Music lives! That declaration could not have been more apparent to me than last Saturday evening when I happened to make my way down to the Saturday Soul Social @The Speakeasy Lounge. The event hosted by Jarrard & DJ R.Simms has been happening for the past three years and has continued to grow and just recently found a new home base at The Speakeasy Lounge. As always I’m late to the party, but quite literally because the event is monthly it seemed like every Saturday over the last few years I’ve been out playing myself or out of town or blah, blah, blah. This time I was undeterred and I was glad that I was able to make it out. (more…)
Check out “Soul” from Natalie “The Floacist” Stewart: A song with a soulful grove and lyrics centered around her feelings about the split between she and former Floetry member Marsha Ambrosius. Let us know what you think.
From the Press Release: While Marsha has tended to be vocal about their departure, The Floacist has chosen to focus on her art and not until now has she commented publicly on the events that led to their separation. Doing what she does best, The Floacist answers these much asked questions in the provocative self-penned “Soul.” “This is the first Floetry album, after a six year split, and Marsha has been doing a lot of excessive talking during that time, all of which has gone unanswered by myself. My silence could have been confusing to the fans, so I wanted to address the split, at the right time, in the correct medium,” she explains. “It was important for me to comment truthfully on the main issue…Marsha left Floetry, after so much joint success and foundation building, to join Aftermath Records, with no assurance of an album release. Ultimately, holding Floetry to ransom, to pursue a possibility of ‘mainstream’ success and all that was gained, was whatever they would’ve put into her pocket, and a mixtape release entitled ‘Neo Soul is Dead’. This to me is the perfect example of someone selling out, or selling their soul.”
Martian/Martin Luther brings a nice mix of funk, soul, rock, an ’80s vibe and even some comedy with “The Facebook Song” (“Facebook killed my relationship.”) on his new album, Extraterrestrial Brother Vol. 1.
Even with the diversity of styles on Extraterrestrial Brother Vol. 1, you can tell that at his core, Martin Luther is FUNKY. And you know he’s bonafide when he’s got the Master of Funk, George Clinton on a track. Martin Luther is a little reminiscent of D’Angelo–if D’Angelo had showed us his rock flavor.
Jessie Boykins III is a self-described “musical explorer”. Perhaps that’s why Way of a Wayfarer is hard to define, label or put into box. One thing is definite; it is different than what’s on the radio right now and listeners will dig it or… not.
For reference sake, if the music on this EP could be defined, then most of the tracks have a new age, vibe to them. He experiments with sound effects and irregular beats. One can only imagine the fun Boykins had creating this–throwing everything he could think of into the production pot and seeing what came out. “I Can’t Stay” has a pulsating beat mixed with a whole lot of other sounds, including the sound of an airplane taking off. The addition of a little more bass on a remix could make it a great dance or house music track. On “Light to Dark” the beat scatters and there is a continuous note running throughout the song that listeners will find either distracting or innovative and cool.
However, he does he flip the script on a few tracks. He strips down the effects in the music and goes acoustic on “When Your Ready” and “Zoner” .
How Way of a Wayfarer is received or interpreted depends on who the listener is. But there is nothing generic here. Jesse Boykins III won’t get accused of blending in with all the rest. He drives in his own lane and it’s refreshing to see an artist who isn’t afraid to be… artistic.
Heston’s sophomore album, Warm Human Cold World is a soothing mix of jazz, soul and funk that is laid back and quite easy to listen to. It’s easy to listen to in the car, while working, during dinner, and easy to listen to while spending time with that special someone. For that reason alone it succeeds, because so much of the music pumped through the airwaves these days is quite harsh. The tracks are often overwhelming and/or the lyrics are repulsive. Nothing offensive here, Heston mainly addresses love– being in love, making love, as well as losing love–rather poetically on tracks like “She Lives In Me” (“This is something more than love. She lives in me.”) and “Lonely In My Room” (“Too many have tried to light my fire. Still I can’t sleep in my bed. Don’t know why I ever left you.”).
Even though the sailing is smooth some waves would have been nice. Although the cd starts out with an uptempo track, “The Greatest Lover” (a song which is probably a delight to hear live because of some great horns and a funky organ on the track) and the cd ends with an uptempo track, “Oh La La“, which sounds like a vintage funk track from the 70′s– their presence does not rock the boat or steer the cd away from the direction in which it is headed. One after another the tracks come with the same temperament and laid back execution. They flow into each other, which, in some ways speaks to the continuity of the cd. It can be played without skipping any tracks. But, I was hoping for a track that was different than or stood apart from the others in some way that made the listener absolutely never forget it. It almost went there at the end of “You”, where, as the song rides out there’s a mini jam session from the band that leaves you wanting more. (more…)
“Any campaign (creative, cause-related or entrepreneurial) can raise money, offer perks, and keep 100% ownership.”-From the Indie Go Go website.
That really is worth repeating, especially the 100% ownership part. Artists have always found themselves in need of support to create and distribute their art. From Patrons to the rise of the early Publishing Companies and eventually Record Labels artists have enlisted the help of these “partners” to help the creative process and the lights on while the artist works. (more…)
GFM fam we wanted to let you all know about a great project from Grown Folks fave Natalie Brown just in time for Christmas.
From the press release…
A special edition EP of songs taken from the 2003 release “A Cool Christmas”. The songs on this digital album have slightly different instrumental treatment, have been re-mixed and re-mastered. This album will only be available from natalie-brown.com until January 5th 2011, so get your copy now. All digital album packages come with: 7 320k Mp3s (suitable for burning to CD), 1 album cover, 1 beautiful 6 page digital PDF booklet suitable for printing.
TYPE: EP | FORMAT: Digital Release | LABEL: Identity Music Group, Inc. | RELEASE DATE: 12/16/2010
1.) Let It Snow
2.) Give Love on Christmas Day
3.) Christmas Time
4.) White Christmas
5.) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
6.) Winter Wonderland / Sleigh Ride Medley
7.) The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting)
To purchase the project at the special price of $5.99 go here.
