Beetroot was founded by Fiona Wilkes (vocals), Jason Mills (drums/bass), and Marivaldo Dos Santos (percussion), who met as members of the globally acclaimed percussion performance group STOMP. Wilkes has been with STOMP since its original inception in Brighton, England, while Mills and Dos Santos joined the cast a few years later when the show relocated to NYC. Through STOMPs success, the three have toured in over 25 countries on 6 continents, worked on Quincy Jones grammy nominated album Qs Juke Joint, and appeared in the Oscar-nominated short film Brooms.
The unique rhythmic sensibilities these three honed after years of banging out stripped-down beats together around the world is what Beetroot is all about. Mills, from Appalachian Virginia, and Dos Santos, from Bahia, Brazil, combine the seemingly disparate worlds of Stax-era southern soul drums and Afro-Brazilian percussion to create their own backbeat vocabulary. Their dirty, driving tempo contrasts sharply with Wilkes sweet, smoky vocals, which are steeped in a lifetime of steel bands, soca, and Lovers Rock reggae ballads in the massive West Indian community of Leeds, England. This juxtaposition of musical ingredients from different genres and continents is the foundation of the Beetroot sound.
The recipe is completed by Wynne Bennet (keys) and Jonathan Powell (trumpet). Wynne, a Jersey girl, is a classically trained composition major who, among other things, has recently penned orchestral arrangements for Cassandra Wilson and worked alongside Phillip Glass. Jonathan, who hails from Florida, plays around the NYC area in bands ranging from salsa to straight-ahead jazz to hip-hop. His innovative use of electronics, as well as his ability to serve as a second voice to Fiona makes him Beetroot's secret weapon.
Although the ingredients used to create the Beetroot sound may be familiar, the result is anything but. Their debut full-length album "13", currently available at CDBaby.com, contains songs ranging from Futuristic Soul to Afro-Brazilian Dub, Two-Step Ska to New Orleans Dancehall, all laced with Wilkes infectious melodies and rich harmonies. "13" has already started making waves in the underground and above, having recently been named one of five finalists for Album of The Year (2005) by the Independent Music Awards. In addition, second single "Peel" was among five finalists for Blues/R&B Song of The Year (2005). "13" is slated for a September 20th 2006 release on Trident Style Records in Japan.
PRESS:
"That Beetroot features a creator and two former members of the long-running musical STOMP is probably a blessing and a curse for this urbane soul sextet. The show's powerful rhythmic elements are the solid core of the band's sound: a lean STAX drum sound with echoes of dancehall and Afro-brazilian percussion. But some might assume that that is all there is. Not the case. Singer Fiona Wilkes's Leeds, UK background comes through in her strong '90s-Britsoul voice, which, with the sophisticated trumpet and bass playing, adorns a groove more persuasive than demonstrative."
---Dufresne, VILLAGE VOICE
"A virtual cavalcade of beats and rhythms and soul, Beetroot's 6 members play a tight, infectious, smooth as a baby's bottom brand of acidfunckajazzadelic that ought to play as the soundtrack for a world that not only crosses, but blows up lines of color and culture"
---Jasper Coolidge, jenyk.com
"Music for the soul. Definitely an album for any music lover's collection"
---Jasmyne Cannick, 87.7 FM Fertile Ground, Los Angeles, CA
"Young masters of rhythm, seriously into bass, and the groove, fronted by the sweetest diva this side of the Caribbean. One of my favorite bands."
---Tony Maimone, Bassist / Producer (Pere Ubu, UV Ray, Book Of Knots)
"I love Fiona's voice - and the beats are bangin'."
---Scotty Hard, Engineer / Producer (Black Sheep, MMW, DJ Logic, Wu Tang Clan, De La Soul)
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