“A Cosmic Slop of Good Music…”
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.
Chicago-based 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’s debut album “Shine” on the Tru Soul Entertainment imprint and released worldwide including Japan, is 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 – Gotta Be Me (Official Video)
Innosphere’s first release “Shine” was a ten-song album which is a blast from the past, present, and future at the same time and listeners got a taste of dance, funk, hip hop, neo-soul, and jazz styles, all brought together by Keys’ skillful production. “Gotta Be Me” and “Me And You” were the joints those in the know gave the most attention to, although all the tracks here are strong and truly work together as a whole, the way albums used to. There was a lot of expectations when performers like Kenny Keys and Nina Rae worked together, expectations that Innosphere met and exceeded straight out of the box.
For the Japan release of “Shine” extra bonus tracks, “E Z,” “Better Days,” and “Love Me 4 Life,” were added exclusively for the Japanese market making the album unique for the Japanese soul music lovers.
Since the release of their album in Japan, Innosphere has also been featured on SWEET SOUL RECORDS’ first compilation album, made up of talented international artist, WORLD SOUL COLLECTIVE VOL.1 and distributed worldwide.
For more information on the album in Japanese, check out Innosphere’s artist page on the SWEET SOUL website, or in English at their Innosphere Facebook page.
