Hailed by Rolling Stone for “his classic American soul sound,” Lee Fields is arguably the greatest pure soul singer alive today. In an age when the shelf life of an artist largely depends on posturing and trends, he has proven to be an unassailable force of nature. His prolific five-decades-plus career spans more than twenty albums and over forty singles, a supreme, still-evolving body of work that continues to garner attention via samples by such heavyweight artists as J. Cole, Travis Scott, Rick Ross, and A$AP Rocky as well as outside-the-box collaborations like the worldwide dance club hit, “Jealousy,” with French DJ/ producer Martin Solveig.

The North Carolina-born Fields arrived in New York City in 1967, inspired by James Brown’s legendary performance on The T.A.M.I. Show to make himself a soul star. The decades that followed saw Fields grow a hard-earned reputation as a true king of funk with a steady stream of albums and singles, including 1973 ’s stone classic, “Let’s Talk It Over.” Though missed opportunities and changing musical tastes over the years might have kept him from reaching the pinnacle of mainstream stardom, Fields never let up, keeping the soul flame alive with independent releases and non-stop touring on the southern blues circuit.

Raised amid the rich musical culture and history of the San Francisco Bay Area, Monophonics proudly carry the torch through the generations into today’s musical landscape. Holding on to tradition but by no means purists of any kind, they play their brand of music known as “Psychedelic Soul.”

The 2012 release of Monophonic’s last album In Your Brain saw the band pulling influences from such acts as early Funkadelic, Sly and The Family Stone and The Temptation’s Norman Whitfield produced records. With the new album, Sound of Sinning (April 14, 2015, on Transistor Sound Records), the band has grown in all areas of record making and felt a need to explore other important in-fluences. While the group has come to cherish these inspirations, With Sound of Sinning they started venturing beyond, to the groups that were inspiring those soul acts to embrace the psychedelic sound of the 60’s and 70’s. Bands such as The Zombies, The Beatles, Beach Boys, and Pink Floyd. Even with the experimentation of new musical territory, they display the sound that people know and love about Monophonics. Touching on Northern Soul, doo-wop, rock and roll, Psych pop, and cinematic music, Monophonics show off their diversity while remaining true to their roots. Overall it’s heartfelt music and old school vibes, without losing sight of the present.

This is music steeped in that timeless feeling when people could write and produce songs that you could listen to over and over again. Sound of Sinning was produced by Kelly Finnigan & Ian McDonald and recorded on an old Tascam eight-track 1/4” tape machine at Transistor Sound Studio in Marin County.

TICKETS

 “Monophonics has made its name essentially, by creating a nasty score for the greatest blaxploitation movie never made!” – Willamette Weekly Magazine

“One of the best live soul bands I have ever seen!”– Al Bell (Record Producer, songwriter, record executive, and co-owner of legendary Stax Records)

“A new species of music has been developed, something unknown to many, but needs to be known by everyone. A musical animal that will melt your mind, make you move like never before, and leave you frozen in your tracks when you see it.” – MissoulaLive.com

“The missing soundtrack to a Tarantino movie.” – Boise Idaho Music Scene

“It was electrifying. The San Francisco natives describe their style as psychedelic soul and funk. It’s like Booker T and the MGs on acid jamming with Big Brother and the Holding Company behind an angry Otis Redding…on vinyl.” Savoring the Sound.com