FaithNYC

The emergence of Felice Rosser’s FaithNYC reveals another facet of the seemingly infinite diamond of Black American music. Born in Detroit, she experienced Motown, the 1967 riots, Funkadelic, The MC5, The Stooges and The New York Dolls before moving to New York City for college. Blown away by Television at CBGB’s, she became part of the scene, befriending Samo— Jean Michel Basquiat’s tag at that time—and starting to write songs and play bass. Inspired by punk’s DIY attitude, Rock & Roll, Funk, Free Jazz, Dub, Reggae and the new Hip Hop scene all became part of her musical language. She was the bass player in Brooklyn’s all-female reggae band Sistren before she formed FaithNYC, which became part of Vernon Reid’s Black Rock Coalition.

Drummer Fin Hunt is a native New Yorker and a veteran of bi-coastal music scenes, having played with the Invaders, Rosie Rex and the Cuchifritos, Walter Lure, The Gashounds, and toured with The Washington Squares and Levi and the Rockats.  He is also a recording engineer with credits on “Milk and Honey” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and worked at  A&R recording (with legendary producer Phil Ramone) and the Power Station.  

Guitarist Charles Nieland has performed with and produced artists such as Debbie Harry, Rufus Wainwright and Susan Hwang.  He is a singer songwriter in his own right, and leads his own solo project and well as founding dream pop innovators Her Vanished Grace.

“With sweet and powerful guitars and funky polyrhythms, Faith has developed an immensely colorful sound…tunes that are not rock, not funk, not r&b, so much as deeply soulful tone poems back by multiculti dream pop.”  
Village Voice

“There’s a reason this trio has earned a reputation as a gem of the NYC underground.”  
Afropunk

“Faith has formed a musical style unlike virtually any other sound out there.”  
James Lien – CMJ

Felice Rosser “Sings in a voice both plangent and wailing.”   
New York Times

“Felice Rosser’s deep, purposefully exploratory bass lines established her long ago as one of the most consistently interesting and original four-string players in town.”  
New York Music Daily 

“If Nina Simone had a power trio with a rock/soul and reggae flair, it would sound something like this.” 
Doug DeFalco (Talent Buyer, DeFalco Presents)