Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators, in the 25th Guitar Festival BCN
The New York-born singer will play in the Luz de Gas on the 9th of March
The soul revival would appear to still be in full force, if recent years are anything to go by. The key to the continuing popularity of classic soul sounds may well be the creativity of a handful of prominent artists with extended careers who have managed to attract the attention of critics and audiences alike: voices such as Sharon Jones, Raphael Saadiq, Lee Fields, John Legend, and the artist who concerns us here, Nicole Willis.
Nicole was born in New York in 1963 and moved to Finland some years ago, from where she has built a fascinating recording career. While it may appear paradoxical in a city with such little connection to the world of soul music as Helsinki, it is there that she has forged a potent alliance with the country’s foremost soul band, The Soul Investigators. The release of Keep Reaching Up in 2005 proved to be a big step forward in her career as the album was very well received both by the specialised press and fans of soul music the world over. As a curious anecdote, in 2012, Barack Obama chose the title track of this album as the central theme for his re-election campaign soundtrack.
In recent years, Willis has continued to produce inspired recordings, one of which is last year’s Tortured Soul which she will be presenting in the Luz de Gas as part of the 25th Guitar Festival BCN.