Kadhja Bonet is following her excellent 2016 debut album, The Visitor, with Childqueen on June 8 via Fat Possum (pre-order). As the delightfully nostalgic album artwork (designed by Kadjha) and lead single “Mother Maybe” suggest, Kadhja isn’t branching too far away from the ’70s psychedelic soul, ’60s vocal jazz, and Bond Theme vibes of The Visitor, which isn’t a bad thing at all. “Mother Maybe” immediately feels as gripping as much of The Visitor, with a breathtaking vocal performance, a groovy bassline, and just the right amount of trippiness in the atmosphere. Listen below.
Kadjha wrote, produced, and mixed the album herself, and played most of the instruments, which rang from flutes to strings to guitars to horns to drums and bells. She did enlist the help of a friend to play bass, though. “It feels strange to have my name repeating over and over again, so I said, let’s just leave it off,” she told NPR. Check out the tracklist below.
Kadhja has one upcoming show at the moment: LA’s Lodge Room on April 7 (tickets). More tour dates will be announced soon.
Tracklist
1. Procession
2. Childqueen
3. Another Time Lover
4. Delphine
5. Thoughts Around Tea
6. Joy
7. Wings
8. Mother Maybe
9. Second Wind
10. Nostalgia