Janelle Monáe & Nate Wonder

Janelle Monáe has had a lot to smile about this year. After a run of successful albums over the last decade, in June she released her fourth album, The Age of Pleasure. The album was just nominated for two Grammys including Album of the Year. This project is important—it signaled a big tone shift for Janelle whose past albums have centered in part around a recurring character named Cyndi Mayweather, an android who represents society’s new “other.”

Esthetically Janelle has always been buttoned up. For her first few album releases she made a point of always appearing in public in some iteration of a tuxedo. For The Age Of Pleasure though, she literally stripped down to almost nothing, flaunting a newfound freedom centered around Black joy and acceptance.

On today’s episode Justin Richmond talks to Janelle Monáe and her long time music partner Nate Wonder poolside, at their creative home base in the Hollywood Hills called Wondaland. Nate explains how The Age Of Pleasure album started with the simple conceit of making Janelle smile. Janelle also talks about why she decided to ditch a career in musical theater after college, and how THE Grace Jones ended up topless in Wondaland’s now-infamous pool.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Janelle Monáe songs HERE.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(390)

Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien

Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien

Ed O'Brien has spent decades crafting some of the most textured, expansive guitar in modern rock. From the fragmented beauty of Kid A and Amnesiac to the experimental layers of The King of Limbs, with...

23 Juni 1h 18min

Earth, Wind & Fire

Earth, Wind & Fire

Just before the premiere of Earth, Wind & Fire's new Questlove-directed documentary , the three OGs of the group stopped by Broken Record: vocalist Phillip Bailey, singer and percussionist Ralph Johns...

16 Juni 53min

Fania Takes Nueva York | From Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York

Fania Takes Nueva York | From Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York

The 1960s brings social and political change to the world and to New York City, where a young Johnny Pacheco keeps people dancing with his orchestra and charanga music. The Dominican musician is also ...

11 Juni 35min

The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers have never been easy to pin down. Since forming in Vancouver in the late ’90s, the band became one of the defining acts of the Canadian indie rock explosion. They’re part of a sc...

9 Juni 53min

Mopreme Shakur

Mopreme Shakur

Mopreme Shakur is 2Pac's half-brother, a rapper, filmmaker, and record producer living at the intersection of revolutionary politics and hip-hop. He's one of the only surviving members of Thug Life an...

2 Juni 1h 10min

Hardy

Hardy

Before Hardy was known as the breakout artist who pushed country music into hard rock territory, he was a self-proclaimed redneck from Philadelphia, Mississippi who studied songwriting at Middle Tenne...

26 Maj 45min

From Robert Margouleff | Shaping Sounds: Stevie Wonder, DEVO, the Synth Revolution and My Life Behind the Music

From Robert Margouleff | Shaping Sounds: Stevie Wonder, DEVO, the Synth Revolution and My Life Behind the Music

Recently, we had visionary music producer Robert Margouleff on the show and today we're sharing an excerpt from his new audiobook, Shaping Sounds: Stevie Wonder, DEVO, the Synth Revolution and My Life...

21 Maj 12min

Robert Margouleff and Mark Mothersbaugh

Robert Margouleff and Mark Mothersbaugh

Robert Margouleff is one of the most quietly consequential figures in modern music — a sonic architect who helped build some of the most innovative and enduring sounds of the last half century. Togeth...

19 Maj 1h 4min

Populärt inom Nöje

mellan-himmel-och-jord-med-jlc
filip-fredrik-svarar
badfluence
mardromsgasten
rss-p3-musikdokumentar
chilla-med-de-vet-du
dialogiskt
schulman-show
fem-i-topp
mannen-utan-spar
skandal
gott-snack-med-fredrik-soderholm
hemma-hos-strage
trekant-med-kakan-och-oris
karatefylla
sexet
vardagsmysterier
rss-rockpodden
rss-made-in-sverige-podcast
rss-bl-metal-podcast