Janelle Monáe- "The Archandroid"

  I have put this album aside trying to amass words that would do it justice. Now that the second phenomenal single "Cold War" has come out I've noticed many have not experienced the genius that is Janelle Monáe. In a nutshell, the album is an amalgam of musical styles. That Monáe threw so many influences in the mix and pulled off intricate cohesion is rather incredible. So if you give this album a listen see if any of the following come to mind: Classical music, Afrobeat, Southern Baptist music, Disco, Funk, Motown Do Wop, Hip Hop, Electronic Downtempo, Folk, Latin, Tango, Big Band, along with the influences of Tim Burton, Fela Kuti, Michael Jackson, Outkast, James Brown, Phil Spector, The Violent Femmes, AIR, Disney Animation Scores, Santana, David Bowie, The Tom Tom Club, Simon & Garfunkel, Claude Debussy, and Shirley Bassey. That all sounds pretty disparate and unlikely but it's in there. Avid music lovers will come up with their own list. All these references and styles are used to tell the continuing metaphorical saga of android Cindi Mayweather who is mass produced in the year 2719 for a market filled with severe social stratification. Our protagonist is being hunted for disassembly after going rogue and committing the crime of falling in love with a human named Anthony Greendown. The Archandroid: Suites II and III pick up where "Metropolis: The Chase Suite I" left off (Inspired by Fritz Lang's 1927 science fiction classic, Metropolis.). In fact, the track "Neon Gumbo" plays like a catch-up vignette of Suite One. It's a one and a half minute interlude of the ‘Metropolis’ lead off single "Many Moons" played backward. Each suite is buttressed by an overture that incorporates all the songs from its respective body. With a small range of guests that include art rockers Of Montreal, Big Boi and word-smith Saul Williams they never take away from her vision but embellish it. Considering that the art of the LP has taken a backseat as the music industry collapses, we are fortunate to not only get a brilliant concept album but also a great representation of the popular music spectrum. We've been presented with an audio-cinematic vision by Janelle Monáe. This still leaves one more suite to conclude the series. While our protagonist is captured by her antagonists in Suite II and about to escape in Suite III, I can't wait to hear what the emancipation of Cindi Mayweather will sound like in light of all the great sounds we've heard so far.
Cold War from Amaël Bédard Claes on Vimeo.