Mojoflo

In a digital world of mp3s, iPods, and online listening services the Columbus based neo-funk band Mojoflo is going old-school. The band's first release of 2011 will be a 45rpm vinyl single due out on April 1st.

The A side “Home To You" is a mojo-fan favorite. It's an up-tempo James Brown inspired groove that details a musician's long trip home after a gig. The song features a heavy drum break, a scorching performance from lead vocalist Amber Knicole, and band hits that would make JB himself proud!

The B side is “Dance" which finds the group getting in touch with their pop sensibilities. The combination of catchy song-writing and signature soul-grooves results in an irresistible call to the dance floor straight out of Motown.

In order to get an authentic vintage sound the group traveled to Ante-Up Audio in Cleveland, OH. The band used equipment and recording techniques from the 60's and 70's in order to obtain a gritty, old-school sound.

The band's keyboard player Tim Magree explains, “We set up the whole band in one room. What you hear on the record is a live performance, captured by vintage microphones, and recorded straight to analog tape. Nothing digital touched this music until the manufacturing process began." The result is a record with a funky, feel-good vibe that will take you on a trip to way back when.

The single will be released with a bang Friday April 1st at Skully's Music Diner in Columbus, OH. The show will also kick off a national tour in support of the release. Mojoflo will be touring all throughout the south, east-coast, and mid-west in the next 3 months. Check out mojoflomusic.com for the full schedule of shows.

The single will be available for sale through the band's website mojoflomusic.com, at select local retail stores, and as digital downloads on iTunes and all other major online music retailers. - AllAboutJazz.com

In this increasingly digital world, many people may not recognize a cassette tape, let alone a vinyl record. Yet some bands, such as Mojoflo, are still keeping it old-school.

A Columbus-based group with a funky, Motown-esque sound, the band used analog recording for its latest single.

“We set the whole band up in one room. What you hear on the record is a live performance, captured by vintage microphones and recorded straight to analog tape,” said Tim Magree, the band’s keyboardist. “Nothing digital touched this music until the manufacturing process began.”

Mojoflo, which is a common visitor to Athens, will be releasing a 45 rpm vinyl single tonight at Skully’s Music Diner in Columbus.

Along with a personal preference for listening to vinyl records, Walter Kolhoff, one of the band’s trombonists, said the band decided to use analog recording — or recording straight to vinyl — to help capture an authentic soul sound.

“The end product is very organic and grooves in a way that often gets lost in translation when using (digital recording tools),” Kolhoff said.

Although the band is based in Columbus, it had to travel to Cleveland to record.
The band recorded both songs in a single recording room at Ante-Up Audio. In order to get the authentic, gritty sound the band was looking for, it used equipment and recording techniques from the ’60s and’70s.

The result is a 7-inch single called “Home to You/Dance.” Although the two songs will be available as digital downloads on major online music retailers such as iTunes, the vinyl is available for purchase on the band’s website, www.mojoflomusic.com. In addition, the record can be purchased at the band’s shows and at select music retailers.

The band will be making a trip to Athens on its spring tour, playing at Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery, 24 W. Union St., May 20.

Tonight, Mojoflo will take the stage with Athens favorite First Street Heat, Columbus-based The Floorwalkers and Funkdefy, an old-school disk jockey group.

“We’re always excited to play with Mojoflo,” said Jon Elliot of The Floorwalkers. “They are great friends of ours and some of the most talented musicians in the city of Columbus.”

Elliot also commended Mojoflo on taking the vinyl route.

“They are doing something that I believe everyone in this music community wishes they could do,” Elliot said. “That’s just the kind of band they are.” - The Post - Ohio University

The A Side track "Home to You" is an up-tempo James Brown inspired groove that details a musician's long trip home after a gig. The song features a heavy drum break, swirly organ, nasty horn passages and the usual sensual command of vocalist Amber Knicole. The flip side is "Dance" a song with a similar feel that harkens to the Motown pop classics. - Melt Magazine

Thursday, June 3, 2010
By Chris DeVille
Mojoflo has never been about grand concepts or narrow focus - their free-flowing hopscotch from jazz to blues to funk to hip-hop to rock is more about satiating the diverse musical palate of an eight-piece ensemble. Versatility is the name of their game.

One thing they have in common, though: They jump at every chance to rock an audience, hone their chops and have a hell of a time.

"We're all like-minded in that respect," guitarist George Barrie said. "We want to play out."

They certainly have made a habit of it. Mojoflo is a Columbus mainstay little more than two years since emerging from jam sessions among Capital music students. A group that once played out about twice a month now juggles three to five gigs a week, including weekly residencies at the Bexley Monk (Tuesdays) and the Second Wind Lounge (Sundays).

All those shows have made Mojoflo a brassy, sassy force to be reckoned with and prepared them for the grueling all-day recording session that birthed "Whatcha Think About That?", the group's second EP, to be released Friday at Skully's alongside sets from The Floorwalkers and Stretch Lefty.

The band retreated to Lexington, Kentucky, with producer Austin Briggs to bang out eight tracks in 17 hours. They returned a few weeks later for a 20-hour marathon mixing session.

"It was good hell," singer Amber Knicole said. "I haven't had hell like that since my musical theater days."

Next up after the new EP: A pair of vinyl singles, some regional touring and eventually an "old-school" LP in the vein of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
- Columbus Alive

By Kyle Reisz
June 2, 2010
Summer weather in the capital city is finally hitting its stride and nothing accompanies these long, warm evenings better than the eight piece Columbus outfit Mojoflo. The groovy funk stylings the band puts down instantly cast an infectious spell of festival-like vibes onto anyone within earshot. Veterans of Comfest and regular performers at a host of other Columbus outdoor events, the band is gearing up for their busiest season yet.

"We've been together for about two and a half years, and the gigs have just steadily grown," said George Barrie, the band's guitarist and vocalist. "Originally, we were playing just once or twice a month, playing for peanuts, not making any money, and now we're playing just about five nights a week, anything from bars to weddings."

The band released their first EP last year and this Friday they will follow it up with their new full-length disc, "Whatcha Think About That?" To record it, Barrie and other members Amber Knicole (vocals), Tim Magree (keys), Jake Levy (drums/M.C.), Walter C. Kolhoff (saxophone), Charles K. Scott (bass), Kevin Bourassa (trumpet) and Evan Oberla (trombone) headed into the studio for a few long days with audio engineer Austin Briggs, who also produced Columbus-based Six Gallery's latest album.

"We did a couple days locked out, just nothing but playing and recording. We did 17 hours the first day and 20 hours the next, and I would never recommend doing that," Barrie said with a laugh. "It was all eight of us in that studio, plus Austin and a few house engineers, so yeah, it was a full house in there."

What came out of those sessions was a simmering mix of the band's signature sound.

"We are pretty eclectic, so describing our sound is tough, but I usually say it's groove-based soul, funk music with a little bit of hip hop," said Barrie.

To formally debut the new album, the band is hosting a CD release party June 4 at Skully's Music Diner with The Floorwalkers and Stretch Lefty, and they are even including a copy of the disc with admission. While the recorded tracks on the CD are very tight, the band's live performances can vary widely from show to show, creating a unique and unpredictable experience each night.

"Our songs aren't completely worked out all the time, some songs we play straight and some we make up as we go," said Barrie.

That improvisational nature comes from the members' mutual love for jazz, and it's one of the defining influences on their sound.

"We all got into jazz pretty early on, and that influence, and I think that kind of brought us all together," Barrie said.

But jazz isn't the only characteristic of this versatile group. The band stretches across a spectrum of sounds, and to truly understand it, a live show is essential.

"There is a little bit of something for everybody in our sets, and if you're trying to groove we can definitely do that for you," said Barrie.

[Event Info]

CD release show

June 4

10 p.m.

Skully's Music Diner

Admission: $10 and includes a copy of the CD - UWeekly

They went from jamming in the Con at Capital to playing gigs as a no-name band before coming together as Mojoflo in December 2008.

Original members George Barrie (guitar/vocals), Walter Kolhoff (saxophone), Charlie Scott (bass), Tim Magree (keys/vocals) and Jake Levy (drums) met through Capital University's Conservatory of Music. The group has grown into an eight-piece band, including Evan Oberla on trombone, Kevin Bourassa on trumpet and lead vocalist Amber Knicole.

After playing funky Christmas carols at the Bexley Gateway, it became apparent that the band needed an identity.

"We were throwing around words, and someone said mojo, and then George threw out Mojoflo," Kolhoff said. "We called Tim immediately, and then Charlie. And Charlie hated it."

"I like it now," Scott said. "Mojo is a prefix for everything in our lives. Mojohouse. Mojotrailer."

So what exactly is a "mojo" sound? Kolhoff describes it as soul, jazz, R&B and funk.

"You make us sound like we're a smoothie," Levy said.

"A musical smoothie!" Scott added.

Well, they're certainly smooth. Tracks like "Move Slow," featuring intense beats and Knicole's undeniably sexy voice, attest to Mojoflo's increasing professional potential.

Two years, one EP and countless grooves later, Mojoflo is planning big. With the four remaining student members set to graduate either in December or this spring, they'll no longer be constrained to Columbus-area performances.

"We're committed to making this a successful enterprise. We're planning on putting all our efforts behind it, and with school being done, we'll be able to do that," Kolhoff said.

The group began recording a full-length album in Aaron Oakley's 1008 Studios last week, set for release this summer. A tour is also planned to coincide with the album release.

Though Capital can be credited with bringing them together, their music has evolved thanks to spending lots of time performing together - usually three to five nights a week. As most college students are struggling to balance work and play, the undergrad members of Mojoflo are balancing work with more work.

"It's like a full-time job," Kolhoff said.

Scott admitted: "I've pulled all-nighters the past two Sundays."

by Beth Sharb - Columbus Alive

Mojoflo: It's as fun to listen to as it is to say. Just as the name flows off the tongue, Mojoflo's sound brings funk to any place they go. This soulful R&B septet hails from Columbus, but has strong ties to Toledo. Featuring Amber Knicole as lead vocalist, George Barrie on guitar/vocals, Tim Magree on keys/vocals, Jake Levy on drums, Walter Kolhoff on saxophone, Charles Scott on bass and Kevin Bourassa on trumpet, Mojoflo isn't your typical 2000s band. If I didn't know better I'd say they came straight out of 1974. Playing both horn-driven instrumentals ("Mojo Strut") and vivacious ditties with accompanying lyrics ("Waiting"), Mojoflo successfully mixes elements of jazz, funk, hip hop and rock into an eclectic groove they can only call their own. Having released their debut EP Waiting last April, Mojoflo quickly developed a solid following in Columbus. According to the Toledo-born Kolhoff, the band has big plans for the upcoming year. Help them start it off right on Saturday, February 20 at the Village Idiot. 10 p.m. $5 309 Conant St., Maumee

By: Emily Rippe - Toledo City Paper

The MySpace page for Mojoflo describes the fledgling jazz, soul and R&B group's music as "Funk/Jungle/Healing & Easy Listening." Lead vocalist Amber Knicole says the group has been "criticized and congratulated" for its eclectic playlist. And, although she's not entirely sure how "jungle" made it on the list, she says the band's sound has certainly helped her to heal.

Stricken with the heartbreak shed' accrued from relationships gone sour while an undergrad at Capital University, Knicole - who confesses her musical ability is limited solely to singing- penned "Crying." It was with this song in hand that she arrived at her first rehearsal, in early 2008, with a band of young guys she didn't know.

The music they created transformed her writing into something she describes as magic. "I had gone through so much when I wrote it," she says. "To hear it musically-to hear it come together-these guys who I had really just met took something so sacred to me and something so special and so much a part of my soul, and they really took care of it. And took care of me in making that song beautiful."

Needless to say, there was some chemistry.

Two years late, the seven-member band (mostly Capital grads, as well) consists of a saxophinist, trumpeter, occasionally a trombonist and even a hip-hop rapper who goes by the name G. Finesse (how's that for eclectic?). It's working on its first full-length album, which might be released this summer. (Mojoflo's EP, Waiting, was released last spring.) In addition to playing regular shows at the Bexley Monk and Vonn Jazz Loung, drummer Jake Levy says the group is "trying to pick up the pace and trying to get out of town and on the road as much as possible."

Knicole shares his excitement. "We're looking at getting on some tours and festivals...It's gonna be an exciting year."

Ben Zenitsky - Columbus Monthly