Randa And The Soul Kingdom have an incredible knack for getting a dancefloor moving, with soulful horns, high-octane vocals, and groove-soaked rhythms, their tunes pack a huge punch of feel-good vibes.
With two albums out on London’s freestyle records, the Perth six-piece have established their reputation as some of Australia’s best Soul Train starters, playing at a slew of festivals across Australia and Europe. Ahead of the release of their third album Standing Strong, the band are releasing its first single, Put Your Hands Up, and it’s funky as hell.
Randa And The Soul Kingdom’s Put Your Hands Up is a groove-soaked party starter, with an infectious music video to match.
Born in Jordan and raised in the working-class suburbs of Perth, singer Randa Khamis has been passionate about soul music from a young age. At the age of 12 she was talking her way into local clubs, itching to groove to the sounds of James Brown, Parliament, and Aretha Franklin. It was these music legends that inspired her to become a soul singer.
Randa had a number of varied musical endeavours after moving to London in her twenties, from singing in Arabic for Sasha Baron Cohen‘s brother’s band Zohar to singing in the deep funk band Speedometer, and supporting the legend Eddie Bo in a tour of New Orleans. With all of this incredible music experience under her belt, she then made the move back to Perth to form a new band, and thus, Randa And The Soul Kingdom was born.
Randa And The Soul Kingdom take inspiration from classic ’70s funk on their new hit Put Your Hands Up, a track that’s all about expressing yourself freely without judgement, regardless of age, race, gender, or class. With Randa’s high octane vocals layered upon soulful horns, funky basslines, soaring harmonies and groove-laden percussion, this track is an invitation to the dancefloor that’s hard to ignore.
For a track that is all about getting up and dancing, the music video is its perfect accompaniment. Directed by Caitlan O’Connor and director of photography David Le May, it’s colourful and electrifying. It’s essentially one big party, as people from all walks of life congregate in a warehouse and just let themselves dance freely. It’s incredibly refreshing and infectious, guaranteed to put a smile on the corners of your lips.
Having supported the likes of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, The Bamboos, and Lionel Richie, Randa And The Soul Kingdom have well and truly established themselves as masters of 21st-century deep soul. Their live performance is energetic and infectious and bound to get any person grooving.
If you want to check out their incredible live show for yourself, the band will be hitting the road in support of the release of Put Your Hands Up. Check out all the tour information below.
Put Your Hands Up Single Launch Tour
Friday 4th October – The Sewing Room, Perth, WA
Thursday 10th October – The Espy, Melbourne VIC
Friday 11th October – Bar 303, Darebin VIC
