Sweet Soul Records combines Japanese and American Soul

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    (September 16, 2013) SWEET SOUL RECORDS, parent company LIFESOUND, Inc., officially announced the recent launch of their international project, “Make the Change Project,” focused on “connecting the world of soul beyond race and national borders, and all generations” in collaboration with a number of talented independent soul artists from around the world.

    (September 16, 2013) SWEET SOUL RECORDS, parent company LIFESOUND, Inc., officially announced the recent launch of their international project, “Make the Change Project,” focused on “connecting the world of soul beyond race and national borders, and all generations” in collaboration with a number of talented independent soul artists from around the world.

    The project’s intention is to create a movement involving independent soul music artists and their fans by sharing artist talent, resources, and fan bases that will increase awareness across all borders. With their cover album series “SOUL OVER THE RACE,” a collection of soulful classics from the 70’s and 80’s recorded in Tokyo with all Japanese soul singers and musicians, soul music label SWEET SOUL RECORDS reintroduced Japanese soul to the world. The response to their collection has grown well beyond expectations and has helped to draw attention to Japanese soul artists and their label. As a result, they have forged deep connections with artists from more than 20 countries all over the world, and have raised awareness of independent soul music artists in Japan and around the world.

    With “WORLD SOUL COLLECTIVE VOL.1” they selected their most promising independent international artists and created a next-generation world soul compilation album that also included their first original song. That original song was a message to all the independent soul artists, and fans around the world. The message was clear that all artists should all come to together and “Make the Change.” “Make the Change” was a collaborative effort between the talented neo-soul artist Sacha Vee of New Zealand who wrote the lyrics, and featured vocals of newcomer Nao Yoshioka of Japan.

    The overwhelming response was not only limited to Japan, but praise poured in from producers and artists worldwide. This has lead to a worldwide collaborative project involving artists from the United States, The Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand with Nao Yoshioka of Japan completing the connection.

    Collaborating artists include: Brian Owens, the new voice of American soul who has performed at the White House for President Obama. Shirma Rouse, The Netherlands’ Neo-Aretha Franklin. Miho Fukuhara, the wildly popular, new-style Japanese artist. Dani Elliott, talented singer-songwriter who was backed artists such as The Roots and Stevie Wonder. ORLY, the very talented native Australian singer-songwriter now based in New York. Sacha Vee, super-talented singer-songwriter from New Zealand, and Takuya Kuroda, the gifted Japanese trumpeter based in New York who plays a central role in Jose James’ band.

    The “Make the Change Project” officially kicked off in Tokyo, Japan on August 3rd, 2013 with a solo performance by Nao Yoshioka at the trendy nightspot Shibuya LOOP. The first set of performances in the United States included the cities of Wilmington, Delaware, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and St. Louis, Missouri in collaboration with the talented Brian Owens, before moving to New York and performing with the Australian singer-songwriter ORLY. The “Make the Change Project” will make stops in Tokyo, Paris, Marseille, and Amsterdam in early November 2013.

    About SWEET SOUL RECORDS

    SWEET SOUL RECORDS, parent company LIFESOUND, Inc., is based in Tokyo and our main goal is to promote soul music in Japan in all its forms. We are doing this by creating our own brand of soul music, and at the same time, promoting international artists who we feel can help increase the number of loyal Japanese followers by spreading “real music.” http://www.sweetsoulrecords.com/

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