It's difficult not to be skeptical when it comes to news about D'Angelo's long-in-the-works new album, since he hasn't released an LP since 2000's Voodoo. According to the soul singer's manager, however, 2014 will be the year when that finally changes.
Kevin Liles unequivocally told Billboard, "There'll be an album this year: there's 14 records so far, we might have a couple of bonus records, but all the recording is basically done and we're mixing and mastering now. Definitely, he'll be back."
When asked to confirm that it would be out this year, he replied, "Yep. Sooner than later!"
Although D'Angelo disappeared from the scene for around a decade, he's been touring in the last few years. He's apparently been working on the new album for 12 years, and Liles quoted him as saying, "Kev, the studio and the stage: that's my lifeblood. Now that I've touched it again, now that I see it again, I wanna be sure that the baby I'm about to have — the album — that I take it to the point where it's all it can be."
An international tour is slated to begin in October and continue into 2015. Liles didn't say what the album would be called, but past reports have indicated that it might be James River.
Here's how Liles described the sound: "To limit it to soul is not the case, because there is a rock influence. But at the same time, it's very melodic and there's an influence of all the things he loves: there's James Brown, there's Prince, and everything people grew up loving D'Angelo for, from Brown Sugar to Voodoo. It's a mixture and an evolution of where he is right now. And you have to think that when you have the opportunity to work 10 years on an album, that album's truly gonna be what you want it to be. Is it limited to the kind of sound that he did with the earlier records? No, it's not."
Until we're actually holding the album in our hands, we're going to remain somewhat skeptical about this. After all, D'Angelo's collaborator Questlove said that it would be out in 2013 and that never came to pass. Still, this gives fans a lot to get excited about.
Kevin Liles unequivocally told Billboard, "There'll be an album this year: there's 14 records so far, we might have a couple of bonus records, but all the recording is basically done and we're mixing and mastering now. Definitely, he'll be back."
When asked to confirm that it would be out this year, he replied, "Yep. Sooner than later!"
Although D'Angelo disappeared from the scene for around a decade, he's been touring in the last few years. He's apparently been working on the new album for 12 years, and Liles quoted him as saying, "Kev, the studio and the stage: that's my lifeblood. Now that I've touched it again, now that I see it again, I wanna be sure that the baby I'm about to have — the album — that I take it to the point where it's all it can be."
An international tour is slated to begin in October and continue into 2015. Liles didn't say what the album would be called, but past reports have indicated that it might be James River.
Here's how Liles described the sound: "To limit it to soul is not the case, because there is a rock influence. But at the same time, it's very melodic and there's an influence of all the things he loves: there's James Brown, there's Prince, and everything people grew up loving D'Angelo for, from Brown Sugar to Voodoo. It's a mixture and an evolution of where he is right now. And you have to think that when you have the opportunity to work 10 years on an album, that album's truly gonna be what you want it to be. Is it limited to the kind of sound that he did with the earlier records? No, it's not."
Until we're actually holding the album in our hands, we're going to remain somewhat skeptical about this. After all, D'Angelo's collaborator Questlove said that it would be out in 2013 and that never came to pass. Still, this gives fans a lot to get excited about.
