R&B superstar Maxwell has made a welcome return to the music scene, today releasing his long awaited fifth album BlackSUMMERS’night, the middle instalment of a trilogy which began with 2009’s BLACKsummers’night. Having debuted his first new song in seven years earlier this year, Lake By The Ocean, today’s album release comes as a very welcome addition to an already incredible 2016.
The album release coincides with the exciting news that Maxwell, who recently delivered a breathtaking rendition of Prince‘s Nothing Compares 2 U at the BET Awards, will be touching down in Australia this August for two intimate performances at the Enmore theatre in Sydney and the Palais Theatre in Melbourne, on August 22 and 24 respectively.
As per the poster below, pre-sale tickets will be available next week from 10am on Wednesday, July 6, with general public sales taking place from Monday, July 11 at 10am.
The tour marks Maxwell’s first visit to Australia since 2014, when he arrived to perform at the now-defunct Soulfest. Known for his dramatic and powerful live performances, this will undoubtedly be one of the most exciting live shows of the year.
You can now stream the full album below:
Image: 2laced
The BET Awards aired this week, and with it came many stunning performances, notably a string of phenomenal tributes to Prince, who died on April 21 this year. After a number of fairly contentious performances, notably the highly-criticised choice of Madonna to lead the performance at the Billboard Music wards, BET responded with a full selection of covers, essentially turning the entire night into one big tribute.
Many of the performances were not made available for full viewing outside the US, but the good news is that all full videos from the BET Awards are now here for your viewing pleasure.
First came Erykah Badu, The Roots and Bilal giving it their all with heartwrenching covers of The Ballad of Dorothy Parker and The Beautiful Ones.
Stevie Wonder and Tori Kelly then performed Take Me With You, before Jennifer Hudson wowed with a truly stunning rendition of Purple Rain. Hudson also paid tribute to Prince’s fashion choice by wearing a hooded outfit reminiscent of his outfit at the People’s Choice Awards in 2005.
Janelle Monae was next, and much like Hudson, she honoured the late star’s fashion choices as well as his music, delivering a medley of Delirious, Kiss, Pop Life, and I Would Die 4 U in assless chaps, in tribute of the famous yellow jumpsuit Prince wore back at the 1991 MTV VMAs.
Maxwell performed his own new song, Lake By The Ocean, as well as Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U:
Finally, Sheila E led a huge medley, featuring many of Prince’s collaborators, including members of his last band the New Power Generation, backup singers Shelby Johnson, Liv Warield, Lynn Mabry and Elisa Fiorello, Prince’s ex-wife, dancer Mayte Garcia, Jerome Benton and more. Speaking to Billboard about the emotional performance, Sheila noted, “I knew it was going to be very emotional on the first day of rehearsal. We were sound checking all of the instruments, which takes about two-three hours for setup. By the time we all got together, I said a prayer and then I knew we were going to sit there and cry. It took about 45 minutes to an hour for us to pull it together.
“It was the first time we’d been together as a family since all this happened. Everyone is still in disbelief; there’s been no closure yet. Saying goodbye to him just hasn’t happened yet. It’s hard.”
The BET Awards took place today, and one of the main events throughout the proceedings has been its continuous Prince tribute; yes, instead of one powerhouse performance, the ceremony is delivering a full series of tributes from a wide array of artists including The Roots, Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Bilal, Janelle Monae, Jennifer Hudson and more. Much like they did when Michael Jackson passed away (he died just days before the award’s 2009 airing), honouring the late legend continues through the entire night.
Dave Chappelle spoke about Prince just half an hour into the event. “On April 21, we got that news, and literally our hearts were broken,” he said. “I was 11 years old when Purple Rain came out, and by the time I was 20, Prince had changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol… We miss him dearly. And tonight we celebrate the rich legacy of this remarkable genius, who we are all so proud of.”
The musical tributes then began with Erykah Badu and Bilal, who performed equally beautiful versions of The Ballad of Dorothy Parker and The Beautiful Ones respectively, backed by The Roots. Next, Tori Kelly joined Stevie Wonder on stage for Take Me With You, and Jennifer Hudson sent shivers down everyone’s spine with her take on Purple Rain. Maxwell sang Nothing Compares 2 U as well as his own recent single Lake By The Ocean, updated the first line of NC2u lyrics from, “It’s been seven hours and fifteen days” to sixty-six days, the time since Prince’s passing. Meanwhile Janelle Monae took the her medley of Kiss, Pop Life and I Would Die 4 U even further, honouring Prince’s infamous 1991 VMAs outfit with assless pants of her own. Hudson similarly honouring Prince’s outfits by donning a white hooded suit for Purple Rain. Finally, Prince’s long time collaborator, drummer Sheila E led a final ten-minute medley (which was reportedly set to have been led by D’Angelo, who didn’t end up performing) through Housequake, Erotic City (the first song she and Prince recorded together), Let’s Work, U Got the Look and many more.
Unfortunately BET has not yet made the full performances available for international viewers. For now, you can watch short snippets of the performances here. We’ll post full versions when made officially available:
Image: Kevin Winter/Getty
https://twitter.com/RebLRocR/status/747244875570020352
https://twitter.com/juiceyki/status/747261116775014400
Im not your woman. Im not your man. Im something you will never understand! @JanelleMonae honors @prince #BetAwards pic.twitter.com/1C4arwhKC7
— BIKO (@ChernoBiko) June 27, 2016
Image: Kevin Winter/Getty/BET
We’ve rounded up some of the best new music videos from across the entire musical spectrum, from pop, to R&B, to hip-hop, electro-pop and beyond. Enjoy!
Georgia Mae – Time With You
This was an interestingly filmed video, with some still shots pieced together with raw footage in a kind of intentionally amateur way. Some warm summer vibes for the beginning of winter from this upcoming Australian artist. The video was filmed in brisbane, and the artist had this to say about its concept: “I hope it can relate to a lot of people who have really special memories of spending time with someone important to them.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=em-upload_owner&v=aV0A8oWapzk&app=desktop
Maxwell – Lake By The Ocean
Maxwell has made a welcome return to music, and his first song in seven years now has a visual accompaniment to match. First, we meet a volunteer working at a disadvantaged village, who heads to a bar after work, only to find Maxwell performing. She dances to the smooth tune, before joining Maxwell on a swim – no doubt in a lake by the ocean – quickly showing their affection for one another. The shadows and low lighting do a good job of keeping the mood. it’s good to have him back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsSu0bRZEHM
Kyle Bent – Vibes
Much like the name, the video for the upcoming artist’s new track is all about the good vibes. The bright colours and summer scenes of fun create a warm atmosphere in the mix of clips that go along with the upbeat song. It’s really exciting to see more emerging artists producing this type of cheery, soulful hip-hop infusions, and we’re looking forward to seeing what’s next for Kyle Bent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOzyAzXG4Gc
Bat For Lashes – Sunday Love
Natasha Khan seems to be continuing the wedding theme with this video, just like in God’s House. Here, we meet a man driving on a dark road in a storm, looking as though he had been in a fight. He stops the car and is greeted by Khan wearing a white dress with a veil. Suddenly, he falls into Khan arms dead. While she is visibly upset, she kisses him. He disappears, leaving her staring at the sky. Once again, she found a tragic and exciting way to present her stunning song on video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBfZooPrmfo
Fetty Wap – Wake Up
Once again, Fetty Wap has killed it with another playful clip for Wake Up, a track celebrating getting “Wiz Khalifa high” (aka – very fucking high.) Here, Fetty goes back to school, singing in the hallways, dancing along to the slow beat. The rebelliousness and disinterest in school that so many teenagers possess is portrayed through the integration of the hip-hop lifestyle into the classroom, which is pretty interesting in itself. The combination of the hand-drawn graphics and brightly coloured clips of high school kids chilling out create an interesting take.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbARTyio_0Q&feature=youtu.be
Arthur Beatrice – Since We Were Kids
This is a nice little song with a simple little video. Lead vocalist Ella Girardot sits on a stool in a black and white filtered clip, directed by designer and long time collaborator Kate Moross, while coloured cut-outs surround her. They seem to keep her trapped in a suffocating little box as they crowd in front of her while she dwells on the past. A visually gorgeous clip to accompany the latest single from their new album, Keeping The Peace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPt-ZUpkE9w
Clams Casino – Witness ft. Lil B
Clams Casino is back, with new music and a long-awaited new album, 32 Levels, on the way. Now comes new track Witness, which not only features long term collaborator Lil B, but has also been directed by, and stars, the mysterious rapper. While I’m not a fan of his solo work, I’m really digging the track. The video is pretty typical of a slick hip-hop clip, but it’s still a fun watch. We’re really looking forward to this album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHitmmi2VdY
Image: Billboard
Legendary neo-soul artist Maxwell has just released Lake By The Ocean, marking his first new material in seven years.
Worth the wait?
Absolutely.
Although his career has spanned a full two decades, Maxwell fans have perpetually been left hungry. In those 20 years, four platinum selling albums have been released, the last being BLACKsummers’night in 2009. Needless to say, many assumed that was it for Maxwell’s musical output. That has all changed with the announcement that a fifth, similarly titled BlackSUMMERS’night, set for a release on the first of July. It’s the second in an album trilogy, indicating that a third, no doubt titled Blacksummers’NIGHT, will also be coming out some time in the future.
The news has been gurgling away for some time. Back in 2014, Maxwell told Rolling Stone that he had been working on a fifth album for three years. He then went on to announce that the album was to come out in late 2015, but as we obviously know, it was not to be.
Finally, after years of rumours and hints, it looks like the wait may well be over.
https://twitter.com/_MAXWELL_/status/718288719262978048
The news has also come along with a US tour announcement, and a seventeen-minute live stream Facebook video, where Maxwell acknowledges the long delay, plays the song from his phone and answers questions from fans about influence, themes, fame and more.
https://www.facebook.com/Maxwell/videos/10153379552755997/
Lake By The Ocean is an instant soul classic, with a real timelessness to its gorgeous melody. The pristine production, smooth groove and velvety melody make for a really beautiful new track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nJkGH80suo
BlackSUMMERS’night comes out on July 1 2016.
Image: Fanart