For Hub City Times

The Midwest Soul XChange, a collaborative effort between long-time friends Ryan Summers and Nate Cherrier, will release its debut album on Nov. 24. “New American Century” is an eclectic powerhouse of influence as the duo dynamically creates a sound they say is quite unlike anything else in the independent music community.

The Midwest Soul XChange describes its sound as Americana infused with folk, progressive rock, and pop influence. With a passion for acts like Kula Shaker, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and many more, the project is a vehicle to meld those stylings into a coherent, exciting product.

Even though Summers lives in Marshfield and Cherrier lives in Phoenix, the two came together in Phoenix for the recording process. Both Summers and Cherrier are Chippewa Falls natives.

Many times during the creation of “New American Century,” the Midwest Soul XChange had to collaborate over a great distance.

“What comes to mind is a theme of ‘flying blind with precision,’” Summers said. “When you can’t sit in the same room and hash out a song, you have to wait for the other person to record, upload, and see how the recording fits. It can be challenging if it wasn’t what you were expecting but also exciting.”

“New American Century” features 11 new, original songs from the two performers. With such a broad spectrum of influence, however, the XChange is somewhat difficult to classify into a genre. Americana is a suitable blanket for the effort, and the Midwest Soul XChange often classifies its material as “American Melancholia.”

“We tend to write with a national/autobiographical sense,” Cherrier said. “We consider the tales of our history as well as the harsher realities of today.”

“New American Century” will be available Nov. 24. Visit midwestsoulxchange.com for more information.