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Released: 04/08/2009

I have lots of superlatives in stock for Tanya Morgans “Brooklynati” that was released back in may. The album is still on iTunes list of the top ten best selling hiphop albums.  Their soulful, positive old school vibe with most of the elements I look for in modern hiphop. “Never enough” features the lovely Carlitta Duran on vocals and got that late summer atmosphere you’d want from a song about unconditional love.

Brooklynati is Tanya Morgan’s third project following the success of “Moonlighting” and “The Bridge”. Since Von Pea, Ilyas, and Don Will formed Tanya Morgan in 2003, they have received high praise. References to artists such as De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest is very much justified. Based on the fictitious city of Brooklynati, this release pushes the boundaries of a concept album by incorporating not only lyrical imagery but also cultivating a culture and mindset.

Now, to celebrate the album’s success and the release of the trio’s “Never Enough” iTunes single, Tanya Morgan is giving aspiring producers an opportunity to remix the single. Native Instruments, 2dopeboyz, Tanya Morgan, Interdependent Media, Society Original Products, and Audible Treats have joined forces and are proud to present the “Brooklynati’s Got Talent Remix Contest.” After downloading the Acapella of “Never Enough,” featuring Tanya Morgan’s and Carlitta Durand’s vocals, contestants will have two weeks to craft their best beat and submit their remixed version of the song to be judged by Tanya Morgan and their label, Interdependent Media.

You’ll find everything you need to know about the competition HERE!

Listen to the song | Buy the single from iTunes | MySpace | Amazon |

To celebrate the release of Brownswood Bubblers 4 on the 24th of August 2009, the lovely people at Brownswood Recordings have put together a special ‘Best Of Bubblers Mixtape’ featuring a selection of some of their favourite tracks from all four Bubblers compilations.

If your new to the Bubblers series, then this will give you a taste of what they are all about. If your a seasoned Bubbler then this mix is sure to push all the right buttons and set you up nicely for BB4.

The Tracklist is as follows:
1. Soundspecies – Can We Call It Love (with Ahu) [BB4]
2. Simbad feat. Steelo – Soul Fever [BB1]
3. Bullion – Get Familiar [BB3]
4. NSM – The Hype [BB2]
5. Katalyst feat. Steve Spacek – How Bout Us [BB3]
6. Cornish Waters feat. Duchess – Walking [BB2]
7. Ayak & First Man – Can We Go Back? [BB1]
8. DJ Day – A Place To Go [BB3]
9. Mayer Hawthorne – Maybe So, Maybe No [BB4]
10. Iman – Who Was I Trying To Fool [BB1]
11. Flying Lotus – Tea Leaf Dancers [BB2]
12. New Look – Everything [BB4]

For me, the label have provided quality from day one, including compilations, singles and albums. If you haven’t checked out the label yet, I suggest you do!

Download the mix HERE

Released: 22/06/2009

It has been a while since my last post, the reason being extensive traveling. Over the past month I have been to London, Ibiza and Barcelona – all providing new musical experiences and inspiration. One tuesday a few weeks ago I went to the Notting Hill Arts Club and Marina and the Diamonds did a live gig at the intimate underground venue. I was unaware of the Welch-born, London-based Marina Diamandis, but the Arts Club is great for both discovering new talent and to hear good djs and electronic artists.

Marina impressed me both with her voice and her presence on stage. The crowd was special as well, made up of a large proportion of her friends. Her voice is distinct and powerful, yet fragile and sweet. Comparisons to Florence and the Machine is not too far off. ”I Am Not A Robot” is the lead track from ‘The Crown Jewels EP’, released through Neon Gold on 22nd June 2009. Check out the video here, and a live BBC recording of “Mowgli’s road” here. After releasing her first single, she has appeared live at Glastonbury and her tour schedule is now filled with both UK and international dates. One to watch!

MySpace | MySpace

U.S. Soul singer Leela James is playing at John Dee in Oslo on sunday. You don’t want to miss out on this one. Check out this YouTube video and you get my point. She has been likened to soul greats such as Aretha Franklin and Chaka Kahn and has released two full length albums, the latest being this years “Let’s do it again”. Leela is more than capable of doing her own shows nowadays, but she has also toured with artists like Macy Gray and the Black Eyed Peas. Collaboration-wise she has people like Kanye West, Wyclef Jean and Raphael Saadiq on her CV. 

Personally, I’m still at Lovebox Weekender in London, so I am a bit bummed about missing out. Especially as she did two shows in London only days before I arrived. Anyway, I would be happy if you attended – it will be a great show. Be sure to tell me all about it afterwards!

There are still tickets left (billettservice), so be quick!

I can’t wait. So many great artists wrapped in the best festival atmosphere I have experienced so far. This will be my third consecutive year in Victoria Park, and this year I am bringing more than a dozen friends over from Oslo to share in the hedonistic indulgence.

For those of you who still haven’t made your mind up, or those of you that need to get into the groove, I have made a Spotify playlist with most of the artists playing over the weekend. It is going to be difficult to listen to everything, but I’ll do my best. 

There are still a few tickets left, so get your act together!

I am looking forward to dj’ing at Hells Kitchen on friday. I’ll bring my usual selection of funk, soul, breaks and disco – a lot of it you should be familiar with if you are a loyal reader of this blog. A lot of good music being released these days, so expect a lot of new gems. Hells Kitchen is a small, old school bar/restaurant with a kick ass Funktion One Soundsystem (can’t wait!).  I’ll be playing from about 2300 until 0300. See you there?

Released: 28/01/2008

I’ll start off by quoting King Britt, as I feel his words neatly express my initial reaction to the album one and a half year ago - ”Just when you think that real voices are gone and replaced by synthesized vocoders or perfectly melodined melodies, comes a real voice. A voice who’s texture, tone and timbre seem to trace the history of real jazz greats. A voice that when you hear it, you know that’s what defines the word voice. Ladies and Gents José James”.  

The soulful warmth and intimate presence is up there with the great Terry Callier, Jon Lucien and Gill Scott-Heron. That is no little feet for an artist that cites John Coltrane, Marvin Gay and Billie Holliday as his musical mentors. So who is José James? He is a talented Brooklyn based Irish/Panamanian jazz singer that blends the sounds of jazz and soul, without being trapped within any artificial genre boundaries. In addition to the debut album, José has also featured on music by artists such as Jazzanova, Flying Lotus, JAM, and Dj Mitsu the Beats and Nicola Conte. José sings as part of a basic quartet made up of him, Nori Ochiai on piano, Alexi David on bass and Steve Lyman on drums, but there are slight variations on different tracks. José produced and arrange most of the compositions himself.

There should be no surprise that José first was picked up by BBC music maestro Gilles Peterson. After establishing his Brownswood Recordings record label back in 2006 he have signed artists such as Ben Westbeech and Elan Mehler. The label was set up with the simple aim of releasing good new music, music with soul – no matter where it’s from or what the style. Easily a value proposition to my liking. Check out Gilles great podcasts (available for free through iTunes) for truly inspirational sessions with musicians or just listening to Gilles digging out music from his collection.

The album starts off with the title track “The Dreamer“. The sensual, powerful, yet subtle trumpet gets the mood just right before José’s warm and rich baritone voice enters the frame. “Velvet” and ”Blackeyed Susan” continues the innocent, sensual atmosphere. Loads of emotions expressed in an fragile and honest manner. Picking out favorites is easy on such a complete and accomplished album, yet I would dedicate a few extra words to his cover of Freestyle Fellowship‘s “Parkbench People”. It is accompanied by a great video shot by Josh Rothstein and filmed on location at a homeless shelter in New York.

“Spirits up Above” takes a slightly different angle, using the range of his voice with a more bouncy, tag-along jazz number to revise Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s little known but wonderful composition. The next track is another cover version – this time the theme song from Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have it - Bill Lee’s “Nola”. ”Red”, more than the other tracks on the album, pays homage to his hero Coltrane and is more live, experimental. 

“Winter wind” got that lovely acoustic piano accompanied with slow drums and a intimate presence before José’s lovely voice completes the romantisism with a story of lost love and loneliness, a theme that continues into the nostalgic “Desire”. Yet the two closing tracks are filled with a positive message. ”Love” ends the record on the sensual, spiritual note, with a drumbreak that ups the tempo and adds that little extra to the closing number.

The talents of José James should be apparent to every listener – he could easily be one of the greatest of his generation.

MySpace | Brownswood Recordings | Josejames.com |

Butterflies. Lovebox Weekender is only weeks away and I am looking forward to another great weekend in Victoria Park.

Great headliners and a bunch of up and coming artists worth checking out. Already confirmed are Groove Armada (obviously), N.E.R.D, Datarock, Dj Sneak, Duran Duran, Doves, Friendly Fires, Simian Mobile Disco, Gary Numan, Jazzie B, Johnny D, Ladyhawke, Severino, The RGBs, VV Brown, and the Twelves. Massive and eclectic lineup – and it is still not complete.

Latest additions are amongst others X-Press 2, Diplo (both doing a dj-set in the Rizla van!), Idjut Boys, Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

As always, the VIP area is impressive with champagne, cocktail bars, a la carte restaurant and more to it. However, my problem with the VIP area is justifying missing out on all the great stuff happening on the main stage, the stockade and other areas. Norman Jay and Joey Negro are the first djs comfirmed to the VIP area – and there will no doubt be others. A luxury problem if there ever was one.

There are still tickets left (only £75 for a weekend pass / £149 for a VIP weekend pass) – Click here to get yours!

Released: 18/05/2009

Homecut is the brainchild of Hip-Hop MC/producer Testament. His lyricism, live instrumentation and mix of soul, hip-hop and experimentation recently came to my attention. Four years since the release of his debut single “Come the Revolution” (which I missed), the debut album ”No Freedom Without Sacrifice” just hit the market. 

I always love the sound of organic hiphop, and Homecut get the vibe you know from the soul and jazz orchestration in his productions, and he even performs live as a full seven-piece band.

The first single is “I don’t even know” using the wonderful vocal talents of fellow Leeds resident Corinne Bailey Rae (who also did the vocals on Amp Fiddlers excellent “If I don’t” – remember?) and Soweto Kinch. I love the easy jazz piano, and the sax and clarinets accompanying the slow, yet steady beat. The vocals blend in perfectly, not taking up too much space, yet having a prominent place in arrangement. 

But Homecut have ensembled a cast of contributors that reaches even further. J-Live (BBE), Andreya Triana (Flying Lotus, Bonobo), John Ellis (Cinematic Orchestra), kidkanevil (Stateless) and Ty (Mercury Music Prize Nominee) all play their part on the album. Other tracks that stand out are “Bring it all together”, “Not far to go”, “Breakdown” and “Innovators”. 

“Not far to go” is a varied, yet holistic album that is solidly placed in the UK sound, yet drawing on a wide range of genres. You can say what you want about british hip-hop, but I really respect how the scene has built its own original soundscape, not borrowing too much from the US as many other scenes inevitably do. 

MySpace | Soul Seduction | Play.com | Facebook | Fat City |

Released: 2009

Massive rework of Aretha’s classic “One step ahead” by Featurecast! Turning it into a slow, uplifting hiphop anthem for the summer! Of course, the original was also  popularized by its use in Mos Def’s “Ms. Fat Booty” back in 1999.

I’ve been a big fan of Featurecast for some time now, after first picking up “Channel surfing” back in 2004. That release was on the groovy Catskills label and achieved commercial prominence after it was used in the famous iPod silhouette ads.

The other side sees Loot Beggar mash up Amy Winehouse (“love is a loosing game”) and Alton Ellis – and the result is a spaced out reggae interpretation. Half decent, but it is all about Featurecasts work on this release.

I speak highly of the Wah Wah 45s label and its limited pressings on Wah Dubplate. Check out one of last years mashup favourites for me – Marvin’s Holla. 

Wah Wah 45s | MySpace | Fat City | Picadilly Records |