For three days, this house on the Northern California coast served as Gemini Soul’s recording studio for the new CD, Dark Skin Babies : The Movement (to be released Jan. 20, 2009). The house is part of the Sea Ranch colony 100 miles north of San Francisco, known for its environmentally sensitive planning and architecture where homes harmonize with the natural setting of coastal bluffs, meadows and forests of pine and redwood. Deer passed through the meadow in front of the house, munching grass. Percussionist Waahid spotted a white harbor seal on one of his morning walks. We experienced all four seasons during our stay, arriving during an unseasonable heat wave that gave way to dense fog, then wintry overcast and, finally, a brief spring-like rain that cleared to blue skies. Continue reading →
Gemini Soul records new CD
For three days, this house on the Northern California coast served as Gemini Soul’s recording studio for the new CD, Dark Skin Babies : The Movement (to be released Jan. 20, 2009). The house is part of the Sea Ranch colony 100 miles north of San Francisco, known for its environmentally sensitive planning and architecture where homes harmonize with the natural setting of coastal bluffs, meadows and forests of pine and redwood. Deer passed through the meadow in front of the house, munching grass. Percussionist Waahid spotted a white harbor seal on one of his morning walks. We experienced all four seasons during our stay, arriving during an unseasonable heat wave that gave way to dense fog, then wintry overcast and, finally, a brief spring-like rain that cleared to blue skies. Continue reading →
The band is setting up for a rehearsal when Ajamu is shocked plugging in an amp. He awakes to find he has been transported back to the funky 1970s with bell bottoms, platforms, afros, and Soul Train lines. This second music video by jazz/funk fusion group Gemini Soul is an affectionate spoof of that dance-crazed decade. 
Attempting a different kind of music video to reflect its unique take on cyber jazz, Gemini Soul this week released a radical version of the song “Radical.” According to JazzReview.com, “The keyboard driven “Radical” is a vast release of energy.” The video aims to capture the dynamic thrust of the music with genre-breaking images. The song appears on the 2008 CD “The Nefertiti Xperience.” In keeping with the theme of the album, the band is filmed in some shots amidst graceful Egyptian columns. But this is not your ordinary jazz music video. “We want to redefine jazz for a new generation,” says band leader and bassist Ajamu Akinyele. This video may do just that. 
Facebook has overtaken MySpace in number of unique visitors, according to comScore (Silicon Valley Insider, March 18). This news thrills me because I despise MySpace ever since an incident in summer 2006.