Meshell Ndegeocell Interview from modmove

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Food for thought: A conversation with
Meshell Ndegeocello
Talking to Meshell Ndegeocello is a unique experience, she is soft spoken and easy to laugh with and conversation with her is very comfortable. Her music is sensual and inviting as is her manner on the phone. She also has a humbleness that feels real but is unafraid to speak her mind as you will find in the words below.

When did you know that music would be a lifetime calling?
“I don’t know that yet.”

You’re just discovering that as you go along?
“I just go with the flow.”

Who were some of your early bass influences?
“Prince of course, I love the way Sting plays bass, James Jamerson, Family Man Barrett, people like that are probably my main influences.”

What about some of the early guys like Bootsy Collins?
“Yeah, I understand Bootsy’s feel, like with James Brown but I think I lean more towards a more natural bass sound but I like anything groovy.”

Early in your career, how did the attention from your first album Plantation Lullabies change your life?
“It allowed me to gig regularly and get a band and be able to pay people and travel the world and see other places.”

Your music always fills me with the idea that your influences come from many different places, what outside of music itself do you find most inspirational?
“There are a lot of things, I like to read, I’m very influenced by the people I’m around, the music they play or just interacting with them and I love to cook.”

I find good food very inspirational, when you have friends over and everyone’s stomachs are full.
“Yeah, that’s good.

My partner and I have more cookbooks in our library than books about music.
“Yeah me too. It’s a great passion to have and you can always sense people’s reactions and I think I enjoy that even more than playing to a crowd. When you make something good and the plate is clean and they want more!”

I always find the exchange of ideas better when you are comfortable and well feed. Food really relaxes people.
“Eating together is very intimate and I much prefer to eat at home more often than in restaurants to know you can eat at a nice pace and not be rushed.”

On the new album there is an ambiguity that is very appealing to me, I like when the meanings of songs are not completely obvious and open to individual interpretation, is this a product of intention or developed as the songs come together?
“It really just happens when the songs come together, I wish I was much more able to intellectualize what I’m doing but I just try to play music that feels good to me and has a true sense of expression and hopefully people can get something from it as well.”

Another thing I like is the spirituality in the songs, to me the spirit represented isn’t necessarily an ode to a one god but to the spirit that exists in the creative process and the world around us, what circumstances lead to you feeling the most creative?
“I think that emotions help creativity, joy, anger and sadness. Those are usually a catalyst to me.”

I’m kind of surprised you say anger because even when you are striving to make a point with your music I don’t hear much anger.
“Maybe it doesn’t sound angry, but I hope I can get that feeling in there. They are certain songs people have a tendency to say to me that they think I’m angry. It’s an ok emotion.”

Sometime anger gets stuff done as long as you don’t turn it against the ones you love.
“Yeah, anger cleaned the garage last night.”

In your music there is a strong connection between the spiritual and the sensuous, why do you think people have such a problem with what I think is such a natural connection?
“I think it depends on what myths and what you are working with in terms of how you construct what your brain in interested in. If you come from a Judea Christian kind of understanding, you might have conflict with that but if you read other things and your mind is open, that connection is quite apparent. I just think people struggle because they have to get rid of older beliefs that are much more prominent within their mind of good and bad and clean and dirty.”

My take is that a lot of people get these belief systems in place before they are old enough to rationally arrive at that point.
“Yes definitely. All religions I find are super overly intense and damaging to the sense of self and as an American living here I think that’s the next movement. If we can eradicate dogma of all kinds, I think we might be able to change things. I am right now really struggling with faith and understanding of the necessity of religion or theology and I’m really at a hard place with it. I find it to be damaging. I’m ready for a dawn of a new age.”

This open-mindedness comes across in your music, which has always been difficult to categorize, early on or still do you get much record company resistance to this approach?
“No not at all, I’ve been so grateful for the experience I’ve had with the labels. They pretty much allow me to do what I want. They are very clear about what they are buying. They see what I do and they can’t make me different because I’m not that kind of artists. They see it as a positive environment. I really like where I am now, it’s a great experience.”

Does this have something to do with the fall of the major record labels?
“Oh definitely.”

Their dogma is what led to that controlling environment.
“Exactly, you’re reading my mind. I think now people are selling music like they sell shoes, put it out there and see what happens. If you get a good run fine, if not try again next year.”

I think the longevity of your music is that it doesn’t try to be commercial. The commercial application of music usually comes from outside the artist anyway.
“I just want to make something that has quality regardless of the genre or the charts. I understand how that works, it’s great if it aids monetarily but I just want to make interesting things and work with interesting people and keep music alive and create something humans can enjoy.”

Meshell’s new album Devil’s Halo is out now through Inertia.
Rob Hudson
www.meshell.com


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