Joss Stone - Water for Your Soul

The concept of Joss Stone's seventh studio release began to take shape following the formation of SuperHeavy, the multicultural, cross-generational group that released an awkward if free-spirited album in 2011, just before The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2 materialized. Among Stone's bandmates was Damian Marley, who implored the singer to cut a reggae album. Stone was hesitant at first but conceded, perhaps realizing that a drastic switch in her vocal approach would not be required. (She wouldn't even have to avoid using the word "soul" in the album's title.) More importantly, Marley wasn't fooling. He followed through and co-produced this with Stone. The duo devised a set of songs that often uses reggae as a foundation but incorporates a familiar mix of soul, rock, and roots music with light accents from tablas, Irish fiddles, and flamenco guitar. Even when the album deviates most from the singer's previous releases -- specifically in "Way Oh," during its chorus and forced-sounding references to a "buffalo soldier," likely a nod to Marley's father -- Water for Your Soul always sounds like Joss Stone. Her voice remains in debt to classic soul as much as ever. Additionally, she continues to switch from emotion to emotion with full-bore conviction. From one song to another, there are some extreme swings in sentiment. In "Let Me Breathe," she begs for release from a stifling relationship she cannot resist. She follows it with the exasperated "Cut the Line" -- fluid and dubwise, the album's song with the most surface appeal -- where "I can't get over how you're shutting me out" is delivered with the same amount of "help me out here" force. While one can always sense the pain and joy in the mere sound of Stone's voice, some of the songs' lines provoke head scratching rather than knowing nods. Through deep, repeated listening, the album increasingly resembles ragtag emoting. Heard passively, it's all pleasant summertime listening.

 

 

Torrent link

Fat Freddy's Drop - Bays (2015)

If you’re already quite familiar with FFD’s genre-splicing and casual beat-dropping, then you’ll likely find a lot to love in Bays. Staying mostly true to that dub/reggae ethos, the New Zealanders have managed to suppress any urges to branch out with phoned-in collaborations with guest vocalists (although Food-era Kelis would certainly fit the bill) or mess around too much with the agreed formula. Beginning with ‘Wairunga Blues’, a swinging opener that does enough to pique your interest through its slow-burning and alluring groove, it’s not until the following track ‘Slings and Arrows’ that the album really bursts into life: a quickfire drum fill gives way to an uplifting horn section that’ll no doubt whip audiences worldwide into a mass skank-off.

The techno style of ‘Razor’ is probably the biggest change of pace on the record in terms of the band’s sound – presenting the listener with an unrelenting and rather intimidating beat that insists and insists throughout its eight-minute duration, it’s the mark of producer John Faiumu daring to push the band’s sound to unfamiliar territories. And, as such, it’s a little discomforting – following track ‘Makkan’s chilled, shuffling style is a welcome antidote to the strange and unusual trip that the previous song takes you on; a sensation that’s returned to when the similarly techno-focused ‘Cortina Motors’ kicks into life towards the end of the album.

The centrepiece of this intriguing record, however, is ‘Fish in the Sea’. The second longest track here, Joe Dukie’s Dr. Seuss-leaning lyrics about life’s struggles (“my wife needs a wish from the magic fish”) are enough of a draw to permit his band’s instrumentation to gradually build unnoticed around it, and, whilst it doesn’t explode into any kind of epic crescendo, it’s still the most delightful, smile-inducing moment on the record. You get the feeling that, when performed live, this and many of the songs on Bays could go anywhere – they all serve as a blueprint for the live arena, where FFD really do excel in letting their songs come into their own.

By Sam Moore

 

 

Torrent link

Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings - Give The People What They Want

Originally scheduled to drop last August, the album was instead put on the shelf and the Brooklyn-based band's punishing touring schedule put on hiatus as Jones battled cancer. For a while, the music stopped, but with Jones's successful treatment and a return to the stage confirmed next month in New York, the new album is just the sort of triumphant return the doctor ordered.
The 11-piece Dap-Kings, ably anchored by bassist, bandleader and Daptone Records chief Bosco Mann, again showcase their brand of unbridled soul and funk that has spearheaded the revival of the 1960s and 70s genre, and which has seen them and Jones perform everywhere from the Sydney Opera House to Italy's Umbria Jazz Festival.
It's also a sound that has transcended the fringes thanks to some high-profile collaborations. Fans will know the Dap-Kings had a heavy hand in Amy Winehouse's critically acclaimed Back to Black album of 2006, including credits on hit singles Rehab and You Know I'm No Good. Other collaborations with Michael Buble and Mark Ronson, meanwhile, have put the respective talents of guitarists Binky Griptite and Tommy "TNT" Brenneck, trumpeter David Guy, and tenor and baritone saxophonists Neal Sugarman and Ian Hendrickson-Smith firmly in the spotlight. Jones, however, remains the seductive and supremely talented frontwoman, oozing soul whether she's sticking her middle finger up at a love spurned on You'll Be Lonely, or relaying tales of hope as she does on the laidback and feelgood We Get Along.
There's an impressive diversity in tempo, too. While first single, Retreat!, is an up-tempo stomper and a thundering start to the album, it's a world away from the mellow Making Up and Breaking Up (And Making Up and Breaking Up Over Again), which lets the by now ubiquitous horns really shine. Stranger to My Happiness, meanwhile, is a playful number that sees Jones sing over a low-flung sax lick and chanting backing vocals that add a sharpness to her melodic command.
If there's anything to lament with Give the People What They Want, it's the album's length. Clocking in at about 34 minutes, the adventure is over all too soon. Given the challenges surrounding the album's release, though, it's a small and insignificant gripe.
The musician-owned and analog-proud Daptone Records continues to demonstrate that some of the best sounding soul and funk music doesn't require the latest digital equipment, and with labelmates such as Jones and the Dap-Kings on hand and now healthy, the future looks bright.

 

Link here

RJD2 - More Is Than Isn't

More Is Than Isn’t, the fifth proper full-length from Philly beatsmith RJD2, opens and closes with the echoes of distant bird chips. A consummate crate-digger and sample hunter, RJ lines the path in between nu-disco, dusty soul, rock ‘n’ roll, spiraling organ runs, and brash hip-hop. As the title suggests, its 16 tracks are a cacophony of aesthetics pulled from the producer’s myriad inspirations. However, unlike other mad scientists, RJD2′s creations are beautiful offshoots of their distorted components rather than monster mashes.

Anchored by three tracks (“Suite 1″, “Suite 2″, and “Suite 3″), the album’s beats are granted ample room to roam before being reeled back into that celestial calm. During each movement, the creation and subsequent destruction of melodies builds tension across the broader piece. On the first half of the album, the soulful “Temperamental” and disco-leaning “Behold, Numbers!” establish the chillout tempos that the 8-bit electronics, heady Middle Eastern vibes, and rock riffs of “Her Majesty’s Socialist Request” are intent on eviscerating. The latter half’s Motown-indebted “See You Leave” (feat. STS and Khari Mateen), “Got There, Sugar”, and electro-pop current of “Love and Go” (feat. Aaron Livingston) serve similar roles.

 

Torrent here

Fat Freddy's Drop - Blackbird (2013)

Let's start from just over halfway through the third album by Fat Freddy's Drop. It's the point where it goes beautifully bonkers, and showcases the band as not only the kings of laid-back and lilting epics but brain-rattling beat and soul mantras.
The first half of Blackbird is just what you expect to hear from Fat Freddy's. But then Soldier starts, soothingly at first, before the pressure drops, an eerie sonar sound takes hold and it plumbs the sonic depths, all with a nod to dub great Augustus Pablo. And from Soldier it ramps up into the pinging future funk of Never Moving, then Mother Mother moves from Caribbean trance done Aotearoa-style with big booming stabs of brass to stealth techno soul, and instrumental finale Bohannon grooves, grinds and bops away, taking you on one last enchanting trip.

 

 

Torrent here

Alice Russell - To Dust

With due respect to fans of Amy Winehouse and Adele, songstress Alice Russell is the true blue-eyed soul queen from across the pond. The Essex singer has been around longer than either. Despite four previous albums, she's better known as a collaborator. Her résumé includes work with Mr. Scruff, DJ Yoda, Nostalgia '77, David Byrne, Fat Freddy's Drop, and most notably with Quantic. She possesses the firepower and range of Aretha Franklin and the intensity of Nina Simone. Russell is not a retro-soul singer. She's a soul singer. Period. She has always been more contemporary than nostalgic, her music imbued with more hip-hop, hard funk, dance music, and even jazz rhythms than Motown worship, but it's still rooted in deep soul and R&B. To Dust, her fifth album produced by longstanding guitarist TM Juke (Alex Cowan), is easily her most consistent offering. While there's a more organic, basic approach at work here, Russell refuses to leave her modernism behind. The brief, fingerpopping opener "A-Z" contains an infectious organ and guitar vamp-note to RZA: sample this. They set up behind a bright, breaking snare, and though it's merely a fun, simple, alphabet recitation that recalls Stax, she and her backing vocalists deliver it like a rave-up. First single "Heartbreaker" -- sequenced after "Heartbreaker, Pt. 2" -- welds rock, soul, and pop together in a tight, unforgettable, hooky melody. Russell's voice is out front, pushing the busted love lyric from the darkness into the light, hitting hard via pure vintage gospel. The song's emotion is messy, raw, unbridled; yet in the grain of her voice it is delivered with an immediacy and honesty that demand empathy from the listener. Speaking of gospel, it is a motivating force here, such as in the stirring ballad "I Loved You," the punchy "Heartbreaker, Pt. 2," and the crisp, moody "Citizens," which builds to shattering conclusion. Russell is a restless artist. Her sense of adventure is indulged in the slippery pop of "Hard and Strong," the funky, keyboard and upright bass swing in "For a While," the synth- and snare-fueled futurism of the title cut, and the anthemic closer, "Different." In Russell's world, music is as important as lyric and vocal delivery. This band, time and again, provides a swaggering, unshakeable foundation that gives her and her backing chorus everything they need -- and more -- to lift off. No matter what she's singing, Russell is invested. Emotion, whether happy, sad, devastated, angry, or ecstatic, is revealed not with mere vocal histrionics, but with Russell trusting her the song to guide her voice, telling her what it needs to resonate organically. To Dust is body music for the spirit, a celebration of all that is human. It is the record that should finally put her over to a mass audience. God knows she deserves it.

Torrent here

Dumpstaphunk - Everybody Want Sum

During the past seven years, New Orleans-based funk outfit Dumpstaphunk has progressed from a fun live act to perhaps Big Easy’s most promising ambassador. All that time together gave the Ivan Neville -fronted group plenty of road-tested material to choose from for its first full-length studio album, Everybody Wants Sum. The band succeeds in creating an intriguing mix of styles and tempos throughout. An ode to New Orleans’ cuisine, “Greasy Groceries,” the lyrically deep “Outta Know Better” and the dirty funk of “Do Ya” anchor the 12-track release, yet it is the deep, in-the-pocket instrumental “Paper Chasing Britney” that truly shows off the swagger of the band’s years of steady gigging. Everybody Wants Sum proves that Dumpstaphunk is just as capable of throwing it down in the studio as it is on stage.

 

link here

Trombone Shorty - For True

Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews' is a rare artist who can draw both the unqualified respect of jazz legends and deliver a high-energy rock show capable of mesmerizing international rock stars and audiences alike. With such an unprecedented mix of rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop and soul, he had to create his own name to describe his signature sound: Supafunkrock! Andrews is the kind of player who comes along maybe once in a generation.
Equally adept on trombone and trumpet, Andrews plays a variety of other instruments as well. He’s applied the same skill sets and fierce discipline to his vocal instrument, to soulful effect, as the album demonstrates. Surrounding Andrews is his band, Orleans Avenue—Mike Ballard on bass, Pete Murano on guitar, Joey Peebles on drums, Dwayne Williams on percussion and Dan Oestreicher on baritone sax—virtuosos every one.
Produced by Galactic's Ben ElIman, For True, features Andrews' band, Orleans Avenue, as well as a string of legendary performers with whom he recently shared the stage, including Jeff Beck, Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz, Ledisi, Warren Haynes, Ivan and Cyril Neville, The Rebirth Brass Band and more. Troy wrote or co-wrote all 14 tracks on the new album including co-writes with Ledisi, Kid Rock, the legendary Lamont Dozier and others.

 

link here

Citizen Cope - The Clarence Greenwood Recordings

Anyone whose CD collection is expansive enough to contain both Mos Def and Jack Johnson will easily find room somewhere between for the sophomore album from Clarence Greenwood, aka Citizen Cope. The singer-songwriter, who got his start playing DJ in the exquisitely laidback Washington D.C. hip-hop outfit Basehead, works hard to smudge the lines that separate genres, throwing together blues, beats and books in socially-conscious jams like "Bullet and a Target" and "D'Artagan's Theme." Meshell Ndegeocello helps out on the low-lit love song "Sideways," while Carlos Santana brings his usual fretboard fireworks to "Son's Gonna Rise."

Cope melds hip-hop with folk, soul & blues...and he feels this combination deeply...his uncommon chords & harmonies combine delicate dissonance with unexpected flashes of beauty." -ROLLING STONE "...Clarence Copeland Greenwood makes groovy, laid-back & sweetly romantic music that is filled with drama, love & cosmic questions." -THE WASHINGTON POST

 

Link here

Jose James - No Begining No End

New York-via-Minneapolis singer José James was once comfortable being the oddball talent of the contemporary jazz scene, an unknown quantity in a world with plenty of known ones; “When it's all said and done, jazz with a capital J is where I'm coming from,” he told Billboard in 2010. “Dexter Gordon, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk-- that's what I really studied when I was a teenager and what really fueled my passion.” While that loyalty manifested itself in releases like 2008’s The Dreamer and 2010’s Blackmagic-- two albums that showcased James’ penchant for genre-stretching while sprinkling in more straightforward covers-- his sound has always been hard to peg.

For his new record No Beginning No End, he’s staying true to that wanderlust, enlisting musicians like bassist Pino Palladino (who famously helped construct neosoul gems like D’Angelo’s Voodoo as well as Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun) and contemporary jazz star Robert Glasper as well as Franco-Moroccan singer Hindi Zahra. While he’s always been one to try stuff out-- he successfully collaborated with Flying Lotus on Blackmagic--on No Beginning No End he finds a way to make an eclectic approach feel unified and whole.

James sings with a steely grace that does in fact recall D’Angelo, a quality only reinforced by Palladino’s fingerprint on songs like the grooving opener “It’s All Over Your Body” and the back half’s soul clap “Make It Right”. But James’ more detached voice isn’t the weapon that D’Angelo’s proves to be, if you’re looking at No Beginning No End as a spiritual cousin of Voodoo or Mama’s Gun. While James’ record prizes overarching vibe over song-to-song substance, it’s more subdued and, in a sense, more unpredictable: the opener cedes to the hand drum cool-out “Sword + Gun”, which builds to the straightforward pop reach on the record, the taut “Trouble”, which in turn slides into Robert Glasper and James’ capital J jazz tribute “Vanguard”, a tribute to the Greenwich Village institution where the song was devised.

Though that sounds like a lot of hopping around-- the poppy, percussive midalbum standout “Come to My Door” is another good example-- No Beginning No End works smoothly as a suite, which is a testament to James shape-shifting nature as well as the session musicians' willingness to stay in a support role. While one could see the temptation to push further into a pop crossover sweet-spot, No Beginning No End contains few heavy brush strokes. Though James’ meandering gets the best of him on the slow shuffle “Bird of Space” and the never-quite-gets-there “Untitled” echo “Do You Feel”, even when he misses his low-key restraint retains its charm.

Though No Beginning No End succeeds in its laid-back approach, make no mistake that James is seeking to bust out of the NPR Jazz world and into the ears of new audiences. In March, he'll play Music Hall of Williamsburg, Bowery Presents' Brooklyn hype thermometer (also playing that month: Sky Ferreira, How to Dress Well, Savages, Django Django), just a 20-minute train ride from the Village Vanguard but a world away. With previous releases, he's earned his heroic acclaim in the tough, tried-and-trusted lanes of contemporary jazz. With No Beginning No End, he's built his own road out.

LINK HERE

Soundtrack - Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels

Writer-director Guy Ritchie's street-tough look at London's decrepit underworld and the unsavory dealings of four best friends whose cockiness is undercut by some serious trouble features a soundtrack of quick dialogue sound clips, a smattering of classic rock, pop, and reggae, and a few current submissions as well. Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves," known most to rock audiences by the Clash cover, is a great piece of political resistance and laidback dub groove. James Brown's "The Payback" and "The Boss" and Iggy and The Stooges "I Wanna Be Your Dog" stake out the sharp end, while the late Dusty Springfield paints the softer corner with "Spooky." Ocean Colour Scene delivers the backwards guitar driven "100 Mile High City," and Stretch's "Why Did You Do It?" is a great recreation of early '70s soul.

Tracklist: 1. Hundred Mile High City - Ocean Colour Scene

2. HortifucKinculturist - Steven Mackintosh

3. Police And Thieves - Junior Murvin

4. Spooky - Dusty Springfield

5. Muppets - P.H. Moriarty/Lenny Mclean/Victor McGuire

6. The Boss - James Brown

7. Walk This Land - E-Z Rollers

8. Blaspheming Barry - Lenny Mclean

9. I Wanna Be Your Dog - The Stooges

10. It's Kosher - Jason Flemyng/Stephen Marcus

11. Why Did You Do It - Stretch

12. I've Been Shot - Steve Sweeny/Frank Harper

13. Oh Girl - Evil Superstars

14. Guns 4 Show Knives 4 A Pro - Nick Moran/Dexter Fletcher

15. Zorba The Greek - John Murphy/David Hughes

16. The Payback - James Brown

17. It's Been Emotional - Vinnie Jones

18. 18 With A Bullet - Pete Wingfield

link here

Cody Chesnutt - Landing One A Hundred

Universally hailed as a thrilling new figure in music for his edgy, lo-fi debut, The Headphone Masterpiece, back in 2002, Cody ChesnuTT is a soul troubadour whose frank, socially conscious ruminations on life continue to challenge popular notions of what modern soul music can look and sound like. Landing On A Hundred, Cody’s second full-length LP, marks his return to the music game after a period of family-man retreat and reflection that did a world of good for him after his meteoric rise to near fame. The title is a reference to the slang saying, “Keeping It One Hundred,” or telling the whole truth, and for lovers of true blue Southern soul this new album is a must-have- the rhythm tracks recorded with a ten-piece band in Memphis-based Royal Studios, the sonic birthplace of some of the deepest works by soul and blues luminaries like Al Green, Buddy Guy and Ike & Tina Turner. Topics on Landing On A Hundred cover lots of grown-folks business: a man’s road to redemption after years of womanizing and crack addiction, the power and labour of slow-burning marital love that eclipses mere material expressions of affection. Keeping it truthful is ultimately what matters most in Cody’s songs.

link here

The Red Eyes - Red Army

The Red Eyes, “Melbourne’s very own Reggae Superstars” (PBS FM), have firmly established their position as one of Australia’s leading original Dub/Reggae acts. They have received critical acclaim for ‘Red Army’ (2010), including a nomination for ‘Best Blues & Roots Album’ at the 2010 Australian Independent Record Label Awards and ‘Album of the Week’ on PBS FM and Radio Australia.
Founded in 2002, The Red Eyes brings together 7 multi-instrumentalist musicians who deliver an explosive live sound that combines masterful beats and shake the house dub rhythms with heartfelt lyrics that provide unique antipodean spin on the broad Reggae genre. The band is led on stage by enigmatic front man El Witeri (2011 APRA Songwriter Award Finalist) who draws on his New Zealand upbringing and Maori heritage for inspiration. Witeri introduces and closes each show in Maori to represent himself and welcome people into the whanau (family), creating a sense of community and openness that fans and new audiences are drawn to.
Red Army is expertly produced dub goodness…full character, tight, catchy and brimming with soul.

link here

Di Melo - Di Melo

If you´re into brasilian (soul) music you will love this record, but I can present you almost no information about the artist. It was rereleased on CD a few years ago, is hard to get on vinyl and you have to pay a lot of money for it, but never got much attention like other brasilian artists. This record is a true inspiration: soulfull vocals, funky grooves, Tropicalismo and Latin influences in general resulted 1974 in a record (as far as I know the only Di Melo release), that seems to be premature for the date of the release. It is time to rediscover this jewel and if you have some more informations about Di Melo, please leave a comment.

It is hard not to fall in love with this record, Samba Soul.

 

 

 

link here

Cunninlynguists - Strange Journey Vol. 2

One of the decades most consistent independent Hip Hop
groups, CunninLynguists return with Strange Journey: Volume
2. Hailing from Kentucky, the trio consisting of Kno, Deacon The
Villain and Natti has built a rabid fan base with past releases
Southernunderground, Will Rap For Food, A Piece of Strange,
and Dirty Acres, as well as extensive worldwide touring with
Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan and Brand Nubian. Despite their
Southern roots, the group has become a key centerpiece in
East Coast Hip Hop conglomerate QN5. In the past two years
the group has been covered by XXL Magazine, Spin, The
Source, URB Magazine, XLR8R and more. Strange Journey:
Volume 2 features guest appearances from platinum artist E-40
and Evidence of Dilated Peoples Represented by The Agency
Group.

 

 

link here

Alice Russel - Under The Munka Moon

Alice Russell's UNDER THE MUNKA MOON shows the British soul singer at her finest on songs like "Someday" and "Peace Resides," among others. 2007 release from the first lady of contemporary UK Soul. Best known for her recordings with The Quantic Soul Orchestra and Bah Samba, Under The Munka Moon sees Alice performing a collection of her favorite tunes that draw from her musically diverse past. 13 tracks.
She was born in 1975, the daughter of an organist, and grew up in Framlingham in Suffolk. At the age of nine, following in her father and sisters' musical footsteps, Alice began taking lessons on the cello, and sang in choirs, before attending studying art and music in Brighton from 1994.
As well as the classical influences of her father, and formal music lessons, Russell began finding influence in Gospel music and soul artists such as Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin from an early age played a big part in the shaping of her style. Artists including as Minnie Ripperton, Eva Cassidy, Chaka Khan and Jill Scott are listed by Alice Russell as influences.

link here

Nightmares On Wax - Thought So

The venerable Nightmares On Wax return with ''Thought So...,'' a sun-drenched collection of dub and heavy drums arriving just in time to wrap up summer madness. After paving the way for soul-minded beat-smiths like Madlib and Flying Lotus, this latest LP is another important step in an already iconic career. Buoyant and supremely catchy, ''Thought So...'' is another skillful combo of advanced production and vintage groove. In short, the record gives fans everything they have come to expect from Nightmares On Wax.

link here

Saint Germain - Tourist

Since the advent of acid jazz in the mid-'80s, the many electronic-jazz hybrids to come down the pipe have steadily grown more mature, closer to a balanced fusion that borrows the spontaneity and emphasis on group interaction of classic jazz while still emphasizing the groove and elastic sound of electronic music. For his second album, French producer Ludovic Navarre expanded the possibilities of his template for jazzy house by recruiting a sextet of musicians to solo over his earthy productions. The opener "Rose Rouge" is an immediate highlight, as an understated Marlena Shaw vocal sample ("I want you to get together/put your hands together one time"), trance-state piano lines, and a ride-on-the-rhythm drum program frames solos by trumpeter Pascal Ohse and baritone Claudio de Qeiroz. For "Montego Bay Spleen," Navarre pairs an angular guitar solo by Ernest Ranglin with a deep-groove dub track, complete with phased effects and echoey percussion. "Land Of..." moves from a Hammond- and horn-led soul-jazz stomp into Caribbean territory, marked by more hints of dub and the expressive Latin percussion of Carneiro. Occasionally, Navarre's programming (sampled or otherwise) grows a bit repetitious -- even for dance fans, to say nothing of the jazzbo crowd attracted by the album's Blue Note tag. Though it is just another step on the way to a perfect blend of jazz and electronic, Tourist is an excellent one.

 

 

link here

 

TM Juke - Maps Of The Wilderness

A cohesion of beautiful melodies and rugged beats, “Maps from the Wilderness” is an accomplished album that should earn TM Juke the same accolades as fellow Tru Thoughts album acts Quantic, Jon Kennedy and Bonobo (who now record for Grand Central and Ninja Tune respectively).
Having recorded various songs for Tru Thoughts under the guise of Al Stylus, TM Juke took it upon himself to adopt a name suitable for styles and sounds he wished to explore with this album. The styles are varied and they seem to span the full orchestral range; rolling timpani drums underpin hazy beats whilst delicate guitars flitter amongst intricate strings.
As a producer, TM Juke draws on funk, soul, hip-hop and jazz influences, but adds a greater depth and maturity with immaculate arrangements that belie his twenty four years and give “Maps of the Wilderness” a strikingly original yet strangely familiar feel. Owing as much to the sampler as the guitar, the TM Juke sound embraces atmospheric melodies and street savvy beats in equal measures: this is made apparent by the album’s guest vocalists. Jim Oxborough and Alice Russell who join together for “Knee Deep”, the first single to be taken from the album, a lush affair with a natural swing and memorable hooks.
Bringing back the hip-hop, Canadian MC’s Bread and Water lend their calculated style to “Get It Together“ whilst appearing on behalf of the UK, Rup gets lyrical and gives “Wilderness Kids“ an edge that sets it apart from any uniform hip-hop sound. “Maps from the Wilderness” has all the ingredients that make a great record, setting new agendas in instrumental music whilst retaining a universal appeal.

 

 

link here

TY - Special Kind Of Fool

International hip hop artist hailing from the UK, Ty hits us in Spring 2010 with his fourth studio album Special Kind of Fool, on BBE Records.

As one of the most revolutionary rappers on the British hip-hop scene, Ty embodies the intellect, talent and ferocity of an MC always destined to become a legend. Over the last decade, the Mercury Prize nominee has achieved the rare feat of establishing a legacy through his three albums and wise persona, strengthened by his amazing worldwide shows and countless appearances alongside luminaries such as De La Soul, Tony Allen and Pee Wee Ellis. Musically, he's also worked with Estelle, Scratch Perverts, Talib Kweli, Black Twang, Arrested Development, Bahamadia and Zion I, both in front and behind the mixing desk, further proof of his relentless artistry and his evolution from roguish wordsmith from South London to an internationally-acclaimed hip-hop connoisseur.

link here