“We met at the Montreux Jazz Festival when we were on the same bill. We got to talk backstage before the show. I told her how much I loved her music and she was so encouraging,” details Kimbra with valiant admiration. “She looked me in the eye and told me how much she believed in me as an artist. That’s a really amazing thing to be told by someone that you admire. We kept texting and talking and became friends over the course of a year.”
“I met Kimbra in an alternate universe,” notes Monáe. “Kimbra’s alternate personality and persona is just so incredible – and that’s what you get when you see her on stage.”
“On this journey you really do meet certain artists that you feel that you’ve met before. You get the feeling that you’ve tapped into a similar consciousness for a moment,” adds Kimbra. “I feel really blessed when I get that – when I meet someone and feel that we’re in this for the same reasons and gravitating towards the same ideas. That was always clear to me when I first discovered Janelle’s music. She’s on a trip that I feel that I’m also on.”
Since releasing her break-out EP Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase) in 2007, the first instalment of a seven-part conceptual series following a fictional tale of android Cindi Mayweather, Monáe’s boisterous blend of future soul and psychedelic R&B has seen her traverse the globe, carving a consistently unpredictable career path.
2013 saw the release of Monáe’s sophomore studio record The Electric Lady, which saw collaborations with childhood heroes Prince and Erykah Badu alongside up-and-coming R&B superstars Solange and Miguel. Having most recently performed alongside Aretha Franklin, Jill Scott and more at the White House as a part of their PBS-broadcast Women of Soul event, making a surprise cameo on stage with Outkast at Coachella and having just been revealed to appear at Skrillex’s Bonnaroo SuperJam, Monáe continues to be one of the most vibrant and forcefully artless names in contemporary music.
“It’s just been one amazing ride,” she beams ecstatically. “That’s the exciting thing about life. You never know just what’s going to happen, or how people will perceive the music that you put out. I’m just trying to put out a lot of good vibes and positive energy. I’m humbled by the amount of support that I’ve had and where my songs are taking me. I mean, we’re coming to Australia! I just cannot believe that people all over the world want to hear my songs – I’m always so humbled and grateful.
“I grew up in a tiny, tiny town in Kansas, but I’ve always had big dreams. ‘Music is incredible. It can take you to so many places – it really is the universal language. It has no religion and no sexual orientation. But you have to be mindful of what you say or the message that you send because once you have someone’s attention, you can change their life.’ I feel that I’ve been able to do that. And I’ve changed, too, from meeting people and hearing their stories.”
Similarly, since the release of her debut studio record Vows in 2011, Kimbra’s career trajectory has yet to cease skyrocketing. “I feel like I’ve been in a movie,” laughs Kimbra when reflecting on the past twelve months. “My life became quite a whirlwind when I was on the road with my band and on the ride of the Gotye single (Somebody that I Used to Know). But after the Grammys and the entire trip I really needed to become grounded again.”
It was then that Kimbra settled down to record her sophomore album. “I moved to LA, which doesn’t sound like the most grounded place,” she details. “But I moved into a nice quiet place with a lot of sheep and an outdoor kitchen. I’d wake up every morning to fresh eggs because I had 20 chickens running around my backyard! This is where I wrote my album. I got very connected to nature again and really began to nurture this mindset of wanting to innovate again, to be creative and not put any boundaries on my work. I just jumped straight in with an amazing bunch of people and took the reins on production more than I ever have in the past. I guess this will be the result of all of the craziness and the stillness at the same time.”
The album, with its name yet-to-be made public, is set to be released later in 2014. “I feel like I’ve put together this body of work that has so much heart and soul. And I want to treat it like a movie too – in the way that I present it to people. I feel like that’s why I’ve kept quiet until now and just drip-fed little bits of the record in an exciting way – it’s because I’m excited by the work and all of the people that have been a part of it. It’s come from a place of interesting juxtapositions.”
“There were so many people that I was hanging out and working with but not all of those collaborations made it to the final record. That’s the hardest part of making an album. You cultivate all of this material – I worked for months and months and months – I worked with so many incredible people, and then of course I had to decide what to cut and what the final bunch of songs would be.
“What’s super exciting is that there is such an extensive amount of material from over the past year. I plan to continue to release more and more songs after the album. I’ll release the title of the new record soon and I’ll begin playing some new material on The Golden Electric Tour. It’ll be a way for people to get a little insight into the record.”
Fans were treated to their first glimpse into the record last week with the release of Kimbra’s latest single 90s Music. “It’s definitely pretty different from anything that I’ve done in the past,” she shares excitedly. “It’s relevant in the sense that it’s all about juxtaposition and contradicting elements – and that’s something that I’ve been excited by for the whole album – just blending worlds. What happens when you get Daniel Johns from Silverchair with Thundercat and try to write a neo-space funk jam? Tapping into new and unknown territory, going to places that I haven’t been before – that’s super exciting for me.”
This week will see the duo embark on the Golden Electric tour, a never-before-seen collaboration in which both Monáe and Kimbra perform individual sets before taking to the stage for an intertwined showdown together.
“I’ll be performing a lot of songs spanning all of my work,” notes Monáe of her solo set. “It’s another world when I’m on stage. The person you’re talking to right now? I’m going to leave her at home. It’s not just some songs and me performing. It has an arc, it has an intro, it has an ending. It’ll put the exclamation mark in your heart.”
“I’m walking in with a whole new body of work and so much new material,” details Kimbra excitedly. “I’ll be bringing out a keyboardist from the States who I worked with a lot on the new record and has also worked with Thundercat. It’s completely fresh and new for me. I’ll be bringing a new bass player and a few vocalists alongside showcasing a lot of amazing visuals.
“I think that’s something that both Janelle and myself really enjoy doing – creating an entire show for people – back to the old school days where it was all about entertainment and the spectacle and theatrics. Of course the sound experience is priority number one, but we want it to be an all-encompassing transporting experience.”
As for when the duo take to the stage together? “We’re going to bring our alternate universe to the people,” chimes Monáe. “We’re going to do something totally different and fresh. We have so many ideas, which is the great thing about both of us. There’s so much range to work with. Her voice is incredible. She’s such a dynamic woman and we’re able to go to so many places.”
“This is going to be a tour where we get to explore that artistic connection together,” tells Kimbra. “We’re going to go into our alternate universes and spit out something crazy for the people. The sky’s our limit. It’s going to be a chance for us to showcase some songs that we love, do some covers and even some of each other’s material.”
“It’s going to be unforgettable,” agrees Monáe. “You’ll feel better about your life, you’ll feel better about music and you’ll feel better about the world and the state that it’s in after you see our show. It will be one experience you will never forget. I can guarantee you that or you can have your money back. All you have to do is show up and let us do the rest.”
BY TYSON WRAY
