Founded 2009 in Pietarsaari Finland, The Napkins is a 9 piece retro-soul band comprised of music students and musicians with a joint interest in vintage soul and jazz. They started off as a soul cover band whilst developing their own material which resulted in their debut album “A better day” in 2011.
“A better day” was recorded mostly live in the living room of a former rectory, and the live feel is vital for The Napkins appearance and sound. The result is vivid and organic, and their live performances are served with a lot of jammed and improvised parts.
All the band’s music is written, composed and arranged by vocalist Charlotta Kerbs. Charlotta is inspired by the real roots of different kinds of music, such as traditional folk music as well as blues and jazz. The main source of inspiration for The Napkins though comes from the sixties era with hippies, love, happiness and of course…soul music! Charlottas admiration for soul queens and kings like Dusty Springfield, Sharon Jones, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding and Al Green also plays its part in forming the sound for the band.
The Napkins are currently working on their second album to be released autumn 2014. The album is recorded live at the legendary studio House of Dread in Finland and mixed and co-produced by Stefan Backas.
“The main ingredients in the music maintains the same artistic line as on the former album, but the sound and production is even sweatier and edgier. The feel of the album will be like Janis Joplin meets Sharon Jones in a cheeky and retro but yet modern style.” says Charlotta.