For people who think good music doesn’t exist, take another listen. A collective group of artists and professionals called Nightsons are determined to change music, and their series of short albums aims to do just that.
“We were trying to theorize what music would be like in the year 2035. We asked ourselves, ‘what makes us revere and appreciate music that has come before us?’ Why does Earth Wind and Fire endure? Why does Parliament Funkadelic or the Jackson 5 endure? We wanted to tap into that energy those artists created back in the day that allows us to enjoy their music today,” said Shadowkat Nightson, CEO of Nightsons LLC.
With his business partner Warren “Three V” Harris, Nightson created “Futuretense”, which consists of a series of point release albums that build around various themes and pay homage to music history, but share a common goal, which is to create timeless music.
Their first album “Futuretense.1” served as a declaration and introduction to who Nightsons are and what kind of music they are capable of producing. It had a wide variety of songs that ranged from radio friendly to underground hip hop.
Their newest project, “Futuretense.2” is dedicated to women. Nightsons LLC is primarily known for hip hop music but wanted to showcase their versatility on “Futurtense.2” with soul, neo soul, R&B and electro-pop inspired songs.
“We wanted to make songs celebrating our love for women, a woman’s mind, feelings, position and emotions,” said Nightsons.
Toussaint Liberator, a vocalist who is best known as a reggae artist, contributes his strong voice to “Don’t Have to Stay,” which addresses the ups and downs of relationships. “If I Was Your Girl” featuring Lee’A Ro and Big Dave, is reminiscent of the New Jack Swing era of the 90s while Gabrielle Flowers pours out her heart on “Had You.”
Seasoned artists Bashiri Asad and The Gentleman Alphonse combine their unique blend of soul and hip hop on “Her/So Amazing” and you can’t help but dance to the Zapp and Roger inspired “Get Down” featuring Paul’Michael and Kane Johnson.
Nightson, who produced the album, said it took quite a while to gather the right artists to either sing or rap on “Futuretense.2.”
He adds that it was well worth the wait because each artist was among the best, came to the studio at the top of their game and lent their voice to a project he believes is meaningful to music.
“I feel Lee’A Ro is an incredible talent who I can’t praise enough. Gabrielle Flowers nailed her song on the second pass. Paul’Michael and Kane Johnson did an outstanding job. Bashiri and The Gentlemen Alphonse did a show a while ago and the women in the audience were going crazy. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of artists to do this,” said Nightson.
Toussaint Liberator, who is originally from Kokomo, Ind. but currently lives in Holyoke Mass., was more than willing to assist Nightson, his longtime friend, on this project.
“The first group in Kokomo that made any noise was, back in the day when there was cassette tapes. They had a tape called ‘Black to Reality’ and Shadowkat was in that group. I was just a fan,” said Toussaint Liberator. “I sang in church growing up so I didn’t really do secular music until college. I would see them at the shows and try to follow behind them, trying to figure out how to get involved. And it wasn’t until recently that we were able to work together. So glad I got the opportunity.”
Toussaint Liberator isn’t the only artist with ties to Indiana. What also makes “Futuretense.2” special is that the album consists of musicians, artists, songwriters and producers predominantly from Indianapolis, the State of Indiana and the Midwest.
“People say ‘why hasn’t anyone from Indiana blown up? There’s a lot of talent here. Sometimes people have to leave Indiana to do great things and that’s ok, but right now, Nightsons is here. We want to take people’s talents who are (in Indiana) and help them,” said Nightson. “I know so many brilliant singers, rappers, musicians and poets here and every one of them has the potential to do No. 1 records. Everything has it’s time and right now, we’re cultivating great music that will one day reach that goal.”
“Futuretense.2” is available to listen to on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify, and Rhapsody. The album can also be streamed for free on Soundcloud.com/nightsons and M.Nightsons.Mobi.
For more information, visit Nightsons.com.
