Distance as a measure of time and place informs Kelly Finnigan’s, A Lover Was Born with a grit and grace that turns passion into virtue. The latest solo release from The Monophonics frontman roots itself in the best traditions of midwest soul labels like King, Curtom, Dakar, and the Bodie Recording Company. A Lover Was Born is a testimony that these deep cut grooves are not resigned to nostalgia, instead, they are at the burning heart of longing and hope.

The journey Finnigan takes listeners on over Lover’s eleven tracks echo the state of motion and growth since his solo debut, The Tales People Tell (2019). These two records bookend a prolific period of output, including a pair of Monophonics albums, a Christmas album, a mixtape, and a full slate of producing and engineering other artists (The Ironsides, Alanna Royale, the Sextones). “There’s nothing like making records,” says Finnigan. “It feels like that’s my purpose — the reason I was put on this earth.”

Written in California, Ohio, and Staten Island, Kelly Finnigan collaborated with old friends in and outside the studio. “I enjoy working alone but it’s not how you want to make a record…almost everybody I brought in for this album I’ve worked with, toured with or spent a great deal of time with.” Max and Joe Ramey (The Ironsides), Jimmy James (Parlor Greens), Sergio Rios (Orgone), Joey Crispiano (Dap Kings) and Jay Mumford (aka J-Zone) all contribute to the overall sound of A Lover Was Born.

Dramatic influences like Isaac Hayes (check out the piano on “Be Your Own Shelter”) and Jerry Ragovoy are chopped and folded into Northern Soul uptempo numbers to create stompers like “Get a Hold of Yourself” or “Chosen Few”. Finnigan’s take on Deep Soul is captured brilliantly on “Walk Away from Me” and “Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)”, while Boom Bap pervades on hard hitters “His Love Ain’t Real” & “Cold World”. Slower songs such as “Let Me Count the Reasons”, the emotional “All That’s Left”, and the soul-stirring album closer “Count Me Out” show the honest and tender side that has become Finnigan’s calling card. All the while, the voice is raw and earthy — in the best tradition of R&B shouters like Otis Redding, Lee Moses, and David Ruffin.

The songs on A Lover Was Born reconfigure the spliced and sampled DNA of hip hop (extracted by crate diggers like Dilla and RZA) to create something new, underscoring both the spectrum and depth of soul while making a case to the timelessness of Finnigan’s sound.

THAVIUS BECKUS | Plug Research, Big Dada

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THAVIUS BECK
US | Plug Research, Big Dada

SUBTITLE
US

Hotel Samar
CH

OG Florin
CH

Audrey Danza
Geneva

Spekki Webu
Delft

Rhodia
Bern

Kwam.E
Hamburg

Lucia Lu
Berlin

Lisa More
Marseillie

Garancina
Lausanne

Mo pepe b2b Grise
Bern/Lausanne

Teuterekordz
Berlin

Saharaa
Bern

Dibbasey
Zürich

Butterflyca
Bern

Schwule Mädchen
Luzern

Kumari b2b Dolce b
Luzern

Rakkas
Bern

Folge der Wolke
München

Antifabi
Bern

Zilla b2b Apostat
Bern

Crème Solaire
Fribourg

Kabeaushé
Nairobi/Berlin

RAUMM
France

Gaouta
Casablanca

Noria Lilt
Fribourg

Norna
Switzerland/Sweden

Morne
Boston

Yakary et Ehro
Lausanne

Théa
Île de France

OG LU
Frankfurt

Asna
Elfenbein Küste

Mi$$il
Mexico

Irié
Bern

Bazzassine
Bern

glitchbaby & kyyiian
Bern

Tendinites
Lausanne

Llueveto
Switzerland/Congo

KA-RABA
Basel

Mezita
Fribourg

LALAcoeur
Bern

GENEVEGAS
Genf

Shazalakazoo
Berlgrad/Berlin

DJ Emina
CH

DJ Balkan Selzer
Bern

Team Scheisse
Bremen

Mal Élevé
Berlin

Osy
DE

MULATU ASTATKE
Jimma

Pöbel MC
Berlin

LUUK
Zürich

PUTS MARIE
CH

Anuk Schmelcher
Biel

Bibiza
Wien

Ultra Sunn
Brüssel

Die Selektion
Stuttgart

Kelly Finnigan & the Atonements
Los Angeles

Ikkimel
Berlin