BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! meets NPR Tiny Desk Contest On The Road - Thee Sacred Souls | Adi Oasis | The Philharmonik

For Thee Sacred Souls, the first time is often the charm. The band’s first club dates led to a record deal with the revered Daptone label; their first singles racked up more than ten million streams in a year and garnered attention from Billboard, Rolling Stone, and KCRW; and their first fans included the likes of Gary Clark Jr., The Black Pumas, Princess Nokia, and Timbaland. Now, the breakout San Diego trio is ready to deliver yet another landmark first with the release of their self-titled debut. 

“Every step of the way has just been so organic,” says drummer Alex Garcia. “Things just seem to happen naturally when the three of us get together.”

Indeed, there’s something inevitable about the sound of Thee Sacred Souls, as if Garcia and his bandmates—bassist Sal Samano and singer Josh Lane—have been playing together for a lifetime already. Produced by Bosco Mann (aka Daptone co-founder Gabriel Roth), Thee Sacred Souls is a warm and textured record, mixing the easygoing grace of sweet ’60s soul with the grit and groove of early ’70s R&B, and the performances are utterly intoxicating, with Lane’s weightless vocals anchored by the rhythm section’s deep pocket and infectious chemistry. Hints of Chicano, Philly, Chicago, Memphis, and even Panama soul turn up here, and while it’s tempting to toss around labels like “retro” with a deliberately analog collection like this, there’s also something distinctly modern about the band that defies easy categorization, a rawness and a sincerity that transcends time and place.

The French-Caribbean singer-producer (now based in Brooklyn) recently announced her new full-length album, Lotus Glow, to be released March 3. Her first album as Adi Oasis, the album features an eclectic range of guests, including KIRBY, Leven Kali, Jamila Woods and Aaron Taylor. 

On Lotus Glow, the French Caribbean, Brooklyn based soul-funk-R&B artist combines her masterful production, soaring vocal chops and spectacular bass prowess to create her most personal work to date – and also her most political. For Adi, the political themes are unavoidable. “Thematically my new album is fearless, yet vulnerable, and also more political, because I’m a black female immigrant, and these are my truths.”

The album title, Lotus Glow, sums up Adi’s journey, while being a manifestation of her future dreams. “Out of the mud grows the lotus,” Adi explains, referring to the many struggles she has overcome in her life, from growing up in the Parisian projects to being a Black woman in America. “Lotus Glow represents the flower I’ve blossomed into, the artist I’ve worked on becoming all my life. The glow is where I am going next. It’s my destiny.” 

Since going solo in 2018, Adi has earned widespread critical acclaim and a thriving fanbase, partly due to her incredible live shows. Her single “Whisper My Name” was featured in a stunning COLORS debut in early 2021, and she has garnered critical praise from press including Vogue to Rolling Stone, Wonderland, Line of Best Fit, Afropunk and many others. 

She has toured globally, appearing with such artists as Anderson .Paak, Gregory Porter, JUNGLE, Keyshia Cole, Lee Fields, Big Freeda and more, and has performed at Central Park Summerstage, Afropunk, Funk on the Rocks (Red Rocks) and London Jazz Fest.