Recent Posts
- You Should Know: Andreya Triana (Video Interview/Soul Bounce)
- Black Cab Sessions: Solange performing “Bad Girls”
- New Album Releases: May 7, 2013
- You Should Know: Onra (Video Interview/The Daily Motive)
- New Video: Janelle Monae & Erykah Badu – “Q.U.E.E.N.”
- New Album Release: April 23, 2013
- New Video: Leonard Friend – “Every Woman”
- New Album Releases: April 9, 2013
- New Music: The Hood Internet – “Suit and Commercial” (Justin Timberlake x Daft Punk)
- NYC: Alt-soul singer Maiysha performs at The Living Room, Mar. 29
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New Album Releases: May 7, 2013
Noteworthy releases for today:
Fitz and The Tantrums, MORE THAN JUST A DREAM (soul-influenced indie pop) [Elektra Records]
Little Boots, NOCTURNES (pop-disco-house) [On Repeat Records]
You Should Know: Onra (Video Interview/The Daily Motive)
You Should Know is my latest segment on showcasing new artists, musicians, bands, duos, singer-songwriters, emcees and DJs. Mostly independent artists, yet good music all around. So sit back and read all about them.
I first heard of Parisian beatmaker Onra in early 2011, while living in Brooklyn, New York. He had released his newest LP Long Distance the previous summer via All City Records. The album is a mix of electronic music, “vintage funk and R&B, all filtered through hip-hop’s rhythmic, lyrical bounce;” it features tracks with Oliver DaySoul, fellow French beatmaker Walter Mecca, and T3 from Slum Village, as well as soul singer Reggie B and keyboard player Buddy Sativa (whom Onra recently completed a free form jazz-electro project with called Yatha Bhuta Jazz Combo).
In 2007 and 2011, respectively, Onra (born Arnaud Bernard) released Chinoiseries and Chinoiseries Pt.2 on All City Records, instrumental LPs created from Chinese music records he found in China, Thailand and Viet Nam. The producer is French with Vietnamese ancestry. In 2012, Onra released his newest EP Deep In The Night – a five-track electro-hip hop mix via Fool’s Gold Records; the EP also appeared on my Top 30 Music Releases of 2012.
Below peep the video interview The Daily Motive conducted a few months ago, where Onra speaks on music, DJing, his J Dilla influence and a whole lot more.
ONRA INTERVIEW | The Daily Motive from Mateo Vega on Vimeo.
Onra’s discography:
- Deep In The Night (EP) Fool’s Gold Records 2012
- Chinoiseries 2 (CD, 2LP) All City Records 2011
- Long Distance (12″, CD, 2LP) All City Records 2010
- 1.0.8 (LP) Favorite Recordings 2009
- Byron & Onra -The Big Payback (12″, CD) Just Like Vibes 2007
- Chinoiseries (7”, CD, 2LP) Favorite Recordings 2007
- Onra & Quetzal Present “Tribute” Bo Bun Records 2006
New Video: Janelle Monae & Erykah Badu – “Q.U.E.E.N.”
“Welcome to the living museum where legendary rebels throughout history have been frozen in suspended animation,“that’s the intro to Janelle Monaé’s latest video for her new single “Q.U.E.E.N.” featuring Erykah Badu (aka Badula Oblongata). The jazz-funk-hip-hop mash is the lead track from Monaé’s upcoming sophomore release The Electric Lady due out this summer via Atlantic Records.
Directed by Alan Ferguson, the visual stars Monáe and Badu as thawed-out rebels who throw a dance-party in a futuristic museum, where she and the rest of her ‘Wondaland’ crew show off their latest dance moves. Such a dope video! Watch it below and be sure to cop “Q.U.E.E.N.” via iTunes.
New Music: The Hood Internet – “Suit and Commercial” (Justin Timberlake x Daft Punk)
Chicago-based production duo The Hood Internet mashes up two unlikely artists to create new sounds, which is sometimes better than the original tracks. Here they pair Justin Timberlake’s latest “Suite & Tie” with Daft Punk’s 2005 Gap commercial that featured actress Juliette Lewis.
New Music: Quadron – “Hey Love”
Hailing from Denmark, electro duo Quadron, consisting of producer and multi-instrumentalist Robin Hannibal and vocalist CoCo, releases new tune entitled “Hey Love.” The bouncy electro-pop single is from their yet untitled June 4th release, due out this summer.
New Video: AlunaGeorge – “Attracting Flies”
UK electro-soul duo AlunaGeorge puts their own seedy spin on childhood fairy tales in new video “Attracting Flies.” With the hook “little white fairy tales and little white lies,” the group re-enacts scenes from Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, as well as Rapunzel. The visual is directed by Emil Nava, who also created Jessie J.’s “Do It Like a Dude” and Price Tag” videos.
I wrote about the crew in January with the teaser single “Diver,” the sexy R&B-electro tune from their forthcoming LP Body Music. “Attracting Flies” is a follow-up to previous songs such as “You Know You Like It” and “Your Drums, Your Love.” Body Music releases on July 1.
New Video: Charlie Winston – “Speak To Me”
Growing up with folk-musician parents in a musical theatre environment, English singer-songwriter Charlie Winston brings a dance-pop quirkiness ala Jamie Lidell to the visual of his latest song, “Speak to Me.” Included in the clip: beatboxing, drumming on a toilet and Winston in a straightjacket. Any questions? Genre: Electro-Pop-Soul | Album: Running Still (released in the U.S. on Jan. 28, 2013)
Album Review: UK producer Positive Flow shares FLOW LINES, Tokyo Dawn debut
UK based musician and producer Positive Flow released his latest LP Flow Lines in November of last year, his first for Tokyo Dawn Records. Dropping six years after 2006′s Positivity, this album is a “rich tapestry” of future soul and nu-jazz, with elements of funk and electronica as well. Featuring guest vocalists like British soulster Omar, to Cinematic Orchestra’s Heidi Vogel, to artists like Vanessa Freeman, Stacy Epps, Colonel Red and more, one can enjoy organic beats, smooth blends and an array of musical influences. Jesse Reuben Wilson is the multi-instrumentalist behind Positive Flow.
Recommended spins: “Hold On,” “Children of the Sun,” “My Prediction,” “Orange & Brown” and “In the Garden of Your Life.” Preview “Hold On” below or listen to it on Tokyo Dawn’s website or purchase it all on iTunes.
Flow Lines Tracklist:
01. “Children Of The Sun” feat. Heidi Vogel
02. “My Prediction” feat. Omar
03. “Orange & Brown”
04. Hold On feat. Colonel Red
05.” Tapestries Of My Mind” feat. Andre Espeut
06. “Phaedra’s Flight”
07. “Push” feat. Stacy Epps
08. “Do What I Do” feat. Omar
09. “In The Garden Of Your Life” feat. Vanessa Freeman
10. “Axis”
11. “Stronger Than A Mountain” feat. Heidi Vogel
12. “Look Around Any Corner” feat. Sharlene Hector
13. “The Quest Parts 1 & 2″ feat. Tesia Rolle
14. “Capoeira”
15. “Universal Truth” feat. Andre Espeut & Heidi Vogel
Shabazz Palaces & THEESatisfaction co-headline spring tour
Experimental-rap duo Shabazz Palaces and fellow Seattle crew THEESatisfaction is set to co-headline a North American tour starting this spring.
Shabazz Palaces released their experimentally clever debut Black Up in 2011, while Catherine Harris-White and Stasia Irons (who appeared on Black Up) dropped their proper LP awE naturalE last year. According to Pitchfork, “both groups will collaborate throughout the tour.”
Both artists are also featuring music in the “Visual Art & Music, Post-Hip-Hop Era” exhibit at Brooklyn’s Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, showing now through May 26. The exhibit also includes sounds by Blitz the Ambassador, Flying Lotus, Seu Jorge, Just A Band and Spoek Mathambo, to name a few. Details about artist talks, performances, block parties and more are available on MoCADA’s website.
After the tour dates, check out the “eMERGING: Visual Art & Music” exhibit video at MoCADA.
Shabazz Palaces:
04-19 Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line Music Cafe *
04-20 Madison, WI – University of Wisconsin – The Sett *
04-21 Grinnell, IA – Grinnell College *
04-22 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick *
04-23 Toronto, Ontario – Lee’s Palace *
04-24 Ithaca, NY – The Haunt *
04-25 Middletown, CT – Wesleyan University – Eclectic House *
04-26 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom *
04-27 Washington, DC – Black Cat *
04-29 Charlottesville, VA – The Southern Cafe & Music Hall *
05-01 Memphis, TN – Rumba Room *
05-02 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater *
05-03 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s *
05-04 Austin, TX – Red 7 *
05-06 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge *
05-07 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge *
05-08 Boise, ID – Neurolux
05-09 Victoria, British Columbia – Upstairs Cabaret +
05-10 Vancouver, British Columbia – Fortune Sound Club
* with THEESatisfaction
+ with Monolithium
[via Pitchfork]
eMERGING :: Visual Art and Music in a Post-Hip-Hop Era from MoCADA on Vimeo.
Day 24 of 28 Days: Dido – “Thank You” (1999)
Officially released to radio in late 2000, “Thank You” appeared on British singer Dido’s debut LP No Angel in 1999. It also featured in two movie soundtracks: 1998′s Sliding Doors starring Gwyneth Paltrow, and the Emmy Award-winning HBO film If These Walls Could Talk 2 in 2000, co-starring Sharon Stone and Ellen Degeneres.
Dido returns with Girl Who Got Away on March 26, the long-awaited follow-up to 2008′s Safe Trip Home. I’ve long loved Dido because she’s so melodic and reflective in her songs. Plus, she writes a lot about love and lust and relationships; which are concurrent themes in my life, most of the time.
New Music: Metabeats feat. Vanity Jay – “Passport”
UK producer Metabeats releases a “future funk and soul” treat for your ears called “Passport” featuring singer Vanity Jay. The song is from the beatmaker’s forthcoming summer project via Associated Minds.
[Via GiantStep]
NYC: The Roots, Talib Kweli to honor Prince at Carnegie Hall, Mar. 7
NEW YORK CITY – Benefiting music programs for under-privileged youth, The Roots, Talib Kweli, D’Angelo, Bilal and more are set to honor the music of Prince at Carnegie Hall on March 7, 2013.
“The concert will mark the ninth year that Michael Dorf, the founder of City Winery, has mounted a show to raise funds for education programs serving the poor,” says the New York Times.
This year, the programs benefiting from the event are the American Symphony Orchestra, Church Street School for Music and Art, Fixing Instruments for Kids in School, GRAMMY in the Schools, Young Audiences New York, Little Kids Rock and the Center for Arts Education.
In a statement Dorf admits: “Prince is one of the most prolific songwriters in my collection, and he makes my Top 10 when I think about the artists who have truly shaped modern music.” An eclectic array of musicians will reinterpret the catalog of the artist, including Bettye LaVette, Blind Boys of Alabama, Citizen Cope and Alice Smith, Elvis Costello, Princess (feat. Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum) and Sandra Bernhard.
Past tributes have been for The Rolling Stones, The Who, R.E.M., Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Neil Young and Bob Dylan.
This year’s event will be curated by drummer, producer and resident “Prince-fanatic” Amir “Questlove” Thompson. Tickets start at $48. To purchase, visit Carnegie Hall’s box office or buy online.
[Via The Revivalist]
New Video: ArinMaya + Theimagination – “Do You Think”
Representing Brooklyn by way of Chicago, ArinMaya is the singer-songwriter behind “Do You Think,” the dope soundscape and visual from her latest project Her Imagining, alongside L.A. bred producer Theimagination. “Her Imagining” is the duo’s group name too.
Combining elements of nu-jazz and nu-soul, the collaborative LP is a fusion of influences from classic soul to electro soul with experimentation to boot. I think I hear some 4Hero, Sa-Ra and Ras G production inspiration from T.IM. With personal projects like her 2011 debut Let the Love Come; the hip and beautiful cover of Diana Ross’ ”Love Hangover” in 2010; as well as The Sound of ArinMaya EP in 2010, the talented singer is proving she’s ready for a pretty cosmic 2013.
New Music: Autre Ne Veut – “Play by Play” + Tour Dates
Artist: Brooklyn avant-pop group Autre Ne Veut (pronounced ”oh-truh ne-vuh”) | Song: ” Play by Play” | Genre: New age/experimental R&B (similar to The Weeknd but slightly darker) | Album: Anxiety (due out February 29) [Software Label/Mexican Summer].
Autre Ne Veut hits the road at the end of the month with Canadian duo Majical Cloudz.
[Via Pitchfork]
Bonobo teams up with fellow Brit for trippy visuals
![Bonobo's new album "The North Borders" releases worldwide April 1st; in North America on April 2nd. [Ninja Tunes]](http://www.uncloudedbyambition.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Bonobo_The-North-Borders.jpg)
Simon Green, better known as DJ and producer Bonobo has released the video for “Cirrus,” the first single and video from his sixth studio album The North Borders via Ninja Tunes.
Directed by British animator Cyriak Harris, the “trippy” visuals is a montage of images, weird and ordinary alike featuring automobiles, families, kids and various other complex items of interest. Bonobo’s new album The North Borders will release worldwide on April 1st; in the U.S. on April 2nd.
[via TheVerge]
New Video: Jamie Lidell – “You Naked”
A few days ago electro-funk singer Jamie Lidell premiered his new music video “You Naked,” the third track from his upcoming self-titled album – out February 18/19 on Warp.
According to Jamie’s label, “The video sees Lidell performing inside a giant light cube, created using realtime projected graphics triggered by the movement of his microphone stand. The technology was conceived by London-based studio Flat-e, who shot and directed the video without any post-production effects, and have also worked with him on the forthcoming solo live show and artwork.”
Lidell released another song from the album last week, “why_ya_why;” as the lead single “What a Shame” was presented late last year.
[Via Consequence of Sound]
New Music: Dido – “No Freedom [j.viewz Remix]
Artist: English singer-songwriter Dido | Song: “No Freedom [j.viewz Remix]” | Genre: trip-hop, lounge | Album: From Dido’s upcoming LP Girl Who Got Away (out March 26, 2013) via Cheeky/Sony BMG
To hear original version of “No Freedom,” click here.
HOUSTON: Bruno Mars Playing RodeoHouston, Mar. 7
Pop star Bruno Mars will play Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Thursday, March 7, 2013, at Reliant Stadium. On his latest album Unorthodox Jukebox, the Grammy-winning artist issues a varied blend of musical styles; his sophomore release via Atlantic Records.
Two years ago the “Grenade” singer delivered Doo-Wops & Hooligans, a slightly G-rated project full of sweet and unconditional love songs such as “Just The Way You Are” and “Marry You,” however, Unorthodox Jukebox – ringing in at only 34 minutes, is straight up and down about S-E-X. From “making love like gorillas” to “your sex takes me to paradise“ on lead single “Locked Out of Heaven,” Mars makes no bones about his life in the pop star lane. Along with production team The Smeezingtons (songwriter Philip Lawrence and engineer Ari Levine), the songwriter creates music that not only connects with his audience, but shows his vulnerable side too; as shown on “Treasure,” “When I Was Your Man” and “If I Knew.”
Having written Billboard chart-toppers for artists such as B.o.B (“Nothin’ on You”), Travie McCoy (“Billionaire”) and Cee Lo Green (“Fuck You”), Bruno Mars continues his knack for churning out hit-making songs. (original review appears at SSNYC).
Bruno Mars Live on Jimmy Kimmel performing “When I Was Your Man”
Pt. 2 – “My Teenage Love Affair With Music”
Last February I did a month-long project called “29 Days of My Teenage Love Affair with Music” – which was music I absolutely adored between the ages of 13 and 19, the years between 1988 to 1994. These were not only full-length albums, but single cuts, non-mainstream tracks, cassettes, one-hit wonders, movie soundtracks and the like, that I would play over and over and over again.
That being said, I’m doing it again this year! However, this time around I’m moving forward to ages 20 to 24-years old –- the years of 1995 to 1999. A period where my musical palette continued to grow from R&B to rock to hip-hop to neo soul. And to be honest, a moment in time when music was pretty dope. But especially, a point in my life where not only did my musical taste change, but my personal life did as well. I joined the military and moved away from home for the first time; got my first tattoo; fell in love especially hard, got engaged, broke up; met Morris Day; spent three-months in Haiti; started college; bungee jumped; saw Prince in concert for the first time; moved to Japan; and fell in love even harder. There were good times and not-so-good times, such is life. But the love for music never stopped.
With all the adult changes in my life, naturally my song choices matured too. I went from loving “Dial My Heart” by The Boys in ’88 to adoring “Truly Madly Deeply” by Savage Garden in ‘97. Music is a universal language. No matter where I’ve lived or whom I’ve met, music has somehow found a way into the conversation almost immediately. My hope is that all of you will go down memory lane with me and feel the universal effect music from the 90’s still has on music of today. So feel free to post comments, share it, tweet it, pin it if like.
The first “28 Days” post will begin this Friday, February 1st.
Video: Leonard Friend – “Suite & Tie” [New Jack Swing Remix]
![Leonard Friend (aka Alex Feder) [2012]](http://www.uncloudedbyambition.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Leonard-Friend.jpg)
R&B pop singer Leonard Friend (aka Alex Feder) brings a New Jack Swing vibe to Justin Timberlake’s dapper “Suite & Tie” tune featuring Jay-Z. The Los Angeles-based artist and dancer dons his signature bright pink shoes and naturally, incorporates a few moves to boot. To hear the full track, click here.
Also, check out Feder’s opinion piece on the mixed reviews to J.T’s. first single in six years, via The Huffington Post. Personally, I like “Suite & Tie.” It’s throwback R&B with a modern twist. Do I love it? Not yet, but it is growing on me. Leonard Friend’s new EP, LXLF releases Feb. 25.
New Video: L.A.’s Rare Times – “No One’s Looking Out”
Artist: Four-piece collective Rare Times | Video: “No One’s Looking Out” | Album: Missionary (first of three EPs, first is due Feb. 25) | Genre: Groovy, melodic, funky kinda vibe
[Via TheFader]
New Album Releases: January 15, 2013
Noteworthy releases for today.
A$AP Rocky, LONG.LIVE.A$AP, (alt-rap) [Polo Grounds/RCA]
Dag Savage (Exile & Johaz), DAG SAVAGE EP (hip-hop) [Dirty Science]
Jessie Ware, IF YOU’RE NEVER GONNA MOVE {EP} (electro-pop-soul) [Cherrytree/Interscope]
Lee Fields, LET’S TALK IT OVER {Reissue} (soul/R&B) [Truth & Soul Records]
Teena Marie, BEAUTIFUL {last recorded album; completed by her daughter, singer Alia Rose} (R&B) [Ume Records]
Ziggy Marley, IN CONCERT (roots reggae) [Tuff Gong]
New Music Monday: AlunaGeorge – “Diver”
Aluna Francis and George Reid make up electro-R&B duo AlunaGeorge. “Diver” is a two-minute teaser from their forthcoming debut Body Music, due out in June via Island Records. The two have been on many people’s radar since last summer with their futuristic pop-soul sound on singles like “Your Drums, Your Love” and “You Know You Like It.”
According to BBC1, the London-based artists met when George (the producer) got in contact with Aluna (the singer) offering to remix a track for her old band, who were named My Toys Like Me. AlunaGeorge’s style is minimalist and slinky; and I like it! You can listen to a full version of “Diver” below the video.
