An Artist, Gentleman, And Spaced-Out Soul Brotha #1

An Afro-futuristic dreamworld based in reality— that’s the overarching message at the core of Intergalactic Soul. The Charlotte and Durham, North Carolina-based amalgamation of space faring, Soul Train-meets-Wakanda visual art and performance theatre, is done in only a way that Black people can— with swag, grace and that everlasting funk.

You’d be hard pressed to find a performing artist in the mold of Quentin Talley, a legendary veteran of Charlotte’s world-renown poetry scene. He fills any stage with his commanding voice, jolly demeanor and penchant for plucking emotions thru his pen. The funny thing about Intergalactic Soul is, while he is the sole provider of the melodic grooves, none of this would’ve happened without him sliding in the DM’s of Marcus Kiser and Jason Woodberry— the exhibit’s creators. 

Landing in Charlotte by way of Greenwood, South Carolina thru Winthrop College, Talley is no stranger to the world of music and performing arts. Sharpening his craft in the Old Mill apartments back in the NoDa glory days, while forgoing the bright lights of New York City, Talley chose to build with some of the stalwarts of the Queen City poetry game including Bluz, JC Cowan, Swann & CP Maze. He also teamed up with visual artists like Marcus Kiser and Wolly Vinyl. With the buzzing energy of this incredible collection of talent, Talley built a 15-year legacy through his dedication and infectious flavor.

“Marcus [Kiser] was one of the first people I met when I got here,” Talley told The Block. “Long story short, years later, he was on Instagram posting some stuff they were working on for Intergalactic Soul and I just hit him up and was like ‘Yo this is dope! I don’t know what’s going on, but I wanna learn more!’” 

From there, Talley went from asking how he can get the word out to actually becoming part of the show.

Kiser and Woodberry had long been creating visual pieces for the Intergalactic Soul exhibit. Whether it’s graphic prints, 3D models, animated shorts, or even boxes of cereal— all of these creative ideas and expressions are modeled under a universal banner with epic Afrofuturism themes and concepts. Think Marvel Cinematic Universe but unapologetically Black, and in space.

“Their first show was at the Gantt Center about 5 years ago, but initially music wasn’t a part of the show. It was just them working on stuff.” Talley said. 

The last half-decade has seen Intergalactic Soul grow from an exclusive traveling art exhibit, to now incorporating a full-on theatre performance. All with Talley’s help.

It’s not always smooth sailing though. Writing music to fit an ever-expanding universe can be a daunting task. 

“When they brought us in for the first exhibition to do some of the music, I was still working out the narrative of the show because they were creating pieces on pieces on pieces. It’s been an interesting process for me, because while I’ve been in the visual arts world, I’m not a visual artist so it’s been a different approach for me being a part of the show. They let me do my thing music wise though, which is great. But, I’m always asking them ‘am I getting the story right?’ because I’m always fuckin that up.”

Talley recalls constantly getting the show’s characters mixed up, but after 5 years, he finally has it all down.

When you take in an Intergalactic Soul performance, you are splashed with wave after wave of rock, soul and funk in ways never experienced before. 

“It’s ever evolving because they are always creating new pieces and new side stories, like now with ‘The Last Black Starfighter.’ What I wanted to do theater wise and music wise was have a basis for the show that we all agreed upon. That way if a viewer saw the visual art, it would make sense individually. But, if you see the theater piece, it would hopefully tie it all together.” 

To walk out of an Intergalactic Soul show is to walk out a different person than when you walked in. That’s a huge reason why Talley believes in it’s message so much.

“I feel like this is something everybody can get into. It does lean toward the r&b, rock, soul kind of vibe, so people who like rock-soul music will probably like it more.” Talley said.

Musicians like Parliament Funkadelic, Nina Simone, James Brown, and Sun Ra have a heavy influence on the Intergalactic Soul show, as they all encapsulate the Black experience in their own way. Nina on the classical, blues, and jazz tip. James Brown on the funk, soul, and r&b wave. Then Parliament, on some spaced out funk shit.

“Without those artists you wouldn’t be able to do shows like Intergalactic Soul.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the team to switch gears on how they deliver performances. They recently conducted an online show with Ackland Museum in Chapel Hill to close out their exhibit, but Talley is looking to do more. 

“In the future, I would like to have a tour as a separate entity from the actual art show. That way we don’t have to necessarily rely on museums to call us in, we can go wherever and do the show, and have the art in the lobby,” Talley said.

For now, one of the show’s original songs, ‘Humans Only,’ has been released as a single on all streaming platforms. It will be on the Intergalactic Soul album to be released tentatively in August. It’s the perfect introduction to the Intergalactic Soul Universe and sets the playing field for what we can expect as visitors in this new world. When asked what he wanted people to gain from taking in Intergalactic Soul, Talley paused briefly and concluded:

“My main point for the show is that yes, there are Black people in the future. We are still here and we might still be dealing with the same things as today, but joy comes out of everything.”

If you’d like to get familiar with the visual art exhibitions, please visit intergalacticsoul.com and stay up to date. You can keep up with Quentin online on IG at: @iamquentintalley or @qtandthesoulproviders.