Solange is an American singer-songwriter, actress, model, dancer and DJ. Knowles was born and raised in Houston, TX along with her older sister Beyonce. She has released two studio albums to date: Solo Star in 2003 and Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams in 2008, which peaked at #9 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Solange: True EP On November 28, 2012 By primeworldorder In People Look closely at what seems to be just an Orange block and you’ll see at the top, “Terrible Records Number Fifteen”. Snippets: Solange – ‘True’ (EP) 25. Solange EP Listener November 8, 2012. These snippets, getting the EP! KERI HILSON’S BLONDE LACERONT FOUND IN K-MART CHANGING ROOM.
Look closely at what seems to be just an Orange block and you’ll see at the top, “Terrible Records Number Fifteen”. It’s the 15th project of Solange’s new home. Terrible records, started and built by Chris Taylor who is a singer, bass player, producer and hair stylist is the perfect match for Solange indie style. At the beginning of her career she fought to shake the label of being Beyonce’s little sister. She began to soul search with her 2nd project “The Hadley Street Project” which turned out to be a really good album (classic in my archives). Today she dropped her 3rd project, “True” which is a painting of The person Solange has grown to become. The earthy, visual messenger as seen on her blog “MyDamnBlog”. She’s a #Lifer! One who has found a median in their life that pushes originality to a place of solitude, self-appreciation and happiness. With this in mind, True is an 80’s inspired free soulful Solange.It opens up with a 80’s sound that reminds me of a Donna Summers Jam with “Losing You.” My favorite song on the album is, “Lovers In The Parking Lot.” I really dig this project and it sounds nothing like any of today’s music which seems like everyone got the same producer for their projects. True was written and produced by Solange Knowles and Dev Hynes.
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Solange - True EP (Terrible Records)
06 Dec 2012
Written by: thomas hannan
'Sure, her voice isn’t the strongest in the family. But Beyonce doesn’t really make records with seven good songs on them in a row any more. So y’know, swings and roundabouts...'
When you really love a song and have heard it long before you encounter the record it eventually calls home, it can be a struggle to find anything in its immediate surroundings quite as charming. The excellent ‘Losing You’, the lead single from Solange Knowles’ reinvention of an EP True, should pose such a quandary – its incredible mixture of Talking Heads-esque sad funk with a vocal melody and delivery that recalls early Madonna had my head spinning from listen one. You’ve heard it, it’s great. But y’know what? It wasn’t a fluke.
Solange True Episode
It turns out that in hooking up with Devonte Hynes (aka Blood Orange, aka Lightspeed Champion, aka Dev from TEST bloody ICICLES), Solange Knowles seems to have found something of a musical soul mate. And like all good pop records, the one they’ve written is about love. Thematically (spoiler alert), True develops track by track like this:
- Shit. I’m losing you aren’t I?
- I knew I was losing you. Shit!
- I really didn’t want to lose you. Shit!
- I lost you because I was shit. Soz!
- Enough of this shit! It’s time to LOVE again!
- Oh new love, aren’t you dangerous an’ excitin’ an’ shit!
- Listen love, ahm’a bad girl, and ahm’a gon’ put you through some shit, but ah ain’t changin’, nuh huh no way no how.
As that tactless summation suggests, True is formulaic as hell. But – and it’s amazing how many people struggle to get this – the songs are all really good, so its total lack of boundary pushing is nothing of a concern. ‘Losing You’ might be the reason you’re here in the first place (other than the fact that she’s like, Beyonce’s sister), but the excellent ‘Some Things Never Seem To Fucking Work’ is every bit its equal, not least because swearing in very catchy pop songs is really good fun (nearly as much fun indeed as Dev’s spoken word section - DEV FROM TEST ICICLES). It seem Hynes and Knowles work best when they’re sounding as downtrodden as they do empowered, and here they hit the sweetest of balances between the two.
Solange True Ep Vinyl
I mentioned her big sis momentarily, but other than ‘Locked In Closets’ (which features the most up to date production style on the record and therefore sounds like it could be the track here most suited to Knowles Snr.), there’s not really that much common ground to be struck upon. Jnr.’s reference points instead seem to be more the classic artists of the 1980s – we’ve already mentioned Madonna and Talking Heads here, but ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ doesn’t so much nod as it does boogie towards 1999-eraPrince, and ‘Bad Girls (Verdine Version), if handled by a gruffly voiced male divorcee, could fit nicely on to Springsteen’s breakup classic Tunnel of Love. Sure, her voice isn’t the strongest in the family. But Beyonce doesn’t really make records with seven good songs on them in a row any more. So y’know, swings and roundabouts.
But it’s ‘Lovers In The Parking Lot’ (or “I lost you because I was shit. Soz!”) that becomes the real gem here, as it’s one of the rarest things in modern pop – a grower; a reason to listen to this record more than once, to find things in it that you hadn’t discovered before, to come to love what was once dismissible. You don’t learn things like this from your sister or co-writer, whoever they might be. And if Solange can combine that skill with one or two party bangers by the time a proper full-length comes around, well, who knows. But, Jesus, just imagine…
Solange True Episode 1
True is out now on Terrible Records.