SLO✭MO
EST. 2013
SOUL. MUSIC. CULTURE.
slomoatl.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2 3 4 6 7
Mo Sounds
BOSCO meets Fools Gold Plus: New joints from Julie Dexter, Farnell Newton + more
Unheard They got next Art don Karen Lowe shares three artists to watch
Cover Story
Wax + Facts Rhonda Thomas unwraps her “Vinyl Daze”
Artist Talk
One-two-step Singer/dancer Cortney LaFloy plots her next moves
Mo Events
ROYAL rocks out its debut And: D’Angelo, Hiatus Kaiyote + more play the A
SLO✭MO EST. 2013
SOUL. MUSIC. CULTURE.
slomoatl.com
Co-Publisher & Editor in Chief: Carlton Hargro | Co-Publisher & Creative Director: Larmarrous Shirley Contributors Shannon McCollum Slo*Mo is published by Slo*Mo Media. | slomomedia@gmail.com www.facebook.com/SloMoMagazine | www.twitter.com/slomomedia
✭ mo sounds
2
BOSCO meets Fools Gold Plus: New joints from Julie Dexter, Farnell Newton + more
BOSCO — “BOY”: The singer rocking the moniker BOSCO isn’t hanging in Atlanta as much as she used to these days, but her musical birth and evolution took place in the A, so she’ll always be linked to the city. That, obviously, makes her recent signing to the Fools Gold label an occasion that all ATLiens should be fucking ecstatic about. Even better: Her new deal paves the way for a spanking-new EP — titled “BOY” — set to debut June 2. “BOY” continues BOSCO’s journey into 1990s-esque soundscapes … reimagined, of course, for 21st century earholes. The EP is sixtunes deep and is propelled by the trap-meets-R&B-tinged title track, “BOY,” co-starring local rap hero Jace. More info: www. hellobosco.com.
Farnell Newton — “Ready to Roll”: Atlanta Records, the label founded through a partnership with Ropeadope Records and SoulandJazz.com, has been releasing a ton of great music over the past 365 days. One of its newest projects is “Ready to Roll” by trumpeter Farnell Newton, who has played with artists like Lalah Hathaway, Ron Isley, Cee Lo Green and more but gained wide acclaim as a touring musician with Jill Scott. On “Ready to Roll,” Newton channels his experience playing with soul and R&B acts and mashes that with straight-ahead jazz sounds. More info: www.farnellnewton. com. Julie Dexter and The HC3 — “The Smiling Hour”: The Atlanta-based singer known as the “Queen of U.K. Soul” (aka Julie Dexter) has teamed with the homegrown jazz crew The HC3 (consisting of drummer/bandleader Henry Conerway III, pianist Nick Rosen and bassist Kevin Smith) to give birth to a new collection of songs titled “The Smiling Hour.” The recently released album has Dexter and the trio taking on a handful of jazz standards — but presenting them with their own special twist. The collected songs are equal parts sweet and simple, and served up with no chaser. More info: www.juliedexter.com. Richard Marks — “Never Satisfied”: The newly released project by the late, great Atlanta guitarist/ singer/songwriter Richard Marks is more time capsule than typical album. “Never Satisfied” is a 21-track journey through Marks’ musical evolution, covering his output from 1968 to 1972 and releases on the Shout label and smaller regional labels like Note, Free Spirit and RSC. The album also features two never-released songs — along with two booklets full of essays and photos that tell the story of this unsung soul legend. More info: www.nowagainrecords.com.
IMPORTS
Fernanda Noronha — “Fernanda Noronha”: Brazilian-born, ATL-dwelling singer Fernanda Noronha presents her new self-titled EP, and it’s a four-cut sonic vacation packed with samba sounds that are peppered with soul, jazz and more goodies. The production this time around is handled by the seemingly ubiquitous Edgewood Agents (see the cover story for more on them), so you know it’s primo. More info: www.fernandanoronha.com.br.
Jeff Bradshaw — “Home”: For “Home” — the latest from acclaimed trombonist Jeff Bradshaw (whose trombone has propelled horn-sections for everyone from Jill Scott and Jay Z to Erykah Badu and Kirk Franklin) — he’s assembled an ultra-all-star roster of vocal heavy hitters and set them loose on a live opus in his native Philadelphia. Keep your ears peeled for songs by Marsha Ambrosius, Black Thought of The Roots, Kim Burrell and Take 6, Bilal, Eric Roberson, Tweet and more. On top of that, “Home” (which was recorded at the famed Kimmel Center) is executive produced by Grammywinning pianist/bandleader Robert Glasper. In other words, the album is stacked with top-notch dopeness. Get yours. More info: twitter.com/iamjeffbradshaw. ✭
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✭ unheard
They got next
Art don Karen Lowe shares three artists to watch By Carlton Hargro
Photo by Shannon McCollum
As director of Atlanta’s Chastain Arts Center, Karen Lowe spends a good chunk of time surveying the city’s (and the nation’s) artistic landscape to find the next-generation of talent bound to blow up and make waves. So, it only made sense that — as we started compiling a piece about visual artists to watch in the A — we hit up Lowe. A native of the metro area who rubs elbows with visionaries like Radcliffe Bailey and Fahamu Pecou (among many others), she offered Slo*Mo her take on three creatives that folks need to take notice of (before their stuff gets too damn pricey).
Yanique Norman: “With her work, Yanique presents a surrealistic perspective of black femininity — i.e., the feminine power of African-American women — and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. She came out of the gate self-taught, so she has a natural talent. Through her education at Georgia State, however, her style is evolving. But because of her knowledge of self and the history of our people, she’s able to put all of that into the work with a unique point of view.” More info: www.sandlerhudson.com/ yanique-norman. Matt Haffner: “Looking at Matt’s work is almost like looking at storyboards. It’s a contemporary twist on realism. The way he presents the work, you definitely know what you’re looking at — but his pieces tell a story that relates to him and his own personal experiences. There’s a cinematic quality to his work, and I love the minimal approach.” More info: www.matthaffner.com. Aubrey Longley-Cooke: “Aubrey brings knitting into a contemporary realm. He creates imagery through this traditional craft of knitting. He creates a series of images, and then he animates them. Case in point: He made a series of needlepoint creations of his dog and then, in a video, he made it appear like the dog was running. Honestly, it’s the best thing ever! He’s taken something that some people see as archaic and boring and made it exciting.” More info: www.spoolspectrum.blogspot.com. ✭
Wax + Facts I
used to think I was the only one. Well, perhaps not the only one … but definitely one of a chosen few … a chosen few soul music heads who steadfastly believe that the vast majority of the R&B and soul songs released between the years of 1979 and 1983 represent some of the best music recorded. Ever.
in point: She served as a member of the soul bossa band Jiva, sang background for music legend Isaac Hayes for 11 years and has four sonically diverse solo albums under her belt. “Vinyl Daze,” however, embodies the best elements of early 1980s music — and her approach was anything but an accident.
I’m talking about tunes like “You Know How to Love Me” by Phyllis Hyman, “Nights” by Billy Ocean, “When Love Calls” by Atlantic Starr, “Nights Over Egypt” by the Jones Girls and many, many more. For folks like me, these tracks, which are both chronologically and stylistically sandwiched between the end of disco and the birth of house music, resonate so strongly because they blend thumping beats with copious amounts of melody and a heavy peppering of bass; the result is a bevy of cuts that are simultaneously danceable, funky and damn pretty.
“When it came to making ‘Vinyl Daze’ … I envisioned something that sounded like Quincy Jones and George Duke [produced tracks] for Patrice Rushen, Phyllis Hyman and Michael Jackson,” she says. “We just had a blast making new millennium music influenced by 1981.”
So, yeah, I was always under the impression that my “tribe” was a lonely one … until recently, that is. Things changed this past March when I clicked play on “Vinyl Daze,” the new album by vocalist Rhonda Thomas, and discovered that the tribe had grown by one. For the uninitiated, Thomas is an Atlanta-based, New York-born singer who’s made a career singing mostly on the jazzy side of the music world, but she’s never been locked into one genre. Case
The result of her vision and effort is a 10-track LP (on sale now through a partnership with the recently launched Atlanta Records label) filled with brand-new material like the grooving mid-tempo single “Show Me How to Love You” and the Brazilian-infused “Honey to a Bee,” among others. Adding to the retro factor, “Vinyl Daze even harkens back to a time when all records were “wax” by featuring songs sequestered on an “A side” (with more boogie influenced tunes) and a “B side” (with material that invokes a Natalie Cole/“La Costa” feel). Thomas says her love for the sounds of that bygone (and incredibly dope) era came as a result of family ties. “My father used to manage an R&B band in New York, so I would hear them performing lots of cover tunes — [songs by] Earth Wind and Fire, the Commodores, etc. I would hear that constantly. I mean, they would come in at 3 a.m. with all their instruments and I would hear them rehearsing. So,
Rhonda Thomas unwraps her “Vinyl Daze” By Carlton Hargro By Carlton Hargro it was just ingrained in me,” she explains. To accurately capture that specific retro — yet modern — feel, she enlisted the aid of ATL producers/musicians Daz-I-Kue, Khari Simmons and Julius Speed (aka the Edgewood Agents); in recent years, this trio has been responsible for guiding the musical destinies of local artists like Heston, Malena Perez, Donnie and many more. “Khari, Daz and Julius — not only are they well-versed in music of the past, they’re also well-versed in the music of today. I think if you’re only living that thing and you’re only listening to [an old-school] style of music, then it’s hard for you to bring it to the new millennium,” says Thomas. “Working with [the Edgewood Agents] enabled us to make the music feel familiar without complete duplication.”
her energies on taking her latest tunes on tour (details on her upcoming Atlanta show below); on top that, she’s already looking ahead to future releases. “My next album is gonna be a house album. And then after that I’m doing another straight-ahead [jazz] album, but it’s gonna be a live straight-ahead album,” she says. But for now, let’s revel in the ’80s goodness. ✭ Catch Rhonda Thomas June 5 at the official “Vinyl Daze” CD Release Concert (8 p.m. at the Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road). For more info, visit www.rhondasings.com.
Photo Courtesy of Harmony In Life
With “Vinyl Daze” done and in stores, Thomas is focusing
✭ artist talk
6
One-two-step
Singer/dancer Cortney LaFloy plots her next moves By Carlton Hargro
Photo courtesy of Tambor
Cortney LaFloy may be one of Atlanta’s freshest new singers, but she’s probably known more for her moves on the dance floor. Before ever teaming up with producer Steve ChiProfess and crafting the hit single “Dance 4 You” a little more than a year ago, LaFloy could be spotted tripping the light fantastic at house music events all around town. Lucky for house heads everywhere, her fancy footwork got the attention of Stan Zeff and the folks at the Tambor Music label — and the rest is history in the making. Slo*Mo recently tracked down LaFloy to find out what’s next for the Chicagoland-born vocalist. Slo*Mo: OK, we’ve been rocking “Dance 4 U” since last April. What’s next for you musically? Cortney LaFloy: First I want to continue the momentum when it comes to house music. So, I’m finishing a new single with Angolan producer Edson Júlio — aka Para People [who she met and collaborated with via the Internet]. And then Steve ChiProfess … we’re gonna start working on another project [for Tambor]. So far in your career as a singer and a dancer, you’ve concentrated on house music. Do you see yourself recording any non-house tracks anytime soon? Honestly, I love house music — but, first and foremost, I love MUSIC. Period. I love jazz. I love soul. I’m a very emotional person; I feel very deeply. So, for me to say house music is the only thing I want to do is not true to how I feel. I mean, there was a period of my life where all I listened to was Billie Holiday.
There was a period of my life where all I listened to was Aretha Franklin. I just love emotion. And so however I can portray deep, heartfelt emotion, I wanna do it … whatever that sounds like. Besides Para People and ChiProfess, are there any other producers you’d like to work with? One of the people I really, really want to work with is [Atlantabased producer] Daz-I-Kue. His works are aligned with the things I want to do. I just want to make meaningful music. And my thing is this: I’m a divorced mother of five who got an opportunity that people don’t always come by. I need to ride this thing till the wheels fall off! More info: www.facebook.com/cortneylafloy. ✭
7
✭ mo events
ROYAL rocks out its debut And: D’Angelo, Hiatus Kaiyote + more play the A
June 4: ROYAL — It seems like the momentum for ROYAL — the ATLbased supergroup made of singer Devon Lee and MC Mikeflo — has been building for forever and a day. Well, at last (almost a year after dropping their #ROYALREMIXES mixtape), the duo is keyed up to drop its first self-titled EP, pumping a sound that blends the best/grittiest/funkiest elements of rock with hip-hop — and sprinkled with copious amounts of politically and sexually charged lyrics. So, in celebration of the new record, ROYAL is jumping into the spotlight for a mega-release party on June 4; they’ll be jamming on stage with drummer and Atlanta soul architect Lil’ John Roberts, GLAMsoul singer Miranda Nicole, DJ Tonik and more. Expect to hear the assembled crew performing songs from the mixtape, the new EP and whatever the hell else they feel like. $10 (in advance). 8 p.m. Apache Café, 64 Third Avenue. www.apachecafe.info.
May 27: Stripped featuring India Shawn — Hometown heroine India Shawn is killing it these days. Her latest album, “Outer Limits” co-starring James Fauntleroy, is making an impact in earholes across the U.S. And, in support of the new material, she’s been performing for audiences from coast to coast. Catch her playing some of the new-new in the ATL tonight, along with opener Franc West. 8 p.m. The Music Room, 327 Edgewood Avenue SE. www.boomboxatl.com.
details.) $20. 7 p.m. Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road. www.fultonarts.org.
May 29: Hiatus Kaiyote — OK, if you’re anything like me, you’ve been anxiously waiting for the Australian future-soul band Hiatus Kaiyote to (1) drop a new album and (2) play live in Atlanta once again. So, I hope you’re happy to know that the band’s newest collection of tunes (“Choose Your Weapon”) is out, and the posse will be taking the stage tonight — along with Decatur’s own underground superstar singer/ musician Gwen Bunn. This is gonna be dope, y’all. Be there. $20. 8 p.m. The Loft, 1373 West Peachtree St. www.centerstage-atlanta.com.
June 13: Jeff Bradshaw, Robert Glasper, Syleena Johnson, Avery Sunshine, Mali Music — (For more on Jeff Bradshaw, see the Mo Sounds section.) $25-$80. 6 p.m. Mable House Amphitheatre, 5239 Floyd Road SW, Mableton. www. ticketmaster.com.
May 30: ROOTDOWN Music Festival — DJs Stan Zeff (of Tambor fame), Tyrone Francis (BKNY New York), Kevin Latham (Free Your Soul) and Ant B (Inthezone) combine their considerable skills for a free outdoor music throwdown. Bring your tents, picnic baskets, blankets, coolers, chairs, grills and more, and get your dance on. Free. 1 p.m.-8 p.m. Adams Park, 1620 DeLowe Drive. May 31: S.O.U.L. Sundays — Radio legend (and friend of Slo*Mo) Jamal Ahmad hosts this live, weekly extension of his beloved radio show, “The S.O.U.L. of Jazz,” featuring music by a variety of vocalists and musicians who reside in the metro area and beyond. $5-$8. 7 p.m.-11 p.m. The Music Room, 327 Edgewood Avenue SE. www.boomboxatl.com. June 5: Rhonda Thomas — (See cover story for
June 11: Mandatory Auditory featuring Camp Lo — The 1990s-era rap dynamic duo Camp Lo is back, serving up classics (like “Luchini”) and cuts from their brand-new (and actually very fucking dope) comeback album “Ragtime Hightimes.” $20-$25. 8 p.m. Vinyl, 1373 West Peachtree Street. www.centerstage-atlanta.com.
June 14: D’Angelo — Man, y’all better be going to this show. I mean, for real. $60.50-$127.50. 8 p.m. The Tabernacle, 152 Luckie Street NW. www.tabernacleatl.com. EVEN MO EVENTS: May 27: Purity Ring — $23-$26. 8 p.m. The Buckhead Theatre, 3110 Roswell Road. www.thebuckheadtheatre.com. May 29: Ruby Velle and The Soulphonics with Adron — $12. 8 p.m. Terminal West, 887 West Marietta St. Studio C. www.terminalwestatl.com. May 30: Epi.phony V — $10. 6:45 p.m. Fulton County Aviation Community Cultural Center, 3900 Aviation Circle NW. http://www.eventbrite.com. May 31: ATL Collective presents Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life — $12-$20. 7 p.m. Terminal West, 887 West Marietta St. Studio C. www.terminalwestatl.com. June 19: Heston Unplugged — $18-$35. 8 p.m. Apache Café, 64 Third Street, NW. www.apachecafe.info. ✭