The great canadian Soul and Folk singer FRAZEY FORD is re-releasing her second album „The Indian Ocean“, which already had become a modern classic in the decade of it´s existence, and with three previously unreleased songs from that Memphis sessions as singles.
Back in the 90ies, Frazey had founded the BE GOOD TANYAS together with with Trish Klein and Sam Parton, which they had success around the word with, based on their vocal-centered alternative country and -folk, and being part of the weird folk wave at that time. After pausing with the band, Frazey started her own career and released three much acclaimed albums: „Obadiah“, „The Indian Ocean“ and „U Kin Be The Sun“.
The story of „The Indian Ocean“ first began with filmmaker and writer Robert Gordon who was working on a documentary on Memphis soul, which focused on Al Green and long-time producer Willie Mitchell’s creative home base, Royal Studios. After Gordon heard Frazey’s song, „If You Gonna Go,“ on the radio, he invited her to record at Royal Studios in Memphis. That journey sparked a collaboration that would eventually become the album Indian Ocean…
After years in the The Be Good Tanyas Indian Ocean marked a bold evolution in Frazey’s sound, blending her folk roots with the unmistakable groove of Memphis soul, something hinted at in her 2010 debut solo record Obadiah, but that didn’t become fully formed until working with Al Green’s band, The Hi Rhythm Section. The iconic architects of the famous singer’s instrumental sound helped define the Memphis soul sound at the peak of the Stax era and also happened to be one of Frazey’s favourite bands.
So when the opportunity to work with them came up Frazey flew straight to Memphis despite not really having many songs written. Made up of brothers Charles Hodges (organ), Leroy Hodges (bass) and Teenie Hodges (guitar) the trio lent their almighty talents to help Frazey’s songs find their distinctive groove. Accentuating her sensual and opulent vocals with deep-bottomed bass, subtle backbeats, and soaring organ melodies to infuse Frazey’s songwriting with a rich, timeless warmth. The result is that rare perfect album where every song delivers.
