Up Here, the latest album from the funk-groove trio Soulive, has been available as an MP3 download for a while now. Last week, the album was released on both CD and 12″ vinyl on the band’s newly formed label, Royal Family Records. The CD includes a bonus DVD of footage filmed live in Tokyo last summer.
“This is the Soulive album I’ve always wanted to record. I’ve been hearing it in my head for years,” says the band’s drummer Alan Evans, who, along with his brother, keyboardist Neal Evans, and guitarist Eric Krasno, founded Soulive in the late ’90s. Up Here was recorded in Alan’s Play on Brother Studio in Hatfield, Massachusetts last fall. The drummer also tracked and mixed the record, which includes guest appearances by vocalist Nigel Hall and horn arrangements from long-time collaborators Sam Kininger and Ryan Zoidis.
Soulive has a handful of summer dates still to play before they officially begin their fall tour with a September 12 show at their own festival, the Royal Family Get Down. The lineup for that event features Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, the Charlie Hunter Trio, and Nigel Hall. Guitarist John Scofield will sit in with Soulive for the group’s headlining set. The fall tour is anchored by a high-profile gig at the Monterey Jazz Festival and a four-night stand at Yoshi’s in Oakland and San Francisco. For more information, go to www.royalfamilyrecords.com.
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