Jamie Lidell, Tortured Soul and The Right Now: A Wicker Park Fest After-Party (7/25/09)
“Jamie Lidell has built his career upon surprising people, whether via his on-stage antics, sudden stylistic shifts, or cryptic interviews.” - Pitchfork.com
According to the reviews, Jamie was at various times, Little Richard, Jimi, Otis, Sly, Prince, Marvin, Stevie or some mashed-up combo of them all. Meanwhile, his live show has become an infamously exhilarating experience, with Jamie performing on the edges of control and chaos, turning music inside out. But Jamie likes to remind people that he prefers “Jim,” and Jim will be bringing his upside-down soul sampling to Chicago’s Congress Theater for his biggest U.S. show to date.
On July 25th, 2009, Jim’s Congress Theater set will serve as the finale to Wicker Park Fest, Chicago’s most highly-attended street festival. He will be supported by Brooklyn’s most proficient stew of soul and electronica, Tortured Soul, and Chicago funk staple, The Right Now. Tickets for the 17+ show, presented by Chicago independents Silver Wrapper, Relode, Kingtello Presents, and 3D-Mas, are available at clubtix.net and silverwrapper.com for $20, and will also be available through the Congress Theater box office located at 2135 N Milwaukee Ave.
In 2005, Lidell’s second album, Multiply caught people off-guard, and in 2008, he did it again with Jim (remember what he likes to be called?) Jim is ten very different songs. Jim is energy, integrity, emotion. Jim is all about the hooks. Jim is getting the sounds absolutely right. Jim is keeping things fresh. Jim is the voice. Jim is Jamie and Jamie is Jim.
Recorded in Berlin, Los Angeles and Paris, Jim takes even further what was started with Multiply, finding the balance between the spontaneous creativity of his raw ideas and the careful craft and polish of a great record. The musical world of Jim is richer and more refined; but it always comes back to the gospel grooves, sweetly sung and fiercely passionate soul, delicately moving ballads, thumping early R & B, synthed-up disco, and ‘hillbilly funk’ Lidell grew up on. “I haven’t tried to hide the influences,” he says “This is the music I love.“
Like Jim, Tortured Soul has blazed an amazingly uncommon trail through the world of modern music. Following the early success of their now-classic dance singles “I Might Do Something Wrong,” “Fall In Love” and “How’s Your Life” in 2001 and 2002, Tortured Soul formed officially as a live band and booked their first nationwide tour in 2003. After 5 years of touring, (including stops at Bonnaroo, the UK’s Big Chill, and Java Jazz Festival in Indonesia) their live show has proven capable of rocking the main room during peak hours at Fabric (London), and turning 15,000+ festival crowd at the Montreal International Jazz Festival into a backyard trampolene.
Jamie Lidell: www.jamielidell.com, myspace.com/jamielidell
Tortured Soul: www.torturedsoulmusic.com, myspace.com/torturedsoul
The Right Now: www.therightnow.com