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.
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.
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!
Good artists simply find each other and in this case it’s the union of rap group The Primeridian with producer Tall Black Guy withDarling 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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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
The second video from their Evil Christian Cop: The Great Mixtapes, “Quickstand” demands to know “Who do you love?” With Jack Davey sporting gothic style gear, and see-through plastic, stranded out in a hot desert, with her counterpart Brook D’Leau styled a la Clockwork Orange, while iLLaV8r‘sDef Sound kicks his verse comparing a woman’s body to Dali as the group ebb around. J*Davey‘s videos are always a visual treat, pushing boundaries either in theme or composition. The video is directed by The Ports.
Although I’m from the UK, watching footage like this brings back a happy sense of nostalgia. Every generation has their moments in music that makes us look back and remember the ill-fated fashion, the animated dance, the attitude, and just some good-arse music. ”A Long Time” transports us to a late 80s local Detroit TV show in Highland Park called The New Dance Show, hosted by a Donny Simpson type guy named R.J. Watkins. Making a name for himself in nostalgia, Mayer Hawthorne gives us sounds from eras of music that should not be forgotten, and definitely should continue to be made. Love this song and the various idiosyncrasies displayed in the video (the Count Dracular and the guy with a giant bluetooth-like device attached to his ear!). Check it out below.
Oftentimes when listening to a Roy Ayers record, you often wonder what the story is behind a track. When listening to “Poo Poo La La” and “Dontcha Say No” and “I Wanna Touch You Baby,” I can’t help but think, Uncle Roy is one smooth player! These were tunes that breathed sex, love, life, sensuality, with unparalleled musicianship. His fusion of jazz with an R&B sensibility created timeless music, that many have sought to emulate. A whole genre of music — neo soul — was born from his sheer influence. Simply put, there’s no other like Roy Ayers!
What is TheRoy Ayers Project? A documentary about the life, music, and philosophy of the spirit of Roy Ayers, bringing artists together to express themselves through their art to capture the spirit of this outstanding musician. Combining live performances with Roy Ayers himself as they perform in venues across the US, The Roy Ayers Project is going to be the documentary to watch to gain understanding of an important artist. Check out the trailer below, directed by Haylow Overby and Ariel Nuñez?with music provided by Detroit-based producer, Tall Black Guy.
A group that eats together, stays together — and it is clear that Radiohead are eating together, and their food is music. This live performance is perfect; to the point of not even sounding like a live performance but one that is orchestrated on a CD after months and months of practice, tweaking, and labour. Flawless.
The live footage below was recently filmed for a BBC special called From the Basement by producer Nigel Godrich, which originally started out as a podcast and was later to turned into a television series of in-studio performances featuring artists such as The White Stripes, Beck, and Gnarls Barkley, to name a few. Radiohead perform “Staircase,” doubling up on the rhythm with Portishead drummer Clive Deamer.
This second video is their last full performance on From the Basement in 2008, where they performed their entire In Rainbows album in-studio in 2008. It’s pretty incredible. Enjoy!
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.”
Back in January, we were put onto On-Point Records, based in Belgium, where we introduced these young guys by the name of Uphigh Collective which consists of Title and Delvis (if you missed it, you can check them out here). Now another duo comes from the label by the name of Jazz Neversleeps and JtotheC, with their 12″ single “Take Care of You.” This track has all the elements of a sleepy dubstep tune, but then these mellow vocals enter, turning it into an incredible vibe, making me miss D’Angelo even more. I wish I had more to tell you about these guys, but sometimes, you just have to let the music speak for itself. Check it out, then purchase from iTunes.
Nikka Costa is no stranger to the music business, and did not enter mainstream consciousness until the release of her Everybody Got Their Something album back in 2001 — an album that was produced by UK producer Mark Ronson and her husband, Australian producer Justin Stanley. The title track and “Like a Feather” were hits in the US and were featured on soundtracks and ad campaigns. She hasn’t stopped working since then and releasedcan’tneverdidnothin’ in 2005 and Pebble to a Pearl in 2008 to critical acclaim. Now with Pro*Whoa!, her 8th independent release, which is the first of a series of EP’s to expect from the funky soul singer. Pro*Whoa! delves into a more indi pop sound but keeping her signature Nikka Costa vocals in tact. Check out the “Nylons in a Rip,” which is available for free download on Facebook. Pro*Whoa! hit the stores today, and is available on iTunes.
“Nylons in a Rip”
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Check tour dates below to find out when she’ll be in your town!
Tour Dates
June
22- San Francisco, CA- The Independent
23- West Hollywood- The Roxy
24- San Diego, CA- Anthology
25- Hermosa Beach, CA- Saint Rocke
July
13- Philadelphia, PA- World Café Live
14- New York, NY- Highline Ballroom
15- Cambridge, MA- Middle East Upstairs
16- Baltimore, MD- Artscape Festival
17- Vienna, VA- Jammin Java
August
10- Bethlehem, PA- Musikfest Café
12- Portsmouth, VA- Ntelos Pavillion
13- North Myrtle Beach, SC- House of Blues
14- Atlanta, GA- Chastain Park Ampitheatre
18- Minneapolis, MN- Varsity Theater
20- Davenport, IA- River Roots Live
21- Chicago, IL- Lincoln Hall
Tanya Auclair is one of those quintessential artists, a non-conformist pushing themselves through boundaries to move out of comfort-zones. With the release of her debut EP last July, Thrum, which brought in sounds of the doowop and electronica with raw drum and guitar melodies, it was no surprise that she ended up collaborating with Tomatom the French aka Yult, with The Animal Inside back in February of this year. Now with the release of her second EP, Origami, where the themes take from the Ancient art form of the triptych, which is three-part panels of pictures or carvings placed together — in the instance of Origami — it is the stories about making (Origami), change, (Sverige) and chance (Fluke), basically describing Tanya‘s musical journey. Her use of the ukulele, a microkorg, bass, the mbira, and her voice, give us these uncanny sounds that are refreshing to hear during these times of over production. Check out “Fluke” short video below, which is directed by Eleni Savvidou, then head over to her Bandcamp page to get a free download. First 1000 downloads are free; so act now!
Wow! When I see talent like this, makes me wish I had the ability to “make” music! Taking the Roy Davis Jr. soulful house all-time classic, “Gabriel” featuring Peven Everett on vocals, Tanya Auclair strips it down and builds it back up, turning it into a lullaby. In the video, directed by Will Hank, you get to see Tanya play the various musical elements as the track builds. I love the Radiohead-esque airiness towards the end.
Tanya Auclair will be releasing her new EP Origamion June 13th. Will keep you posted! In the meantime, check out her remix of “Gabriel.”
“I’m a recovering, undercover, over lover. Recovering from a love I can’t get over.” Such a revealing and vulnerable song on how the mind turns things around in ones head, till there’s no other way to describe the condition than it be an addiction one needs to kick. Donning a tattered nightdress and wild hair, Ms. Badu goes back to her contemporary dance roots in an abstract dance, as a form of recovery. This woman would pop, break, and make it from scratch for him. As I always seem to end my posts on Erykah… I love this woman!
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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.
