alt rock legend claude coleman jr of ween makes inspired noise on amandla’s latest ‘laughing hearts’
Though he’s more known as the drummer for alt rock mainstays Ween, it’s a damn shame Claude Coleman Jr’s solo project amandla doesn’t get the same attention. With bits of soul, post-punk, indie rock, and folk, Coleman’s work with amandla is inspired. The multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter turns in his most emotional set yet with the dynamic Laughing Hearts.
Kicking off with a blues riff that quickly morphs into an alt-psych jam, “Follow What Brings You” boasts the kind of haunting-but-driving melody that makes amandla something move. It’s no surprise that the record’s best moments tend to be when Coleman strikes a balance between his glacial melodies and bubbling rhythms. “Stay Awake” follows a distorted bass riff that would make Lou Barlow cry before turning into an angular jam. While “In A Lovesong” shades in a post-punk anthem with synth squiggles and a vibraphone.
The album closes with the heads-and-tails pair of “Forever For Always” and “I Get Around.” The former is a lush elegy that never builds but constantly deepens. The latter is a stripped down retro rocker that both undercuts and underscores the seriousness of “Forever For Always” with Coleman’s trademark leftfield humor. “Don’t fuck with my rock and roll.”
Check amandla out on tour this summer with Angelo Moore & The Brand New Step. Dates and cities will be announced soon. Check http://amandlanet.net/tourdates/ for more info.
bask in the glory of black womanhood in france-based singer sandra nkaké’s “i am woman” video
France-based soul singer Sandra Nkaké channels the energy of the women who have inspired in this new musical short film by Ji Dru.
“The rhythm flows naturally. We grab an analog keyboard and record a few chords, then the theme pulls at me: I’m A Woman. Like a lightning, it’s crystal clear. We wrote, sang, recorded and mixed it in a couple of hours. Blessed to have been able to transform the thrill those women gave me into sound and music”, Nkaké says about the track.
Catch Sandra Nkaké Live at AFROPUNK Paris 2018!
video premiere: treat your senses to folk-soul singer mariama’s dreamy “raindrops”
With lush synths shading in the lines drawn by Mariama’s evocative voice, and the dense imaginative video by Nando Nkrumah, “Raindrops” is a feast for the senses. The Paris-based singer’s latest single builds from a downbeat song of heartbreak to the moment when you wipe off your face and watch the clouds begin to clear. Her rich voice traces a jazzy melody over retro synths and a spare beat. Nkrumah ties it together with a visually ambitious video which tracks a continuous zoom past the heartbreak.
It’s about “Love, sweat and tears,” Mariama tells AFROPUNK. “Raindrops belongs to the TEARS part of the album. The song describes a state of confusion, loneliness, sadness, but in the midst of these dark feelings, there is always a voice that speaks to us – pain also has its “raison d’être”. It can tell us what’s wrong with our lives and where we need change – provided we listen to it. If one manages to face unpleasant feelings without trying to stifle them or run away, a crisis can become a new beginning. It takes rain, so that the flowers can blossom again. Ultimately it all depends on our attitude. There is a quote that says: Some people feel the rain – others just get wet.”
En Français:
“Appartenant à la partie TEARS de l’album la chanson décrit un état de confusion, de solitude, de tristesse. Mais au milieu de ces sentiments sombres, il y a toujours une voix qui nous parle – la douleur aussi a sa raison d’être. Elle peut nous indiquer ce qui ne va pas dans notre vie et où on a besoin de changement – à condition qu’on l’écoute. Si on arrive à faire face aux sentiments désagréable sans essayer de les étouffer ou de fuir, une crise peut devenir un nouveau départ. Il faut la pluie, pour que les fleurs puissent s’épanouir à nouveau. Finalement tout dépend de notre attitude, il y a une citation qui dit: some people feel the rain – others just get wet (certaines personnes sentent la pluie – d’autres sont justes un peu mouillés).”
Mariama’s forthcoming full length LOVE, SWEAT and TEARS is due out in Fall 2018.
Director: Nando Nkrumah
Cinematographer: Jennifer Günther
Dancer: Kristina Kunn, Abine Leao Ka, Nnandi, Saliou Diouf, Ekaterina Thor, Jessica Trommenschläger
Styling: CHANG13°, Denise Kynd, Eva Nkrumah
Makeup: Anam Mahmood, Marcel Wiesmann
Visual Effects: Jonas Dörschel, Nando Nkrumah, Cordula Croce
Catering: Linda Jalloh
On-Set Photography: Gamajan Ganesh
Producer: Lichtblick Studio
premiere: a tribe called quest’s ali shaheed muhammad & adrian younge issue anti-police brutality call to action with new track
Behold the latest collaborations between A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge since their 2013 album ‘Souls of Mischief’. A cut from their forthcoming ‘The Midnight Hour’ project, “Black Beacon” is a splendidly theatrical track lush with vintage soul vibes that blossom into a kaleidoscope of jazz and hip-hop that is simply engrossing. Bright horns seamlessly interweave throughout the magnificent soundscape, harkening back to the music of the 1970s, a turbulent time for black history, just like now. And it’s freakin’ dope.
“’Black Beacon’, is a call to action for our brothers and sisters to unite against police brutality, inequality and social injustice. Like our jazz forefathers of the civil rights movement, we’re using our horns for unity”, the artists told AFROPUNK.
Stream it below:
The Midnight Hour by The Midnight Hour
Photo by The Artform Studio
premiere: soul faves n’dambi & all cows eat grass team up for new ep, and it’s pure star shine
N’Dambi and All Cows Eat Grass describe their Air Castle EP as “a time capsule aboard a deep spacecraft headed to eternity,” and it’s clear what they mean. N’Dambi’s 70’s soul vibe meets T. Brown and ACEG’s 80’s electro-funk, but somehow despite it’s retro trappings, it sounds new. Futuristic even. It’s like a collaboration between Syreeta and Quincy Jones aboard the Mothership. Or maybe the original Battlestar Galactica; a vision of the future seen through the lens of the past.
The EP’s best moments come when they embrace that space is the place. “On Borrowed Time” and “Air Castle” find the band refreshingly ungrounded–untethered, and the results are stunning. While always sounding distinctly like themselves, they open up their sound and go to some seriously unexpected places. “Nowhere,” meanwhile boasts N’Dambi’s best hook and a synth line made of pure star shine.
Get your own space capsule here: https://ndambiandallcowseatgrass.lnk.to/AirCastle
honoring black women’s courage: oakland soul & hip-hop artists fr333 and astu’s new video
Oakland-based soul and hip-hop artists FR333 and ASTU celebrate Black women’s resistance, courage and resilience in their new music video for ‘Contagious Spirit’.
A collaboration with director Pablo Circa.
intersectional soul-rockers the coolots face their demons in gritty video for ‘doors’
The first video from Washington DC rockers The Coolots’ album ‘Rebirth’ is out.
I the visuals for ‘Doors’, five friends face their demons: “The Coolots make a calculated decision to film in an abandoned neighborhood, symbolic of the sense of dystopia we may feel when approaching matters of our mental health.”
Check it out:
soul-stirring singer pj morton comes alive on joyful live album ‘gumbo unplugged’
For a lot of artists, coming out with a live version of the breakthrough record you just put out might come off as a victory lap, but there’s something about PJ Morton’s Gumbo Unplugged that makes it just as much an essential part of his discography as Gumbo. Backed by the 22 piece Matt Jones orchestra, Morton sounds positively alive. There’s a joy emanating from every note and an intimacy to the performance that make you feel like you’re in the room, right between Morton’s Rhodes and the studio audience.
Inspired by a return to New Orleans after a stint in Los Angeles, PJ Morton’s songs are full of aspiration, inspiration, and a certainty that one day it’ll all be worth it. Now on the other side of that payoff, the live album finds Morton laughing at the “Cousin Rick’s” of the world on the standout “They Gon’ Wanna Come.” The highlights of this record are unquestionably the moments when Morton jokes with his audience, or in the closer “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” leads them in a sing-a-long. Every once in a while an artist puts out a live album that eclipses the studio album that inspired it. Gumbo Unplugged just might have found the secret ingredient.
a retro-afrofuturist tribute to sun ra: rock and soul act barrence whitfield and the savages
Barrence Whitfield and the Savages’ latest record Soul Flowers of Titan is like travelling back in time to imagine the future. It’s a raw and raucus work of Afro-retrofuturism inspired half by the imagery of Sun Ra and half by the rock and soul coming out of the middle of the country in the 50s and 60s. The music would be at home on an early Stax or Chess record, but it’s a straight up trip to the stars in homemade rocket ship.
Over lean throwback blues and soul riffs, Whitfield shouts out message of love both cosmic and terrestrial. Highlights like “Let’s Go to Mars” and “Sunshine Don’t Make the Sun” update the hot rod era for the 24th century. Who needs the open roads of “Rocket 88” when you have the open skies and an actual rocket? Soul Flowers of Titan revels in the absurdity of its concept while turning in 36 minutes of retro soul classics. Like Sun Ra himself, it’s just weird enough to work but doesn’t get in its own way. At the end of the day, what matters is the hooks and the energy, and Whitfield’s got both.
herbie hancock announces collab with kendrick lamar & thundercat!
Jazz great Herbie Hancock is working on his new album, the first one since 2010. And it’s clear that the artist has been keeping an eye on the new generations of innovative and talented musicians.
The guests on the album will include Kendrick Lamar, Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Kamasi Washington, Wayne Shorter and Snoop Dogg.
Alto saxophonist and keyboardist Terrace Martin is producing. He has previously produced music for Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder and many more.
Hancock told the San Diego Tribune: “I’m learning a lot from the young people I’m working with. Because they built the new structures, social media and that whole arena, and that affects how you get things out in front of the public to let them know you’re working on something. So I’m still learning, which I’m very happy about. I never want to stop learning. (…) These days, you can put out two tracks, then something a little later that’s connected to the other two. So where you draw the line is up to the artist. It’s a new day.”
Get ready for something great!