About This Artist
Joss Stone has been obsessed with soul music since she was a little
girl. By the time she was in her early teens she had begun to
intuitively hone her now trademark gravelly-but-lustrous vocals by
singing along to Aretha's Franklin's Greatest Hits. She began pursuing a
singing career at thirteen, securing a record deal at 15, and recording
her star-making debut album, The Soul Sessions, which
was released in 2003. 10 years on from those stunning debut sessions,
Joss has decided to bring things full circle and revisit where it all
began - with her follow up to that multi million selling debut;
The Soul Sessions Volume 2
is a stunning exercise in vocal poise, passion and power, showcasing
some great songs and an artist at the peak of her vocal powers.
Following her critically acclaimed arrival on the music scene (which
preceded the plethora of soul-inspired female artists that came along in
her wake) things took off for Joss in an enormous way. Her second
record, 2004's Mind Body & Soul capitalized on The Soul Sessions'
commercial momentum and critical adoration and earned Stone three Grammy
nominations, including one for Best
New Artist. It also spawned a self-penned UK Top 10 single, "You Had
Me," and earned her Two Brit Awards that same year. Her third album,
2007's Introducing Joss Stone, was a more independent, less packaged
effort, on which Joss further showcased her songwriting abilities, and
revealed the singer had truly been embraced by the American audience
when it crashed into the US charts at No.2, marking
the highest debut ever for a female British solo artist on the Billboard
charts. With over 11 million album sales to date and a wealth of
experience under her belt, including recent collaborations on record
with the likes of Dave Stewart and Mick Jagger (her latest musical
adventures), 2012 seemed like the right time to return to The Soul
Sessions model from a new perspective.
In her short young life and already long career, Joss has performed
onstage with the likes of James Brown, Gladys Knight, Solomon Burke,
Blondie, Smokey Robinson and Melissa Etheridge among many others. She's
contributed to albums by Jeff Beck and Ringo Starr, played the Super
Bowl pre-game show, performed on the Grammy's, - and indeed won a Grammy
herself! In her twenty-five years she's
participated in more moments of absolute musical wonder than most people
can hope for in an entire lifetime. And she's approached it all with a
sense of independence and joie de vivre. Stone has always been a bit of a
rebel, whether she's dancing barefoot onstage or dyeing her hair
various colors or speaking out on issues she's passionate about, part of
what her fans love about her is that she's a free-spirit, following her
own instincts at all times.
The past few years have seen further albums: 2009's 'Color Me Free'
and 2011 saw two releases – Joss' own debut album release on her label
Stone'd Records, 'LP1', (written and recorded with Dave Stewart) and a
collaboration project, 'Superheavy', with Mick Jagger, Dave Stewart,
Damien Marley and AR Rahman.
Despite some of the dramas that have followed or beset Stone in her
short life so far, it is her approach to music - intuitive and freeform –
merged with the backdrop of nearly a decade of hard-earned experience
in the industry – that characterises the Stone mindset. If she wants to
do
something badly enough she gets it done, no matter what the obstacles –
but only if she's having fun along the way. And she had been thinking
for a while that it would be a LOT of fun to revisit where it all began
and re explore the vibe of the first Soul Sessions album - this time as a
fully formed artist, just turned 25, with the life experience now
behind her that was, by definition, somewhat
limited first time around at 15 years of age. A phone call with the man
who signed her as a teenager, Steve Greenberg at S-Curve Records, and as
is often the case with Stone, an idea quickly became a reality -
The Soul Session Volume 2
- this time as a joint venture between the two. A stellar cast of
musicians, including Ernie Isley on guitar, Delbert McClinton and
original Muscle Shoals Swamper Clayton Ivey was gathered together for an
electrifying session in Nashville.
Stone commented: "I really had fun revisiting The Soul Sessions idea
and I'm really pleased with the results. I've committed long term to my
label Stone'd Records, but it felt right to team up with Steve and
S-Curve again for this release. I think there are some great songs on
the album and I loved performing them with such brilliant musicians - so
I hope people enjoy it."
'The Soul Sessions Volume 2' includes versions of
classic tracks such as '(For God's Sake) Give More Power To The People'
(originally recorded by the Chi Lites) and 'The Love We Had (Stays on my
Mind)' by the Dells, as well as stunning future single 'The High Road' -
a stone-cold soul makeover of Broken Bells' cult hit. Other stand- outs
include a classy version of Womack & Womack's
'Teardrops' and a laid back take Sylvia's 'Pillow Talk'. The first
single from the album will be the uptempo summer sound of 'While You're
Out Looking For Sugar', originally recorded by The Honey Cone. It all
adds up to a stunning album that showcases an assured artist,
comfortable in her skin, and a timely reminder of why we fell in love
with Joss Stone in the first place.
THE SOUL SESSIONS VOLUME 2 IS RELEASED ON STONE'D/S-CURVE (THROUGH WARNER MUSIC UK) ON JULY 23rd IN THE UK AND JULY 31st IN THE US.
FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT DAVE WOOLF/JAMES WINDLE AT DWL ON 020 7436 5529 e: [email protected].
