This is the sixth studio album from Melbourne's-own Cat Empire, and the first as an independent release. Almost ten years on from the debut which featured the massive hits Hello and Days Like These, the band have had a huge amount of success at home, in Europe and across the globe. Steal The Light is a pretty enjoyable record, led by excellent opening track and lead single Brighter Than Gold, which makes me feel like I'm in a Guy Ritchie film. However, at times there's a little too much mucking around, with tracks like Sleep Won't Sleep sometimes feeling like they're an excuse for band members to explore their favourite pre-recorded keyboard sound effects. Overall the album feels a bit less pop and a bit more exploratory than their other work in recent times. Many tracks including Wild Animals and Prophets In The Sky have had their live debut and received rave responses from fans, and although brilliant live bands like The Cat Empire can sometimes fail to translate to recording with the same energy as they have on stage, both tracks are still highlights here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
This is the one jazz record owned by people who don't listen to jazz, and with
good reason. The band itself is extraordinary (proof of Miles Davis's masterful
casting skills, if not of God's existence), listing John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley
on saxophones, Bill
Evans (or, on "Freddie Freeloader," Wynton Kelly) on piano, and the crack
rhythm unit of Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Coltrane's
astringency on tenor is counterpoised to Adderley's funky self on alto, with
Davis moderating between them as Bill Evans conjures up a still lake of sound on
which they walk. Meanwhile, the rhythm partnership of Cobb and Chambers is
prepared to click off time until eternity. It was the key recording of what
became modal jazz, a music free of the fixed harmonies and forms of pop songs.
In Davis's men's hands it was a weightless music, but one that refused to fade
into the background. In retrospect every note seems perfect, and each piece
moves inexorably towards its destiny
Native Sun is the follow up to Blitz The Ambassador’s 2009 soulful blend of hip-hop “Stereotype”. Using the jazzy sounds of his previous efforts and taking it one step further, Blitz embraces his African roots and thus we are treated to an expansive mix of hip-hop and afrobeat. Not since Nas and Damien Marley’s classic album “Distant Relatives” has the combination worked quite so well. But it is clear from the opening track “En-Trance” that Blitz is looking to challenge our perception of hip-hop.
An ancient horn takes centre stage and removes us from our comfort zone. This sound is quickly joined by light African drumming, and we are left wondering how Blitz is going to rap over such traditional production. But we are quickly reminded this is a hip-hop album as the track begins to incorporate vinyl scratching and other more familiar sounds. Lyrically Blitz is taking us on a cinematic journey through his homeland. It’s a burst of creative genius using the medium of positive hip-hop music.
A real highlight of the LP is “Best I Can” Feat. Corneille. It features haunting guitar strings combined with Blitz rapping at a pace which comes close to a Bizzy Bone or Twista. Lyrically he pours out his heart on this track whilst a distorted choir further enhance his verses. Corneille sings “I hear these voices in my head, I look at the choices that I made, trying to be the best I can”. It is a reflective mantra which encapsulates the mood of the song. The use of gently strum guitars is evident throughout the project, usually accompanied by soft drums. Although you could be forgiven for thinking that this music sounds light, Blitz carries a powerful lyrical style which brings a revolutionary message of unity. Therefore it is anything but.
A jazzy interlude serves as a bridge to the second part of the album. “Accra City Blues” is a journey through a war torn city, I would compare it favourably to Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, it may yet become an African hip-hop anthem for years to come. Certainly it reflects the people better than past attempts by plastic artists such as Akon. Many mainstream attempts at African music often result in tokenism, this is the real deal. The choice of guests on the album is a real strong point. Chuck D. makes a brief appearance on “The Oracle” whilst underground favourite Shad joins Blitz on the title track “Native Sun”. The cohesive nature of the sounds make it impossible to separate their quality.
Rather than feeling like a track by track album, it plays more like a melting pot of expermental music which amazingly keeps shape amongst the chaos of African/hip-hop fusion. The pieces are emotionally layered in that they are both celebratory and honest in their representation of African life. Proceedings come to a close with “Ex-Itrance”, a continuation of traditional African sounds met with Blitz in spoken word form. At 12 tracks long the project is a neat 44-minutes and yet there is enough music to digest for months. This is progressive hip-hop at it’s finest and an early contender for hip-hop of album of the year. It does what every great album should do and leaves a lasting impression.
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.
Austrian musician Parov Stelar has taken over the global music scene like a phantom in recent years. Through his music the modest but exceptional talent has not only gained an enormous fan base, but has also achieved cult status as a producer.
His retro- influenced music is borne out of an aura of elegance, wickedness and pure energy. inspired by styles and samples from themost varying of genres (soul, pop, jazz and swing) and combined with modern beats and grooves he creates an incomparable and peerless sound.
For his live shows Parov Stelar takes to the stage with a host of musical magicians. The performances of the Parov Stelar band are one of the most impressive live conversions of electronic music currently to be seen anywhere in the world. Brass and rhythm sections along with singer Cleo Panther reinvent Parov Stelar's electro beats, emotionally charging the public in a way never thought possible.
At the centre of the show is the creator himself, guiding the musical tour de force from the DJ booth. Despite 100's of live shows and excessive touring the band still continues to push their own creativity and break the boundaries of musical performance. Each show is uniquely different from the previous, inviting the listener to explore new aspects and emotions within Parov Stelar's music.
Etage Noir label-boss Parov Stelar is a master in electro-swing, as he proves yet again on this new three-track EP. "Wanna Fete" is a feast of 30s jazz samples, all wrapped around a tight electro-house beat that's subtle enough not to swamp the jive out of the samples. Same goes with "Diamonds", which keeps brilliantly keeps a heavy ride cymbal rocking that floats over the mix throughout and features some excellent cornet solos along with well-placed scratch breaks. No prizes for guessing the sample source on closer "Le Piaf" - another example of Stelar's skills in fusing that 78" sound with the dynamics needed to rock a modern floor.
