Grammy Nominated Soul Artist Sugaray Rayford Returns ‘In Too Deep’ Explores Love, Loneliness & Social Issues
Drops March 4, 2022 via Forty Below Records
UPDATE JAN 23rd, 2022: LISTEN to New Single “Please Take My Hand”!
Sugaray Rayford is back with In Too Deep, a modern take on retro-soul that explores the themes of love, loneliness & pertinent social issues of today. This collection of poignant material will drop via Forty Below Records on March 4, 2022.
A chance meeting in Memphis in 2018 laid the groundwork for a unique musical partnership between soul-blues powerhouse Sugaray Rayford and producer, songwriter Eric Corne. Combining classic soul melodies with funky R & B grooves, raw blues power, and mashed-up with modern sensibilities, the pair’s first collaboration, Somebody Save Me, earned Rayford a 2020 Grammy nomination. Later that year, Rayford took home Blues Music Awards for ‘Soul Blues Male Artist’ and ‘B.B. King Entertainer of the Year.’
The summer of 2021 took things further, with the release of the adventurous new single “Homemade Disaster.” The song found its home on multiple retro-soul and new blues playlists on Spotify.
Now they are back with In Too Deep, Rayford’s second full-length effort for Forty Below Records.
The album opens with “Invisible Soldier,” a song inspired by Rayford’s struggles with insomnia from PTSD. The track serves as a reminder that our cities and communities are full of veterans struggling with the aftershocks of war and how it’s invisible to most fellow citizens because they’re in plain clothes.
Corne’s production paints unique vignettes with each arrangement to suit the mood of the lyric and Rayford’s deft interpretations and portrayals. Corne enlisted some serious heavyweight friends to help him orchestrate the strings and horns on the record, with violinist Eric Gorfain (Dionne Warwick, REM) and from Rayford’s current band saxophonist Aaron Liddard (Amy Winehouse), respectively. Also on hand are three mainstays of Corne’s studio work, Taras Prodaniuk (Lucinda Williams), Matt Tecu (Jacob Dylan), and Sasha Smith (Priscilla Ahn,) along with Rayford’s live Musical Director Drake “Munkihaid” Shining.
At his core, Sugaray Rayford is a galvanizing uniter. His live shows are wild dance parties. Some conversations may be had, and some self-reflection may occur, but people leave feeling a sense of joy and togetherness at the end of the day. This shines through on the album’s closer, the slinky, funky “United We Stand.” Then, as the album fades, Rayford takes us home with concert banter and good vibes, a feeling that lingers, tempting the listener to hit play again.
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