In My Soul
Candice Monique & The Optics
Candice Monique is a talented & unique vocalist, songwriter and poet whose individual vocal and lyrical style fuses classic and Neo-Soul, Jazz, RnB, Funk, Blues, Folk & Spoken Word. It is this distinctive style along with her stage presence & artistic depth which makes her one of Freestyle Records most exciting & original new artists.
After recording her first demo in Atlanta with producer Professor Griff (Public Enemy) in 2003 and later in New York in 2005 with Jill Scott and Vassy producer, Rich Medina, Candice returned home to Australia and began working on more original material, honing her writing, continuing to perform and refine her already formidable stage craft and the results speak for themselves.
Kicking off her debut album with the sparse, punchy groove of the title track ‘In My Soul’, Candice and her band show how the ‘less is more’ approach can yield fantastic results. The beautiful, mellow and soulful ‘For All Time’ reaches the parts much contemporary RnB often fails to touch with electric piano and sweet backing vocals providing something akin to a Stax style soul groove.
It is Candice’s wide ranging influences, from Bill Withers to Skunk Anansie that inform her musical style and on the dance floor filler ‘Feel The Vibe’ one can really understand that simply recreating old skool sounds is not what Candice is about, this music could only be the product of now, by someone aiming to create quality rather than pastiche.
‘In My Soul’ is a strong, confident debut that draws together disparate influences into a well rounded modern sound that bodes well for Candice and her band. This is where the story starts and it is clear that a remarkable new talent is emerging in front of our ears and eyes!