|
|
|
|
| |
| |
 |
|
Sign up and
Get informed
with the RS
Launch Pad!! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
Release: |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Canonized, marginalized or just scrutinized, Meshell Ndegeocello has
given up trying to explain herself. After 20 years in an industry
that has called her everything from avant garde to a dying breed,
what unquestionably remains is the fearsome bassist, prolific
songwriter and the creativity and curiosity of an authentic musical
force. With that, she has earned critical acclaim, the unfailing
respect of fellow players, songwriters and composers, and the
dedication of her diverse, unclassifiable fans.
Devil’s Halo,
Meshell's 8th album and her first for Mercer Street, harkens back to
the way records used to be made: no click track or electronic
synthetics, with a focus on musicianship and live band energy.
Meshell feels that Devil’s Halo represents a return to a place that
she truly appreciates, music that is created and performed by
people's hands. Produced by Meshell and guitarist Chris Bruce, and
influenced by a wide breadth of sounds - from The Human League to Wu
Tang to Yes – Devil’s Halo displays Meshell's vocals and diversity
throughout.
Meshell says of Devil’s Halo, "I guess I've ended
up believing in the gray area, the dichotomies and the unknowable.
This record is all about contrast - then and now, raw and polished,
beats and harmonies, Devil's Halo, good in evil in all things. I
know some people want more of what they've heard and I know other
people want the envelope pushed every time and I feel like this
record makes peace with all of them”. She adds, “I love heavy bass
and dub and beats, but I also sit and play the piano and write a
song inspired by a pub in Dublin. I'm not representing anymore - I'm
a musician, that's all I can offer. Each record is just meant to
say: here's where that's led me today."
Meshell Ndegeocello
was born Michelle Johnson in Berlin, Germany and raised in
Washington DC. By the early 90's, she had landed in New York armed
with a demo recorded in her bedroom, joined the Black Rock
Coalition, and was soon signed to Madonna's label. Her records, 8 to
date, have offered lyrical ruminations on race, love, sex, betrayal,
God, and power, and she has simultaneously embraced and challenged
listeners with her refusal to be pigeon-holed musically or
personally. Meshell has been both celebrated and berated for her
politically charged lyrics, sexual boundary crossing, and for
choosing the road less traveled - a winding adventure through her
own musical ambitions rather than the industry formulas.
A
vast array of influences have informed all of her albums, including
Devil’s Halo, and there are traces of her native go-go, hip hop,
rock, R&B, new wave and punk in each. Each album has been a step
away from the last, each used as a chance to investigate and
integrate new sounds and ideas, and fans have been treated to
everything from the deep-funk of Plantation Lullabies to the raw and
confessional Bitter to the hip-hop loving Cookie. Possessed with
instrumental gifts as diverse as her interests, Meshell composed,
arranged and produced a jazz record in 2005.
A bass player
above all else, Meshell brings her signature warm, fat, and melodic
groove to everything she does and has appeared alongside the Rolling
Stones, Madonna, Alanis Morrisette, James Blood Ulmer, The Blind
Boys of Alabama, Tony Allen, John Medeski, Billy Preston, and Chaka
Khan. As for her own bass-playing influences, she credits Sting,
Jaco Pastorius, "Family Man" Barrett, and Stevie Wonder. Meshell was
the first woman to be featured on the cover of Bass Player magazine
and remains one of few women who lead the band and write the music. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
