Greg Owens & Harmonic Soul hopes the second time around is the charm

There’s a sense of escapism that permeates Live from Rehearsal, the new album from Greg Owens & Harmonic Soul Band, which was recorded on-the-fly as the soul musicians practiced for a Juneteenth performance at Mayme Moore Park earlier this summer and maintains the freewheeling feel of a band working to establish a groove.

The more fantastical threads running through the music, reflected in song titles such as “Everlasting Summer” and “Vacation,” are rooted in the reality that Owens views music as a place in which he can operate unencumbered by the pains and pressures of everyday life. 

“A lot of the music I write comes from me trying to escape reality, or trying to tap into a different reality,” said Owens, a drummer by trade who raps and sings throughout Live from Rehearsal, released digitally today (Wednesday, Sept. 3). “It’s almost like these things are possible.”

At times in its history, the business of Harmonic Soul has encroached on this musical optimism, Owens recalling a point toward the tail end of 2023 when a dispute with a former business and creative partner led him to shut the project down entirely. “And it wasn’t something I wanted to do, but it was necessary with everything going on at the time,” said Owens, who focused his attention in the ensuing years on MojoFlo, the long running Columbus funk-soul band for which he serves as drummer.

After a couple of years away, the return of Harmonic Soul was sparked by a series of connections, beginning with Owens’ production work on Metamorphosis, the fall 2024 EP from Columbus singer Chrissy T. The release led Arts Fest to book Chrissy T as a performer this summer, and in helping the singer assemble a backing band for the concert, Owens wound up recruiting musicians who had previously logged time with him in Harmonic Soul. “And one day [Chrissy T] texted me and asked, ‘What should I call you guys? Should I just call you Harmonic Soul?’” Owens said. “And in that second, I had to hit pause, because I thought Harmonic Soul was only going to be a memory. … But then I was like, you know what? Hell, yeah.”

Reconnecting with the musicians, Owens said he initially felt some nerves, and he wondered if the energy that had been present in that initial run would still be there the second time around. “But once we started playing again, I felt the energy in the room, and it was like we were back in those old times,” he said.

The camaraderie between the players is most evident in a musical medley that closes the live EP, and which serves as a time-travelling spin through the various songs and musical styles that have helped to shape the band’s sound. As the players dip flirt with a mutating series of covers, the instruments engage in a deeply layered conversation, bass guitar, keys, drums, and nimble funk guitar weaving a loosely funky tapestry.

“I wanted to release something that could give listeners an opportunity to hear all of what goes on, and the preparation that goes into getting to that more polished work,” said Owens, who is joined on the recording by keyboardist Donvan Mitchell, bassist Deivi Terreo, drummer Angel Knotts and guitarist Rizo. “And then it also lets people know what resilience sounds like. This is something where my vision for the band could have gone out the window. But sometimes things line up where it’s like, you know what? Maybe this is just the beginning of something new, something different.”