Jhelisa Drops New Single 'Oxygen'

She's back. Released today on Dorado Records, musical maverick Jhelisa returns with a triumphant masterpiece, 'Oxygen,' a breath-taking, expansive, unapologetic 11-minute opus.

Underpinned by her glorious, deeply seductive voice, remarkable in its power and spiritual force, the richly nuanced track journeys through sections of hypnotic rhythms, infectious hooks, probing jazz lines, African chanting, blues-drenched harmonica, pacey percussion and slower slices of sweet soul jazz.

The sound is an exciting sonic assault featuring a masterful band that includes legendary bassist Oteil Burbridge (Grateful Dead) and long-time band member Greg Osby whose piercing alto sax brings an intensity that takes the track to another level. It is a compelling, intoxicating and dazzling tour de force of sounds and emotions.

Jhelisa has been marching through unchartered territories since the mid-1990s when she stunned audiences and critics with both her extraordinary voice and deliciously daring music. Through the course of 4 solo albums, Mississippi-born Jhelisa has journeyed through soul, trip hop, jazz, avant-garde, gospel esoteric sonic experimentations.

She's been the go-to vocalist for the likes of Bjork, Massive Attack and The Shamen. But one thing has remained constant; her unwavering, uncompromising artistic vision. Her thrillingly genre-smashing approach to music subverts her sweet, sensual voice with emotionally raw, spiritually resonant lyrics and a musical sophistication seen nowhere else.

'Oxygen' is, as Jhelisa admits, "my outpouring of growth; my influences, perceptions, my angles and transitions that began with surviving Hurricane Katrina in 2005, to navigating the hyper-polarized fragments of American politics over the decades." 'Oxygen' has breathed life into these once suffocating events so that she now looks back with a broader eye, and is able to observe, as she says, "clarity through the chaos."

Joining Jhelisa on 'Oxygen' is Landon Anderson (India Irie) on drums, Donna Hawkins and Oteil Burbridge (Grateful Dead) on bass, Rafael Pierra (Janelle Monae) on percussion, Tollak Olstead on harmonica, Marcus Reece Jr. on piano and Greg Osby on saxophone.

'Oxygen' is released digitally on Dorado Records on June 15 and is available through all usual streaming and download platforms. It paves the way for her forthcoming album, 'Wild Orbits'

Listen to the new single here:

To post a comment, you must register and login.