Nov. 10, 2011 |(0) Comments
David Lynch
Crazy Clown Time
David Lynch is as comfortable making music as he is making moving pictures. He’s regularly composed soundtracks to his films and TV shows with Angelo Badalamenti, and last year’s collaborative "dark Night of the Soul" album featured his photographs.
No need to reread the headline—yes, I’m featuring 1980s supergroup Toto, of “Rosanna” and “Africa” fame, in a column entitled “DeepSoul.” Although they may be primarily known for their rock/pop hits, they also display a penchant for blue eyed soul on deep album tracks. The best example of this tendency, “Georgy Porgy,” continues to resound in the R&B and hip-hop communities since its 1978 debut.
Chris Brown is up for the most nominations at the Soul Train Awards with five nods. following closely behind are “Party” and “Lift Off” collaborators Beyoncé and Kanye West with five nominations each. Also making a strong showing in the nominations are Kelly Rowland and Adele, who nabbed three nods apiece.
The music scene is always ebbing and flowing with new talent, and every once in a while one stumbles across a song that urges them to stop and take a contemplative listening-to. CDL had the pleasure of chatting with up-and-coming R&B singer/songwriter Barry Southgate, whose style is energetic, honest, soulful, and has been likened to those of Jason Mraz and Bruno Mars.
*Eric Benet is a proud husband and dad with a new baby on the way. his daughter India has just entered into her second year of college as well. So while he’s soaking up the beautiful things in life, the singer is also celebrating his latest single “Real Love.”
Most people remember Eric Benet as the guy who married Halle Berry. But before that union, Eric was a very accomplished musician who’s R&B music was making women swoon everywhere. Although he never reached the super star status with his music, he was stil very well know and respected in the industry. Well now Benet is back from his self imposed hiatus, and he’s brought some smooth new music with him.
Since its premiere in 2006, the Real Housewives series has spawned six locations and just as many would-be singers — to dramatically mixed results. the latest: new Jersey's Melissa Gorga, who premieres her "on Display" single this season.
I can’t think of many occasions when we haven’t seen Raff’s name, when we scan the Internet for upcoming shows. The Scotland-raised Soul singer pretty much lives for performing and he’ll be the last person to turn down a last-minute gig. Earlier in the month Raff released his long-awaited “Soul Electric EP” and since he was in the area, he managed to pop into musicovered HQ with a chat with Chiino.
His collaborations with Flying Lotus (a.k.a. Steve Ellison) on his 2010 album "Cosmogramma" and various other projects offer a taste of Bruner’s solo sound. but when he embarked on the Lotus-produced "Golden Age," it was an opportunity to express his perspective, a job at odds with that of a touring sideman. It was also a chance to showcase his vocals, a tender falsetto that soars inside lofty delay effects during his cover of George Duke’s “For Love (I come your Friend)” from the 1974 album "The Aura Will Prevail."“My goal in recording this album was to be as open-minded as possible,” Bruner said. “A lot of the music that I write I try to capture whatever emotion I’m feeling dead-on. Most importantly, I want this to feel like a collage of different emotions.”Sonically, his mosaic motif rings loud and clear. Songs like “Daylight” and “Fleer Ultra” (like the trading cards) demonstrate Bruner’s self-described diet of video game music, funk, classical and a flotsam of melodic ribbons from here and there that catch his attention. The latter track delivers a feeling that he says is representative of a feeling he gets being able to connect to someone or something from his youth. and while there’s no shortage of cerebral bass chops nestled in his song structures, his appeal to melody and pop sensibility aren’t lost on the audience with jazz-slathered tracks like “Is It Love?” No matter who you’re playing them for. "I remember one time I was on the tour bus with Suicidal Tendencies and I played them 'Is It Love?'" said Bruner, who joined the band with his brother Ronald in 2002 at the age of 16 and has remained a touring member. "The guys were like 'Wow man, that sounds exactly like the title, it's like the sound you think of when you're going through something that's hard to deal with.'"
For as much as his playing gets him noticed, it’s evident that Bruner’s stage attire–tufts of feathers, bejeweled knuckle dusters, Gundam shoulder pads and billowing scarves–are as much of a hat tip to friend and designer Taz Arnold as they are to forebearers like Parliament and Afrika Bambaata. Bruner says his aspirations to reach the echelons of U2 and Sting have never felt more possible than right now. “It’s definitely not my last solo record,” Bruner said. “This is a moment in my life where I feel it’s very nice. I don’t see it just in the moment. I see the solo thing as a whole new path of life for me.”
Brandreth the Younger has daddy’s diction – but not his jumpers, thankfully
Reviewed by Rob Epstein
Sunday, 28 August 2011
What with the keyboard-playing apes, hip-hop chess and promoters shouting “Punching Mice” at passers-by, sometimes it feels as though the Edinburgh Fringe needs a voice of sanity.
Stella’s column WITH STELLA FOSTER sfoster@suntimes.com August 10, 2011 7:08PM
Article Extras
Updated: August 11, 2011 2:15AM
1. Bjork, “Crystalline”
One of the best shows I ever saw took place at thenow-demolished Spectrum, featuring two bands with (mostly)different fans. Imagine half the audience leaving the show afterthe opening act!
The main act was Renaissance, a classical-rock group performingat its late-1970s peak. but the opening act was Return to Forever,a progressive, jazz-rock band that was equally impressive inperforming a set of all-new material.
when Eric Benét appears in concert, the reactions from his largely female audience range from swooning to shrieking and screaming. Yes, he loves it. “when they are throwin’ that reaction, it’s like gasoline,” Benét says. “it sets me on fire.” On Aug. 13, Benét will treat local fans with a performance at the O’Jays & Friends benefit concert at Fawcett Stadium. “The whole outdoor vibe is wonderful. it feels like a big picnic. It’s fun, man,” he says, via telephone from Boston. “I’m really excited about the performance in Canton.” Benét’s latest album, “Lost in Time,” is a fond tribute to 1970s soul music, and includes duets with Faith Evans and Canton native Eddie Levert of the O’Jays. his four previous discs yielded such hits as “Spend My Life With You” and “You’re the Only one.” Beyond his music, Benét gained attention for his marriage and subsequent split with actress Halle Berry. On Sunday, CNN reports, Benét married his longtime companion Manuela Testolini, whose previous husband was Prince. Articulate and personable, Benét was a fun interview last Friday. (He did not mention his upcoming wedding.) Q. I’m guessing that your appearance in Canton has something to do with Eddie Levert. a. it is absolutely because of Eddie Levert. I have an album in stores now called “Lost in Time,” and Eddie and I did a duet on that. He gave my record relevance. The whole concept of the album was to make an R&B record that felt and sounded like the music I grew up with in the mid-’70s, and the O’Jays always had a hit on the radio back then. Q. What was it like singing with him? He’s got some mighty pipes. a. as soon as that voice hit the microphone, it was crazy man. all that power and soul and experience in that vocal. The name of the song is “Paid.” it was a song that I was writing with my cousin George (Nash Jr.) and by the time we got to the first hook, we looked at each other and realized we had just written an O’Jays track. So, we sent it to Eddie and he was feeling it, too. everybody that listens to the song says it could have come from an O’Jays album. Q. will you be singing it with Eddie onstage in Canton? a. I will do whatever he wants me to do. (Chuckles) We’ve never actually performed the song live. Q. your song “Sometimes I Cry” blows me away. is it difficult to sing falsetto like that? a. If I’m in good voice, it’s actually pretty easy. Those falsetto high notes are easier to do than high ones in my full voice. Q. What were you going for in that song? a. I describe it as a mosaic of a bunch of my breakups. I’m 44 years old and I’ve had quite a few relationships and breakups, caused some heartaches and got my heart broken a few times. I thought of the pivotal moments of the healing process. Q. I’m sure that song kills in concert. a. That’s one of those songs where even before I released it, before anybody heard it on the radio, I’d test it at my shows and it would get screams and standing ovations. Q. Judging from your voice and your songs and your looks, I’m guessing your audience is predominantly female. Correct? a. Yes, it is mostly women, but it’s not as disproportionate as you might think. I’d say its 60 percent women. Men are hip to the fact that that’s where the women are. (Chuckles) Q. is there lustful pandemonium? a. There’s all that, yes. There’s lots of passionate reactions to my music, but all that does is make me push my performance even further. With the live performance, I want them to feel like they got all they came for and much more. Q. What music do you listen to? a. There’s a couple contemporary artists I’m into, like Ledisi, and I really like Maxwell’s last record. but mostly when I want to vibe out, I’m listening to Steely Dan, Earth, Wind & fire, Donny Hathaway, Queen. I’m stuck in the ‘70s. I just kind of live there. The music back then was so much more emotional and human. Q. Amen to that. a. I like to have musicians playing on my records. when I listen to the music they call R&B in 2011, it sounds like techno meets hip-hop meets Auto-Tune, with vocal acrobatics on top. The soul and human element is just gone. Q. has it been tough raising your daughter (India, age 19) as a single parent and an entertainer? a. It’s been very difficult, and I would not have been able to do it if it weren’t for my family, namely my mother. they have been so supportive, filling in that void when I couldn’t be there with her. I’m just so grateful. India is this incredible, beautiful, smart, secure-within-herself woman. she just finished her first year at USC, she’s writing music and she has an amazing voice. as a father, I couldn’t be more proud. Q. How old were you when you realized you had this powerful voice? a. that probably had to be around 10 years old. everybody in my family sang; I thought all families were like that. I’m the youngest, and my siblings and I would sit around and figure out the harmonies on a song by the Jackson 5 or the Sylvers or the Carpenters, anything with intricate harmonies, and we were pretty (darn) good. when I was 10, I started singing around girls and I was amazed by the reaction. I started to realize this voice has a power over women, and I like it. Q. Wow — a ladykiller at age 10. a. I used to have these huge crushes on girls in the fifth and sixth grade, but I was usually one of the two or three littlest, skinniest kids. it was always like, “Eric’s so cute, like a pet.” then I sang “Truly” by Lionel Richie at one of these little talent shows and a girl I had the biggest crush on started following me around. I found my calling.
