be Myself

Infusing traditional gospel music with Memphis soul, Detroit-based singer Rance Allen helped pave the way for the secularized gospel sound of the '80s and '90s. After signing with Stax in 1969, Allen and his group proceeded to bring their hip brand of gospel to the masses by scoring several chart hits and opening concerts for the likes of Isaac Hayes. This hits package covers the group's successful run in the '70s, spotlighting Allen's incredibly flexible and powerful voice (one listens to cuts like "Ain't No Need of Crying" and "Gonna Make It Alright" and it's easy to figure out where Prince picked up his misty falsetto from). The selections include Allen's biggest Stax hit, "I Got to Be Myself," the spiritually reconfigured cover "Just My Imagination (Just My Salvation)," and modern gospel pioneer James Cleveland's "That Will Be Enough for Me." Allen contributes a handful of slick and spirited groovers, like "I Give My All To You" and "I Belong to You," and even goes in for a little disco on another original, "Smile" (considering Allen's devout nature, it's hard to tell if the more commercial elements in the music came from him or hit-minded producers).

Honest, sincere, unpretentious, and yes, personal. These are the qualities that make Angela Johnson one of the finest artists-writers-producers to emerge in the modern soul era. For her, making music is about melody and rhythm, hooks and harmonies. Flash, faux-swag, and fads are simply not synonymous with the woman who can move an audience to tears just by singing solo at the piano or summon a crowd to their feet while leading a band in rousing live renditions of her material. Five years since her last full-length solo album, Angela Johnson returns with It's Personal. From the understated sway of album opener "Only One" through the jazz-inflected title track, it is obvious that Angela Johnson is in complete possession of her powers.

Rebirth takes place when everything falls apart. DIIV—Zachary Cole Smith [lead vocals, guitar], Andrew Bailey [guitar], Colin Caulfield [vocals, bass], and Ben Newman [drums]—craft the soundtrack to personal resurrection under the heavy weight of metallic catharsis upheld by robust guitars and vocal tension that almost snaps, but never quite…

We recorded this album while I was eight months pregnant with our daughter Annabell. As I write this she is two weeks away from her first birthday, and I have enough distance to offer some reflections. Control is something that I have always relished and sought, but the making of this album was a different experience for me. Now I feel as if the process of recording this album was practice for relinquishing control, something I am more adept at now that I am a mother. In the studio, I trusted my bandmates, who are my best friends, our truly gifted producer Neilson Hubbard, and myself. I trusted each person and the process. I believed that we each individually were enough and that together we were more than that. Thank you Josh, Drew, Brian, Neilson, and of course, my partner in all things, Joe, for sharing so much time with me, for allowing me to be myself, and helping me cultivate the best version of it. It’s an honor to make music with you and I’m so happy that we have a record of it.

Sometimes the trick is to strip it all back, to keep it so simple life has a way to throw you some curb balls - to devolve back into the apeman and embrace the wild spirit in our bones. This is that album and it has been my honour to have been given the chance to find myself and be myself fully - embracing my music and my life as it comes - in its own way - free of the patterns of the past.