Neo Soul

Mothers Favorite Child was practically a household name and then they disappeared. We find out why, where they have been and where they plan to go next. We also have the exclusive story on who their new lead vocalist is.

NSN: OK, so last we saw of MFC you were giving killer shows while supporting and sharing the stage with national acts. Just when the Industry thought you were going to be the next Neo Soul group to go national we couldn’t find you. What happened and where have you been?

MFC: We felt we needed a new mood . . . some new inspiration as well as a new fan base to add to what we already built on the East Coast so we moved out West. We felt it was necessary to change our overall lifestyles in order to make our music a full-time career. A new start in a different place and a good business plan has helped us tremendously. We had a fear of becoming one of those bands that plays the same clubs month after month, year after year without ever taking chances & making changes. Some musicians are content with being comfortable and fear what we view as true success. We want to truly examine our demographic and broaden our fan base significantly. Moving West was the best opportunity for a new and exciting start. So far, It has paid off dearly.

NSN: The “face” of Mothers Favorite Child has changed several times. How are you able to maintain your fan base while continually gaining a new audience?

MFC: I think it has to do with just making sure we continue to write great songs. We can write a song and have several different versions with different vocalists and they seem to always stand the test of time. No version of any particular song is truly better than another because everyone seems to have their own favorite version. It also helps to have great musicians for shows and there are many unknown great musicians in every city and town. We just hustle and find them. It also helps when you have vocalists like Rhian Ayanna join the movement.

NSN: How was Mothers Favorite Child born and how did Rhian Ayanna become a member of MFC?

MFC: (Paris) Originally I wanted to put together some songs that I wrote and invite different artists and musicians to perform them. I put some musicians from different states together and we rehearsed the material then recorded. Some of the musicians liked it so much they thought we should put a band together and play some gigs. Since then, the singers and musicians have changed but the passion, hustle and songwriting has not. I met Rhian when I was working with a producer (Chandlar) who had sent me some tracks he had did. I heard her voice on one of his tracks and just knew I had to work with her. I had never in all the years of listening to singers been so inspired to want to work with someone. I truly fell in love with her voice, lyrics and music.

NSN: What sets you apart from most other artists?

MFC: Our lyrics automatically put us in a different place than most other artists. The words of our songs bring poetry back into the mix & end up channeling the very best efforts from the musicians & vocalists involved with the project. I believe with Rhian now singing in MFC this will even set us apart even more.

NSN: What are your favorite MFC lyrics?

MFC: (Paris) My personal favorites are 15 Minute Kiss, Beautiful and Gently.

NSN: What commercial artist or group do you think best defines your style of music?

MFC: Well, we conduct ourselves as more of a musical movement than a band. On stage and lyrically though, I’d say we’re a little more like vintage 7o’s bands. Prince, is my (Paris) biggest influence. I am also heavily influenced by Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder & Donnie Hathaway and since we can’t even touch what they did, all we can hope for is to come close and have others appreciate our version of what they created. With the addition of Rhian I think our energy will be better focused and balanced. It is truly a blessing when you have an artist who understands the business and the maturity it takes to make it.

NSN: How do you feel about your current album and what would you like listeners to take from it?

MFC: The Audio Files was really a way to share something with our fans while we create the “album of our dreams”. It was fun to put a new spin on our classic MFC sound by inviting a few producer friends to bring a little progamming to the mix. I think we’d like listeners to recognize that we are pretty versatile and are able to easily create different vibes whether it’s with live instruments or programmed tracks.

NSN: Does the material on the Audio Files CD reflect a new sound for MFC?

MFC: No. It reflects more of a pre-production sound which I guess you can say would be new to our listeners. We usually re-record the songs with live instruments. So this is a new sound for MFC to release to the public but not a new sound for us in the pre-production process. This is not something I would do again. I feel for us the writing process should stay in the vault and our listeners should only hear our professionally recorded songs. We have released enough demos and live bootlegs. It is time for people to hear our music the way it is suppose to be heard.

NSN: Paris, you are the “bandleader” and yet, we never see you . . . why?

MFC: (Paris) I like to concentrate more on the behind the scenes work. I was never into the stage thing. I was always into the intimacy of writing at night alone with the image in my mind of the show and feeling the energy coming from the stage while being an audience member. I like the building of things and then moving on to what comes next.

NSN: When can we expect to see a live MFC performance?

MFC: A new cd is expected to be in stores late Spring of 2009 with the Unplugged Tour soon after. We will be playing in the states and we are working on going overseas as well.

NSN: How would you compare your upcoming album to the recently released Audio Files EP?

MFC: Well, The audio files was more of a collaboration showcasing other producers’ ideas of how they wanted to remix some of MFC’s songs. The new cd has the original sound that Mothers Favorite Child got its early recognition from the sound we personally feel most at home with and inspires us the most even if it is no longer the “industry standard”. We have a rock album, soul album and acoustic album all coming out in 2009.

NSN: Who do you most admire in today’s music scene?

MFC: Many of today’s artists haven’t really given us much inspiration but we do appreciate people like India Arie, Kanye West, Omar & many more. And Prince still throws a track on his album that makes us mad that we didn’t write it. It’s really hard because everytime I think I like a new artist I put on Donny or Curtis Live and realize we all have so much more to do to work on.

NSN: How do you feel about the internet music world?

MFC: It’s really helping to bring a lot of incredible “unknown” artists to the front of the line. There are so many talented people out there who wouldn’t necessarily be considered by the commercial music industry but could easily compete with what’s featured in the media. If not for the internet, I don’t believe MFC would have found as much success without having to sacrifice some of our vision. We have been able to release our without an exec telling us it won’t work or that we should be doing, sounding or writing like someone/something else. It also gives artists a great opportunity to network with other musicians & industry professionals. Rhian received a publishing deal overseas because of the internet which has helped greatly with our download sales.

NSN: What artist(s) would you like to collaborate with?

MFC: Anthony David, Omar, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Prince

NSN: Do you see an end to MFC anytime soon?

MFC: We do not see an end to MFC. The band may stop performing but the music seems to continue. People still ask if they can remix our songs and we get requests often from other artists who are interested in performing and recording songs as covers. As long as people are inspired by the songs that have already been published, MFC will continue on through another, even if we no longer play, record or release new cds.

Checkout Rhian Ayanna on buySOUL.com for more info and music samples!