Born into a musical household, 1981 in Los Angeles, Kelly Finnigan grew up without any musical education until his teens, when he dove into the world of hip hop, beats and sampling, and began DJing. Kelly founded the hip-hop production crew Destruments, his own studio/label Transistor Sound and became a core member of Monophonics. With Destruments, he started writing and releasing instrumental albums for West Coast rappers, including famed hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics.
He worked together with the who is who of soul artists, with musicians that have performed on Daptone (Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Charles Bradley, Antibalas), Truth & Soul (Lee Fields, Lady Wray), Colemine (Durand Jones & the Indications, Jungle Fire, Orgone) and he even worked with the legendary drummer James Gadson (Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye, Beck). Whether expertly placing vintage ribbon microphones, providing rock-solid pocket on the drum kit, composing classic keyboard parts, fine-tuning a mix, or giving an unforgettable vocal performance, Finnigan’s abilities are indisputable. Finnigans vocal prowess reaches a new level of emotional depth and expression, he clearly establishes himself as a once-in-a-generation vocal talent. It is rare to witness such a combination of virtuosity and deep soulfulness.