This is a little grave, but I have been really enjoying it all week. It is from up and coming UK band London Grammar. I don’t know too much about them but intend to keep my eyes peeled for an album by them later in the year.
London Grammar:
/RjK
*Artist #682
CjK Guest Post – Summer Cover #1
Summertime from Gershwin’s Porgy and Best, which has been covered on a number of occasions, might have been the obvious choice for a summer time cover to kick off ‘summer covers’.
Jimmy Somerville’s reedy voice, recorded in 1984, seems to nail this version of It Ain’t Necessarily So from the same musical. The song was controversial in appearing to openly challenge biblical stories. The video could not be farther from the stage version of the show.
Bronski Beat:
/CjK
This is the new single from up and coming London singer Laura Welsh. I really like it’s stripped back simplicity. The smoothness reminds me a little of Jessie Ware, which is no bad thing.
Laura Welsh:
/RjK
*Artist #681
This came onto my MP3 player this weekend for the first time in a while and still sounded amazing. I was surprised I hadn’t posted it already.
I still remember hearing it for the first time and the opening leaving me utterly speechless. The opening line must be one of my all time favourites, full of mysticism and longing just like the album to which is gives it’s name.
If I ventured in the slipstream, between the viaducts of your dream…
/RjK
Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$ is someone who I first discovered earlier in the year and have been enjoying his mellow rhymes ever since.
This track is taken of his excellent mixtape 1999, which was released last summer. It featured the beat from a track called Alien Family by the late, great J Dilla.
Joey Bada$$ – 1999:
/RjK
I have been wanting to re-visit Solange since posting Losing You, which was one of my top tracks (and probably my favourite video) of 2012.
I really like this track’s old school flavour. The intro has all the hallmarks of a Motown classic. It could almost be Diana or Martha jumping in with the vocals. A real feel good classic.
Since hearing this I have been reflecting on how astonishing it is that Beyonce may not even be the most talented member of her own family!
Solange getting her Diana Ross on:
/RjK
I haven’t gone down the route of some cheesy R’n’B/pop in a while but I haven’t been able to get this track out of my head all week. It’s so catchy I have found myself listening to it over and over despite the fact the my inner musical snob is aghast!
It is taken from Atlanta singer Ciara’s soon to be released eponymously-titled album.
Ciara:
/RjK
*Artist #680
A friend sent me this track, by Portland band Pure Bathing Culture, earlier in the week and I have been hooked on it since. He described the band as a modern, floaty synthpop Fleetwood Mac and I can’t put it any better than that.
It is taken from the Moon Tides album which is out on the Memphis Industries record label on the 19th of August.
Pure Bathing Culture:
/RjK
*Artist #679
This features two of my favourite NYC rappers, the enigmatic, food-metaphor loving, Ghostface sound-a-like Action Bronson and the somewhat more solemn Roc Marciano.
I really like the simplicity of the hook and rhymes, giving the track a mellow, unflashy appeal.
Action Bronson (yes really!):
/RjK
I have been curious to explore more of Theo Parrish since posting his collaboration with Andrew Ashong (which still sounds GREAT) a few days ago.
He is one of a long list of contemporary Detroit artists that I have been enthralled by recently. It’s funny, I always thought of post-Motown Detroit as a musical afterthought but between Moodymann, J Dilla, Black Milk et al it has really been put on my map.
There is also a pretty spectacular video here.
Theo Parrish:
/RjK