Soothsayers bring us a collection of standout songs built around classic three-part harmony vocals and deep afro-dub grooves on their new album, Human Nature, on Red Earth Music. Unforgettable melodies and reflective lyrics representing Soothsayers' irrepressible spirit and honesty that has seen them build a reputation for high quality performances and recordings over recent years. Human Nature is another step forward for a band that has evolved and matured whilst maintaining a fresh and organic live quality in their recordings.
On past records, Soothsayers have worked with established vocalists from the worlds of reggae and afrobeat (Johnny Clarke, Keziah Jones, Michael Prophet, Linval Thompson and most recently Cornel Campbell), but this album is a platform for Soothsayers' unique vocals to take centre stage, resulting in a blend that serves to make Soothsayers sound yet more iconic.
The voices of Robin Hopcraft, Idris Rahman and Julia Biel provide the focus in a subtly changing landscape of deep, dub-inspired reggae and afro grooves, with ever-present commentaries from the horn section (the full 'Fela Horns' line-up that provided the horns for the National Theatre's production of the hit musical 'Fela!'). As instrumentalists, Rahman (saxophone/clarinet) and Hopcraft (trumpet) have worked collectively on a huge array of projects including the internationally acclaimed jazz albums of Zoe Rahman (Idris' sister), space jazz pioneer and Specials originator Jerry Dammers (Spatial AKA), international reggae artists Aswad, U-Roy, Rico Rodriguez, Indo Jazz clarinetist Arun Ghosh, as well as Afro-Jazz pioneers Osibisa, poet Anthony Joseph, horn posse Brassroots and soul legend Martha Reeves.
The high quality musicianship has been captured in Prince Fatty's Brighton studio. The result is a sumptuous, warm, analogue sound quality. Mixing has been put in the hands of reggae producers Manasseh and Yesking, who have embraced Fatty's quality set up and crafted a subtle and cohesive set, paying respect to the greats while finding an originality in Soothsayers' recipe which sets the record apart. Also contributing mixes are Raz Olsher (Giles Peterson/Sam and The Womp) and Malcolm Cato (Mulato/Heliocentrics).