When
Mz Fontaine finally tours in the US, she will be THE
hot ticket! This British phenom, who has already toured Europe
and the UK, dropped her debut studio album in July. Naomi Romeo,
aka Mz Fontaine, was born in Guyana, South America, just a few
months before her country was put on the map by the notorious
Jonestown Massacre. Her interest in music started at an early
age.
“From the tender age of five, my mother, who also enjoyed
singing, took me to every choir rehearsal she attended,"
she says. "As a result my love for music and performing
grew and I began singing at choir exhibitions.” She moved
to London when she was twelve became a member of her Catholic
school “Being on stage and seeing a vast number of people
enjoying my performance…inspired me to begin song writing.”
Fontaine continued singing throughout high school, then received
certificates in Sound Engineering and Teaching from the Institute
of Music and Technology in London.
New
Era begins with an apology. “Stay” is a pleading
soul tune sung in a mournful flat tone against a plunky, bright
organ. “So In Luv,” track 2, is another slower track
that has move of a dub sound mixed with perkier vocals that
sound a lot like Sade. The sexy sweet lyrics really establish
this song, but a couple of lines--like "you were my sexy
chocolate/I would be your lollipop"--register a little
high on the cheez register. I guess that could be hot under
the right circumstances.
The
heat is turned up by track 3 with “Knocking.”
Mz Fontaine straight up tells her girl what she is going to
do and what she wants: "I’m knocking on your door/
you know I want it more/ so take off your clothes/ and let our
minds explore." “All U Deserve,” the first
single from the album, is along the same lyrical bent but the
beat is nearly irresistible and the funky instrumental flare
sounds like that old video game Joust. I really liked
the goofily random horse sounds in the middle of the song. This
track could easily come off as really spazzy, but somehow it
hangs together and is pretty infectious.
My
favorite song on the album is “Pass Dat Crutch,”
Fontaine’s bite of Missy Elliot’s “Pass That
Dutch.” The blatantly clear dyke sex lyrics against Elliot’s
squeaks and moans are an interesting juxtaposition, since Fontaine
is so overt in proclaiming her lesbianism. This song will sound
great in clubs this summer.
"New
Era" is the sweet vehicle that explains Fontaine’s
political position in a more assertive rap style. The music
is more bucolic and reggae inspired, reminiscent of Soul To
Soul, Arrested Development, and The Fugees. She shares the mike
with several guys from Q Fam, who lay down some solid British
hip hop verse that blasts subjects like DJs that want to battle
them but are also homophobic. This is a hopeful song about fighting
oppression in a creative way.
“Buggin
Me” is along a similar theme, but with a darker vibe.
The song is a little more persona,l and about the psychological
impact of getting through each day as a butch woman that is
“always the topic of someone’s conversation/on the
lips of strangers in the everyday street."
The middle
tracks on the album have more of an edge to them, while the
last three are saccharinely sweet pop/R&B fusion. I can
understand that Fontaine would want to demonstrate her full
range on this initial offering, but these sappy, ballads complete
with digital wave sounds, aren’t her strongest work.
Overall,
though, this is definitely an album to check out--for
its contagiously danceable singles, and for Mz Fontaine's invigorating
and unapologetic claims to her rights as a human and a butch
woman.
Get
her CD and find out more about Fontaine at mzfontaine.com
