(August 13, 2023) You’ve heard of Philly Soul and California Soul, but what do you get when the two merge? PhilaFornia Soul. That’s how Grammy-honored artist La Rombé (which rhymes with Bombay) refers to his brand of R&B/Soul.
La Rombéis a singer/songwriter/producer from Philly now based in L.A. whose musical journey has connected him with The Delfonics, Funkadelic, Motown producer Frank Wilson, New Birth, Curtis Mayfield, and singer/guitarist Keb’ Mo’ with whom he collaborated on Mo’s 2004 Grammy-winning album Keep It Simple.
Our newest First Listen is a duet La Rombé performs with Jazz/Neo soul/Pop vocalist Cha Cha Pope called “Incredible.” He explains how this duet came about: “In 2017 I thought I had completed my new album “Bunnys Boy” [which is a reference to his father, jazz drummer Bunny ‘The Beat’ Baker] when it dawned on me that I had failed to have a duet in the set, which is something I had done on previous projects. So I had to bump a song from the album and write one, which turned out to be “Incredible”, inspired by my favs, James Ingram and Patti Austin. In 2023, I decided to update the album track and release it as a remix single.”
“Incredible” is a smooth, midtempo song with a vibe similar to duets by Kindred The Family Soul. The lyrics capture the joyous feeling of finally finding love after believing it was impossible to experience. The chorus goes this way:
“It’s so incredible, the way I’m feeling
And you’re responsible ‘cause your love is so pleasing
It’s so incredible, how deep you touch me
Had my doubts that it was possible ‘cause love always eluded me”
Check out the full song here and welcome La Rombé back to SoulTracks.
By Darnea N. Samuels
