2007-08-26 August 25, 2009

Every week gets better and better at sub:culture – the new downtown after-work-and-after party bringing together exceptional people through exceptional music!

sub:culture @ Tailor NYC – 525 Broome St (@ 6th Avenue) – Friday nights from 7pm to 3am – Always FREE Admission! This Friday, we celebrate the life of our friend DJ Dominic Brando aka DJB @ Tailor from 7pm – 3am. We’ll be partying only in Dom’s true style – with an acoustic live performance from Lydia Rhodes, readings from Manny and Anthony, and sets from DJ Shifty, Jon Martin and Gant Johnson. Let’s make this a special one and come out in full force for our “boy” – to share in his life through laughter, memories, madness and music – just the way he would want it!

Last Friday’s fun was broadcast live and is still available in the archives on CyberJamz.com! Check it out and enjoy really fantastic sets from DJs Delmar Browne and Phil Hooton!

more info/audio @ www.obliqsound.com

some press:

“Groove is something you either have or you don’t, and if groove were water, you’d have to go to Michael Olatuja’s concerts with scuba gear.”
-Jazz Inside NY

“What a curious cocktail of African music, jazz, soul, and gospel Michael Olatuja has cooked up on Speak…. Put it all together and it shows Olatuja to be an excellent composing talent with a great future.”
-All Music Guide

“Speak unquestionably speaks the potent language of music on a soulful level….highly recommended listening.”
-Soultracks.com

“Speak is a stunning debut from a talented artist.”
-Soulmatters Mag

“…a mix of hip hop, neo-soul, and sultry r&B/jazz that soothes the soul.”
-Jamati Online

“This cat, who’s come seemingly out of nowhere, made a record that reveals a talent far beyond merely being able to pluck a four-stringed instrument….It’s worth keeping tabs on Mr. Olatuja to see what he will do for an encore.”
-Somethingelsereviews.com

“Speak sounds fantastic…I’m only sad I wasn’t playing on it.”
-Jools Holland

“Michael’s virtuosity and musical diversity make him one of the most unique bass players around today”
-Peter Cincotti

British/Nigerian bassist Michael Olatuja debuts his vision as producer, composer, arranger and performer on Speak, just released on Backdrop/ObliqSound.

The album features musical influences and guests from each spot Olatuja has hit around the globe, including his childhood in London and Lagos, Nigeria, and professional years in London and New York. Speak incorporates such hallmarks of traditional African music as the talking drum and hand drums (conga and djembe), call-and-response vocals and the Yoruba language, while working comfortably with musical vocabularies more familiar to Western ears: neo-soul balladry, modern jazz, deep groove, R&B, and gospel. Led by Olatuja on bass, the album features several singers who alternate on lead vocals: Eska Mtungwazi, Andrew Roachford, Terri Walker, Onaje Jefferson, TY, Michael’s wife Alicia Olatuja and the late neo-soul artist Lynden David Hall.

At Joe’s Pub, Michael Olatuja will be joined onstage by a full band, including David Rosenthal on guitar, Oli Rockberger on keyboards, Ulysses Owens on drums, and Alicia Olatuja, Charles Anthony Bryant and Lauren Dawson vocals.

Olatuja has toured and recorded with stars such as Lisa Stansfield, Terence Blanchard, Chaka Khan, Patti Austin, Stevie Wonder and many others.

Michael Olatuja’s deep spirituality and unshaken belief in the power of the positive lies at the heart of every track on Speak. It makes perfect sense that he titled the album what he did: Speak speaks volumes, and it speaks to everyone.

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“The lines between Middle Eastern music and jazz are there to be drawn. Ornette Coleman has played with the Master Musicians of Joujouka, and Pharoah Sanders recorded an album with Maleem Mahmoud Ghania, of the Gnawa tribe. Now, Moroccan vocalist Malika Zarra is arriving at this crossroads from the opposite direction, infusing the music of her native culture with jazz. Her self-released debut CD, On The Ebony Road, mixes rhythms from Berber and Gnawa music with jazzy improvisation and smooth, seductive vocals. improvisation and smooth, seductive vocals.”
–Global Rhythm

Anyway, I’ll be regularly updating my new blogs, calendars, music reviews and project portfolio, so be sure to register (I’ll be giving registered members special bonus stuff).

My 7th annual 30th birthday party will be a private function at a secret location so email me if you want to come!

 2007 was not the best year – either for myself or most of the people I know.  In addition to the untimely losses of my friends Adam Goldstone, Willi Ninja, Mel Cheren (see In Memory section for more), I’ve been dealing with personal obstacles throughout the year.  I recognize that these obstacles are there to overcome, or at least “put in check”, but that knowledge unfortunately doesn’t make the process any easier.  So, as I embark upon this new journey, in this new year, I would like to take a moment to say “Thank You” to those who’ve stuck with me through some hard times, and to apologize for not being as accessible or engaged during the past year as I usually am.  Please understand that it’s not personal – I’ve had to distance myself from practically everyone and everything that matters to me in order to pull myself together and remain remotely productive. 

 Hopefully, the new year will also bring relief and will be a time of unity and strength for all of us!