This completely hit me left field, with a resounding, “Wow!” ISHE + HEZEKIAH PROJECT‘s “Hold On” in it’s original form has a sexy, sleepy musical arrangement, with a tinge of electric guitars in the background. This remix, by the incredibly talented Georgia Anne Muldrow, turns up the heat, magnifies the bass into a dirty grind, and the electric guitar become an unmistakeable roar. THEN we have Australian duo, Stephen Tannos and Morgan Choice with outstanding interpretive dance. I absolutely LOVE this! Check it out below, and if you haven’t yet gotten yourself a copy of the project, I suggest you do so on their Bandcamp page.

During the summer, Van Hunt started peppering the internet with songs leading to the release of his fourth studio album, What You Were Hoping For? And it is exactly what was hoped for and quite unlike anything he has released to date. Vocally, it is very Van Hunt, but musically he delves deeper into his dance with rock, skirting into the sound of punk music in places. If Sid Vicious was able to sound melodic during his time with the Sex Pistols, then Van Hunt is who he’d want to sound like. The era of his debut album back in 2004 has been left at shore while Hunt is riding the waves of freedom, with his roots in blues and funk firmly planted in cargo.

What You Were Hoping For? is his most daring project, lyrically eclectic, less about love and feelings and more about human conditions, such as the funk based “Designer Jeans” where he talks about people who hide behind or even squeeze inside labels, where he sings, “I know it feels more comfortable inside your status symbols.” On “A Time Machine is My New Girlfriend,” Hunt correlates a relationship to a time machine, where the courting part of dating is the time machine bomb about to go off, and perhaps when the machine ticks and explodes, is the point when it turns into love, and all the games of uncertainty cease. The most tender part of the album is the ballad “Moving Targets,” where he sings of a conflicted relationship he can’t seem to hold onto, and gently sings, “Moving targets are so hard to hit but tonight I got you in my sights, I can’t miss.” Sonically, What You Were Hoping For? is an adventurous journey containing impeccable songwriting which paint vividly, yet real stories. With each listen, your sensors latch onto something new. Check out a couple of songs below, then head over to iTunes or Amazon to get yourself a copy; you deserve it!

Visit VanHunt.com to find out when he will be performing in your town!

It’s been quite some time since we’ve heard new music from Swedish belle Kissey Asplund. In fact, the last Kissey update we shared was the collaboration with Brooklyn-based drummer/producer Daru Jones on his So Good EP, which featured Kissey on vocals. “Cry” is bare in production, with synthesizers, drums and percussion that allow Kissey‘s emotive vocal layering to fill the track into something that is hauntingly beautiful. It wails with energy. Check it out below, then head over to Kissey.co website to get a free download of “Cry.” Looking forward to what’s coming down the pike from Kissey!

“Cry” Free Download

What can be said about Mechanical Soul, is that it’s far from mechanical in sound and actually feels organic and natural, mature, yet exploratory. Using the moniker of BUG, this keyboard player, songwriter, and producer is one of London’s new talents moving from percolation to boil. Having gotten airplay from tastemakers such as Gilles Peterson and Benji B with the release of his debut single last year, and worked on various mixes, Mechanical Soul has been anticipated by many. The opening title track, “Mechanical Soul,” sets the precedence of the EP, with its hard bass and distorted keys. It seems that as you travel through Mechanical Soul, the sounds soften and we’re taken through a world where sounds of modern funk, soul, hip hop, electronica and melody converge. These instrumentals are great! Check out the medley below, then head over to BUG’s label, Jus Like Music for purchase!

Mechanical Soul EP Snippets by BUGMusic

Good artists simply find each other and in this case it’s the union of rap group The Primeridian with producer Tall Black Guy with Darling Lure—a display of cohesive and  fluid dimensions in hip hop. Hearing projects like this, restores our faith in rap’s recovery.

Tall Black Guy is that continual rattle and hum in Chicago, winning beat battles such as “Dance To The Drummers Beat” and “Red Bull Big Tune” beat battle of 07, and also winning Eric Roberson’s “Tale of Two Remix Contest” and the “Unique Squared A3C Beatz and Lyrics 2 Go Contest” in 2010. The Primeridian are Simeon Viltz (V) and Darshon Gibbs (Race) who also hail from Chicago and have been on the scene for quite some time, having performed with artists such as Run-DMC, Redman, Talib Kweli, Erykah Badu, and Common to name a few.

Darling Lure takes us back to an era where hip hop is about lyrical creativity, originality, with live instrumentation and samples that make for great listening. The Primeridian are not simply good emcees, they add their own musicality to Tall Black Guy‘s production – V is a trumpeter.

Darling Lure released this week, so check out the video for “Whistle While You Work” and listen to “High Noon Stank” below, then get yourself a copy!

“High Noon Stank”

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iTunes | Amazon

The great background to this video is that it was animated by Little Dragon‘s lead singer Yukimi Nagano‘s father Yusuke and edited by his collaborator Olga Nikoulina. One of my favourite cuts from the album, “Brush the Heat” has trippy off kilter sounds, so the video is equally compelling in design. Check it out. And if you haven’t purchased Ritual Union, we suggest you do so from the following links. Peacefrog | iTunes

Colonel Red‘s (a.k.a. Redz) sound is so arresting, all you want is to play his music over and over, as I have repeatedly with his track ”Sweet Liberation” which was released back in 2009. Now with his third studio release, this singer, songwriter, musician and producer, has truly cultivated his style. Hailing from the UK (Birmingham to be exact), mixed race origins (Jamaican and British), and a former follower of the conscious teachings of Rastafarianism, helped him to become the dynamic soul brother he is today. No stranger to the business, he has worked with a wide array of artists from Teddy Pendergrass to Anita Baker, Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam, to The Last Poets, to Amp Fiddler and Sandra St. Victor, to name a few, and countless numbers of recordings with other artists on British and American compilations.

Keep Walkin’ stays close to the sounds created on Sweet Liberation, which was a lush collection of sophisticated soul, jazz, funk, and afro beats, and a celebrating of life, love, freedom, and wisdom. His vocal ability is so full, and soothing, that you can easily get lost within the phrasings alone. There is a natural progressive feel to this project, a coming home to a sound that is his, and encompasses all the elements that he loves — his roots, the soul, and the passion he finds in music. The album is pretty much all Redz, with collaborations from Erik Ritfeld and Ursula Rucker. Released on Tokyo Dawn Records, the album hit stores today and available here. Check out a couple of tracks below.

“I Will Be There”

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“Pressure”

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We’ve been talking about Quadron for a while and finally got the chance to catch them live in New York City. Performing before an intimate audience at New York’s Dominion on Thursday, September 1st, lead singer Coco joked about them not having new material, which wasn’t a problem, as their self-entitled debut is rock solid. Now on Plug Research, we will hear more from Coco and Robin, especially being that they informed us of purchasing one-way air tickets. If you missed the show, check out the video below. You’ll want to hear more, so here are links to purchase their album from their label Plug Research or from iTunes.