Identity

Solange Turned to Her High School Jazz Band for ‘When I Get Home’

solange for i-d march 2019

Solange tapped into nostalgia for her newly released album When I Get Home. In an interview with i-D, the singer reveals that she worked with the band she was in as a 17-year-old to record the project.

“Our band was lowkey trash, but we had heart,” the singer tells i-D‘s Stevona Elem-Rogers. “I reunited with a few of them on this album, which pushed me to step it up because they are used to improv, and having that much access to all the chord structures in my mind felt so incredible. At every turn and corner they were with me. It was so freeing and fun!”

Heavily influenced by her hometown of Houston, Solange infused her love of Black art and deeply Southern aesthetics to create an ethereal 19-track album. In addition to her childhood band, the 32-year-old also worked with Tyler the Creator, The-Dream, Gucci Mane, Cassie, and Raphael Saadiq on When I Get Home.

While her previous album, A Seat at the Table, was deeply reflective and critical of the world in a time of social unrest and political uncertainty, When I Get Home is more about celebrating life.

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“I had a fucking blast creating this album,” Solange says. “I really wanted to create a space for joy and expression. My last record was deeply personal, but it was no secret that I was working through a lot of shit. I was carrying a lot of weight and even though that’s something that doesn’t go away, I also feel like a lot of answers felt more inward this time and not outward.”

“The energy that’s in this album is an exhale and a celebration of the last two years of my evolution,” Solange added. “Everything came from such a special place because we were creating songs that really embody living.”