Roc Marciano* – Hide my tears
It has been too long since I posted some hip hop. NYC-rapper Roc Marciano is someone I came across relatively recently. What I really like about this is it’s old school vibe. It sounds as though it could have been recorded 15 years ago despite only being released in 2010.
RjK
*Artist #389
MNDR* – I go away (NAT)
RjK
*Artist #385
Tennis* – Origins
Tennis are a husband and wife duo from Denver, Colorado. The hazy sound and light, airy feel here remind me a little of Best Coast who were favourites from last year. It is taken from their second record Young and Old, which has just been released I think.
RjK
*Artist #384
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble* – Black Boy (NAT)
This is one of the freshest tracks I have heard in a while. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are a Chicago-based family brass band (oh, the interesting journeys this blog has taken me on). I love how rich the sound is, also the vocal is strong, wise and wistful.
RjK
*Artist #381
Youth Lagoon – Posters
I have had quite a cultural week, which is more of a rarity for me than I would like. I went to a fabulous exhibit in the Royal Academy yesterday. It was a collection of work by David Hockney and it took my breath away in it’s scale and boldness. A good friend once told me that he felt that doing things which stimulate you intellectually is good for your soul. I couldn’t have agreed with him more last night.
Youth Lagoon are favourites I discovered last year. They make music that sounds languid and somewhat washed out but very enjoyable. Also, the cover of their album (featured as the background for this video) is pretty dope.
RjK
Cherokee* – Take care of you
Just back from a cultural evening hearing Alain de Botton speak about his new book Religion for atheists. The talk was stimulating without being over intelluectualised, a very unusual (for me anyway) and enjoyable Monday night.
Cherokee soothed me through the usual jarring beginning to the week that is Monday morning. It has been said that there is a lack of chilled out electronica featured in the blog. That is mostly because I find a lot of it to be a little bland for my taste. But there is the rare occasion (like the song highlighted by my father) that moves me. It is usually a case of the right song at the correct time. Monday morning is usually that time, and this is no exception.
RjK
*Artist #379
This is taken from Oddisee’s Rock Creek Park album which was one of my favourites from last year and is very relaxed and easy on the ear.
RjK
The Antlers – Hounds
I first heard this track when I was home over Christmas while having dinner a good friend’s house. His wife had just wowed me with her cooking and this was playing in the background while we were shooting the breeze talking about times old and new. A happy night.
I hadn’t thought about The Antlers in ages, since posting them at the beginning of last year. This, taken from their latest record Burst Apart, is typical of what I have heard of them, ethereal, beautiful and a little haunting.
RjK
Jay Electronica* – Mind detect heart
As I mentioned earlier in the week finding a new artist every day was becoming too demanding, so after completing my year of new artists I began 2012 by revisting some of my old favourites. However, as I move forward I want to keep the spirit of new and varied music alive. To do this my plan is to post an artist that is new to the blog each Thursday. I may do this on other days also but I intend do it without fail on New Artist Thursdays.
I have been listening to this guy, a rapper from New Orleans quite a bit this week. He first grabbed my attention when this tune began with a sample of an impassioned preacher thundering the following:
You got a hell of a nerve! If my rhetoric is too strident, who better to correct me than my brothers and my sisters?…
My only response to that was wow! His rhymes are strong too, clever and nuanced. Overall it is just refreshing to hear something a bit different from a hip hop song.
RjK
*Artist #366
Grouper – Alien Observer
I was introduced to this lady by my buddy Matty, who guest posted about her a few months ago. She makes music that is a little quieter than the normal type which moves me but there is something about it that grabbed me. We subsequently went to see her at St.Giles in the field, a church in Soho. She was very enjoyable (the supports acts? Not so much) and the setting was perfect.
This track is taken off her latest album, AIA, and is gentle and hypnotic. It has been soothing me this week as I deal with the jarring effects of being back to work after a blissful week at home.
RjK