A new Ultra Naté album is an event. It’s a milestone that can mark and sometimes even shape the music of its time and era. Shuffle through them and you’ll find this is true. Blue Notes in the Basement is house music gold — an essential album if you’re to understand what came before it and what came after. Situation:Critical launched genre-defining singles in “Free” and “Found A Cure.”
Ultra Naté’s new album is called simply ULTRA, and it’s being released in circumstances quite unlike anything we’ve seen before (or at least lately.) Two of the top ten grossing pop artists of the last decade have released actual (or at least more or less recognizable) house music records — and unlike in the past, they’re not running away from that description.
Previous Coverage:
Quentin Harris and Ultra Nate are Black Stereo Faith (2017)
Ultra Chic: Ultra Nate Reloaded (2008)
Ultra Nate: The 5 Magazine Interview (2007)
New Mix Monday: Ultra Nate (2010)
But I didn’t hear the same records other people were hearing.
Where they found callbacks and affirmation to queer culture, I heard Crystal Waters, I heard a lot of Barbara Tucker and I heard Ultra Naté. (Granted these are not mutually exclusive.)
And it’s ironic: right as the mainstream comes around to the sound of house music again, ULTRA — featuring collaborations with Osunlade & James Curd, Tedd Patterson, Lem Springsteen, Henrik Schwarz and her Black Stereo Faith collaborator Quentin Harris — is one of Ultra Naté’s most underground-sounding solo albums in years.
“I didn’t really approach recording ULTRA from an underground or commercial place with any specificity,” Ultra tells 5 Mag. “I think I was more focused on what was inspiring to me from the backing tracks and productions I was vibing on with my collaborators.
“Speaking from an honest place and being in the moment for everything that was happening in our lives during lockdown was my focus. So I really wasn’t sure what that would look or sound like in the end.”
‘Free’ will always be relevant because it speaks to us as a call to arms and a voice of empowerment. There is definitely a conversation happening in this ULTRA album that is dealing with social issues that fall right in line with why a song like ‘Free’ remains important.
There is one throwback on the album — a new remix from Franco De Mulero and Gregor Salto marking the 25th anniversary of the original release of “Free,” one of Ultra Naté’s signature songs.
“‘Free’ will always be relevant because it speaks to us as a call to arms and a voice of empowerment,” Ultra says. “There is definitely a conversation happening in this ULTRA album that is dealing with social issues that fall right in line with why a song like ‘Free’ remains important.”
With nearly every lifestyle and culture publication in America writing about house music this summer, is there any advantage for an established artist in the genre to releasing an album right now?
“Any additional visibility for artists is a good thing whatever the source,” Ultra says. “If Bey’s album creates an awareness and appreciation from new kids for the vocalists, artists and producers in house — a genre that has been marginalized and shunned (especially in the country where it was created), I’m all for it.
“The narrative that Beyonce’s album resurrected House is marketing hype and goes with the major label territory. However, I’m not focused on that because I’ve lived this for 30+ years and counting.
“The bigger picture is to not throw the baby out with the bathwater and to keep growing in your art, keep making solid music that makes people feel something. Never mind the noise.”
Ultra Naté’s tenth album, ULTRA, is out now on Peace Bisquit.
Photos: Karl Giant
