SXSW review: Janelle Monáe

I was fortunate enough to witness three truly amazing shows at SXSW 2009: Kanye West, Big Boi and Janelle Monáe. Monáe was a revelation to me. Her aesthetic was so forward-looking, her voice phenomenal. I’m certain that she will be a household name within the next two or three years. My review below first appeared in the Austin American-Statesman here.

(Thursday night, March 19, 2009 at the Austin Music Hall)

Two words: Janelle Monáe!

Gentle reader, every now and again at SXSW, if you’re exceptionally fortunate, you’ll encounter an artist that’s so singular in vision – so well rehearsed with music that is extraordinarily forward-looking – that you’ll know deep down in your marrow that you’re bearing witness to greatness.

Atlanta experimental-R&B/“afro-punk” musician Janelle Monáe gave a starmaking turn at the Austin Music Hall on Thursday evening, performing a total of four songs in less than 30 minutes while providing what surely were some of the most slammin’, genre-melting moments of the festival.

After a brief voiceover introduction wherein a sentient cyborg reveals its fears of death through disassembly, Monáe emerged looking more like a replicant from “Blade Runner” than a 21st century R&B singer. With unblinking eyes opened wide like a Japanese anime character, Monáe worked the entirety of the enormous stage like a pro, giving a nod to her NYC musical theater training. Her dancing was kinetic and purposefully robotic, electric and propulsive, all locked into the bombastically banging music.

Janelle Monae warps minds with future music at SXSW 2009.

Her ridiculously tight band knocked out her songs with precision and virtuosity: “Many Moons,” “Sincerely Jane,” “Violent Stars, Happy Ending,” seamlessly segued into one another leaving absolutely no time for the audience to process the career defining performance. During the empowering lament “Smile,” Monáe displayed the range of her multi-octave voice, skillfully knocking people out without any overwrought melisma or showy tonal acrobatics. Only a lead guitar accompanied Monáe as she belted out the refrain, recalling the soulful pathos of Billie Holiday combined with the charismatic sass of Liza Minnelli.

The afro-punk, electronica-inspired textures that Kanye West flirted with on his last record were given a more thorough exploration during Monáe’s experimental set. Unlike West, Monáe proved she is not just dabbling in the still emerging afro-punk genre; Thursday night’s set showcased Monáe defining the new musical movement as she transcended the typical genre trappings of R&B, soul, hip-hop, pop and rock as she combined them all into her deconstruction. In this new age of President Barack Obama-inspired hope, Monáe is on the forefront of expanding musical paradigms and possibilities, too.