Janelle Monae returns with a wonderfully stylised new video for her lead single ‘Q.U.E.E.N’ taken off her forthcoming second album The Electric Lady. Featuring soul’s high-priestess Erykah Badu, the track advances Monae’s exploration into afro-futurism, soul & funk. Perhaps not as complex as the orchestral suites and acid-soul overtures that made up The ArchAndroid, as a lead single ‘Q.U.E.E.N’ still makes a bold statement. It again demonstrates Janelle’s fearlessness when approaching music or rather the music industry. On paper and probably in practice too this ticks very few boxes from a major label stand point – not only does it not have an easy-on-the-ears, microwave-ready hook, it also stars two cult-followed avant-garde soul artists. Not exactly One Direction.

But for those impatiently waiting to see what Janelle Monae will evoke on The Electric Lady this should serve as a titillating preview. Because above all else this once again proves that neither Janelle Monae or Erykah Badu are from this planet.

“False releases” aside, the only other name that’s been bouncing around on and offline no-end for the past week or so has been Daft Punk. Now in their 15th year, the faceless French duo have this week proven they remain as relevant today as they did when they released Homework back in 1997 – appearing on virtually every music outlet on the interwebs. Their new single ‘Get Lucky’ featuring Pharrell Williams and the legendary Nile Rodgers got it’s premiere at Coachella last week and since has seen more fake incarnations and faux-blog posts than any phantom Jai Paul LP ever could. But during the early hours of this morning the electronic juggernauts finally released the official version and as you’d expect, it doesn’t disappoint. Through their wizardry and the genius that is Nile Rodgers, they have potentially produced one of this summers biggest tunes… And I’m actually not sure I’ve ever heard Pharrell sound this great on a record before.

Since the release of her debut album in 2006, Cassie has become a bit of a mythological creature in the world of R&B. Her journey has been far from easy and she remains one of the most divisive characters in the game. Some deify her as some type of cult-princess, (many) others vilify her for her somewhat awkward relationship with Diddy and that relentless “f*cks for tracks” reputation she’s acquired over the years. I’m still hung up on the way she mugged off R-Les back in the day, but whatever – I got love for Cassie.

Having failed to release any sort of full length follow up to her self-titled debut six years ago, Cassie finally returns this week with a new 13-track mixtape titled Rocka By Baby. Featuring guest appearances from Rick Ross, Pusha T, Too $hort and Jeremih and produced by Young Chop and Mike Will Made It - her latest may surprise a fair few naysayers. Surprisingly (and thankfully) she avoids any reference to the euro-dance/EDM epidemic many expected her to come with and instead serves up a mixtape full of fiercely produced R&B bangers. The trap-inspired beats that make up most of Rocka Bye Baby sees Cassie making the most of her limited vocal range by turning up that cold-but-sexy-breathy thing she’s become a master of. It even has her spitting bars.

Listen up, she goes in on this.

Download: Cassie – Rocka By Baby

Shlohmo’s recent pairing with How To Dress Well excited a lot of folk last week (myself included) and so the full stream of his highly anticipated new EP Laid Out (courtesy of Pitchfork) couldn’t have come sooner. Boasting five new songs the release seems to reflect a growth in Shlohmo’s productions – now more so than ever before his beats form captivating and enigmatic compositions full of unraveling suspense and emotion.

… Still excited to hear that pending Jeremih collaboration too.

We’ve been enjoying Inc’s debut album No World for a few months here at PB HQ – the guys were kind enough to send us an advance copy. It very quickly became one of our favourite albums of the year so far (we’ll say this year because technically it’s released in 2013).

Following the release of their debut EP in 2011 and new singles ‘The Place’ & ’5 Days’, brothers Andrew and Daniel Aged have cultivated an exciting blend of avant-garde R&B, soul & pop and in doing so have created a cohesive long player filled with lush vocal arrangements and dreamy productions. Definitely one for the record collection.

No World drops February 19th. Update: Buy No World via iTunes now.

via FACT

Drake kicks off the 55th annual Grammy Awards by releasing the video for his new single ‘Started From the Bottom’, taken off his forthcoming third album Nothing Was the Same. Shot in Drizzy’s hometown Toronto and in the Dominican Republic the video was directed by Director X and Drake himself.

Watch the visually stunning music video for James Blake’s gorgeous new single ‘Retrograde’, the first track taken off his upcoming new album Overgrown. The song needed very little else to emphasise it’s sheer beauty, but it’s great to see such a well made video accompany it. By far the best song of the year so far.

Mug off the snow outside and thaw yourself off with this massive new winter warmer from two of Britian’s soon-to-be pop-superstars. Disclosure have teamed up with Aluna from AlunaGeorge and together have collided to create ‘White Noise’ (March 24th), a humungous new single far more suited for sunnier climates than what we have here but one that should have you and yours reaching for those gunfingers quick-time. #Skank.

Producer Ifan Dafydd returns with a new single nearly a year after the release of his stunning debut. ‘Celwydd’ is a breathtaking new song taken off a forthcoming compilation album from Welsh label Recordiau Lliwgar. Like ‘Treehouse’ before it ‘Celwydd’ is a sophisticated and intricately layered production, warmed by beautifully placed chords and vocal chops. Dafydd’s acute attention to detail, coupled with his apparent sharp ear for crisp, crystal clear intonations has always excited us – and with this new release he’s taken all of that to another level.

It’s here. Press play. OMG.

As fantasied of for the past 6 years, Justin Timberlake returns with a brand new single produced by long-time collaborator Timbaland and featuring Jay-Z. JT & Hov were supposed to collaborate a few years back but it never happened, ‘Suit & Tie’ is their first official pairing and is also the lead single taken off Timberlake’s upcoming 3rd album The 20/20 Experience (also produced by Timbo).

‘Suit & Tie’ isn’t as instant as ‘Like I Love You’ or ‘SexyBack’ but it certainly packs the goods we’ve all been missing since Justin went Hollywood. Timbaland’s production is understated and interestingly sounds akin to something The Neptunes could have produced (all in the horn section). But as always it works perfectly in line with what Justin brings – the dude is clearly on a some Marvin Gaye tip here.

The song was released with an accompanying open letter from Timberlake which began with the singer saying “I hope this gets to you the right way. It’s the only way I know to do it. Some people may criticze me for the last 3 days. But it was fun, right?!?” – referring to what some cited as an anti-climatic return on Friday when Justin released his ‘I’m Ready’ PSA. The Grammy winner goes onto explain “I’m gearing up for a big 2013…Back in June of last year, I quietly started working on what is now, my next journey with that thing I love called MUSIC. The inspiration for this really came out of the blue and to be honest, I didn’t expect anything out of it. I just went into the studio and started playing around with some sounds and songs. It was probably the best time I’ve had in my career… It is full of inspiration that I grew up listening to and some newfound muses that I’ve discovered along the way. I’m calling it “The 20/20 Experience,” and it’s coming out this year”.

Happy new year.