As Aja Dantzler, one half of husband and wife team Kindred, sat down to speak with me, Fatin, her other half, was splitting his attention between watching their three-year old and holding down another interview. But when the little one ventured too far for her comfort Aja interrupted our conversation to prevent an accident in the making. “I’m sorry,” she says chuckling, but obviously still a little distracted as she keeps a firm eye on her toddler. “But I was watching a disaster ready to go down.”

Ah, the life of a music star. Whoever said it’s all about Christal, limos and parties hasn’t hung out with Kindred. That’s not to say the two haven’t gotten a taste of the infamous good life since wrapping up their debut album, Surrender To Love, but their days are just as likely to be packed with changing diapers and preventing minor catastrophe’s as they are with interviews and in-store promos. “It’s no different than any two people working,” Aja says of their goal to balance work and family. “Though sometimes our job is 24 hours, at the end of the day, it’s the same challenges that most people go through.”

But unlike other married couples, Kindred has a hot new CD that’s drawing attention from some of soul’s brightest including India.Arie, Musiq and Kenny Lattimore, and they’ve drawn interest from another celebrated husband and wife team, Ashford & Simpson. When R&B’s most successful husband/wife singer/songwriting duo began doling out advice to Fatin and Aja Dantzler on how to successfully mix business and pleasure, the two were all ears. “They told us to have each other’s backs, but they also gave us some other helpful advice about surviving in this business,” Aja reflects. “They told us that the more you have boiling (publishing, song writing, producing etc) the more chance you have to stay afloat.”

Already set to be Ashford & Simpson’s new generation soul counterparts, Aja and Fatin are taking that advice in stride. In truth, Surrender To Love is proof that they may have peeped A&S’ key to success before ever getting the advice, because they serve as writers on all but two of the tracks and producers or co-producers for more than half the album. Typical of Hidden Beach products, Kindred’s debut is a study in individuality. What listeners get is an eclectic mix of sound that offers both a fresh, new take on resurging soul and a retro feel, which invokes visions of Chaka Kahn, Roy Ayers and even War.

Nurtured in Philly, which is home to soul masters both new and old, Kindred honed their skill at the Black Lily showcase, a springboard for many popular artists including Floetry and Jill Scott, who played a part in directing the group to Hidden Beach by singing their praises to it’s CEO, Steve McKeever. With validation from hard core soul fans and artists alike, the group never worried that their live music and diverse sound would turn away the much sought after consumers, who are devouring hip-hop in mass quantities. “We accepted that possibility [not getting mainstream attention] before it ever happened, but we didn’t worry,” the soft-spoken artist says matter-of-factly. “We knew there was a market for what we were trying to do.”

Aja goes on to point out that The Roots, Scott and many of their other peers have worked consistently throughout the years, putting out respectable, if not commercial, projects. “They’re able to do what they do and survive and that’s the point,” she continues. “Our point was to be a part of that community, which had a certain level of respect. We weren’t worried about fitting in.”

Although she admits that deep down the goal, for any entertainer, is to blow up, Aja re-confirms that for she and Fatin and the bulk of fellow musicians, it’s about putting down music that they can be proud of and which fans can enjoy. “Amongst our peers there is a goal to put out quality product and support ourselves, to be affluent, make a difference and not worry about where the next rent check is coming from,” she says with a slight timbre of passion. “A lot of artists are family men and women just trying to make it work.”

Indeed, Aja and Fatin know about trying to make it work, on and off the stage. Prior to returning to music, he worked as an appliance salesman, while she was a stay-at-home mom. But after nearly two years of performing and banging out the tracks for their debut album, the two look proudly, almost affectionately, upon their work, as simply, honest music. Kindred is unafraid to put the good and bad of life out there note, by note. “Soul music is about honesty,” Aja says pointedly. “A lot of R&B has been perceived as speaking about fantasy relationships – what I’m going to do to you, what you’re going to do to me. And that’s nice, you need that aspect, but you also need to hear someone talk about a relationship that doesn’t come from your imagination. Honest, real and down to earth.”

As she goes on, pointing out that she believes honesty will play a major role in whether soul music continues to flourish, the passion in her voice rises once again. The road to interviews, photo shoots and a record deal has been long, but now that the day has arrived to let the world hear their story, Aja isn’t about to bite her tongue. “Listeners love being a fly on the wall in our relationships and I respect artists who share [in their music] when they’re scared, insecure, or in love,” she says. “All those things are important and key to keeping it going and helping people to appreciate what they have in soul music.”