kashan ray

Soulful, driven and talented, kashan. fuses the vibes and sounds of jazz, soul, and R&B to create simplysoulmusic. simplysoulmusic is the soundtrack to your day off at home or in your car. kashan., creates music that makes your head bob and your shoulders dance, reminding you that good music is still alive. simplysoulmusic is the suggestion of the musical influences of artists such as Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline, Nat King Cole and countless others. This vast array of artists can be heard in the storytelling style of kashan.'s original music with soul stirring lyrics that inspire dreamers, lovers and leaders to change the world around them. As a young kid, growing up in rural west Tennessee, kashan. used music as an escape from shyness. He would lock himself away in his bedroom and become immersed in the finger snaps and rhythms, the drums and guitar; beaten and strummed by soulful lyrics of love, lust, deceit and pain. These songs not only inspired him to dance, but triggered in him the desire to sing. The music also brought forth a dormant talent for poetry and lyrics, leading him to focus his writing towards poetry and songs of experience, travel and self assurance kashan., like many of his influences, grew up singing in the church, but it was his experiences while attending Tennessee State University that helped him realize how important music had always been in his life. It was as a member of the premiere performance group, TSU Showstoppers that he learned to blend his history, talent & passion to detail his journey as a performing artist. kashan. made Nashville his home for several years before making a bold decision to move to New York City in 2007 to fully pursue a recording career. The move to New York facilitated the birth of kashan.’s brainchild, simplysoulmusic, an energetic intersection of music styles and genres. Performing at open mics across New York, he simply billed himself as “The Naked Performer”; naked in the sense of no piano, no guitar, no music, just himself, his original lyrics, spoken word and vocals bared before any audience that would listen. Through performances crafted toward audience participation, he gained the attention of other musically inclined audience members who contributed by clothing the performer in a rich tapestry of musical disciplines that ultimately evolved into the simplysoulband. This collective of talented individuals gather to perform simplysoulmusic and can range from just 1 to 12 individuals, depending on performance needs. All members are artists in their own right and have been collaboratively creating sounds throughout the Burroughs of New York City as kashan. & thesimplysoulband since 2008. kashan. has followed his dreams around the world to perform in Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, Holland and the Philippines, performing both his own original creative music as well as part of several performance groups. In early 2010, kashan. was afforded the opportunity to record his first CD, “shades of kashan.” a compilation of 12 original tracks including live performances, spoken word as well as beautiful, sincere ballads. kashan. is currently working on his sophomore recording and a journal of poetic prose to be released in the coming fall of 2010.