Jhelisa | "Oxygen"

A law unto herself, the maverick, Jhelisa Anderson has been marching through unchartered territories, expressing her freedom since the mid-1990s when she stunned both audiences and critics with her extraordinarily powerful voice and deliciously daring music.  Through the course of4 solo albums, Mississippi-born Jhelisa has journeyed through soul, trip hop, jazz, avant-garde, gospel and more recently, esoteric sonic experimentation. But one thing has remained constant; her unwavering, uncompromising artistic vision. Her thrillingly genre-smashing approach to music subverts her sweet, sensual voice with emotionally raw, often dark, yet spiritually resonant lyrics and a musical sophistication seen nowhere else. It comes as no surprise then, that Jhelisa’s remarkable new project, ‘Oxygen’ is a breath-taking, expansive, unapologetic 11-minute opus. Released on Dorado Records on June 15, it paves the way for her forthcoming album, ‘Wild Orbits’, but is also a stand-alone piece. ‘Oxygen’ is a richly nuanced trackof story telling that snakes through sections of hypnotic rhythms, infectious hooks, probing jazz lines, African chanting, blues-drenched harmonica, pacey percussion and slower slices of sweet soul jazz. The sound is an exciting sonic assault underpinned by a masterful band that includes legendary bassist Oteil Burbridge (Grateful Dead) and long-time band member Greg Osby, whose piercing alto sax brings an intensity that takes the track to another level. It is a compelling, intoxicating and dazzling tour de force of sounds and emotions that sees Jhelisa’s voice soa and swoop, soulful and seductive with a bite that’s never far behind. 

Originally a four-minute piano and vocal song, when recording ‘Oxygen’, Jhelisa began to “push it around” challenged by unknown territories. “I felt compelled to stretch it” she says, “twist it, extend it, so its journey would continue. I wanted to discover the new things the song could do”. She adds, “I’ve taken the freedom because I have it!”  ‘Oxygen’ is, as Jhelisa admits, “my outpouring of growth; my influences, perceptions, my angles and transitions that began with surviving Hurricane Katrina in 2005,tonavigating the hyper-polarized fragments of American politics over the decades". 'Oxygen’ is a triumphant masterpiece marking the return of one of music’s greatest mavericks with a track that just isn’t quite long enough.