For  a  while  now,  Solange  Knowles  has  been  one  of  those  singers  you  feel  warmly  about.  She

has  a  beautiful  voice,  impeccable  style,  and  a  perfect  instinct  for  what’s  cool.  Her  songs  have

always  been  good—though  never  quite  great,  never  quite  hits.  Until  now.  Her  new  EP  True  is

great.  A  collaboration  with  her  producer  Devonté  Hynes  (a  musician  in  his  own  right,  Hynes

records  under  the  monikers  Lightspeed  Champion  and  Blood  Orange),  the  collection  of  seven

songs,   out   today,   has   sent   ripples   across   the   music   world,   pleasing   fickle   bloggers   and

established  critics  alike.  Among  fans,  the  music  video  for  the  EP’s  catchy  first  single  “Losing

You”  has  been  a  sensation.

 

On  the  eve  of  the  EP’s  release,  we  spoke  on  the  phone  with  Knowles  as  she  walked  through  the

airport,  on  her  way  to  Los  Angeles  to  host  a  listening  session  for  friends.

 

Something  is  going  on  here.  Without  putting  words  in  your  mouth,  it  feels  a  bit

like  you’ve  come  into  your  own.  What’s  new?

I  really  kind  of   learned  on  this  record  to  write  songs  that  I  would  be  able   to  perform—that

were   in  my   vocal   range,   like   second   nature.   A   lot   of   the   time   I   completely   free-­styled   the

melodies  without  any  lyrical  ideas.  Then  I  would  go  back  and  try  to  make  sense  of  what  I  was

feeling.  So  that’s  sort  of  what  you  are  hearing  here,  that  second-­nature  tone.

 

Photo:  Elias  Tahan

Devonté   Hynes   produced   the   EP,   though   you’re   giving   him   billing   as   a

collaborator.

I  think  the  yin  and  yang  of  us  is  what  makes  it  so  great.  Dev  is  a  very  intuitive  artist.  When  he

makes  music,  he  absolutely  makes  exactly  what  is  on  his  mind.  I  have  more  of  a  pop  sensibility

where  I  want  to  create  an  infrastructure:  a  hook,  bridge,  all  that.

 

I’ve   heard   that   some   of   the   songs   came   from   stories   he  was   telling   you   about

the  break-­up  he  had  recently  gone  through.  Since  you  were  in  a  happy  place  in

your  own  life,  you  sort  of  drew  on  his—suffering—for  some  of  the  songs.

Yeah,  Dev  shared  a  lot  of  stories.  It  was  sort  of  a  different  approach  for  me,  though  not  all  the

songs  were  that  way.  “Locked  in  Closets”  came  from  a  conversation  we  had  about  when  I  was  a

young  girl.  I  did  that  thing  where  I  hid  from  my  whole  family  for  several  hours.  [laughs]  So  I

attached  myself  to  that  emotion  for  the  song—I  still  have  those  moments  where  I  feel  like  I’m

hiding  from  the  world.  Another  song,  “Lovers  in  the  Parking  Lot,”  draws  on  this  time  when

even  though  I  had  a  great  relationship,  I   took  a  break  from  it.   I  wanted  to  make  sure  I  was

enjoying  my  youth  and  my  twenties.  So  the  song  is  sort  of  the  reality  of  what  that  break  felt

like.

 

That  song  has  a  lot  of  fairly  traditional  R&B  qualities,  right?  While  the  album  is

certainly  cohesive,  it  seems  like  you  do  go  off  on  some  sonic  tangents.

Yeah,  “Lovers”  is  a  lot  more  R&B  vocally  and  in  terms  of  the  arrangements.  Whereas  a  song

like  “Losing  You”—well,  it  has  that  sound  because  naturally  I  have  more  of  a  soulful  voice,  and

there   are   definitely   arrangements   that   encompass   R&B—but   “Losing   You”   definitely   has   a

distinctive   production   sound.   Dev   has   a   really   interesting   way   of   programming   sound   on

synths  and  actually  plays  some  of  them  with  his  guitar.

 

The  video  for  “Losing  You”  is  pretty  major.

Thanks.

You  shot  that  in  Cape  Town,  South  Africa,  right?  How  did  that  come  about?

Something  reminded  me  of  Africa  in  the  percussion,  and  I  had  always  wanted  to  shoot  a  video

there.  I  instantly  thought  of  the  Sapeurs  because  they’re  such  a  brilliant  subculture.  I  went  out

and  purchased  Daniele   Tamagni’s  book  Gentlemen  Of  Bacongo,   and  he  helped  put  us   in

touch   with   some   of   the   Congolese   Sapeurs.   But   the   Congo   was   almost   impossible   to   get

equipment  to,  to  get  visas  for—all  of  that.  I  was  really  disappointed  because  I  felt  so  connected

to  the  Sapeurs  and  I  wanted  to  showcase  them  in  an  authentic  way.  So  we  spoke  to  Daniele

again,  and  he  said,  “Oh,  well,  there’s  actually  a  group  in  Cape  Town.”  I  happened  to  be  there

anyway,  and  I  called  the  director,  Melina  Matsoukas,  and  told  her,  “Grab  your  camera.”

 

True   is   available   for   digital   download   on   November   27,   2012,   and   will   be   in   stores   in

January  2013.