On her last album Adia Victoria was deep in the Silences, wrestling with death, the devil and the blues. Last year, in response to the turbulent traumas inflicted on her country, she released the potent single ‘South Gotta Change’, a rallying call for a new American future. Interesting then that ‘A Southern Gothic’ does not include that song, offering instead a narrative arc which explores the push and pull of the place she has long been ‘stuck in’, ultimately finding some peace within the oppressive reality of living in the South. Continue reading “Album Review: Adia Victoria – A Southern Gothic”
Album Review: Adia Victoria – Silences
In her book Black Pearls, Daphne Duval Harrison identified the key themes of the blues genre, which included: death, Hell, injustice, love, men, murder, poverty, sadness, the supernatural, traveling, weariness, depression and disillusionment. On her second album Adia Victoria explores many of these ideas, filling the Silences with sometimes troubling but always intriguing music. For an artist like Victoria, the blues is not just history to be studied or a style to be replicated – it is the very lifeblood that simmers inside of her. Continue reading “Album Review: Adia Victoria – Silences”
Most Anticipated Music of 2019
At this moment it’s hard to believe that 2019 could be as good a year for music as 2018, such was the brilliance of so many albums released in the last twelve months. But then again I said the exact same thing last year and everything turned out swell.
So here’s hoping for more of the same in 2019. Read on to find out who you might be listening to this year.
EP Review: Adia Victoria – Baby Blues
Adia Victoria is influenced by the pioneers of the blues genre, many of whom have been criminally ignored due to their race and gender. She feels a connection to those artists, like Victoria Spivey, Robert Johnson and Skip James, which goes deeper than simple admiration. Listening to her new E.P. Baby Blues you start to believe she is the reincarnation of every forgotten blues singer that ever lived. This collection of covers is dedicated to her friend Those Darlins’ Jessi Zazu, who died of cancer just before the recording. Loss and grief underscore the performances, embodying the blues but taking the sound to another distinctively darker place entirely. Continue reading “EP Review: Adia Victoria – Baby Blues”