First Impressions: Raphael Saadiq Rolls Out More Vintage Sounds On 'Stone Rollin'

It seemed you couldn't escape the latter part of the noughties without someone pulling "A Motown". Like Disco of the late 70's, everyone who was really anyone seemed to have a track that came from a time inhaling Motor City Magic fumes. Now that we are in the throws of the 2000 n' ten's a more futuristic approach to music has surfaced with the abstract electronics of James Blake, and the eclectic galactic funk of Janelle Monae taking center stage. Add in the combination of the lackluster response to Duffy's latest, Amy Winehouse's disappearing/appearing acts, and most of R&B now turning to throbbing electronic pop beats, pulling influence from a 60's standpoint has sort of lost the spark it once contained.

Raphael Saddiq didn't get that memo. 'If it ain't broke then don't fix it', is probably what tickertaped through Saddiq's mind when he sat down to craft the follow up to his finger snapping and 1960's froth, The Way I See It. Even more immersed in the old school groove, Stone Rollin' follows more of a lo-fi groove with a smattering of Sly Stone and Stevie Wonder influence to boot. It isn't ambitious considering you've heard most of this before---but in it's ten tracks, cohesiveness, and a sense of fun are embedded in, and you can't help but snap those fingers and stomp your feet. 

Album Watch: Beverley Knight's Homegrown Soul Return

I adore Beverley Knight so it's exciting news that she is going to release a brand new album this year! *throws glitter* She's taking the 'covers album' route this time out with her upcoming Soul UK effort. Bev already dabbled into doing covers with her fabulous, Music City Soul record from 2007, where she tackled some Aretha and took on some Motor City Magic-esque tracks, but now she's paying homage to the soul scene in her native UK that inspired her to begin a singing career and the artists who helped and continue to pave the way. She will be taking on songs from some of my favorites such as, George Michael, Jamiroquai, Loose Ends, and Princess (she's doing "Say I'm You're Number One"!!) A few days ago she debuted the buzz single, her cover of Soul II Soul's "Fairplay", complete with Jazzie B on board, and it's a pretty hot rehash,  with a lofty little horn section. You can take a listen to it over at Bev's Soundcloud page.

In the meantime, just get prepped for the official single off of Soul UK, which will be a cover of Junior's classic "Mama Used To Say" , coming in June. Can't wait for this...

Camino: SoulBounce /TNK

Cover Smother: Ushering In Summer The Jill Scott Way

Like a shot of Vitamin C, Jill Scott's album cover for The Light Of The Sun, is bringing me out of my allergy cold funk *sneezes*. Not truly stunning (was hoping it would look something like this), I mean, everyone probably has a photo of themselves posing next to a car. It's like wicker chair photographs...it's traditional that you take one once in your life, so why not? Jilly ushers in summer nicely with her hair a flowin' and rocking the shades, she just looks so radiant. Mostly everyone's just getting jazzed that there is an actual album cover for this album, because for a good couple of years we thought that Light Of The Sun was never going even see the 'light' of day.

First Impressions: Go Go Santigold Go!

Waking up this morning I didn't know that today I'd be listening to a brand new Santigold song with Yeah Yeah Yeah's fabulous front woman Karen O. AND production by Q-Tip. That's what makes life great...the unexpected.

I was sort of holding my breath for anything new coming my way from Santigold's camp, but I'm exhaling because it seems that the forever rumored follow-up to Santi's 2008 great debut is going to be coming to the surface this year. Produced by Santi herself, Q-Tip and Switch, "Go" has been worth the wait. Perfectly drenched in all the skittish and snarky punch that made me a fan of Santigold in the first place, "Go" is just demanding, and with Karen O. on board, you get some real femme fatale attitude on it. Love at first listen right when I got latched into the sneaky spy movie theme backing and thick bass.

Santigold debuted the track on Jay-Z's brand new blog, as Santi is a new family member on Jigga's label, and she had actually had a few things to say about her newest track. She described the song focusing on "the new American dream of fame and fortune" or as she told Entertainment Weekly:  "We’re ruining art, our planet, and our health, all due to our newfound obsession with instant gratification.” Deepness...

Whatever the context you get out of this, at least you can catch this unshakable groove.   

Santigold - Go (ft. Karen O.)


Camino: PinboardBlog

Album Watch: Spree Wilson & 'The Never Ending Now'

If you can reach back into the crates of your mind, remember that hotter than a habenero pepper collaboration between Spree Wilson and Esthero? Well, goody because the song, "Don't Pass Me By", is now resting on Spree's debut full-length album, The Never Ending Now, which is out and ready for free downloading consumption. Yes, you read the print right--free.

At blog post time, I have not gotten the chance to take a listen to it to fully, but basing things on "Don't Pass Me By" and the fact that 13 other original tracks are penned by Spree himself, this might be something worthwhile to take some time out of your day to listen to. From other bloggers babbling, Spree has quite the eclectic music palette so anything might just pop out on you on this release. So first, take a view after the cut of Spree performing one of the album tracks, "Nobody", then download away and let me know what you think--I mean, the album is free, and who is crazy enough to turn down free music?

DL: Spree Wilson - The Never Ending Now

Camino: DJBooth

Song Stuck In My Head: Under The Starlight

Starlight - Sophie Ellis-Bextor (2011)

Man, oh, man, haven't done this type of post in a looong while....

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has made it excruciatingly hard for me to keep up with her. She says she's coming out with an album, and then nada for a good solid year with a sprinkle of "made you looks" and some Freemasons collabs. Now it seems that Make A Scene, Bextor's fourth album, gets more official by the day. I mean, there is an official album cover wandering about, it has a release date of June 6th, oh, and two new songs leaked a few weeks back. One of them "Starlight",
is very good. So good in fact that it deserves to be talked about in this sort of fashion.

SEB always makes quite a funky good dance tune and the Richard X produced, "Starlight" goes into a sleek 80's New Wave groove. Love its sort of grimy, seedy and jammed packed synth dance sound (think Madonna's "Get Together"). Considering this is the fifth single (!) from Make A Scene, so far, this one is my favorites from the lot of singles that were scattered around last year, and it's getting me even more anxious for the full set of Scene. So glad that there are some pop stars out there, like Miss Bextor, making some great dance ditties for the summer!

Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Starlight

First Impressions: Jill N' Anthony Sittin' In A Tree...

I'd be lying my face off  if I wasn't doing some cartwheels over Jill Scott returning to the music scene this summer. Somehow she's going to find her way into my summer playlist due to her releasing not only The Light Of The Sun but also her unreleased gems album from Hidden Beach, Just Before Dawn: Jill Scott From The Vault Vol. 1. So there is going to be a lot of Jill Scott going around in these next few months.

Now she's got Anthony Hamilton in the madness with yet another addition to the The Light Of The Sun project. From the vintage vinyl-esque single cover (Love the 70's vibe with the worn vinyl imprint in tow!) to the blending of butter smooth vocals from soul music's biggest romantics, "So In Love" fits perfectly into the spring/summer transition soundtrack. The track doesn't move mountains (it's not the most surprising duet I've heard), but when you have pros like Scott and Hamilton on deck, even a song at it's most minimal gives you more than what you bargained for due to it being effortlessly cool. So chill and relax to this one if you haven't done so already.

Jill Scott - So In Love (ft. Anthony Hamilton)

First Impressions: Reflections On Jamie Woon's 'Mirrorwriting'

The early reviews for Jamie Woon's Mirrorwriting have been...well, interesting reading. Lots of praise. Lots of hate. Lots of premature proclamations of 'album of the year'. Lots of  'this is so boring'. And lots of 'James Blake is better'. I hadn't seen this many emotional and divided reviews since Janelle Monae released The ArchAndroid last year. Either people love it, or people hate it---or they compared it to James Blake. 

I'm geared to love it based on "Night Air" alone, which was by far one of the most original pieces that graced my ears last year. It was cunning with a touch of old school soul crooning nestled into it's eerie fog. It was the atmospheric 'a-ha moment' that sort of made it not your typical song and brought you into thinking, "Who in hell is this guy? And what else has he got up his sleeve?"

Even though Woon is no stranger to the underground music lovers set, with his Wayfaring Stranger EP having been kicked around for some time, his real official welcome was with the Burial produced single, "Night Air", and thus, anticipation for a full set arose. So now we are here at Mirrorwriting, the debut album that is filled with Woon's meditations on heartbreak and conflict set to sparse soul backings, and it is quite a treat for the ears. 

Crisp N' Fresh: What Is Mara Hruby Up To?

Not as crisp n' fresh as lettuce, but lettuce can still be good after a few days, right?

I'm just anxious to see what Mara Hruby is up to next. Ever since introducing her to you guys in '10 with her covers EP, From Her Eyes, in tow, she has been on of my new favorite people to keep musical tabs on. Currently, she's got this little subtle video floating around of From Her Eyes track, "Stereolab (Lose Myself)", and thus I had to share. Directed by fellow artist, Jesse Boykins III, the video just gives us a glimpse of how Mara gets in a reflective zone when creating and recording her music. It's nothing visually captivating, but the song itself (originally by J Dilla and The Roots, with lyrics by Hruby), is such a lovely cover, you have to sneak a peak. If you haven't gotten on the Mara Hruby Fan Train, then you better hop aboard now, as I'm expecting some big things from her as well.

And excuse my fashion 'girly' moment, but dig on those feather earrings (aka my new earring addiction). 

Artist Watch: Think BIG When You Think Of Clare Maguire

O, smite life distractions!

I have been wanting, waiting, to tell you about Clare Maguire...and I'm just now getting around to it, even though she has already captivated a number of fans and bloggers since the beginning of this year.

As a fan of the rich vocal stylings from UK damsels like Annie Lennox, Lisa Stansfield, and Alison Moyet, Clare Maguire had my undivided attention from the jump. Right when I heard the swell of "The Shield and the Sword" off of her debut album, Light After Dark, I was like "Wow! Now that's a voice!" In some ways she sounds too much like Annie Lennox, but not enough to where I just want to put on Diva and call it a day.

Light After Dark is in a word: bombastic. It is just BIG, in style, vocal execution, and ideas--all of them fleshed out due to Clare Magurie and producer Fraser T. Smith. You gotta love a girl who penned her own material, and it shows in this 14 song collective that attention to detail was a must. Even when the music wants to dive off into engulfing her voice, Maguire's haunting tone remains the focal point and takes songs like the bluesy swinging wail of "Ain't Nobody" and the soaring Kate Bush-esque, "The Happiest Pretenders" to unexpected places.  



Florence + The Machine comes to mind with the environment the album rests in (it's all those wall-to-wall drums...) and the sweeping electronic arrangements gives her that sophisticated pop appeal this side of Ellie Goulding. Still, Maguire has a promising and classy introduction on her hands, and once you take a listen to what Light After Dark has to offer, you'll find yourself immersed in its atmosphere. It's really pop music for the grown folk. Swiftly the album has found it's way to being on my best bets of 2011, so do like I do and give Ms. Maguire's debut a spin, and you'll be pleasantly surprised at what unfolds. 

...and since I love covers so much, you must take a peek after the cut for her version of Aloe Blacc's "I Need A Dollar"---just good things all around from this talented lady.

Recycle It!: Go 'Under The Covers' With Andy Allo...Again

Before you yawn, roll your eyes, or flick to another blog, thinking, "Another Bob Marley cover?" It's not "Is This Love"! How's that?

Andy Allo, whom I adore due to the impeccable self-titled debut album from 2009, has done up another re-imaging again. Remember back in January when she dropped the news that she was concocting a covers album (called cutely Under The Covers) as she took on Kanye West's excellent, "Lost In The World" to wonderful results? Now Allo takes on Marley's classic "Waiting In Vain" with an acoustic flair and she has shared her performance with everyone on her YouTube channel.

So just sit back and enjoy this recycling, and if you like what you hear, take advantage of the free download, because you know you want to listen to this one in a loop.

DL: Andy Allo - Waiting In Vain (Bob Marley cover)

The Tape Deck: Fiesta Party Party

This week in the Alamo City (where this blog is fancily "based") it's FIESTA! It's where everybody gets drunk before noon on weekdays and we have parades, food, and events all week long, plus the kiddies get out of school and business go on pause for the Battle Of Flowers parade, which takes place throughout downtown this Friday---you can just imagine the blisters. But it's okay, because it's all about letting loose and celebrating the culture of the city.

So a playlist of songs that are all about the partyin' in honor of this festive time.

First Impressions: Jilly The "Magnificent"

With recent record label scuffles, it seemed that Jill Scott's long rumored fourth album, Words & Sounds Vol. 4: The Light Of The Sun wasn't going to see the light of day. Yet, us Jilly fans overact, because we know full well deep in our hearts that Jilly doesn't disappoint and usually follows through no matter what the drama, like she does on her first single from Sun. No drama here, just sangin', sangin', and more sangin'. With fellow Philly native Eve in tow, "Shame" brings on the funk n' spunk and it rocks on a good En Vogue foot (think Funky Divas era) leaving in it's a path a song that embellishes on Ms. Scott's femme fatale nature and kicks back comfortably in in old school R&B comfort. From the sound of things, The Light Of The Sun is shaping up to be quite the 'sunny' affair. It is a real shame if you can't dig or dance your pants off to this cut. 

Jill Scott - Shame (ft. Eve)

First Impressions: 'Understanding' Kate Bush's New Direction

When Kate Bush placed "A Deeper Understanding" on her fifth album, 1989's A Sensual World, she probably didn't know how much she predicted the future some twenty years later.

Based on an idea of a woman withdrawing from society and turning to her computer 'like a friend', the rooted truth of the song ties in much more closely to today's Internet attachment and social networking craze. The observance that computers have become not just tools, but part of our human conscious. You may scoff at the psychobabble direction I'm going in, but think about your hard drive and how much of your "life" is stored on it, and think about the number of friends you posses on social networks without ever meeting them face to face, the time you spend daily/nightly on the computer...according to Bush, we could all face the fate of the song's protagonist and go off the deep end with our attachment to a basic machine. 

*cue Twilight Zone music*

I was open for "Deeper Understanding" receiving a 2011 makeover for Bush's upcoming Director's Cut album, which will explore reimaginings  of songs from Bush's respective albums, The Sensual World and The Red Shoes. I was even open to two more minutes of music being tacked onto it, because that's nothing short of a plus. Now, I'm not so open and find this rekindle, a bit tampering.

Coco Chanel has a fashion tip about when you overcrowd on your outfit: "Take one thing off before you leave the house". That's the case with "Deeper Understanding". There is now too much on the song, and something needs to be taken off. Maybe I'm being bias as it is one of my top ten tracks from Bush, but the most off-putting part of  "Deeper Understanding" is the stark vocoder vocalization during the chorus. It's pretty jarring, considering the lush, and eerie coos of the original. I understand the need to making the song sound more mechanical and edgy than what it was before, but it just takes away some of tenderness of the original, and just left a bad taste in my mouth. Thankfully, the extra two minutes that are added to the track bring the song to it's rightful and isolated place, polished off with some sputtering scatting and a quirky harmonica.

This version is a grower for sure. Peep the original after the cut, to compare and contrast.

Kate Bush -Deeper Understanding (Director's Cut version)

The Tape Deck: Love Said...Let The Music Play

I have been in a Shannon mood for the past couple of days now. It's just one of those things. Just from one random listen to "Let The Music Play", I have to listen to the whole album, and then listen to Shannon's two other great albums, Do You Wanna Get Away and Love Goes All The Way. It's like a chain reaction. Her music is just that infectious for me. Perfectly blended pop-funk is what it is.

Shannon is one of those artists in the 80's that was sorta important as she is sometimes dubbed the "Queen of Freestyle". "Let The Music Play" when released in '83, reinvigorated and gave new direction for soul and pop music in the 80's once the residue of Disco washed fully away. Some say Shannon should have had Madonna's career, and she was poised to do so---but we won't get into that, just enjoy the music, which in my bias opinion is essential to anyone's music collection. Thus, let this Tape Deck play....

First Impressions: Pieces Of Ledisi

If you caught me in 2009, I was constantly spinning Ledisi's Turn Me Loose. And oh, looky here, it was was my #1 pick for album of the year back then as well. *smirk* Whenever I had a bad day or just wanted to dance around my kitchen while prepping dinner, I was spinning Turn Me Loose. Ledisi just really put her foot in that album, in my opinion. So I'm quite ready to get another Ledisi album to consume me and brand new track, "Pieces Of Me" is that first shred of evidence that Ledisi may be offering some more head bopping testimonies on her upcoming new album.

Produced by long-time collaborator Chuck Harmony, "Pieces Of Me" is a mid-tempo ballad, that pretty much is Ledisi to the core, from femme fatale lyrics to a power punch of  vocal gymnastics--it's truly for the Led Heads out there. I sort of have a nose scrunch about ballads being released for first impression sake, but in this case, while it's not the strongest Led ballad, it's still an enjoyable one. 

She premiered the song on her Facebook earlier this morning for a special listening party. Since I don't have Facebook (not getting into why) I was "excluded" from that party, but be like me can arrive fashionably late to the release, by taking a spin below. Also keep a look out for April 5th when it officially drops and is ready for purchase on iTunes.

Ledisi - Pieces Of Me

Freebie Adventures: A Ticket To Wondaland

Thank goodness for Janelle Monae.

She has saved me from the clutches of a truly sucktastic week with this freebie adventure. If you missed Ms. Monae live at last month's SXSW or if you're like me and haven't gotten the experience to catch her live (yeah, I suck), Centric's Soul Sessions blog has a treat, as they have made available the full "Killers, Lasers, and Papers" set at SXSW ready and legal for download consumption. Yep, 18 tracks, all in great quality. Jackpot.

Usually music fans I come across despise live albums, personally I love them, and keep a nice lofty collection of them. (I truly cherish the Madonna live collection I have...but that is beside the point.) If you missed out on SXSW last month (like almost everybody), then this is the next best thing to being there feeling the sweat and energy that Janelle exudes during a performance. You can hear the saddle shoes just stompin' the stage with this set as Monae and her band just turns it out. Check the tracklisting after the cut, and snag the download if you already haven't done so. No April Foolin' here.


DL: Janelle Monae - Killers, Lasers, and Papers SXSW Set