Chuck Lightning and Nate Rocket Wonder, members of the Wondaland Art Society and producers of Janelle Monáe's newest album The Electric Lady (2013), make up the music group Deep Cotton. Their hit song "We're Far Enough From Heaven Now We Can Freak Out" was featured on the SONOS speakers commercial, and their new EP Runaway Radio (2013) came out in late September.
I recently had the pleasure to sit down and talk to the artists behind Deep Cotton to learn more about their start in the music industry and to learn the story behind their new album. Chuck's teased Mohawk and Nate's dreadlocks represent how their creativity seen in their music is shown in their personalities as well as their personal styles.
Chuck described that they are deeply influenced by their southern roots and this quote by Jimi Hendrix, "I wish they'd had electric guitars in cotton fields back in the good old days. A whole lot of things would've been straightened out".
Being members of the Wondaland Art Society Chuck and Nate have had the incredible opportunity to work alongside talented musicians such as Janelle Monáe. They stated that they have been deeply influenced by these musicians and have learned that one of the most important things to know when working in the industry is that, "fearlessness is a very important part of what it means to be an artist". Chuck explained that one of the main things he enjoyed about making music was "reaching back to things that we love and trying to give people the feeling that that music gives us". This is heard in their innovative music and their desire to not hold back and let themselves be free with their vision.
Their EP Runaway Radio (2013) is innovative and experiential bringing together a mix of sounds not heard before. "We just make music... We don't think about what station what genre who the audience is we're just trying to make people jam," Chuck said. They describe their EP as a "fixtape" and explained its meaning by saying, "it's an entertaining virus that goes into your life and fixes it all up." Chuck also applies this concept to the relationship he has with Nate. He describes themselves as "Thing One and Thing Two from The Cat in the Hat".
Their final message to their fans and rising artists, "failure is a good thing to embrace... fail quickly and often" and of course "stay funky."