R&B – Neo Soul Cypher https://neosoulcypher.com Your Music, Your Life, Your Way Wed, 13 Apr 2022 00:49:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://neosoulcypher.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-nsc_favicon-32x32.png R&B – Neo Soul Cypher https://neosoulcypher.com 32 32 What Happened to Loose Ends?  https://neosoulcypher.com/what-happened-to-loose-ends/ https://neosoulcypher.com/what-happened-to-loose-ends/#respond Wed, 09 Mar 2022 15:17:20 +0000 https://neosoulcypher.com/?p=13559
Loose Ends

“Not Forgotten” – a new feature on NeoSoulCypher.com dedicated to Classic and Legacy Artists We Haven’t Heard From in a While Due to Breakup, Scandal or Other Reasons.  

Loose Ends

In our first Not Forgotten feature, we showcase the impact of one my favorite groups of all time.  Coming of age in the 1980’s, there were quite a few music movements and superstar talents that blossomed – think genres like Hip-Hop, Punk Rock, Rock, Pop, and stars like Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna and Run-DMC. R&B also had its moment, with artists and groups like Ready for the World, the Time, Guy, Bobby Brown, Sade, and Sheila E, among many others.

They Planted Neo Soul Seeds

Loose Ends was a part of this R&B moment, and they also helped initiate two tremendous currents in American music. They helped lead the Black Brit invasion of American R&B and they also planted the seeds for the Neo Soul movement of the 1990’s. (i.e., Sade, Five Star, Incognito, Brand New Heavies, Soul II Soul, Caron Wheeler).  

Loose Ends had a string of smooth and bangin hits starting with “Choose Me (Rescue Me),” from the 1984 A Little Spice album and “Hangin on a String (Contemplating)” in 1985, which reached No. 13 on the UK chart and also reached No. 1 on the US Billboard R&B chart (a first for a Black UK act), from the So Where Are You album, an album that included 2 other super dope tracks – “The Sweetest Pain” and ‘You Can’t Stop the Rain.” Not to be outdone, the 1986 Zagora album gave us, “Stay A Little While Child,” “Slow Down,” “Gonna Make You Mine,” and “Nights of Pleasure” – all straight hits with the jazzy sophistication and danceable beats we had come to love. The string continued in 1987 with The Real Chuckeboo, which gave us the super dope “Watching You” and “Hungry.”

Where things went wrong

After The Real Chuckeboo, that’s when the drama began.  The group was initially composed of three very talented artists – Jane Eugene (vocalist, songwriter), Steve Nichol (keyboardist) and Carl McIntosh (vocalist, producer). According to reports, (interviews of Carl McIntosh), the group frayed after The Real Chuckeboo for a number of reasons. It appears that tension developed between Eugene and Nichol, to the point there was physical aggression by Eugene against Nichol (she punched him in the face). It also appears that another person, Nic Martinelli – a producer type from Virgin music, who had helped guide the group with its hits throughout the years, and Eugene and Nichol, wanted to continue to produce their jazzy sophisticated melodies over 808’s, while McIntosh wanted to expand their approach to incorporate elements of Hip Hop into their music.  

McIntosh actually went on to produce tracks ready for their next album Look How Long that incorporated those elements. When his bandmates heard the tracks, McIntosh believes they may have felt left out, “and like Carl did all of this without us, does he even need us?”  Carl, on the other hand, felt he was just trying to keep “current” with the music and make it easier on his bandmates by completing a lot of the elements they historically played a role in.  

Look How Long became Carl McIntosh as Loose Ends, as both Eugene and Nichol left the group.  Needless to say Look How Long is a departure from the Loose Ends sound up until then, but the thread of the smooth jazzy sophistication is still there.  I call it one of the first “smooth beat” records that I so came to love in the 90’s and 00’s. It is also clear that the prior Loose Ends formula combined with the Look How Long formula helped inform a lot what came from – Soul II Soul, Incognito in the U.K. to Zhane, Mantronix, D’Angelo in the U.S. Hits on the album included – ok let me stop here. In my estimation, the entire album is a hit.  Each single is simply dope! Carl really did his thing.  My actual favorite is Time is Ticking – an inspiration to keep on movin, and don’t stop (see what I did there), until you do your thing!

McIntosh has gone on the record to highlight additional influences he sees in the Neo Soul movement of the 90’s as well as its prime examples of today. McIntosh actually remixed “Cruisin” and “Brown Sugar” for D’Angelo and said, Syd the Kid from the Internet must have been listening to her parents’ Loose Ends records, comparing her vocals to that of Jane Eugene and the Internet sound to that of Loose Ends. 

So what’s next?

As you can tell, I am a big Loose Ends fan, but as you can also see, there’s every reason to be a big Loose Ends fan.  They set the stage for so much that has come to be – the Black Brit R&B invasion, to the Neo Soul movement of 90’s-00’s, to the Smooth R&B movement, to the new Neo Soul movement.  Let’s pay them their homage, let’s give them their flowers. Let’s see if we can get another album!!  

#LooseEnds

#CarlMcIntosh

#NeoSoul

#SmoothR&B

#ALittleSpice

#SoWhereAreYou

#Zagora

#TheReackChuckeboo

#LookHowLong

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SOUL/JAZZ VIOLINIST MONIQUE BROOKS ROBERTS RELEASES DEBUT SOLO ALBUM https://neosoulcypher.com/monique-brooks-roberts-releases-debut-solo-album/ https://neosoulcypher.com/monique-brooks-roberts-releases-debut-solo-album/#respond Wed, 26 Feb 2020 12:02:00 +0000 http://neosoulcypher.com/?p=9641 She’s played with the best in the business, from legends Diana Ross and the departed Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, to game-changers such as Lizzo (the 2020 Grammy Awards telecast) and Alicia Keys. Now, soul/jazz violinist and Louisville KY native Monique Brooks Roberts steps into the spotlight with her own work, the album “Free”.

Released digitally a few weeks ago, Monique’s “Free” features ten originals, including her single, the uptempo dancer “Night Life” (a Top 10 internet radio hit) as well as the empowering “Love, Me” featuring Rajdulari and Kerrie Joy, the mellow and haunting “Tonight” and the edgy hip-hop flavored “Breathe” that features rapper Lord Zaire. Citing singer/songwriter Sade as an influence, Monique pays tribute to that longtime hit maker with her rendition of “Cherish The Day”.

“Free” made a strong debut on iTunes’ Soul/R&B Album Charts at #12 within the first week of release and is destined to grow in download sales as well as streams. The album is available on most streaming platforms as well as iTunes.

Monique recently relocated from the Philadelphia/New Jersey area to Denver, Colorado – this after garnering much live performance work within the state. Her goal – to make a mark within the soul/jazz world – has been accomplished thanks to the early airplay “Night Life” received prior to the release of the album, “Free”. 

Besides performing and/or recording with hit makers such as Lizzo, Alicia Keys, Common, Jill Scott, Mos Def, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, J. Cole and Shaun Mendes, Monique was also a touring member of the Philadelphia String Quartet for 7 years. She’s performed with the Soulful Symphony Orchestra, Gateways Festival Orchestra, Harlem Symphony Orchestra, and Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey.  Television appearances include the Grammy Awards, VH1 Storytellers, NPR’s Tiny Desk, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the MTV Video Music Awards, and the BET Honors. Monique has played at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, the John F. Kennedy Center, Radio City Music Hall, The Kimmel Center, Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, the world famous Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Russia, the Theater at Madison Square Garden, The Newport Jazz Festival, The Willingboro Jazz Festival and plenty more.  She currently performs and tours with Rootstock Republic as well as Camille A. Brown & Dancers. 

Monique will be performing live at the Five Points Jazz Festival and the Denver Arts Festival in the spring of 2020.

“Night Life” video

Track listing
“Waves”
“Love, Me” (featuring Rajdulari and Kerrie Joy)
“Freelude: Love,You”
“Cherish The Day”
“Night Life”
“Tonight”
“Freelude: The Morning After”
“Breathe” (featuring Lord Zaire)
“Freelude: We Vibin’”
“Freelude: New Truth”
“Free”

Check out Free on Itunes or other streaming platforms. Also check out Monique’s website.

For more news on the latest album release, new artists and talent news, head over to the New Music page.

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R&B/Soul Music’s Chris Ams & the Favorite States Releases Debut Album https://neosoulcypher.com/rb-soul-musics-chris-ams-the-favorite-states-releases-debut-album/ https://neosoulcypher.com/rb-soul-musics-chris-ams-the-favorite-states-releases-debut-album/#respond Wed, 26 Feb 2020 05:29:54 +0000 http://neosoulcypher.com/?p=9633 The Motown-Inspired Band Collaborates on New Work

After years of paying their dues, performing with soul legends and working their way through the nightclub circuit, the Big Apple based soul brothers Chris Ams & the Favorite States reveal their debut full length release. 

Containing a total of eight original songs, the album Chris Ams & the Favorite States features upbeat tunes such as “Looking For A Way”, “Love Surrounding”, the bopping “Music Of Your Love”, the mellow ballad “Walking Between The Raindrops” and the forceful horn-driven “When I’m With You” – all graced by Ams’ sweet and confident lead vocals.

Formerly known as the Funk Machine, the group – consisting of front man Chris Ams, Drew Schultz (drums), Jent Lapalm (bass), Emilio Tostado (guitar) and John Guari (keyboards) – spent many years as a resident act at New York City’s legendary nightclub, the Bitter End. Along the way, the members shared concert stages with legends such as the Four Tops (which drummer Schultz served as the legendary Motown act’s musical director), funk guitar legend Dennis Coffey, members of the esteemed Motown session band, the Funk Brothers and esteemed record producer/executive Don Was for his all-star revue held at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall.  They also formed a one-time mega group with The Funk Brothers touring band at Northern Lights in Detroit as a tribute to late Motown guitarist, Eddie Willis. 

“It took a while for us to complete the album,” explained Chris Ams in a recent interview from his home in NYC. “Drew Schultz, our drummer, is based in Detroit – he and I are both Michigan natives – so, we split our time between there and Manhattan recording tunes. Also, each of us have ‘day jobs’ which meant whatever free time we had was invested in making the record. It was well worth the time spent and now we’re ready to promote the release as well as perform these new tunes in live gigs.”

Music In Your Love” Animated Lyric Video

Track listings
Music In Your Love
Looking For A Way
Tightrope
Love Surrounding
Walk Between The Raindrops
You Won’t Know It
Words Of The Wise
When I’m With You

Album available on all streaming platforms
Check out the Favorite States at their website

Check out more featured artist stories and latest on our Your Music page

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