Meshell Ndegeocello preps new LP, shares “Virgo” ft Brandee Younger & Julius Rodriguez

Singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Meshell Ndegeocello has announced a new LP, The Omnichord Real Book, coming on June 16 via Blue Note Records (her debut for the label). It follows her 2018 covers album Ventriloquism, compiling original material with a host of guests. The Omnichord Real Book was produced by Josh Johnson and features contributions by Jason Moran, Ambrose Akinmusire, Joel Ross, Jeff Parker, Brandee Younger, Jade Hicks, Deantoni Parks, Sanford Biggers, Cory Henry, Joan As Police Woman, Thandiswa, Hanna Benn, The Hawtplates, and more. Meshell says:

It’s a little bit of all of me, my travels, my life. My first record I made at 22, and it’s over 30 years from then, so I have a lot of stored information to share... This album is about the way we see old things in new ways. Everything moved so quickly when my parents died. Changed my view of everything and myself in the blink of an eye. As I sifted through the remains of their life together, I found my first Real Book, the one my father gave me. I took their records, the ones I grew up hearing, learning, remembering. My mother gifted me with her ache, I carry the melancholy that defined her experience and, in turn, my experience of this thing called life calls me to disappear into my imagination and to hear the music.

The first taste of The Omnichord Real Book comes from elongated single "Virgo," which features Brandee Younger on harp and Julius Rodriguez on Farfisa organ, as well as guitarist Chris Bruce, keyboardist Jebin Bruni, drummer Abe Rounds, Deantoni Parks, Andrea Ambro, and vocalists Kenita Miller and Marsha DeBoe. The song is massive in scope, with a sound heavily influenced by jazz and poppy, futuristic psychedelia. Listen to "Virgo" and check out the artwork and tracklist for The Omnichord Real Book below.