The Roots are about to release their [lucky] 13th studio album, but their 1st concept album titled 'undun.'
undun [out 12/6] is an existential re-telling of the short life of a protagonist and semi-fictional character Redford Stephens (1974-1999). Through the use of emotives and Redford's internal dialogues the album seeks to illustrate the intersection of free will and prescribed destiny as it plays out `on the corner'. Utilizing a reverse narrative arc, the album begins as the listener finds Redford disoriented--postmortem--and attempting to make sense of his former life. As he moves through its pivotal moments he begins to deconstruct all that has led to his (and our own) coming undun..
So who is Reford? And why title the album undun? Well turns out Redford is the creation of Michigan-based folk musician Sufjan Stevens. And the album name is derived from a classic Guess Who song.
Drummer ?uestlove explains:
"Well, the album's name is inspired by the Guess Who song 'undun.' But we named the character after the Sufjan Stevens song 'Redford' from his Michigan record. We imagined Redford as being like Avon Barksdale from The Wire. He's a good guy who could have just gone to college and been a great engineer or something. But he makes a bad decision and pays for it. We tell that story in 10 songs, under 44 minutes. Actually, Sufjan makes an appearance on the album, too."
Nice! Please go on...
"We've always loved the song "Redford" from Michigan. So we close the new album with a cover of "Redford." We stretched it out into this four-part movement. Part 1 is Sufjan at the piano performing it. And then Part 2 is a string quartet that we had interpret it. Part 3 is myself and D.D. Jackson, who is an avant-garde piano player. He's probably one of the most dangerous pianists — I don't know how he doesn't have carpal tunnel now. But he just destroys, literally, destroys the piano. The final movement, which ends the record, is essentially the beginning of the story."
The album is certainly a whole new direction for the band, who--if youre a fan of late-night tv--you have no doubt seen backing up Jimmy Fallon nightly on his show. And while many are quick to judge and claim The Roots have sold-out their audience to play on cable television as a backing group, ?uestlove explains its now afforded them the ability to be passionate about their music careers outside the program and create the music they've always wanted.
"I saw the Stereogum story, like, "Seeing the Roots play on Fallon is like seeing Miles Davis play in the subway for change." There's always two ways to see the situation. I knew people were going to underestimate us. I knew they'd instantly say it was uncool for incredible musicians to play on a late night comedy show. But I looked at the benefits...Our Def Jam life is now an evening job. We now have the comfort and confidence to start making the albums we want to make. That's why undun feels like our second album. There's no pressure. It's like, "What if we get dropped?" Well, money's not a problem anymore. We make way more money now than before. We can treat music as a passion as opposed to a survival thing. You'll really hear the difference on undun."
Personally, I cannot wait for the album to drop. Having heard several tracks off it, I can say without a doubt that you can literally hear the heart and soul of the band in this one. New, different and full of emotion.
Download a track off the album now:
The Roots - Make My (Feat. Big K.R.I.T.)
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