Standing in the Rain

'Standing in the Rain' is the terrifically accomplished sophomore album from one of New Zealand's best-loved soul-funk bands - Opensouls! It is a concept album, made with the intent to reflect the sound and feeling of a musical era; late-50s, early-60s British and American R&B. Inspiration was drawn from traditional songwriters such as Lennon and McCartney, Smokey Robinson, Holland/Dozier/Holland and Van Morrison. Consequently, the album has an unmistakable vintage quality, reminiscent of Motown in its heyday.

The song lyrics, about falling in and out of love, lend a more contemporary feel with Hammond's honeyed voice crooning effortlessly above an irresistibly hip-shaking, swinging beat. While some tracks are deliciously languid and conjure up images of smoky speakeasies and bourbon-supping old-timers teasing tunes from pianos, others are pure rambunctious modern pop-rock infused with 60s style R&B.

Opensouls' aim was to create an album that involved the entire band performing 100% of the time. Unlike their 2006 debut, 'Kaleidoscope', with drum programming and computer sequencing, 'Standing in the Rain' was tracked entirely live by the band's rhythm section and recorded at Jeremy's Spare Room studio at his home in the AK suburb of Westmere. The band didn't want a polished, expensive studio sound - after studying how old soul records were made, they used basic recording gear, pushing it to its full potential, obtaining a raw, gritty quality.

Bruce Lynch, who has worked with Kate Bush, Cat Stevens, Dave Dobbyn, Herbs and Anika Moa, arranged strings for many of the songs. Legendary LA producer Dave Cooley, who has worked with Queens of the Stone Age,
Smash Mouth, J Dilla and much of the Stones Throw roster, mixed 'Standing in the Rain' - and has mastered all Opensouls' material released. In keeping with the band's vision for a blend of old and new sounds, the record was mixed using a combination of old vintage analog equipment with new digital equipment.

Formed in 2002, Opensouls have steadily risen through the ranks of the New Zealand music scene since beginning their combined musical journey. Comprised of 2 vocalists - M.C. Bjorn Petersen and singer Tyra Hammond - and a live band including Jeremy Toy a.k.a. Ota (guitar/MPC), Julien Dyne (drums), Chip Mathews (bass), Steph Brown (keys), Scott Towers (saxophone), Isaac Aesili (trumpet/vocals) and Harlin Davey a.k.a. DJ Buttafinger (turntables), the collective possesses an abundance of musical flair and experience which they used to great effect on their critically acclaimed debut album, 'Kaleidoscope'. Now 'Standing in the Rain' solidifies their standing as a top-shelf NZ soul band.