Album of the Week – ‘Come Alive’ by Deep Street Soul

‘Come Alive’ by Deep Street Soul is Eastside Radio’s album of the week.

Here at Eastside we love nothing more than originality, passionate work and good sounds and this week our featured album has it all. To make it even more special it all comes from an Australian band, to say that Deep Streets Soul’s latest album ‘Come Alive’ is funky would be an understatement, this seven-piece band are bringing the very best in heavy funk and sweet soul. If you are looking for an album to get you grooving then this is the one, it really does what it says on the tin it makes you ‘Come Alive’.

Deep Street Soul formed in 2006 as a Hammond led instrumental four-piece, making a name for themselves in the Melbourne Jazz/Funk and Soul scene, it didn’t take long for them to get noticed and snatched up as they were taken on by Freestyle Records (UK) and signed to the label in 2008. The band soon started to get a lot of air time and recognition across Australia and Europe playing gigs in the U.K, France and Spain their journey started to expand and so did the band, adding different instruments into the mix such as a horn section and soulful vocals Deep Street Soul were now a seven piece piece band.

In their third and latest album Deep Street Soul don’t hold back, they have delivered once again with their unique, bursting with energy raw funk sound. The opener of the album ‘Out of the Gates’ is a short less then two minutes instrumental piece to let you know exactly where you are and what your in for, it’s a sign to put on your seatbelt as things are about to get a little bit funky. It’s on the high end of fast paced up-tempo sounds, that for some might be a slight turn off by the speed of it, but for some it’s only a teaser as for what’s to come. We’re then met with their first full track ‘Done me Wrong’ with some nice bass coming from kicks of the drums played by Agostino ‘Soul Loco’ Soldati it doesn’t take long until you realise you’re being transported back to the ‘Swinging-Sixties’, the great voice of ‘Mighty’ May Johnston joins in to get the show on the road and it’s no surprise why this lady is known as ‘Mighty’ May Johnston as her lungs are able to give us high notes that only a great soul singer can give.

Only last month Deep Street Soul’s latest album ‘Come Alive’ was picked as ‘Best of the Week’ by Apple Music so it’s definitely starting to get noticed around the world as an album to watch out for, even better getting funk and soul back on the map.

A track that is full of groove and emotions is the debut single of ‘Soul Comes Alive’, it starts off with sounds you don’t hear that often with Monique ‘Mon Cherie’ Boggia playing the electric piano hitting some deep keys, May Johnston then bursts in with her powerful voice to bring us through a track that is not rushed, it’s not too fast and it’s not too slow, however it still is able to give you that swaying feeling that all good funky soul can bring. ‘Mighty’ May Johnston is quoted saying about this song, “I wrote the lyrics to this song two years ago, I was going through a huge life change. I’d lost nearly everything and was feeling at my lowest, but I knew that If I picked myself up and pushed through everything would eventually be ok. Have to say that without the band…their creativeness and musicality…this song would not be what it is. I can’t wait to share the album with everyone.”

As music fans we all know that when their is personal emotions being incorporated with the pen on the paper for songwriting that it only increases the value and meaning of a track, it gives it so much more potential to connect with the listener. Out of all the tracks on the album this is one I think we are going to hear more of as the record takes flight.

A track that adds some male vocals to the album is ‘The Hardest Part is Knowing’, mid way through the album we are greeted with this, taking it easy style, passionate ballad sung by Joshua Tavares from Melbourne some of you may know him from his work with the funky-jazz group ‘The Mad Hatters’, if you are looking for a song to reflect on heartbreak, or an emotional time then this is the one as it gives us songwriting and singing done in the manner that it should be compared to some of the heartbreak songs we hear nowadays.

Another track off the album that adds a different voice into it apart from Johnston is ‘Love On Tap’ and after the mid-tempo relaxing tone previously by Tavares it doesn’t take long until we are rocked right back to the funk and groove that the band are all about, singing her heart out is Kylie Audits who is known widely for her solo work and also for playing with funk group ‘The Bamboons’. Like the rest of the tracks on the album this track certainly brings an uplifting vibe with late 60’s sounds it makes for a catchy tune to get stuck in your head.

One thing for sure is that this band don’t hold back when it comes to raw funk, if you are looking for an album to show someone of a younger generation what real funky sounds are all about then this has got to be it. With a seven piece band it is not about reaching to the stardom stage that a lot of artists rush so fast to get to, their goal is to produce music with love and groove and they sure are doing that. With a mix of percussion, horns, bass and brass and not to forget the powerhouse vocals of original soul, this is sure to keep your feet tapping and your hips swaying.