{"id":974075,"date":"2019-12-16T11:34:38","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T18:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=927425"},"modified":"2019-12-16T11:34:38","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T18:34:38","slug":"song-you-need-to-know-zawadi-noel-panic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/music-news\/song-you-need-to-know-zawadi-noel-panic\/","title":{"rendered":"Song You Need to Know: Zawadi Noel, \u2018Panic\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Noel.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>There\u2019s a deceptively simple joy in the music of soul singer-songwriter Zawadi Noel. At a recent Brooklyn show, the New York-via-Washington D.C. musician pulled off the tricky feat of uplifting the audience without wading into maudlin waters that trip up other performers. Maybe it\u2019s the childhood years spent living all over the world, but both onstage and on his recently released debut EP <em>Waiting Room<\/em>, Noel displays an earnest empathy to connect with listeners, destroying the wall between artist and audience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have realized that it is my duty to make music that speaks to people\u2019s hearts, to their fears, to truths we struggle with,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is the music I have always searched for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Waiting Room<\/em> builds on Prince\u2019s synth-dripped funk-pop-rock fusion on tracks like \u201cWaiting,\u201d where optimism and liveliness collide. \u201cWith You\u201d and \u201cMorning Call\u201d could be lost Bill Withers B-sides, while \u201cIn Love\u201d is a neo-soul gem.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s \u201cPanic,\u201d a song about trying to stay optimistic when overwhelmed by stress, that stands out for its buoyant, spirited propulsiveness. \u201cThe pressure, the pressure, the pressure, the pressure to relax,\u201d Noel sings with a soulful urgency. \u201cI can\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a teacher and cartoonist, Noel has published two art education books and storyboarded numerous music videos; creative skills that both drove him to record his own music and inspire others. \u201cAs an artist, I aim to create visual works that are both aesthetically striking and conceptually thought-provoking, while exploring ideas of diversity, understanding and acceptance,\u201d he says. \u201cAs a teaching artist, I challenge young people to develop their craft, respect the art form and each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the first body of work that is exclusively my creation,\u201d Noel says of <em>Waiting Room<\/em>. \u201cIt encompasses all of the styles of music I love and sends a message of self-discovery and self-reflection; a message I truly believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/zawadi-noel-panic-song-you-need-to-know-927425\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Rolling Stone<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a deceptively simple joy in the music of soul singer-songwriter Zawadi Noel. At a recent Brooklyn show, the New York-via-Washington D.C. musician pulled off the tricky feat of uplifting the audience without wading into maudlin waters that trip up other performers. Maybe it\u2019s the childhood years spent living all over the world, but both [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-974075","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-26 20:14:02","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KFMU Solar Powered Radio","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=974075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974075\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=974075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=974075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=974075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}