urban Organic Festival offers music, films, seminars, awards
November 15, 2007
BY TAMARA WARREN
FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITER
The Johanson Charles Gallery in Eastern Market was fragrant with the smell of incense when about 200 people gathered to revive Detroit's soul music scene shortly after Sept. 11, 2001.
Area bands converged to perform as vendors sold organic wares. The concept quickly caught on.
Now more than six years later, the folks behind that event are known as Urban Organic, a music promotion group that specializes in presenting top-notch urban music -- soul, R&B, techno, hip-hop. And they expect 2,000 people to attend a weekend of live performances, music industry panels, film screenings and an awards show celebrating what's become a thriving scene. The 2007 version of the Urban Organic Festival, now an annual tradition, runs Thursday to Sunday at several venues around Detroit.
"The whole festival is about connecting the dots, in relation to Detroit's musical legacy," Urban Organic founder Drake Phifer says. "My thing is not so much looking for a particular sound. I'm looking for a live element. I'm looking for a DJ that brings out that soulful feeling."
Festival highlights include the Soultracks.com Music Awards Friday at the Cobo Hall Convention Center and jazz man Roy Ayers in concert Saturday at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), hosted by Amp Fiddler. The festival also features performances by some of the top artists on the local scene -- hip-hop soul artist Waajeed, house DJ John Arnold, soul singer Monica Blaire -- and national acts that fit the Urban Organic template, such as Atlanta soul singer Anthony David.
Soul music-related films will be shown Saturday at MOCAD, including "There's No Such Thing as Neo Soul," "High Tech Soul" and "Before The Music Dies." A Saturday afternoon workshop at MOCAD explores "How to Make it as an Independent," featuring music industry panelists.
"Urban Organic was a platform in the beginning," says Detroit musician Amp Fiddler, an artist who exemplifies the UO approach in that he blends many musical styles. "Since I was there at the beginning stage I should continue to support it, and that's a beautiful thing. We don't always have a place to support us when we're starting."
Like Fiddler, other Detroit acts who've gone national after playing Urban Organic events early in their careers include Dwele and Kem. National acts Anthony David and Eric Roberson also gained momentum from Detroit appearances promoted by Urban Organic.
The Urban Organic name has been boosted by Internet marketing. Detroit native Jocelyne Ninneman works for soul music Web site Fusicology.com and is coming in from her home in New Orleans to attend the event as part of the site's marketing efforts. "Fusicology's role has grown over the past 5 years to play bridge between the soul music communities in cities all over the world, and keep people informed of where they can go to participate in the conscious culture," she says.
With taste-making networks like Urban Organic, Detroit has become a go-to spot for soul music acts building momentum. "I feel like the Detroit music is gaining respect globally," Phifer says. "We've helped open up a pipeline and we're a vessel."
ORGANIC FESTIVAL - 2007
Part celebration, part revolt against the mainstream music scene, the Urban Organic Festival has graced the Detroit calendar for seven years running, quietly growing into one of the most notable events of its kind. The fest assembles an impressive collection of underground artists who operate on the progressive end of the hip-hop, soul and techno spectrum -- musicians as interested in preserving the art as they are keeping it real. Activities kicked off Thursday and roll into the closing stretch this weekend at various locations around Detroit; the highlight is tonight's mega jam session featuring Roy Ayers, Amp Fiddler, Kloud Nine and a host of other performers.www.urban-organic.net.
-- Brian McCollum, Free Press pop music critic
If There's one word to describe the Urban Organic Experience, it would be awesome!
- Donecia Pea, Shreveport Times
"I applaude Urban Organic for creating an essential sort of spring board for talent on the rise. When you are invited into the experience, it's like you are going through a necessary initiation in the the Detroit Live Music Marketplace."
- Motown Recording Artist Kem in September 2005 In Story written by Khary Kimani Turner, Detroit News