Oversoul7

John McGinnis (jmac@ucla.edu)
Mon, 08 Sep 1997 16:13:29 +0100


Dear List (especially those of you in LA),

Saw Oversoul7 this weekend at Frequency and enjoyed them. They sounded
like a Portoisehead type band, female vox over slow beats, spacey
samples, etc. (They did throw in a bit of D/B).

Any information on these guys, are they from LA, do they have anything on
record? (seems that I heard "Nothing Like Tomorrow" on KCRW at some
point)

One problem I had however: here's a lead singer, keyboardist (Rhodes and
a portable hammond) bassist and guitarist all following the beat of a
drum machine (or DAT). It <italic>sounded</italic> nice but didn't
really <italic>move</italic> the crowd - everyone just sort of swayed and
watched. This to me is the result of having no live percussion, be it
congas, Djembe or even an entire kit. With only a drum machine backing up
an entire live band, you lose that live feel, the real groove that gets
inside of people.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good programmed beat to complement an
established groove or even vice versa, but relying on the digital can get
a bit cerebral. I'd rather feel the music in my bones.

(To avoid any misconceptions, I will go to see this band again and enjoy
it again)

To anyone familiar with this band, are there any local bands in LA that
carry the same type of vibe?

thanks.

JMAC