So new Hiphop sensation Jay Prince has raised the bar again. Clearly inspired by nineties groups like A Tribe Called Quest and Souls of Mischief.
This 21-year-old rapper from London releases his “BeFor Our Time” EP today with productions mainly from our German homey IAMNOBODI and Jay Prince himself. Other producers on there are Mozaic, Jordan James and Richie Saps. Thankfully this is not another Trap Rap album…sh*t is Hiphop. I enjoy the balance on BeFor Our Time and for me it’s just right. Reminiscent of the early sounds of the nineties, without sounding outdated at all. This is what Hiphop should sound like in 2015!
Check for a free download here and make sure you show some love for Jay Prince on Soundcloud.
Today I first heard the delightful voice of Noami Bowler from New York. Her latest song “Midnight” is that good stuff you want to hear in your car when you’re on a late night drive.
I can honestly say I’m hooked on Naomi Bowler. Not only thanks to her crystal clear vocals, but also the perfectly balanced production from fellow New Yorker DrewsThatDude. This right here should be on repeat and oh yeah I’m gonna need a download of this. Hope Noami’s ‘Paradise’ EP (entirely produced by DrewsThatDude) will be out shortly.
Oh and let me speak on the artwork for the EP for second. Simply sexy and classy…I like it! Can’t wait to hear more pleasantness out of NY soon. Naomi Bowler on Soundcloud
Did you know Singapore’s best kept secret goes by the name of TAJ? Tim De Cotta (bass/vocals), Audrey Tengkey (piano, keys and synth) and Teo Jia Rong (drums) form the exciting contemporary Jazz trio TAJ.
Their forthcoming “The Astral Journey” EP will be released with local independent record label, Darker Than Wax. It’s a cross pollination of beats, psychedelia, post-rock, breaks and everything it takes to please the discerning ears of contemporary jazz fans. We gratefully premiere the title track, which is by far the most organic piece of music on the EP. If you like Robert Glasper, you need to feast your ears on this fasho!
The EP will hit the streets January 30th and mark my words, it will them hit hard. No wonder with remixes included from Jaël and Cosa Nostra.
24-year-old Emmavie is a singer from the city of London, who had worked with Alfa Mist on their previous “Epoch” EP.
For this reason I never would have guessed Emmavie produces herself as well. And with great skill I might add. Just take a listen to “I Hope We Never Break Up” featuring Ego Ella May. The track was premiered over at our Soulbounce fam (go butta) and is fingerlickin’ soul drippin’. The two work really well together vocally and I love those harmonies.
Now Emmavie has a show in London on February 8th, where she will be performing this and other material she’s been working on. Get your tickets here and make sure you follow both Emmavie and Ego Ella May on Soundcloud!
The Turkish delight, Kerem Akdag, has been steadily becoming one of our favorites. He released some pretty dope stuff on Darker Than Wax and is about to return with a Soulful House album.
This deeply soulful journey is entitled, Expressive, and trust me when I say Kerem Akdag is that guy to watch. Silky smooth vocals combined with downtempo House rhythms makes this album unquestionably cool. It’s jazzy, full of Soul and has grooves like a motherf*cker.
It’s an honor to premiere the title track, so get ready to catch that groove and press repeat. On this release you will find seven tracks plus two remixes from upcoming House producer Nachtbraker from Amsterdam. Look for Expressive to drop January 20th on the British Apparel Music imprint.
Moovmnt Guest Mix 14 was created by one of my favorite Soulection DJ’s (ever). The ever so blunted cutie pie miss Kronika.
This Philippina DJ from Los Angeles has been reppin’ the Soulection team since day one. And I’m glad she took some time out of her busy schedule to create a wonderful mix for us/you. Now I’ve known Kronika for a while and am happy to call her a friend. She has collected music from all over the globe and even got some Dutch producers in the mix (I see that Singularis track and Jeftuz remix).
I’m very grateful to have music selectors like Angel (better know as Kronika) as friends and can’t wait to meet her later this year when I visit Los Angeles once more. Check out her Soundcloud page if you wasn’t doing so yet.
Drew Dave is Hip Hop producer from Alexandria VA/DC Metropolitan who used to go by the name of Soulful!. He resides in the crux of vintage and modern techniques. This guy is faithful to the soul that lives in his Native Instruments Maschine, but he maintains forward vision for live instrumentation and midi-synths.
His upcoming “SynthBASED” album contains live instrumentation and vocal contributions from rappers Cortez and Kenn Starr and is not just an instrumental Hip Hop album. SynthBASED is a concept album. It’s a soul, kind of jazzy, with some electronic elements, kind of album with the common denominator being that every single track utilizes a synth saw bass. The title derives from that, with the “BASED” just being a play on “bass” and Lil B’s “Based God” ideology.
This album feels like the beginning of Drew Dave really stepping outside of solely sampling. On it he plays with melodies, incorporates live instrumentation and percussion and plays out every bassline. He also does some slight stuff on the keys, and lays subtle harmonies. His good friend Drew Kid plays some additional melodies and chords throughout the album and another dope producer, Charlie Ross from Soular Heights, did the live drums on FullCircle.
This might very well be the reason why on first listen we picked out “FullCircle” and we are glad to premiere it on the site today. That super soulful Fender Rhodes combined with vocal additions clearly inspired by 2pac’s “I Get Around”. Straight banger bruh! SynthBASED is due to release February 24th on Mello Music Group, so in case you like what you hear here’s the iTunes pre-order link.
Today brotha El. Train from London drops the track “Control” featuring the enchanting Miki Rose out of Los Angeles.
The past few months we’ve been closely involved with Miki, because we’re really feeling her style. When El. Train hit her up to lace some vocals for his upcoming “Somewhere Between” EP, we didn’t expect this to happen though. This song has quickly become my personal favorite song from Miki Rose in a short amount of time and I’m very sure it will become an all time favorite of yours too!
British/Jamaican singer Danderson is the other vocalist on this project and Brasstracks collaborates too. On the remix duty we find two Dutch producers, who are no strangers to us. Jengibeats turns Control into something totally different, but in a good way. And I trust that Rotterdam funksta Trian Kayhatu brings his funkiest stuff to the table as well. Unfortunately we haven’t heard all the tracks, but we will soon. Lastly JNTHN STEIN delivers the 3rd and final remix for this project bringing this release full circle.
It is our pleasure to premiere the first track and be able to provide a free download as well! The EP comes out January 11th and will be the first release on Shimmy Records. It was created as a way to spotlight some of El. Train’s favorite artists as he looks to incorporate original vocals into his productions. Dropping soon..
If it were up to fLako you will be going KuKu very shortly, but worry too much about it. Of course you are not loosing your marbles (yet). Though I think after having heard his upcoming EP you might be going nuts just a little.
Following fLako’s “Eclosure” EP from 2012, the Chilean producer returns to business with his brand new KuKu EP. Each track is sliced with a evocative exotica and an unrestricted creativity, made up of hints of organic and orchestral components. It will be released on Five Easy Pieces in three weeks time. fLako really outdid himself again his time and I wonder what you guys think about the newness.
Don’t forget to follow Natureboy aka fLako on Soundcloud and you can purchase KuKu at HHV, Juno or Bleep in three weeks time.
Believe it or not our first post of 2015 is about something I missed. Eversince we discovered Brandon Williams, we have been waiting for his breathtaking album, entitled “XII“, to drop. Can’t remember how often I asked him about it, but today I came to discover it was released mid November.
In hindsight Brandon Williams album would have been in our top 5 list of favorite albums of 2014. Brandon has had the privilege to produce many successful songs for other artists and thought it was time for him to debut his work as a producer and musician. The Detroit musician has built meaningful relationships with extablised artists and on asked a lot of them to lend a helping hand on XII.
Special guests on this album include Don Blackman (RIP), Bernard Wright, Frank McComb, Robert Glasper, Karriem Riggins, Amp Fiddler, Geno Young, Derrick Hodge, Jean Baylor (of Zhane), Pharoahe Monch, Choklate, Casey Benjamin, Moonchild, Deborah Bond, Jesse Boykins III and more.
The way Brandon Williams flawlessly blends that Detroit Soul sound with modern day Jazz is simply wonderful and refreshing. Don’t even think twice and buy this album…it’s well worth your money, trust me!