TIME TO GET BUSINESS STRAIGHT
Original song by Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators
Rock'n roll reinterpretation by Overdrive

Syncopated vocals have become something of a rarity these days. Most singers prefer to create melodic lines that fit perfectly into the tempo of the song -- because it's much simpler, the vocals can be created in one go, on the same day, without too much effort. But every now and then a talented singer comes along who decides to break the tempo of their vocals in an absolutely original way. 

This is the case of soul singer Nicole Willis in the song "Time To Get Business Straight". 

The first time I heard this song, I was absolutely fascinated by the broken rhythm of her vocals. And the way the second part of the song repeated the first part made it clear that those vocals were far from improvised -- on the contrary, each intricate part was designed to be there, as if it were a mathematical structure.

Check out the original version:

https://youtu.be/5fYKRt6ZtJk

I extracted the vocals using Ultimate Vocal Remover and realized that the melodic line fit very well into rock songs. In fact, they were even the provisional vocals for the song "Rocket", before the amazing singer Sumi took over the microphone and did a brilliant job. But the idea of using Nicole's vocals remained and after the good response to the cyberpunk reinterpretation of "I'm Bored", I thought it would be interesting to attempt a rock'n roll reinterpretation of "Time to Get Business Straight".
 
Of course, I tried to get in touch with Nicole Willis during the process of creating the song and after the track was posted on Soundcloud. She currently lives in Finland and is still active as a singer in her sixties. Here's one of her most recent performances:

https://youtu.be/Q9AAF-QRQ5o

Her social networks, on the other hand, seem to be rarely accessed and I've had no success in contacting her. Damn, it would have been an unforgettable collab, I'm sure of it. 😄

Hope you enjoy my rock'n roll version of this soul music classic.

Time To Get Business Straight

D.J special request. hip hop  LDP.mp3

Halfway There

Nervous

it captures the rush of chasing a connection you know you shouldn’t crave, but can’t walk away from.

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Call Me Insane (Signal is Lost)

I'm on Fire - Live Recording

Original composition…..Alejandro Gonzalez M.

Endless Hallway

I wrote this poem about 20 years ago, when I was training in bee shamanism.  I released it as a spoken word track in 2023 called The Song of the Bee Priestess, https://soundcloud.com/annie-dieu-le-veut/the-song-of-the-melissae-bee-goddess

Bee shamanism is an ancient tradition and in the temple of Demeter in classical Greece, the bee priestesses were known as Melissae.

Lyrics and music by Annie Dieu-Le-Veut 
© Copyright Annie Dieu-Le-Veut, November 2025, all rights reserved

Melissae

This is the prelude to my album 'kids', out Jan 30

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Max Speed

R&B artist blending Retro-Techno beats with  R&B and Funk vibes🎸. Raised on R&B and funk Jams . I started listening to techno and fell in love with it ,and have been chasing beats ever since.

BAD LIKE A HABIT

Jack Everett