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Date: 10/3/2023
Shandelle was right when she teased her new project on Instagram back in late August. “CAPSULE_001.” is, indeed, “for the summer; for the sunsets; for the parties; for the late nights; for the lovers.”
But beyond that, her first project since 2021’s “introspection” is also for those who appreciate music’s malleability.
Hailing from Somerville, Shandelle’s influences range from the Caribbean sounds she experienced growing up in a Dominican household to contemporary R&B/pop acts like Kali Uchis, as well as UK drum/bass artist Kenya Grace. Her manifold tastes are apparent across the eight tracks on “CAPSULE_001.”
“There’s a lot of artists that showed up as inspiration on this tape for me in very nuanced ways,” Shandelle told Reminder Publishing.
Sometimes, when an artist tries to tackle different styles, the results can come off tacky or misinformed. When Shandelle does it though, there’s a profound level of elegance, grace and sincere authenticity, which is not surprising when you consider her background in dance. You can easily tell these are the sounds she truly loves, and that feeling emanates as bright and vibrant as the setting sun on her album cover.
“Dancing is super important to me,” she said. “Even though I don’t dance as often anymore, I am trying to make music that I can dance to, not only because I wanted a change of pace, but I am also trying to stay on track with my long term goals [of] being a recording/touring artist.”
Her innate serenity makes It easy to dance to the Caribbean flair of tracks like “DESIRE” and “never2late,” or the heady club record “WWISYA?.” Her easygoing, yet exquisite singing on the dreamy R&B track “Aight, Okay” elevates her message about self-affirmation to the point of feeling motivational, mainly because her cool demeanor makes it seem like no one can stop her — “I like it, I get it/I got no one to impress, alright” she calmly sings.
All of this is great for my ears, but I truly appreciate this album because it almost feels like a respite from everything, whether that be day-to-day stress or the perceived darker tones of modern mainstream music, especially in the contemporary R&B and pop realm — think Billie Eilish or The Weeknd.
Although I do love some of that stuff, it is cool to see Shandelle embrace the cosmic energy of a Cleo Soul and Kali Uchis or the healing and spiritual realm of an Erykah Badu-“Summer comes and sets my soul on fire/And when I’m one with you, you take me higher/Keeping me afloat, keep me inspired,” she effusively sings on “DESIRE.”
And don’t get me wrong, Shandelle definitely embraces the contemporary lingo, sound, and tempo of the present, but a lot of that is thoughtfully packaged in this old-school neo-soul vibe. The boom-bap/lounge jazz track “rendezvous” is a pertinent example of that concept.
“My goal for this tape was to give my audience a lighter side of me, both sonically and lyrically, as this whole mixtape is very upbeat and has a lot of romantic themes/self-affirming themes,” Shandelle said.
All of this is tied together by an eclectic supporting cast on the producer side of things, where artists like Arkh Zeus, Eflat, Mellowgod, Alexandr., Matty Owens, Machi, MyCompiledThoughts, Shane Dylan and Shandelle herself pull from the remnants of summer to craft something that feels smooth, dreamy and danceable all at once.
Check out Shandelle’s project on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming services at https://soundcloud.com/shandellee/sets/capsule_001?.