Old School Soul singer SHANE PHILIPS releases “SELLING OUT”, his highly anticipated fourth release, an uplifting slice of modern soul. Shane Philips has a commanding presence and a voice that resonates from every fibre of his being. There are more intangible credentials of a man with soul; It is in these that Shane’s new album “Selling Out” roots itself, tapping firmly into a new era of consciousness and creativity. Taken from the pages of a Quincy Jones manual, Philips wrote and arranged a lush fifteen string orchestration and brass ensemble to create a wall of sound paralleled only by the great soul recordings of the seventies. On this album, Philips captures the fullness of three years of struggle, made bright with Shane’s elegance, charm and choice to be free. Looking to one’s soul to transcend struggles — these songs capture this potential and Philips delivers. Truly, Shane Philips is an old soul for a new era. “Selling Out” is being well received in the UK and Canada. The track “Hooked into you” has been released in UK on soul unsigned. Here’s some of what UK critics have had to say about it: “This is a soulful winner from Shane! Lovely stuff. Great voice…….” —Jez Bishop, Starpoint Radio UK “What a great track, Love it, very retro sounding and what a voice!” —Allen Powell, Solar Radio- UK “The PR blurb describes “Hooked into You” as an “uplifting slice of modern soul”. We’d add that it’s big, brash, brassy, strong and strident…and yes…it is thoroughly modern but it achieves a distinct 60’s/70’s flavour via a trilling organ solo midway through” —www.soulandjazzandfunk.com The album was written, composed, produced and performed by Philips. It was mastered in NYC by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound (Justin Beiber, Beyonce etc.). Philips’ incredible vocals are complimented by songstress Dionne Taylor on backup vocals and a cast of impressive sidemen. Philips’ performances are indeed inspiring, at the Montreal Jazz Fest, after opening for Corinne Bailey Rae, she commented “I should have opened for him”. Of Philips’ work, The Toronto Star’s Greg Quill says. “Philips is very much his own man and his command of the genre — both as composer and singer of great distinction and emotional power — is impressive” “Selling Out” is Philips’ fourth full length album, and critics are branding it as “bonafide soul”. While Philips, a deeply committed environmental and social activist is involved with many other ventures, his musical career keeps drawing him in to create. Over a decade ago Philips spent a year living in Harlem where he volunteered with a foster care program and took in the music scene there. He returned to Canada to attend university but once again was drawn back into music, this time by Haydain Neal (Jacksoul), who encouraged Shane to leave university to make him the first artist signed to his label, Reprise Records. Philips has continued this balancing act of his music career and social/environmental commitments over the years. “Selling Out” is his stellar 2011 release, but he is having a prolific year. There are two more albums in the works. One is a roots/soul project, Philips as singer songwriter and the other is a political album focusing on social and environmental issues; in the style of Curtis Mayfield a la Shane Philips. Philips is an artist to keep an eye on in the coming years, as his activism and music find a place of convergence. This authenticity is, after all – the backbone of soul music. Philips brings a delightfully modern twist, a message and his tremendous vocal abilities to the genre that is reminiscent of Detroit soul music from the 60’s and 70’s but very much fresh in 2012. For Interviews, high res photos, CDs and further information please contact: Daniel Cooper / Dollartone Danielzephyr@dollartone.com Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.