Thankfully, Nailah chose to dedicate herself to music after a promising career as an attorney in North Carolina. The transition to succeed in the music industry was tough, but after some initial doubts it seems Nailah is destined for success.

Nailah was drawn to music by the local church choirs, and tapped a wide range of musical influences to create her own form. She gives Cassandra Wilson the credit for “making her feel it was ok to bring southern roots into it”, Sarah Vaughn for being inspiring with her fierceness and elegance, and Curtis Mayfield and Gil scott-Heron for their songwriting, political insights and courage. [Read more →]

The great American poet, musician and author is finally back in Oslo. Wednesday the 19th of may he will grace the stage at Rockefeller Music Hall. Scott-Heron has been a great influence on the hip-hop culture, and has been dubbed “the black Bob Dylan”. [Read more →]

Released: 01/02/2010

José James came to prominence when Gilles Peterson signed him to Brownswood Recordings a couple of years ago. His debut album, “The Dreamer“, has been one of my most frequently played records over the last two years, and I think it is now widely recognised for the great piece of music that it is. Finally, his new album, “Black Magic” is here.

His voice comes across as a modern Gil Scott-Heron, with influences ranging from Marvin Gaye to the unmistakable John Coltrane. ”Black magic” as José describes in the booklet, conveys a lot of meaning, from the roots of black music across genres with its emotional expression ranging from passionate uproar to the beauty of love. [Read more →]

I was on a short weekend break in London last weekend. And when I saw the band was playing, seeing Joey Negro’s Sunburst Band live at the fantastic Jazz Café in Camden took prominence over the activities that was originally planned. I Broke away from my schedule, and jumped on the northern line. I arrived 20 minutes into the show, and worse, all tickets sold out. Coming all the way from Oslo I was determined to find away. Using a combination of conversation skills and the odd bribe, the doors finally opened and I got to enjoy 35 minutes of an enthusiastic live band in front of a pleased audience. [Read more →]

Released: 1973/2009

Jon Lucien captures the essence of romance. His rich and expressive voice are a perfect channel for poetic tales of devotion, trust, hope, harmony and spirituality. The atmosphere is just right, drawing inspiration from rhythm and blues, jazz, caribbean beats (he was born on the island of Tortola – the largest of the British Virgin Islands) and Brazillian bossa to create his own unique blend soul.

These two cuts are finally to be found on on 45! Two huge Jon Lucien cuts, “Searching For The Inner Self” and “Would You Believe In Me”.

What a track “Searching for the inner self” is! It rose to prominence when Gilles Peterson dug the crates and included it in his Digs America compilation back in 2005. The b-side, “Would you believe in me“, is taken from the longplayer “Rashida” and is, as the main cut, a slow groove with Lucien’s majestic voice supported with the right amounts of horns and classic drumbreaks.

Fat City | Official Site |

Released: 1976/1999/2009

This an absolutely massive cut – so happy you can’t help smiling. From the very start the horns lead you into a cheerful vibe, the chorus just brings you along and then it breaks down into psychedelic rock guitars and classic drumbreaks. Add some sax and you’ve got a feast! What a track to end the night with.

The original was released on Shadybrook Records back in 1976 and was produced by Gene Russell. Cheyenne Fowler is the name of the vocalist and her records also go under the name “Cheyenne”. The track was part of the album “Cheyenne’s coming”  - and judging by the the few cuts I’ve heard from it, it’s a brilliant record. If you have the full album, let me know as I want a copy!

I don’t know whether it also was released as a single back in 1976, but it was re-issued ten years ago as a 7″ vinyl on Dom Servinis excellent label Wah Wah 45s.

However, it was the recent re-release on Black Cat with “Hanson – Take Me To Your Home” on the B-side that brought the song to my attention. “Take me to your home” is a rhodes-driven, psychedelic funk-rock cut from their obscure LP on Emerson, Lake & Palmers’ Manticore label. Sweet downtempo, smokefueled funk for the late hours. Both tracks are quality and obscure, so don’t miss out on this release.

You can get your copies from Fat City, Juno and Phonica.

Listen to “Come back to me on YouTube |

Released 09/09/2009

It is finally here. The hugely anticipated debut album from Mayer Hawthorne and the County. The long player is definitively my number one record of 2009. “A strange arrangement” is packed with classic soul of the finest Motown vintage, only with the magnificent feat of being recorded today.

I first wrote about Mayer back in November last year and have recommended the first two singles – “Just ain’t gonna work out” and “Maybe so, maybe no” –  The first one catching everyones attention with its characteristic red heart-shaped 7″ vinyl. I still can’t speak highly enough of this artist.

Born Andrew Mayer Cohen, Mayer Hawthorne grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, and was raised on the rich soul and jazz history the region provided. Curtis Mayfield, Smokey Robinson, Isaac Hayes and others provided the inspired Hawthorne playing instruments from an early age, but he never intended to become a singer. He isn’t formally trained, and never went the traditional route of singing in the church choir. More than anything, it was hip-hop that brought him onto production and dj’ing and that put him in touch with Stones Throw head honcho Peanut Butter Wolf.

The stage name “Mayer Hawthorne” is a combination of Cohen’s real middle name (Mayer) and the name of the street he grew up on in Michigan (Hawthorne Rd). “Mayer Hawthorne and The County” is a name Cohen often uses when performing live or recording as Mayer Hawthorne with other artists. In Cohen’s words, “The County” is basically anyone who plays an instrument or sings on his album.

It is easy to brand the sound “neo-soul” or “retro”. Personally, I think timeless would be a better term. He pays homage to his musical roots, yet clearly establishes his own authentic and personal musical expression. In an interview with L.A. Weekly he recently expressed this intent – “I really wanted to make sure that I put my own stamp on it, and I moved the music forward, and I’m bringing it to a new generation of kids who didn’t grow up on that music, or missed out on it.”

“A strange arrangement” is packed with soul-gems, and it is the strength of the overall package that is most impressive. There are no fillers on the album, the singles are complemented with equally good hits such as personal favorites “The Ills”, “Make her mine”, “One track mind” and the title track. The heart-melting ballads about love won and lost blends well with more uptempo, horn and breaks fueled songs for the dancefloor. The distinctive elements of Motown, such as the orchestration, string and horn sections, tambourines, the interplay between the lead singer and his backing vocalists, and of course foot-slapping drum breaks are all vividly present and arranged perfectly by Hawthorne himself.

MySpace | Spotify | Amazon | iTunes | StonesThrow

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: 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 |

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 |