Saint Heron
| Saint Heron | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Compilation album by Various artists | |
| Released | November 11, 2013 |
| Recorded | 2013 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 47:08 |
| Label | Saint Records |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Exclaim! |   |
| NOW Magazine |   |
| Pitchfork | 8.1/10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | |
Saint Heron is a compilation album released by Solange Knowles' record label, Saint Records, on November 11, 2013. It features the original recordings of several contemporary R&B artists, including Knowles (who also curated the project), Jhené Aiko, Cassie, BC Kingdom, Jade De LaFleur, Kelela, Kingdom, Petite Noir, Iman Omari, Sampha, India Shawn and Starchild. The intent of the album was to "feature, highlight and align a new movement of contemporary, genre-defying R&B visionaries" and to serve as a "segue into the diverse evolution of these independent artists as they share their voices and words as only they can – through pure, unadulterated music."
On May 14, 2013, Solange Knowles revealed that she had launched her own record label named Saint Records, which she would be using to release her third full-length album and future music projects distributed through Sony. On October 22, 2013, Knowles announced the first release from her label, a compilation called Saint Heron, featuring twelve original songs from a list of "very contemporary left-of-center R&B artists," including Cassie, Sampha, Jhené Aiko, Petite Noir, BC Kingdom, and Knowles herself among others. The first song to be released from the project was "Go All Night," by American singer and songwriter Kelela, which had been teased on her 2013 Cut 4 Me mixtape. The artwork for Saint Heron was conceptualized and created by media artist Rashaad Newsome. The release was preceded by the opening of the label's official website, which was then updated with various music news and interviews about the album. The compilation was available digitally, on vinyl, and on CD on November 12, 2013.
Talking about the project's concept for Billboard, Knowles stated: "Honestly everyone I've had on Saint Heron I've been a fan of for awhile now, and have been introduced to their music either from friends or this kind of assembling from across the internet. And really I just kinda wanted to celebrate these awesome, sometimes overlooked, incredibly gifted R&B artists and have them come together and celebrate the art form and the diversity of the art form," expressing her desire to make it a cohesive record while "individually everyone sort of interpreted rhythm and blues in a very different way from artist to artist." To promote the release, Knowles hosted a launch party and trunk show at retail space, showroom, and gallery Opening Ceremony in Soho, New York City. "I really wanted to make a record you can smoke to," Knowles said, while claiming curating the track listing was "definitely a creatively fulfilling experience. All of the artists on this compilation are so extremely talented and are really defying the genre of R&B in their own ways. And the songs are all so unique but still flow together as one body of work. I love how airy and experimental it gets." The track "Indo" also marks Knowles’ first full solo production credit.
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