Tunesday: Goapele

This week's tune is Closer by Goapele. She has only been on the music scene since the start of the new millenium, and has released three albums. Her voice reminds me a little of the smooth, rich vocals of Sade. Here's a little write-up I found on her:

"Goapele (born Goapele Mohlabane on 11th July 1977 in Oakland, California) is a U.S. soul and R&B singer-songwriter. Her name means “to go forward” in the South African language Sesotho. She was born to a Jewish mother, Noa, and an African father, Douglas Mohlabane, who was a South African political exile. They married in Nairobi, Kenya." (www.last.fm/music/Goapele) (note my keen ability to reference copyrighted material.)

This isn't really a love song; it's more like a song about moving on. I don't really know why she wrote it, or what she was writing about. But when I listen to it, the melody is almost hypnotic, and her vocals are so soothing, that it makes me feel like she's coming out of something ugly and finding her way towards something better. I think everyone can relate to that. Check her out, she has lots of other great songs.