Courtney John has been serenading the ladies of Jamaican for quite some time now. Hitting the Jamaican reggae music in 1997, and recognized by Irie FM as Best Male Artist, and naming his album Unselfish the Best Album of 2007, which included hit singles “Miss You,” “Baby Tonight,” and “When You Say,” which were all Top 10 chart hits. He came to my attention with his Studio One retro hit “Lucky Man,” from seeing the video and seeing his true command of the stage, exuding sexy, with a voice that is up there with the R&B artists like R.Kelly. I instantly understood what the fuss surrounding Courtney John was all about.

Now with his new single, “Soul of a Man,” he pushes the envelop by stepping into the genre of dub step—a natural progression as dub step’s origins are in reggae. Produced by Jamaican female producer The Wizard and with John‘s distinctive yet smooth vocals; this tune is a banger!

Check it out below and let us know what you think!

Sam Shepard a.k.a Floating Points is one of those producers who is so innovative, it hits in a trance-like state. Hailing from South London, classically trained in jazz piano at Chetham School of music in Manchester, but is also a neuroscientist by day. How incredible is that?

First hearing him on the atomic remix of Real to Reel‘s 80s classic hit, “Love Me Like This,” which solidified Floating Points place in electronic dance music. Now with Shadows, a 5-track EP, is a collaborative project with friend Will Hurt, who created a Max/Msp patch (a visual programming language for music and multimedia that has been adopted by electronic laptop music/video artists to use in their performance). On Shadows, Floating Points continues to bring us into his synth world, but with more bass, floating between jazz and dubstep beats that is completely danceable. On “ARP3” he uses elements from Lil Louie‘s classic house track, “French Kiss” and makes it darker! It is such a banger; you won’t be able to stop putting it on repeat. Listen to the sample of the tracks below, then head over to Eglo Records for purchase.

Shadows by floatingpoints

I’ve been throwing the word transatlantic around of late due to geography no longer posing boundaries. Mark de Clive-Lowe‘s new album Renegades pulls in people from different countries, cultures and what we have is a fusion of sounds and styles. Enlisting a wide array of talent, from UK’s finest vocalists Omar, recently signed to Warner Music underground artist Tawiah, Bembe Segue, from Los Angeles Ovasoul7 and newcomer nia andrews, French singer Sandra Nkake, and Sheila E. on percussion, Pino Palladino on bass, to name a few on this project. MdCL pull out an international project with this one!

“Under Orders,” with Tawiah on vocals caters to my broken beat heart. Love that she manages to sing with a London accent, and MdCL‘s musicianmanship, with Dego and Bembe Segue‘s finishing touches make it the rotation track. Musically Renegades covers much ground. I wanted to hear more from Bembe as the combination of MdCL and Bembe is perfect. Omar, as always, is pure butter on “Get Started” with the Ms. Sheila E. on timbale and bells. Sandra Nkake‘s vocals on “Alabi” are so expressive, taking us back to Miriam Makeba in style.

Check out the sampler provided by MdCL below then head over to iTunes or Amazon to get yourself a copy of Renegades on Tru Thoughts Records.

Renegades [FM Dial Album Preview] by mashibeats

Meridian comprises of two young men, Yohimbe Sampson, also from Game Rebellion and Bradley Valentin, a music teacher at Urban Arts. Their union was something rather organic; musicians tend to always be in a creative space, where anything and all things are possible. With Meridian, they say they’ve “found a way to ARTiculate the optimism that exists in triumph and trial.” The video for “Magic” definitely shows that. With an eclectic and ambitious venture, they’ve pulled off something totally creative, bringing us back to a time when music videos are a series of vignettes that piece together in a story of discovery. There’s something very 80s about this track—the catchy hook, gives you a feeling of expansiveness, and the musical arrangement shows a sensitivity that one wouldn’t expect coming from a Game Rebellion solider. Stay tuned for more from this dynamic duo.

A little late on posting this tune, but “The Mission” is hot as hell. Eric Lau‘s gritty dirty bass and beats will have your head nodding instantaneously, then as Detroit’s own Guilty Simpson drops in, “Beelau!” it’s solid. Transatlantic culture poses no limitations and the concept behind this very tune of being on a mission is true to life, with Lau from the UK and Guilty Simpson, Detroit. Check out the single below, which is scheduled to release tomorrow on Kilawatt Music and will include a ‘fonky’ remix by Georgia Anne Muldrow.

It’s hard to believe that Yellowtail‘s “Back to the Melody” is almost five years old! The original, a classic broken beat tune featuring the esteemed vocals of UK singer Eska,  was released on the influential UK label Coopr8 III. Now, with the re-release of this single comes remixes from Opolopo, Som Do Matter (Greymatter), L’Aroye, and Silverback, and includes the original instrumental track which was the inspiration for “Back to the Melody.” What each version highlight’s is Eska‘s vocal versatility, which is so jazzy and deliciously sexy.  Check out a couple of remixes below, then head over to Bagpak.net for purchase.

“Back to the Melody” feat. Eska (Som Do Matter Remix)

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“Back to the Melody” feat. Eska (Opolopo Remix)

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This is one of those gems I picked up at the Laney Flea Market in Oakland, California. My dad used to talk a lot about this guy and when I saw it, I had to grab it. Hugh Masekela is an award winning trumpeter, singer, and composer from South Africa. He was born in 1939 and began recording in 1959. Raised during Apartheid, his music was greatly influenced by the struggle of Africans and as a result his music is often politically charged—most notably his songs “Soweto Blues” and “Nelson Mandela.” Masekela’s music has heavy elements of jazz and funk with traditional African instrumentation throughout. The Boy is Doin’ It was Masekela’s eleventh LP released on Casablanca in 1975 and is an incredible fusion of musical styles. The Boy is Doin’ It is an historical glimpse at how American born genres such as jazz and funk influenced Africans and how African musicians infused their high life and afrobeat styles into the genre to create their own distinct sound. This record features band members from Ghanaian highlife band Hedzoleh. With well over 30 albums including a best of LP and many live recordings, Masekela is definitely regarded a musical legend.

“The Boy is Doin’ It” starts with a strong bassline and several voices chanting the title of the track. It quickly moves into a funky drummer type introduction and then you hear the recognizably charged voice of Masekela come in. The choruses are in English but the rhythm is African, American, and Latin. His trumpet solos are like a melodic siren of self and a communal proclamation of, “We’re here!” One of the things that struck me about the chorus of “The Boy is Doin’ It” was that it felt like he was not only describing where he was in his music, but where he loved—the world. Like early 90s hip hop shout outs, he calls out cities everywhere, showing universality. Put this in your mp3 player and ride to it on the train or on the highway! Enjoy.

“The Boy Is Doin’ It” by Hugh Masekela

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Every time Red Bull Music Academy rolls around, I wish I was a musical artist! The chosen few who pass the extensive application process, attend a month long series of seminars where they get to not only learn from some of music’s legends, but also get to create music with the best in the industry. Check out Erykah Badu‘s session at RBMA 2011 in Madrid, where she gives an honest account of her career from being a performance art student, the various players instrumental to her success, giving us great insights to the legendary J Dilla (the story behind Erkyah’s song “Telephone” from New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) will pull at your heart strings), and she talks about her upcoming album that is produced by Flying Lotus. The interview encompasses all that is the musical sensation Erykah Badu is today. Great interview!

As we patiently wait for J*DaVey to release their forthcoming album The New Designer Drug, they have given us a little music to build anticipation.  This two song teaser, “Whatchalookin@” and “Kill 4 Fun” stays close to what the dynamic duo have been doing of late, embracing an 80s, new wave sound. What I love about this duo is their distinct sense of self and originality. Jack Davey now sporting her baby bump, while uncle Brook D’Leau dotes on; they have a good connection. Check out the video which is again directed by The Ports.