JOVM celebrates Diana Ross’ 78th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 78th Birthday, Diana Ross!
JOVM celebrates Diana Ross’ 78th birthday.
Category: Soul Music
Throwback: Happy 80th Birthday, Aretha Franklin!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 80th anniversary of Aretha Franlkin’s birth.
Throwback: Happy 69th Birthday, Chaka Khan!
JOVM belatedly celebrates Chaka Khan’s 69th birthday.
New Video: British Soul Outfit Mama’s Gun Shares an Adorable Visual for “Good Love”
Deriving their name from Erykah Badu‘s acclaimed and beloved album Mama’s Gun, the London-based soul outfit Mama’s Gun — currently, Andy Platts, Cameron Dawson, David Oliver, Terry Lewis and Chris Boot — formed back in 2008. And since their formation, they’ve released four full-length albums: 2009’s Routes to Riches, which broke big in Japan and eventually lead to the British band being the most played international artist on Japanese radio that year; 2011’s Life and Soul; 2014’s Cheap Hotel; and 2018’s Golden Days.
Adding to a growing profile, the London-based soul outfit have opened for Level 42, Beverley Knight, Ben l’Oncle Soul and Raphael Saadiq while developing a fanbase across Southeast Asia — in particular South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore.
The rising British soul outfit began 2022 with the “Party For One”/”Looking For Moses” double A-side single. Released through the band’s Candelion Records with Secretly Group and Colemine Records, the double A-side single served as a teaser for the band’s fifth album Cure The Jones. (More on the singles a bit further below.)
Written and produced during the pandemic by the band’s Andy Platts’ with additional soundscaping from the band’s Chriss Bott, Cure The Jones was recorded direct-to-tape with an array of analog gear at Platts’ home studio in a breakneck three day session. The album, which is slated for an April 1. 2022 release, is reportedly informed and inspired by the spirit of conscious late ’60s and ’70s soul (think Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye) and the turbulence of the past couple of years. While being a lush, nuanced meditation on a world turned upside down, the album thematically explores and touches upon love, loss, and life through the most pressing sociopolitical issues of our day.
“Party For One” is a slow-burning and strutting bit of 70s psych soul and neo-soul centered around the sort of low-slung and wobbling bass line that would make Bootsy Collins proud, a lush horn line, fluttering psychedelic effects and Andy Platts’ dreamy falsetto. “Party For One” points out a bitter irony that even loners and homebodies felt during pandemic-related lockdowns — sometimes, you just want to see and talk to another human adult.
“Lyrically ‘Party For One’ comes from me being a bit of a loner – I like my own company and space to create, think and reflect,” the band’s Andy Platts explains. “I was in my ideal world during the early stages of the pandemic, on my own and with no one around, but I was mourning the company of strangers. There is something in anonymous togetherness that is the stuff of life.”
“Looking For Moses” continued a run of crafted and expansive, 70s inspired soul centered around Andy Platts’ easygoing Bill Withers-like delivery paired with a warm and lush arrangement of wah wah pedaled guitar, glistening and arpeggiated Rhodes, shimmering strings and soulful harmonizing. Much like its companion, “Looking For Moses” comes from a deeply personal, lived-in space –while actually paying homage to the legendary Withers.
“‘Looking For Moses’ was the track that kicked off the writing for our new album [to be announced shortly],” Platts says. “Everything was panic stations at the time, it was my daughter that inspired the first set up with the lyrics ‘her mama says she can’t go out, baby girl maybe one day you’ll understand, when all of this is in the past.’ I wanted to imbue it with a bit of hope too – it’s about leaning on your beliefs but more so it’s about standing united and staying the course, and the reality of simply getting by and getting through life.”
“Good Love,” Cure the Jones‘ third and latest single is classic Motown era-inspired love song (think What’s Going On era Marvin Gaye, in particular), centered around a shuffling, two-step inducing rhythm, a sinuous bass line, squiggling funk guitar and twinkling keys paired with Platts’ soaring and expressive falsetto. But at its core, the song is a contented and thankful sigh for the constant and dependable love you can count on –for better and for worse.
“This is a love song, no doubt about it,” Mama’s Gun’s Andy Platts explains. “But it was really prompted by life in the pandemic which forces you to reflect on what you have. The thought of getting through this pandemic alone like so many others out there — on top of everything else like work struggles and raising children — was overwhelming. So it is about counting your blessings, the constant and dependable love of your significant other.”
Directed and edited by Polyrock Films prominently stars a lizard named Ted and a doll named Barb as the couple’s odd yet devoted couple. Throughout the video, our protagonists are thrown into scenes that classic movies, including King Kong. At the end of the video, Ted remarks that he thought love — the love they have — only happened in the movies. It’s adorable.
New Video: Tanika Charles Teams Up with DijahSB on a Strutting and Triumphant Bop
Two-time Juno Award-nominated and Polaris Prize listed, Toronto-born and-based Trinidadian-Canadian singer/songwriter Tanika Charles spent a formative part of her life in Edmonton, when energy sector opportunities brought her family there. But whether they were in Toronto or Edmonton, music was a constant presence in the Charles household: Her father would return from two weeks on site with the latest jazz records for Tanika and her brothers to play and jam out along.
Several years later, Tanika’s eldest brother would be the first to coach her on how to sing and how to record a song. As a young adult., Charles relocated to Vancouver, where she picked up gigs as a backing vocalist and got a taste of tour life. When she returned to her birthplace, the Trinidadian-Canadian artist’s long-held dreams of becoming a professional artist began to come to fruition: She assembled her first backing band, and with that band recorded her debut EP What? What! What?! With the release of her debut EP, Charles quickly became a local scene fixture.
Back in 2016, Charles independently released her full-length debut Soul Run within her native Canada. The album was sensation nationally, with the album receiving a Polaris Music Prize nomination and a Juno Award nomination for Best R&B/Soul Recording of the Year. The following year, Italian purveyors of funk and soul Record Kicks released Soul Run internationally to critical applause from the likes of Exclaim!, Music Republic Magazine and others. Album singles like “Endless Chain,” “Love Fool,” and album title track “Soul Run” received regular radio rotation on stations across Canada, the US, the UK and France.
Charles’ sophomore album, 2019’s The Gumption was released through Record Kicks. The 12-song album picked up where Soul Run left off, further establishing the Canadian artist’s sound and approach in which classic soul is mixed with modern production. Thematically, the album saw Charles tackling moments of vindication, uncertain love, forbidden fruit and the state of the world. “It’s a little more mature,” Tanika said at the time. ““It’s not feeling guilty about being up front, not being afraid to address situations that aren’t comfortable for me. I’m comfortable in my skin now in a way I never was before.” The Gumption was long-listed for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize and nominated for the 2020 Juno Awards R&B/Soul Recording of the Year.
Along with her latest backing band, The Wonderfuls, Charles has toured across Canada and eight other counties to support Soul Run and The Gumption. Those tours have prominently featured stops across the local, national and global festival circuits, including Rennes Trans Musicales, NXNE, Lärz Fusion, Pop Montreal, Canarias Jazz Festival, CBC Music Festival, TD Toronto Jazz Fest, Birmingham’s Mostly Funk, Soul and Jazz Festival, the Pan Am Games and a list of others.
The Canadian artist’s music has appeared on HBO’s Less Than Kind, ABC’s Rookie Blue, The CW’s Seed, CTV’s Saving Hope, CBC’s Kim Convenience and Workin’ Moms and a nationally broadcast KFC ad campaign. She also has appeared as a reoccurring guest on CBC Kids and as a lounge singer on Global TV’s Bomb Girls. Between a busy schedule as a touring musician, Charles appeared in the touring production of Freedom Singer in 2017. She returned to that role in February 2019’s Now We Recognize.
Charles’ third album Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly is slated for an April 8, 2022 release through Record Kicks. The album, which features guest spots from Toronto-based emcee DijahSB and multi-disciplinary artist Khari McClelland was written and recorded during and after pandemic related lockdowns and restrictions. Much like its immediate predecessor, the forthcoming album is reportedly anchored in growth and maturity.
The album’s title is derived from an unlikely source, a creature that soars after the sun has set, but often goes unnoticed until light is shone on it. Referred to as “papillon de nuit” by some, the animal is more commonly known as a moth, possibly revealing a linguistic bias. “I always thought it was a strange insect,” the acclaimed Canadian artist says in press notes. “Once while in Paris, a friend swatted at one and I asked: ‘Was that a moth?’. I was told: ‘No, that’s a papillon de nuit.’ I thought that was the most beautiful description for this otherwise overlooked creature. When I later learned of the symbolism associated with it, I felt that really spoke to both my own situation and also what we’ve all been going through.”
Last month, I wrote about the funky, old-school soul-inspired bop “Rent Free,” a fiery tell-off to the energy sucking vampires, deadbeats, naysayers, haters, time wasters and other shitty people of life, centered around Charles’ effortless, Motown era-like delivery. We’ve all had those sorts in our lives, and this song is the sort of song that tells you that it’s okay to push those toxic people out of your life for you to feel better — or to succeed.
The album’s latest single “Different Morning” is a collaboration that features Toronto-based emcee DijahSB, whose album Head Above the Waters was featured in Exclaim Magazine‘s Top 50 Albums of the year and landed a Juno Award nomination — and a performance slot at the award show. Sonically speaking, “Different Morning” is a slick and strutting synthesis of Larry Levan-like house and neo-soul centered around twinkling Rhodes, a sinuous bass line, swinging J. Dilla-like beats, and ebullient horn blasts. And over that celebratory two-step inducing production, Charles contributes soulful vocals that gradually build up confidence with a celebratory and triumphant verse from DijahSB.
“So much of our days are spent dwelling on the same mistakes, the same misfortunes. That thing we wish didn’t happen, or what we wish we hadn’t done,” Tanika Charles explains in press notes. “‘Different Morning’ is about starting a new day without that baggage, about finding a way to correct course and move past it. What starts as a pitiful interior monologue evolves into a celebration of getting over that hump by being your biggest cheerleader. DijahSB is someone who was able to carry that triumphant spirit that the second half of the song needed. ‘I’m alive today’ is enough of a blessing, enough of an accomplishment, and enough to be thankful for.”
Directed by Cazhhmere, the accompanying video for “Different Morning” features the Canadian artists in a lush, Alice in Wonderland-like maze at night dancing and rocking out to the song. Shit, I wish I could join them because they’re having fun, and just enjoying the moment.
New Video: Kendra Morris Shares Slow-Burning and Intimate “Circle Eights”
Kendra Morris is a Florida-born, New York-based singer/songwriter, multi-disciplinary artist and newest JOVM mainstay. Now, as you might recall, as a singer/songwriter and musician, Morris can trace the origins of her music career to discovering the joys of multi-tracking and harmonizing with herself on a karaoke machine in the closet of her childhood home.
Morris then went on to play in cover bands in her home state before relocating to New York with her band, which played her original material. Her first band split up and she dealt with the aftermath by writing material alone on an 8-track in her closet. Sometime after, she met longtime collaborator and producer Jeremy Page and signed to Wax Poetics, who released her full-length debut, 2012’s Banshee.
Morris self-released her sophomore effort 2016’s Babble. Then she went on to collaborate with the likes of DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, MF DOOM, Czarface, Ghostface Killah, Dennis Coffey and Dave Sitek among others. And while being a grizzled, New York scene vet, Morris’ work generally embodies a broader sense of American culture, drawing from a wide array of influences across music and film dating back to the mid 20th Century.
The Florida-born, New York-based artist’s long-awaited sophomore album Nine Lives was released last week through Karma Chief Records. While being her first full-length album in a decade, the album represents a major turning point in her life both professional and personally: The album for her heralds the beginning of a new chapter; an evolution to the next level of adulthood; and the first on her new label. The album’s material encapsulates moments from what could easily be nine lifetimes lived over a chronological time period — or nine lives lived simultaneously in parallel and convergent realities in the multiverse.
In the lead up to the album’s release last week, I managed to write about two of its singles:
- “Penny Pincher,” a slow-burning ballad about reaching the end of the road in a relationship, fueled by regret, heartache, acceptance and steely determination to go forward with your life.
- “Nine Lives” is a strutting, hook-driven bit of soul pop jam centered around Morris’ sultry vocals, stuttering boom bap beats, squiggling guitar, and glistening Rhodes arpeggios that sounds as though it could have been released between 1992-1996 or so.
The album’s latest single “Circle Eights” is a slow-burning song centered around twinkling Rhodes, a sinuous bass line, a steady rhythm and Morris’ soulful vocals full of a deeply aching yearning. “Circle Eights is about the feeling of being outside of yourself and feeling kind of alone and awkward even when you’re surrounded by your friends,” the New York-based JOVM mainstay explains. “I remember hanging out at a rooftop party in Brooklyn one summer night and looking around at all the people I was with plus the groups of people I didn’t know and just lifting my glass and laughing out loud and yet feeling like I wasn’t really there. Like I was just watching a movie and I was thinking.. Where do I fit in all this right now?
Directed by Morris, the accompanying video for “Circle Eights” sees the JOVM mainstay employing stop motion animation and live action as it follows the secret adventures of an old toy through Morris’ apartment. At points, this beloved toy seems to be watching a life as though they’re a passive observer “I made the accompanying video using what I had on hand and shot using stop motion animation combined with live action around my apartment while I had covid,” she explains. “I love a good challenge and believe that with a good idea you can make anything exciting.. and so began my covid adventure.”
Throwback: Black History Month: Sly and the Family Stone
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month — and pays tribute to Sly and The Family Stone.
Throwback: Black History Month: Bill Withers
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month — and pays tribute to Bill Withers.
Throwback: Black History Month: Patti LaBelle
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month — and pays tribute to Patti LaBelle.
Last week Ghostface Killah celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the release of his seminal debut album Ironman with a special broadcast on his Blue & Cream Sonos station that saw the beloved emcee taking listeners through the entire album, track by track, reflecting on the stories behind what may arguably be one of the more important influential albums within the Wu-Tang universe.
Today, Ghostface released another special episode “Ghost Season of Love.” The episode features Ghost playing some of his favorite tracks that should be part of your Valentine’s Day, however you’re spending it. Fittingly, the mix features tracks from Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye, Lauryn Hill, Prince, Stevie Wonder and more. And it’s that Quiet Storm fire that all you lovers you there need today.
The Ghost Season of Love playlist
1. Ghostface Killa & Ne-Yo – “Back Like That” (0:00:06)
2. Marvin Gaye – “I Want You” (0:00:55)
3. Lauryn Hill – “Nothing Even Matters” feat. D’Angelo (0:05:25)
4. Sade – “Your Love Is King” (0:11:12)
5. Mali Music – “Loved By You” feat. Jazmine Sullivan – (0:14:50)
6. Tony Terry – “With You” (0:19:05)
7. Case – “Happily Ever After” (0:24:09)
8. Prince – “Adore” 2020 Remaster (0:28:47)
9. Daley – “Alone Together” feat. Marsha Ambrosius (0:35:17)
10. Stevie Wonder – “You and I” (0:39:16)
11. Ghostface Killah, Vaughn Anthony & Estelle – “Paragraphs of Love” (0:43:54)
12. The Whispers – “Lady” (0:47:47)
13. Snoh Aalegra – “Find Someone Like You” (0:52:50)
14. PJ Morton – “First Began” (0:56:15)
15. Luther Vandross “If This World Were Mine” with Cheryl Lynn – (1:00:08)
16. Jaheim – “Diamond In da Ruff” (1:05:22)
17. Brian McKnight – “Back At One” (1:08:38)
18. Ghostface Killah, Ne-Yo – “Back Like That” (1:13:00)
Throwback: Black History Month: Stevie Wonder
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month — and pays tribute to Stevie Wonder.
Throwback: Black History Month: Marvin Gaye
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month — and pays tribute to Marvin Gaye.
Throwback: Black History Month: Nina Simone
JOVM’s WIlliam Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month — and pays tribute to Nina Simone.
Throwback: Black History Month: Earth, Wind & Fire
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month — and pays tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire.
Throwback: Black History Month: Mary J. Blige
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month — and pays tribute to the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige.