Innosphere
Chicago, Illinois, United States | SELF
Music
Press
"Finest Chicago Soul Music... We need songs like this on the radio...Looking forward to their forthcoming works!!"
- The Soul Survivors Magazine (UK-London)
Very fresh work from the Chicago scene – a beautifully basic blend of beats, keys, and vocals – put together with a crisply charming sensibility we really love! These guys do such a good job of getting it right, they make it look easy - Dustygroove.com - Dusty Groove America
An exclusive agreement has been reached between SWEET SOUL RECORDS and TruSoul Entertainmentwhich will pave the way for Japan-wide physical and digital distribution of Innosphere’s debut EP,
"Shine." - PRlog.org
modern-day hip hop producer who just happens to have classical piano chops paired with a sultry and sensuous female vocalist and you will start to get a handle on Innosphere - CentricTV.com
As modern day R&B inevitably continues to migrate toward the pop music spectrum, one can only wonder if the state of R&B is just as troubled as the controversial state of hip-hop. Fortunately, in all music genres, there is still a plethora of keen artists who demonstrate the true meaning of artistry in its purest form. Chicago-based soul duo Innosphere endeavors to do just this with their moving and tantalizing blend of R&B, funk, jazz, and hip-hop. Consisting of producer Kenny Keys and vocalist Nina Rae, the group’s debut EP, Shine is a soothing intersection of raw emotion and deep thought that serenely pours from the heart.
- Okayplayer.com
I never thought I'd be saying this about a CD in 2010, but Innosphere's Shine is the definition of brevity. This 10 track CD checks in at a little more than 20 minutes. That would have been a short record even in the days of vinyl and cassette tapes when the total running time on a record was about 35 minutes. It's not clear how people will respond to a record in which four of the tracks consist of short vignettes of dialogue that find Nina Rae and pianist/composer/producer/deejay Kenny Keys talking, interview style, about their musical philosophies.
- Soultracks.com
Since childhood, Innosphere belter Nina Rae has been obsessed with capturing a particular feeling when she sings. "I'd be listening (to records) and it'd be like, ‘She sound like she in loooove! How does she sing like that?' says Rae. "Then I would try. And I think when you experiment like that, eventually you find your voice."
Working alongside producer Kenny Keys, who provides a range of jazzy, A Tribe Called Quest-worthy musical backdrops, Rae imbues Innosphere's music with a range of emotions, seething about the violence surging through the city's streets on "In the Heat of the Night" and stretching and curling like a feline on a lovelorn "Gotta Be Me." Says Keys, who cut his teeth as a hip-hop producer: "She can go any way with the timbre in her voice. She has so much control."
- Chicago Tribune
Crisp percussion, mellow instrumentals and enthralling vocals.
Those are the three reasons I'm listening to "Gotta Be Me," from homegrown Innosphere right now. If I had to describe it, the vibe is on some Tribe Called Quest meets Lucy Pearl level.
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/kyles-files/2009/06/listening-party-innosphere.html - Kyra Kyles, Columnist - Chicago Tribune
http://centerstagechicago.com/music/articles/innosphere.html - Centerstagechicago.com
"This is my favorite single from the EP... The soothing vocals mesh perfectly with the keys and drums. It's laid-back but not overly so." - Max Herman - XLR8R Magazine/Illinois Entertainer
Innosphere is the merging of Kenny Keys' top-notch production style and Nina Rae's sexy vocals. Set to release their debut EP this year, Innosphere mix jazz, soul, R&B and funk into seductive grooves. The Chicago duo bring innovation to classic R&B styles in what they promise will be a "blast from the past, present and future."
- Elliott Townsend
Discography
EP, "Shine" - November 17, 2009 release date
Photos
Bio
Innosphere Bio
Imagine a modern-day hip hop producer who just happens to have classical piano chops paired with a sultry and sensuous female vocalist with a “where have you been all my life” vibe and you will start to get a handle on Innosphere. Innosphere is pianist/producer/composer/deejay Kenny Keys, who music fans will recognize from his work with Eulorhythmics, Prime Meridian, Rita J., and All Natural, and vocalist Nina Rae, a singer with an old-school jazz and blues background who has also shared stages with the likes of Common and Q-Tip. Together, they are making music that combines their shared funk, hip hop, jazz, and R&B influences with a plan and vision to create something fresh, new, and larger than life. The group dropped its debut effort on the TruSoul Entertainment imprint, an effort Nina Rae calls “a cosmic slop of good music”, which is an appropriate description, as Innosphere is a multi-dimensional project in which no groove is off limits, as long as it feels right.
Innosphere’s first release will be a six-song self-titled EP which will be mostly vocal-oriented tracks with one instrumental added for flavor. The album promises to be a blast from the past, present, and future at the same time and listeners will get a taste of dance, funk, hip hop, neo-soul, and jazz styles, all brought together by Keys’ skillful production. Samples have been sent out to the industry to pave the way for the EP release and “Gotta Be Me” and “Me and You” are the joints those in the know are keying in on and giving the most attention to, although all the tracks here are strong and truly work together as a whole, the way albums used to. There are always a lot of expectations when performers like Kenny Keys and Nina Rae work together, expectations that Innosphere hopes to meet and exceed straight out of the box. Time will tell, as it always does, but early indicators are that Innosphere just may be the most innovative yet accessible act to hit the Chicago urban scene in a long time.
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