"BIG DARK BRIGHT FUTURES"
Growing Concerns Poetry Collective
Chicago-based group Growing Concerns Poetry Collective released their new album, "BIG DARK BRIGHT FUTURES," on Oct. 16. Growing Concerns comprises rapper, poet, curator and actor Mykele Deville; poet, actor, filmmaker and educator McKenzie Chinn; and interdisciplinary artist, musician and educator Jeffrey Michael Austin. Following their 2017 debut "WE HERE: Thank You for Noticing," the new album is rooted deeply in the contemporary Black American experience.
Written and composed between 2017 and 2019, "BIG DARK BRIGHT FUTURES" invites listeners on an emotional, expansive, no-holds-barred journey through both the shadowed valleys and hopeful peaks of our current moment. Influenced by Afrofuturism and the recent experimental work of artists like Solange and Frank Ocean, "BIG DARK BRIGHT FUTURES" finds the common place between the personal and political as it explores the depth of social chaos while conjuring visions of collective transcendence.
"Sundowner"
Kevin Morby
Dead Oceans
Kansas City, Kan. based musician Kevin Morby attempts "to put the Middle American twilight -- its beauty profound, though not always immediate -- into sound" on his new album, "Sundowner," released Oct. 16.
Morby explains of the album: "It is a depiction of isolation. Of the past. Of an uncertain future. Of provisions. Of an omen. Of a dead deer. Of an icon. Of a Los Angeles-themed hotel in rural Kansas. Of billowing campfires, a mermaid and a highway lined in rabbit fur. It is a depiction of the nervous feeling that comes with the sky's proud announcement that another day will be soon coming to a close as the pink light recedes and the street lamps and house lights suddenly click on."
"Tembo Kia Ngoma"
Kiazi Malonga
West coast Congolese sensation Kiazi Malonga released his debut album "Tembo Kia Ngoma" on March 5. The album pays tribute to Malonga's late parents, including world renowned ambassador of central African dance and Malonga's father, Malonga Casquelourd. "This is my first studio project honoring the work he did, showcasing my culture and recording compositions and songs from his generation that were never captured," Malonga says of honoring his father's legacy.
"Tembo Kia Ngoma" translates from Kikongo to English to mean "the wind of the drum." Malonga, who also grew up in the inner city says, "Tembo (being wind) can also refer to the vibration of the sound waves that hit you often when a car with an amazing stereo system pulls up alongside you." The Ngoma, a traditional drum from sub-Saharan Africa, is the primary instrument showcased throughout the album.
With "Tembo Kia Ngoma," Malonga aims to elevate the platform with which Congolese traditional music is listened to and appreciated. Malonga concludes, "It's a first step in my contribution to sharing the beautiful culture that I am a part of...Congolese Culture."
"Cavalcade"
black midi
Rough Trade
black midi are proud to release their dynamic, hellacious and inventive new album, "Cavalcade," on May 28. The album scales beautiful new heights, pulling widely from a plethora of genres and influences, reaching ever upwards from an already lofty base of early achievements. black midi -- Geordie Greep (guitar, primary vocals), Cameron Picton (bass, vocals) and Morgan Simpson (drums) -- picture "Cavalcade" as a line of larger-than-life figures, from a cult leader fallen on hard times and an ancient corpse found in a diamond mine to legendary cabaret singer Marlene Dietrich, strolling seductively past them.
With this album, there was a "yearning" to be more considered and record something that was more harmonically interesting and challenging. "It's easy to get wrapped up in the improvisation myth of divine intervention, that if a song doesn't happen in the room naturally without it being guided by someone specifically, when we're all just feeling the vibe, then it's not proper and it's not pure," says Greep. "That's kind of a dangerous thing because you end up never trying something different, or you just abandon an idea if it doesn't work at first because you're always waiting for that thing to arrive perfect."
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This spot will continue to be filled by news and reviews of new albums, both local and national. Send information about your new releases to Jocelyn Murphy at [email protected].
