Legendary funk-rock singer Nona Hendryx is back and bolder than ever on her new album – Mutatis Mutandis – set to be released by Righteous Babe Records on July 31, 2012, out digitally on July 10. The 10-track album is Nona’s first full length in twenty years and she’s returning in a big way.
Mutatis Mutandis is an album that has both politically and socially relevant lyrics wrapped in funky grooves, soulful vocals and rock charged rhythms. Quite simply put, Nona Hendryx is the quintessential “mother” of contemporary artists such as Erykah Badu, Emeli Sandé, Janelle Monáe, M.I.A., V.V. Brown, and others who can only hope to see careers that allow them to span the decades, and she still rocks on!
On Mutatis Mutandis (Latin for “Changing those things which need to be changed”), Hendryx attacks the Tea Party, Rush Limbaugh (“Ballad of Rush Limbaugh”), Gulf oil spills (“Oil On The Water”), and lends the necessary gravitas to a striking rendition of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” with smoky vocals somewhere between funk and the end of the stratosphere. Blistering guitars, killer horns, and gospel flourishes and unstoppable beats fill the album, but don’t take away from the message at hand – Nona Hendryx is here to tackle social issues, point out corporate greed, black on black violence and attacks by political and religious conservatives. The result is an album steeped in vintage R&B and soul, but totally in tune with the here and now.
“I chose the title and was moved to write and record the CD by the major events and changes on the world’s stage in the last 12 years, initiated by the ‘black swan’ event, 9/11,” expands Hendryx.
Nona will kick off ‘A Woman’s Bill Of Rights Tour’ of the east coast in support of Mutatis Mutandis, beginning in Boston on July 12. She’ll then move on to hit New York, Philly, DC and New Haven before wrapping up in Long Island on July 21. More dates will be added into the summer and early fall.
Hendryx is running a campaign with PledgeMusic to support the tour where participants can pre-order the album and will get access to exclusive tour updates, videos from tour rehearsalsr, a chance for musical rarities as well as some interactive experiences and surprises that we can’t tell you about yet! Pledges won’t just help support the tour, but will also help an amazing organization called Little Black Pearl, a school in Chicago for alternative learning for youths ages 12 to 17. Find out more info and ‘Pledge’ at http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/nonahendryx .
Longtime Nona Hendryx fans know her as one of the founding members of the doo-wop girl group, Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles. Known as the “sweethearts of the Apollo Theatre” the group was inducted in the R&B Hall of Fame in 1999. After signing to Atlantic Records, the group lost a member, but the remaining members reinvented themselves into the iconic funk-rock group, Labelle. The group saw huge success throughout the 70s, racking up three gold albums and a #1 worldwide platinum hit with the single “Lady Marmalade”. In 1977, lead singer Patti LaBelle left the group to start her solo career.
While Labelle fans grieved the split, Nona Hendryx fans celebrated at the launch of her solo career. Nona’s solo efforts included eight studio albums, collaborations with the likes of Prince, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, Bono, Keith Richards and more, resulting in several top 10 hits and a Grammy nomination. Hendryx also began writing music for theatre and film and began producing and continued to collaborate with a new generation of artists including India Arie, Esperanza Spalding, Cassandra Wilson and Sheila E. In 2011, Nona added to her long career an adjunct position teaching Stage Craft, a course she created for The Clive Davis Department at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and was appointed Ambassador for Artistry in Education at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
‘A Woman’s Bill Of Rights Tour’
July 12 – Boston, MA – Johnny D’s
July 12 – Boston, MA – Johnny D’s
July 14 – New York, NY – BB Kings
July 15 – Philadelphia, PA – World Café Live
July 17 – Washington, DC – U Street
July 20 – New Haven, CT – Café Nine
July 21 – Long Island, NY – Old Mill
Mutatis Mutandis Tracklisting:
1. Tea Party
2. Temple of Heaven
3. Let’s Give Love a Try
4. Oil on the Water
5. Black Boys
6. When Love Goes To War
7. The Ballad of Rush Limbaugh
8. Black on Black
9. Strange Fruit
10. Mad as Hell, Pt. 1
