Featured Artist: Satya Project

Satya Project is the fruit of collaboration between Marcos Sainz and Juan Galiardo. These two musicians met in Boston during their studies at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, and after years of composing, arranging and live performing they finally bring us "Shine a Light", their first album work. Satya Project's music is a blend of Pop, R&B and Funk, young and elegant music featuring both female and male singers where equal amounts of attention has been paid to instrumental and vocal parts as well as to the message behind each song.

The repertoire, arrangements and singer combinations make Satya Project's sound varied and eclectic. Satya Project's first work, "Shine a Light", contains two tracks sung by Kelli Sae (singer of Incognito and Count Basic). It includes the participation of musicians such as Mark Whitfield, Miguel Gandelman, Darren Barrett, Bernd Voss, Tito Alcedo, Marcos Vigio, Manolo Nieto, Alexei Gordeev, Aaron Bellamy, Louis Cato, Keko Baldomero, Juan Diego Mateos, Lolo el Pajaro, Samantha Nelson, Ettore 'Thor' Dulay, Lucas Vidal, The City of Prague Filharmonic, Marcos Sainz and Juan Galiardo.

Album Review - Shine A Light

The Satya Project are a lose aggregation that operate out of Boston. They were put together by New England musos Marcos Sainz and Juan Galiardo and both bring their respective Filipino and Latin roots to this most enjoyable 12 tracker that was recorded in places as diverse as Seville, Madrid, Prague, New York and , of course, Boston. Sound wise they remind me of Groove Collective (remember their delicious 'Lift Off’?) or even Tower of Power in their mellowest moments … even a restrained Earth, Wind And Fire. The music is generally, laid back and laconic with just enough jazzy brass work to maintain interest throughout.

The opening cut, ‘Stranger Here’ probably best defines their sound. Other enjoyable cuts include the rolling ballad that is ‘Dearest Sun’, the breezy ‘Bora’s Bounce and the funk groove that is ‘Durain Groove’. Modern soul folk will be interested that the ever-love;y Kelli Sae features on two cuts - the busy’ Karma Wheel’ and the sleek, jazzy’ Truth And Love’. Ballad lovers will delight in ‘The Sweetness of You’ – the best straightforward real soul cut on the LP. Hints here of those wonderful Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway collaborations –and I can’t see anyone not loving it. Simple soul folk, however, might find some of the tunes too complex for their bouncy castle complexes – but for the sophisticated and adventurous, there’s lots here to enjoy.

Bill Buckley

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Satya Project: Shine A Light