“Halo” The Elle’s latest single pairs beatsinmybackpack’s soulful production consisting of shimmering and twinkling keys, boom bap drum programming with The Elle’s cooly self-assured and sultry vocals portraying a narrator, who’s urgently, stupidly, foolishly and proudly in love — of the sort, in which you see your object of desire and love as being the most perfect creature on earth. Sonically speaking, the song manages to channel golden era hip-hop, classic hip-hop soul and neo soul and J. Dilla simultaneously but with a gentle cosmic sheen — and while being incredibly sensual.
Tag: neo soul
Throwback/Live Footage: Mayer Hawthorne Performs “Mr. Blue Sky” on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic
So strangely enough, while checking out the video, which would wind up comprising this site’s previous post, the related video tab on YouTube brought up live footage of Mayer Hawthorne and backing band playing a breezy cover of ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky,” on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic several years ago and coincidentally, the track appears on Impressions. The internet is a wonderful place, is it not?
New Video: REMI Teams Up with Sampa The Great on Wild, Surreal and Heartbreaking Night in Melbourne
Remi is a 23 year-old Melbourne, Australia-based emcee and along with collaborator and producer Sensible J, the duo have quickly risen to national and international prominence with 2014 being the duo’s breakthrough year as their Raw X Infinity was critically […]
If you had been frequenting this site during the end of 2015 and the beginning of this year, you may recall coming across a couple of posts on Chicago-based R&B vocalist and singer/songwriter The Elle and her collaborations with Minnesota-based singer/songwriter and emcee Blaccout Garrison, Hungry Soulful EP — in particular, “Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert.” which was produced by Dthr33 and featured Jackson, WY-based emcee Abstract, had Abstract and Garrison trading charmingly old-school-inspired lyrics about the ladies they loved over, while The Elle sang the song’s soulful and sensual hook over the soulful and jazzy sample that comprises A Tribe Called Quest‘s “Bonita Applebum.” Hungry Soulful‘s second single was the P-Soul-produced “Wishing On A Star,” which paired a subtly chopped up old-timey, twinkling piano sample and boom-bap drum programming with Garrison rhyming about focusing on one’s dreams and overcoming life’s frustrations and obstacles. The Elle contributes the song’s introductory verses and the soulful and thoughtful hook.
Slated for release next month, Soul Art Music is the Chicago-based vocalist’s forthcoming full-length effort and the album’s latest single “Your Love” was produced by South African producer Keith Virgo. The track begins with an introductory sample of Eartha Kitt, setting up the song’s theme as the legendary actress and singer candidly shares her thoughts about love — and in her mind, real love is essentially a process of learning how to share yourself with yourself and others. The song pairs Virgo’s subtly cosmic and trippy production consisting of layers of twinkling and shimmering synths, tumbling percussion, boom bap drums, electronic bleeps, bloops and beeps with The Elle’s sultry vocals about a love that has made her narrator feel as though she had found her truest self. Within the turn of a phrase The Elle reveals a narrator who is strong yet unafraid to be vulnerable and open, and absolutely appreciative of stumbling about this person at this juncture. Lucky and rare are those who experience such a love.
Zak Waters is a Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter, DJ and producer, who has started to grab the attention of the blogosphere with his solo recording project Pretty Sister, a project that specializes in what Waters had dubbed Z Funk, a sound that is equally indebted to Parliament Funkadelic and 90s G-funk hip-hop; but with modern production techniques and a shamelessly frank lyrical sensibility that focuses on things like booty-call texting, long distance love and sexual frustration and so on. And with Waters’ latest single, the sensual come on “Come to L.A.,” you’ll quickly see why the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, producer and DJ has received praise from the likes of Vice Noisey, HillyDilly and others as the song consists of a sinuous bass line, silky and cascading organ and keyboard chords paired with Waters’ sultry and effortlessly soulful vocals. Sonically speaking, the song strikes me as being the oversexed lovechild of Rick James and Parliament Funkadelic while fitting in comfortably with the contemporary neo-soul and funk movements that have won over the blogosphere lately.
Lyrically, the song and its narrator is focusing on sexual frustration of his long-distance love not being near — and it’s full of naughty sexual innuendo, double entendres and outright sexual come-ons that will make the listener both blush and get incredibly horny, while being a two-step worthy, slickly produced jam.
Up-and-coming, Watford, UK-born, London-based future soul artist Connie Constance quickly received national attention with the release of her debut EP In The Grass produced by Blue Daisy. The EP which was praised for its dreamy yet beat-driven soundscapes paired with Constance’s earnest songwriting and vocals was championed by Pharrell Williams, who played tracks on his Beats 1 Radio show and several BBC Radio hosts including Annie Mac, Huw Stephens, Mister Jam, Julie Adenuga and Giles Peterson.
Constance’s latest single “Answer,” continues her ongoing collaboration with Blue Daisy — and sonically, the single pairs propulsive and percussive African-inspired beats, shimmering guitar chords and swirling electronics with Constance’s aching and intimately soulful vocals in a confessional and earnest song with a burning, sarcastic edge. As Constance explains in press notes, the song relates to two different people in the world — “one person that knows all the answers for taking all your troubles away,” as well as “a kind of know it all person, like, they already know the answer.”
2016 looks to be a huge year for the British soul artist, as she’s currently working on material for a new effort.
Blaccout Garrison is an up-and-coming, Minnesota-based artist and singer/songwriter and on his recently released EP, Hungry Soulful, the Minnesota-based artist teams up with the Chicago-based R&B vocalist and singer/songwriter The Elle, Jackson, WY-based emcee Abstract on “Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert.”
The song features Garrison and Abstract trading verses about the women they’re in love with — and they do so in old school terms, as they talk about these women as being confident, strong, stunning and smart as hell, and how they’d treat their women like queens and goddesses while The Elle contribute the soulful and seductive hook over production from Dthr33, who uses what is a familiar sample to real hip-hop heads — the soulful and jazzy sample that comprises A Tribe Called Quest‘s “Bonita Applebum,” to craft a song that channels golden era hip-hop and its positivity.
Certainly in age in which contemporary, male hip-hop artists refer to women as “thots” hearing an old-school leaning love song is much-needed and refreshing — and is perfect for a Sunday afternoon with that special someone.
New Audio: Introducing The Effortlessly, Soulful Sound of ZForbes
ZForbes is a Toronto-based producer/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist and beat maker, who has developed a reputation for effortlessly soulful productions and his latest single “Work That” will further cement that reputation as the single is comprised of chopped […]
Live Concert Review: Jungle with Ibeyi and Sunni Colon at SummerStage, Rumsey Playfield, Central Park 6/20/15
Live Concert Review: Jungle with Ibeyi and Sunni Colon SummerStage, Rumsey Playfield, Central Park June 20, 2015 As I’ve mentioned a number of times over a series of posts, this summer has arguably been one […]
