FEATURING THE NEW SINGLE ‘CALIFORNIA LONER’ – LISTEN HERE
Fantastic Negrito excels at creating storytelling roots music grounded in the blues: a niche which has earned him three Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Blues Album, as well as respect from iconic artists such as Sting (his collaborator on the recent single ‘Undefeated Eyes’) and Mick Jagger (who picked Fantastic Negrito and Tang & The Bangas’ ‘I’m So Happy I Cry’ as one of his all-time favourite blues songs). Now Fantastic Negrito opens up a deeply personal narrative with news of the October 18th release of his new album ‘Son of a Broken Man’. He introduces the set with its lead single ‘California Loner’. Listen HERE.
Fantastic Negrito’s previous album, ‘White Jesus Black Problems’, charted the barely believable story of his family heritage. Going back to the 1750s, he discovered that he was the descendant of an African slave and a Scottish servant, who somehow fell in love, battled oppression and a law that prohibited interracial relationships, and freed future generations of their family from the savage injustice of slavery. Fantastic Negrito’s father was born in 1905: a generation after slavery, but still a time in which it was radically dangerous to be black, progressive and intelligent. Instead he fabricated an alternative backstory, which unlocked the freedom for his family that should’ve been their human right.
With ‘Son of a Broken Man’, Fantastic Negrito fast-forwards the narrative to his own childhood in the 1970s. Ingenuity had been his father’s strength, but the actual process of fatherhood was very much his weakness.
Fantastic Negrito – also known as Xavier Dphrepaulezz – explains the album’s concept: “When I was 12-years-old, my dad stopped talking to me and kicked me out of the house. I never saw him again and he ended up dying while I was in foster care. This is me talking to him and telling him what I’ve done with my life.”‘Son of a Broken Man’ charts childhood struggles, loves, loneliness, challenges and ambitions as Fantastic Negrito tries to find his peace with their lack of a relationship. It’s certainly not a simple one: there are flashes of hurt and resentment, but also of longing and sorrow for a father/son love that never flourished. The emotions override any grand revelation, but a simple truth does emerge: Fantastic Negrito is not a duplicate of his father, and has no option but to make his own way in life. Or as the title track states succinctly: “I’m the son of a broken man, I picked up the pieces and I survived.”
The lead single ‘California Loner’ cooks up languid R&B and ragged, gravelly soul as Fantastic Negrito explores the empty space where their relationship should have been – and especially so given that his passing ended any lingering hopes of a reconciliation. It’s released alongside another new track, ‘Runaway From You’, a psych-tinged blues explosion which targets the pain of their initial separation.
‘Son of a Broken Man’ is a story told in ways that stretch far beyond Fantastic Negrito’s blues roots. Funk, soul, rousing gospel, fuzzy psychedelia, introspective folk, biting classic rock and classic-meets-contemporary R&B are all part of a dazzling tapestry of soundscapes that bring the journey to life from a musician who has never been content to simply sit in one lane. The entire record was written and produced by Fantastic Negrito.
There is, of course, a lot more to Fantastic Negrito’s life story: his battles on the mean streets of Oakland, California as a teen; learning how to play music by sneaking into lessons at the University of California, Berkeley; securing a major label deal in his twenties which collapsed following a near-fatal car crash; and effectively starting again from scratch in his mid-forties. There’s a film to be made about all of that, someday.
Having played summer festivals all over the world, from Cambridge to Calgary, Fantastic Negrito is set to bring his ‘Son of a Broken Man’ tour to Europe in the autumn. His UK dates are below, please see HERE for tickets and a list of all upcoming international shows:
OCTOBER 29th – London, Islington Assembly Hall 30th – Gloucester, Guildhall 31st – Manchester, The Blues Kitchen
‘Son of a Broken Man’ tracklist:
1. ‘First To Betray Me’ 2. ‘Runaway From You’ 3. ‘I Hope Somebody’s Loving You’ 4. ‘Skirty’ 5. ‘Goddamn Biscuit’ 6. ‘Living With Strangers’ 7. ‘Zollifer Files’ 8. ‘Devil In My Pocket’ 9. ‘California Loner’ 10. ‘My Only Friend Is You’ 11. ‘Crooked Road’ 12. ‘The Children Are Waiting’ 13. ‘This Little Light Of Mine’ 14. ‘Son Of A Broken Man’
