AUGUST 2015 ISSUE
A sneaky peek of just some of what is in the August 2015 issue – OUT NOW!
Cecile McLorin Salvant
As Americans reel from the shockwave of Charleston – or maybe some don’t, and that’s the real tragedy – the question of how people of colour can find true solace in a darkly dis-United States is more pressing than ever. Who they are allowed to be remains to be seen. A month before the shooting triggered a key debate on the place of the confederate flag in the Deep South, Cecile McLorin Salvant shared this recollection on a childhood in one of America’s great ‘immigrant’ cities.
“Miami is such a place for people who are children of Caribbean people. We’re so used to talking to our parents and we’re like, ‘Aw, mum, you don’t know how to pronounce this!’ So there’s always the question of where do I feel like I really belong, ’Do I feel French? Do I feel American? Do I feel Haitian? No, to all three… and then somehow yes to all three.”
To coin a cliché, it’s complicated when it comes to the identity of the 26-year-old singer. Her father is Haitian, her mother a French woman who, although born in Tunisia, has lived in Africa, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.…
Teedra Moses
“I think, maybe, I wasn’t ready,” says Teedra Moses, reflecting on why it’s taken her over a decade to put out Cognac & Conversation, the long-awaited official follow-up to Teedra’s classic, TVT Records debut Complex Simplicity. “I mean, I had plenty of music and I could perform, but I think I wasn’t ready for the amount of attention [as an artist] that came directly to me.”
Back in 2004, having already gained a lil’ industry love behind the scenes for penning the Christina Milian hit Dip It Low with Paul Poli [producer on the debut], Teedra’s subsequent transition from assistant wardrobe stylist to new R&B chanteuse was the definition of overnight sensation. The culmination came in working with million-dollar video director Hype Williams on her signature song, the Mary Jane Girls inspired Be Your Girl.
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Stig Of The Dump
“I’m a huge film fan. I never watch terrestrial TV. So it’s something I discuss with people on the regs. I’m a particular fan of Stanley Kubrick’s work and he is well known for his obsessive shot compositions and hidden narrative, so it made perfect sense to me as an allegory. Then when I wrote the title track, which is rammed with double and triple layered lyrics, esoteric movie references and film industry jargon, it just felt like the perfect title.
“Plus, Kubrick in my camp’s idiolect is slang for weed or being high, as stoners always see things differently and break things down to the minutiae. I didn’t want to make it too heavily laden with Kubrick references, as I didn’t want to spoon feed people, and I personally love it when I clock even an obvious reference I missed in a track I’ve known for years. It makes it seem brand new again. Plus I didn’t think it was in keeping with his style to either draw the obvious picture or over saturate it. I wanted to make it more subtle, thought out and considered, like the master himself.”...
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Israel Vibration
Israel Vibration is now a two-piece comprised of Lascelles “Wiss” Bulgin and Cecil “Skelly” Spence, but the group has stayed true to the spirit of reggae music for more than 40 years and they’ve no intention of stopping any time soon.
It was two albums for Tommy Cowans, released during an era when Jamaica was awash in Rasta vocal trios that put them on the map, and a 13-year stint with RAS Records that revived their fortunes just as dancehall swept all before it. No one who ever saw them perform, as the three of them swayed on crutches – each of the members having been left permanently disabled by polio – could ever forget them.
The group didn’t become reggae legends because of the way they looked however, but due to the enduring appeal of their songs. Their music has integrity and after triumphing against formidable odds, they remain a compelling presence on the roots reggae circuit…
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