Finnish Group Rocks Retro Soul in 'Keep Reachin' Up'

By Oliver Wang

Published July 25, 2007 at 4:00 PM EDT

2007 has sounded a lot like 1967, with the music from such retro soul artists as John Legend and Amy Winehouse gaining popularity.

The sound is quintessentially American — but not all of the artists are.

Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators join the crowd with their debut album, Keep Reachin' Up.

Willis is from Brooklyn. Her band, the Soul Investigators, is from Finland. And their sound smacks of Memphis.

Oliver Wang

Oliver Wang is an culture writer, scholar, and DJ based in Los Angeles. He's the author of Legions of Boom: Filipino American Mobile DJ Crews of the San Francisco Bay Area and a professor of sociology at CSU-Long Beach. He's the creator of the audioblog soul-sides.com and co-host of the album appreciation podcast, Heat Rocks.

See stories by Oliver Wang