KURATED NO. 243
TWO ALBUMS
Slang Spirituals + Black Acid Soul
by Lady Blackbird
PLAYLISTS
Slang Spirituals (2024) on Spotify and YouTube
Black Acid Soul (2021) on Spotify and YouTube
VIDEOS
Blackbird by Lady Blackbird (2020)
Blackbird by Nina Simone (1963)
Woman from Black Acid Soul
Man on a Boat from Slang Spirituals
With her peroxide Afro and flamboyant fashion sense, Lady Blackbird is being compared to 80s model and disco queen Grace Jones.
LADY BLACKBIRD FLIES
Finding her voice in the power of jazz, soul and further
It wasn’t planned that way but Los Angeles artist Lady Blackbird‘s cover of a 60s civil rights anthem launched her career. Her rendition of Nina Simone’s Blackbird – released two days after the police murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 – immediately found an audience. Simone, who first released it in 1963 during the burgeoning civil rights movement, wrote the song to address the struggles endured by Blacks, especially Black women. The song’s powerfully sung reprise linked the Black Rights Matter movement back almost 60 years to its origins.
“People took it to their hearts very, very naturally,” Lady Blackbird told the US Sun. “… We weren’t sure if that timing was going to be correct but we released it and people took to it in a natural way.
“Just like the way ‘Lady Blackbird’ happened. It wasn’t a marketing plan or anything — we were just in a studio listening to the song Blackbird. And somebody said, ‘Lady with Blackbird’ and it was so random and felt right. I liked it.”
That said, Lady Blackbird is no overnight sensation. Born in New Mexico in 1985, Marley Munroe was raised by religious parents. Encouraging her to sing, by age 12 she was signed to a 6-year Christian record label contract. Realizing that religion wasn’t a fit, her next forays took her through a range of projects and genres including alt-rock, rap, R&B, covers bands, session singing and more. None of them came to much. They paid the bills; she wrote and recorded some music.
Her breakthrough moment arrived in 2020 when she met Grammy-nominated musician and producer Chris Seefried. He was impressed by her powerful contralto and commanding stage presence. Further, their musical chemistry clicked. That led them to collaborate on two well-received albums and Munroe winning 2022’s International Jazz Act of the Year from Britain’s Jazz FM Awards plus high rankings on the UK charts.
Lady Blackbird – aka Marley Munroe – brings a passionate and dexterous voice to the music she’s made with singer-songwriter and producer Chris Seefried
Two albums: Black Acid Soul and Slang Spirituals
The two albums they’ve made bear Munroe’s indelible vocal stamp but differ musically. Black Acid Soul features the spare jazz sound of drums, bass and piano framing the singer’s emotive vocals. The album was issued in fall 2021 with a deluxe edition a year later featuring her biggest hit at the time – Woman – a song of female empowerment which coincided with International Women’s Day. It’s one of the few original tunes on the collection. Most of the songs are rooted in the 60s and 70s by artists including Tim Hardin, the James Gang, Sam Cooke and Irma Thomas.
Activism is important to Munroe. Woman is a feminist statement while 2022 single Feel It Comin’ addresses gender and sexuality inclusivity.
“Boy, it’s so important. I always say we need the freedom yourself without apology, of who you are,” she tells the US Sun. “Being a part of the LGBT community, I want to express that in this song and tell that story. When we wrote that song and it took that direction and it’s such a message of freedom.”
The success of the first album generated an ambitious second outing issued last fall – 2024’s Slang Spirituals – which features all originals save for one song. While the stripped down approach on Munroe and Seefried’s maiden effort pops up here and there, it’s the bigger sounds of R&B, electronic dance grooves and Lady Blackbird’s full-throated control that drive this set – a testament to her passionate and dexterous voice.
UK magazine MOJO wrote: “This follow-up radically broadened the canvas: a full-on, lavishly ornamented retro-soul jam, at once psychedelically tinged and mainstream-friendly.”
Munroe is hitting stride. To date her success has been focused in the UK. Earlier this month she launched a US tour which runs through May and continues in Europe.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am for this album. I’ve been working towards this for so long, so now things are happening, every moment is a special moment. I’ve been on the road, living out of a suitcase and on trains, planes and automobiles, so to be out there, meeting people and hearing them say how much they love the album and see them react to the songs played live, is everything.”
Sometimes justice is done in life, in art and further. Lady Blackbird deserves her luck. Keep your ears tuned to her.
19 April 2025
PLAYLISTS
On Spotify
On YouTube
Slang Spirituals
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=d4SNzt3qTUQ&list=OLAK5uy_mVQ4b2iK9zBwwruj4Pa2xEWAU800DiCdk
Black Acid Soul
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=g79SYfmzRHo&list=OLAK5uy_n-1bcZpow5419bBfg2BQW1L2gfo3bjpmk
