2018 has been a vintage year for soul albums and one of the many that still stands out is ‘Conversations’ – from DARRYL ANDERS and AGAPÉSOUL. Anders is one of America’s top session bassists… his credits are many and varied but soul fans will know him from his work with Tower of Power and Booker T Jones. In 2010 Darryl struck out on his own with a band that he dubbed AGAPÉSOUL. (“agapé” is the ancient Greek word for “love” in its widest, divine context). Their long player, ‘Believe In Love’ won wide critical acclaim, reaching no. 1 on the UK soul charts.
This summer Darryl resurrected AgapéSoul and ‘Conversations’ was the result; we called it: “an intoxicating blend of soul and jazz garnished with just a touch of gospel”. Amongst the set’s tasty cuts was ‘Kites’ – an upbeat encouragement to find someone to help you chase your dreams. The song has now been remixed (by the Boogie Back team, no less!) and released as a single and the new tweak magnificently underlines the joy and optimism of the original album track! There’s a feel of those great 80s Weekender anthems about it, a great vocal, tight bass lines and, we believe, soul and gospel stalwart Tommy Sims is involved somewhere! Recommended.
