
Earlier this year we enjoyed and recommended a lovely tight, contemporary soul groove, ‘Always On My Mind’. It was credited to CENTRIC (above) with vocals from KENYA. We learned that Centric is the alter ego of music composer, record producer and one half of the hip-hop duo “Grand Opus”, Christopher Louray Mandujan. Indeed, the ab fab ‘Always On My Mind’ featured a totally organic rap from T3 of Slum Village and that might have put off some of the blinkered, conservative soul crew from investigating. Well, that’s their loss – they missed a great tune!
Right now, Centric is gearing up to release a new album, ‘Love Received’ and it’s flagged up via a classy single, another delicious contemporary soul cut, ‘Begin Again’. Vocals here are down to young Chicago-born soulstress SAKARI who creates just the right mood to complement the groove which Centric lays down. There’s a message in the music too – and it’s as inspiring as the sound! Put simply, ‘Begin Again’ ticks all the right contemporary soul boxes. So, yes, Centric does have a rap background, but, hey, broaden your perspectives and give this lovely track a try… it’s out now via the United Masters imprint and it’ll be on the album alongside the still lovely, ‘Always On My Mind’.