Official: Dawen Wins Kollaboration Acoustic 4

Just want to give a huge congratulations to Dawen for being the Grand Prize Winner down at Acoustic 4.

Nice work if you can get it.

Nice work indeed.

Dawen And AARisings

Wanted to post up a little of the interview with Dawen from AARisings:

What R&B song best describes who you are?

Erykah Badu’s “On & On” and Maxwell’s “Sumthin’ Sumthin’.” “On & On” for its philosophical poetry and “Sumthin’ Sumthin’” for its sensual romanticism. The year was 1997 and I saw both of the music videos for these tracks on MTV. People were calling it neo-soul and I found it unlike anything else I had ever heard. Those two songs were the start of everything for me; they were my portal into old school soul and R&B. They also capture two distinct sides of my personality: one that finds inspiration in social issues, and one that relishes in the sensual realm.

What’s your favorite old school and current R&B artist?

There are so many amazing old school artists to choose from! If I had to choose one it would be Marvin Gaye. During his career he really developed from a singer of pop accessibility to a social activist who used music to question the problems of his time.

My favorite current R&B artist is without a doubt, Maxwell. He’s old school, too, in the sense that he refuses to jump on what’s trendy, appreciates live instruments and writes music that is well crafted.

Read it in full here.