D'Angelo and The Vanguard: Black Messiah (2LP)

Grammy award winner D'Angelo has kept his millions of fans waiting almost fifteen unbearably long years for a new album - today, Monday, December 15, 2014, he surprises the world with the release of the longplayer "Black Messiah", which is available AS OF NOW. The first single from "Black Messiah" is entitled "Really Love". The recordings for the 40-year-old US-American's third longplayer took place over the past fifteen years in collaboration with his band The Vanguard. Pino Palladino, James Gadson and Questlove were also involved in some of the twelve songs. In addition to D'Angelo, Q-Tip and Kendra Foster also contributed to the lyrics. Due to the quality of the musicians, no digital plug-ins were used in the studio. The recordings, editing, effects and mixing were done analog on tape, mostly using old (vintage) equipment. "'Black Messiah' is an attention-grabbing name for an album. It can easily be misunderstood," explains the singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. "A lot of people might think it's about religion. Some might assume that I call myself a 'Black Messiah'. But it's about the world. It's about an idea that we can all strive for. We should all strive to be a Black Messiah. It's about the people rising up in Ferguson and in Egypt and in the Occupy Wall Street movement and anywhere else where a community has had enough and decides to make change. It's not about celebrating one charismatic leader, but thousands of them. Not every song on the album has a political background (although many do), but giving an album the title 'Black Messiah' creates an environment in which these songs can unfold to the maximum. 'Black Messiah' is not one person. It's the feeling that we are all this leader together." D'Angelo, who hails from Richmond, Virginia, already caused a worldwide sensation with his album "Brown Sugar", which was released in 1995. He created a completely new, unmistakable sound, became a pioneer of neo soul and landed several hits with "Brown Sugar", "Lady" and "Cruisin". Five years later, he released his second album "Voodoo", which achieved platinum status in the USA. The critically acclaimed longplayer was awarded a Grammy in the "Best &&B Album" category and the single "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" was awarded a Grammy in the "Best Male R&B Vocal Performance" category.