The Soultronics was an R&B and

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from Soul music, soul ...

supergroup formed in 2000, which served as the

backing band A backup band or backing band is a Band (music), musical ensemble that typically Accompaniment, accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a Studio recording, recording session, and the ...

for musician

D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...

in 2000 during

The Voodoo Tour ''Voodoo'' is the second studio album by the American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, released on January 25, 2000, through Virgin Records. D'Angelo recorded the album during 1997 and 1999 at Electric Lady Studios in New ...

, the supporting tour for his second studio album ''

Voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * West African Vodún, a religion practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

''. Several members of the group, including drummer

Questlove Ahmir K. Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American drummer, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thought ...

of hip hop group

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

, keyboardist James Poyser, trumpeter

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved critical acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles ...

, and Welsh bassist

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A session bassist, he has played bass for a number of acts such as the Who, the John Mayer Trio, Gary Numan, Paul Young, Don Henle ...

, had previously contributed to D'Angelo's ''Voodoo''Peisner, David.
Body & Soul
. ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'': 64–72. August 2008 and are also associated with the

Soulquarians The Soulquarians were a rotating collective of experimental Black music artists active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Initially formed by singer and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, drummer and producer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, and p ...

musical collective. Along with performing during the tour, The Soultronics contributed to '' Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti'' (2002), a charity release inspired by the music of

Afrobeat Afrobeat (also known as Afrofunk) is a West African music genre, fusing influences from Nigerian (such as Yoruba) and Ghanaian (such as highlife) music, with American funk, jazz, and soul influences. With a focus on chanted vocals, complex i ...

artist

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerians, Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre t ...

.Discography: The Soultronics

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

. Retrieved on 2009-09-30.

Background

On January 25, 2000,

released his second studio album, ''

'' (2000). After releasing several singles, he and his label,

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

, decided to go on a several month worldwide tour,

. D'Angelo decided to surround himself with a group for the duration of the tour, composed with artists close or not so close surrounding. Because of its composition, The Soultronics is considered a supergroup, composed of artists who are themselves already part of a group, or from different musical origins. The large-scale group consisted of up to thirteen members. Although created for D'Angelo's tour, the group was actually created by three other artists and close friends of D'Angelo's:

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson Ahmir K. Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American drummer, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thought) ...

, James Poyser and

, all of whom contributed to ''Voodoo''. Questlove and Poyser, along with D'Angelo, are members of the neo soul collective

and although Palladino was never officially part of the group, he was a very active collaborator, and worked on many of these artists' albums. During the tour,

J Dilla James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

and his group

Slum Village Slum Village is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. The group was formerly composed of the rappers Baatin (1974–2009), T3, and rapper / producer J Dilla (1974–2006). J Dilla left in 2001 to pursue a solo career with MCA Record ...

opened on several dates, while R&B singer Anthony Hamilton sang backup within the Soultronics on occasion.Collar, Matt. Biography: Anthony Hamilton Allmusic. Retrieved on 2008-11-30. Hamilton was joined as a backup singer by Shelby Johnson and Jack "JK" King III.

Tour and aftermath

The performances during The Voodoo Tour earned rave reviews from several music critics and publications, receiving praise for D'Angelo's energy and "charisma as a live performer" and the Soultronics group,Columnist
Corner(s)tones of Neo-Soul: D'Angelo ... A Story So Far, Part 1
. JazzandSoul. Retrieved on 2008-12-20.Hilburn, Robert

''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved on 2008-12-20. while earning comparisons to outings by the legendary funk bands

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and

Sly & the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel, and R&B, became a pivotal influence on subsequent Amer ...

.Bell, Tanya.
D'Angelo Serves Up Pure Unadulterated Soul
. '' The Gazette'': August 3, 2000. On one of the live outings, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s

Touré Touré is the French transcription of a West African surname (English transcriptions are '' Turay'' and '' Touray''). The name is probably derived from ''tùùré'', the word for 'elephant' in Soninké, the language of the Ghana Empire. The clan ...

described the appearance of the performers, stating "The Soultronics begin each show in all black, but beyond that one requirement, each looks completely distinct. One man is in a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

's robe, another in a long

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

with a knit ski cap that says

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

. There’s a

feather boa A boa is a fashion accessory that is usually worn wrapped around the neck like a scarf. Feather boas are most common, although modern boas are most often made with synthetic feathers. Construction A boa can be made of fur, but it is usually ...

, a few badass leather coats, and Questlove's mighty

Afro The afro is a hair style created by combing out natural growth of afro-textured hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" '' Ebo ...

. There's a P-Funkish freaky flair to the Soultronics' look."Touré.
D'Angelo Is Holding Your Hand
". ''Rolling Stone'': May 2000. The group was broken up at the end of the tour; the tour started in early 2000 and ended at the beginning of late 2000 when D'Angelo's issues towards performing worsened. A live album and a Soultronics studio effort were set for after the tour, the latter of which Questlove had stated that "

t will be T, or t, is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is d ...

funk with a feeling. This was a very, very hot band, and we feel like it has a lot more potential than what we got to do during 'Angelo'stour."Graff, Gary
D'Angelo's Works in Progress

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

. Retrieved on 2009-09-30. However, hopes for both releases waned as D'Angelo's problems with alcoholism escalated, and impatient Virgin executives cut off funding for his expected third album in 2004.

Band Members

Although some artists only participated sporadically during the tour, its members included: *

Chalmers "Spanky" Alford Chalmers Edward "Spanky" Alford (May 22, 1955 – March 24, 2008) was an American gospel, jazz, and neo-soul guitarist. Alford was born in Philadelphia. He was well known for his playing style, utilizing chord embellishments. He had an illustrious ...

* Jacques Schwarz-Bart * James Poyser * Anthony Hamilton *

Russell Gunn Russell Gunn (born October 20, 1971, in Chicago) is an American contemporary jazz trumpeter. He grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois playing trumpet. As a kid his musical interest was hip hop, with LL Cool J being his first music idol. His project ...

* Shelby Johnson *

Frank Lacy Frank Lacy (born August 9, 1958, Houston, Texas) is an American jazz trombonist who has spent many years as a member of the Mingus Big Band. Career Lacy's father was a teacher who played guitar with Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, and Eddie Clea ...

Jack "JK" King III

References

External links

D'Angelo & The Soultronics: "Send It On" (Live)
at

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soultronics Musical groups established in 2000 Contemporary R&B supergroups