Photos by Jessica Holmes Photography
I saw Janelle Monae at an intimate in-studio session this past weekend and was blown away by her performance. The invite-only event took place at legendary producer Bob Clearmountain's Berkeley Street recording facility in Santa Monica and was a benefit for KCRW. The entire live set and Q&A session, which was hosted by the station's Music Director, Jason Bentley, will be broadcast on Morning Becomes Eclectic on Friday, July 2nd.
Monae released her critically acclaimed Metropolis: Suite 1 E.P. in 2007 with the help of Big Boi from Outkast. She subsequently signed with Sean Combs, and has her own imprint via his Bad Boy Records label called Wonderland Arts Society. However, Monae is not about making black music for a black audience, but about making art that unites. As she stated during the Q&A, she'd rather not see red and blue states, but purple ones instead. She also strongly believes in promoting individualism, through her music and her Wonderland Arts Society label.
Her distinctive B&W style is 1920's speakeasy retro meets transgender Bowie, and her live shows and videos are very theatrical. She toured with No Doubt last year, and is doing a series of shows w/ Macy Grey before co-headlining a US tour with Of Montreal, who are also featured on her recently released new album. The CD, The ArchAndroid Suites II and III, comprises of the final installments of her Metropolis trilogy which is inspired by the 1927 Fritz Lang sci-fi classic.
Coming from humble beginnings (Monae is the daughter of a trash collector and a janitor), the themes explored in Metropolis' futuristic vision of an urban dystopia and a capitalist society gone wild resonated with the singer/songwriter. In 2008 Monae spoke with SuicideGirls' Sound Advice columnist Tamara Palmer about why the silent film inspired her:
"Although it didn't have any words, it really spoke out to me," Monae says of Metropolis. "It reminded me that there's a constant struggle between the haves and the have-nots, between the oppressors and the oppressed. I was raised in Kansas City and there are still members of my family there that are kind of like the walking dead. I thought it would be great to elaborate on that story a little more, to make it my own and to use a parallel that I thought of when I watched the film. I'm a huge science fiction head; I love Octavia Butler and Isaac Asimov and films like Blade Runner and of course The Matrix. It's a very compelling story, I feel like it could be very life changing if you allow it to, as it is for me."
Check out "Many Moons" from Metropolis: Suite 1:
And "Tightrope" from ArchAndroid Suites II and III:
