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 see 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.
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!
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“ viarcrdlbl.
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!
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 Arringtonvibe 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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“[The] thing is, you’ve been hearing him for years and probably didn’t even know it… [Thundercat] is the other half of my brain in the studio,” says Flying Lotus of his musical partner Thundercat. This man is awesome; his beats are eclectic, masculine, and simply are the future. Starting out as a bassist and now has evolved into a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and rapper. Versatility at its best! Below is a free download of Shenanigans Pt. 1, which is mixed by Flying Lotus, a 30-minute sojourn through the depths of Thundercat. Bring on part 2! His debut album, The Golden Age of Apocalypse (check out “Daylight” below) is scheduled to drop Aug. 30th on Brainfeeder.
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South London producer Paul White, who is known largely for his hip hop futuristic beats has gotten reworked by Michael “DJ HouseShoes” Buchanan (can I just say, I love that name!). Taking Paul White‘s recent beats and reworking them into original rap productions with the likes of Guilty Simpson, plus unreleased beats and remixes of A Tribe Called Questand Nas, this 30-minute mixtape is an ode to classic hip hop with a difference, and the difference being the future. Through his House Shoes Recordings, DJ HouseShoes pressed the now classic Jay Dee – Unreleased EP (1996), Phat Kat – Dedication To The Suckers 12 (1999), and Houseshoes – Loungin’ (2004). What’s cool about this project, is you get to hear these rappers in a different musical light; and it works. Check it out below. Rapping With Paul White hits stores August 22 on a 2 LP release and digital formats. You can get the download below or here.
Browsing through photographer Amanda Lopez’s blog the other day, I saw a beautiful young woman among her usual interesting subjects. Not only did I notice the sister’s fashion sense, but I also noticed she was a singer. After listening to one of her songs it was easy to see that this young vocalist has talent! Mara Hruby hails from my hometown Oakland, has performed as a backup singer in the Bay Area for other artists, and started to perform as a solo artist in 2010.
From her Eyes is an incredible album of remakes of classic songs by some greats such as Stereolab, D’Angelo, Jamiroquai, and the legendary Bob Marley. Already working with the likes of Jesse Boykins III and the group Sartorial Sounds, which includes Theo Martins, Joe Kenneth, Joshua Bennett, Rinaldy Alverez, and Melo-X, shows that Mara is a force to be reckoned with. Listening to her voice I hear great range and melody that is reminiscent of singers like Natalie Cole and Esthero. Having performed in NYC and several cities in the Bay Area such as San Jose and Oakland, we not only learn of Mara‘s great taste in music but we also hear her vocal styling to back it up! She debuted her video for the cover of Mos Def’s “The Panties” to acclaim. My favorite tracks from the EP are her remakes of “Send it On” by D’Angelo and “Alright” by Jamiroquai. Check them out below and keep your ears open for this young musical mind.
Can we say PITTSBURGH?! Late last year, we were put onto an artist by the name of Bobby Blunt(a Virginia native, residing in Pittsburgh, who did the creative Petey’s Soapbox EP, inspired by the shock jock Petey Greene) and later the collaborative project, under the name of Huey Neutron, which included an producer and emcee by the name of Vex. Now with their second track together, “Love Is,” they touch on the universality of love and it’s complexities. The track is reminiscent of Slum Village‘s “You Know What Love Is,” where on “Love Is,” the keys wiry sound act as the confusion one feels when they are trying to understand what is happening to them emotionally. The solution to the confusion, really is to surrender. Check it out below.
How often do we come across artists and think, “Why haven’t they blown up yet?!” What is it? Is it that Tawiahis a musical puritan not wanting to compromise her true self and her art? Or are the masses simply, but tragically deaf? After hearing Tawiahsanging in this live performance video, you will understand what I’m saying. No stranger to the business, she was part of Mark Ronson‘s touring live band, a backing vocalist for Corinne Bailey Rae, and has collaborated with a host of underground producers such as Maddslinky aka Zed Bias on his Make a Change album — a track entitled “Further Away” and then earlier this year, Maddslinky made 10 versions of the said track (if you missed that, you can check it out here). She also released an EP last year In Jodi’s Bedroom, (available on iTunes) which brought in traditional soul, funk, and alternative UK sounds, with gorgeous vocals laid over each track. On this live video below Tawiah shows off her power. Check it out.
Tawiah is giving away a free download on her website. So go pick up the single “Sweet Me.”
Last September, we introduced you to Los Angeles based producer, Moonsatellite where we described his sounds as being interconnected. On his s t r a n g e d i m e n s i o n s EP he goes deeper with interconnectivity bringing sounds of jazz fusion, afro-beats, and a tinge of R&B (at the 3 minute mark, I think the vocal heard is Marvin Gaye), and true hip hop. The fusion of styles created here is quite wonderful to listen to and it seems with every production, we hear Moonsatellite covering dimensions that aren’t necessary strange, but the divine path he is supposed to take. Check out s t r a n g e d i m e n s i o n s below. You won’t be disappointed.
About a week ago, I was in the mood to hear some Van Hunt, wondering when his next album would be. Then a few days later, an email hits my inbox from his PR informing me of the aforementioned track “June” and a new album what were you hoping for? is on the way. (I only wish I had this kind of hindsight for D’Angelo!). ”June” reminds me of vintage Prince, simple in formation, with a whimsical and mellow flow that’s perfect for summer days. what were you hoping for?, his third studio album, is scheduled to release September 29th. Looking forward to hearing it, as he always has a fun way of giving us real funk, soul, with a hard twist of rock. You can get the free download of “June” below.
“June”
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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?”
South London producer 
