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Nadir

Detroit Free Press: Nadir sees life looking up

Nadir at Church_photo by Marc NaderRachel May: Nadir sees life looking up
Originally published October 4, 2012 in
The Detroit Free Press

His music is a harmonious blend of R&B, funk, jazz, hip-hop, rock and soul. On his latest album, “The Book of Jonah,” Nadir reveals a fantastic collection of songs with a positive message about everyday life.

” ‘Belly of the Whale‘ really sums up the record,” says Nadir. “It gives us the message that it may feel like the end of the world but it’s not. It’s just another day in the belly of the whale.”

“The Book of Jonah” is Nadir’s third full-length solo CD, and he’ll celebrate its release with a performance Friday at PJ’s Lager House.

“A lot of the songs are really inspired by some of the things we’ve been going through here in Detroit and Michigan,” says Nadir, whose full name is Jonah Nadir Omowale.

“It’s not as overtly political as my 2008 record when I was mad at George Bush and angry all the time. This one is a little more hopeful, and even with all of the turmoil that we and the rest of the nation — and the rest of the world, really — have been going through, I see a lot of positive signs and a lot of positive things happening.”

Click HERE to Read the Entire Article at Freep.com

VIDEO: Nadir & The Band Live on Fox 2 Detroit Morning Show – October 3, 2012

Nadir and the band lay down the early morning funk with this performance of “Go It Alone” on Detroit’s Fox 2 Morning Show. The incredible band is (left to right): Jeff Rebrovich on Keyboard, Steve Caldwell on guitar, Jason Bonaquist on drums, Tasha Valdez Lord on vocals, Nadir on vocals and guitar, Ray 7 on percussion, and Christopher Spooner on bass.

Special thanks to Taqqee Khabir for manning the mixing desk; to Steve Caldwell and Nextwave Media Lab for going above and beyond the call of duty with the audio assist; to Nancy Schoenheide-Phares for being the best publicist in Michigan; to the folks at Fox 2 for having us on, and for Toast Ferndale for the great post show victory breakfast.

Be sure to check out the full set at The Book of Jonah Album Release Party on Friday, October 5, at PJ’s Lager House.

Nadir and the Band at the Fox 2 Morning Show - Photo by Nancy Phares

WDET-FM Detroit: The Book of Jonah is Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music CD Pick of the Week

No one knows more about popular music and the magic of radio than Rob Reinhart. “Good radio is now one of the only media that isn’t designed to simply reflect the taste of the user. It’s still a community that brings together lots of different people.”

Rob Reinhart - WDET DetroitRob’s version of Essential Music on WDET FM in Detroit is a three-hour creative mix of old and new, rock and soul, folk and a bit of jazz, thematic elements, humor, exclusive/rare material, from local and national artists alike.

It’s quite a feat which Rob pulls off seamlessly.

On Saturday, September 29, Rob selected Nadir’s new album The Book of Jonah as his Essential Music CD Pick of the Week.

Big thanks to Rob and WDET for their unwavering support of the Detroit music scene!

 

Saving Commercial Radio From Itself

ATTENTION COMMERCIAL RADIO PROGRAMMERS AND MUSIC DIRECTORS:

If you’re looking for a surefire way to bolster your sagging ratings and stave off the full frontal assault on your medium by the Pandoras and Spotifys of the world, ADD MY NEW RECORD TO YOUR PLAYLISTS NOW!

No, I’m not arrogant enough to believe that my album alone could save us from commercial radio’s otherwise eminent demise. But it seems clear that a potent injection of fresh sounds would help lure back listeners who have turned to programming their own iPods or wandered down the dial to community radio in an effort to escape the monotonous repetition of mainstream terrestrial radio.

Two decades of mercurial technological advances are inspiring more great artists to create incredible music in their homes, on their laptops and (gasp!) on their cellphones. Still commercial radio playlists get shorter and shorter. Why?

Consider the tweet below as shared on Facebook by Steve Heath of Alma Artist Booking and Management:

And after the recent decision by US and EU regulators, we’re down to three major record labels. That means a shrinking number of corporate executives will exercise greater control over the music we’re force-fed by mainstream media outlets. As our information and entertainment pie grows, a few mega-companies are slicing up ever larger slices with the intent of stuffing consumer faces with more junk food media.

That’s bad news for those of us who turn on the news because we want to know what’s happening in the world, and who turn on the radio when we want to hear music that satisfies our souls.

Continue reading

Funk Gumbo Radio Video of the Day: Nadir – “95 Miles Down The Road” feat. Mayaeni

FUNK GUMBO RADIO is your ticket to great funk/rock music, playing all your favorites of today and yesterday: Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Betty Davis, TVOTR, Lenny Kravitz, Janelle Monae, and many others. Good luck finding this great collection of artists on PANDORA or anywhere else. It happens 24/7 only on FUNK GUMBO RADIO and the Live365 Network.

The good folks at Funk Gumbo named Nadir & Mayaeni’s95 Miles Down The Road” as their Video of the Day on Sept. 21, 2012.

By the way, have you picked up your copy of “95 Miles Down the Road” on vinyl? Get Yours NOW!

Nadir - 95 Miles Down The Road (feat. Mayaeni) 7-inch single cover

“95 Miles Down The Road”: The Sonic Soul Review in Deutsch

SonicSoulReviews.comJörg Michael Schmit of SonicSoulReviews.com is always in the forefront when introducing the best new soul and jazz music to Germany and the rest of Europe. Here’s what he had to say about “95 Miles Down The Road“, the blistering single by Nadir and Mayaeni:

Der Mann für den kräftigen Ton. Wieder da. Und er hat eine Frau an seine Saite gestellt. Die nennt sich Mayaeni und versteht sich ebenfalls mittels einer rauen Gitarre in Szene zu setzen. Jenseits jedweder Marketing-Strategie pustet das dynamische Duo allzu wohltönende Schwarz-Musikanten aus den Abspielgeräten und schafft Platz für schwerblütigen Rock´n´Soul. “95 Miles Down The Road” ist eine erste Ansage aus dem neuen Nadir Album “The Book Of Jonah”. Übrigens, ich mag´das so, wie es ist.

Click HERE to Read More at SonicSoulReviews.com

Metro Times: Nadir’s ‘The Book of Jonah’ is Fantastic

 

 

The Book of Jonah got another nice review, this time by Brett Callwood in last week’s Metro Times (Detroit). Brett says:

Nadir’s The Book of Jonah (Distorted Soul) is a fantastic piece of work from the man who seems to flit between hard rock, funk and soul in a Lenny Kravitz sort of way. Kravitz is the obvious comparison because of those cross influences, though old Len hasn’t written a song as good as “Belly of the Whale” or “95 Miles Down the Road” (the latter featuring the awesome Mayaeni) in years. Nadir also send his most recent 45’s – the aforementioned “95 Miles Down the Road” and “Go it Alone / Love Thang”. All is fantastic.

Thanks for the good word, Brett!

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Welcome to Detroit, Mr. VP: Joe Biden’s Truck Jacked Downtown

Vice-President Joe Biden joins Mayor Dave Bing, Pastor Marvin Winans, and thousands of Detroiters who have had their vehicles stolen. Welcome to Detroit, Mr. Vice-President.

U-Haul Truck Carrying Biden Gear Stolen in Detroit

A U-Haul truck carrying equipment for Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign event in Detroit Monday was stolen this weekend, ABC News confirmed with United States Secret Service.

Ed Donovan, a spokesman for the USSS, told ABC News the truck carrying equipment was stolen  between late Saturday night and early Sunday morning at the Westin Hotel in Detroit. He would not specify what kind of equipment was in the truck.

Biden’s speech at the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO Labor Day Rally in downtown Detroit will still go on as planned starting at noon Monday.

SoulTracks.com: The Book of Jonah ‘One of the Top Albums of 2012’

SoulTracks.com logo

 

 

If you don’t know, SoulTracks.com is the leading online resource dedicated to classic and modern Soul Music.  From its inception in 2003, SoulTracks has been designed to provide useful information and updates on the greatest Classic Soul artists and to introduce readers to the next generation of Soul Music singers.

Soul Tracks Senior Writer Howard Dukes recently took Nadir’s new album The Book of Jonah for a spin. Here’s what he had to say about it:

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It’s 2012 and Nadir is back with his latest, The Book of Jonah. The title hints at another work of prophecy and judgment. However, The Book of Jonah returns to the thematic terrain of one of the guitarist’s earlier election year releases – 2004’s Distorted Soul, 2.0.

The Book of Jonah features 11 energetic tracks that primarily deal with the artist’s take on love and life. And while [2008’s] Working for the Man stands as one of the best records in the last five years due to its timeliness, The Book of Jonah will just have to settle for being one [of] the top albums of 2012.

Click HERE to read the full review at SoulTracks.com

Songs From Studio East: With Detroit-based musician Nadir

Nadir_on Michigan Radio Credit Logan Chadde / Michigan RadioBy and Jennifer White
Originally Published at MichiganRadio.org

The Book of Jonah is the new album from Nadir Omowale.  It’s a blend of soul music, rock, funk and blues. While there are songs about love and relationships, themes of social and political consciousness carry through the album.

“I never felt like I had to fashion myself into one particular style. I grew up on Prince and The Time and Cameo and all that good stuff, and so funk is all deep within my soul. And I grew up in a small town in east Tennessee, so there were country music influences, there was a lot of Van Halen and rock and roll and so I love all of that music,” Nadir told Michigan Radio’s Jennifer White.

CLICK HERE to LISTEN to the full interview, and to hear more about Nadir’s newest album The Book of Jonah, including the song he wrote with guitarist and singer Mayaeni, titled 95 Miles Down the Road.

And click on the video below to see Nadir performing in our studio:

© Nadir Omowale