Raul Midon "State Of Mind", Raul Midon new album feat. Stevie Wonder out very soon.

On June 7, 2005, Manhattan Records/EMI will release "State of Mind" the debut album by Raul Midon, a singer, guitarist and songwriter of dizzying talent and infectious spirit. The album's thirteen tracks were all written or co-written by Raul Midon, with legendary producer Arif Mardin and his son Joe helming the sessions. Jason Mraz, a major Midon booster who took Raul on tour last year, co-writes and sings on the duet "Keep on Hoping," and one of Raul Midon's idols Stevie Wonder plays harmonica on "Expressions of Love."

To see Raul Midon perform is to witness a true original. His feverishly rhythmic approach to acoustic guitar takes the likes of Richie Havens or Jose Feliciano as a starting point, and journeys to places unknown. Midon's voice, a virtuoso instrument in itself, can deliver an impassioned plea or poetic whisper before shapeshifting into a pitch-perfect mouth trumpet - sometimes all within the same song (reference the album's title track). The Washington Post recently captured the visceral excitement of a Raul Midon performance: "He tapped, plucked and strummed his guitar creating a wealth of sounds that gave the illusion of a full band behind him. Midon sang with a voice as silky as Seal's, pursed his lips to imitate a trumpet and had the audience hanging on his every word."

Raul Midon's songwriting style is another force to behold. He doesn't so much mix genres as ignore their constraints entirely. He thinks nothing of segueing from the exuberant Stevie Wonder-inspired melodic pop of "Sunshine" into the cookin' Afro-Cuban flute-and-percussion workout of "I Would Do Anything," then doubling back to the tranquil, imagistic ballad "All In Your Mind" with a central riff that recalls Jimi Hendrix and a gorgeous vibraphone solo by Stefon Harris.

Raul Midon may blur genres with abandon, but he delivers his message - live for today, see the beauty that's all around you - with powerful clarity. He arrived at these tenets through his own personal experience. Blind from birth, Midon grew up in the small town of Embudo, NM. His mother died when Raul Midon and his identical twin brother were very young, but his father, an accomplished, Argentinean-born dancer, instilled a love of music in his sons from a early age.

Raul Midon attended college in Miami, where he became a sought-after guitarist and vocalist, performing and touring with some of the brightest stars of the Latin music world. But a desire to write and perform his own material prompted a move to New York in 2002, where he's been flooring audiences in the clubs of lower Manhattan ever since. "I like to celebrate the possible," says Raul Midon. On "State Of Mind" he invites us all to join that celebration.

New Yorkers take note: Raul Midon will play the Living Room on March 29 and Joe's Pub on April 13. Stay tuned for news on other live shows and tour updates.

Raul Midon "State Of Mind" new CD: ORDER IT NOW.