Mutch Katsonga

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Mutch Katsonga...

... is the main songwriting force behind The Indie Soul Movement with a natural flair for rhythm and melody.He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist in the group. He is also a published author. Born in Zambia, he initially became obsessed with music while still an infant by immersing himself in his parents' record collection. The thing that always grabbed his attention was not so much genres of music but rhythms,melodies and instrumental dexterity.
As a teenager he formed his first band with some church friends and it was during this time that he nurtured and cultivated his songwriting talent and melodic craft, starting off aged 15 by writing jingles for a local Radio DJ.He had already written alot of the current Indie Soul Movement songs such as "Say What You Mean" by age 19.The story of The Indie Soul Movement began a year or so later while at University in London. A demo reached the ears of Dale Olivier of Matchbox Recordings UK.Olivier,a musician himself and influential figure at Matchbox Recordings wrote an article about the music, heralding the style and sound as the beginning of a new indie soul movement,meaning soulful music with guitars at it's core,driving it along.The demo track in question can be found on a matchbox recordings CD entitled "Rise Up"(www.matchboxrecordings.co.uk/riseup).

In 2003 an advert in a local publication for a lead guitarist caught the attention of Maciek Pysz. His virtuoso guitar style,effortless yet engaging was the perfect ingredient for the live act which consisted of Luke Henderson on bass guitar and Mutch on rhythm guitar and vocals at it's helm .A versatile and adaptable act from the out-set The Indie Soul Movement have performed on the London gig circuit as a duo,trio and quartet with additional personnel on percussion and drums depending on the nature of the gig.
It was with the core line-up of Katsonga,Pysz and Henderson that "The Indie Soul Movement EP" was recorded in 2004 and the debut independently produced LP "Jagged Edge Frontier" in late 2005/early 2006.The Indie Soul Movement signed a distribution deal with The Orchard/Turmic Records to distribute their first 2 releases.This saw their music become available on all major online music stores.Other musicians who have lent their skills to consummate the sound since 2003 have been Marcus Skinner( bass guitar),Pascal Roggen(violin),Simon Wharry (percussion),Rafael Martinez(lead guitar),Mathieu Seybald(bass guitar),Pierre Heelio(Drums),Freddy Gulino(Lead Guitar),Nirut(Lead Guitar).The Indie Soul Movement have been performing and garnering Kudos on the London gig circuit since 2003 and have played at The Notting Hill Arts Club,The Legendary Hope and Anchor in Islington, Ocean in Hackney, an Earls Court Tsunami Benefit alongside Howard Jones and Sound in Leicester Square, to name but a few.It was at Sound in Leicester Square that they met german business man Dirk Bertelmann who immediately saw the great potential of the group and would become a key figure in the progress of the band.It is he who would set up and maintain the bands first official website which saw them reach a massive online audience across the globe.The Indie Soul Movement stayed on the upper reaches of the Overplay Unsigned Urban/RnB Chart for months with songs like "Letting Go","There may Come a Time" and "Colder"(www.overplay.co.uk)
Mutch has also done guest vocals for other artists and has recently been approached by David Singleton of Discipline Global Mobile(DGM).The company run King Crimson's back catalogue and work closely with legendary guitarist Robert Fripp.Mutch is providing lead vocals on a new project that will be released in the near future, and will also feature enigmatic soul genius Lewis Taylor, who is a major influence on the group as a whole. In 2007 Mutch moved to Melbourne Australia where he began writing new material.The new songs, largely stripped down affairs that recieved warm,positive reviews in the US also got airplay in the US & Canada.With The Indie Soul Movement performing extensively as an acoustic duo in Melbourne, the new songs recieved resounding critical acclaim, that saw The Indie Soul Movement perform live on Australian television and reach the grand finals of the Melbourne Fresh Industry Showcase Talent Contest. Mutch Katsonga continues to record solo material under the stage miniker Indie Soull. He continues play live in New York and Australasia and has been consistently releasing new material all of which continue to be available at most major online stores including itunes,amazon,Nokia Music Store and more recently Billboard.com

The Indie Soul Movement have been compared to Seal, Lighthouse Family, Tracy Chapman and George Michael, but truly have their own fresh and exciting sound that sets them apart from the crowd."

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