I have a few new artists and two big releases to showcase today.
First though, let's start with the upcoming artists:
Floetry Ft Mos Def - Where You Are (Converse Remix) by Con-Verse
Conor Lloyd is Con-Verse, a UK-based hip-hop producer. Chilled, smooth, and soulful are a few words that come to mind when describing his style. A master of the bassline and weaver of funky, 90's reminiscent, Con-verse exhibits his exceptional skills in this remix of "Where You Are" by Mos Def. Though he's only 18, Con-verse is talented beyond his years.
3. Saved - Kasi RocsWell by FLOYDCHEUNG
Staying in gear with hip-hop Floyd Cheung is next on the list. An international traveler, Cheung is based in the UK or Hong Kong(apparently). Regardless, his beats shine with a light untethered from region or culture. Most of his tracks are short excerpts of home-made beats and production mixed with perfectly blended samples. For the track I have brought to you today, Cheung provided the production and beats while Kasi RocsWell added the lyrics and mastered the album, From West To East. The track combines expertly sampled harps, flutes, and bongos with a frictionless lyrical story that will have you lost by verse two.
Bordeaux [clip] by MJ Cole
Steering away from hip-hop and heading back towards the electronica scene, I bring you MJ Cole. I have been following Cole(real name Matthew James Coleman) for months now but have been hesitant to showcase any of his tracks as they are usually only clips of the full version. However, today MJ Cole released the Satellite EP which contains his newest and most forward-moving tracks yet. Based(you guessed it) in the UK, MJ Cole has been developing garage and electronica since the late 90's, even starting his own record Prolific Recordings. This clip from Bordeaux is a perfect example of MJ Cole's airy yet energetic production style, playing off of high string melodies and fast-paced, on-your-feet drums.
Another example of MJ Cole's excellent work is his mash-up of TGV and Wiley's "From The Drop" which can heard in the opening of MJ Cole's Winter Vibes Mix:
MJ Cole - WINTERvibesMIX by MJ Cole
The Satellite EP was released today on Prolific Records, you buy the whole album on Beatport for ~$8
Finally, the best for last...
Benn Jordan is The Flashbulb, an IDM/classical/dnb/ambient producer, artist, singer, and label owner who is more talented than any other artist I know of. His musical prowess breaks barriers and in and over any musical genre or preconceived notion of an artist's limitations. Beginning as an IDM and dnb artist in the 90's, The Flashbulb has progressed into experimental soundscapes, classical fusion, and now full-fledged jazz.
The Flashbulb - Passage D by omni9
As an example of The Flashbulb's talent, I bring you Passage D, off of the Kirlian Selections album. The juxtaposition of fast-flowing, subdued classical piano and shrill, programmed drum machines in the track creates a style of sound that is at once unusual yet strangely comfortable. The Flashbulb forces his listeners to constantly reexamine what music should sound like, and how instruments should mix.
As a last example I give you Undiscovered Colors off of Arboreal.
His innovative style has been a joy for me to follow for the past 3 years and now I am happy to announce the flashbulb has posted a date for his new release Love Is A Dark Hallway.
To ship on March 14th, Love Is A Dark Hallway is Jordan's first full jazz album and will focus on his performance and compositional efforts rather than any conceptual themes or ideas. Make sure to pick it up when it is released, I know I will be.
hey, sorry for the delay. haven't listened to any of the stuff here yet, but will. got 'silent shout' by the knife, and it is very good. don't care for much after track 7, though. the sound however is very unique and dark, i like it. will listen to the stuff here later.
ReplyDeletethe con verse remix is very nice. it takes a song that i probably wouldn't like very much and gives it an R+B groove. maybe a little bit reminiscent of new jack swing? but with a little bit of late 70s soul in there too.
ReplyDeletesaved is very cool. it has that late 70s soul in there— if you like that i might look into the rae+christian remix of bodyrock. it's pretty old now, don't know if you remember moby's play or not. the lyrics are sort of all over the place... to me the music is more interesting. the lyrics are kind of typical. except this time the reference to martin luther king was as a negative view of modern culture, which was at least honest. a lot of these rappers throw around martin luther king and malcolm x along with the word nigga, like taking the r off of the end adds respect or decency to a word that is coated in hate. martin would be rolling over in his grave if he saw that. rap overall has been a good thing but all this throwing around the n-word and talking about your bling and your girls and then throwing out martin luther king for the hell of it... it's not only pushing racial stereotypes, it's...it's making them culturally acceptable. it's ridiculous.
but that isn't this guy and i'm off on a rabbit path.
bordeaux... i'm starting to really notice a 60s/70s soul theme in the music here. those quick notes on the harp were really interesting. this is a neat fusion of electronic and real instrumentation. do you know if he uses a real harp?
flashbulb. that was bizarre (passage D). it's definitely experimental, but i can't say i care for it. i really love the piano work but the beats are... it's like if you muted barney and played rammstein. it's just, experimental for the sake of being experimental i guess. which there's nothing wrong with because it can often lead to moving music. but i don't see it as something i would listen to, but a step that has to be taken to be something new and good...?
undiscovered colours works much better. i think it's because the tempo of the beats is similar to the tempo of the rest of the music, and doesn't sound like two different songs being played at the same time like the other one did. it's interesting. it's a new way to enjoy classical music, in a sense. i wonder what vivaldi, beethoven, or even krzysztof penderecki would sound like in this type of playing style?
I've got alot to say about your comments! But not much time to say it in...Expect a proper reply Sunday and a new post by Monday..
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