Post Tagged with: "soul"

I dig these guys. So unique with their sound.  "Sweet Salvation" is the first single from their upcoming full length, titled "Troubadour."  Stones Throw Records really struck gold with this group.  One thing that really sticks out for me is their harmonies.

Gilles Peterson will always be an inspiration and motivator for my passion for radio.  Dude is cream of the crop in the independent radio world to me.  Pushing out consistent content for 20+ years is not an easy task, and yet Gilles makes it look easy, with radio programs, dj mixes, dj gigs, an international festival, and even his own awards ceremony, celebrating good music from across the globe.  He is truly a remarkable brand, and human being.

I got an email from the Gilles Peterson Worldwide email list today about their revamped website, and they posted a picture of the new Brownswood FM radio studios, located in the basement of Brownswood Records.  This is what I need to be doing!  This setup looks amazing, even in its minimal nature (no posters on the walls?!).  I'm now inspired to get my studio to this level.

So Rebecca Ferguson has pop exposure already, being a runner up on the X-Factor.  That being said, this type of album doesn't normally come down my path, but I heard "Mr. Bright Eyes" and I thought this was some underground soul singer making her breakthrough.  I was wrong, and that's okay.  I guess it's a good thing I don't watch TV.  Maybe I would've been sick of her if I actually watched that season of X-Factor.  I listened to the entire album that "Mr. Bright Eyes" was on, and wasn't 100% sold, but I DID find this song, the closing track to the album, which is amazing.  Who does she remind me of? Patti Labelle? Not sure.  Enjoy.

p.s. I know I'm late on this one.  Big surprise.

You can really see Jamie Lidell picking up the new music trends and molding them with his super soul vocals.  Compared to his last two albums, this track is leaps and bounds in a more electronic direction, and I actually didn't like it the first time I heard it.  Jamie's vocals, though, are undeniable.  The tone he carries is amazing, and worth checking out if you've never heard his previous material.  His new self-titled album is set to release in February 2013 on Warp Records.

So yeah, as much as I can talk bad about the pop/dubstep sound, I still woke up with it in my head, and I still enjoy it.  Download for free on Jamie Lidell's website.

I heard this track quite a bit over the last month, and then stopped hearing it, as DJ's moved on to other songs from her new album, "Is Your Love Big Enough?" But this one was in my head allllllllll morning.  Lianne La Havas is an amazing singer/songwriter from London, who really solidified her place in my heart with "Forget." This is one of very few artists whose lyrics actually stay with me.  I NEVER pay attention to lyrics. My brain doesn't process them, for some reason, but rather groups the melody of the voice as part of the overall musical piece.  So this is a big deal.

Another thing I can't stop praising is Lianne's guitar playing and great arrangements to accompany her insightful, somewhat melancholy take on love and ex-boyfriends (I watched her performance on this year's iTunes festival and she attributed a whole segment of the show to her ex). I absolutely love the guitar intro of this song (kind of reminds me of this), and would love to make a re-edit of this if I can make some time in the near future. Lianne La Havas is in town this November at The Roxy. I highly recommend you see her.  I'll definitely be there vibing out!

Enjoy.

This one was in my head when my eyes opened this morning. I often don't get down with some of the more vocal jazz fusion of the mid to late 70's. it tends to get a little soft for my palette, with a couple of exceptions: anything by George Duke, Flora Purim, and Herbie Hancock. This Alphonso Johnson album features a pretty heavy lineup of musicians:

Alphonso Johnson : Bass & Vocal
Philip Bailey : Vocals
Diane Reeves : Vocals
Grover Washington Jr : Tenor Saxophone
Patrice Rushen : Electric Piano
Lee Ritenour : Guitar
Mike Clark : Drums
Sheila Escovedo : Congas
David Foster : Organ
Ian Underwood : synthesizers,

The vocals by the amazing Diane Reeves are really what drew me in to this record. I can't even remember where I bought this LP.  I'm almost positive it was a dollar bin purchase, maybe $3.  Did I get it at a thrift store? Amoeba? Endo? Either way, what's important is that I share it with you. Hope you like it.

Went up to Seattle for Memorial Day Weekend.  Katrina was working a conference up there, so I tagged along and explored the city while she worked.  The first thing I noticed was the clean air.  No smog!  Pretty amazing.  Apparently, the warm, sunny weather I experienced this past weekend was NOT a normal thing in Seattle, so I appreciated it that much more.  Spent some time trying out local food joints, buying records, people watching, and walking around Downtown and Ballard, mostly.  Caught a folk festival, visited the EMP museum, and evaded a shooting at the space needle.  Quite the interesting experience.

I flew in Friday night after work, and didn’t get to the hotel until almost 10pm, so I figured I’d grab a quick bite from room service, get some good sleep, and start Saturday off early.  I walked about 30 minutes to this breakfast spot called The Shanty Cafe in Lower Queen Anne.  Then I headed to Seattle Center to spend most of my day at the EMP (Experience Music Project) Museum.  Very similar to the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, but this seemed to have much more in volume, engagement, and overall presentation.  I spent over 3 hours going through the Jimi
Hendrix, Nirvana, and AC/DC exhibits.  They even have an area called Sound Lab, where you can play instruments, jam with others, and pretty much just rock out however you want.  The most extensive, and most interesting, was the Nirvana exhibit.  Artifacts, guitars, clothing, original artwork, contracts, and more were on display, accompanied by video and audio archives from various shows, tours, etc.  I felt like my experience with Nirvana in the early 90’s was so naive, and I didn’t quite understand (when I was 10) how important, and rare, it was for this band to crossover into mainstream America (or as the exhibit said “Mainstream American came to Nirvana”).  Not only did Nirvana make it, but numerous other bands from Seattle ended up blowing up as a result of the grunge scene going viral.  I left EMP feeling very humbled and full of information!  Always a good thing.  More about my digging adventures to come…

This new Georgia Anne Muldrow record is fresh!  Seeds is a team effort, with GAM on the vocals and Madlib on production.  Great combination right there.  All I know is she told me to “google Kali Yuga” and I did.  Bugged out.

Here’s the official video for the first single from the album, “Seeds.”

Thursday nights are for Afro Funke!  For over 8 years, the team of Cary Sullivan, Rocky Dawuni, Jeremy Sole, and Glenn Red have provided Los Angeles with a quality event, dedicated to african rhythms, from reggae to afrobeat.  Definitely one of LA's shining stars in the music scene, this is a place to come hear music you've never heard before, and to dance to music you've never heard before.  And EVERYONE is dancing.  That's what makes this so special to me.  There's a lot of wallflowers in LA, but not at Afro Funke.  Everyone is vibing out.  Even if someone is not on the dancefloor, they are moving their feet. When I got the email about Frank Gossner guest DJ'ing at Afro Funke this week, all my other plans got cancelled.  This cat spent quite a bit of time travelling through Africa, sometimes not in the safest of places, in search of the rarest and funkiest of African records.  He documented this journey on his blog, Voodoo Funk.  Lots of photos and music for you to check out.  Frank played some SERIOUS heat, from afro-disco cuts to slow funk burners.   And if you're wondering what kind of records he was playing, they were all original pressings.  No compilations.  I couldn't help but remember what Jeremy Sole said when introducing Frank: "Think of it like this, one of these records can pay for your rent this month!"

I cannot get enough of this track, and can’t wait to see what’s in store for this UK singer.  The UK’s making the states look bad on the music end, y’all!  Always quality material coming from across the pond, and I can’t hate.  You can find Lianne La Havas music anywhere.  Go check it out on Spotify, or do what I did and buy her vinyl direct from London.  My receipt said “expected delivery date: June 23.” WHAT?!

Her “Lost & Found EP” is available now, and be on the lookout for the Forget EP.