(Chicago, IL -January 24, 2014) What’s undeniable in the newly launched trailer for the musical documentary film, Undeniable: The Story of the Independent Soul Music Movement? To director John C. Jointer and followers of the underground, it’s the talent of over 15 years of independent urban artists elbowing their way for a spot in the harsh industry of R&B and soul music. Names like N’Dambi, Bilal, Quadron, Eric Roberson, Anthony David, The Foreign Exchange, Jesse Boykins III,Raheem DeVaughn, and Yahzarah St. James, may seem familiar to urban music fans, but are not exactly mainstream names, despite several being Grammy-nominated and Billboard hitmakers.
(Chicago, IL -January 24, 2014) What’s undeniable in the newly launched trailer for the musical documentary film, Undeniable: The Story of the Independent Soul Music Movement? To director John C. Jointer and followers of the underground, it’s the talent of over 15 years of independent urban artists elbowing their way for a spot in the harsh industry of R&B and soul music. Names like N’Dambi, Bilal, Quadron, Eric Roberson, Anthony David, The Foreign Exchange, Jesse Boykins III,Raheem DeVaughn, and Yahzarah St. James, may seem familiar to urban music fans, but are not exactly mainstream names, despite several being Grammy-nominated and Billboard hitmakers. With humor, verve, and journalistic seriousness, Jointer sets out to explore and chart the journey of what started this latest explosion of musical entrepreneurship and the collusion of political, financial, and cultural events in the late 90s and early 2000s that moved creators to become business people, even label owners to get their voices heard, garner worldwide fandom, and keep the soul traditions alive. Jointer chronicles the climb for the modern-day soulster, after radio and major labels turned toward pop, techno, and hip hop for hits. More than a local David and Goliath tale, Undeniable reveals a strivers’ phenomenon of international proportions, as artists’ collectively self-reliant attitudes parked mini-movements in urban regions initially just throughout the U.S. But, by the mid-2000s, the American experiment had eventually caught fire across oceans to the UK, Japan, France, Scandinavia, New Zealand—the world, where artists have since founded their own independent soul music movements, making the experience a global phenomenon, one whose past appeared hopeful, but whose sustainable future remains an open question.
In the DIY spirit of his creative subjects, Jointer has launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to capture the rare tales of these new soul pioneers and complete this thrilling production, envisioned in the vein of 20 Feet from Stardom, Before The Music Dies, and My Mic Sounds Nice. The resources raised would support production completion and assist Jointer and his team, which includes SoulTracks.com editor, L. Michael Gipson, and renowned DJ and music journalist, Duane E. Powell of KevinNottingham.com fame, in bringing this inspirational tale of tenacity, hope, and soul to the masses.
Coined everything from "indie soul" to the "Honest Music Movement," Undeniable traces the history of Generation X and millennial artists, promoters, journalists, bloggers, and music lovers from the late 1990s through the halcyon days of the mid-2000s to the lawless rule of today’s crowded marketplace where the collective goal was—and still is—to develop, maintain, and grow a space in the global cultural landscape for this genre-resistant brand of "honest music." In candid, digitally shot, live music showcases and in-person interviews with those present and those pressing the movement forward against impossible odds, Undeniable introduce a range of talented "newcomers" and their music to mainstream audiences.
Director John C. Jointer also uncovers former A-list R&B veterans, from Brian McKnight and Mint Condition to Lalah Hathaway and Rahsaan Patterson, who found a second life at their creative peaks through these new technologically-driven models after essentially being told they were too old or not the new major label prototype for the successful international pop star. Undeniable will juxtapose the plight of fresh young musicians who've never had a major label deal, with those unfortunate souls who were signed, shelved, and unreleased, as well as the big-named veterans represented by large independent labels like eOne, Malaco, Shanachie, and Stax/Concord, or at small indies like Dome, Stones Throw, Giant Steps, and Purpose Music Group after those artists’ mainstream “sell by” date was said to have passed. Their range of stories, bankrolled exposures, distribution opportunities, and points-of-entry complicating whom can authentically claim "independence” in a game where credibility and cultural cache with authenticity-starved fans is as elusive as it is key.
There’s a bounty of compelling narratives for Jointer to unfold. With the Indiegogo crowdsource funding support of longtime devotees of spotlighted artists, fans of soul/R&B music, and curious newcomers just interested in good storytelling and quality documentary filmmaking of unique subject matter, John C. Jointer’s Undeniable: The Story of the Independent Soul Music Movement is an undeniable tale with equally undeniable music waiting to be told and heard.
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