Queen Alone may be Nicole Wray’s first full-length effort in some time; however, Wray is reunited with the original backing band from Lady Wray’s early days, along with Big Crown Records’ Leon Michels and Daptone Records Tom Brenneck handling production and as Wray explains in press notes the album is a “reflection of my soul. It’s who I am today. ” And as a result, the material on the album is inspired by the singer/songwriter’s life. The album’s latest single “Do It Again” is reportedly is a story about a failed relationship, as well as the story of a cherished and revered intimacy that the song’s narrator is desperate to re-enter regardless of the consequences on her heart and soul. Sonically speaking the song manages to channel What’s the 411 and My Life-era Mary J. Blige and bolstered by the Daptone Records famed horn section paired with silky smooth vocals.
Tag: Aaliyah
Comprised of Susie Wedderburn, Rick David, Jana Tyrrell, and Hannah Ashman, the London-based alternative electro pop quartet Liskka have developed a reputation across the UK for a sound that draws from electro pop, contemporary R&B, glitch, dub step and other electronic music genres while managing to sound nothing like any of them. The British quartet’s latest single “Keep Me Awake” pairs warm blasts of horn, oboe and piano with glitchy synth stabs, stuttering kick drum and drum programming, swirling electronics, layers of vocals fed through vocoder and other effects with soulful vocals in a song that sounds inspired by Timbaland‘s influential production work with Missy Elliott think of a song like “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” Aaliyah‘s “Try Again,” Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body” and others — but somehow even more futuristic, as though the song was produced in the year 2321.
The song manages to possess an eerie and otherworldly quality that stems from an overall sound that’s dense and yet incredibly delicate. To my ears, the instrumentation and the vocals sound as though they could snap if you were to put gentle pressure on them.
If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past few months, you may recall that I’ve written about Nashville, TN-based electro pop trio BASECAMP. Comprised of Aaron Miller, Aaron C. Harmon, and Jordan Reyes, the trio have quickly developed a reputation for a sound that equally draws from electronic music and the past 10-15 years of R&B and pop music; in fact, “Watch My Back,” arguably one of the best singles I’ve heard this year, and Greater Than‘s opening track paired silky smooth vocals with skittering percussion, glitchy electronics, chilly, swirling electronics, glistening synths and a tight, memorable hook to craft a sound that is reminiscent of Timbaland’s revolutionary work with Missy Elliot and Aaliyah.
The Nashville-based trio’s latest single “In My Veins” features Del The Funky Homosapien one of the more unheralded emcees around and Billie Black on a song that sonically manages to owe debts to classic house music and contemporary R&B as the song pairs arpeggio synths, stuttering and skittering drum programming, strummed guitar, wobbling low end and swirling electronics with silky smooth vocals on a sweaty and sexy dance-floor orientated track that compares lust and love to a powerful addiction. Chemically speaking, love is awfully close to being addicted to chocolate, caffeine and several other drugs.
Billie Black contributes some sultry vocals to the song’s hook while Del The Funky Homosapien contribues about 16 bars that expands on the song’s title. and compares being in love to shooting heroin — and in turn, being incredibly difficult to stop.
What “In My Veins” does is further cement the Nashville-based trio’s for slickly produced, sensual electro pop that clearly draws from R&B and dance music — in this case, house music — while possessing an emotional directness and thoughtfulness that seems all too rare.
New Video: The Decadent, Sensual Video for BYRN’s “Electrify”
BYRN is a New York-based singer/songwriter, who according to her Facebook fan page describes her sound as “Evanescence meets Aaliyah in a new twist of emotion and dance.The lyrics are poetic and the melodies are sexy/sweet […]
EP Stream: BASECAMP’s R&B Leaning “Greater Than EP”
Comprised of Aaron Miller, Aaron C. Harmon, and Jordan Reyes, the Nashville, TN-based electro pop trio BASECAMP have developed a reputation for an sound that draws heavily from the past 15-20 years of R&B; in fact, “Watch My […]
New Audio: BASECAMP’s R&B Influenced “Watch My Back” Channels Timbaland-era Missy Elliot
Comprised of Aaron Miller, Aaron C. Harmon, and Jordan Reyes, the Nashville, TN-based trio BASECAMP have developed a reputation for an electro pop sound that draws heavily from R&B; in fact, “Watch My Back,” the […]
If you’ve been following this site for quite some time, you’d likely remember that a few short weeks ago, I had written about the Brooklyn-based electro pop duo Her Habits, comprised of the Canadian-born vocalist […]
The Portland, OR-based Vocalist Randa Leigh and producer/multi-instrumentalist Brian Vincent comprise the electro pop act SOS. And in interviews, the duo have publicly claimed the xx, Aaliyah, D’Angelo and Kanye West as influences. Although, lyrically the duo’s work explores the feelings, emotional impulses […]
Comprised of vocalist Randa Leigh and producer/multi-instrumentalist Brian Vincent, the Portland, OR-based electro pop act SOS have publicly claimed the xx, Aaliyah, D’Angelo and Kanye West as influences although lyrically, the duo’s work explores the […]
Influenced by the likes of Prince, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson and Sade, vocalist Sonya Teclai has received quite a bit of attention across the blogosphere for a sound which comprises of elements of hip-hop, contemporary R&B, […]
New York-based artist Beca broke out big time with the release of her single “Let’s Run Wild,” which got praise from XLR8R and Stereogum. Her latest single, “Born to Fly," which is a bit of sexy […]