*76 Degrees West is not only the geographical coordinates for Washington DC, but its also the name of one of the hottest groups to come out of the area in a long time.
Since 2001 the band has played behind some of the most talented artist in music today, acts like Grammy nominees Ledisi and Victor Duplaix, Grammy Award winner Gordon Chambers, Jimmy Sommers, Rashaan Patterson and many more.
Their first studio album is a self titled collection of what bassist and group director Leon Rawlings has dubbed “Nu-Soul/Funk.” The first single, “School Boy Crush” is a cover of The Average White Band’s classic hit. The group has already been nominated by the South Bay Music Awards for Best New Artists. EURweb got a chance to speak with Rawlings about the music.
For the last 7 years the group has been the sound behind some of the best stage acts in the game, but it wasn’t until this year they felt the need to put out their own project. When asked what makes the ingredients of this “Nu-Soul/Funk” sound Rawlings said:
“We have a combination of soul music, smooth jazz and funk incorporated in our sound. It’s just a new title that we adapted. A bunch of other artists like Marcus Miller and some other cats had the same name. It’s not traditional jazz and not straight contemporary.”
Following in the tradition of other great bands like Maze, The Roots, and Slave, the music is sometimes enhanced with the help of a capable vocalist. One of the standout tracks of the group’s debut album is “Cant Keep Runnin’” which features the soulful vocals of Gordon Chambers. When asked if the band is planning to have a featured vocalist in the future Rawlings stated:
“Were looking towards doing that because a lot of people like vocals and because there is a different market for that kind of sound. So were looking from the perspective of how Kool & The Gang and Earth Wind & Fire started adding more vocals as they progressed. We definitely will feature more vocals going into the next album.”
Vocals or no vocals, 76 Degrees West’s album is definitely one to have in the collection. If you’re a fan of good music it is certainly a sound investment.
The craftsmanship of this ensemble of excellent artists can be heard from start to finish on this album. They blend some Latin flavor, R&B, Classic Funk and Jazz into one extremely pleasurable listening experience. To hear the group’s music you can go to http://myspace.com/76degreeswestband and people can purchase the album at http://cdbaby.com/cd/76degreeswest2.