Steve Spacek

Inspired throughout his career by Leon Ware, Ronald Isley, Marvin Gaye, and Curtis Mayfield, Steve Spacek’s voice never possessed raw power, but his silky atmospheres were always welcome in an era of flash and overstated emotion. After making two stellar albums of ambient soul with his group Spacek, the London-based singer and producer, born Steve White, set up in California and recorded his first solo album with occasional help from the likes of heavyweight producer Jay Dee and undervalued Motown figure Ware. Space Shift, released in 2005 on the Sound in Color label, retained the dreamy atmospheres of the Spacek albums, but it was juicier and looser, with harder-hitting beats and a relaxed state of mind. After a pair of 2006 EPs for Japan’s Jazzy Sport label, Spacek recorded abstract downtempo electronic music as Blackpocket and Beat Spacek, and collaborated with Mark Pritchard as Africa HiTech. ~ Andy Kellman