We were excited to catch up with the enigmatic, musical maverick Jhelisa Anderson, who has released her "7 Keys" Volume 1 and 2, on her original label Dorado Records. The Mississippi-born singer was a stalwart of the London scene in the 90s, starting off with One Little Indian records as part of Soul Family Sensation. She has collaborated with Björk on "Debut" and earned a BPI Award for the double platinum "Boss Drum" with The Shamen. Massive Attack called her in for "Heigoland" and Chaka Khan recorded her song "Death Of A Soul Diva". She’s opened for James Brown, Herbie Hancock and Roy Ayers, and toured with Nitin Sawhney.
Jhelisa is a true original, always exploring new ground. She signed with independent label Dorado Records, who offered her complete creative freedom and released and her first two albums -- 1994’s "Galactica Rush" (with its hugely revered anthem "Friendly Pressure") and 1997’s "Language Electric" to huge critical acclaim. New-age ideology has peppered much of Jhelisa’s musical output, so a concept album based on her research into the use of sacred drone tones in ancient Eastern Music comes as no surprise. Now, in the run up to the label’s 30-year anniversary, Dorado has reunited with Jhelisa to present "7 Keys" V.1 & V.2, an exciting concept album inspired by ancient, eastern music, balanced with contemporary sounds, where all 7 keys of the musical scale and sonic frequencies resonate with each of the chakras.
The album’s stunning visual representation is "Atmospheria", a mesmerising and bewitching combination of three album tracks "Solar Plexus," "The Root" and "8N All." The first single is Solar Plexus E 320Hz an epic opus in the key of E, that resonates at 320 Hz in alignment with the body’s solar plexus chakra.
Leah Marriott: Can you break down your thinking behind the new music?
Jhelisa Anderson: It’s frequency design, that is what I do. From childhood, I knew which notes sounded good, which chords felt interesting. Now I know that harmonic design creates a certain field, a certain feeling. It can make you jump up and dance, be happy, be sad. It changes your atmosphere, transporting you to another place, altering your whole bio-system.
How did the project start out?
I was expressing myself creatively. When you start out like I did, out of the box, you get to go beyond what you’ve done before, to take the freedom of being an independent artist and do something with it. That was the challenge to myself.
"7 Keys" sits in a lineage of black women making ground-breaking, psychedelic music for meditation, from Alice Coltrane to Pauline Oliveros, what is your intention with this music, is it designed to connect and expand our minds?
I consistently use frequencies, it's about not letting it use you. Shifting frequencies on my bio system and mental state is something I have become more aware of, this has led me to gain greater control over using it.
The "7 Keys" concept is what I use in my own way to tune myself on a daily basis. Yoga and meditation technology is also used, this results in giving me more balance and clarity.
What is it like to return to Dorado Records to release your new music?
It’s exciting to return to Dorado and work with Ollie Buckwell again as he already knew the benefits of this technology and gets it, it made sense for us to present "7 Keys" and its conscious listening vibes to the people. People be stressed these days and I hope this helps soothe the chaos just a little bit.
