rescuing musical virtue in distress.
Although pop music, in all its forms, comes in myriad different styles and sounds, there isn't a lot you can do that really brings something new to it. Not really. Long ago it found its perfect style and structure and most music adheres to that same template to some degree or another. What you can... Continue Reading →
Taken from the soon to drop EP Delilah, Often is a smooth blend of sultry, up to the minute R&B grooves, ambient pop vibes and sensual electronica. It runs on a platform of floating synths and skittering beats, a blend which brings just enough pace and structure to the drifting sonics but which never gets... Continue Reading →
Hostage is the perfect blend of past traditions and forward thinking. Alek Virago’s voice feels like an echo of earlier times, smooth, sultry, soulful, but it is how she uses those talents which creates this wonderful contrast of then and now. The song runs on a blend of spacious pop vibes, r&b groove and trap-infused... Continue Reading →
Soul Music never goes out of fashion, it seems to be able to move with the times, finding its way into every successive era and across all genres of music. Burned is the sound of it being wound around the core of a modern pop song and the results are as wonderfully accessible as they... Continue Reading →
Stephanie Rodriguez trades in soulful grooves, R&B-infused pop, slow-burning torch songs and, occasionally, euphoric dance music. She seems to have found a way to marry the smooth sonics of the past with a more cutting-edge delivery and in doing so she delivers a sound which will appeal to the traditionalists as much as it will... Continue Reading →
I sure hope that what New York popster Baby Storme is describing in this song really was all just a bad dream. If not, then she needs to be calling the police! But I guess that the fact that she got around to recording the song suggests that her narrative, which seems to wander between... Continue Reading →
It’s safe to say that Dani Stevenson has rubbed shoulders with the great and good of the modern music scene. From Missy Elliot to Nelly to Pharrell Williams, it was an exceedingly fast rise that saw her go from singing the National Anthem in Junior High to working with such an illustrious cast. This time... Continue Reading →
Eric Scott has shared stages with the great and good of the music scene from Mavis Stables to Roger Waters and can regularly be found as bassist and vocalist for award winning blues and jazz artist Deanna Bogart. It’s safe to say that he moves in some rarified circles and can turn his hand to... Continue Reading →
Munk Duane’s latest single takes a step away from the more socially aware, musical messaging which is often a hallmark of his songs. But we all need to take a breather from things now and then and thankfully Duane’s breathing space creations come in the form of perfectly crafted, sultry, R&B groovers. Sometimes, more specific,... Continue Reading →
Taking a cool R&B vibe, a latin-infused groove, soulful vocals and putting it all through modern, dance floor sonics, Hollis Jordan knows how to take classic contemporary music staples and reinvent them for the current climate. Runaway brims with as many classic musical sounds as it does modern tropes, it is the successor to 70’s... Continue Reading →
So many vocalists begin their career working as background singers for more established artist but not all of them get their day in the sun, their chance to step in the spotlight, their shot at fame. Thankfully Ayeasha has managed to make the step forward and a voice that until now was always heard supporting... Continue Reading →
Although Sweet Fantasy is the debut single by this young artist, there is nothing going on here that sounds anything other than the work of a well-established, fully-experienced, R&B mainstay. With echoes of Toni Braxton and Brandy ringing through the music, this is the sound of the 90’s, commercial R&B heyday being upgraded and repackaged... Continue Reading →
Seeing Felton Pilate’s name associated with anything is always a badge of quality, a seal of approval and this time out he is on board with Edward W. Sealey for this smooth yet groovesome, R&B meets slick, contemporary jazz instrumental. And Brighter Than This is a well chosen name, warmth and sunshine vibes ooze out... Continue Reading →
Sometimes songs seem to write themselves. And that isn’t to take anything away from Price's songwriting prowess but he himself admits that he made his first visit to L.A. with the idea for a guitar melody running through his head and the rest seemed to fall into place, perhaps inspired by the location. Almost as... Continue Reading →
Yolanda Arrey is proof that the world is a small place. So small in fact that musical styles and cultural inspirations are free to mix and clash and create at will, to fuse and confuse, to find new balances and new forms as people move around the world living their lives. Genre and geography are... Continue Reading →
There seem to be some wonderful hidden depths to be found in Personal. What at first appears to be a slick and modern electro-R&B song about ending a relationship whilst trying to convince the other party not to take things personally, also echoes Davon’s own struggle when trying to forge a career in music. That... Continue Reading →
Now, more than ever, is the time when music can be used as a powerful tool, or as Hereami himself says, as “weaponised art.” It’s fine if you just want to write songs about fun and frivolity, after all, it's the perfect medium for escapism and euphoria, but perhaps with such dark clouds gathering around... Continue Reading →
If Feng Shui is the ancient art of being at one with your environment, 1st Klase takes this idea and applies it to a broader, more modern world. The song celebrates the idea of creating a harmonious world around you, through which you can live life to the fullest, and is unapologetic about its single-minded... Continue Reading →
My Baby is a collection of songs inspired by the transient nature of life. A reminder that even the most precious things, and especially the people, can be taken away from us without warning. But it is also a reflection on the world round us and these two threads are woven lyrically and emotively through... Continue Reading →
I think that you can make a fair argument for the idea that “world music” is dead! Though it was probably only ever a term coined by middle managers playing Bulgarian folk music at their dinner parties in an effort to make themselves seem more interesting. The world has become such a culturally cross-pollinated place,... Continue Reading →
It’s the curse of our modern lifestyle. You find the one that you want to spend the rest of your life with but then gradually gravitate towards spending so much time indulging your own passions and pastimes that you neglect the one thing that should be most important in your life. We all need space but... Continue Reading →
We’ve all been there. You break up with the significant other in dramatic fashion. You head out to the into the night with that “I’m better off single anyway” refrain floating around your brain. The world is your oyster, you can do what you want, you are young, free and …stupid! You stagger through the... Continue Reading →
The world abounds with young R’n’B wannabes, wrapping their hopes and dreams in a pop-groove and sending their thoughts out into the world to hopefully connect with like-minded individuals. And that is all very well and good but it essentially just perpetuates the tried and tested. More songs about young love, about meeting the one,... Continue Reading →
Music has always been a useful part of any emotional healing process. As a listener it reminds you that there are others who have gone through the same turmoils and heart-aches, as an artist it is a way of putting down on paper the thoughts and emotions racing around your head and in doing so,... Continue Reading →
Taking the sassier grooves of the R&B signature sound and running them through a hip-hop soundscape, Ajay Brown uses this musical springboard to push, not just the boundaries of his own music but perhaps urban music itself. Whilst Real Situations comes from an autobiographical place, discussing his own life and loves, stories and struggles, it... Continue Reading →
If any more proof were needed that the modern music maker has out grown genres, The Glow Up is a lesson in mixing familiar styles together to make wholly new creations. It runs on a laid back urban beat, one woven from slow trippy back beats and a triplet-trap percussive energy. But it then steps... Continue Reading →
All too often you hear a song and it sounds like the vocals and the tune are two different components, the former just thrown on top of the latter with little in common save for a common melody. It is great, therefore, to come across a song where the vocal delivery sits right in amongst... Continue Reading →
So much music these days uses technology to hide its failings, compensate for things that are lacking in the artist's own musical repertoire. It is both the blessing and the curse of the modern world. It means that almost anyone can make music, which is as much a good thing as it is bad. If... Continue Reading →
There is certainly something about Katrina Stuart’s brand of R&B driven, clubland pop that sets her apart for those around her. It isn’t so much the sounds that she uses or the type of song she is writing, for those aspects, whilst still cleverly wrought, stay within the generic norms for someone with an eye... Continue Reading →
There is something wonderfully infectious about the Reggaetron grooves and easy rhythms that ooze out of Darshae Kiér ’s latest release. Reggae has always had a back end sound which is hard to not be beguiled by and the dance floor has always been driven by beats which make you want to move. Halasana Girl... Continue Reading →