SANTA MONICA, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Interscope Records) - Talented singer, songwriter, artist, and entrepreneur,
Solange Knowles AKA SoL-AngeL, is ready to set the world on fire with a sound that is sure to breathe life into a sometimes stagnant music scene. With her sophomore set, SoL-AngeL and The Hadley Street Dreams, on her new label home of Geffen Records through
Music World Entertainment,
Solange takes us through a walk in yesteryear with an uber modern twist. SoL-AngeL and The Hadley Street Dreams is due for release on August 26th.
On SoL-AngeL and The Hadley Street Dreams, SoL-AngeL enlisted help from producers and songwriters that she knew would capture the sound she wanted to project instantly; but getting them to believe in her wasn't easy.
"I literally had to beg Cee-Lo to listen to my music but once he did he signed on immediately," states the giddy SoL-AngeL. "We wrote and recorded 'T.O.N.Y' and 'Sandcastle Disco' (produced by Soul Shock) that same week. Producer Jack Splash joined in to produce 'T.O.N.Y' and went on to produce two more songs for me: 'Would've Been the One' and 'Ode To Marvin,' my special take on Mr. Gaye's 'What's going On,' both of which I wrote with Splash and Makeba."
For the remainder of the album SoL-AngeL went on to work with Pharrell for the finger-snapping, feel-good first single "I Decided," Lil Wayne makes an intoxicated guest appearance on "Champagnechronicnightcap," Bilal helps write and appears on "Cosmic Journey" and "Wanna Go Back," which Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry lends vocals to, and Raphael Saddiq produces the soulfully insightful, "Same Song, Different Man," which features Estelle.
"By the end of the project, I had worked with all of the producers and artists I had ever dreamed of including Q-Tip, Boards of Canada and Mark Ronson," states SoL-AngeL. "When I got a call saying the legendary Lamont Dozier would take the time out to write with little old me I was ecstatic beyond words."
The video for "I Decided," directed by the creative Melina, will offer the viewer a glimpse of who Solange, the visionary, really is: It is the ultimate pop art piece. Its psychedelic, it's adventurous, it's colorful and not so colorful, it's intelligent, and it's the inner makings of Solange. "I love pop art; in fact I am a painter myself and have several pieces under my belt that I haven't put on display but soon plan to." The "I Decided" video deals with pop culture from the 60s to the future. It displays SoL-AngeL in settings from American Bandstand, to the Civil Rights Movement, to New Wave, and finally a "Cosmic Journey" future.
SoL-AngeL's love of music started at an early age when she became a classically trained ballerina and a jazz, tap, and modern dancer. She began touring internationally as a dancer for Destiny's Child when she was 13 years old and then she began to mix and match musical styles she experienced in Europe, Africa, Asia, Mexico and Australia with what she loved from America which was sounds from the 60's and 70's. Her influences from that era range from Shuggie Otis - who made the original "Strawberry Letter 23," to The Supremes and the Marvelettes, to Dusty Springfield, to Marvin Gaye, and to Minnie Riperton. A wide range of sounds from a young lady that will definitely give you what you least expect.
