Today sees the release of Erica Falls’ single “One Stop Shop” featuring Chali 2Na, the B-side to the previously premiered “Let’s Get Down Tonight” featuring Lyrics Born.
This New Orleans neo-soul sensation’s transition from thin, airy timbre to Chaka Khan depths are smooth and seamless. Quick to credit her vocalist/pianist mother and God for the gift of her voice and slow to let it go to her head, she says, “And to think when I was younger I didn’t think I had a good voice.” Continuing, “I feel great about this song as a follow up because it shows a smoother side of my sound but it can still make you move.”
She has been a vocalist for such luminaries as Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Jennifer Hudson, and Sting – and has recorded with the likes of John Fogerty and Dr. John. Allen, one of the most influential figures in New Orleans R&B, played an invaluable and instrumental role as a mentor figure who taught her that “writing is just a conversation that’s had with music.”
Since I last spoke to Falls, she’s played five festivals including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival where she released “One Stop Shop” on vinyl. Of her recent tour, she enthuses, “It was a spiritual experience for me. Not being able to be in that type of environment for two years made it seem almost like a dream, until you hit the stage and felt the energy being reciprocated from the audience. Then it was like, this is happening and let’s go!”
Her writing process is such that sometimes the melody comes before most of the words, but then other times the melody and lyrics happen at the same time. This one was a little different. “My friend Mike Bass, formerly of Trombone Shorty, was making these videos on IG of short loops of grooves he wrote, and I connected to this one immediately and started writing to the short loop. That’s when I called him and said, ‘Hey dude, I’ve started to write to this, and we need to stretch this loop. Create a structure so I can finish writing to it.’ From there we took it to my producer, Nick Mercadel, to work his magic and as they say, the rest is history.”
As for what the song represents, Falls reveals, “Sometimes it’s ok for a lady to shoot her shot. Now I’m too shy myself to ever do this, but I can write about it. What I hope listeners get from this is to know that love like this still exists, and if you see that guy or lady you like, go for it; you never know what might happen.”
Chali 2na, perhaps best known for his work with Jurassic 5, reciprocates in his signature bass-baritone “on point to what I’m saying in the verses. Chali 2na’s voice is singular, and he comes with years of creativity and weight in the music game, and I’m just honored to have him on my song and to know him as a friend.”
On the horizon for Erica Falls is completing a new record, the follow-up to Homegrown. She is also working on a live recording in an intimate setting with a small group of people to capture and record the new album. “It will be in a setting similar to how Snarky Puppy did their set up. Also I am working on setting up tours for the upcoming year to promote the new record.”
The forthcoming album, she says, is in contrast to Homegrown. “It truly speaks to my growth as an artist and it speaks more to what’s on my mind living in this crazy world we are in right now. Homegrown carried a lot of growing pains, but this record is finally showing and saying who I am as an artist.” For fun I asked Falls who she would like to collaborate with in the future. “The top three are PJ Morton, Luke James, and Jill Scott.”
