Over the last quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016, you would have come across a couple of posts featuring Chicago-based R&B vocalist and singer/songwriter The Elle and her collaborations with Minnesota-based singer/songwriter and emcee Blaccout Garrison on his impressive Hungry Soulful EP.
The Chicago-based singer/songwriter’s latest effort Soul Art Music was released earlier this year, and you may recall that I wrote about the album’s first single “Your Love” back in March. The single, which was produced by South African producer Keith Virgo began with an introductory sample of legendary seductress Eartha Kitt setting up the song’s theme as Kitt candidly shares her thoughts about what real love really is — and according to Kitt, real love is is essentially a process of learning how to share yourself with yourself and others. Sonically speaking, Virgo pairs a subtly cosmic and trippy production consisting of layers of twinkling and shimmering synths, tumbling percussion, boom bap drums, various electronic bleeps, bloops and beeps with The Elle’s self-assured and sultry vocals portraying a narrator, who believes and feels that she has found a love that has helped her find her truest self. And within the turn of a phrase The Elle reveals a narrator who is strong yet unafraid to be vulnerable and open, and absolutely appreciative of stumbling about this person at this juncture.
“Halo” Soul Art Music‘s latest single pairs beatsinmybackpack’s soulful production consisting of shimmering and twinkling keys, boom bap drum programming with The Elle’s cooly self-assured and sultry vocals portraying a narrator, who’s urgently, stupidly, foolishly and proudly in love — of the sort, in which you see your object of desire and love as being the most perfect creature on earth. Sonically speaking, the song manages to channel golden era hip-hop, classic hip-hop soul and neo soul and J. Dilla simultaneously but with a gentle cosmic sheen — and while being incredibly sensual.
Co-directed by Ashley Battle and The Elle and edited by KNOON, the recently released music video for the song manages to hint at the song’s trippy cosmic sound as you’ll see the clouds and stars moving about in the sky, followed by intimate images of The Elle dressed in various white outfits, coquettishly in various states of repose.
