Meshell makes her Melbourne debut

Meshell Ndegeocello’s Australian fans have been waiting a long time for her to perform in the country.

It’s been 17 years since her outstanding debut album Plantation Lullabies kickstarted the ‘neo-soul’ movement and provided the blueprint for the careers of soul singers like Alicia Keys, Jill Scott and india.arie.

Fans could be forgiven, then, for feeling disappointed that the queer singer’s forthcoming first Australian visit will amount to just one concert — and only seven songs, at that.

Any disappointment should fade when they consider the project that’s finally lured her here: Seven Songs To Leave Behind, a mammoth open-air concert in which Ndegeocello, Sinead O’Connor, Rickie Lee Jones and others are invited to each perform seven songs that hold deep meaning to them.

“John Cale [Velvet Underground co-founder] invited me, and he and I have a long history, so I couldn’t resist,” Ndegeocello told Southern Star Observer.

“The concept of the show is very exciting: a Leonard Cohen song, the song that inspired you as a child, the song you want to leave to the world — it’s going to be an interesting night.”

Artists will also perform ‘a song to share’, ‘a song they covet’, and ‘their first ever song’.

“That one is hard. I mean, the very first song I wrote? That’s a little too far back to go,” she laughed. “I’ll interpret it as the first song people noticed, the first one I felt a response from.

“But it’s all coming together. The writings of Bob Marley are quite relevant and timeless, so I think he’ll be in there as one of my seven.”

Having last year released her eighth album, Devil’s Halo, the singer and accomplished bassist shrugged off the suggestion that her earlier work had proved influential for younger ‘neo-soul’ artists.

“I don’t really hear myself in newer artists. Other people have said it, but I don’t believe it so much. Besides, there’s no such thing as ‘neo-soul’ music, I’m just carrying on a sound that’s been around since the ’50s and ’60s.”

Ndegeocello’s penned her share of ready-made hits over the years, from the grimy funk of 1993’s If That’s Your Boyfriend to 2002’s Missy Elliott-esque Pocketbook. And yet, she’s always remained a cult proposition, not embraced by the mainstream.

Does she think her androgynous look and sexuality might have been barriers to commercial success?

“I guess, to small-minded people. I’m 42 years old, and if I concentrated on what people wanted or thought of me, I’d be really limited in what I want to do.

“I believe that if the music’s good, it’s good, and it’ll get heard. That’s why I love my fans — they love the music, they’re not just into me as a passing fad.

“I hope to, not be an example, but to be a healthy loving person on the planet who just happens to be gay.”

info: Seven Songs to Leave Behind plays the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on October 23. Visit www.melbournefestival.com.au