Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators

The album Keep Reaching up by Nicole Willis and The Soul Investigators is the latest to come out of the European Nu Funk movement. Released by Timmion Records of Finland, this particular record is quite funky and reminiscent of 60's and 70's USA Motown grooves, however with a sleek modernity.

Nicole Willis, soloist and artist, is wife to Jimi Tenor a Finnish jazz electronic musician who also works on the album

on flute, tenor, sax, horn, and string arrangements. The Soul Investigators is mainly comprised of ten members Jukka Sarapää on drums, Didier Selin on tamborine, guitar & bass, Pete Toikkanen on guitar & bass, Antti Määtänen organ, piano, Sami Kantelinen bass, Lasse Tolvanen tenor sax, Erno Haukkala trombone, Eero Savela trumpet, Antti "Kana" Lauranen on baritone sax & flute and Karri Siren as live MC & tamborine. Alongside Jimi Tenor, strings arrangements were contributed by Pekka Kuusisto. The perfect pairing of Nicole Willis, a vocalist hailing from Brooklyn, NY, and the Soul Investigators, a Nu Funk band, is very melodic, easy on the ear, and, well, groovy.
 

On their myspace page, Nicole Willis states "The sound of this group reminds me of dancing to the new James Brown 7" in the record shop on Clarkson Avenue with my sister when we were 6 & 8 years old." Similarly, it reminds me of my parents old records. It conjures up some of those old classic curatorial funk and Motown archetypes, yet its got that lounge feel thats new and sophisticated enough to listen to while drinking a martini.

I like their track Feeling Free, a peppy inspiring track that evokes memories of listening to Komeda out of Sweden. The song is a happy one that might make you want to "boogie" and dance your blues away. This light and catchy tune has two versions. The first above is the Hoop's Juju Gumbo mix from their myspace.  The second below is the version from their

album.You be the judge of which you like best.

Another superb track, their lead single This Ain't Love (Don't Know What Is), nominated on BBC Worldwide's "Track Of The Year" list, adopts a thoroughly vintage Motown sound. If you have always wished for a continuation of the golden oldie songs of the 60's, this is your ultimate tune. It's quite a sad song about love gone wrong. From Wills' lovely alto to the ethereal ending of the flute, the song is tightly arranged and has a lovely immediacy for the listener.

Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators together have succeeded in resurrecting that old funk and Motown sound many of us secretly love to groove to, yet despite its exact replications, which are a sign of our times perhaps, they make it totally fresh and very now.

As the trends would have it, a turn back to these old time grooves is what we have been seeing with a lot of the new generation of pop singers, like for instance the UK's Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen. Is it any wonder that Nicole Willis and The Soul Investigators have been enjoying popularity on the UK scene as well? Those who dig the Verve Records remixes of classic jazz songs will also love these new tunes. Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators is not to be missed by anyone who is lovin' this modern take on jazz.