MARTHA
REDBONE singer/songwriter/producer/artist.
Every once in a while, you meet a woman of inimitable
style. The kind of woman for whom clothes are less a statement than
an artist's palette. The kind of woman whose best accessory is her
smile. Martha Redbone is that kind of woman.
Every once in a while, you hear a voice you can't
forget. It's the angel whispering in your ear at the moment when
you are most discouraged. It's the bird's song that flits by you,
the moment when you realize that despite all your doubts and cynicism,
you've once again fallen in love. It's the throaty, Bacall-like
purr that is telling a very dirty, albeit very clever, joke next
to you in your favorite bar. Martha Redbone has that kind of a voice.
It's not often that you hear music that sounds
like it was crafted not in a studio, but at the dinner table. Music
that was cooked up at a dinner party where the guests included Sly
Stone and Prince, Roberta Flack and Al Green. The kind of party
where Joni Mitchell stops in for a cocktail and Minnie Riperton
goes straight for the dessert, something sweet. Martha Redbone makes
that kind of music: not what soul music was or is, but what it will
be.
Martha Redbone grew up in New York and Kentucky.
An unlikely combination that you can hear in her flow: the staccato
melodies of the city, mixed with the easy, wide-open praise song
of a country choir. A body in motion tends to stay in motion and
it's been nonstop ever since. Martha Redbone was mentored by legendary
musician, Walter 'Junie' Morrison, who was an original member of
the Ohio Players and later, Parliament Funkadelic. Now a sister
to the funk, she sang background vocals on the Mothership reunion
album with George Clinton. In the immortal words of Tribe Called
Quest, can Martha Redbone kick it? Yes, she can! !
Her lyrics capture, like fireflies in a jar, the
bright moments in life that we're often too busy to notice. Martha
Redbone decided to title the album after the last line of the national
anthem, "land of the free and home of the brave." Brave was a reference
to Native Americans. But while the founding fathers called America,
'home of the brave', for more than 200 years, it was anything but.
"It's a hard thing to do these days, to follow what you believe
in," she says. "When you do that, then you become brave. Your body
becomes more than a body. It becomes a home of the brave."
There's joy in Martha's music, but there's a ferocious
quality to the music, as well. Songs like "Vineyard" and "Perfect
Life" resonate with the conscious-raising, spirit-lifting melodies
and lyrics of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?" While tunes like
"Underdog" explores the sweet and bitter hand that life deals us
and how we shuffle between dreams, luck and fate. That kind of openness
is what this album is all about. This album doesn't mince words
or pull punches, it's everything -- angry, painful, funny, smart,
romantic, playful -- that's in Martha's heart. In the lyrics, in
the beats, in the soulful, sassy timber of her voice -- there are
treasures to unfold. Go ahead and drop in on the Home of the Brave.
Someone very special is waiting at home. -Veronica Chambers
All of the songs on her debut album HOME
OF THE BRAVE were written and produced by Martha
with longtime writing partner Aaron Whitby. Working with an amazing
NY band featuring players like Alan AB Burroughs (Miles
Davis), Jonathan Maron (Maxwell) and others (see the links
page), Martha has earned respect from some of the finest musicians
on the NYC scene.
With co-producer Aaron Whitby, and engineers Joe
Quinde (Jay-Z) and Tom Cassel (Notorious BIG) Martha has created
the perfect marriage of song, music and beats to support her incredible
voice - soaring, vulnerable, spirited. This girl is brave, new,
strong
and free as a bird. Check it out. |