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What happens when you send soul music on an intergalactic journey?
You get “Black Hole Rainbow,” the impassioned major label debut from Nashville songwriter Devon Gilfillian.
The album, out Friday on Capitol Records, spins listeners through planet-shaking emotion and star-gazing sonic landscapes — sounds of modern R&B and psychedelia pushed into the stratosphere through stories of all-too-human love and loss.
Watch the video above for an exclusive first look at Gilfillian’s “Bus Stop Session” performance, part of an ongoing artistic collaboration between Acme Radio Live, WeGo Public Transit and Do615 that highlights local talent.
Gilfillian debuted “Black Hole Rainbow” Monday for a select audience at the Sudekum Planetarium in Nashville.
“It does have a space theme and that’s why we’re here,” said Gilfillian, a Philadelphia native who relocated to Nashville to launch his music career. “But really it represents getting pulled into the darkness sometimes.”
“That’s what the record’s about. It’s about falling in love. Falling out of love. And learning how to love yourself. And not just (to) get out of the darkness, but get through the darkness so you can see the beauty and the colors and the rainbow and the good that comes out of going through that darkness.”
Gilfillian captures his journey into darkness and back again with the provocative soul take “Even Though It Hurts” and sensual standout “Stay A Little Longer.” On the latter, he sings: “Lying wide awake watching light come through/ Trying not to breathe so I don’t wake you/ I know I should be gone by the morning/ But I don’t want to … What if I stayed a little longer?”
He enlisted “wizard producer” Shawn Everett, known for his work with Alabama Shakes and The War on Drugs, to lead studio work on the album.
“I wanted to take this sound — this rhythm and blues, this soul, this psychedelic rock — and kinda push it forward,” Gilfillian said. “I want to put this soul music on a spaceship and send it to mars. And immediately (Everett) knew what I was talking about.
“And this is that.”
Gilfillian — a newcomer who’s shared the stage with Mavis Staples, Brothers Osborne and Lauren Daigle — supports the album on tour this winter with roots rock favorite Grace Potter. The tour plays Feb. 19 at the Ryman Auditorium.
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