Over the next few months, Erykah Badu will slowly but surely move her home recording studio--filled with a blend of cutting edge and vintage hardware and equipment--from its current home location to its future one within the confines of the South Side on Lamar building just south of downtown.
The goal, according to Badu's manager, Paul Levatino: They just want to do what they can to help bring more of a musical vibe into the area, which currently includes musical entities and neighbors like the Palladium Ballroom (and The Loft and Gilley's, etc.), Bill's Records, Poor David's Pub and Brooklyn Jazz Cafe.
"Erykah and [South Side partners] Jack Matthews and Donnie Nelson have been trying to do more stuff over at South Side, and they put together a cool opportunity for Erykah to move her home studio over to their lofts," says Levatino. "The idea is to bring the music community down there, which is part of their mission."
But there's more than that, Levatino says. Beyond using the space for her own upcoming projects (including the upcoming debut Cannabinoids disc), Badu also hopes to use the space to help up-and-coming artists both locally and abroad...
The goal, according to Badu's manager, Paul Levatino: They just want to do what they can to help bring more of a musical vibe into the area, which currently includes musical entities and neighbors like the Palladium Ballroom (and The Loft and Gilley's, etc.), Bill's Records, Poor David's Pub and Brooklyn Jazz Cafe.
"Erykah and [South Side partners] Jack Matthews and Donnie Nelson have been trying to do more stuff over at South Side, and they put together a cool opportunity for Erykah to move her home studio over to their lofts," says Levatino. "The idea is to bring the music community down there, which is part of their mission."
But there's more than that, Levatino says. Beyond using the space for her own upcoming projects (including the upcoming debut Cannabinoids disc), Badu also hopes to use the space to help up-and-coming artists both locally and abroad...
"We want a little production studio," Levatino continues, "but we also want to get creative with it and maybe help out some artists that need a break--cool, independent artists that want to record."
The plan--tentatively--is to reach out to one artist a year and bring them into the studio for recording sessions with Badu's producers and sound engineers. A sort of mentorship progam, if you will.
Unfortunately, the general public will only see the finished products: "It's not big enough for performances or anything like that," Levatino laments. And, still, it's all quite a ways off at this point. Construction on the space only started this week.
Even so, another classy effort in support fo the local music community, courtesy of its Queen.
