Although he says it may seem like his latest successes won’t last since his album has been out nearly a year, Maxwell says he is also planning a European tour to “mix things up.” Visit thegrio.com for more.

Thanks for the link, Ionka!

Source: thegrio.com

‘Yeah, it’ll be a home court advantage for Jill,” noted Maxwell, a native New Yorker, about his coheadlining bill with Philadelphia’s Jill Scott on Saturday at the Wachovia Center.

“But I’m cool with that. I’m excited. The music scene there is unbelievable – and I’m playing with Jill Scott! I’m a big fan … she’s just so sophisticated, so musical, so elegant.”

Since starting last month, “The Tour” has earned glowing reviews, satisfying concertgoers with two different, impressively soulful sets, served with all the trimmings. Both Maxwell and the busy actress-poet-chanteuse Scott (whose long-awaited new album The Light of the Sun is due this year) are touring with large backing ensembles, eager to get back to making live, organic music in an Auto-Tune era.

“I mean, don’t get it twisted: I love Drake … and Puff, he does it very well,” explained the iconic neo-soul singer by phone. “But I could never be a part of that. I’m not an Auto-Tune guy. And it’s confusing to me.”

Read more at Philadelphia Inquirer

Maxwell needed a break. It turned into eight years off.

The time away from the stage and the studio was enriching. The pop-soul star melted into everyday life around his native New York City and fell in and out of love, which inspired a wave of new songs.

“I got involved in some really unconditional, they-didn’t-know-who-I-was kind of relationships,” said the singer-songwriter, who along with Jill Scott will perform at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater on Tuesday. “I went about my business and watched the industry grow and change in different ways.”

When the platinum-selling heartthrob receded from pop view, the sensitive neo-soul sound he helped to shape in the mid-’90s was supplanted by a heavily digitalized, decidedly raunchier urban style. Maxwell’s Sade-meets-Marvin-Gaye approach was missed. So when he finally released his comeback album, last year’s “BLACKsummers’night,” the reception was immediate.

The album, a warm and focused synthesis of jazz-kissed R&B and wistful pop balladry, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and swiftly went platinum. It spawned four hit singles, including “Pretty Wings,” which debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. At the Grammy ceremony in February, Maxwell, who gave a memorable performance with pop-soul legend Roberta Flack, picked up two gleaming gramophones for “BLACKsummers’night.” The album garnered six nominations.

Read more at HamptonRoads.com

New Times caught up with R&B’s smoothest singer, Maxwell, by phone on the eve of his current tour, which finds him and Jill Scott holding forth at the American Airlines Arena (Miami, FL) tonight.

New Times: You’ve never been caught up in trends. In fact you take a more classicist’s approach to song. If you could name one cat from the past whose career is worth looking up to, who would it be?

Maxwell: Gosh, so many. Marvin Gaye. Sade has a pretty completely unbreakable career, in that regard. She’s just so scenic. It’s like going to Paris and every building is like working with a theme. People like that really make me excited about sticking around for a while. (laughing)

Did you grow up listening to Gaye and (Al) Green and people like that?

Yeah. Sade, for me, not only was she like smoking fine, I mean the music was great. She was who she was. She was her own person. She wasn’t a part of anything. And she also takes time to live. And not look like a weirdly desperate celebrity person. I always admired that. And that’s always what I like about a lot of people — people who kept consistent with music and work that they’ve done over the years, yet still give you the impression that what matters most to them is living. Not just being famous and making money, or being number one or whatever. That literally living is fun to them. That to me is exciting.

It’s almost like a throwback from another time. I mean, she wasn’t caught up in any trends, nor have you been. Do you sometimes feel like you’re out of another time?

There’s a part of me that wishes that I could fall into pop culture and do those things. But I know that for me it’s a lot harder work. It seems like it’s harder to put material to and be as derivative as you possibly could be. In terms of it’s a little bit harder to do that. You can just work with that artist who has the number one record on all the charts right now. It’s like boom, instant in some ways. It’s not guaranteed but it’s a lot easier to believe that through association you could actually fall into that zone, which is where everybody goes.

To really answer your question: I feel like it’s the only way that I know how to do things. I’m a control freak. I’m a perfectionist. When you send it out, it’s forever. I keep that in mind usually when I’m working on anything or creating something.

It’s been a year since BLACKsummers’night, but eight years between LPs. Why the long time between albums?

I don’t know. It wasn’t planned really. I thought maybe I’d take four years, five years tops. Then I kept watching the music industry deteriorate and people that I knew were getting fired, and at the same time I was very happy to not have the responsibility of scrutiny of the world. It was nice to be considered a “remember him?” or a “what happened to him?” sort of person. (laughing)

No pressure.

Yeah, there was something fun about being the guy that used to be ‘that guy.’ Especially, when I would go out and be in clubs and people would have sorrow or compassion or pity on some levels. “Oh, I remember you.” Especially when I cut my hair it was like, “Oh, you cut your hair. I guess it’s over then.”

Like that was your magic, the hair?

Right. I’m looking at them and just laughing because I’m like, ‘I’m not like a marathon racer. I’m not a basketball team. I make music.’ Which means I can go away hopefully, and maybe come back.

That’s a rare luxury to be able to have.

Exactly. That’s what I was about to touch on. It’s not lost on me how precious and rare that gift is, to be able to step away and come back. It’s given me a great sense of confidence in knowing that what I did in the nineties in the beginning towards 2000, it wasn’t all just flukey type stuff, that there was something real to it, and that makes me feel great. For the people who overlook what we do — I say we because there are other people involved, musicians and co-producers and co-writers that have been with me forever — it gives us a lot of joy. We’re not just a trend. It’s not just a neo-soul thing. Or that I’m a certain age and this is what people in their 20′s are doing. I can’t describe how gratifying it felt to see that kind of response and that kind of acceptance again. With no need to look or be like how I was.

The title to me seems to allude to not one but many black summers. It also conveys a sense of owning the night, at least with the apostrophe where it is. What’s the origin of that title anyway?

It was something I was working with around 2002. I was very much over the whole music industry thing. I was being ripped off by all kinds of people from the touring world going in. A complete racket. And I was like ‘this is not what I bargained for.’ Then I sort of stepped away. I’m always making music though and I will always have to make music and write songs. But it was the first time that I decided to make it for myself and make it at my leisure. Make it for my own enjoyment for a minute before I make it into some sort of product that needs a serial number and all that.

To get into the title, it’s a trilogy. Black represents the first part. Summers represents the second. Night represents the third. Black being more of a despondent, heartbreak kind of thing, because that’s what happened to me really at a certain point in the writing process when I broke up with my girlfriend. It brought so much truth to what I was trying to say in the first part of the trilogy. The second part, which is Summer was much more of a gospel, Fela, rock and roll, blues. It’s a big mish-mosh of stuff. It doesn’t go all the way to like ‘Who’s this?’ Hopefully, you’ll know it’s what we’ve always put out. The Night is the last installment, it’s a record of slow songs. That’s what we have there.

You recorded for the ten piece band. Are they going to be on the stage with you at the Triple A?

Yes, they are as they have been since the summer of 2009. The same band pretty much, pretty much everybody that we’ve always been with. They’ve been in the band and on the record. That’s another reason why I can’t believe this is my life sometimes. When do you get the guy who actually plays on your record to actually have time? They are all big time musicians with deals and albums that they want to put out and things they want to do; they’re in high demand. So it’s amazing for me to be able to have kept that team together and bring it to the people. They get the record live.

You’ve got Jill Scott on the bill. How did you and Jill Scott become connected and what made you decide to tour together?

I did something in 2008 with her and Al Green. It was a tribute that BET was setting up. It was like a no brainer. C’mon, I mean, you’re asking me to do something for Al Green. It’s Al Green. She was part of the ensemble. She did a song before me and then I stepped out and then the wheels starting turning from there.

Are there any other singers out there right now whose sound you’re digging?

Well, I love Alicia Keys’ new album. I think it’s probably her best. I also love Melanie Fiona who is also going to be a part of the show. And Erykah Badu’s doing a few shows with us during part of this tour. It’s Jill Scott and then she’s got 20 dates and Erykah’s got 2, and Fione has about 15. Estelle will be a part of the team as well for about three dates. So it’s like the ultimate black singing “sanging” sexy women of all time.

We love Estelle. She’s great. In fact we interviewed her last year too. You’ve covered everybody from Kate Bush to Nine Inch Nails to Al Green when you did that tribute. What is it about a song that makes you want to sing it?

As long as it’s something that people don’t expect, or an arrangement that is unlike what people would think that the original song would be. That’s usually what draws me in. I love to convey music to people that would have never seen or heard it. How many people in my genre or in my world would have known Kate Bush? I know a few who would, but after we did the cover so many people were aware of how great she was. That’s why you do it. Covers should have a two-prong purpose. They should not only be a vehicle for you, but they should also open up the masses and your audiences to newer realms of music. It’s kind of great. That song is like — My God, I can never not do a show without doing it.

Are we going to hear those songs when you play Miami?

“This Woman’s Worth” could never not be a part of the set list. People would just be waiting for me and going, “Um, hello. You know you missed something.” There would be protests, I think.

Source: Miami New Times / Also, check out this interview Maxwell did with Miami Herald.

By Lavinia Jones Wright

It’s impossible not to fall for Maxwell. He’s a sweetheart with style, an open book that turns out to be a fascinating read. The preternaturally talented soul singer emerged in the late ’90s as one of a group of young artists trying to return urban music to the halcyon days of Motown musicianship and authenticity. His 1996 debut, Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, after a slow start, went two times platinum, and his subsequent single and album releases built to the climax of his 2001 full-length Now, which went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

At the turn of the last century, Maxwell had cultivated a dreamy image for himself with his signature silk suits, huge afro and sensitive falsetto voice (at its most melting on his captivating cover of Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work”). But just as he had become the perfect poster boy for neo-soul, Maxwell walked away from the spotlight.

On June 24th, 2008, the audience at the BET Awards went wild for a now shorthaired Maxwell as he covered Al Green’s Simply Beautiful.” It was Maxwell’s first live performance in seven years, and it was just the beginning of a massive return to form that has so far included a sold-out world tour and the first album in what will be a trilogy, BLACKsummers’night.

So often we say that we wish there was some merit-based formula for success in music. Talent + hard work + humility = millions of records sold. We’ve been burned too many times by our idols’ bad behaviors, excesses and subsequent falls from grace. And that’s on top of having to endure some pretty strange one hit wonders reaping music industry victories we would more wish for the striving, “all in” performers we love and no one else has heard of. Maxwell is that rare case of the formula in action.

Now that he’s let slip that the seven year hiatus was not only self-imposed but intended to help him keep his perspective on fame and his music, it’s official: Maxwell is the ideal pop star. He’s a triple threat of gifted vocalist, motivated and inspired songwriter and all-around gracious, grateful and open-hearted human being.

What caused you to step back for so long?
Sometimes you can’t unring the bell of fame. What’s there is there, a virus that keeps hitting you again and again. I wanted to prove to myself that my music wasn’t a hairstyle. To have a time period where there was no pressure like that, I really loved it. It didn’t make me as crazy as I thought it probably would have. I’m not putting myself in their zone, but a lot of people I admire, like Bob Dylan, go away and come back. And then years later, it will mean something. It’s great to see that happen. For me, at 13, 14 years after the first record being released, I like my peace and quiet. At the same time, when I’ve had enough of it, I want people screaming. I try to balance it. I never want to get so deep into fame and celebrity that it sacrifices the part of me that needs to relate to everybody.

You want the music that you’re making to be about you and what you want to express, rather than what people expect.
Yes, and it’s a great blessing to be in a situation like this, to be able to do that. I know what this means, and I want to live up to it.

How did you know the time was right to start in again?
The time was right a couple years before [BLACKsummers'night] actually came out. I was really loving my anonymity, and at the same time, I was afraid I might fail. “Do I even know what people will need in their ears anymore?” That played into the delays here and there. I did that show for Al Green and Steven Hill on MTV, and once I conquered that it was like, “ok, lets get to this.” So we booked the tour.

That seems brave to decide to tour first!
I have to agree with you on that. It does take some courage. But it felt like a better avenue to present the music. To say, “Remember y’all, I know I look a little different, but I’m the guy that did that song way back when.”

The tour must have gone well considering you came back and didn’t just make one record, you made three.
I felt so good about the way it all worked, because it was almost like the music was proving to me what it is. I’m so happy the music keeps reaffirming its position and what it really means. But the plan [to make a trilogy] was there since 2002. I’d been working on it for a while when I announced the idea in 2006. People were surprised that someone would want to work on music and not want to immediately promote it and make money from it. It’s almost like anti-American Idol syndrome.

We are used to wanting to squeeze every ounce of juice out of everything right away. But that turned out to be a pretty smart decision, to wait.
Yea. You look around at what was going on in the industry, the labels were still figuring it out. The Internet created such a game change for them that there was a lot of chaos, and it didn’t feel safe to release music at the time. I’m just happy that it worked. I mean to this day, I still can’t believe it. Two years ago there were so many times that people didn’t even recognize me. It’s so different now. The same blocks that I used to kick the can and walk up and down no problem, now it’s a whole different thing. It was kind of like a gift from God, that time away.

“I DIDN’T WANT TO BE THE GUY COMING BACK FROM THE 90′S WITH THE 90′S. I’D BEEN LIVING EACH YEAR AS IT PASSED JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE; LISTENING TO A LOT OF ALTERNATIVE MUSIC, A LOT OF R&B AND HIP-HOP. I KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON NOW, SO I HAVE TO ADJUST TO THE PRESENT DAY, PICK UP THE PACE A LITTLE IN THE DELIVERY IN TERMS OF LYRICS AND MELODY.”

In an artistic sense, what about BLACKsummers’night do you think connected to the zeitgeist of right now so well?
It’s hard to say. At 36, people at my end of the game are considered… that’s it, you know? It’s that “nice having you, thanks for coming by” kind of time. So for me to have the consideration of people who are not even in my age range is pretty surprising in terms of the zeitgeist of right now. How do you know these things? If you think you know them, they come to surprise you with the opposite next time, so that’s why I’m trying to answer karmically and carefully. I can say one thing, I think the band and the musical act made people interested. I think musicians and musical acts are refreshing. I only realized something was happening when “Pretty Wings” was number one for the twelfth week. What’s interesting about it, for me, is that it was out for a year and half, and it was so old. And I started that track in 2002! And here’s something in 2009 come out that you’ve been hearing for the past 6 years, that only you knew about…and to have it be this hit, it was crazy to me. I always thought it had to be fresh out the box. What do I know? I’ve learned how much I don’t know with all the greatness that’s happened.

But BLACKsummers’night does have a really fresh sound compared to your old records. It looks back on old soul production: live and musical. It seems like you gained some perspective.
I didn’t want to be the guy coming back from the 90′s with the 90′s. I’d been living each year as it passed just like everybody else; listening to a lot of alternative music, a lot of R&B and hiphop. I know what’s going on now, so I have to adjust to the present day, pick up the pace a little in the delivery in terms of lyrics and melody. I was definitely concentrating on that. At first we used drum machines, because that’s how you get the rough idea down, but I always knew. Then the band came together, and we started to cut a bunch of things.

Since you brought it up, you did emerge as part of the Neo Soul scene in the 90′s, and it’s interesting that your career took a different trajectory than those of your peers. Why do you think that is?
I don’t know. It’s my turn? Just like Sade, someone I really admire. I love the fact that she goes away, she lives a life, she comes back, no apologies, puts her best foot forward. Some may love it, some may not, but in the end, she is pretty rounded as a human being. I don’t think the world views her as desperate for their attention.

You seem resistant to be grouped into Neo Soul.
When new things happen there’s always got to be a catch phrase for it. It’s got to be boxed for mass consumption. When I was making the first record there was no such word as neo-soul. It was just something that I was doing because people my age were into a certain time in [soul] music, and we were going to bring that in no matter what. I don’t look at [the way the media grouped neo soul artists into a scene] with disparagement. I’m pretty neutral about it. It brought an audience. It’s just that, who knows what will happen down the road, what kind of music I will make? I’m never certain until that moment.

Back to the record, where did the title come from?
It’s three discs: Black, Summers’ and Night. Each word exemplifies the record. When you look Black, it’s pretty despondent, a lot of heartbreak, a lot of not being able to control yourself and your feelings. A certain amount of helplessness. Summers’…I’m not doing a 180, but I’m lightening it up and brightening it up.

In production? Or song subject matter?
Song subject matter. Production may change here and there, but not much. These are soul records that we are putting out. I’m sort of playing it, hopefully, in various ways, rom soul to gospel to blues, even country has a certain edge to it that I like. You’ll know what you’re getting, but hopefully you’ll get a sense of the change, and where I’m going. I have a lot to be happy about. It’s almost perfect that this is the album that’s coming out.

And then Night. What will it be like?
Purely bedroom; sexy, sensual, all the love songs. That’s why Summers’ has the up vibe, I’m saving the ballads for that third installment. It feels really like a good solid idea that I can really work these themes in. I always like that kind of a structure. I want it to mean something. It can’t just be a record just to be a record.

How autobiographical are these songs? They feel incredibly personal.
They are. I met an amazing girl. At the beginning of the writing, I hadn’t met the girl or had the experience that all these songs were supposed to be about. I had the music, and I had some of the words, but no real emotion. Once I went through that experience, I knew exactly what I needed to say. Especially the loss of that relationship, because that hurt more than I thought it would. You may part, you may say “I love you,” but this isn’t working. And you walk away, and you’re happy that you did, but you may be surprised at how much you miss somebody. And in that period of missing I really found that heart behind what I was going to do.

“Pretty Wings,” the single, is about her?
“Bad Habits” as well. “Playing Possum.” “Fist Full of Tears” teeters on that relationship, but it’s also about trying to give somebody a sense of hope and the beauty you see in them.

How important is it to put so much personal feeling into your songs in order to have it connect with other people?
I think it’s very important. People can tell if it’s real or not. I couldn’t concoct some story or some experience, because people can tell.

You mentioned “Playing Possum.” That song stuck out to me. It’s so bare, production-wise and emotionally. It seems like a brave move.
I was going for that. I wanted to have something that doesn’t feel like a glossy, polished production record, and it felt right for the song not to be so pristine. I’m happy that we ended up putting that in there, because it worked for the whole balance of the record. I wanted that sort of contrast. I think every album should have something a little acoustic in there.

It makes you feel closer to the artist.
I think so, too.

You said that the music came first this time, before the lyrics. Is that usually the case?
Sometimes not, sometimes both at the same time. Sometimes first it’s a title or a phrase, or someone will say something to me, or I’ll watch a movie…but I have to wait to go through what I have to speak about. That’s what it’s about, being patient enough to wait. I don’t have writers sending me things, so it’s really from the bottom up.

You’re in a pretty interesting phase in the process with this record right now, because it’s been almost a year since it came out. You’ve probably had a lot of time to look at the results. It’s a huge debut and it’s getting great reviews. How much of this is shocking to you and how much is what you expected?
(Laughs) I can’t say that I expect anything in life, but I definitely accept what comes. I’m blown away that’s it’s a year later and we have a new single and there’s a fourth leg to the tour with these new songs. I’m happy that people didn’t forget. I keep saying that, I’m like a broken record. But no one owes me anything. I take it with great pride.

Looking at this in perspective, this isn’t your first No. 1 debut. You’ve had one before. So it’s not unbelievable to think that you’d be able to make another huge record. But at the same time there had to be a little fear that no one was going to care. Or that fans would be angry at you for going away for so long.
It could have gone in so many directions, and believe you me, I definitely pondered all the possibilities. But it’s just incredible, music is a longliving, long-lasting entity. It’s beyond me. It’s the music, primarily, that people are engaged with and are patient with. If I didn’t have the music I don’t think I would get much of a path, you know what I mean?

I guess that answers my next question, why you think everything turned out okay?
Answering that would probably make me come off a little too confident. I’m not so confident with what I do all the time. In fact, I’m not really confident at all, I’m always just trying to do something that’s true to the story that I’m trying to tell or the experience that I’ve gone through. And then I cross my fingers and I hope that it works out.

Do you think you’ll be tired of the hustle again after all three of these records come out?
I may do something else, be more of a producer, writer. I’m not sure. I may want to take a break after all three because they are coming out so close to each other, a year to a year-and-a-half apart. That’s a lot of music for the time that I was away. Hopefully making up for lost time. Fingers crossed.

If you have shown us anything, it’s that the doors never close.
That’s definitely what I’ve seen from this experience.

Source: ASCAP

Maxwell – smooth operator, neo-soul prince, swoon-worthy heartthrob. And worry wart? “I’m here to let the truth be told,” he says with a laugh. His tour with Jill Scott kicked off late last month, and Maxwell admits that nerves come into play before he hits the stage.

Not that he has much to worry about. Last year’s BLACKsummers’night, his first record in eight years, was certified platinum and nominated for six Grammy awards. First single Pretty Wings topped the R&B charts for more than three months.

The acclaimed singer took time to talk comebacks, comfort TV and a very personal Houston connection:

Why are nerves still a factor at this point in your career?
Of course, I’m freaking out. I always freak out about these things. It’s definitely nerves for sure. You want to be good. Reviews and (video) — the viral world that we live in — it puts a lot of concern. You try to do your best. But that’s a good thing. You can bust your ass in the middle of one song or not hit this note, and people will let you know that you did exactly that.

What are your pre-tour rituals?
I just stress until the very end. Usually the show is never completely complete. It really finds its swing (later in the tour). Those things come into play. In the end, you cross your fingers. You let people know you’re giving them the best that you can give.

BLACKsummers’night was a real collaborative effort between you and Houston-born Hod David.
I’ve worked with him forever — (1996′s) …Til the Cops Come Knockin’, the very first songs on the very first album. He’s beyond just a collaborator. He’s a family member. He’s a friend. I’d give him a kidney. He’s about to get married. He’s more blood to me than even blood.

What makes the partnership with him work so well?
We know what we’re supposed to do as a team. I know he cares, and I know he’s not about hits. And I know he’s not going to just run around and work with everyone who is trying to get that sound just to make money. He has a lot of integrity to the energy. It’s about the art.

You took a long break between albums to be a “normal guy.” What’s the biggest change these days?
There are people who have been following it for awhile. It’s like meeting old friends. Interestingly enough, when I look out into the audience, I see people who are like half my age. I’m shocked. I would have thought that in some ways they would have definitely not wanted to come see me or know anything about what I do. Kids walk up to me, ‘You’re the Pretty Wings guy.’ I’m like, ‘You’re 14. Why do you know me?’

I hear you’re a scary movie buff. What’s the best one you’ve seen lately?
Mirrors (with Kiefer Sutherland) — I watched that. I’m more into real stuff like 48 Hours. I like investigation dramas and Forensic Files and Investigation Discovery. Law & Order — I’m so upset at the possibility of its cancelation looming above us.

Make sure you read more at (Houston Chronicle)

NEW YORK — The plan was for Maxwell to release the second album in his “BLACKsummers’night” trilogy this summer. But success is getting in the way.

The best-selling crooner said the popularity of his comeback disc is forcing him to delay the release of the next one.

“These are good problems, I guess,” Maxwell joked Tuesday.

“I had a plan — every year something new, and I thought that that would be a good enough time to sort of give people space to feel like they weren’t being inundated by what I was doing,” he said. “I’ve had this entire trilogy with me for years, for four or five years, so I can wait. I just want people to get it when they want it. … At this point, it’s in their hands.

“BLACKsummers’night” — his first album in eight years — has sold more than 1 million copies since it was released last summer. It won the 37-year-old the first two Grammys of his career earlier this year.

He’s just launched a tour with singer-actress Jill Scott; he will also be touring with Erykah Badu and Melanie Fiona on other dates. This is his third tour in two years, so he’s made some changes to the song list to cater to his audience.

“We’re doing songs that we don’t really always do, because I’ve gotten so many requests for those songs,” he said. “It would be blasphemous if I didn’t do this song or that song.”

While Maxwell and Scott perform separate sets, he’s hoping that at some point they can join together on stage.

“Once we get into a flow, which is coming pretty soon, I think we’ll ultimately be able to craft or do something,” he said.

He’s also hoping to meet more listeners, teaming up with Renaissance Hotels for meet-and-greets in various cities.

“It was fun,” he said of a recent get-together in Chicago, joking: “I wish I could have had more to drink — but it’s all about soda water and wine and things like that right now, seeing that I’m on the road.”

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Maxwell’s about to polish off his next record — a “sequel” to last year’s “BLACKsummers’night” more on that in a moment — and you might be surprised to know from what other bands and musicians the neosoul R&B pioneer has been drawing his inspiration.

“These days I’m all about the xx, the Temper Trap, Fleet Foxes,” he says, rattling off some of indie-rock’s hottest bands. “I mean, I love Al Green, of course, but this is how the world is. There’s more soul out there than what we call soul music.”

Maxwell took the time to chat during a break in rehearsals last week at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates. He used the Chicago-area arena to prep for his double-billed tour launching this week with fellow soul singer and now acclaimed actress Jill Scott.

The new album reunites Maxwell with collaborator Hod David, apparently the source of Maxwell’s hip new playlists. David, Maxwell says, is “a huge rock guy” who’s been feeding Maxwell, about to turn 37, the latest rock and hip-hop. But this doesn’t mean Maxwell’s new tunes will earn him a slot at Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival in July.

“What I hear in this stuff that inspires me is the live-band element,” he says. “You just don’t get that so much in a lot of R&B. There’s nothing wrong with that, really. I mean, I don’t believe that there are wrongs or rights in the heart. Me, I just gravitate toward the live element, maybe away from the programmed beats so much. That’s what I feel in a band like the Animal Collective. The stuff pulses, lives, it’s alive. It’s not an eight-bar loop.”

His inspiration stops at the recorded effort, though. He hasn’t seen many of these bands live. (“I heard the xx at Coachella was unbelieveable! Man, I was in rehearsals.”) So the new album, possibly due later this year, will continue the earthy vibe set by “BLACKsummers’night,” and it will be titled “blackSUMMERS’night.” Maxwell spent eight years recording the album that hit last year — in fact, recording three albums. “BlackSUMMERS’night” is the second part, and the third will be, yes, “blacksummers’NIGHT.”

The long delay, he says, was due to simple fatigue, running on the hampster’s wheel at a pace set by the popularity of the new soul sound he and other powerful singers, such as D’Angelo and Erykah Badu, dished out in the late ’90s. Maxwell set himself apart with an approach to soul connected to Al Green, and not just because Green’s name is easily and eagerly dropped. Maxwell, like Green, sings like an adult, rarely boastful and often about issues of monogamy. After 2001′s “Now,” only his third album, Maxwell said he needed a break.

“I just needed to remember what it felt like to be human, not touring all the time, and get back to living the things I sing about, you know,” he says.

Maxwell was nominated last week for two BET music awards. Another nominee for the traditionally African-American honors: white teen phenom Justin Bieber. (“He’s got a great little voice, no denying,” Maxwell says of Bieber.) Watching a young star like Bieber getting thrown into the celebrity media machine makes Maxwell reflect on his original humble aspirations.

“At his age, I thought I knew what I wanted to do, but looking at how celebrities get treated and what can happen to you — it’s a big turnoff for me, and I can’t imagine how that kid’s going to handle it,” he says. “I didn’t want to be a singer, at first. I thought I wanted to do songwriter and session work. I don’t know if that’s the most I could accept or what. I got signed trying to write songs for other people. I sang a demo for a song for someone else, and the guy who got the demo said, ‘Wait, who’s actually singing this?’ He called me for a meeeting, and I thought he wanted to talk about someone else’s album. He said, ‘No, I want to sign you.’ And so it began. …”

But back to the future.

“All three albums are done now. That’s why it’s taken me eight years. I might overdub things and upgrade things so they sound OK when the other two come out in 2010 or 2011, whenever. The first part of the trilogy has gotten more single requests than expected, so we’ve pushed the second part back a little. Hey, when people say they want to hear my music, I ain’t gonna complain.”

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

This interview was conducted by Z107.9′s Colby (and can be found on a couple of other Cleveland radio station websites), before Maxwell took the stage for his first performance in Cleveland, OH (May 21, 2010). Also, check out this concert review.

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Source: ZHipHop Cleveland

In these days of tragicomedy and upheaval, it seems odd for an outsider to call South Africa their lucky charm. But that’s exactly what US soul man Maxwell tells me over the phone from his home base in New York City.

“I performed the song Bad Habits for the first time ever in front of a South African audience and I knew instantly that my musical direction was the right one,” he explains, his voice just as rich on a trans-Atlantic phone line as it is on record.

The show he is referring to was his October 2008 live performance at the Macufe Music Festival in Bloemfontein, and Bad Habits is one of nine tracks off his double Grammy Award-winning album, BLACKsummer’snight.

It seems an unlikely combination: the Neo Soul innovator, undoubted sex symbol and creator of the 1996, 2-million-plus selling Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, finding his musical groove in a Free State city hardly known for ground-shifting music performances. But the response of the sold-out 10000-strong crowd – “the incredible outpouring of love” – was the spur Maxwell needed to emerge from a six-year self-imposed exile and create BLACKsummer’snight, the first in a planned trilogy of albums.

Of course, the South African fans in the Macufe crowd were depending on the 36-year-old Brooklyn-born son a of Puerto Rican dad and Haitian mom to deliver the hits he’d come to global fame with – like Whenever, Wherever, Whatever, and Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder), both featured on Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite. It’s likely that they also expected the sizeable Afro that had been such a prominent feature of the singer’s smouldering looks from his debut to its 1998 follow-up Embrya and 2001′s Now, which features possibly the best cover of a Kate Bush track (This Woman’s Work).

Instead, Maxwell surprised with a set that showcased new tracks, like Bad Habits, and a close-cut hairstyle – neither of which did anything to detract from the riveting display of musical prowess shown by the American artist, who left the country armed with honorary South African citizenship.

For Maxwell, the Macufe show and a rapturously received live rendition of the Al Green classic Simply Beautiful, at the June 2008 BET Awards, were all the convincing he needed to go public again.

It’s hard to believe now, but just a few years after his 1999 singleFortunate (from the Life soundtrack) became Billboard magazine’s number one hit of the year, and shortly after his third studio album, Now, entered the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart at number one, he did a Houdini and vanished from the public eye.

Even in those pre-social media days, the superstar’s disappearance spawned a catalogue of explanations. Did he have a breakdown? Was it the booze? Babes? Benzos? None of them proved true.

Maxwell confides it was “near-impossible” to live a life that in any way approached ordinary.

“I could not walk down a street in my home city of New York without being looked at or fussed over. As much as I appreciated the support of fans for the music, the fact that I was getting so much attention for what people had decided was ‘sex symbol’ looks, was very hard to deal with.”

But there was also a very personal reason for moving into the shadows.

“Actually, pulling away from the ‘fame’ was something that I needed to do for myself.

“I was at a stage of my career where the lines between fame and music became blurred and I had to consciously step away to show myself that fame wasn’t the real part of who I was. It’s the music that makes me the artist and man that I am now.”

So Maxwell lost the ‘fro and retreated into a quieter existence, hanging out with friends, catching movies, going on holiday, but he never let up on the songwriting.

That he still had the golden touch was evident when he began debuting new material, starting with that now memorable Bloem performance. In fact, immediately after his surprise BET performances, the buzz gained momentum and following on from his South African appearance, Maxwell embarked on a set of live dates that showcased material off the as-yet-unreleased BLACKsummer’snight, starting with Amsterdam and then moving to the US.

The anticipation was sky-high when the album finally reached record stores in July – and it was immediately singled out as one of 2009′s best releases and hailed as confirmation that the neo soul originator had upped the ante all over again.

For the artist, the rave reviews and strong sales were gratefully received.

“I am just amazed at how fans can accept that you can change and become something different as you evolve and progress – and also how they can still be there waiting for you after as long a break as I had,” he tells me.

To get the right feel for the album, he turned to long-time collaborator Hod David, who serves as co-producer and co-writer. Together, they decided to record the entire album live, using the talents of some of the best musicians available. The result is a sumptuous, elegant scorcher that manages to look back to soul music’s best (including longtime Maxwell hero, Marvin Gaye) while delivering a sound that is very much new millenium.

It was no surprise then when Maxwell’s BLACKsummer’snight tour became a sellout, capping his superb performance at a generally lacklustre Grammy Awards this year by winning Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for Pretty Wings, and Best R&B Album for BLACKsummers’night. Since then, he has added substantially to his awards collection and is relishing his newly invigorated career – one that is moving at a pace he’s enjoying and has lost the frenzy that accompanied his early years.

For Maxwell, it’s now all about the music. “I work with people who have known me at my lowest and who’ve known me before I became well-known around the world. They don’t look at me any differently to anyone else in their lives and if I get out of line, they quickly put me in my place. It really does play a very important part in keeping my feet on the ground.”

Being the first in a trilogy, fans will be rabid with the knowledge that BlackSUMMER’Snight and Blacksummer’sNIGHT are, tantalisingly, on the horizon. Maxwell reveals that the “Summer” album is due for a US summer release this year while he’s aiming for a Valentine’s Day release of “Night” next year.

In the captivating interview on the DVD that accompanies a special edition of BLACKsummer’snight, he explains how the trio of albums work thematically.

“The first record sort of talks about the past – all the great epiphanies and revelations that come through falling and rising. The second disc is more of an in-the-moment, uplifting, hopeful experience – ’cause so much of the first record is kind of dark. The ‘Night’ album is more of a super-instrumental, love kinda thing. It’s slow and you can put it on and get it on, whatever you want to do.”

With the impending release of “Summer”, Maxwell has been frequenting Twitter, where his quasi-spiritual postings to fans have given much more of an insight into his life and music over the past six years.

“.being an artist is not a competition but a contribution.,” Maxwell wrote in March. This generous artist is also unafraid of talking about those artists who inspire him through his postings. Among these are Sade, Erykah Badu and Alicia Keys – revealing yet again his intuitive connection with women and his often spoken about respect for the females in his life.

In an interview early on his career, the soulman acknowledged he’d learned a lot from women.

“I’ve learned about subtlety, and that intimacy is also about the spiritual and mental connection that occurs. It applies to everything, to how you view art and listen to music and deal with your friends and make business decisions.”

It was a spiritual and mental connection that Maxwell made with South Africa during that 2008 trip which he now confesses was just too, too short.

“We needed two weeks to really do justice to the love we felt in South Africa and the fans we wanted to play to.”

He’s aiming to return to play music from the upcoming BlackSUMMER’Snight, but whether his blooming career will allow for a more extended visit remains to be seen.

Still, Maxwell says he will always consider South Africa his “lucky charm”.

“I will never forget the reception I got from South Africans at Macufe. It was a humbling experience and one that will stay with me always.”

Source: Times Live

Thanks for the link allheavens, KBT and JessieBellaBee