THE SOUL TUNE ALLSTARS are the studio band of Stockholm’s SOUL TUNE RECORDS. At the core of the band are label boss, keyboardist Niclas Wretelid and Finnish guitarist Mikko Räisänen and we were first introduced to them via a July single, which paired ‘Looking For Trouble’ with ‘Oh Your Love’. The former was a blaxploitation throwback with a vocal from Carlton Jumel Smith and a big production while ‘Oh Your Love’ was a gorgeous old school, soul ballad with a lovely vocal from Maria Sanchez.
Two very different soul flavours going down there and we were intrigued to know more and, we’re happy to say, Soul Tune Records have obliged with a full album, ‘The Soul Of The Viking’. Given the the first single we weren’t surprised to hear that much of the album had a Blaxploitation feel via several instrumentals, some really effective – like ‘Hang On’, ‘Sweet And Sour’ and the organ-led ‘Smiling And Crying’.
‘Oh Your Love’ remains an album standout but the contemporary soul groove that is ‘Love Comes Easy’ (vocal from Desmond Foster) is worth checking out too
