For Blue Soul Ten’s Claye Greene, texture and mood are his specialties. His flowing, soulful, always compelling sound portraits are like a door to another world. He continues along these sonic journeys with his new release “The Beautiful Warrior”, a fresh collection of Jazz, Lounge and Soul gems from the artist. This album is simply wonderful. Like Blue Soul Ten’s other previously released, and magnificent works of art, each masterpiece here demonstrates his production skills, musicianship, as well as his melodic, rhythmic, and compositional imagination. I thought “The Fearless Warrior” would be a tough act for Claye to follow. I was delightfully proven wrong with “The Beautiful Warrior”. You will undoubtedly resonate someplace on the scale of emotions with each track of the 11 tracks here. This album is much more than a vessel for technical masturbation – it is a singularly stirring emotional statement dedicated to life, debasing any possible suggested air of aloofness.
If you know Blue Soul Ten, you know the rule is that you can expect great music every time this project puts an album out; “The Beautiful Warrior” is no exception to the rule. This is a stellar effort as always, with top-notch vocals, instrumentation, groove, arrangement, writing, and feel.
Quite often, one aspect of a Blue Soul Ten album stands out from the overall excellence: the bass work. It’s just jaw-dropping tight throughout most of the album. You really can’t help but move to that bass groove. Complete tightness and very memorable lines throughout.
And though the vocalists take often take center stage, the instrumental showcases are of the highest quality, as well. “The Beautiful Warrior” again highlights the reliable ensemble of singers and musicians that has kept the wheels turning impressively for over three albums now.
Claye Greene, the Blue Soul Ten project leader, has been behind the scenes of the music industry for over 20 years. Getting his start as a radio DJ, Claye started producing records shortly after graduating from college, composing and co-writing for several independent acts.
After a long hiatus due to business commitments around the globe, In 2004 Claye launched Greenehouse Music, and returned to producing and composing music. In 2014 Claye began composing music for a self-produced release as Blue Soul Ten, and a year later dropped the project’s debut album titled “The Unspoken Warrior”.
Gathering collaborations with vocalists and instrumentalists from around the world has been Blue Soul Ten’s modus operandi and it assures a large palette of beautiful sounds to enter the album’s atmosphere.
While he continues to raise us to our feet with his downright insatiable instrumental grooves on chillout tracks like “The Beautiful Warrior” and “Drifting”, Blue Soul Ten also elevates our consciousness with his poignant visions and dreams on the superlative female- driven vocal interpretations on “Here I Am” and “Silly Me”.
At a time when Autotune, loops and sampling dominate the airwaves, Blue Soul Ten reminds us of the sheer beauty of the human soul, its voice and instrumental virtuosity. And this is an absolutely, unequivocally and inextricably awesome set in that respect.
It is so much more than just a pleasurable and groovable listen, displaying stoic consistency in structure and finesse that’s merited in both composition and performance. By the time Blue Soul Ten hits the luxurious airiness of the heavenly “Try”, the whole project has already transcended into aural paradise.
The magnificent light and shade of “The Beautiful Warrior” is exemplified by the breathtaking “Rain Fall” which, underpinned by a haunting vocal and slow-burning world beat, is enriched by evocative keyboards and strings. If you like the cool kick-back jazzy downtempo style then you will love “Blue Theme III”, which is both intellectually stimulating as well as inspiring. There is also a hidden track to be found on the album, entitled “Free Myself” (The Greene House Remix), but you can discover that one for yourself!
The smartest thing about Blue Soul Ten is that he does not look to compete with his peers, he sets the bar high for himself in order to ensure his own latest release surpasses his last. Hence everything you would expect from Blue Soul Ten is here. The beats, the vocals, the lush keyboards, the resonant bass and that ever-present mood of dreamily lying in the grass staring up at the clouds as they roll by.
Music exists on a plane and platform always in its rawest and most pure form where it isn’t being motivated by outside influences, and that’s where Blue Soul Ten reaches to find the inspiration for these tracks. He delves deftly into the ingenuity of gorgeous melody and harmonic lines layered gently over distinct but subtle beats, and an overall hazy feel of nostalgia in the making.
Blue Soul Ten is an extremely impressive master of the groove. That is something where he is at the top of his profession. So for the legions of uninitiated Blue Soul Ten listeners, in search of the good groove, “The Beautiful Warrior” is a perfect way to kick-off the early part of 2018.
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