In the past, you have brought out openly political tracks such as “Ya Basta”. The graphic artist Lewis Heriz came up with a phoenix, based on a design from ancient Egypt. We tried to depict that inner fire on the CD sleeve. The title is a reference to inner strength, our soul, our passion, which drives us on and pushes us to keep on going. What does the title, Inner Fire, refer to? Our inner strength?Ĭhrétien: The album has a bit more of a connection with the spiritual. Our song “Insurrection”, from a long time ago, developed into a b-boy anthem. But we have had an association with the hip-hop community for a long time. Your first steps in (acoustic) hip hop?Ĭhrétien: I don’t know if I would really call it hip hop. In terms of rhythm, “East Flows the River” and “Celestial Blues” remind us a bit of Chinese Man. Pierre Chrétien: Inner Fire is like a synthesis of everything we have flirted with in the past: the African elements on our early albums, the spiritual jazz of Rising Sun, and lots of tropical grooves on Solidarity. To me, it’s all groove-based music: it’s all related.” When you put all that together, you get the Souljazz sound.
The musicians in Souljazz come from different backgrounds: some of them from jazz, others from soul or rhythm & blues, and others again from African, Latino, or Caribbean ensembles. “You should come to Ottawa some time – there’s lots of really good music there. “It’s a very multicultural country, with one of the world’s highest rates of immigration per head,” Chrétien pointed out. But their kind of musical fusion remains very much the exception in the Canadian musical landscape. Since then, the combo, led by keyboard-player Pierre Chrétien, has brought out albums as regularly as clockwork, every one a gem, both danceable and committed. Their international breakthrough came in 2007, when they had a hit with “Mista President”. The Souljazz Orchestra first saw the light of day in Ottawa in 2005. “The groove is our music’s lubricant,” they told us. On Friday the band will present its new album, Inner Fire, at the Espace Senghor. The six-strong combo effortlessly grafts Afro-beat and highlife onto salsa and Caribbean rhythms, seasoned with a hint of Ethiojazz. On Inner Fire, the different vibes come thick and fast, burning through afro-jazz stompers, highlife flourishes, Cuban bolero sounds, smoldering salsa dura, and even scorching personal rendition of Gary Bartz NTU Troop’s 1971 classic, “Celestial Blues.You could hardly get a less typically Canadian band than the Souljazz Orchestra. “We all have very wide tastes, we’re always digging for new sounds, and we’ve had the chance to work with master musicians from all over, from Nigeria to Rwanda, from Cuba to Haiti, so each band member ends up bringing different vibes and ideas to each of our albums,” explains keyboardist Chrétien. The secret to the band’s sound remains a true openness to global music of all kinds and the individual experiences of the Orchestra’s band members. Recorded using the Orchestra’s signature analogue techniques at their studio HQ in their home city of Ottawa, the new set continues the band’s expansive musical journey as they effortlessly fuse intricate Eastern influences, Afro beats, Egyptian jazz, Latin styles and spiritual elements into their unique musical melting pot. sees The Souljazz Orchestra perfecting their global music fusion, and treading some extremely funky territory while they’re at it. Our favorite globally-minded Canadian virtuosos have finished up a new recording for 2014, and it’s a real scorcher! Inner Fire, the latest from Pierre Chrétien & co. Limited 180g Vinyl Edition (Only in the Strut Store).
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