Photo Credit: Myriam Santos
READ MAVIS’S ROLLING STONE: MUSICIANS ON MUSICIANS Q&A WITH
CHRIS STAPLETON
Mavis Staples has shared a new remix of “One More Change” from her acclaimed 2019 album We Get By today. “If we reached for the future as desperately as we cling to the past, change would be at hand,“ said Ben Harper, who wrote and produced the original song.
Created fully a capella by London artist ALA.NI, listen to the remix HERE. The remix was recorded at Damon Albarn’s Studio 13 (Blur, Gorillaz) with engineer Steve Sedgwick. In January 2020 ALA.NI released her self-written, produced and arranged second album, ACCA, which featured Iggy Pop and rapper/actor Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out, Uncut Gems, Sorry To Bother You, Atlanta).
“What a sheer honour it was to sing alongside and produce around the legend that is Mavis Staples and that voice,” ALA.NI said. “I must admit, I was very intimidated at first. Her growl alone will do that. Left bare and in full effect. Raw, pure vocals. Plus, the song was written by Ben Harper, whose music is etched into my life.”
Staples was also recently featured in ‘Summer of Soul’, Questlove’s directorial debut documentary about “Black Woodstock”, a landmark 1969 Harlem concert featuring performances by Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, Nina Simone and the Staple Singers. The film debuted at Sundance at the end of January and won the nonfiction Grand Jury Prize.
Last year near the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic Staples released the hopeful new song “All In It Together”. Produced by Jeff Tweedy and featuring Tweedy on backing vocals and guitar, listen to it HERE. All proceeds from the song will be donated to My Block, My Hood, My City – a Chicago organization ensuring seniors have access to the essentials needed to fight COVID-19. More info here: https://www.formyblock.org/
“The song speaks to what we’re going through now – everyone is in this together, whether you like it or not,” Staples explains. “It doesn’t matter how much money you have, what race or sex you are, where you live…it can still touch you. It’s hit so many people in our country and around the world in such a horrible way and I just hope this song can bring a little light to the darkness. We will get through this but we’re going to have to do it together. If this song is able to bring any happiness or relief to anyone out there in even the smallest way, I wanted to make sure that I helped to do that.”
