Aloe Blacc is The Man
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American chart-topper … Aloe Blacc will return to Australia in October for the inaugural Soulfest.
Source: Supplied
ALOE Blacc was the voice on one of the biggest international hits of the past year.
You know the one. Wake Me Up by Avicii.
Blacc co-wrote the lyrics with the Swedish DJ and producer as well as lending his soulful vocals to the acoustically-driven piece of electronica.
Yet his name was nowhere next to Avicii’s moniker as the song climbed to the top of the charts in more than 20 countries.
Blacc had already established himself as an artist to keep your ears on with the breakthrough hit I Need a Dollar in 2011.
And it seemed, regardless of his lack of credit, Wake Me Up proved to be a timely boost to his profile as he prepared to release his third studio record Lift Your Spirit.
“I guess if my name was on the track it would have had more impact … but that’s just business stuff,” he says diplomatically.
“The Wake Me Up success was an anomaly and it didn’t even really help Avicii’s album sales either.”
The Man, the single to follow Wake Me Up, hit the top 10 in the US and Australia.
It has been a long road to success for the 35-year-old soul man who kicked off his career in the independent mixtape scene.
Blacc has become the poster artist for the power of television to make a song a hit and ironically, get it played on radio.
I Need A Dollar put him on the airwaves map when it was used as the theme for the HBO series How To Make It In America and The Man got its big break when synched to a Beats By Dr Dre commercial.
“I feel what set this album up in the US, what created the groundswell online which spilt into other countries was the Beats By Dre Dre commercial,” he says.
“It was a fantastic showcase for the music and it got synched with the right visual and when that happens, it will resonate much stronger. And the exposure helps it get played on the radio.”
Blacc, who is married to Australian musician and media personality Maya Jupiter, finally made the leap to the music major leagues after the initial success of I Need A Dollar and his second record Good Things.
He was signed to 19 Entertainment, the management company set up by Idol creator Simon Fuller.
When Wake Me Up became a hit, he was then picked up by Universal Records imprint Interscope.
That signing also opened the kind of creative doors that can lead to even greater potential for pop stardom like co-writing with Pharrell Williams on the anthem-in-waiting, Love Is The Answer.
After years of slogging it out from the independent ranks, Blacc says he has a greater appreciation of his late-blooming success.
“It is much better now when I am old enough and have the experience to be in control of the decisions I make,” he says.
“Honestly, I came from the deepest, darkest underground you can imagine in music and now I am around famous people, it’s definitely surreal.
“I’ve had a conversation with Quincy Jonesand run into Leonardo DiCaprio and he tells me he likes a couple of my songs. these are great moments.”
Blacc is still waiting for Elton John to give him the personal nod for his lyrical and melodic sampling of Your Song on The Man although the piano man has given him a public shoutout of approval.
“Yeah, I saw that recently which was really cool and I’m glad he recognised the song,” he says.
He will return to Australia in October as one of the marquee acts of the inaugural Soulfest which will showcase some of the most revered names in neo-soul and hip hop including Maxwell, D’Angelo, Common, Mos Def, Anthony Hamilton, Angie Stone, Musiq, Soulchild and Leela James.
Locals signed up for the east coast festival include Ngaiire, Nathaniel, Ms Murphy, Miracle and DJ Trey.
Blacc promises major audience participation moments during his festival set.
“You can expect the big happy songs,” he says, laughing.
***Soulfest is at Victoria Park, Broadway, Sydney on October 18. Tickets are on sale from April 15 from $ 139 for GA and $ 179 for VIP.
soulfest.com.au
