In the third installment of Janelle Monáe's invasion of the Sonos Studio she brings Roman Gianarthur to the stage at Wondaland West - the Los Angeles replica of the Atlanta-based creative space that houses their Wondaland Arts Society. Thus far the series has featured Monáe, Deep Cotton and Roman Gianarthur. The latest installment focuses on Roman - a member of Monáe's camp since 2008's The ArchAndroid - on his unique brand of "desperado r&b" and in between Janelle Monáe speaks on the incomparable creativity and work ethic he possesses. She refers to him - a self-taught guitarist who learned to play in less than one year - as a genius and her assessment seems totally believable. Gianarthur, who lands somewhere between Raphael Saadiq and somebody not invented yet, is probably best consumed live with an open mind and a lack of inhibition. His immaculate performance of "I-69" - a whimsically gorgeous funk driven track about mutual love that takes a cue from Rufus - rounded out the installation at Sonos in a fitting end to the series. Likely headed back to the real Wondaland, it is clear that Janelle Monáe and friends have only just begun. Roman Gianarthur's I-69 EP is on its way an in the meantine you can get your fix from the disgustingly gorgeous studio recording of the single that Wondaland was kind enough to drop yesterday.
Listen to the single below:
