If There's A God, I Hope She's Black

Montreal-based artist Chiiild grew up listening to Biggie, Brandy, Craig David, Wu-Tang, and Moby and describes his music as a mix of old and new. "We love to make it feel nostalgic but also inspired," he said.  "We dubbed it 'synthetic soul' which is also the name of the first EP."  Comparisons have been drawn to artists such as D’Angelo, Tame Impala, and Pink Floyd because of their ability to incorporate countless soundscapes in just under four minutes. 

The song Back To Life seems to suggest that we’re merely experiencing a trial run of life with another opportunity to do it all over again.  Chiild said that the song "is a metaphor, a fantasy that life is just practice and somehow in the future, we can get a second shot at this.”  

The song features the vocals of Shungudzo, a Zimbabwean artist, songwriter, poet, and activist. According to Shungudzo,

“Chiiild and I wrote Back To Life on the day we met. We really bonded over being African artists who want to use music to tell stories about diversity, ask questions about humanity, and unify people over shared personal experiences. All of these themes are embedded in the lyrics of our song, and Chiiild’s music really compliments it, being so uniquely genre-bending yet still somehow reminiscent of something you’ve heard, or felt, before.”

Update:  No sooner did I upload this post than I got an email telling me that Big Ears 2020 was cancelled.  All of that planning, all of that fantasizing, turned out to be for nothing.  No Terry Riley bucket-list check-off, or Patti Smith or Damo Suzuki.  No Anthony Braxton later that week, or Mum or Efterklang.  No Big Ears this year.

Thanks, coronovirus (sarcastic tone).

Seratones

Well, shit:

"Due to the loss of a family member this morning, we are headed back to Shreveport to be with our friends and family. 

Unfortunately, we have to reschedule the show in Atlanta GA, at The Earl, to Tuesday, June 30th, 2020. 

Thank you all for your support and love on this tour.”

I haven't been to a show since Big Thief at Variety Playhouse back on November 7 and was looking forward to seeing Seratones at The Earl tonight.  My deepest condolences to the band for their loss.

To be honest, it may just have been the big sound of singer AJ Haynes' voice, but I imagined Seratones as too big a band to be playing the little ol' Earl.  But everyone's got to start somewhere, I suppose, until they get their big breakthrough.  But as tragic as a death in the family is, it's also sad that Seratones will still be playing little clubs like The Earl in June of 2020.

Meanwhile, On Late Night TV

 . . . And on the 31st of January, when Great Britain showed its true xenophobia by leaving the European Union and the U.S. Senate showed its true cowardice by refusing to hear testimony or evidence in the sham impeachment trial of the so-called President, Algiers, the Only Band That Matters, performed their song Dispossession on Stephen Colbert's late-night television show.