Author Archives: Zo!

Soul Power in NYC… With Phonte & Waajeed

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So since The Foreign Exchange was already in town to do the show at Merriweather Post Pavillion Saturday evening, Phonte and I decided ahead of time to go ahead and try to lock down some BoltBus tickets and roll up to New York to go and kick it with the brotha Waajeed for the day.

First on the agenda was to check out the newly released documentary Soul Power, which chronicles the 1974 mega concert that was held in Zaire, which included James Brown, Miriam Makeba, Bill Withers, The Crusaders, B.B. King, The Spinners, Celia Cruz, and many others. I’ll just say that it’s a must-see film for all musicians and music lovers. The concert footage was excellent and the way we were positioned in that tiny movie theatre, it damn near felt as if we were there – They had everything sounding so crisp… Definitely worth the time and money. I’ll be online ready to pick up the DVD when it’s released. 

Immediately following the movie, we hit up the BBQ’s spot on 23th and 8th cuz you know kats can’t get together without eating up every damn thing known to man.


The ‘Sticky Wings’ were on the menu and I was advised to take advantage. The waiter suggested I get a Hennessey Colada to wash it down with… I hesitated at first because I wanted one of their margaritas – Plus, I was kinda thinking like, ‘The hell are y’all putting Hennessey in a damn colada for anyway?’ …but I got one. The joint was actually pretty good…it came with a shot of Henney on the side too, which I happily took care of. Check the plate of waings though, licks faingers while eating å la John Witherspoon…


The BoltBus ride home was cool besides the fact that a kat came and sat in the seat next to me smelling like he had bathed in garlic butter. UGH… 

All in all… good times in NYC.

Monica Blaire Records for ‘SunStorm’…

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So I was on the way to a midnight rehearsal earlier tonight and happened to get a text message from Monica Blaire saying: “I just sent the joint!” I was on the way down to the first floor and upon arrival, I STAYED on the elevator, punched in my floor number and ventured right back up to my spot so I could open that email and retrieve this newly recorded song.

Blaire and I at our show performing with PPP in Chicago

Before I let ch’all know what I put my ears on, let me tell y’all one damn thing… Blaire is like a younger sister to me – a younger sister who happens to be talented as all hell, but you’ll never hear that from her. If you have not seen her perform live, you’re only cheating yourself…trust me. It was only right that we work together on SOMETHING soon. With all that said, I checked my inbox and listened to the joint and heard Blaire going IN on music that I composed… From what I heard, I think I just received the song that will be closing SunStorm.

The Foreign Exchange in SF on Sept. 12th and TWO nights in LA, Sept. 13th & 14th

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I woke up this morning to the news that The Foreign Exchange will be playing a show out in San Francisco on Saturday, September 12th @ Yoshi’s. I hope to see my West Coast kats out there. Here are all of the details…

 

We will also be back in Los Angeles for TWO dates at the Roxy Theatre. Kats had so much fun playing the venue in June, we had to come back and do it TWICE. Click here for the details…

New Foreign Exchange Dates Announced (Indianapolis, Cleveland, Seattle, and LA)

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In addition to the August 8th date in Maryland this month (The Spirit Festival), there have also been stops added in Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Seattle. Here’s the info… Mark your calendars!

 

The Foreign Exchange @ The Athenaeum, Indianapolis IN

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

The Foreign Exchange @ Grog Shop, Cleveland OH

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

The Foreign Exchange @ Nectar Lounge, Seattle WA

Thursday, September 15, 2009

ALSO

The Foreign Exchange in Los Angeles

Sunday and Monday September 13 & 14, 2009

Venue: The Roxy Theatre

Carlitta Durand & Zo! To Release Projects On Official Foreign Exchange Music Imprint

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Normally, I don’t wake up in a very good mood… But this morning, let me present some good news to you. I’ll let you read it directly from the Foreign Exchange Newsletter that went out yesterday…

Second of all, it is our great honor and pleasure to announce that Zo! and Carlitta Durand are now OFFICIAL artists on our Foreign Exchange Music imprint. *throws confetti*

Nic and I had always talked about the possibility of taking our partnership to the next level (I hate the word “label”), much like Jazzanova did with Sonar Kollektiv and how Jam and Lewis did with Flyte Tyme (for all my old heads out there…). When we decided to move full-speed ahead and form a production company, it seemed only right that our first artists would be two people we’ve been working with all along.

Zo! and Carlitta are much more than artists; they are family. Zo’s album “SunStorm” will drop early next year, and Carlitta Durand’s as yet untitled debut will come afterwards. I feel that Nic and I have set the bar pretty high with the level of quality and craftsmanship in our FE releases, and I have no doubt that Zo and Carlitta’s music will meet, if not surpass, that same standard. We treat their records with the same amount of love and detail as we do our own, and hopefully
upon listening, you’ll agree.

Be sure to send Zo! and Carlitta your love and well-wishes via their twitter and/or myspace pages.

Zo! (MySpace) (Twitter)

Carlitta Durand (MySpace) (Twitter)

Zo! On the New Nicolay Album ‘City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya’

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Earlier today, the press release for Nicolay’s new album City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya was made public, which included the tracklisting and cover artwork. I appear on two of the joints with keyboard solos (“Crossing” and “Wake Up In Another Life”)… Check the write-up….

 

Nicolay – City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya (09.15.09)

 

Shibuya is the new project from the creative mind of NICOLAY, better known as one half of THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE. The group (which includes rapper/singer Phonte) and their sophomore album Leave It All Behind (TFE/Hard Boiled; Oct. 2008), continues to gain momentum as the duo and their extended family of singers and musicians are currently touring the United States and Canada. Nicolay and Phonte’s countless performances together have added a new level of sophistication to their musical output, resulting in what they consider to be one of their most ambitious projects yet. 

The idea for Shibuya, the second installment in Nicolay’s City Lights series, was conceived after Nicolay’s first visit to Tokyo in November 2006. The experience proved to be life changing for Nicolay, who has studied Japanese culture for most of his adult life. “This amazing place and all of its sounds and colors immediately filled up my senses,” he says. “I felt reinvigorated.” 

Once back home, he started to write and record music with a new-found sense of freedom, laying the groundwork for the albums Time:Line and Leave It All Behind as well a third album; a deeply personal homage to the Tokyo district of Shibuya that illustrates both the grandeur of Japan’s age-old heritage (“Meiji Shrine, “Rain In Ueno Park”, “The Inner Garden”) as well as the hectic city life of one of the world’s busiest metropolitan areas (“Crossing”, “Satellite”, “Bullet Train”). Where City Lights Volume 1 was primarily instrumental, on Shibuya the instrumental pieces are book-ended by several vocal songs written by Phonte and performed by Durham, North Carolina vocalist CARLITTA DURAND, who previously collaborated with Phonte on LITTLE BROTHER’s Getback album (ABB 2007). Also appearing is Foreign Exchange liveband-mate ZO!, who adds his virtuoso keyboard solos to two songs. 

“It truly is like stepping into a different world”, says Nicolay about his trip to the city. “What fascinated me most about Shibuya was the co-existence of ‘old’ and ‘new’ in seemingly perfect harmony. The most advanced technologies and innovations exist next to traditions that are rooted in thousands of years of civilization.” The album’s musical foundation mirrors this hybrid of different ages, combining influences from ’70s jazz, rock and fusion with broken beat, downtempo and electronica to form the lush, genre-bending sound that has become Nicolay’s trademark.


Tracklisting

01 Lose Your Way feat. Carlitta Durand
02 Shibuya Station
03 Crossing
04 Rain In Ueno Park
05 Satellite
06 Saturday Night feat. Carlitta Durand
07 A Ride Under The Neon Moon
08 Omotesando
09 Meiji Shrine
10 Shadow Dancing
11 The Inner Garden
12 Bullet Train
13 Wake Up In Another Life
14 Departure
15 Shibuya Epilogue feat. Carlitta Durand

@Syberspace: “Having lots of fun in the studio right now! I feel like I haven’t recorded in ages! Track is by @Zo3hree5ive, hope he digs.”

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With Sy @ Bohemian Caverns in D.C. – 03.27.08


One of my favorite vocalists, Sy Smith is now in the studio with one of my joints for the …just visiting too album. Judging by the way she has already laced the hell outta the SunStorm album, I think we’ll all be in for a treat. So what I’M gonna do in the meantime is fill up my wine glass with Shiraz and sip till I get the joint back… Can’t WAIT!!