For some reason, I had been missing all of Little Dragon‘s performances in New York City. I even tried to catch them in the UK this past summer, but flights were not in sync either. This past Saturday, I finally got it together and took myself down to Le Poisson Rouge.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a show and the band sounds better than the actual CD. Lead singer and percussionist, Yukimi Nagano has this amazing vocal style and range, that has you entrapped, hanging on every note. It’s effortless beauty to your ears. Watching Yukimi perform is like watching a child playing in the sunshine with open arms, spinning till they fall into a pool of laughter. At one point, she got down in the audience and danced with us. Band members Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Källgren Wallin (bass), and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards), together create magic, and Yukimi is their vocal muse of sheer happiness. Why hadn’t I seen them sooner?!

If Little Dragon are in your town, here’s your marching order: GET YOURSELF A TICKET! They put on an incredible show, and are truly a band enjoying what they do. Although I wanted to see them perform “Twice” from their debut album and “Thunder Love,” from Machine Dreams, I left the venue completely satiated. Watch “Constant Surprises” from the show below and enjoy!

This piece was created with legendary Jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd, who lead The Blackbyrds.  The group members included Kevin Toney – keyboards; Keith Killgo – vocals and drums; Joe Hall – bass guitar; Allan Barnes – saxophone, clarinet; Barney Perry – guitar; Orville Saunders – guitar; and Jay Jones – flute and saxophone. In this song and the entire LP, what you hear is harmony, melody, unison, and cadence in their arrangements. All elements sounded great together. Harmony and cohesiveness with just the right combination of individual solo’s. The LP makes you want to rewind it because there is so much funk inside the structure to hear! Not an easy feat to achieve in any musical discipline.

What was dope about this group, was that it not only was formed by Donald Byrd but also comprised of his best students from Howard University in Washington DC, a historic Black College from 1973 to 1989. Some of the band’s original members had vibrant solo careers as well, such as Kevin Toney who started recording solo records in 1982 and is still recording and performing today.

The first Hip Hop dudes I heard incorporate “Mysterious Vibes” into their sound, were San Francisco based MC Paris, on his track “The Days of Old” from the 1992 LP Sleeping with the Enemy, and then New York rapper, New York based MC Kurious on “I’m Kurious” off the 1994 LP A Constipated Monkey. There have been others who have sampled this record in particular, but these are two of my favorite joints. “Rock Creek Park” is another funky joint from The Blackbyrds worth listening to. Again, admired by Hip Hop heads from Long Island to Compton. Tune in for the next slapper (song) from inside the trunk.

“Mysterious Vibes” by on Action by The Blackbyrds

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There are so many artists out there who possess great talent and go unsupported. Every year American Music Awards illustrates that it’s nothing more than a farce, and harks to why I love talking about artists who deserve to be noted, in one way or another. It’s even better when you learn of an artist by “chance” too! This young woman is Dezaray Dawn. German-born, by military parents, Dezaray moved from city to city in gypsy-like fashion, experiencing different ways of life through travel. It’s no wonder solace was found in music. Now residing in Atlanta, a musical capital for classic R&B and hip hop bands, it was truly refreshing to find Chameleon, a 5-song EP featuring smooth future electronic soul sounds, with laid back mellow vocals, that match the grooves equally. Expecting to learn that a European producer in the Broken Beat, future sounds collective was a part of the production — but to the contrary, it’s quite the opposite. Dezaray Dawn produced Chameleon on her own, with just a little help from friend William “Crisis” Holt for additional keyboards.  Check out the two songs below and then head over to Dezarary’s Bandcamp page to buy a copy of the EP. You can name your price in excess of $5; it’s worth it.

Chameleon

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Da Day

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My main question is why isn’t there a ton of hype around Hudson Mohawke?!!! Listening to Benji B‘s Sunday evening radio show on BBC1Xtra about a week ago, I had to get myself a copy of his debut album Butter, which is an eclectic mix of gritty beats, hard basslines, futuristic instrumentals that are dark and airy, with a cerebral approach. If Mark Pritchard had a Prodigal Son, he would be Hudson Mohawke – the influences are clear. He uses the talents of West Coast Funkmaster, Dâm-Funk and DC native, OlivierDaySoul.

Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland where every music known to man except rap music, finds glory, Hudson Mohawke was the typical bedroom aspiring DJ/producer, DJing at university parties, pirate radio stations, and circulating his music organically online. His first official release was on the Ubiquity Records compilation Choices in 2007, and later led to signing with indi label Warp Records.

Check out the tunes below, then head over to iTunes and get yourself a copy of Butter.

“Rising 5″

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“Joy Fantastic” feat. OlivierDaySoul

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We often hear about the power of the internet and how social media has taken connecting to another level. The story behind this project is liberating, defying limitations to create, unconventionally. Completely constructed in each artist’s own space, UK producer Soulpersona used the internet to find his collaborators, sent them his music, which they added their contribution, and what we’re left with is Soulcoaster, a smooth blend of expressive soul, rare grooves, jazz funk, hip hop, and disco infected beats. Featuring a wide range of artists from around the world such as Princess Freesia, Replife, Deborah Jordan, D’Angelo’s backing vocalist Kia Bennett and a surprise vocalist — the sexy full vocals of Sibel Thasher from the 70s band RAMP (remember her from Roy Ayres “Everybody Loves the Sunshine”?). Soulcoaster is a sexy little album for grown folks from a new talent. Listen to some of the songs below and get yourself a copy from Digisoul now!

“Candy Wrapper” feat. Princess Freesia

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“In Your Eyes” feat. Sibel Thrasher

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