Mary J. Blige, in deep thought, while working at a recording studio in London
2014 may prove to be a very important year in the career of r&b/soul singing sensation Mary J. Blige. The songstress who hailed from Yonkers, New York, first exploded onto the music scene as 'The Queen Of Hip Hop Soul' in the early 90's and soon proved to the world she indeed was that and a whole lot more. Much time has passed since those heady days and Blige is still looking for new challenges and areas to display her superb vocal dexterity, along with her writing skills, and it was her yearning for pastures new that found Mary being connected to it a UK electronic dance group called Disclosure. She added her vocals to a remix of a single of their 'F For You' single (even writing her own parts) and the reaction was instant. A dancefloor smash ensued, with the band seeing their already well known track improving in both quality and popularity and Mary finding a new dance audience appreciating her unique, soulful tones.
The situation could not have been better timed. Mary had a new record label to call home, Capitol Records, and her experience recording in London was so rewarding she decided to make an EP with some of London's finest new music makers. The label went one better and advised her to record a whole album's worth of material and release it under the banner of 'The London Sessions'. A deal was struck, and with Rodney Jerkins by her side as Executive Producer, Mary traveled to London to work and record with several British artists including Sam Smith, Emeli Sande, Naughty Boy and of course, Disclosure. She so immersed herself into the London scene that she was quoted in an interview with The Guardian newspaper earlier in the summer saying, "The UK is a better place to make music than in the States."
The situation could not have been better timed. Mary had a new record label to call home, Capitol Records, and her experience recording in London was so rewarding she decided to make an EP with some of London's finest new music makers. The label went one better and advised her to record a whole album's worth of material and release it under the banner of 'The London Sessions'. A deal was struck, and with Rodney Jerkins by her side as Executive Producer, Mary traveled to London to work and record with several British artists including Sam Smith, Emeli Sande, Naughty Boy and of course, Disclosure. She so immersed herself into the London scene that she was quoted in an interview with The Guardian newspaper earlier in the summer saying, "The UK is a better place to make music than in the States."
It was decided this would be a perfect opportunity to see how Mary J Blige works in the recording process, especially with the 'fish out of water' aspect. This artist who has been accustomed to working with some of the world's leading performers and producers (Elton John, Dr. Dre, U2, Sean 'Puffy' Combs etc.) was now placing her faith in the hands of some young talented English kids. Her goal being to bring her style and flavour to the mix. To this end the whole experience was filmed for a documentary to be shown shortly after the release of the album, which in the UK will be late November and in the US release early December. A trailer has been released to whet the appetite of her many fans. After recently being up close and personal watching Mary perform in support of the new album at North London's Roundhouse Theatre, I can testify she definitely brings the same intensity to the the new material as she does to her classic recordings.
Below you will find videos of several songs from 'The London Sessions' and finally at the bottom is a great 23 minute interview Mary J. Blige recently gave on New York radio to The Breakfast Club, Power 105.1 about the upcoming album.
Below you will find videos of several songs from 'The London Sessions' and finally at the bottom is a great 23 minute interview Mary J. Blige recently gave on New York radio to The Breakfast Club, Power 105.1 about the upcoming album.
RSS Feed
