Tag: neo-soul

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Kiefer Teams up with Shibo and Planet Giza on Strutting and Soulful “BusyForYa”

Los Angeles-based acclaimed pianist and producer Kiefer Shackelford, a.k.a. Kiefer was raised in San Diego by parents, who were both aerospace engineers and keen pianists, who both influenced him in their own way: His mother taught him at a very young age how to read music and play piano, starting with simple Bach minuets. His father was a huge jazz head, and a fan big fan of Blue Note Records in particular. who released albums by Sonny Clark and Gene Harris.

Shacklelord would endlessly listen to Kind of Blue and after reading Miles Davis‘ biography when he was 13, he knew that he wanted to become a jazz musician. During high school, he studied jazz piano with a local teacher and went to attend UCLA, where Blue Note recording artist and legendary guitarist Kenny Burrell, who was head of the school’s jazz program, became one of his tutors throughout his studies.

After completing his studies, Shackelford signed to Stones Throw Records, where he quickly established his musical identity and gained attention with a series of releases including 2018’s Happysad, 2021’s Between Days and 2023’s It’s Okay B U. Adding to a growing profile, he has collaborated with Dr. Dre, De La Soul, Pete Rock, Anderson .Paak, Terrace Martin and a growing list of others. He’s also a member of the collective FATHERS with Ben “CARRTOONS” Carr, Nate Smith and producer Kenneth Blume, who released their self-titled debut on Blue Note earlier this year.

2026 is a busy year for the acclaimed pianist: His fourth album, and Blue Note Records debut, the Kiefer, Shibo, and CARRTOONS co-produced Memory Bomb is slated for a September 25, 2026 release. The album will feature guest spots from Tony Stone, Erick The Architect, CARRTOONS, Nate Smith, Walter Smith III, Cisco Swank, Relyae, Rae Khalil, Moonchild‘s Amber Navarn, Planet Giza, and more.

Long considered one of Los Angeles’ best kept musical secrets, Kiefer has been described as a musician, who doesn’t just play keys with his fingers, but his soul. He’s a truly gifted artist, who has actively redefined that sweet spot between jazz improvisation and hip-hop beat making through a distinctive musical style, which he calls “Over The Breaks,” which reaches new heights of creativity on Memory Bomb.

The acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist is a believer in embracing new inferences and new styles through collaboration with others — and that’s where the journey to his first Blue Note bandleader album began. His first priority was to get his two best friends — CARRTOONS and Shibo — to co-produce the album with him, as they completely understood his sound, his harmonic sensibility and both are extremely adept at drum programming. The innovation through collaboration mindset extended to the inclusion of a talented cast of vocalist, rappers and musicians in interesting combinations, The result was something new and exciting while still sounding like a Kiefer-led project.

The album’s title, Memory Bomb is a poetic and metaphoric way of saying a dream. For Keifer, there are three types of dreams/memory bombs, the sort you experience when you sleep, the wishful longing type and the ambitious type — and those themes populate the direction of many of the album’s songs. Throughout the album’s runtime, there is a lyrical feel with the album’s material telling a story. It’s wistful, poetic and groove-driven, centered around the sensation of being in a dreamscape. And because of the material’s improvisational moments, the story changes every time the listener listens to it.

The album will include the previously released “NewLevels NewDevils” feat. Tony Stony, Erick The Architect and CARRTOONS, album title track “Memory Bomb” feat. Walter Smith III, Flanafi, and Shibo,” and the album’s third and latest single “BusyForYa” feat. Planet Giza and Shibo. “BusyForYa” is a soulful blend of neo-soul, R&B and pop and hip-hop built around the acclaimed pianist’s strutting and twinkling keys, a strutting bass line and swaggering hip-hop beats beneath soulful crooning and a thoughtful, conscious verse.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: E. Lundquist Teams Up with JOVM Mainstay Kendra Morris on Upbeat “Wishing”

Los Angeles-based producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Eric Borders is the creative mastermind behind E. Lundquist, a project that derives its name from a loving nod to his family lineage, bringing the focus back to his own story. With E. Lundquist, Borders specializes in a warmly cinematic sound rooted in Rhodes-driven soul jazz, funk, R&B, library records and live band groove and analog synth textures, reflecting a shift to an intimate, reflective and composer-led approach.

Borders’ forthcoming album Chasing My Reflections will touch upon themes of identity, resilience and self-reflection while featuring collaborations with Michael Damani, India Blue, Michael Edwards and JOVM mainstay Kendra Morris.

Chasing My Reflections‘ latest single “Wishing” features the Florida-born, New York-based JOVM mainstay’s effortlessly soulful croon over the sort of warm, buoyant, two-step-inducing neo-soul-like arrangement that would make the Soulquarians proud while being being a defiantly optimistic tune focused on the need to get back on your feet and get on with it, no matter how shitty everything seems.

“This song’s music had an overall upbeat, warm feel to it, so in writing it, I felt hopeful. . . .,” Kendra Morris says. “I’ve written plenty of sad songs, and it’s nice to just flip that sometimes. When Eric mentioned his inspiration behind the album and his working title at the time, ‘Reflections’, that got me thinking about my own perspective on life and struggling and how it’s great pushing forward and looking up rather than wallowing behind.”

Filmed and edited by Tony Delerme, the accompanying video for “Wishing” follows the JOVM mainstay walking down a brownstone-lined block rocking out to music on headphones, stopping to people watch before stopping at local bodega for snacks and hitting the subway. The video captures summertime in New York in a way that will bring a smile to New Yorkers faces.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Two Lush and Soulful Tunes from Zurich’s Okvsho

Zurich-based sibling duo Okvsho — Georg and Christoph Kiss — will be releasing their fourth album Frozen Flashes on September 18, 2026 through Current Moves. Recorded between Zurich and London, Frozen Flashes reportedly find the […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: MADELEINE Shares Atmospheric “Give Back To Her”

MADELEINE is an emerging and rising talent in the UK nu-jazz and soul scene. Citing Flying Lotus, James Blake, Salami Rose Joe Louis, Ego Ella May and Sampha as influences on her sound and work, her early output has seen praise from The Line of Best Fit and Jazz re:freshed as well as airplay from BBC Radio 1, BBC Introducing, and Jazz FM. She also played last year’s SXSW.

Building upon a growing profile in the UK, the rising British artist will be releasing the Earth Cry EP through Bridge The Gap on June 16, 2026. The self-produced, self-arranged and self-written effort features some additional production and mixing from Lewis Moody and Will Heaton. The EP reportedly sees MADELEINE taking on a much more futuristic turn, with the material featuring glistening synth textures complimenting her ethereal yet soulful delivery. The restful is an effort that explores future soul while balancing organic textures with an intergalactic interpretation of the sound of London’s cityscape.

Earth Cry EP thematically picks up from where 2023’s full-length Sun Daughter left off, acting as a cry for consciousness and care in relation to both the planet and to our fellow human beings. “I find the parallel between my own personal life, and the relevance of the world around me (nature, politics, the natural world, the dream world), extremely important,” MADELEINE explains. “Sometimes the two are so interlinked within my lyrics – they can almost blur into one. With this project I feel more confident in my directness with some of my themes. After the absolute horrors of the last couple years, it feels important to be talking about something that really matters.”

The forthcoming EP’s latest single “Give Back to Her” is a shimmering and atmospheric take on neo-soul that showcases MADELEINE’s effortlessly soulful delivery and knack for tight, catchy hooks. The result is a song that feels simultaneously improvised, sculptured and crafted. Fittingly, “Give Back to Her” was workshopped and crafted through a mix of her home studio and developing ideas on the road while touring as a keyboardist for Olivia Dean, Jorja Smith and Rachel Chinouriri.

Thematically, the song, as the rising British artist explains is about restoring balance, that people should return what is given, all while asking if we can learn to nurture the planet. “Mental health, for me, is strongly entwined with nature, and this idea of things being taken from us found itself manifesting in the verses from a more personal perspective,” MADELEINE says.

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy Black History Month!/Happy 55th Birthday, Erykah Badu!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month and Erykah Badu’s 55th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 55th Birthday, Questlove!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates The Roots’ co-founder and drummer Questlove’s 55th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: GENA Shares Breezy and Sultry “CIRCLESZ”

Deriving its name from an acronym “God Energy, Naturally Amazing,” and loosely inspired by the Gina from Martin, GENA is a new collaborative project featuring arguably two acclaimed and talented artists:

  • Liv.e: In a short period of time, Dallas-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Liv.e has quickly established a reputation for restless experimentation with the release of her full-length debut, 2023’s Girl in The Half Pearl, an effort that received praise from Billboard, Rolling Stone, Vulture and more, and last year’s synthwave-driven PAST FUTURE.e. Building upon a rapidly growing profile, the Dallas-born, Los Angeles-based made surprise appearances at last year’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, joining Earl Sweatshirt and Andre 3000 during their respective sets. She’s currently on Earl Sweatshirt’s Live. Laugh. Love. world tour, with Zeelooperz and Cletus Strap.

  • Karriem Riggins: Over the course of his 35-year career in music, Detroit-born, Los Angeles-based Karriem Riggins has firmly cemented a reputation as one of the most respected drummers and beatmakers out there. He has played with and produced for an eclectic array of acclaimed and legendary artists including Common, Erykah Badu, KAYTRANADA, Steve Lacy, The Roots, Madlib, Paul McCartney and Norah Jones. Notably, he formed a close kinship with the beloved, fellow Detroiter J. Dilla. In 2017, Riggins won an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and lyrics for his work with Common and Robert Glasper on “Letter to the Free,” which appeared on Ava Duvernay’s 13th. Recently, Riggins reunited with Common and collaborated with James Poyser to write and record “Victory,” the theme music for NBA on Prime for the 2025-2026 season and beyond.

The pair can trace the origins of the project to when they met through a mutual musical acquaintance and quickly recognized each other as kindred musical and creative spirits, who started playing shows as GENA earlier this year. GENA sees the Los Angeles-based duo channeling the instinctive musical prowess of both artists while seamlessly meshing their imitable style. The result is a playful and soul-driven improvisational work that captures Liv.e’s vision of reconstructing R&B her way paired with Riggins masterful percussion which spans improvisation and beatmaking alchemy.

GENA’s debut single “CIRCLESZ” is a remarkably breezy, jazz-tinged bit of neo-soul featuring an arrangement of precise, boom bap meets-bop jazz-like four-on-the-floor and glistening and arpeggiated Rhodes serving as a hook-driven, lush, dusty sample-like bed for Liv.e’s sultry delivery. While sonically nodding at Yasiin Bey‘s “Umi Says,” “CIRCLESZ” evokes the woozily intoxicating connection you can build with another person and the small moments that can color that romantic bond.

Shot with a grainy, analog quality, the accompanying video features the pair performing on a The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson-styled show and set, including an interview with the host.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Devantier Rain Teams up with kiana on Vibey “CONSERVATIVE INC.”

Devantier Rain is rising, Berlin-based Cameroonian-German singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose work sees him blurring the lines between R&B, hip-hop and Afrobeat paired with soulful melodies, intricate, jazz-like drums and a cutting-edge production approach. He has quickly become a standout in Berlin’s vibrant scene, playing at events like Poetry Meets alongside Tan Brown, bat zoo, Monica Mussungo and Dini Rompos.

Beyond music, Devantier Rain is a fashion world staple — as a model and stylist. Formerly signed to VIVAMODELS, he has collaborated with ADIDAS, Puma and BMW and walked for Kitschy Couture and Afrobodega at Berlin Fashion Week 2024, where he serves as in-house model.

Adding to a busy year, last year also saw the release of three striking singles, each brimming with his signature flair, which teased the forthcoming release of his highly-anticipated full-length debut.

Last year, the rising Cameroonian-German artist released three striking singles which teased the arrival of his highly-anticipated full-length debut, MELATONIN. MELATONIN‘S latest single “CONSERVATIVE INC,” a collaboration with kiana is a vibey, swaggering and hooky mix of hip-hop, neo-soul and R&B.

Throughout the track Devantier Rain and klana trade confident yet vulnerable, heartfelt verses that dive deep into themes of self-worth, betrayal, heartache and resilience with grizzled, hard-fought experience: Devantier Rain’s verses focus on strength forged through being underestimated. klana’s verses focus on standing firm without remorse after being wrong. Throughout the song, the pair offer the sort of much-needed lessons the old heads would try to give the young bloods at a gathering — or the sort of intimate “real life” conversation you’d have with a dear one, late at night as the party winds down.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: bat zoo Returns with Aching “Lemon”

bat zoo is a rising American-born, Berlin-based singer/songwriter and producer, who has developed a reputation for boundless creativity — and for genre-agnostic work. 

As a child, the rising artist and producer was immersed in a melting pot of musical influences, as a result of his father’s eclectic record collection. He grew up listening to soul, R&B, hip-hop and much more — and it opened his young years to kaleidoscope of sounds and styles, which helped informed his genre-blurring sound and approach. 

He also brings his artistic vision to life by seamlessly blending his work with dynamic visuals. Embracing authentic and innovation, the American-born, Berlin-based artist continues to push boundaries as a jack-of-all-trades creative director of his solo recording project, a culmination of many years of trial and error. He’s extremely busy: while developing his own sound as a solo artist, he’s also a part of the acclaimed Berlin-based vocal ensemble A Song For You and one-half of R&B duo GOLDA. 

bat zoo’s forthcoming EP, The Upward Bird is slated for a July 22, 2025 release through Lekker Collective. And in the lead-up to the EP’s release in just a few weeks, I’ve written about “Frozen Milk,” and “Diamond Lane.”

The EP’s third and latest single “Lemon” is a classic soul-tinged ballad that seemingly channels contemporaries like Monophonics and Bobby Oroza while featuring warped guitar, a supple bass line, bursts of twinkling synths as a lush bed for bat zoo’s achingly tender falsetto, which expresses urgent, desperate yearning defiant pride within the turn of a phrase. But throughout the sense of yearning and pride simmer with an unresolved, uneasy tension that churns and shifts without resolution.

The accompanying video for “Lemon” sees the American-born, Berlin-based artist reflecting back on the bittersweet moments of a presumably recent breakup, seemingly focusing on the moments in which he should have done better, said more, worked for the relationship and so on — with the ache of regret and shame.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Black History Month: Erykah Badu

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month and pays tribute to Erykah Badu.