The members:
Nadir’s Distorted Soul is Nadir (vocals and guitar), originally from Tennessee but now a Detroit area resident — he is joined by vocalist Tammy Jones from Saginaw, guitarist/vocalist Kris Kurzawa of Northville, bassist Kamau of Detroit, keyboardist Brandon Holland of Detroit and Earl Orr, Jr. from Detroit on drums.
The history:
Growing up playing in school bands and church choirs in Elizabethton, Tenn., Nadir lent several different talents — vocals, bass, production and songwriting — to a diverse set of pop, rock, R&B, folk, jazz and gospel projects. During this phase, he also found modest success as frontman for Dancing With Ellie, a progressive rock band.
Nadir received another break when he joined RCA alternative hip-hop artist Me Phi Me on bass, a tremendous experience for the artist that led to experiences such as opening gigs for Public Enemy and Arrested Development, as well as appearances on MTV and “The Tonight Show.”
Following his last group project with a band called Jack Johnson, who produced tunes used in films such as “Barb Wire” and “1999,” Nadir moved to Detroit to embark on his solo career, soon after releasing the 2005 Detroit Music Award winning Distorted Soul 2.0.
What's up with the name:
Nadir means “rare and unique” in Arabic, and Distorted Soul describes, according to the artist, the style of music, making it a perfect tag for his band, album and Web site.
The style:
The “Distorted Soul” is a hybrid of jazz, rock, blues, funk, folk and hip-hop — drawing comparisons to a 21st century Sly and the Family Stone with influences such as Prince, Gil Scott-Heron, Lenny Kravitz and D’Angelo.
Got anything recorded?
Distorted Soul 2.0 won the 2005 Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Urban/Funk/Hip-Hop Recording, and is available on both CD and MP3 through Nadir’s official Web site found at www.distortedsoul.com. The disc is also available through amazon.com, cdbaby.com. I-Tunes and several other outlets.
Tell us your future?
Nadir’s Distorted Soul hopes to hit the road in 2006, possibly touring the U.S., Canada and Europe.
“We will have lots of new music to introduce next year,” Nadir said. “The primary goal is to keep moving forward, playing high quality, meaningful music and to share it with the world.”
Website:
www.distortedsoul.com
