PREMIERE: ASTRALBEAT THEORIES PART 3 BY GREG GREASE OF ZULUZULUU

words by Eamon Whalen

What does it mean to live free? On the eve of an election day with truly horrid stakes, this question is at the center of Greg Grease's installment of the AstralBeat Theories, the third in a series of solo EPs by members of Grease's Minneapolis outfit ZULUZULUU. 

Over the span of five tracks, Grease precisely twists syllables over understated soulful production with a working-mans humility. Through anecdotes and diary-page-like personal dilemmas, his verses take the form of both thoughtful meditations and critical diatribes on Black life, and death in America. And he does what the best art often does, ask more questions than offer answers. Namely, how do you live free when the larger social forces seem hellbent on shortening your life expectancy at all costs?

On the introduction Grease looks to the elders for wisdom, sampling the legendary politically-outspoken comedian Dick Gregory. In so many words, Gregory says that living free means to live without fear, and to maintain that your light shines brighter than the terror brought on by the dark forces of power, what Martin Luther King Jr. called "the plague of western civilization," the "triple-prong sickness" of racism, materialism and militarism. -Greenroom Magazine

http://www.greenroommagazine.com/blog/2016/11/7/premiere-astralbeat-theories-part-3-by-greg-grease-of-zuluzuluu

 

ZULUZULUU's AstralBeat Theories Series

ZuluZuluu's Astral Beat Series

One of the most exciting groups in the Twin Cities right now, ZULUZULUU is a collaboration of established solo artists. The band — who, as they told City Pages earlier this year, “try to focus our music towards empowerment, being socially conscious, and being aware of inequities and speaking out” — generated buzz with live shows before finally releasing their debut album, June’s What’s the Price? While their sound is not easily categorized, they do warrant comparisons to other inventive artists — George Clinton’s groundbreaking funk, Prince & Co.’s Minneapolis Sound, and Shabazz Palaces’ abstract rap. Album highlights include the band’s cover of Syreeta’s Stevie Wonder-penned “Black Maybe” and the especially funky “Fades.” Thursday marks the start of the group’s month-long Astral Beat series at Icehouse, which is slated to feature special guests and be “an exploration of sonic innovations” with “new dimensions of sound each week.” Proper-T serves as the featured ZULUZULUU member for the first show, to be followed by MMYYKK, Greg Grease, and the full band for the second, third, and fourth shows.

by Michael Madden

 

OCT. 27th /  NOV. 3rd / NOV. 11th  /  NOV. 23rd

$7

ELECTRO POP, EXPERIMENTAL, FUNK, JAZZ, R&B, SOUL

http://www.citypages.com/calendar/zuluzuluus-astral-beat-series/398425681

 

 

 

 

Sarah White plays serrated new song at the Palace Theatre

White & band debut new track "“Alone Together (Darksiders).” 

 

The Palace Theatre continues to move through its renovation process, preparing to fill a gap in St. Paul venues when it opens next year. Until then, the Palace Sessions continue (having been pioneered by Jeremy Messersmith and deM atlaS), and this time, Sarah White performs in the under-construction space.

Joined by Tasha Baron (keys), Ry Dill (bass), and Blayr Alexander (drums), White uses this new song to press harder than she ever has, digging out of darkness via funky bass and a tenacious hook.

According to conventional wisdom, synths are most at home in pop, the upbeat songs that plainly feel good (“U-turn,” by Tegan and Sara, or Chela’s “Romanticise”). But here, White plays their euphoria against deep, dark bass; they cast serrated shadows.

Catharsis comes with the chorus. “And I always dance alone/ Even through this crowded space,” White sings, and the song loosens up to groove around her voice. She writes via e-mail, “I am a full-time artist and mother, so I am always with people. In rooms with people. Moving through time with people. Very often in crowded spaces is where you are likely to see me singing, DJing, shooting pictures…but so often I’m completely in my head.” She knows how odd it sounds, but she says she’s “literally dancing alone with my thoughts, my body, my heart.”

Thus the song’s title, “Alone Together (Darksiders).” It’s destined to be the first single from White’s new project, a follow-up to this year’s Laughing at Ghosts EP. For now, it’d sound right at home on a playlist between 2008 Estelle and Kimbra’s “Sweet Relief.”

Sound Verite Records
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