Future350 Bossa band leader Stephen Richard Johnson, was once signed to Polydor Records with the new wave band The Victorian Parents. A native of Staffordshire England, he lived in New York City for 18 years and County Cork, Ireland for 2 years, and now resides in Kingston NY. Johnson developed a hybrid of Irish/ Brazilian music on his first solo album Crystalline (2008). Johnson is also a member of Musicians For Musicians (MFM).

Recent CD review here: https://doobeedoobeedoo.info/2018/12/23/cd-review-future350-nu-bossa-nu-bossa-nova-from-kingston-ny/

Photo: Lynne Stone

“Datura Road is a world music ensemble that is combining the sounds of East and West with the energy of the Hudson Valley and greater New York area. Datura Road was created when guitarist, oudist, vocalist, and pennywhistle player, Matt Nobile invited guitarist/mandolinist, and former teacher Raphael Garritano, to work through some songs. Percussionist David Budd was recruited shortly thereafter, and bassist Peter Nobile was pulled in by his son Matt who then became the fourth member. Influenced by western classical and medieval music, and flavored with West African and Middle Eastern music, with a splash of jazz, Datura Road has a world music sound that is uniquely engaging and passionately palatable, achieving the best energy that world music has to offer. Their self-titled debut album contains innovative, fervent and talented performances. Each tune is unexpectedly lyrical and vibrates with deep sentiments of Eastern and Western sounds and colors. Datura Road is a musical celebration of the sounds of the East and the West as they infuse organic polyrhythms, gifted instrumental playing and drums and percussion, built around the exploration of deeply corporeal grooves. The band has a good collaborative feeling and have many guest artists that bring in new colors and sounds throughout the album. A restorative and uplifting listen all in one, meant to be enjoyed and shared. Its beauty is a kaleidoscope of delight.” – By Steph Cosme