No longer a figure of my imagination or a song on my iPod, Abel Tesfaye performed for the first time in his home town as The Weeknd. Wish I could of hopped, skipped and jumped over to Canada for this, but instead here’s a little video of him performing ‘High For This’ taken from the House of Balloons mixtape, that I’m still bumping.
On listening to Little Dragon’s new LP, Ritual Union a couple of weeks back, this track definitely stood out to me as a solid experimental pop song that enticed you to keep listening. So I’m glad to see that this track was given the video treatment. Visually and in line with the song, the graphic art keeps your attention.
Love this band creativity.
Many of our favourite artists have graced our ‘Rehearsal Room’ over the past 6 months, musicians we both admire and respect. As our exclusive show, produced in association with Red Bull Studios London, continues to grow we decided to create a mini-series within it designed solely to put focus on new talent emerging.
Our ethos has always been to concentrate on good music and an important undercurrent of that is discovering and exposing a new generation of music makers. Thus we have filmed a number of new episodes featuring fresh-faced musicians who you may or may not have heard of previously. They were selected for one reason and that reason is that we feel they are among some of tomorrow’s most promising acts.
Our first ‘introduces’ episode features Daley, a young R&B-Soul singer hailing from Manchester who recently signed a deal with Universal Music. In 2010 his vocals featured on ‘Doncamatic’ by Gorillaz which came off the animated bands Plastic Beach album, he was also nominated for the BBC’s Sound of 2011 poll.
Daley’s beautifully complex voice effortlessly evokes emotion and his unique brand of ‘slow-jam’ Soul is as passionate as it is encapsulating. And as he readies the release of his much anticipated mixtape Those Who Wait, he performs an exclusive track called “Be” for us live at Red Bull Studios London.
Just watch. And listen.
Q-Tip took to his twitter this morning to confirm that he is currently working on new music with D’Angelo for the singers forthcoming, long overdue comeback album. The ATCQ emcee also mentioned that D has also recorded music with Questlove and that musically speaking “he is on his A game”.
Very, very promising.
It’s been quite a grim weekend, so this brand new Eric Lau track is a welcome surprise and hopefully should offer some light relief. The song is called ‘This Is For You’ and is being offered as a “thank you” to all Lau’s fans for their continued support. The video up top shows how he produced the track from selecting the sample, to the finalised product.
Listen and download (for free) below…
This will not become a place riddled with Amy Winehouse tributes or memorials – it just won’t. The tragic news of her passing has yet to sink in and I really wasn’t planning on posting any covers any time soon but when Prince & Andy Allo post up their tribute – it’s pretty difficult to ignore. Listen as they cover one of Amy’s most poignant songs ‘Love Is a Losing Game’ off what will forever be considered one of the most important albums in music.
Absolutely devastating news.
Sky News have reported and confirmed, singer Amy Winehouse aged just 27 has been found dead in her North London flat. The 5 time Grammy Award winner has battled a very public drink & drug addition over the past few years, but was on stage just a couple days ago supporting her God daughter & protégé Dionne Bromfield.
Her death at time of writing has been described as “unexplained” by the Metropolitan Police.
Update: Sources claim Winehouse died of a drug overdose.
I am completely speechless.
Rest in Peace.
Guilty Simpson teams up with UK producer (and all round G) Paul White for a new track called ‘Trust’ taken off White’s forthcoming album Rapping with Paul White. These two make excellent music together and while the video doesn’t feature either of them it seemingly fits the mood of the song quite well.
Rapping with Paul White is due out August 22nd via One Handed Music and will feature one other Guilty Simpson track, along with collaborations from Danny Brown, Homeboy Sandman, Tranquil, Marv Won, Jehst, Moe Pope & Nancy Elizabeth.
Download ‘Trust’, an instrumental version and a bonus track called ‘The Doldrums’ for free via bandcamp.
You may or may not have noticed but we haven’t been posting every Beyonce interview or video junket etc – after our review we thought we’d ease up (fully anticipating the promo assault her and her team would go on in the weeks following the new release). It’s been great seeing her new album 4 flourish in the way that is has – with less emphasis on sales and more on the acclaim.
However this interview she recently did with Access Hollywood really struck out as quite important to me. In it Beyonce acknowledges that she considers only her first album Dangerously In Love as “a classic” but doesn’t feel the same about the two that followed (B-Day & I Am…Sasha Fierce). She mentions that this time round she wanted to focus on making an album, which would take people from beginning to end as opposed to just making singles.
I always find it refreshing to hear artists critique their own work, it not only shows depth and objectivity, but also creative and artistic licence.
… It also makes me think about all those hardcore fans who despite genuine and constructive criticism continued to ignore [our] argument – that Bey’s last two albums focused heavily (solely) on singles / marketing and not on creating a cohesive, timeless body of work. The irony that their “Queen” has now confirmed all of this is proof that sycophantism has no place in music. It makes for lazy artists. I keep saying it.
Here’s a trailer for an upcoming documentary based on the life, influence and legacy of Nujabes – the Japanese Hip Hop producer who tragically died last year in a car accident. Often referred to as the “Japanese J. Dilla”, Nujabes was considered by many as a pioneer – known for his experimental sounds he continually pushed the boundaries – often incorporating sounds of his native with Jazz samples.
While no official release date is available for the documentary at the moment it’s really great to know that someone has made this – Nujabes’ remains a rather mystical / underground figure – his music is something we should continue to celebrate and spread.
Shouts to HT
As Shlohmo readies the release of his new “sample-less” album Bad Vibes (August 9th), he has let loose two new remixes of songs from Burial and Drake. Good news, right? Want better news? Both remixes are kinda great.
If you’re down with the #soemoshswag movement (lol), these will be right up your street. A little dark, a little moody, very dope.
Shouts to the co-pilot (@PinBoardFilm) for the find.
Burial – ‘Shell of Light’ (Shlohmo Remix)
Drake – ‘Marvin’s Room’ (Shlohmo Remix)
11 minute documentary on the making of Jay-Z & Kanye West’s upcoming collaborative project Watch the Throne. It’s real enjoyable to watch – it’s great to see Jay & Yeezy interact, rather normally but also still see that mentor / apprentice relationship.
Previous: Jay-Z & Kanye West Feat. Otis Redding – ‘Otis’
Shouts to Semtex
Four years later, HudMo takes on Keri Hilson’s ‘Turn Me On’ for a rather cool but unofficial remix. This comes ahead of Mohawke’s forthcoming EP Satin Panthers due out August 1st/2nd – preview that here. Pow.
I was sent a press release about Delilah a couple weeks back (shouts to Mel), I flagged it up but didn’t get a chance to checking it out (if you see the amount of emails we get on a daily basis, you’ll understand). But something I just saw online reminded me of it – a good thing too…
Putting aside the fact that Delilah (who recently appeared on Chase & Status’ ‘Time’) pays homage to Chaka Khan’s ‘Ain’t Nobody’ without committing any proverbial crimes is in itself a feat. But add to that her beautiful voice, controlled yet still very emotive, and a rather cold beat courtesy of Balistiq and the results pretty much speak for themselves.
Delilah will be releasing a new EP in September which will include ‘Go’ and her first single ‘Breathe’ (listen after the jump) – her debut album will then follow in Spring 2012.
Machinedrum is readying the release of his new album Room(s), due out on July 25th via Planet Mu. The new 11 track long player marks his first full length release since 2009′s Want To 1 2.
Ghost voices [insert obligatory Burial head nod here], afro-beat, new-rave electronica & breakbeat influences make Room(s) a rather interesting listen. While there is nothing fantastically original here Machinedrum’s productions are always crisp and enjoyable – and for that reason alone it’s worth a spin.
Preview the album in full via the stream below courtesy of Hype Machine & pre-order it here.
