The Ray Mann Three are Australia's troubadours of minimal Soul music. Three well-dressed cats: sitting, jamming, sketching with minimal strokes; inhabiting a world of their own, but inviting you to visit – and maybe stay awhile.
- LIVE -
The live shows of The Ray Mann Three and of Ray Mann (solo) have earned them spots supporting international acts such as Al Green, Tori Amos, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Jamie Lidell and Roy Ayers, and local acts ranging from Ash Grunwald and The Bamboos to Kate Miller-Heidke and Holly Throsby. From the band's humble beginnings in 2005, playing regularly around the secret nightspots of Sydney, The Ray Mann Three developed its sound, look and live show in particular at their monthly late-night residency at Tonic Lounge in the Kings Cross district. In 2008 the band started playing its first shows outside of Sydney, and soon gained a "must-see" buzz, regularly selling out shows around the country, earning Ray Mann an invitation to perform solo (alongside Lior and US guitar legend Derek Trucks) at the 2008 Adelaide International Guitar festival, and having the band's live show televised nationally on "Live At The Basement" on ABC TV.
- RECORD -
After leaving his role of longtime lead guitarist in Sydney band Kid Confucius in 2008, singer/songwriter Ray Wassef went on with bassist Byron Luiters (who now also plays with John Butler Trio) and drummer Bart Denaro (since replaced by Grant Gerathy) to release a debut album, The Ray Mann Three: recorded in three days, produced by Tony Buchen, the album blends soul, jazz and hip-hop with timeless songwriting that calls to mind Al Green, D'Angelo, The Beatles and The Roots, and perfectly captures the band's warm, intimate sound.
- INTERNATIONAL -
Meanwhile, as the band has quietly gone about building its underground following in Australia, the sounds of The Ray Mann Three managed to reach the ears of record label P-Vine in Japan, who signed the band and released the debut album in Japan in May 2009 - where, twelve months later, the band visited for the first time to perform at Greenroom Festival 2010 (alongside Arrested Development, G. Love & Special Sauce, Blue King Brown and more). The band's three digital-only EP releases in 2009 featured remixes by international producers Regal (ex-Wiseguys, UK) and Jamie Lloyd (Germany).
- ART & VIDEO -
Spring 2009 saw singer/songwriter - and visual artist - Ray Mann debut in yet another new territory: the art world. The Ray Mann: Art Exhibition in Sydney was the first time that various sketches, designs and videos Ray has created for the Three over the years were displayed together in a gallery. Prior to this, Ray had already created a series of music videos for $50 each, featuring live action and animation, in support of the series of digital-only singles the band has released since the album. The first, 'Smile', was featured on Japanese TV's Billboard Top 40 show. The second, 'Hook Me Up', was 'Indie of The Week' on Rage on ABC TV in Australia. In 2010, the Ray Mann: Multimedia Show has evolved to feature a unique combination of the live music, video projections and art of Ray Mann.
- More at www.ray-mann.com -
- QUOTES - "The Ray Mann Three fuse D'Angelo's sex appeal with the grit of Tom Waits" – Sydney Morning Herald / "The Ray Mann Three have the ability to propel you into a higher sphere allowing your soul and intellect to waltz into the lofty clouds of the unique" – Drum Media / "Classic soul music with a modern twist. The musical atmosphere's right for a band like this to break into the bigtime" – The Brag / Feature Album – PBS Radio (Melbourne) / Feature Album – RRR Radio (Melbourne) / Indie Album of the Week – The Brag (Sydney)
