Universal Motown has been putting out some really great, different, and innovative artists lately and the most recent to visit Baltimore was Corneille for the final show of Jazzy Summer Nights' 10 year long event.
I received a sampler of his album The Birth Of Cornelius a couple of days before he headed to the city and I really enjoyed his sound. It was light, fresh, airy…something you can groove to while sipping tea relaxing or clearing your head from a long day while you drive.
Needless to say when I was given the opportunity to have a late lunch/early dinner with him before his show last night I was thrilled. It’s extremely refreshing when an artists’ work is a reflection of them. He was kind, laid back and easy going. The area Universal Motown rep Jay & Corneille’s music director and band mate Andy also joined us and we chopped it up over some good eats at Luna Del Sea at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
We talked about the music that we like and he told me that he and his wife were big fans of Maxwell and were enjoying the new release. He shocked me when he said he really listened to a lot of 90’s music… ok so that’s not the shocking part, the shocking part is that when he said he liked 90's music I immediately thought about JODECI and was like nah I’m sure he’s not into them and right out his mouth he says JODECI lol. I asked him if I heard right and he said yes he listens to JODECI, Guy (I said what do you know about GUY?!? WHAT), Portrait, and Silk amongst an array of other artists. I was amazed, I mean this Rwandan born young man who now resides in Montreal jams to “Come And Talk To Me”? This dude has great taste.
He told me that he was really into Guy because of Teddy Riley. He had a thing for producers and was a fan of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Naturally I asked if he produced and come to find out he produced and wrote his entire album The Birth Of Cornelius and does production for other artists.
When I first introduced myself I explained what my company Gypsy Soul does which led to the conversation about social media. To my surprise, but not disdain, he said he didn’t twitter or do the social media stuff. As an artist he wants to focus on creating and on the music not giving a play by play of his day. I certainly can respect that. Im definitely one in favor of rebelling against the system but I guess he crushed my dreams of connecting with him through 14o characters on Twitter lol.
We ate and talked some more about movies and the perception we get over here from American artists about their experience abroad and then he had to bid me and Jay farewell so that he could get ready for the show. I really dug the conversation!
He and Andy were the band and I think they did beautifully. Both played guitars and Corneille sang with such honesty, I was quite impressed. In a world full of “artists” that have vocal talent on cds but somehow becomes lost when they hit the stage, it's great when an artist can perform AND deliver LIVE!
I received a sampler of his album The Birth Of Cornelius a couple of days before he headed to the city and I really enjoyed his sound. It was light, fresh, airy…something you can groove to while sipping tea relaxing or clearing your head from a long day while you drive.
Needless to say when I was given the opportunity to have a late lunch/early dinner with him before his show last night I was thrilled. It’s extremely refreshing when an artists’ work is a reflection of them. He was kind, laid back and easy going. The area Universal Motown rep Jay & Corneille’s music director and band mate Andy also joined us and we chopped it up over some good eats at Luna Del Sea at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
We talked about the music that we like and he told me that he and his wife were big fans of Maxwell and were enjoying the new release. He shocked me when he said he really listened to a lot of 90’s music… ok so that’s not the shocking part, the shocking part is that when he said he liked 90's music I immediately thought about JODECI and was like nah I’m sure he’s not into them and right out his mouth he says JODECI lol. I asked him if I heard right and he said yes he listens to JODECI, Guy (I said what do you know about GUY?!? WHAT), Portrait, and Silk amongst an array of other artists. I was amazed, I mean this Rwandan born young man who now resides in Montreal jams to “Come And Talk To Me”? This dude has great taste.
He told me that he was really into Guy because of Teddy Riley. He had a thing for producers and was a fan of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Naturally I asked if he produced and come to find out he produced and wrote his entire album The Birth Of Cornelius and does production for other artists.
When I first introduced myself I explained what my company Gypsy Soul does which led to the conversation about social media. To my surprise, but not disdain, he said he didn’t twitter or do the social media stuff. As an artist he wants to focus on creating and on the music not giving a play by play of his day. I certainly can respect that. Im definitely one in favor of rebelling against the system but I guess he crushed my dreams of connecting with him through 14o characters on Twitter lol.
We ate and talked some more about movies and the perception we get over here from American artists about their experience abroad and then he had to bid me and Jay farewell so that he could get ready for the show. I really dug the conversation!
He and Andy were the band and I think they did beautifully. Both played guitars and Corneille sang with such honesty, I was quite impressed. In a world full of “artists” that have vocal talent on cds but somehow becomes lost when they hit the stage, it's great when an artist can perform AND deliver LIVE!
Corneille & Gypsy
He sang several songs from The Birth Of Cornelius including “All of My Love”, “ Back To Life”, “ Liberation”, “Too Much Of Everything”, and “Never Call You Home”. I think the crowd enjoyed him too which is always a great thing!
I spoke with him briefly after the show and learned that all of his songs were from real life, he told me he wasn’t good at writing fiction lol. When asked about what he thought of the show, he said it was good for the type of show. With indoor shows its easier to connect with the audience than with something so open. I mos def agree with that assessment.
It’s a great thing to enjoy the music of an artist but its an incredible feeling to really enjoy the artist as a person. If you haven’t listened, sampled, or bought the album The Birth Of Cornelius I really think you should go ahead and do that, its an iPod pleaser.
I'm looking forward to seeing Corneille again when he comes back to the DMV on September16th with K’Jon at the Birchmere. Stay tuned for PART TWO!
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