Cody Chesnutt - Landing on a Hundred

Universally acclaimed for his edgy, lo-fi, Shortlist Prize nominated 2002 debut, the Headphone Masterpiece, Cody ChesnuTT is a soul troubadour whose frank, socially conscious songs continue to set the bar for what modern soul music can look and sound like. Following a period of family-man retreat and reflection after his meteoric rise to near fame, via the Roots retooled the Seed 2.0, Cody marks his return on October 29th with a brand new album, Landing on a Hundred, it's lead single That's Still Mama making it's UK radio premiere on Craig Charles' Funk and Soul show on Saturday night (August 4th). a full-blown tower of soul and driving brass stabs in the Mayfield/ Gaye tradition, That's Still Mama reflects on a misspent youth - one of several poignant narratives that feature on Landing on a Hundred as it sketches out a man's road to redemption after years of womanizing and crack addiction, and the power and labour of slow-burning marital love that eclipses mere material expressions of affection. The title is a reference to the slang saying, "Keeping It One Hundred," or telling the whole truth, and for lovers of true blue Southern soul this new album is a must-have - he recorded it with a ten-piece band in Memphis-based Royal Studios, the sonic birthplace of some of the deepest works by soul and blues luminaries like Al Green, Buddy Guy and Ike & Tina Turner. "The original tracks were cut on two-inch tape," Cody explains. "My hands were tingling because I got to sing on the actual microphone that Al Green recorded with. Nothing has changed. The down-home acoustic treatments are still in place."