When one of the best singers around links with a big band, the result is epic as the impact of R&B/Soul reaches new heights on "Soul Encounter". Singer Ola Onabule joins The SWR Big Band to get you swinging in a revisit to some of his best songs. The vibe is lively and electric as these two musical powerhouses display their sophisticated R&B persona over a series of exciting tunes. Music isn't just a normal memory, but instead a remarkable encounter as Ola's powerful vocal presence meet the jazzy grooves and big sound of The SWR Big Band.

"Ola’s 7th album, SEVEN SHADES DARKER, is a modern classic. Grooves undoubtedly rooted in the Soul and Blues of the late sixties and early Seventies make an unlikely but easy peace with mournful, complex African melodic lines. Seemingly conventional 4/4 grooves beguile with inviting familiarity whilst slipping potent lyrical nuggets under the radar of our assumptions. Ballads are new requiems, odes to the passing of loved ones, funky jaunts document the ebbing away of precious time, and deal with jealousy, cowardice, loss of identity and the world through the eyes of an unwanted visitor set to the galloping gait of an African church hymn.

What sets “SEVEN SHADES DARKER” apart is Ola’s lyrical sensibility, poetic in tone and attuned to the issues of the day; as Ola puts it himself, “Though my music is of a different idiom, I write with the heart of a folk songwriter and the desire for my lyrics to be heard and read.”

Ola has shared stages with some of the world’s finest soul and jazz artistes; Al Jarreau, Dianne Reeves, Joe Zawinul, Roberta Flack, Natalie Cole, Roy Hargrove, Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle. Now a regular presence at some of the world’s premier festivals and concert halls, Ola looks forward to building greater inroads into the Americas and Asia while hoping to play a modest role in raising awareness of the issues afoot in our globalizing world.

The Press say Ola possesses “…a stunning voice of enormous range and emotional clout.” His voice is “beautifully clear and appealingly textured, almost classical …with a range and elasticity to match his rich tonal qualities.”

Ola is currently recording his 8th album (in the UK and NYC) and is working with Innsbruck Records Management in the states to promote his new music along with an extensive tour to continue building his international presence."

- Review by Ola's label Innsbruck Records