This is just so ’97! The intro is still one of the most infectious I can think of and within a few bars I am always transported back to happy schooldays trying to workout what a “Brimful of Asha” was. (Apparently it is a tribute to Indian singer Asha Bhosle.)
Have a great weekend. I am off to see Homeboy Sandman tomorrow night at The Sugar Club. Should be a fun night, I’ll let you know how I get on. March is proving to be quite a musical month so far.
Brimful of Asha:
/RjK
*Artist #623
A friend sent me this earlier in the week. Initially, I dismissed it as not my kind of thing but slowly its infectious beat has crept into my brain. Also, it has a rather hypnotic video to match. All in all it rather reminds me of the Solange track I was (guiltily) obsessed by last year.
Laura Mvula is British singer, who is originally from Birmingham. This track is taken from her debut album Sing to the Moon which was released a few days ago.
Laura Mvula:
/RjK
*Artist #622
An old friend was in Dublin over the weekend. Given that he is a fellow musical obsessive I wanted to take him to see a gig. I consulted The Nialler9 Gig Guide and spotted this lady was playing. When I read her description as a “Swedish fantasy-pop cellist” you might say I was rather intrigued.
Despite a healthy dose of skepticism on both our parts I have to say it was rather great. There was perhaps the largest difference between expectation and reality for any gig I can remember. She really brought it! One particular highlight was an excellent cover version of Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack.
Interesting video here, it has a little of Darwin Deez about it.
Linnea Olsson:
/RjK
*Artist #620
Guest Blogger Dom Ayliffe has his finger on the pulse of the dance scene…
Russ Chimes is one of my favourite music producers. I’ve seen him bring his brand of 80’s inspired up-tempo electro dance to grateful club revellers on dance floors large and small, from London to Ibiza. He’s a guy who really knows how to use the tools in his belt to work a beat under your skin and get you moving. A master craftsman of the remix and second to none, in my opinion, at working up to a multi-layered, high-energy ‘drop’ that makes you feel as if you’re dancing on the wings of an aircraft taking off.
I also think this video has a really cinematic and creative vibe about it. ‘Memento’ meets ‘Drive’. This is part 2 of 3 – check out 1 and 3 if you like what you see and hear.
Russ Chimes:
/DA
*Artist #618
Five points if you can remember when this was released. It’s a real blast from the past for me anyway. I have been meaning to post it since revisiting Pumping on Your Stereo a few Fridays ago. They both evoke memories of carefree school days and generally make me smile which aren’t bad traits for a song.
For those of you playing at home Dancing in the Moonlight was released in 1999 and is taken from the uniquely titled Onka’s Big Moka (extra points if you remembered the name of the album).
My suspicion was that Toploader where a one hit wonder but according to Wikipedia they reformed a few years ago so maybe there’s still hope…
Toploader:
/RjK
*Artist #608
It seems that I am in a rather ambient mood so far this week. It must be the weather.
This track is from South Carolina singer Toro Y Moi’s recently released album Anything in Return is a breezy slice of electro-pop (“Chillwave” according to Wikipedia – erm…). It reminds me a little of Roosevelt who I posted a couple of weeks back.
I rather like the video here too. Simple but effective.
/RjK
*Artist #606
I still haven’t pulled out of my 90’s tailspin and this has lead me down something of a Jamirquai rabbit hole this week. I had forgotten how much I used to enjoy their stuff. The excellent The Return of the Space Cowboy and Traveling Without Moving (which this track is taken from) were both released just as I was becoming conscious of music and I was hooked.
While it is rather a simple affair I really like the video here. It takes me back. Can’t believe it was made in ’96!
Jay Kay – Man of many hats:
/RjK
This track, taken from Jay-Z’s classic 1996 album Reasonable Doubt, contains one of my all time favourite hooks sung by R’n’B royalty Mary J. Blige. It has a languid ease and perfectly compliments the dexterous, playful rhymes. For some reason it has been running about my mind for the past few weeks.
Jay-Z:
/RjK
As 365 days nears the milestone of reaching the 600th artist to be featured (599 and counting…) we have been taking stock of what has been posted so far.
As part of this process I realised I had only posted one New Order track so far. Their legacy and lasting impact on the new music I hear today merits more than that.
Look out for artist number 600 in the coming days. Let me know if you have any suggestions…
/RjK
Posting Oasis last week got me to thinking about Britpop. Those happy 90’s! Supergrass were a band who knew how to make a radio friendly pop song and this is a perfect example. A pretty good video too here, is the intro a little homage to Queen?
Have a great weekend. This is something to help it come a little quicker and help run out the clock this afternoon.
Can you hear us pumping on your stereo?…
/RjK