【搬运】【译】叉婊Pitchfork评Janelle Monáe 2018年单曲“Make Me Feel”

搬运自：网易云音乐专栏【Music Online Zine Courier】（在原文基础上添加了英语原文与排版调整）

翻译：豆目豆科

Janelle Monáe has assumed many different forms in her career: singer, producer, actress, model, android. Though such ambition has made her difficult to peg, it’s also endeared her to a wide audience. Across three full-length albums and an EP, Monáe has captured the essence of her forebears—Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, and Michael Jackson—while Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, and Michael Jackson—while  maintaining her own unique afrofuturist bent. Even though Monáe has always pulled from the past, she’s found the perfect balance of old and new, paying homage to iconic black music with grace, style, and reverence.

Janelle Monáe在她的艺术生涯中演绎了多种不同的身份：歌手、制作人、演员、模特，还有“机器人”。尽管这样的雄心壮志使她愈加让人捉摸不透，但也同样让她深受广大听众的喜爱。在三张全长专辑和一张EP中，Monáe深得她前辈——Stevie Wonder、Lauryn Hill和Michael Jackson的精髓，同时也保持了她自己独特的反传统主义倾向。尽管Monáe常常从过去中汲取灵感，但她也能寻得新旧之间的完美平衡，并以优雅、极具风度同时也不失谦卑的态度向经典黑人音乐致敬。

On “Make Me Feel,” one of two new singles from Monáe’s Dirty Computer (the musician’s first LP in five years), the polymath unpacks a rubbery funk tune that recalls the likes of Prince and Sheila E. Her 1980s influences are clear, down to each massive synth line and the feeling of raw sensual energy woven throughout the song. Much like her previous work, “Make Me Feel” is a flashy mix of modern bounce and old soul that puts her dulcet voice on full display. Perhaps inspired by her recent success on the big screen—in films like the Oscar Best Picture-winning Moonlight and Oscar nominated Hidden Figures—the video for “Make Me Feel” is equally theatrical, taking colorful cues from “Black Mirror” (think Season Three’s exquisite “San Junipero” episode) and the wide-open feel of the Purple One’s “Kiss.” With its irresistible, sugary pop ethos, “Make Me Feel” could be Monáe’s most straightforward single. Yet at this point in her trajectory, where Monáe is the most visible she’s ever been, the song is a clear statement of strength, freedom, and continued evolution.

在Monáe即将发行的《Dirty Computer》（她时隔五年发行的首张全长专辑）的两首新单曲之一“Make Me Feel”中，这位千面艺术家为我们展现了一首Q弹十足的放克曲子，会让人会想起Prince和Sheila E的那些红心曲目。她的作品所受上世纪80年代的影响很明显，尤其是其中的每一轨厚重的合成器，和贯穿整首歌的直逼原始感官的脉动。同她过去的作品一样，“Make Me Feel”是现代舞蹈和古老灵魂的华丽组合，充分展示了她低迷音色中的魅力。也许是受到她最近在大银幕上所获成功的启发——如奥斯卡最佳影片《月光男孩》和奥斯卡提名影片《隐藏人物》——“Make Me Feel”的MV同样极具故事性，像是从《黑镜》（就像第三季中精彩绝伦的的“San Junipero”一集）和The Purple One的“Kiss”的辽阔感官中得到了色彩灵感。因其让人欲罢不能、令人欢欣愉悦的流行气质，“Make Me Feel”可能是Monáe最直白的歌曲。然而，在这首歌中这点的发挥上，Monáe创造了她有史以来最引人注目的高光时刻，这首歌是歌颂力量、自由和革新的宣言。