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Native
Roots artist Martha Redbone continues to push people to
think about the subjects of prejudice and injustice with Skintalk,
the follow up CD to her critically acclaimed debut, Home of
the Brave. Laying down tracks of earth-inspired, native soul,
the artist mentored by Parliament Funkadelic's Junie Morrison
blends her smooth voice with staccato funk, hip-hop grooves, indigenous
percussion and socially aware lyrics. Whether Redbone is crafting
songs about unconditional love as in "Talk About It,"
about war as in "Hard Livin'" or looking at divine love
as in "Atlas" and "Children of Love" the New
York/Kentucky bred artist hits her marks with honesty and originality.
Redbone's sensitivity to her topics is inspired in large part
by her mixed racial heritage.
Buy
Martha's CDs in the WOMANROCK MusicShop!
"Being
a mixed race and also a Native female musician, I suppose I will
always live with certain feelings of injustice, how we view others
and vice versa, the walls we build for protection, et cetera,"
says Redbone. "I feel music is a great healer, especially
in Indian Country where we have our own war still going on. I've
always seen myself as a musician who just happens to be Native
rather than the other way round, but if being viewed as a Native
musician helps bring a voice to Native people, I'm happy to be
this as well."
In
addition to the album's conscientious tone, Redbone's focus musically
was to create a modern R&B album that was totally organic,
live, and that used no programming or computer time.
"We
feel this is a radical and brave step in the urban music world
today," says Redbone. "I always write about what's going
on around me and as always I respect the art of great song craftsmanship.
I also am blessed with an amazing band, great guys who really
connect with the music and know exactly when and how to throw
down. I additionally wanted to find ways of paying musical homage
to my Native and African American heritage so we blended traditional
Native chants and rootsy soul music with the help of friend Dennis
Banks, founder of the American Indian Movement. The two styles
of music had a natural flow when they were blended and it all
came together very easily, like it was meant to be."
Look
for Redbone's music to appear in a film being made about the American
Indian Movement and Banks' life that's set to star Johnny Depp.
You can also find Redbone on the road, where in addition to touring
clubs, she spends a great deal of her time performing on reservations
and holding assemblies and workshops for children alongside other
contemporary Native musicians.
Earlier
this year, Redbone won her second Indian Summer Music Award for
Best Album and she and her band performed for the first time at
the 2004 New Orleans Jazzfest sharing the stage with many of her
musical heroes, including Carlos Santana, the Neville Brothers,
and Five Blind Boys of Alabama to name a few.
Find
out more about Martha Redbone at www.martharedbone.com.
Tina
Whelski is a NY-based freelance writer/photographer who's a regular
columnist for the Aquarian Weekly/East Coast Rocker and WomanRock
and contributes to Music Connection, Starpolish, Good Times and
others.
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