The Soultronics
| The Soultronics | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United States |
| Genres | Funk, neo soul, R&B, soul |
| Occupation(s) | Supergroup, backing band |
| Years active | 2000, 2002 |
| Labels | Virgin |
| Associated acts | D'Angelo |
| Members |
James Poyser Pino Palladino Questlove F. Knuckles Jef Lee Johnson Roy Hargrove Russell Gunn Frank Lacy Jacques Schwarz-Bart Anthony Hamilton Shelby Johnson Jack "JK" King III |
| Past members | Chalmers Alford (deceased) |
The Soultronics was an American R&B and neo soul supergroup that served as the backing band for musician D'Angelo in 2000 during The Voodoo Tour, the supporting tour for his second studio album Voodoo. Several members of the group, including drummer Questlove of hip hop group The Roots, keyboardist James Poyser, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, and bassist Pino Palladino, had previously contributed to D'Angelo's Voodoo. Those members are also associated with the Soulquarians musical collective. Along with performing during the tour, The Soultronics contributed to Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti (2002), a charity release inspired by the music of Afrobeat artist Fela Kuti.
On January 11, D'Angelo released his second studio album, Voodoo (2000). After releasing several singles, he and his label, Virgin Records, decided to go on a several month worldwide tour, The Voodoo Tour. D'Angelo decided to surround himself with a group for the duration of the tour, composed with artists close or not so close surrounding. Because of its composition, The Soultronics is considered a supergroup, composed of artists who are themselves already part of a group, or from different musical origins. The large-scale group consisted of up to thirteen members.
Although created for D'Angelo's tour, the group was actually created by three other artists and close friends of D'Angelo's: Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of The Roots, James Poyser and Pino Palladino, all of who contributed to Voodoo. Questlove and Poyser, along with D'Angelo, are members of the neo soul collective Soulquarians and although Palladino was never officially part of the group, he was a very active collaborator, and worked on many of these artists' albums. During the tour, J Dilla and his group Slum Village opened on several dates, while R&B singer Anthony Hamilton sang backup within the Soultronics on occasion. Hamilton was joined as a backup singer by Shelby Johnson and Jack "JK" King III.
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