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Rare Child is the third album
release for Danielia Cotton, and it’s by far her best work yet. Her 2006
release, Small White Town (Hipshake/RED) established Danielia as one of the most
sought-after live artists in America. As a result of that album, Danielia
toured with some of the most influential artists in the business including Gregg
Allman, the Black Crowes, Bon Jovi, Marc Cohn, Collective Soul, Robert Cray, the
Flaming Lips, Buddy Guy, Etta James, Little Feat, Aimee Mann, Rhett Miller,
Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Chris Whitley and Dar Williams. The album
also firmly ensconced her in the AAA radio format as an artist to be reckoned
with and acknowledged. Rave reviews in national publications like Essence
magazine (“[Danielia] sings with raw intensity ranging from beautifully tender
to howling”), tastemaker publications like Time Out NY (“A soulful young rocker,
who packs a soulful voice and a searing telecaster….”) and syndicated newspapers
such as the Philadelphia Daily News (“Her music has the swagger of Let It
Bleed-era Rolling Stones…her songwriting places her among the top new musical
storytellers”) and Austin American-Statesman (“Danielia Cotton has the sort of
voice for which the phrase “force of nature” was coined”) has brought national
attention to Danielia, and the buzz continues to grow.
Growing up in rural
Hopewell, New Jersey, Danielia Cotton certainly wasn’t part of the landscape of
her neighborhood. Like a maple tree in winter, Danielia’s singular dark beauty
and soulful rock style was noticeably different than the pale counterparts she
grew up surrounded by. But just as the snow blankets the leafless trees, so did
the sounds of British rock, electric blues and gospel music seep into Danielia’s
soul, coloring her songwriting and bringing out the God-given virtuosity of her
compelling and shockingly big voice. Naming Led Zeppelin, Tina Turner and Joe
Cocker as primary influences, Danielia Cotton (only spiritually related to the
great James Cotton) not only sings with a tone that is warm, buttery and sexual,
she pierces the sky with rock shouts, screams and cries. The sheer joy and pain
she evokes in her songs draw the listener in instantly and completely. She
pulls, stretches and grips her lyrics with so much strength they bring new
definition to the concept of poetry in song. Not unlike male rock counterparts
Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone or crossover icons Mavis Staples and Tina Turner,
Danielia is quite comfortable being a Black rock goddess, thank you very much.
With the release of Rare Child, Danielia Cotton shows now more than ever that
she is indeed an oasis in the desert of the current American rock music scene.
A rare child indeed. |
