For the past couple of days, the internet sleuths have been hard at work piecing together all the clues surrounding Beyoncé's upcoming seventh album.
First they figured something was up when she scrubbed her Instagram clean. Then The Sun reported that Beyoncé's team were scouting for locations in the UK fornthe singer to do some pop up performances.
Well this morning not only did we get an official announcement that my September Virgo sister will be releasing her first solo album in six years 'Renaissance Act 1' on July 29, the global superstar also graces the cover of British Vogue rocking some pretty afro futuristic fashions.
No word on who produced this new body of work, or sonically what it will sound like, but British Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful was lucky enough to get a taste of what's to come from the megastar.
Here's an excerpt from the interview:
She then asked me if I wanted to hear her new music. As someone who first saw her perform live with Destiny’s Child 23 years ago, a moment’s walk from my family home when the group played at the Notting Hill Carnival in 1999, I can feel the tingling excitement build as we make our way to her home recording studio. With minimal ceremony, she takes her laptop and plugs it in as we all sit on some sofas. Quietly, the superstar hits play on her upcoming album.
Instantly, a wall of sound hits me. Soaring vocals and fierce beats combine and in a split second I’m transported back to the clubs of my youth. I want to get up and start throwing moves. It’s music I love to my core. Music that makes you rise, that turns your mind to cultures and subcultures, to our people past and present, music that will unite so many on the dance floor, music that touches your soul. As ever with Beyoncé, it is all about the intent. I sit back, after the wave, absorbing it all.
Beyoncé has been hard at work on Renaissance for quite sometime, and with the upcoming release being labeled as Act One, I'm betting that we'll most likely be getting lots of music throughout the year.
Here's what she told Harper's Bazaar last year:
“With all the isolation and injustice over the past year, I think we are all ready to escape, travel, love, and laugh again. I feel a renaissance emerging, and I want to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible.
I’ve been in the studio for a year and a half. Sometimes it takes a year for me to personally search through thousands of sounds to find just the right kick or snare. One chorus can have up to 200 stacked harmonies.
Still, there’s nothing like the amount of love, passion, and healing that I feel in the recording studio. After 31 years, it feels just as exciting as it did when I was nine years old. Yes, the music is coming!”
Take all my munty hunty!
Check out more photos from the shoot courtesy of photographer Rafael Pavarotti below...
