While touring across North America in support of her second full-length album, Slang Spirituals, Lady Blackbird was in town for a show at the Dakota in Minneapolis. The day of the concert, Lady Blackbird and her guitarist and record producer, Chris Seefried, visited The Current to play a couple songs from the new album.

Afterwards, host Jessica Paxton spoke to Lady Blackbird and Chris Seefried. Watch the music performance in the video player above, and watch the interview below. Beneath the interview video, you’ll find a full transcript of the conversation.

Interview Transcript

Jessica Paxton: Hi, I'm Jessica Paxton, afternoon host here on The Current and I am joined today by Chris Seefried and Marley Munroe, aka Lady Blackbird, who are in town in support of the new album, Slang Spirituals. You are an incredibly amazing and powerful performer. I have to say that session just now, I literally, I feel like I'm getting a lump in my throat right now just telling you how powerful and beautiful that was. Both you guys, absolutely incredible. So you've been described as the Grace Jones of the jazz world, which I'm sure is, you know, how do you live up to the name Grace Jones? But I can say, for me, listening to your music, I hear Grace Jones, I hear Gloria Gaynor, I hear Roberta Flack, I hear Shirley Bassey, but mostly I hear you. I hear Lady Blackbird. And I know there's been a lot of comparisons, and you do have kind of a throwback sound that pays homage to these female soul singers of the '60s and '70s. But the output, the creative output that you're doing now feels so relevant, so contemporary, so current. And it makes me feel a lot with the album, Slang Spirituals, you know, concepts of of inclusivity and joy and freedom and empowerment. And so here I've just taken over the whole conversation. I just want to say thank you! No, it's such an inspiring and beautiful body of work.

Lady Blackbird: Wow. Thank you so much.

Jessica Paxton: Thank you. It's, it's really a thrill having you here. So if you don't mind, can we talk a little bit about, you know, your start for people who might not be as familiar with you. I understand you started singing as a toddler in church, and got your first recording deal at age 12.

Lady Blackbird: I did. I did! Yeah, I grew up in a small town, you know, so there wasn't a whole lot of outlets, or, what can you do? Where can you go? So it was like, you know, local baseball games and weddings and churches. So eventually signed a deal out of Nashville at 12, a Christian label. And that didn't, you know, that only lasted so far; nothing was actually released. Yeah, then then moved out to to L.A., and I ended up signing with with Epic Records eventually, and then I was actually dropped.

Jessica Paxton: It happens.

Lady Blackbird: It happens to the best of 'em!

Jessica Paxton: It happens to the best, I was gonna say!

Lady Blackbird: And went back to the drawing board and ended up meeting up with Chris, and we just had this connection and started writing everything. You know, we've got such a huge catalog of all types of genres and music. And finally found our voice, or, you know, our thing, which was Black Acid Soul. So we started recording the first album, this project, a more reduced project that focused more on my voice is what he what he wanted to do. It actually started with a from a song called "Nobody's Sweetheart that was on Black Acid Soul, that kind of made that shift of, you know, "This is seems to be really working," and the way people were responding. So that's how it began.

Chris Seefried: Yeah, that's really it.

Jessica Paxton: Well, and I've read articles that have, in fact, said that, you know, it was meeting Chris, that everything kind of came together and clicked, because you did recognize something and heard something that said, hey, you know, you had these other deals, you had these other projects, and it probably didn't really feel authentic to you, therefore it maybe really didn't go anywhere. But then you guys met, and you recognized this thing, and it's like you can now be true to yourself, make the music you want to do, but this, being in a setting that really showcases who you are and what you do. And I feel like you guys have found just such an amazing relationship creatively. And the testament of that is Black Acid Soul and now Slang Spirituals, which is just so exciting. I would, if you don't mind, since we are in Minneapolis, and I read about how you were in the studio recording a cover of Nina Simone's "Blackbird," which, again, a song recorded in 1963; fast-forward to 2025, feels all the more relevant. But that in the recording of, you recorded this song, and that — and tell me if I'm not sharing this story correctly — but when it was released very coincidentally, very serendipitously, it was around the time of the murder of George Floyd, and so it resonated even that much more with listeners and with listeners all around the globe. And my understanding is that, then, where the moniker Lady Blackbird that you now use came from.

Lady Blackbird: Yeah, Lady Blackbird came, we were just, it was actually just very random. I mean, the project started with "Blackbird," and, like you said, that it had been recorded, it just hadn't been released yet. And then, unfortunately, there was that tie-in. Yeah, but the name, the name was just very random. We were in the studio, "Blackbird" started the project, because when we did start talking about, you know, this kind of reduced sound, I loved that song for years, and I had tried singing it before live once, and it just didn't quite click and work. And then later on, when we were talking about the type of music and song it would be, I put it back to the table, and I said, "You know, I've loved this song for years. This might actually be one that would work!" And and he hadn't actually heard of the song and heard it, so played it for him, and we just, we recorded the demo, kind of like right then and right there, but that kind of starting the project. It was just, it was so random in the studio. It's like, "Yeah, just call yourself that." I'm like, 'I kinda really like that!'"

Chris Seefried: But that tune felt so central to the record. It was the first vocal she did, so we had the vocal from the demo, and then when we went in to record the record, we brought in the vocal stem, and had the band improvise around the vocal, and actually recorded a bunch of tunes first, because we knew that that would be sort of a violent, sort of musical violence baked into the idea of what we were going to do musically. And when we finished the record, it just felt so, so much like the central theme of the album. In fact, the way the album Black Acid Soul finishes is with an instrumental called "Black Acid Soul," which sort of reflects that same kind of musical intensity, you know?

Jessica Paxton: It's such an incredible story. And again, it just feels like it was meant to be, you know? Like the universe was speaking.

Lady Blackbird: Really, yeah, truly.

Jessica Paxton: You know, I have to say, you referred to your sound as "reduced," which can have sort of, like a less-than-meaningful connotation. And to me, I'm like, "No, the beauty!" It's almost like, I wouldn't even say "reduction"; it's like the stripped down, getting down to that bare bones is what is so big and so beautiful and so powerful. And I think sometimes we get really lost in all the bells and whistles, and you get down to the basic and you're like, "That is the soul of soul," like that is what it is all about. So fast-forward to Slang Spirituals. Just an incredible album. We've been playing "Like a Woman" a lot here at The Current, just an incredible song. I have to say, when we first started spinning it, we had just wrapped up — the hosts every year sort of vote for their favorite songs from the previous year, and I'm always at the end of the end of the year going, "I don't even remember what came out this year," and the first time I heard "Like a Woman," I was like, "I'm putting on that on my list for 2025," because that is gonna be on the top of my list for 2025! So what does it mean, "Like a Woman"? Like what is — I mean, to me, I hear that, and I think, what is to love like a woman? What is to live like a woman? What is to be like a woman?

Lady Blackbird: I mean, gosh, just perfection. And there's nothing greater than the love of a woman. There's nothing stronger than the love of a woman. There's nothing better than being a woman. So it's basically a love song to all women, for all women.

Jessica Paxton: We need that. We need that. You know, and to me, I hear it's about resilience. It's about empowerment. It's about strength. It's about being nurturing and being able to be fragile, but at the same time, incredibly strong.

Lady Blackbird: Yeah, and unbreakable, absolutely.

Jessica Paxton: I get so much of my own personal inspiration from that song and many others on that album that I you know ...

Lady Blackbird: Thank you.

Jessica Paxton: And in fact, talking about that, so I mentioned before, we've all commented on, you have this great look. And I feel like how you express yourself, with your fashion, with your hair, the way you carry yourself, is certainly an extension of the power you bring to your music. And I read a quote that you had said something, "You know who you are; live life proudly." And I thought, oh my god, you know, it's something again, so simple, but we have to be reminded of that, and we need to hear, you know, you have to actually pay attention to those words.

Lady Blackbird: Absolutely.

Jessica Paxton: And think about that. And do you find that as you're out performing, like you're going to be performing tonight, is that a message that you are intentionally sharing with your listeners and your audience? 

Lady Blackbird: Like spirituals, the whole body of work is about redemption and freedom and acceptance and not acceptance for other people, accepting yourself, you know? Finding your own and accepting yourself. You don't need anyone's approval. You don't need anyone's acceptance. You have to accept yourself, you know? And it's, yeah, it's about that freedom and living exactly who you are, proudly. Yeah.

Jessica Paxton: And I guess I have to say that there's something about the release of this album for me, you know, I know it came out in September; fast-forward to April 2025, it's kind of a strange world, for lack of a better way of putting it.

Lady Blackbird: To say the least!

Jessica Paxton: To say the least. And the fact that we have to remind ourselves to live life proudly. We have to remind ourselves that it's OK to be ourselves. I love — I'm so glad you brought up the word "freedom," and to be free, and what does freedom actually mean? And it's not only freedom for yourself, but freedom for everyone around you, and being a part of that collective sense of freedom.

Lady Blackbird: Or having to fight so hard for it, and to keep it. It's just unreal.

Jessica Paxton: And it feels sometimes like one step forward, two steps back, kind of thing. And I guess that's another thing that I love about your sound and your music, is that it is kind of a throwback to what people might refer to as, like, '60s, '70s soul, R&B, gospel, a little disco element in there on a couple songs. But again, you know, you go back all those decades, and then you go jump forward in that time capsule, and I really feel like the sound and the message is as important today, if not more than it was then.

Lady Blackbird: Yeah, and that was such a great — you know, Black Acid Soul was mainly covers. I'm very proud of it, but that was the beautiful, you know, added—

Jessica Paxton: Paying tribute!

Lady Blackbird: Yeah, piece of Slang Spirituals is it being all originals. So really, kind of getting to tell my story and to share those messages and things that I've been through, or, you know, things that are happening. So that was a very personal piece that I got to express on the album. So that was something.

Jessica Paxton: Well, I, for one, am grateful for your willingness to express that and share that with everyone, because it truly is powerful. And I got to read one more quote that I read that I thought was so...  You said, "It's about having the freedom to be who the BLEEP you want with no need for an explanation. That's how I feel now." May we all feel that way.

Lady Blackbird: Yeah.

Jessica Paxton: Thank you both. Thanks so very much. And I can't wait to see the show tonight. It's gonna be amazing.

Lady Blackbird: I'm so happy you're coming.

Jessica Paxton: Congratulations on just an incredible album.

Chris Seefried: Thank you so much!

Jessica Paxton: I can't wait for more.

Lady Blackbird: Thank you.

Songs Performed

00:00:00 Like a Woman
00:04:07 Man on a Boat
Both songs from Lady Blackbird’s 2024 album, Slang Spirituals, available on Foundation Music/BMG.

Musicians 

Lady Blackbird (Marley Munroe) – vocals
Chris Seefried – guitar

Credits

Host – Jessica Paxton
Producer – Derrick Stevens
Audio – Josh Sauvageau
Video – Evan Clark
Graphics – Natalia Toledo
Digital Producer – Luke Taylor

External Link

Lady Blackbird – official site