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I have to say, this is one talented lady. Her approach to each song is fresh, funky, and fun. Her voice is clear and strong, clearly a naturally talented vocalist. This recording was peppered with glimpses of many different vocal stylings all of which she carries well. A little Chaka Khan, a little Prince, even a little Tracey Chapman with Aretha and Patti Labelle as her mama and aunty.
A wondrous trip through a funky, well produced recording is what I got when listening. With songs co-written and co-produced by the fantastic duo of Martha herself and partner Aaron Whitby, I was taken on an adult trip into their music. Adult meaning it is not dripping with the droning monotony of the R&B junk my ears are burdened with on our national radio waves. This is beautiful. Real. Reminiscent of the 70's and 80's R&B that actually meant something. Moving me in a soulful groove that had my head weaving, eyes closed, as I listened to each and every song on this album. No skipping, no scanning. There is not a song on this album that seems to not carry on the momentum from the moment you put this in your player. Thanks Martha and Aaron. This is most definitely a must buy for music lovers of most genres. You can get more info from her website including ordering her CD which you really must do! — Feature and Review by Kimberly Hadsell |
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(click here for magazine graphic) Continental Drift By Larry Flick SOUL SISTAH: In this business, it's often all about who you're compared to. Before hearing a note of diva-in-waiting Martha Redbone's stunning self-made disc, Home of the Brave, we were inundated with stylistic points of reference. "She's kinda like an earthbound Macy Gray, " one pundit said, while another favorably compared her to India.Arie.
The bottom line? Redbone doesn't sound even a little like either artist. She sounds like herself; an R&B singer/tunesmith with an undeniable affection and affinity for classic soul sounds. She also has a remarkable flair for crafting pleasantly sticky, completely original jams. It's a rare treat to encounter an artist so confident in her vision and not susceptible to the narrowcasting ways of Svengali producers or the A & R execs who hire them. In short, Martha Redbone is an artist in the truest sense of the word. "I don't mind comparisons, because I believe that we're all working toward the same thing," Redbone says. "It's nice to be singled out, of course. But, in the end, we are all trying to put the melody back into soul music. That's a movement that needs every possible voice and songwriter. I'm proud to be part of that." Home of the Brave is more than merely another "neo-soul" recording, though. It's a sharply drawn, wonderfully human collection of material. Redbone doesn't assume an overly arty pose. Instead, she seems to revel in playing the everywoman, rendering each song emotionally accessible and believable. It's easy to embrace them, because the listener can interpret every word as truth. "I use my songs as a form of therapy," she says. "My songs come from different things or moments in time. I'll hear a phrase or a funny line that sticks in my mind; from there it will lead into a story based on experiences I've had or those of other people in my life." Do her friends mind hearing their personal lives unfold in Redbone's music? "Not at all," she says with a smile. "They love hearing themselves in my music. It makes them feel like they're part of something very important to me." And Home of the Brave is exactly that. Described by the New York-based artist as her life's blood, the set unfolds like a live gig, as she vamps, purrs, and belts amid a series of tightly woven arrangements that contrast raw soul with pop gloss. Throughout the recording-which she produced with longtime collaborator Aaron Whitby-Redbone is supported by such cream-of-the-crop musicians as Alan "AB" Burroughs (who has played with Miles Davis) and Jonathan Maron (Maxwell), among others. Since it started circulating roughly two months ago, an ardent fan base has begun to form. "There's a real vibe happening around this record," Redbone says, "People keep coming back to the gigs. That's the best evidence that we might be onto something good." Indeed. Fans are tapping into such tasty bits as the strummy, rock-etched "Liar," the retro-funk-flavored "Vineyard," and the cheeky, pop-splashed "Boyfriend," on which the artist tells the tale of a woman who discovers her man's bisexual tendencies. The centerpiece tune, however, in "Underdog," a gentle R&B/pop hybrid on which she builds from ain't-the-world-tough verses into a chorus that bursts with anthemic energy. It's the kind of song on which multi-platinum careers are built. "That song is so true to my heart," she says. "It encompasses all that I am. It's honest to the bone. I am the underdog. That can be a difficult way of life, but it makes you stronger. If you can keep from getting bitter, it can make success all the sweeter." With that, there's nothing more to say, other than it's time for a smart major-label exec to snap Redbone up and leave the comparisons to the wanna-bes. This woman is a true original; the kind of artist who sets trends, as opposed to following them. |
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Blackfeet Productions Founder Launches First CD SINGER-SONGWRITER MARTHA REDBONE, FOUNDER OF Blackfeet Productions, has released her debut CD, Home of the Brave, a mixture of musical styles including hip hop, folk, rock, Native,Soul and rhythm and blues. Redbone, who was born in New York and raised both in Brooklyn and Benham-Lynch, Ky., was teased as a child and called "Redbone", a slang term for a person with black and Indian ancestry. Redbone, whose father is black and Blackfeet Indian and whose mother is Blackfoot, Shwnee and Choctaw, later chose the term for her name. "I used to be ashamed of it, but now I embrace it as my own identity. I do my own thing. I exist outside the mainstream and it works just fine for me, " she said. As Redbone grew up she listened to the sounds of music from both cultures. One song in the CD, "Vineyard", includes a Native drum and sounds reminiscent of a chain gang. Another song, "Free" has a funky Creole slant, blended with hip-hop beats, and the track "Heaven" has a gospel sound. "Because I’m mixed everything I have is a reflection of me. My music is a mixture; my band is a mixture." To ensure that her first record would be an accurate reflection of herself, Redbone founded Blackfeet Productions. "I wanted to make an honest record, honest emotionally, something people can identify with. I feel there’s a real lack of music with meaning, mostly music for money. I want to be a part of the new wave of artists bringing back the art of real soul music and great musicianship to the charts. There’s nothing like hearing a song, then an hour later finding yourself humming the tune. That’s what I want to happen with my music," said Redbone. Owning the record label allowed her to make her album without "a committee but from the heart," she said. If her album succeeds, Redbone hopes to sign other musicians to "let them make the record of their dreams." Redbone has come to this point by a circuitous route. Originally she wanted to be a visual artist and as a teen was admitted to the prestigious School of Visual Arts. She later met a British boyfriend and moved to London. She settled in Camden Town doing freelance graphic design work, some of it for record labels. When a scheduled singer fell ill, a nervous producer asked if she could sing. "He said he’d pay me 50 pounds to sing a demo. Of course I said yes! But I was so nervous; it turned out to be a complete disaster" she said. But the experience excited Redbone so much that she realized that her life’s work was music. Redbone began practicing and focusing on her music in earnest. She then met Aaron Whitby, an accomplished jazz musician, and the two collaborated on songs. The two drew the attention of Walter "Junie" Morrison of Ohio Players/Parliament Funkadelic, who mentored them and helped them acquire the equipment they needed. Redbone’s father became ill, however, and she moved back to the United States. Making Home of the Brave has been a labor of love as well as reflective of her own journey from Kentucky to New York to England and finally back to New York. The CD, which is available at cdbaby.com, already has received good reviews from critics in The New Yorker and Album Review Network. To promote the CD, Redbone is singing in venues in New York and Mew England. She also hopes to perform at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., and at other stops along the way. MARCH 2002 • AMERICAN INDIAN REPORT |
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If there were any justice in the music business, this emotional powerhouse of a retro-soul singer/songwriter would be up there on the charts with the Macy Grays, Sheryl Crows and Nikka Costas, to whom she's been compared by the critical media. Overall, there's a folksy warmth amidst the soulful textures, but the tune that's become her calling card is the more anthemic "Vineyard," which finds her vocals building over a bed of Fender Rhodes before exploding along with tight brass and a pitter patter of industrial percussion-honestly, the perfect balance of rich, vocal soul and modern and old school textures. Culturally, she's a mix of African American and Native American, and so her lyrical themes tend to gravitate to themes like "Underdog" when she's not finding unique ways to convey more conventional ideas like "Say You Love Me." She even skirts the teen market with a more adult approach to that fluffy style on the chorus to "Someday We'll Be Friends." Other songs also reflect her unique American heritage; "Free" has a funky Creole slant blended with hip hop beats and "Heaven" has the gospel flavors of her Southern childhood. Her songwriting in spots also shows a powerful social-minded wit, but it's the voice and production gumbo which draws you in. — Jonathan Widran |