Bilal
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Somehow in our hunger for perfection it’s become difficult for music to just be. And so when Bilal began making A Love Surreal (his latest-and fourth cd over all) the acclaimed Grammy nominated vocalist/songwriter /producer knew where he needed to go. “I’ve always wanted to make music that is so basic and simple that it can be recreated every time. Something simple like a jazz standard. On this album I let go of a lot of shit for the first time and that opened my eyes up to a lot of more stuff. It was a real complete thought.”
A soulful rumination on love’s varying rhythms Bilal describes A Love Surreal as a “musical art gallery.” As the title might suggest the cd is a reference to the father of Surrealism Salvador Dali. Although Bilal is quick to point out that he isn’t “a painting connoisseur” he loves Dali’s work. And has long been intrigued by the possibilities of fusing art and music. “When I was younger and living in New York City I became friends with a young artist who was making a living off his art. He considered himself a musician and playing guitar would get him thinking about painting. Through him I saw how I could make music out of something visual and vice versa. I was beginning to think in a bigger picture and so, when I went into A Love Surreal I was no longer just looking at things as being “just” a singer. I really put something into it.”
A Love Surreal found Bilal taking on the self -described role as “complete brain master.” In actuality he produced or co produced a majority of the cd. “I built a big landscape and put it all together when I got into the studio. I’d come up with an initial shape of a song on my laptop and take it to the studio and instead of keeping a lot of the electronic stuff I’d teach it to my band and then we’d expand from that. I’d lay down ideas, little words, mumbles and then we’d sketch out the rest of the lyrics.” Creating the cd took about a year and Bilal cites the fast pace and forward movement as a reason why “everything come out naturally.”
The first single, “Back To Love”, takes listeners on a journey through the trials and tribulations of a relationship. Self produced, the smooth meandering of Bilal’s vocals, along with the instrumentation, paints the picture of a couple navigating falling in and out of love. “It’s about getting back to the one. The initial passion and spark, the fire. In everything and at different times we all find ourselves at that place where we need to reaffirm things.”
“Butterfly” reteams Bilal and his old friend Robert Glasper; it is the third time these innovative artists have joined forces. “Robert and I went to college together but “Butterfly” is the first time we did, like, a little duet. No drums, no nothing; just piano, vocal and a little keyboards.”
Featuring KING, an all girl R&B trio from Minneapolis, “Right at the Core“ is knee deep in a sensual, aloof sound that brings to mind Prince circa 1999. “’The Core’” is an interesting song because there’s not a real lead vocal, it’s almost a choral type of vibe.”
“West Side Girl” undulates with a mysterious groove reminiscent of Sly Stone’s “Family Affair.” The song was recorded with a crew of friends including Sa-Ra’s Shafiq Husayn and up and coming jazz bassist Steven “Thunder Cat” Bruner, who Bilal compares to the late Jaco Pastorious.
Born in Philadelphia Bilal Oliver is a schooled musician and dynamic live performer whose artistry draws from jazz, soul, and hip-hop. With fans that includes Eryka Badu, Janelle Monae, Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammed and featured spots with, among others, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Diddy and Common, Bilal made his major label debut with 2001’s First Born Second. The cd sold over 300, 000 copies and announced that Bilal was an artist to watch. Bilal’s sophomore recording Love For Sale leaked to the internet before its official release and would enjoy over half a million downloads. 2010 saw Air Tight’s Revenge, which yielded the Grammy nominated “Little Ones”.
Ask Bilal how he sees A Love Surreal and he replies without hesitation. “I’ve always had a lot of information about what it is that I wanted to do but sometimes it would come off as obscure. This time I think I’ve set out what I meant to do.” Simple enough, right?
Onyx Collective
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If Onyx Collective, the nebulous jazz ensemble whose name you may have overheard in downtown Manhattan at some point in the past couple years, seems elusive it is because oftentimes they are. Onyx shows are unannounced, impromptu affairs: the group will perform in a basement, at a cocktail lounge atop a hotel, and to the street from a storefront all in the course of a week. The cast of performers is interchangeable, as is the kind of music that they play. Salsa and funk are fair game, in addition to the band’s own unique style of jazz.
Onyx Collective is a steadfast part of New York, and the city is the glue that holds the group together. “New York’s role in Onyx Collective is everything,” explains Isaiah Barr, saxophonist, sometimes vocalist, and de facto leader of the band. “The names of people, the places, the street corners here are so legendary and historically prominent – it leaves a roadmap that we can walk through and a story for us to follow.”
Barr is joined by Austin Williamson on drums, Joshua Benitez on keyboard, Jack Guliemetti on guitar, Felix Pastorius and Spencer Murphy on electric bass, and Dean Torrey and Walter Stinson on upright bass, with Maxwell Deter providing most of Onyx Collective’s visual art. There is an additional group of artists who consistently orbit in and out of the Onyx universe. Nick Hakim, Julian Soto, Dev Hynes, Wiki, and other New York mainstays have performed with the band, and Onyx quietly features on a bevy of other artists’ records.
Onyx Collective’s enigmatic nature is undeniably a part of its allure, but the force that truly propels the group is technical musical proficiency (the band’s members attended New York’s musical conservatories as kids) coupled with a reckless abandon. Onyx runs a manic energy through their classical training to create a live show that at times feels as punk as it does jazz. Barr is known to wield two saxophones simultaneously, playing both over Williamson’s feverish drumming.
In September of 2016, with little fanfare, Onyx Collective released its debut album Second Ave Rundown via Supreme. The vinyl sold out almost immediately, and the project cannot be found online – if listeners wanted to hear the group they had to track them down in New York. A little over a year after Second Ave Rundown, Onyx Collective is prepared to make its official debut beyond the city through a series of releases titled The Lower East Suite. Consisting of two EPs and an LP, the recordings found on the projects are predominantly taken from live performances the band played across the city, capturing a diverse array of atmospheres and moments from New York. All three releases will arrive via Big Dada.
“There’s something about where we play that makes it an Onyx Collective show,” says Barr. “Not who we play to, that’s not what drives it. It’s where we play.” Onyx Collective needs the city – the group could not exist without it. And at a time when New York seems more plagued than ever, it is apparent that the city needs Onyx Collective. “Our role in New York is to tell its story,” concludes Barr. “In a way that is accrediting and paying homage to those before us, and to then add to what they’ve done.”