Out singer, songwriter and musical wunderkind Meshell Ndegeocello continues to explore the sonic universe with her latest album “Comet, Come To Me,” due out June 3. The new album, like the artist, defies any easy categorization and expectation, which is par for the course for an artist who has marched to her own beat ever since she was signed to Madonna’s Maverick label more than 20 years ago.
Since then, she has forged a career as an independent musician who doesn’t put any genre-specific boundaries on her creativity. Her latest album faithfully captures the nuances of folk, rock, funk, R&B and reggae. And when Ndegeocello takes on these genres of music, the listener feels like he or she is getting the genuine product and not something synthesized and copied.
“I struggle with that, especially when I play live,” Ndegeocello said about crafting her sounds. “Most sound people try to make the live show sound the same. Every song is the same with the feeling. In the studio I have a little more control. How the music hits you, hits your ear and your body influences the listener. I try not to make things brash or sometimes they have to be brash. That’s the energy of it. But yeah, it’s super important to me, the soundscaping. There is a Motown sound. There is something sonically specific that moves people. They may not be able to articulate it but I think it is just as important. And as we move into a world where everybody can make music on their laptop, it’s important to me to maintain that integrity.”
This album also finds Ndegeocello getting more adventurous with the album covers, where she wears stylistically striking costumes and body paint.
“I like the element of transformation,” she said. “I think it’s more of that and I want to get out of trying to participate within fashion. I think of the album as, what costumes can I create? What other alternate ideas of myself exist within? So let’s try to create those.”
Ndegeocello has been performing mostly new material and covers of some of her favorite artists on recent tours but she has been known to whip out the occasional songs from earlier albums, oftentimes stripped-down and re-imagined. She said that she plans to air out more of her older songs on her upcoming tour.
“On this next tour I’m doing, I’m my own opening act and I’m playing the older music so when I get to my set of new stuff, I don’t have to hear anybody ask for it,” she said. “We’re doing it acoustic and we’ll revisit those songs. When I am playing it, I feel like I’m doing karaoke or I’m a cover band of myself if I try to do it exactly like it. I’m just a different person. It feels different. I have to bring a new experience to it or it is just rote and lacks life or zeal, in my limited opinion. It’ll be interesting to see how songs that are spoken-word or rap-oriented will translate years on. It’s interesting because a good song can be played on a guitar, so that’s the goal. I’m trying to pick the ones that feel good in that way.”
Ndegeocello may be playing older songs for the enjoyment of longtime fans, but she said that occasions where she bows to the desires of what people want from her as a performer are rare.
“I’m not really fan-friendly,” she said. “I think I fail them often. I just try to make new fans or ones that understand the point is not to stay stagnant. The point is to try and grow as a musician. I’m happy with the fans who can get something from it and I apologize to those I disappoint. I’m trying to be more open and give them more than just music.”
To that end, Ndegeocello recent released an EP of live tracks, “Continuous Performance,” for free via download on her website. If you don’t have it, don’t go looking for it now: It was a limited-time deal. But Ndegeocello said there might be more live recordings for her in the future.
“We’re thinking about that,” she said. “We might try to record a few of these shows. I’m influenced by Bob Marley, who did a bunch of tours and pieced together a collection of a bunch of tours. I might try to do that this year and see how it works.”
On one of the EP’s tracks, Ndegeocello is joined on stage by singer Joan Osborne, whom she introduced as a “victim of the industry.” For an artist as fiercely independent as Ndegeocello, seeing how talented artists corralled and pigeonholed stylistically continues to be worrisome for her.
“She’s a mentor,” Ndegeocello said about Osborne. “I saw what it was like for her. She had a huge hit. She’s one of the most incredible vocalists in the world. She can sing blues, jazz, country … She’s an instrument. When they found out she was interested in all kinds of music it was like, ‘No, I need you to do the same thing you did last time.’ I kind of had something similar. But I got away with doing three records that were totally from my heart and then I got pressured to be something else. I only wish I had 80 percent of the voice she has. But you can see that happen. What’s going to happen to Rihanna? Does everyone end up in Vegas? What is the future for those who want another path? Katy Perry is a great writer so I think she’ll continue on. But I’m curious. What happens to the singer? Everyone wants to be remembered but maybe you won’t be.”
Ndegeocello added that she is happy with how she has insulated herself from the pressure of the music industry over the course of her career.
“I’ve had people help me,” she said. “I’ve surrounded myself with people for the last five or six years. I had an agent who wasn’t trying to rob me or put me on a circuit that was weird. I felt he truly loved music. I have a real insular life and I like it that way. It’s scary to be so influenced by the needs and ideas of others in order to try and maintain your place in the zeitgeist. I like my quiet life and I like having a nice regular experience in life.”
Ndegeocello might be flying low under the radar of the mainstream music industry, but makers of musical instruments have definitely taken notice of her prowess and influence. Recently, Reverend guitar company created a signature bass named after her. For Ndegeocello, having a bass guitar made to her own specifications allows her to take pressure off of some of her prized vintage instruments.
“I have some really old instruments and I was traveling and it was really difficult the way they were treated,” she said. “They were becoming severely damaged. There is this Detroit bass-maker called Reverend. They were American-made so that intrigued me. So I started playing one and they’ve been so kind to me with equipment and making me what I want. So I’m trying my own signature bass and it is made out of something that can’t be destroyed and it travels well. It doesn’t sound like any other bass. I like it. It’s got a clean dub-by sound. I have a Fender jazz bass that I love. It’s one of my prized possessions. That’s why I can’t go on the road with it. It’s something I cherish. I usually like things that are really old because the sound quality is so woody and natural. Plus I want to try a new sound. I want something different.”
She added that the want for something different means she might be getting even more sonically adventurous on her next album.
“I want to somehow have my next experience sound like Fela [Kuti] meets Kraftwerk: cyber, yet really in the bush, something that is different. I’m tired of sounding like the past all the time. Everyone is making retro records. I want to see what else there is as well.”
“Comet, Come to Me” is due out June 3. Meshell Ndegeocello performs 8 p.m. June 6 at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. For more information or tickets, call 215-222-1400 or visit www.meshell.com.