CL6

Putting the words “Essex” and “Soul” together normally induces flashbacks of Ford Cortinas and furry dice in people of a certain age. Thankfully, the soulful Essex boys who make up CL6 are light years away from such cheesy stereotypes.Like most of the best bands, CL6 grew out of friendship. Certain members studied together at high school and college; Francis and Dean were in primary school together, and Cal-I, Miikz (pronounced “Mikes”), Dean and Mark had been attending the same church for years. So when Miikz decided to enter a talent contest some years back, he knew exactly where to look for talent to back him up.Right from the beginning, CL6 made sure their singing was tight. Miikz had seen too many groups fall victim to sound desk blunders and backing tape disasters, so he wanted this group’s singing abilities to be strong enough to ride out any hiccups that could occur while they were onstage. And so, CL6 made acappella their speciality, drawing inspiration from the likes of Take 6 and Boyz II Men… real singing groups.Considering the individual group members’ musical influences, that wasn’t too hard. They were all big Gospel and Motown fans to begin with. In the early 90’s, Cal-I was a big Boyz II Men fan, and used to try to copy the vocal technique of that group’s leader, Wanya Morris. Mark is a Lover’s Rock fan; his other musical heroes include Donnell Jones and Michael Jackson. Dean started singing in the church choir and also found inspiration from Motown legends such as Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. And Francis is a big fan of Brian McKnight and Kirk Franklin. Miikz has been a fan of the gospel group Commissioned – and in particular, their leader Fred Hammond – since he was 14 years old.“Fred Hammond influenced me greatly,” he says. “He made me want to write real songs.”The original CL6 was a sextet comprising Miikz, Mark, Dean, Cal-I and two other friends who later left for other pursuits. Francis was the last member to join (1996), at the suggestion of one of the founder members who left. Through a series of live gigs and PAs, CL6 started to build a reputation amongst discerning music fans. Then just as they began to rise in popularity, the guys took a break to regroup. The hiatus is now over and CL6 are back with a vengeance. They’ve spent the last few months in the studio, enlisting the production skills of multi-instrumentalist Andrew Small (Musical Director on the last Kylie tour). The result is a four-track maxi-single dripping with soul… and no furry dice in sight.By GEORGE LUKE