Durand Jones & The Indications is an American

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...

and soul group founded by the core songwriting trio of singer Durand Jones, singer/drummer Aaron Frazer, and guitarist Blake Rhein. Formed in 2012, the band came to prominence as part of the soul revivalist movement around the time of the reissue of their debut album in 2018. Their second album ''American Love Call'' was released in March 2019, followed by ''Private Space'' in July 2021.

History

Blake Rhein and Aaron Frazer, two students at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Jacobs School of Music The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...

, developed a musical relationship with Durand Jones in the early 2010s based on their shared interests in songwriting and old soul 45s. Rhein had met Jones, a

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

native doing postgraduate studies for classical saxophone, while both were working with Indiana University's Soul Revue. Rhein and Frazer would later bring in the two other members of their

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

ban
Charlie Patton's War
bassist Kyle Houpt and organist Justin Hubler, to form The Indications. They wrote what would be their debut album between Fall 2012 and 2014, recording on a Tascam four-track recorder. Concurrently, Charlie Patton's War toured regionally and nationally; between tours, Durand Jones & The Indications played their "one and only show" in May 2014. In 2015, the band was approached by Ohio soul label Colemine Records about releasing an album of music from their earlier sessions. They released their first 45 in 2015 and followed with their debut album ''Durand Jones & The Indications'' the following year. They played a single show in Bloomington in April 2016 before going off to separate careers. Following support from critics and independent record stores, the band would reunite and toured throughout 2017, primarily in the Midwest and the South. In 2017, Steve Okonski replaced Justin Hubler as organist. Their album was reissued by Bloomington label

Dead Oceans Dead Oceans, Inc., is an American independent record label founded in 2006 and based in Bloomington, Indiana. History On June 30, 2006, Phil Waldorf founded Dead Oceans with Chris Swanson. Swanson suggested the name Dead Oceans, which came fro ...

in 2018 with new live material. The

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

lowrider community, noted for their love of

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

, were early champions of The Indications and began circulating their music as early as 2016. In tribute, the band released the

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

"Cruisin' to the Park" in 2019. The track was later released as a single with an accompanying music video featuring California lowriders. In 2021, they released a Spanish language version, "Cruisin' to the Parque," with former tourmate Y La Bamba. During July and August 2018, the band recorded their second album in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York and focused on developing a "

vocal group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrume ...

sound." Their record, ''American Love Call'', was released in March 2018. The band toured continuously through 2020, with Mike Montgomery joining as bassist at the end of 2019. Among other singles released in 2020, the band put out a studio version of their song "Power to the People" two weeks ahead of the 2020 presidential election; the demo version was originally released as part of the 2017 compilation ''

Our First 100 Days ''Our First 100 Days'' is a compilation album that was released track-by-track from 20 January to 29 April 2017. The album was sold as a subscription for a one-time payment of $30, and one song per day was released during the first 100 days of Do ...

''. Recorded in January 2020, Frazer released a

Dan Auerbach Daniel Quine Auerbach (; born May 14, 1979) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. As a member of the group, Auerbach has ...

-produced solo album in January 2021, at which time he noted that a new Durand Jones & The Indications album was in the works. He previously released music under the alias The Flying Stars of Brooklyn NY. Jones appeared as a guest vocalist on a number of tracks beginning in 2020, including on The Bamboos 2021 album. Of note, Rhein has worked as a researcher for

The Numero Group The Numero Group is an archival record label that creates compilations of previously released music, reissues original albums, and creates album reconstructions from a variety of musical genres. The label, known as Numero, was founded in 2003 ...

and produced a number of

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...

compilations for the label. In May 2021, the band announced that their third record, ''Private Space'', would be released July 30, 2021 and released the lead single "Witchoo". The ten track album was recorded in New York City at Diamond Mine and features a more disco and modern soul-inspired sound. The album was written and produced by Jones, Frazer, Rhein, and Okonski with contributions from bassist Michael Montgomery as well as arrangers Ginger Dolden and Peter Lanctot, harpist

Brandee Younger Brandee Younger (born July 1, 1983) is an American harpist, composer, and educator. Early life and education Younger was born and raised in Hempstead, New York. She developed an early interest in music, leading her to pursue undergraduate deg ...

, and

Eli "Paperboy" Reed Eli "Paperboy" Reed (born 1983 as Eli Husock) is an American singer and songwriter. After graduating from Brookline High School in 2002, he moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi. After spending a year in Clarksdale, he enrolled at The University of ...

, among others. Durand Jones October 2023 04

On May 5, 2023, Jones released a solo record under his own name, ''

Wait Til I Get Over ''Wait Til I Get Over'' is the first solo studio album by American musician Durand Jones, released on May 5, 2023, through Dead Oceans. It follows three albums by Jones as the singer of the group Durand Jones & The Indications, and is themed arou ...

'', on record label Dead Oceans. The album chronicles the history of Jones' hometown of

Hillaryville, Louisiana Hillaryville is an unincorporated community in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States. Hillaryville is located along the Mississippi River and Louisiana Highway 22, south-southwest of Gonzales Gonzales may refer to: Places * Gonzales, Calif ...

Members

* Durand Jones – vocals (2012–present) * Aaron Frazer – vocals, drums, percussion, synthesizer (2012–present) * Blake Rhein – guitar, synthesizer, percussion, vocals (2012–present) * Steve Okonski – organ, piano, synthesizer, vocals (2017–present) * Michael Isvara Montgomery – bass, vocals (2019–present) Former members * Kyle Houpt – bass (2013–2019) * Justin Hubler – organ, piano (2013–2017)

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durand Jones and The Indications American soul musical groups American contemporary R&B musical groups Dead Oceans artists Musical groups from Indiana