Jay Hurtado and Nambo of Vinyl Soul are relentless DIYers. Their work ethic has brought them tremendous results. And, they’ve accomplished it all on their own.
The ultimate buskers, Vinyl Soul play their unique form of hip-hop Latin soul on the streets, from Hollywood to Japan.
In fact, they toured East Asia for six months on their own dime. There, they played the streets and house concerts, which landed them gigs on Japanese TV, as well as radio airplay and write-ups in local publications. The American Navy even offered them an “all expenses paid” tour the following year.
Upon returning to the states, they won Wrigley’s “Vive tu Musica,” a nationwide battle of the bands, and received 32 hours of studio time in which they managed to record a 15-track album. They then toured Mexico in support of it.
Along the way, Vinyl Soul scored opening gigs for Latin Grammy winner Daddy Yankee at the Hollywood Palladium, and Grammy winner Camila at the Gibson Amphitheater.
That exposure not only spiked their social media numbers, it got them an invitation to open for Grammy winner Natalia Jimenez in Dallas TX, which was a series of concertsfor FOX’s new channel MundoFOX. That led to a nomination on MTV’s Tr3s for “Best Breakout Band Los Angeles,” and the chance to perform at “Oscars Night America.”
This year, they completed their latest self-produced full-length, Dream, which was mixed by Bob Lanzner. (Prince, Snoop Dogg). Visit http://vinylsoulmusic.com.
By Bernard Baur
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