Bristol Spotlight: Javeon McCarthy
Bristol’s Javeon McCarthy is very quietly bucking a trend in a city renowned for the moody rhythms of Trip-Hop…
RnB & Soul
Artist Spotlight: LOL Boys
I know what you’re thinking, but don’t be so quick to judge the LOL Boys by their name…
Boddhi Satva – Ngnari Konon (Feat. Oumou Sangaré)
Boddhi Satva’s Invocation has been ten years in the making and it certainly shows. It is a varied collection of accomplished songs, all, impressively, produced from the confines of Satva’s home. There’s a bit of Reggae (Enemies and Jah Sanctuary), House (Who Am I) and RnB (Because I Know) on there, but if pressed to choose, we enjoyed the African sounds the most. Grammy-winning Oumou Sangare makes a show-stopping appearance on Ngari Konon and on Nankomandjan, Mangala Camara’s sporadic vocals alternates between the wobbling base almost as if the two are playing off each other
Yuna – Thinking About You (Frank Ocean Cover)
Malaysian singer Yuna first came to our attention with her enchanting debut single Live Your Life but fear not, it’s nothing like the T.I track of the same name. Having such a heavyweight producing the track in Pharrell Williams naturally did her publicity no harm, but from her latest offering, it seems that initial success was no one-off.
Tracks You Might’ve Missed: Hird – Keep You Kimi (Feat. Yukimi Nagano)
Given how accomplished this track is, it’s hard to believe that Nu-Jazz/Broken Beat producer Christoffer Berg made it back in 2004 when he was just 21.
New Artist: Lulu James
Geordie songstress Lulu James is single-handedly leading a Future-Soul revolution in the North-East armed with a powerful voice and the dark, Post-Dubstep productions of Domzilla. We were lucky enough to catch her at the Great Escape Festival earlier this month where she lit up a rather drab afternoon in Brighton with her extravagant wardrobe.
New Release: Stanley Bloom & Mike Ro Wave – Road 1 (Feat. Sarah Linhares)
After the release of Private-Beats mixtapes Vol.1 and Vol.2, packed full of Funk, Soul and Hip-Hop beats, Stanley Bloom and Mike Ro Wave are due to release a full album titled Pacific Shore. It’s the product of a California road trip and Road 1 is the excellent first single.
Track’s You Might’ve Missed: Mabanua – Mystery (Feat. Nicholas Ryan Gant)
Japanese beatmaker Mabanua has his fingers dipped into a number of projects (including Green Butter and Ovall) but on his own his work is just as fine. On Mystery, the jazzy piano beat and sweet tones of Nicholas Ryan Grant go really nicely together, prefect for this fine weather (in the UK anyway) on a Sunday afternoon.
New Artist: Poo Bear (MDMA)
As a writer, Jason ‘Poo Bear’ Boyd has won four Grammys (including work with Jill Scott, Usher) and has also produced, written or featured on tracks with Lupe Fiasco, DJ Khaled, Kelis, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and heaps more. Turns out this guy can sing as well.
Anushka – Yes Guess
Anushka exploded onto our radar last week when her track Yes Guess was played on Gilles Peterson’s 6 Music show. Despite Peterson’s claims of a summer anthem in the making, he kept quiet on any extra details so we did some digging.