Tag: Blak Emoji Sapiosexual

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Blak Emoji Shares Sleek and Sexy “Last Night Lost”

New York-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Kelsey Warren has had a lengthy and accomplished career: Over the past two decades, Warren has been in a number of different projects as a side man, hired gun and/or frontman, including Denise Barbarita and the Morning Papers, and Pillow Theory among others.

Warren started Blak Emoji back in 2015. Initially conceived as a solo recording project with a rotating cast of players for live shows, Blak Emoji gradually evolved into a full-fledged band led by Warren (vocals, guitar and keys) featuring Sylvana Joyce (keytar), Bryan Percival (bass, keys) and Max Tholenaar-Maples (drums). With Blak Emoji, Warren has expanded upon his sound and approach to include a slick synthesis of the soul, R&B, and pop that he was immersed in while growing up in South New Jersey, along with hip-hop, punk, minimalist classical and synth-driven music Kraftwerk, Nine Inch Nails and Prince that he loved as an adult.  

Over the past handful of years, the JOVM mainstay has been incredibly busy: With Blak Emoji, Warren has released two EPs and two albums, which have received praise from the likes of Rolling Stone, Afropunk, The Line of Best Fit, BUST, Popmuzik. Vampire Freaks, Ghost Cult Magazine, this site, and many others. “Velvet Ropes & Dive Bars, and “Poison To Medicine” appeared on ABC’s Quantico while “Sapiosexual” appeared in several indie films. Additionally, Warren has become an in-demand producer, who has collaborated with an eclectic array of artists.

Last year, Warren signed with Blake Morgan‘s ECR Music Group for a four-part, full catalog re-issue from the label. The first re-issue is a recently released, deluxe, remastered edition of Warren’s acclaimed album Eclectro. The acclaimed album has been re-sequenced and remastered by ECR Music Group’s Morgan. “I’ve loved and respected Blak Emoji’s work for years,” Morgan says. “I’m thrilled to have him join our roster, and honored to have had the opportunity to remaster his catalog for these stunning ECR reissues.”

Late last year, the JOVM mainstay shared “Mainstay,” a slinky, dance floor friendly, 80s-inspired synth funk bop featuring stuttering and wobbling bass synths, boom bap beats, a sinus bass line and squiggling Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar paired with Warren’s sultry cooing. Much like the handful of other Blak Emoji singles I’ve written about over the years, “Mainstay” is rooted in Warren’s seamless and funky meshing of his various influences and his unerring knack for well-placed, razor sharp hooks.

“Last Night Lost,” Eclectro‘s second and latest single continues a remarkable run of slinky, 80s-inspired synth funk bops featuring dense layers of oscillating synths and bass synths and thumping beats paired with Warren’s sultry cooing, dance floor friendly, razor sharp hooks and sleek, contemporary production. Interestingly, “Last Night Lost” may arguably be the sexiest song of Warren’s growing catalog.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Blak Emoji Shares Funky “Mainstay”

New York-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Kelsey Warren has had a lengthy and accomplished career: Over the past two decades, Warren has been in a number of different projects as a side man, hired gun and/or frontman, including Denise Barbarita and the Morning Papers, and Pillow Theory among others.

Warren started his latest project Blak Emoji back in 2015. Initially started as a solo project wit a rotating cast of players for live shows, Blak Emoji gradually evolved into a full-fledged band led by Warren and featuring Sylvana Joyce (keytar), Bryan Percival (bass, keys) and Max Tholenaar-Maples (drums). Whether as a solo project or as a band, Blak Emoji has been Warren expand his sound and approach to include a slick synthesis of the soul, R&B and pop that he was immersed in while growing up in South New Jersey, hip-hop, punk, minimalist classical and synth-driven music like Kraftwerk, Nine Inch Nails and Prince, among others.

Since then, Warren has been rather busy. With Blak Emoji, Warren has released two EPs and two albums, which have received praise from the likes of Rolling Stone, Afropunk, The Line of Best Fit, BUST, Popmuzik. Vampire Freaks, Ghost Cult Magazine, this site, and many others. And adding to a growing profile, “Velvet Ropes & Dive Bars, and “Poison To Medicine” appeared on ABC’s Quantico while “Sapiosexual” appeared in several indie films. Along with that Warren has been busy as a producer, collaborating with an eclectic array of artists.


Earlier this year, Warren signed with Blake Morgan‘s ECR Music Group for a four-part, full catalog re-issue from the label. The first re-issue is a Deluxe, remastered edition of Warren’s acclaimed album Electero. Slated for an early 2023 release through ECR Music Group, the acclaimed album has been re-sequenced and remastered by Blake Morgan. “I’ve loved and respected Blak Emoji’s work for years,” Morgan says. “I’m thrilled to have him join our roster, and honored to have had the opportunity to remaster his catalog for these stunning ECR reissues.”

Electro Deluxe and Remastered’s lead single “Mainstay” is slinky, dance floor friendly, 80s-inspired synth funk featuring strutting and wobbling bass synths, boom bap beats, a sinuous bass line, squiggling Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar paired with Warren’s sultry cooing. Much like the handful of other Blak Emoji singles I’ve written about over the years, “Mainstay” is rooted in Warren’s seamless and funky meshing of his various influences and his unerring knack for well-placed, razor sharp hooks.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New York music scene vet Kelsey Warren has been a JOVM mainstay as the singer/songwriter and guitarist has spent time as a hired gun, studio hand and frontman in a number of locally and nationally known projects including Denise Barbarita and the Morning Papers, pILLOw tHeORY and a number of others. Earlier this year, Warren’s latest, mostly solo recording project Blak Emoji quickly received attention with the release of Sapiosexual,” a single, which revealed a radical change of sonic direction for grizzled NYC music scene vet as the power chord-based pyrotechnics have been pushed to the background for slinky synths and a dance floor friendly sound while retaining the anthemic hooks that first caught the blogosphere’s attention.

Warren’s Blak Emoji debut EP Intro is slated for a January 20, 2017 and if you had been frequenting this site last month, you may recall that I wrote about the EP’s second single “Velvet Ropes and Dive Bars,” which continues in a similar vein as “Sapiosexual” as Warren’s seductive cooing is paired with slinky synths, a sinuous bass and guitar lines, four-on-the-floor drumming and an infectious hook in yet another slickly produced, dance-floor friendly song. “Honey,” the EP’s third and latest single pairs throbbing low-end, swirling electronics, cascading and buzzing synths and guitars with arena rock-friendly hooks — and much like “Velvet Ropes and Dive Bars,” his last two singles have proven to be among the most seductive and propulsive songs he’s written to date.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site throughout all or a portion of its history, you’d likely be somewhat familiar with New York music scene vet Kelsey Warren as Warren has spent time as a sideman, frontman and studio hired gun in a number of projects including Denise Barbarita and the Morning Papers, pILLOw tHeORY and a number of others. Warren’s solo recording project Blak Emoji received attention earlier this year with the release of Sapiosexual,”a change of sonic direction for Warren, as the power chord-based pyrotechnics have been pushed to the background for slinky synths and a dance floor friendly sound — while gently nodding at Nine Inch Nails. Warren’s second and latest single continues on a similar vein as “Sapiosexual” as the New York-based music scene veteran’s seductive cooing is paired with slinky synths, a sinuous bass and guitar lines, four-on-the-floor drumming and an infectious hook in a slickly produced, dance-floor friendly song. But underneath the sensual and slick production is a some really smart songwriting that simultaneously focuses on a romantic/sexual relationship, and a decadent and alcohol-fueled night out on the town, hitting up dive bars and trying to get into pulsating clubs — all while nodding at funky contemporaries including Boulevards, Tuxedo and others.