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Interviews & Features

“My Heart Was Set Free By the Funk…”

On Friday, October 8, after attending an inspiring tribute to Michigan photographer and painter, Jack Whitehead in Ferndale, Chinonye Nsofor – who writes about Earth healing, tantra and music on her blog Calabar Theatre, caught our set in Royal Oak, Michigan.

“I headed uptown to trendy Royal oak for some Funk Vibrations of Nadir Omowale and his band Distorted Soul. Memphis Smoke was the name of the space…”

Chinonye offered some very kind words about us in a post called “Creativity breeds Transcendence.”

Says Nsofor:

What I enjoyed most about this group is the synergy that so easily flowed from them. All the instruments blended together seamlessly creating the perfect funk stew! Continue reading

Battle Creek Enquirer: Forks Fest Rocks World of Sound

Originally Published at BattleCreekEnquirer.com

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They call it “The Sounds of Albion,” but reading the list of bands set to play this year’s “Festival of the Forks” is like globetrotting.

The annual fest kicks off Friday in downtown Albion and runs through Saturday. Sixteen musical acts are booked to play four stages over the two-day event. Jazz, oldies, reggae, blues, funk, soul, tejano and the sounds of the Middle East will be performed by acts from around the Albion area and around the state.

Wrapping up the Saturday set on Center Stage is Detroit’s Nadir Omowale and his Distorted Soul, a confluence of sound on his own.

Click HERE to Read The Entire Article

Saturday, September 18, 2010
Nadir
44th Annual Festival of the Forks
Center Stage
Corner of Superior and Center St.
207 S Superior St.
Albion, Michigan
Nadir’s Showtime: 7:45pm
FREE ADMISSION
For more info please visit:
FestivalofTheForks.org

Take My Funk To The Ballgame – Nadir in Tigers Spotlight

Peanuts, popcorn, crackerjacks and THE FUNK!

Nadir’s distorted soul music was featured at Detroit’s Comerica Park on Sept. 8 as part of the Detroit Tigers’ Detroit Music Spotlight.

This new musically based feature provides a chance for Michigan-based artists to showcase their music in front of thousands of Detroit Tigers fans.

This project combines the efforts of Detroit music scene and social media enthusiasts Tracy Lindsay and Hubert Sawyers III, along with the Detroit Tigers, to expose local music artists, while providing unique and interesting entertainment content at Comerica Park.

Nadir’s music hit a home run with baseball fans and the team as the Tigers beat their division rival Chicago White Sox 5-1.

A Summer Visit to Detroit

Bee Bee White has produced Sharing It With Bee Bee for over 16 years spotlighting organizations and causes that she believes deserve more attention.

On August 14 Bee Bee took her first trip to Detroit where her tour guide, entertainment consultant Gisele Caver, showed her Berry Gordy’s mansion, Hitsville and the Heidelberg Project’s Dancing on the Street Festival. Along the way she meets Judge Craig Strong, Heidelberg Project mastermind Tyree Guyton and some dude named Nadir.

Michigan Chronicle: Majorly Independent Soul Artist Nadir To Perform At Jazz Fest

Nadir Photo by Lisa Luevanos

Written by Contessa Porter

Nadir is a movement and his biggest hope is that his listeners will find their own rhythm and march beside him. Multifaceted musician Nadir says since (he) can remember, music has been an important part of (his) life.

And he has used it to inspire people to action with each lyric. To label Nadir as a neo-soul artist would be neglecting his rock roots; to call him a rock artist would be overlooking his hip-hop and jazz influences. Fully encompassing all the talents that Nadir possesses would be comparable to expanding the mathematical term Pi to its last digit.

Read the Entire Article HERE

In Case You Missed It: Nadir Recorded LIVE on New Soul Sundays

Nadir and Distorted Soul laid it DOWN at WDET’s Studio A for their live performance on Nick Austin’s New Soul Sundays. If you missed the performance and interview you can check them out here.

NADIR & DISTORTED SOUL LIVE AT WDET – CLICK HERE TO LISTEN NOW

Check Out Photos HERE

Nadir LIVE on WDET Radio – New Soul Sundays Aug 22, 5pm-7pm

It’s all about the Power of SOUL!

Nadir and Distorted Soul kick some sweet soul music LIVE on Nick Austin’s New Soul Sunday August 22 from 5pm – 7pm EST.

The guys will play new material from Nadir’s forthcoming album and some old favorites on Detroit’s best new soul music show.

The band is: Derrick Benford (piano), Mahindi Masai (percussion), Tate McBroom (drums), Chris Spooner (bass) and Nadir (vocals & guitar)

Listen LIVE at http://wdet.org/listenlive/ or if you’re in The D, tune into 101.9 FM.

What a great way to cap off a soulful Sunday afternoon…

Sunday, August 22, 2010
Nadir & Distorted Soul
LIVE on Nick Austin’s New Soul Sundays
WDET Radio 101.9 FM
Detroit, Michigan
Showtime: 5pm – 7pm
LISTEN LIVE @ http://wdet.org/listenlive/

City Pulse: Nadir Keeps Funk Grounded In Reality

Originally Published in City Pulse, Lansing, Michigan

Get up. Get into it. Get involved.

Are you going to disobey James Brown? That would be unwise, according to Detroit neo-funk mainstay Nadir.

Nadir gives you funk for your grind and funk for your mind. He reaches into rock, hip hop, world beat and jazz, but keeps his feet planted in goldenage funk.

“James Brown saying ‘Get Involved’ is what our popular music is supposed to do,” Nadir said. “It’s supposed to encourage us and move us forward, not talk about buying a Bentley, Benz or Beamer — none of which is an American-made car, by the way.”

Nadir likes to keep it positive, but right now he can’t stop gnawing on a bone: rapper Lloyd Banks’ hit single, “Beamer, Benz or Bentley.”

Nadir’s cousin, who is in the Air Force, is about to be deployed in [Iraq]. Several friends of his have done multiple tours. One of Nadir’s latest tracks, “Guantanamo,” is a notso-gentle reminder the nation is still at war.

“How can you sit there and talk about my Beamer, Benz, or Bentley?” he fumed. In his view, “keeping it real” has become an empty catchphrase. “Gangsta rappers are talking about all this money they’ve got, and we know everybody is broke.”

Read The Full Article HERE

Nadir on KISS KISS BANG BANG I.S.P.Y.

Nadir was featured in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (KKBB), a specialty newsletter for the alternative music community produced by UNCLE Promotions in California. It includes weekly airplay charts, interviews with alternative radio and record company personalities, and other content geared toward the alternative music community.

A very big thanks goes to our good friend Jane Asher at RadioSophie 103.7 in San Diego for spreading the word in KKBB’s I.S.P.Y. feature. Jane says:

Nadir Omowale embodies the spirit of music. He is a singer, songwriter, producer and social activist. His latest album, “Workin’ for the Man,” is filled with soul-shredding funk and offers an amazing version of Terence Trent D’Arby’s (now known as Sananda Maitreya) “Sign Your Name.” Nadir was just awarded Outstanding Urban Funk Vocalist at the 2010 Detroit Music Awards on April 16th. If Motown had never moved to L.A., this is what it would sound like today.

Coolness! Click HERE to check out the whole Kiss Kiss Bang Bang newsletter.

MusickHead Interview: Nadir Omowale

Detroit writer Dina Peace’s blog Musickhead is “for those special people who love to blow the dust off of forgotten. obscure or underground hits.” Check out our interview:

With the discerning eye of a journalist and the soul of a rock and roll musician, Detroit-based funk disciple Nadir Omowale has made a career of speaking his mind on what is affecting the world and its inhabitants that range from matters of the heart, economics and yes, politics.   Omowale, whose first name is Jonah, encounters a whale of an issue allegorical to the narrative of his famous Biblical namesake with his new musick video, “Guantanamo”.

Read the interview HERE

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