Mahalia Barnes + The Soul Mates is a Bands put together by Mahalia in around 2005. Originally featuring a floating line up of Sydney soul/blues/rock musicians including brothers Clayton and Lachlan Doley, Jonathon Pease, Stu Hunter and a selection of special guest vocalists wherever possible. In 2007, the Soul Mates released their first self-titled EP, followed in 2008 by Volume 1, their first full-length album, a soul revue style album featuring some old favourites with a few original tracks. For the next few years, the Soul Mates toured Australia non-stop, playing supports for the likes of U.S. hip hop greats The Roots, Lionel Richie, UK singer James Morrison and gospel/soul legend Mavis Staples, as well as playing a handful of festivals and headline shows. In mid 2011, the Bands joined forces with Sydney based engineer/producer – Jean Paul Fung (Phrase, BlueJuice, Guineafowl, Birds of Tokyo, Last Dinosaurs), to record a new EP. They spent 3 days at Freight Train studios and recorded the songs live to tape, then added some strings, horns, percussion and backing vocals. The result is and exciting, warm sounding, an organic, tough and soulful record. This much anticipated follow-up to the last Mahalia Barnes + The Soul Mates release – Volume 1, is simply titled Volume 2. This EP is contemporary but classic, heartfelt, soulful music at its finest.
