Keller Williams, the musician who is the epitome of independent artist has released a Free Download of “Mantra” as a prelude to his forthcoming album Vape, which goes on sale April 20, 2015. With two decades of performing under his belt, Keller Williams has explored a broad spectrum of sounds within a truly unique and multi level genre and was a very early adopter of the technique called “live phrase sampling or looping”. In his early days, Keller Williams could be seen as an opening act for the acclaimed bluegrass jam-band The String Cheese Incident.
At the time, a typical scene would involve Keller, his guitar, a loop pedal and an arrangement of several traditional and home made instruments. After creating a backdrop sample of rhythms and beats with these instruments, Keller would then contrive a masterpiece of lead guitar and vocals, leaving fans dancing blissfully and sometimes gazing in awe to what one man could create alone. His background consists of influences from bluegrass, folk, rock, alternative, reggae and has managed to blend in a little funk into the mix.
In his career, Keller has explored the roots of his music by performing with with highly notable musicians in the jam and bluegrass scene and also creating new bands of his own. These include collaborations with The String Cheese Incident as Keller Williams Incident, Rhythm Devils with Grateful Dead drummers Micky Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, Kdubalicious with Jay Starling on dobro/keyboards, and Mark D on drums, Keller and The Keels, Grateful Grass, Keller Williams with The Travelin’ McCourys, his original funk outfit Keller Williams with More Than a Little, and the list goes on.
With his 20th album release of Vape, Keller Williams presents his signature sound in an unexampled manner and is backed up in the studio by reputable musicians including Samson Grisman/bass, John Kadlecik/guitar, Ronnie McCoury/mandolin, Rob McCoury/banjo, Alan Bartram/bass, Jason Carter/fiddle and others. With the early listening experience of Mantra, you can truly feel where the track has received it’s name. With the background sounds of a heartbeat driving a train through the cosmos, Mantra blossoms into a multi layered, meditation-like sound leaving nothing but magic in the back of your mind. If you enjoy experiencing bliss through music, then Mantra is a song for you.
Keller Williams has always been one to connect on a personal level with his fans and one method of achieving this has been hosting a variety of epic contests. Previous winners have joined Keller skiing/snowboarding in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, won a private house party with Keller performing, enjoyed a trip to New Orleans during Jazz Fest and more. The announcement of Vape also brings with it another contest that is sure to be an amazing experience. Kellers “Get All Good With Keller” will give a lucky fan and a guest the opportunity to hang with Keller at the All Good Music Festival and Camp Out in West Virginia on July 9-11, 2015 – flights, VIP tickets, backstage access, golf cart tour (with Keller in the driver’s seat) all included. To get your chance to win, hit the link below after enjoying a listen to the new track Mantra.