After releasing her self-produced EP Chameleon towards the end of  2009, Dezaray Dawn has been steadily building her catalogue. Last year she collaborated with UK producer Marc Mac (of 4Hero) on her second EP Deep. Now with “Over It,” the first single from her forthcoming album The Dawning, set to release in June, stays close to her musical sensibilities in funk soul, adding a little broken beat flare to it. It’s fresh. Check it out below and head over to her bandcamp for download.

It’s finally here, Seeing Her Naked, which is written, produced, and performed by Mar! Hauntingly delicious vocals, where Mar‘s range and falsettos give such emotion. Seeing Her Naked sounds like Mar actually bared all for us; a truly emotive strong collection of down- to mid-tempo songs, drawing on the styles that are current in sound, such as the opening track “Some to Remember” then to “Understand the Game” which brings in an 80s groove with a 2012 flare. What Seeing Her Naked illustrates is Mar‘s talent not only as a singer, but also a composer. We will definitely be hearing from from this artist as he spreads his wings wider in the field. 

You can stream the entire EP below or visit his website to download Seeing Her Naked. Also to learn more about Mar, read the Loop 21 interview where Muphoric Sounds‘ editorial director, Vanessa Warren talked with him about his work and creative process.

Fresh Daily is a Brooklyn, New York MC, graphic designer whose style draws from the old school boom bap era, yet has distinct new school elements to keep contemporary listeners nodding their heads and paying attention.

No newcomer to the game, Fresh Daily has worked with producers such as Illmind, Oh No, and Exile to name a few.

Teaming up with Complex Magazine and Converse to present his latest offering The Brooklyn Good Guy, a free 12-track album featuring names like MURS, Black Spade, Melo-X, Mike Baker the Bike Maker and Om’mas Keith, among others.

Excellent sample based, synth heavy, and bouncy production provides the backdrop for his well crafted, precise, down to earth, cocky, and confident rhymes. Stand out tracks include the Sam Champ produced, “Don’t You Agree,” featuring Om’mas Keith; “Cool Thoughts” produced by Russian beatsmith, BMB Space Kid also featuring Om’mas Keith, and the bouncy, hard to keep still to “Laced Up” produced by fellow New Yorker, Jinesis.

On vocoder laced, “Cool Thoughts,” Fresh Daily gives advice on how to maintain “positive thoughts in a negative world….” On the chorus, Om’mas Keith lends his patent harmonies making this one of the album’s standout tracks.

“Laced Up” sees Fresh at his most braggadocios, reminding us on the DJ Screw-esque chorus, that we can find him “rolling through laced up, everything fitted…” . He sounds mature and self aware without sounded dated. Jinesis‘ production matches the rhymes perfectly making this either a zone out, lay back, chill track…or something one could put on to get their swag back.

Check out a couple of tunes below then head over to LiveMixtapes.com for this free download.

“Cool Thoughts”

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“Laced Up”

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We’ve been waiting for this moment to come for a while now, and it’s almost here. With full endorsement from Wonderful Ear Records, Mar will be releasing his self written and produced debut EP, Seeing Her Naked at the end of the month. Not sure of the details, or if there will be any collaborations but the strategy to keep things to a minimum, as not to lose the element of surprise and anticipation, is the best way to go. The Mar Variations definitely kept us eager to hear more.

The first taste from the EP is “Our Attempt,” a sexy arrangement of bare drums, keys, and a haunting guitar that enters with a yearning that is ever-present in Mar‘s music. The accented break in the track adds a breathtaking silence; you can only imagine what can be done to this!!

Check it out below and stay tuned for link nearing release.

With Bobby Womack resurfacing on the Gorillaz‘s Plastic Beach in 2010 after what seemed to be a long hiatus, was a clear indicator of an artist exploring different sounds. The 69-year-old legend will be releasing his 12th studio album on XL Recordings, the same label Gil Scott-Heron last recorded on, and this will be his first solo release in twelve years.

“Please Forgive My Heart,” a free download below, is the first single off his forthcoming album The Bravest Man In The Universe, scheduled to release in June 12. What’s beautiful about this song is its minimalism, which only further highlights Womack unfaltering vocals. Sounds oh so good.

If you missed the Unsung episode on Bobby Womack, check it out here. An incredible talent, with an incredible story. Glad to see him fully back!! Now let’s light some candles for a collaboration with Omar.

Monster Sneaker is a new production duo, who so happen to be label mates on Tru Thoughts — Xavier Jean a.k.a Azaxx and Jonathan Radford a.k.a Diesler. Blending their sounds on this 3-track EP, featuring the gorgeous vocals of Colonel Red on “Tainted Lovin’” on the opening track which builds from a minimal percussion arrangement to a full-on dirty bassline mid-tempo track. “Paintball” is a broken soulful house instrumental where the synths are fun and jovial, and “Chunky Walker” reminds me of what Winter Music Conference is all about — for me that is! Gosh, I’m going to miss it this year. *insert sad face*

Released yesterday on A Little Something Recording, and is available on the following sites for purchase. So BUY NOW – iTunes / Amazon / Juno

This month marks Wax Poetics magazine’s 10-year anniversary in which they pay homage to “one of the most iconic musicians in the history of African American music, the one and only Prince“! Did you catch that? A whole magazine centered around  His Royal Badness and a few other funketers from his camp. As always, there’s an audio element to their features, and this one comes in the form of funk master himself, DaM-FunK. Taking us through Prince B-Sides, unreleases, and 94 East (Prince’s early band with Pepe Willie and Andre Cymone), the fifty-odd minutes of synth-funk, DaM-FunK really goes in on this mix, sprinkling his own flavoured funk on tracks; it’s great! Check it out below, and get yourself a copy of Wax Poetics at your local news agent for a an education in Minneapolis Sounds!

Have to give a shout out to DJ Come of Age for including me on a tweet to check out new music from John Graham with his album Success in Retrograde. Graham then sent me a message which said, “I’d like to share 3 links with you that may remind you why you fell in love with hip hop. Is that ok?”

Whoa! That’s a huge assertion to make, I had to hear if this guy could back it up. And I have to say, he most certainly did. From the boom clap of the break beat on Configa‘s “Back to Basics,” track which features John Graham, I was drawn in. With his killer delivery and lyrics you will hear that John Graham is no lightweight!

Success in Retrograde is a lyrical journey, with great productions – he got the help of Shade Cobain, Kiddie Fresh, Amir Swain, Mark Henry, Sizemen, and Brandon Lee.

Scheduled to release on January 11th on Ego Free Music Group, you can check out the two tracks below and then head over to his bandcamp site to pre-order (pre-orders receive a USB wristband).

Well, this was a lovely surprise! Legendary DJ/Producer DJ Spinna has put together an incredible mix of his favourite Mark de Clive-Lowe tunes, which include remixes and collaborations with Kenny Dope (Masters at Work), Phil Asher (Restless Soul), Zed Bias, Spinna himself, to name a few. This 34-track collection of MdCL’s music, travels through many genres — soul, downtempo, house, and alternative sounds; a great treat to round the year out with.

Mark de Clive-Lowe released Renegades, his ninth solo album last month on TruThoughts Records and can be purchased from the following links:  Amazon | iTunes.

The Best of MdCL Mix by DJ Spinna is available for free download at the following sites Soundcloud | MixCloud – or you could just play it here while you pursue Muphoric Sounds.

The Best of MdCL Mix by DJ Spinna by Tru Thoughts

DJ Karizma is up there with my favourite DJs — that would be Spinna and Theo Parrish. Kaytronik Section L Set is fresh! Hearing this mix from the super talented Baltimore native, all I wanted to do was get up and dance. Containing all the elements of dance fusions, house, electronic, funky James Brown, while keeping it futuristic with sounds to keep you moving. Check it out below and get your free download! Like his Karizma‘s page on Facebook, so you’ll be up on what’s next!

KAYTRONIK SECTION L SET by KaytroniK

Back in 2007, Onra visited his father’s homeland, Vietnam and was inspired by their music. He incorporated Chinese symphonies and J Dilla-esque beats and came up with the collection  Chinoiseries. Now with Chinoiseries Pt. 2, he continues on his quest to unearth Chinese gems and mix them to hip hop, future soul, and electronic sounds. Very much looking forward to hearing the full project, which hits stores on All City Records, November 15.

Check out the video trailer below, shot by Op Sudasna and get the free download of  “A New Dynasty“  via rcrdlbl.

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

We’ve been sprinkling music by Applejac a.k.a. Uncle Shecky for quite some time and its as though we’re on a sojourn as he takes on bigger and more independent projects. Playin’ Favorites is like swallowing a dose of cool, fusing various sounds and genres, taken from yesteryear yet making it progressive and new. Applejac says with the release of Playin’ Favorites, “It is my hope I can expose the masses to my super talented friends and also educate the younger fans by putting a new twist on these classic tunes.” That is exactly what you get when listening to an Applejac production—an education. The album features the talents of The Baldhead Queen, Tonya Dyson, Ramona, Rogiers, Reggie B, and Carmen Rodgers. Check out “You Meet My Approval” featuring Reggie B. which has a little funky Steve Arrington vibe to it. Then head over to Applejac’s Bandcamp page to get yourself your dose of cool.

Tai Allen, New York based poet, and his production crew Vicelounge, have put together their second EP Love Music, which continues on the themes of love. When listening to Love Music, you’re reminded about the vibrations that come with love and lust. Tai, along with his partner Jonn Nubian chose to capture sounds from the 90s—an era when hip hop came of age and British trip-hop emerged. Sonically, Love Music combines of these musical elements into moods of life through sounds. You’ll find yourself singing and/or humming these tunes to yourself; they’re that infectious! You can download a copy of Love Music from the Vicelounge Bandcamp page. Enjoy.

This grammy nominated singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, shows us that she cannot be boxed into a category. With every release we are exposed to a different side of Muhsinah. With Gone, it is vulnerability and weakness in the face of love, which comes across as begin her darkest composition to date. The opening track, “One” has a dramatic feel, as she enjoys the man in her life, while the synths create a sense of confusion. “Stop & Go” have these shattering drums as Muhsinah‘s emotive delivery of wanting the courage to leave a situation, yet stands in a fearful of love, which carries a level of confusion. The more rock infused songs are reminiscent of Res, with melodies that are sweet yet hard in the same breadth. This is a great treat; so get your free download from Muhsinah‘s SpinShop website at www.muhsinah.spinshop.com. All materials are written, composed, arranged, produced, performed, recorded, and mixed by Muhsinah, except tracks 4 and 5, where guitars are performed by Daniel Montagu Smith.

“Stop & Go”

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