About Curtis Harding
Soul isn't a feeling, a sound or a movement. It's a connection, a current in the air -- the spark of recognition, emotions leaping across live wires. It's the way a sinewy bassline steers your hips and eyes to the stranger across the club. It's how a handful of humble words can give millions the inspiration to overcome. It's the genius of a simple chorus that can explain the hard truths you couldn't last time you saw her.
Curtis Harding says that soul music, and his music, speak for themselves. It's self-evident on the Atlanta artist's debut, Soul Power. The driving sound of his electrified Stratocaster, the foot-stomping backbeat and the lyrics swimming in reverb -- with something this flourishing, it's almost reductive to just dig around the roots.
Harding's style was born in Michigan and bred on the road, a restless childhood spent singing gospel alongside an evangelizing mother, then cultivated in Atlanta, where he sang backup for CeeLo Green and befriended the Black Lips (he plays with Cole Alexander in Night Sun).
But, as befits a restless traveler, his music calls one place home, but fits in anywhere. The heartbreaking optimism of "Next Time," a wry breakup tale mapping out a road the protagonists may never meet upon, the bottom-scraping blues of "Castaway," or the wistful affection of "Keep on Shining" could easily be Harding's story, or yours. They're scenes you didn't perform in, but know all the lines.
There's a foundation to the stirring soul Harding has created. "Gospel is inspiring," says Harding. "From hardship and trials, you make something beautiful. It's the history of black people in America, what happened to us during slavery, it's the foundation of blues, R&B, soul, country, rock." But he's not just preaching to the choir -- Harding's out there on the road, singing alongside everyone else looking for something real.
Comments
Explore Nearby
-
1
99 Hudson Street Restaurant and Lounge
Restaurants -
2
Willamsburg Apartments
Hotels -
3
WNYC Transmitter Park
Attractions -
4
Lucky Luna
Restaurants -
5
Grand Ferry Park
Attractions
-
1
99 Hudson Street Restaurant and Lounge
268 Norman Ave -
2
Lucky Luna
167 Nassau Ave -
3
Lucky Luna
167 Nassau -
4
Eden 166 Ilc
166 N 7th St -
5
The Whisk & Ladle Supperclub
secret (Bedford L stop) -
6
Dos Toros TaquerÃa
189 Bedford Ave -
7
Reynard
80 Wythe Ave -
8
Calexico
645 Manhattan Ave -
9
Warsaw
261 Driggs Ave. -
10
Coco 66
66 Greenpoint Ave. -
11
Red Star NY
37 Greenpoint Ave -
12
Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co.
114 Nassau Ave -
13
El Almacen
557 Driggs Ave -
14
Five Leaves
18 Bedford Ave -
15
Cameo Gallery
93 N. 6th St.
-
1
Willamsburg Apartments
104 Roebling Street -
2
Green Point YMCA
99 Meserole Avenue -
3
Henry Norman Hotel
251 North Henry Street -
4
Hotel Le Jolie
235 Meeker Ave -
5
Habitat 101
101 Sutton Street
-
1
WNYC Transmitter Park
Greenpoint Ave -
2
Grand Ferry Park
50 River St. -
3
WNYC Transmitter Park
2 Greenpoint Ave -
4
McCarren Park
776 Lorimer St -
5
East River State Park
90 Kent Ave -
6
Monsignor McGolrick Park
Driggs Ave -
7
McCarren Park
780 Lorimer St -
8
Williamsburg Waterfront
93 Kent Ave -
9
Brooklyn Oenology
209 Wythe Ave -
10
D.O.C. Wine Bar
83 N 7th St -
11
Brooklyn Winery
213 N 8th St
© 2024 NYNY.com: A City Guide by Boulevards. All Rights Reserved. Advertise with us | Contact us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Site Map