Photo credit: Tim Saccenti
Minneapolis-born R&B experimentalist Velvet Negroni has released his debut album NEON BROWN today on 4AD via Rhythmethod.
The album arrives following major critical praise from both sides of the pond for recently released songs ‘CONFETTI,’ ‘WINE GREEN‘ and ‘KURT KOBAIN‘ with The FADER, Pigeons & Planes and The Observer among others calling Velvet Negroni a new artist you need to know. On NEON BROWN, he is a griot relaying the life and times of his own island of one as he rhymes in double time, or hiccups and la-las through a break, or croons from a room down the hall. As it unfolds into another story of lost love, or another joke about lost drugs, as it tries to make sense of a life spent in the (sometimes harrowing) pursuit of communion. Longtime collaborators Psymun (Future, Young Thug, Juice WRLD, The Weeknd) and Tickle Torture produced the album.
PRAISE FOR NEON BROWN
“Sounds like nothing else that’s released this year — an endlessly surprising endeavor invoking elements of funk, pop and R&B that constantly veers from the trails of presumption and into a wilderness entirely of its own creation.”
– FADER
“An instant earworm.”
– AFROPUNK
“If it sounds complex and unpredictable, that’s because it is. It’s also excellent.”
– THE FACE
“Gorgeously expansive sounds that meld and melt the lines between everything from lush synthpop, experimental electronic and choppy rap to reggae and dub.”
– The Observer
“A popping, echo-laden, melancholy ’80s funk banger”
– Stereogum
“Soulful, punchy & symphonic.”
– Wonderland
“Channeling the sparse compositions of hometown hero Prince.”
– Pigeons & Planes
“Woozy.”
– BrooklynVegan
Raised in an outer suburb of the Twin Cities, Jeremy Nutzman – a black kid adopted into a white evangelical Christian family – savoured the secular pop music he could only hear as a kid during ice skating competitions. Years later, his refreshingly raw approach to R&B has notched him writing credits for Kanye West and Kid Cudi, plus two features on Bon Iver’s new album. Velvet Negroni just wrapped an arena tour supporting Tame Impala, including two nights at Madison Square Garden.
‘NEON BROWN’ Tracklist
1. “ONE ONE”
2. “WINE GREEN”
3. “KURT KOBAIN”
4. “POSTER CHILD”
5. “CONFETTI”
6. “U.DUNNO”
7. “CHOIR BOY”
8. “SCRATCHERS”
9. “NESTER”
10. “FEEL LET”
11. “ECTODUB”
VELVET NEGRONI
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