Red Bull Music Academy have launched a new series called H∆SHTAG$ (produced by PinBoardFilm) which looks to explore the influence the internet has had on music and it’s many emerging sub-cultures. Across it’s six episodes (to be released weekly) H∆SHTAG$ looks to discuss different ideas that have been nourished, nurtured and/or birthed by the internet and it’s interconnecting technologies. Featuring exclusive interviews from Flying Lotus, TNGHT, Mount Kimbie, AlunaGeorge, Shlohmo, Charli XCX and many more, the series will also features opinions from predominant journalists, tastemakers and bloggers from across a wide spectrum of digital platforms, print and digital media.
The first episode Don’t Call It #AltR&B features How To Dress Well, producer Jeremy ‘Zodiac‘ Rose (The Weeknd), R&B futurists Rochelle Jordan & KLSHand Grammy nominated singer Miguel. It focuses on the re-emergence of contemporary R&B and whether or not the internet has played a role in it’s current form. Don’t Call It #AltR&B also talks to Alex Macpherson (The Guardian), Melissa Bradshaw (The Quietus) and Erik Kirtley (Indie R&B).
Futurist R&B and black widow romance relieved by fresh dirt and crushed blacks – bleak, lo-fi visuals for the beautifully written and sung ‘Shotgun’. Fragile verses and a pumping hook, Torontorian producer KLSH seems to have a thing for curious build-and-drops. A skeletal bed of digital cool sits under Jordan‘s vocal, carried home by her deft neo-classicist 90s/early 00s songwriting. Where he brings the rhythm, she really brings the blues, and this has to be an album highlight for capturing melodic stylism and pairing it with a post-Timbo prog’ness, albeit the simplest, most seductive elements.
Lifted from one of the best underground R&B LPs of the year, download that here.
After a string of inspired singles and an enticing album teaser, R&B revivalist Rochelle Jordan officially drops her debut album Pressure. Produced entirely by long-time collaborator KLSH, Pressure is a collection of well focused, tightly formed, progressive songs that not only channel Jordan’s healthy obsession with 90′s golden-era R&B, but also administer the atmosphere this new era has ushered in. KLSH’s productions have truly flourished over the past year – these beats are complex, airy and fractured in all the right places… but the key objective never forgotten: it bumps.
Fans of Nicole Wray’s Make It Hot, Aaliyah’s One in A Millionor SWV’s Release Some Tension should be particularly excited by this. Melodically speaking, in terms of accuracy, Rochelle Jordan (who wrote every song) is destroying everyone right now. Quote me. But it is ultimately the chemistry between Jordan and KLSH that makes all of this so completely arresting. These two are miles ahead of their competition; Pressure may well be one of the strongest R&B releases of the year.
Canadian songstress Rochelle Jordan previews a new song and teases fans with a trailer for her upcoming album Pressure. The previewed song confirms Jordan’s belief in classic R&B melodies for which she and producer KLSH are distinguishably experimenting with right now. Expect that debut album August 14th and stay on top of matters with ‘Losing’ and ‘Too Long’.
Here we have a simple yet effective introduction to a fresh faced R&B artiste from Atlanta named Benny.Love. Boldly covering The Weeknd’s now seminal ‘What You Need’, Love (clearly out to make an impression) shows off her subtle-but-sexy vocals over a gloomy KLSH (see: Rochelle Jordan) produced refix… As alternative R&B ideas continue to flourish, so do the artists helping to push it forward. Definitely adding this young lady to the ‘watch’ list as we look forward to hearing more around mid-Winter, when a longer debut is scheduled.
Continuing to develop a sound and style all her own is Toronto based songstress Rochelle Jordan, who today releases another new single off her forthcoming debut album P R E S S U R E.
‘Too Long’ reinforces the chemistry Jordan has struck up with producer KLSH, who has once again created a rich textured and atmospherically driven beat. He’s also got Rochelle showing off some unmistakably Aaliyah-motivated BV’s too (excuse the easy reference, but just listen!) It’s not imitating when you weave your influences into something fresh like this.
… Right now no other female in R&B is coming as hard as Rochelle. I said it.
What better time than 4am to discover a brand new Rochelle Jordan track?
Continuing to carve her own lane in the burgeoning nu-wave, Alt-R&B movement, the Canadian songstress drops a dark sky mid-tempo, complete with sexy post-Aaliyah vocals, soft drums and expansive synths. Kudos again to KLSH for another perfectly suited, crisp production. The track – available for free download – is the first official single taken off Rochelle’s forthcoming P R E S S U R E album.
What’s most promising here and across many of Jordan’s strongest tracks is her ability to harness her influences while clearly expressing her own style. It’s easy to cat the traditions of any golden era – what’s less easy is to imprint your own mark. If she continues to develop as she has done here – our original hopes for this young lady won’t have been misplaced.
Our girl Rochelle returns with a new track titled ‘Shot’ which as ever was produced by long-time collaborator KLSH & Pat Preezy. In the same vein of her previous works, this is dark R&B number – it documents her love lost and the self administering that often follows. Can’t say this is my favourite Jordan track, but I’m still digging it.
