MUSIC MONDAYS - Louis York - Creators For The Culture

#RunTheCulture

Hot off the presses, creatorsfortheculture.com presents to you the first installment of our new weekly series #MusicMondays where we’ll throw a spotlight on unsung creators for The Culture making music you NEED to hear. And for our first installment we’re featuring the band Louis York.

Although they aren’t household names to the public at large, Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony are two of the most well know, respected, and in-demand writers/producers in the music biz. The duo has been working together since 2009 and have created tracks for artists including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Mary J. Blige, and just about every other major R&B or pop act you can think of (including Brittney Spears and One Direction). Major labels and music icons trust them to make hits and their track record speaks for itself, they’re legit.

Louis York formed from Kelly and Harmony’s joint desire to create and sing songs that would better reflect their own unique musical points of view. The group’s name comes from the combination of their hometowns with Harmony hailing from East St. Louis and Kelly repping New York City. In 2015 they dropped their fist single “Clair Huxtable” an ode to strong black women. Subsequently they’ve released three EPs: Masterpiece Theater – Act I (2015), Masterpiece Theater – Act II (2016), and Masterpiece Theater – Act III (2017). Of course they write and produce all the tracks, with Kelly providing the vocals and Harmony playing keyboards, guitars, drums and the vocoder flexing the full range of their musical talents.

Irreverent. Eclectic. Even weird, are all ways Luois York’s music and style has been described. The last moniker being one the group wears with honor as they named their Sony imprinted label Weirdo Workshop. They take their mixture of throwback R&B, hook driven pop, a splash of rock and even African tribal rhythms seriously. They’ve even created an all-female trio in the mold of the classic ’60s soul groups called the Shindellas for their label, producing them in the old-school Motown mold but giving them a harder, stronger edge. So if you’re looking for something familiar yet completely new, groovy yet impactful, check out Louis York.