Hii! I'm kinda new to the fandom (only 2 months) and I was listening to Woman this morning and I got curious who the man talking at first is? Do you perhaps know?
Love your blog 💘
Hi dear,
I had to search for this one. I thought it was Tyler Johnson or Mitch, because they were in Jamaica with H when he was writing and recording the songs for HS1. But I found a note on Genius, and checked the video, and it's actually Alex Salibian:
Alex is an Armenian-American music producer signed to Jeff Bhasker's production company, Kravenworks. They were both in Jamaica as well. Alex produced and co-wrote all of HS1, with writing credits and/or producing credits in all songs.
Here are the credits for Woman:
You can watch the whole 'Harry Styles Behind the Album' documentary here:
You may find yourself feeling skeptical about Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo’s remake of the Talking Heads classic, Remain in Light. On paper, it sounds like the sort of bland “world music” fusion that waters down its component parts to make it palatable to the Democratic donor class. While Kidjo’s Remain in Light is slick, it’s also surprising, creatively produced, and, at its strongest, recasts the original’s songs of alienation into anthems of empowerment and resilience.
Politically, there’s a lot to love here. Kidjo’s Light is a utopian dream where Africa and the West meet on equal terms to gleefully borrow and steal from each other. The specters of imperialist cultural appropriation and parochial traditionalism have no place here. This spirit of trans-Atlantic (and trans-African) musical exchange is exemplified by one of the best musical surprises of the year so far: the interpolation of Fela Kuti’s “Lady” towards the end of “Crosseyed and Painless.” Byrne’s surrealist political vision is as relevant now as in 1980 (same as it ever was), but, in 2018, there’s new weight in words like “All I want is to breathe,” “Facts are never what they seem to be,” and “The world moves on a woman’s hips,” especially as sung by a black woman.
That’s all well and good, but how does it sound? Turn up your nose if you like at the fact that this album was produced by Jeff Bhasker (Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift), but Kidjo and her band, anchored by Afrobeat godfather Tony Allen, are so powerful that from the opening vocalizations of “Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)” until the trumpets and talking drums fade on “Once in a Lifetime” they don’t touch the ground. The anxiety that pervades the original songs is transformed, through sheer energy, into confidence and joy. Where Byrne sounded like a paranoid prophet, Kidjo sounds magisterial, as if the world the lyrics obliquely yearn for is imminent. It’s exhilarating.
As for the last four songs: they’re imaginatively arranged and beautifully performed. They have a warmth and empathy absent from the original, and it’s exciting to think about the implications of “Seen and Not Seen” and “Listening Wind” through a post-colonial lens. However, without the original’s anxiety propelling these four mid-tempo tracks, the momentum slows. There are no failures, but the back half of Kidjo’s Remain in Light feels too safe.
Kidjo’s Remain in Light doesn’t surpass its predecessor, but at its best, it’s an equally thrilling examination of the still relevant questions that drove Byrne and company almost 40 years ago: Can you dance anxiety away? Who owns culture? Won’t you breathe with me?
The new release 'Born Under Punches' by Angelique Kidjo is now on Spotify
The new release ‘Born Under Punches’ by Angelique Kidjo is now on Spotify
22-Mar-2018: ‘Born Under Punches’, single by Angelique Kidjo
Record Label: Kravenworks.
Angelique Kidjo’s twelfth single was released on the label Kravenworks and can now be streamed on Spotify. The single is not yet on Last.FM, indicating it is not all that popular (or just to soon to tell).
Album cover for Angelique Kidjo’s new single: Born Under Punches
Angelique Kidjo announce their 12th single Born Under Punches
Angelique Kidjo announce their 12th single Born Under Punches
22-Mar-2018: ‘Born Under Punches’, single by Angelique Kidjo
Label: Kravenworks.
Angelique Kidjo’s twelfth single was just released on the label Kravenworks and is now available for streaming on Spotify. The single is not rated on Last.FM, indicating it is not all that popular or it’s just too soon to tell.
Album cover for Angelique Kidjo’s new single: Born Under Punches
