August 17, 2012

Link

Raphael Saadiq has more than one sound ringing in his head these days. As he begins work on a new album in his Los Angeles studio, he's already moving beyond the classic soul flavor of 2011's critically acclaimed Stone Rollin', which captured the warmth and excitement of Sixties/Seventies funk and R&B for a new generation.

"I'm going to switch it up," Saadiq tells Rolling Stone. "I want to put everything together and see what I come out with on the other side. It's a fresh beginning for me."

That means the new music will encompass a wider range of his influences, going back to the moment Saadiq was first recruited by Prince as a teen to play bass in Sheila E.'s band, followed by his years as a hitmaker mingling classic and contemporary soul in Tony! Toni! Tone! The singer-guitarist has been writing and recording for about a month.

"It's a little scary. It's going to still be soulful, but I'm flipping to an Eighties, dreamy type of thing on some stuff," said Saadiq, whose personal playlist has lately included Reagan-era hits by Duran Duran, the Police and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. "There's some heavy guitar, Mellotron and actual orchestra stuff mixed in with some distortion. It's going to be more of a collective sound of what I've been doing in the course of my career."

He spends his days in the studio and crashes there between sessions. "I live there," he says with a grin. "I have a little tiny room with a shower – that's it, with Ms. Pac-Man. Every day I get up, go for a walk or a run, livin' myself up. And later in the day I start recording. I'm a studio hog. I'm all into the gear."

While in the studio, Saadiq has also recently produced songs for Trombone Shorty and veteran funk singer Chaka Khan, whom he described as "so rock & roll. She's got that spirit of today and yesterday. It sounds really good, like old-school Rufus." One of the songs written with Trombone Shorty might end up on the Saadiq album, he says.

Another sound he expects to include on the album was directly inspired by the vivid new Bob Marley documentary, Marley. "There's one joint they did in the movie that inspired me to do something like they did in the early Sixties in the ska world," Saadiq says. "I love Bob Marley and the Wailers. I love Peter Tosh. I listen to a lot of that, in heavy, heavy, heavy rotation. And I catch the riff-raff of everything. I really love music."

His fiery performance last weekend outside the Annenberg Space for Photography in L.A. was a daylong break from his writing sessions. "I'm in the middle of writing, trying some directions and figuring out what I'm going to do. I haven't really hit it yet, though I have some things that I like," Saadiq explains. "I just grab a guitar, sit at a piano, play. Different people inspire different things. I'll drive down the beach for some inspiration – whatever you can pull from."

Hope we dont have to wait too long to hear what he comes up with this go round

love me some Raphael

Oh thank God...it sounds like he's going back to his signature sound. Well maybe not back to his signature sound 100%, he may mix it up and make it slightly different since he says he's been into Duran Duran and The Police lately. Can't wait to hear what he has cooking up in the studio. And a song with Trombone Shorty? Hope Raphael does another tour too. I have yet to see him live. Gotta love Raphael.

Thanks for this Identity. I was just on Raphael's website a couple of days ago, lurking around trying to see if he was working on something new or not.

[Edited 8/17/12 4:41am]

Don't know how I feel about this...but I'm sure it'll be dope. Sounds like he is going for a more 80s influence. Thinking of Parade and his Tony! Toni! Tone! days.

Bring it on.

silverchild said:

Don't know how I feel about this...but I'm sure it'll be dope. Sounds like he is going for a more 80s influence. Thinking of Parade and his Tony! Toni! Tone! days.

From what I got from the article, I'm thinking the new album with be a mix between the TTT sound and a bit of new wave...judging on the artists he said he was listening to lately...then again, he's been listening to Bob Marley too...so it could be a mixture of the TTT sound and some raggae. I could be wrong, but that's what I gathered. If I could hear at least 50% of TTT vibes in this new album, I'll be good. I've always felt he got that balance perfect on the "Instant Vintage" album.

missfee said:

silverchild said:

Don't know how I feel about this...but I'm sure it'll be dope. Sounds like he is going for a more 80s influence. Thinking of Parade and his Tony! Toni! Tone! days.

From what I got from the article, I'm thinking the new album with be a mix between the TTT sound and a bit of new wave...judging on the artists he said he was listening to lately...then again, he's been listening to Bob Marley too...so it could be a mixture of the TTT sound and some raggae. I could be wrong, but that's what I gathered. If I could hear at least 50% of TTT vibes in this new album, I'll be good. I've always felt he got that balance perfect on the "Instant Vintage" album.

Agreed! That overt 60s soul revivalist stuff was cool, but I'm glad he's making a departure from it.

silverchild said:

missfee said:

From what I got from the article, I'm thinking the new album with be a mix between the TTT sound and a bit of new wave...judging on the artists he said he was listening to lately...then again, he's been listening to Bob Marley too...so it could be a mixture of the TTT sound and some raggae. I could be wrong, but that's what I gathered. If I could hear at least 50% of TTT vibes in this new album, I'll be good. I've always felt he got that balance perfect on the "Instant Vintage" album.

Agreed! That overt 60s soul revivalist stuff was cool, but I'm glad he's making a departure from it.

Yes sir.

I'm ready for this.

smoothcriminal12 said:

^ LMAO!

i wish I can live int eh studio 24/7

This man never disappoints (well, except the Ray Ray album IMO).

mrjun18 said:

This man never disappoints (well, except the Ray Ray album IMO).

That may very well be true since I could only stand to listen to about 3 tracks on that album. I could respect that he fearlessly takes risks but that album, I just could never get into.

missfee said:

mrjun18 said:

This man never disappoints (well, except the Ray Ray album IMO).

That may very well be true since I could only stand to listen to about 3 tracks on that album. I could respect that he fearlessly takes risks but that album, I just could never get into.

Ya'll don't like Ray Ray? That's my shit, even though some of it is plain corny and forced at times.

missfee said:

mrjun18 said:

This man never disappoints (well, except the Ray Ray album IMO).

That may very well be true since I could only stand to listen to about 3 tracks on that album. I could respect that he fearlessly takes risks but that album, I just could never get into.

yeah same here! I love all the tony toni tone stuff of course, the way i see it, lucy pearl stuff, stone rollin etc. but just not ray ray, couldnt get into it.

silverchild said:

missfee said:

That may very well be true since I could only stand to listen to about 3 tracks on that album. I could respect that he fearlessly takes risks but that album, I just could never get into.

Ya'll don't like Ray Ray? That's my shit, even though some of it is plain corny and forced at times.

LOL. It does sounds forced and very plain. it was a minor step back for him.

mrjun18 said:

silverchild said:

Ya'll don't like Ray Ray? That's my shit, even though some of it is plain corny and forced at times.

LOL. It does sounds forced and very plain. it was a minor step back for him.

Oh man...

He was tryna record Instant Vintage: Redux but it came forced and contrived. And the whole "I Know Shuggie Otis" seem like he was throwing shade at Beyonce who sampled him a year earlier.

Another argument is, he may wore himself thin. He gave a great deal of good material to Teedra, Truth Hurts and Jaguar Wright at the time.

Aside from that, he rarely disappoints, whether its his material or somebody else'.

Harlepolis said:

mrjun18 said:

Harlepolis said:

He was tryna record Instant Vintage: Redux but it came forced and contrived. And the whole "I Know Shuggie Otis" seem like he was throwing shade at Beyonce who sampled him a year earlier.

Another argument is, he may wore himself thin. He gave a great deal of good material to Teedra, Truth Hurts and Jaguar Wright at the time.

Aside from that, he rarely disappoints, whether its his material or somebody else'.

Yep. He did give Teedra, Anthony Hamilton etc some good ish. Ray ray is he only material in his catalogue that I couldn't get into. Everything he does for himself, TTT and for others is on point.

The concept Ray Ray was heavily muddled. It fell apart very quickly. But alot of the material on there was slick IMO.

Raphael Saadiq is a monter; I mean dude wrote/co-wrote the two biggest R&B/Soul

tunes of the past 20 years:

Untitled (How Does it Feel?)

Soul Sista

My bro* met him while on tour in Texas and said he's a straight up G.

Speaking of my brother, y'all go check out his shit at: By The Bull

[Edited 8/17/12 15:22pm]

mrjun18 said:

Harlepolis said:

He was tryna record Instant Vintage: Redux but it came forced and contrived. And the whole "I Know Shuggie Otis" seem like he was throwing shade at Beyonce who sampled him a year earlier.

Another argument is, he may wore himself thin. He gave a great deal of good material to Teedra, Truth Hurts and Jaguar Wright at the time.

Aside from that, he rarely disappoints, whether its his material or somebody else'.

Yep. He did give Teedra, Anthony Hamilton etc some good ish. Ray ray is he only material in his catalogue that I couldn't get into. Everything he does for himself, TTT and for others is on point.

The songs he had with Teedra on the album are the main ones that I listen to on the album.

mrjun18 said:

missfee said:

That may very well be true since I could only stand to listen to about 3 tracks on that album. I could respect that he fearlessly takes risks but that album, I just could never get into.

yeah same here! I love all the tony toni tone stuff of course, the way i see it, lucy pearl stuff, stone rollin etc. but just not ray ray, couldnt get into it.

Ahh snap the Lucy Pearl album got played 24/7 the year it came out (my senior year of high school)...I love that album to death! I was highly disappointed when it didn't work out for them though. I can play that album from start to finish. But you are right...the Ray Ray album IMO has been the weakest album...and as most have already said, he rarely disappoints. Can't wait to hear what he has in store next.

mrjun18 said:

Harlepolis said:

He was tryna record Instant Vintage: Redux but it came forced and contrived. And the whole "I Know Shuggie Otis" seem like he was throwing shade at Beyonce who sampled him a year earlier.

Another argument is, he may wore himself thin. He gave a great deal of good material to Teedra, Truth Hurts and Jaguar Wright at the time.

Aside from that, he rarely disappoints, whether its his material or somebody else'.

Yep. He did give Teedra, Anthony Hamilton etc some good ish. Ray ray is he only material in his catalogue that I couldn't get into. Everything he does for himself, TTT and for others is on point.

Same here. While the "Sons of Soul" album is my #1 favorite album of TTT, "House of Music" was a masterpiece to me. The balance of 60's soul combined with 90's soul was perfectly balanced here, in contrast to his solo "The Way I See It" album which was overwhelmingly 60's influenced, even though its still a decent album. "Wild Child" off of the "House of Music" album is my shit...with "Loving You" coming in at a close 2nd.

missfee said:

mrjun18 said:

Harlepolis said: Yep. He did give Teedra, Anthony Hamilton etc some good ish. Ray ray is he only material in his catalogue that I couldn't get into. Everything he does for himself, TTT and for others is on point.

Same here. While the "Sons of Soul" album is my #1 favorite album of TTT, "House of Music" was a masterpiece to me. The balance of 60's soul combined with 90's soul was perfectly balanced here, in contrast to his solo "The Way I See It" album which was overwhelmingly 60's influenced, even though its still a decent album. "Wild Child" off of the "House of Music" album is my shit...with "Loving You" coming in at a close 2nd.

House of Music was definitely a masterpiece of stellar modern soul and it set a standard for not only the Tonyies, but for R&B at that particular time. It was the perfect balance of contemporary soul styles and styles of the past, which was something Ray and the guys had been gearing at for a while previous to this album. Instant Vintage and Lucy Pearl were other efforts that had that great balance of styles. I personally saw The Way I See It as an attempt for him to take a quick stab at the whole 60s soul revival sensation that seemed to be hitting strong during the mid-to-late 2000s. It had him playing up that Motown/Stax classicist image that was both suitable and overly obvious at the same time. But nonetheless, I don't think Raphael has honestly put out anything bad. He is very consistent when it comes to his releases.

[Edited 8/17/12 16:03pm]

silverchild said:

missfee said:

Same here. While the "Sons of Soul" album is my #1 favorite album of TTT, "House of Music" was a masterpiece to me. The balance of 60's soul combined with 90's soul was perfectly balanced here, in contrast to his solo "The Way I See It" album which was overwhelmingly 60's influenced, even though its still a decent album. "Wild Child" off of the "House of Music" album is my shit...with "Loving You" coming in at a close 2nd.

House of Music was definitely a masterpiece of stellar modern soul and it set a standard for not only the Tonyies, but for R&B at that particular time. It was the perfect balance of contemporary soul styles and styles of the past, which was something Ray and the guys had been gearing at for a while previous to this album. Instant Vintage and Lucy Pearl were other efforts that had that great balance of styles. I personally saw The Way I See It as an attempt for him to take a quick stab at the whole 60s soul revival sensation that seemed to be hitting strong during the mid-to-late 2000s. It had him playing up that Motown/Stax classist image that was both suitable and overly obvious at the same time. But nonetheless, I don't think Raphael has honestly put out anything bad. He is very consistent when it comes to his releases.

Funny that you mention the Motown/Stax influence. If I had a playlist that showcased the Oakland sound, 3/4 of this album would end up in the playlist

I'm always fascinated by how different people react to music. In fact, you mentioning the Motown/Stax connection will make me listen to the album in a different persepctive

silverchild said:

missfee said:

Same here. While the "Sons of Soul" album is my #1 favorite album of TTT, "House of Music" was a masterpiece to me. The balance of 60's soul combined with 90's soul was perfectly balanced here, in contrast to his solo "The Way I See It" album which was overwhelmingly 60's influenced, even though its still a decent album. "Wild Child" off of the "House of Music" album is my shit...with "Loving You" coming in at a close 2nd.

House of Music was definitely a masterpiece of stellar modern soul and it set a standard for not only the Tonyies, but for R&B at that particular time. It was the perfect balance of contemporary soul styles and styles of the past, which was something Ray and the guys had been gearing at for a while previous to this album. Instant Vintage and Lucy Pearl were other efforts that had that great balance of styles. I personally saw The Way I See It as an attempt for him to take a quick stab at the whole 60s soul revival sensation that seemed to be hitting strong during the mid-to-late 2000s. It had him playing up that Motown/Stax classicist image that was both suitable and overly obvious at the same time. But nonetheless, I don't think Raphael has honestly put out anything bad. He is very consistent when it comes to his releases.

[Edited 8/17/12 16:03pm]

I agree with this one 100%. TTT is the only artist that I can think of that got better and better everytime they released an album.

My top 3 favs on HOM are Still A Man, Wild Child & Lovin' You.

I'm down with Ralph.

I did see him say he goin to the 80s? HE was never a synth heavy kind of guy even with the early TTT stuff.