It’s been 10 years since the Englishman James Hunter burst onto the scene with his U.S. debut People Gonna Talk (GO/Rounder 2006), topping the Billboard Blues chart, earning a Grammy-nomination, and attracting universal acclaim from critics and his fans—including Van Morrison, Sharon Jones, and Allen Toussaint.
Over the last decade, he’s toured extensively around the world on the club, theatre, and festival circuits, steadily growing a dedicated audience comprised of hardened gig-goers, old-school baby boomers, and young hipsters alike. His follow-ups The Hard Way and Minute By Minute (GO/Fantasy), further cemented Hunter’s reputation as a soul powerhouse, heralded for his talents both as a live performer and perhaps even more so as a songwriter, with The New Yorker describing his “tight, taut compositions” as “rooted in American soul music without being bound to it.”
Now Hunter is back with his fourth album, Hold On! marking his debut on Daptone Records, America’s premier soul imprint and Hunter’s second collaboration with famed producer Gabriel Roth aka Bosco Mann. It also marks a cumulative and consecutive total of 48 original songs written exclusively by Hunter, without resorting to a single covered recording. At age 53, Hunter feels he has finally found his home for making music. “The great thing about working with Gabe is that he can get our tunes on tape exactly the way I heard them in my head when I was writing them,” explained Hunter. “It’s a rare thing when a producer knows what you’re going for before you’ve told him. It’s good to be associated with a record company that ‘gets’ us.”
And the feeling is mutual. From Roth’s perspective, “In today’s R&B world, littered with retro-soul cronies, ear-twisting melisma, and hollow affectations, James has a voice that stands out not only for its natural beauty and grit, but for its honesty. His songwriting shares the masterful architecture and the inspired creativity of Smokey Robinson, each rhyme and rhythm crafted meticulously, somehow twisting familiar themes into unfamiliar new shapes.”
In May 2015, James and his longtime trusted bandmates (Jonathan Lee, drums; Lee Badau, baritone saxophone; Damian Hand, tenor saxophone; Andrew Kingslow, keyboards/percussion; Jason Wilson, bass) returned to the Roth’s Penrose Recorders in Riverside, California (AKA Daptone West) to cut Hold On! live to 8-track tape.
Opener: Seth Glier
Despite his relatively young age, MPress recording artist Seth Glier is a seasoned troubadour. A singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who averages over 250 live performances annually, Seth has gone from opening act to headlining his own shows and playing major festivals. He’s shared the stage with artists as diverse as James Taylor, Ani DiFranco, Edwin McCain, Martin Sexton, Emmylou Harris and Ryan Adams, and has quickly become known for his passionate live sets and powerful command of both piano and guitar.
