To understand the sound of Voodoo , one must understand where and how it was recorded. Between 1996 and 1999, New York City’s Electric Lady Studios—originally built by Jimi Hendrix—became the creative epicenter for a collective of forward-thinking Black musicians known as the Soulquarians.
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Released in the dawn of a new millennium, D’Angelo’s second studio album, Voodoo (2000), didn't just meet expectations—it completely redefined the landscape of R&B, soul, and funk. Often considered the pinnacle of the late-90s "Neo-Soul" movement, this album is a deeply intimate, rhythmic, and sonic masterpiece that sounds as fresh today as it did over two decades ago. Dangelo - Voodoo - 2000 -FLAC- -RLG-
Instead of relying on the crisp, digitized production styles dominant in late-90s hip-hop and R&B, the team recorded Voodoo entirely to 2-inch analog tape using vintage microphones, outboard gear, and mixing consoles. They drew inspiration from the polyrhythmic grooves of Fela Kuti, the psychedelic funk of Sly and the Family Stone, the cosmic jazz of Miles Davis, and the raw vulnerability of Prince. The Architecture of the Groove: "Drunk Recording"
Voodoo was anything but a rushed follow-up. Following his acclaimed 1995 debut Brown Sugar , D’Angelo entered a prolonged period of creative silence. The artist, born Michael Eugene Archer, retreated from the spotlight, moving from a conventional R&B sound toward something far more organic and adventurous. To understand the sound of Voodoo , one
For D’Angelo, the goal was ambitious. He and his collaborators sought to create what Questlove later called their "audition tape for Prince". The result is a loose, groove-based funk sound that departs from conventional song structures—a "low-key listen" with tracks that rarely dip below four and a half minutes, many stretching past the seven-minute mark.
The Genesis of a Masterpiece: Electric Lady and the Soulquarians Share public link Released in the dawn of
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