JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 86th anniversary of the birth of The Temptations co-founder Eddie Kendricks.
Tag: soul
Throwback: Happy 93rd Birthday, Little Richard!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 93rd anniversary of the birth of Little Richard.
Throwback: Happy 92nd Birthday, Lou Rawls!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 92ned anniversary of the birth of the legendary Lou Rawls.
Throwback: Happy 72nd Birthday, Shuggie Otis!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Shuggie Otis’ 72nd birthday.
Throwback: Happy 86th Birthday, Tina Turner!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 86th anniversary of the birth of Tina Turner.
Throwback: Happy 85th Birthday, Percy Sledge!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 85th anniversary of the birth of Percy Sledge.
Throwback: Happy 84th Birthday, Dr. John!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 84th anniversary of the birth of Dr. John.
New Audio: The New Mastersounds Share Swaggering Live Version of “Dusty Groove”
The New Mastersounds — currently, Eddie Roberts (guitar, production), Simon Allen (drums), Pete Stand (bass) and Joe Tatton (keys) — can trace their origins back to the late 1990s: Roberts was promoting a club night in his native Leeds called The Cooker. When The Cooker moved into a new venue with a second floor in 1999, there was both the space and opportunity to put a live band together to compliment the night’s DJ sets.
Coincidentally, Roberts and Allen had previously played together in the similarly named The Mastersounds, an act with a completely different bassist and without a keyboardist. Because of the intimate nature of the local scene, Roberts and Allen met and recruited Pete Hand and Bob Birch (Hammond) to join what would become The New Mastersounds.
Since the release of two limited edition, boogaloo-leaning 7-inch single back in 2000, the quartet has released 24, 7 inch singles, 13 studio albums, four live albums, a remix album and three compilations released in the UK, Japan and the US. And the band has managed to do that while going through a major lineup change with Leeds scene veteran Joe Tatton replacing Bob Birch on keys and organ.
Over their 25 year run together, the band and its individual members have collaborated with an eclectic and diverse array of musicians, DJs and producers, including Lou Donaldson, Corinne Bailey Rae, Quantic, Carleen Anderson, Keb Darge, Kenny Dope, Mr. Scruff, LSK, Lack of Afro, Page McConnell, Grace Potter,Karl Denson, Melvin Sparks, Idris Muhammad, Fred Wesley, Pee-Wee Ellis, Maceo Parker, Bernard Purdie, George Porter, Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste, Art Neville and Ernest Ranglin.
The New Mastersounds are at the tail-end of their final live Stateside dates, which will culminate with the full live album release of Live At Cervantes, Vol 2., which will be available on 12″ vinyl LP, exclusively through the Color Red Vinyl Club. The band share another track from last year’s live sets at Denver‘s Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, “Dusty Groove.” First heard on the band’s Ten Years On, the live version is a strutting bit of organ-driven soul jazz that seemingly channels Booker T and the MG‘s paired with swaggering “Funky Drummer”-styled breakbeats. The single captures the unmistakable live chemistry and energy that made a New Mastersounds set, a must-see event.
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.
Throwback: Happy 81st Birthday, Booker T!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Booker T’s 81st birthday.
Throwback: Happy 88th Birthday, Yvonne Staples!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 88th anniversary of the birth of Yvonne Staples.
New Audio: The Womack Sisters Share Strutting “If You Want Me”
Los Angeles-based soul and R&B trio The Womack Sisters — BG, Zeimani and Kucha — are proudly carrying on their family’s legendary musical legacy. And if you had been frequenting this site earlier this year, you might recall that I wrote about the sibling trio’s “I Just Don’t Want You (To Say Goodbye).”
“I Just Don’t Want You (To Say Goodbye)” is the B-side to their Daptone Records debut, “If You Want Me”/”I Just Don’t Want You (To Say Goodbye).” The sibling trio just shared the A-side, “If You Want Me.” Anchored around a percussive piano attack and the sisters call and response vocal, the new single is a hard swinging and strutting bit of old-school-inspired soul that sounds as though it could have been released in Motown‘s early days.
New Video: St. Panther Shares Slinky and Soulful “The Deal”
Los Angeles-based Mexican/Colombian producer, singer/songwriter, rapper and multi-instrumentalist Dani Bojorges-Giraldo (they/them) is the creative mastermind behind the critically applauded recording project St. Panther. Bojorges-Giraldo’s previously released work was the soundtrack to the early part of this decade for many folks, but following their departure from the major label network, the Los Angeles-based artist took time to be among their peers, friends and loved ones.
Their forthcoming EP, the McClenney and Bojorges-Giraldo co-produced Strange World is slated for a November 7, 2025 release through art label drink sum wtr — and is their first collection of recorded output since their breakout debut EP, 2020’s These Days. The new EP’s material is reportedly a defiant, genre-transforming work that features a collection of soulful, modern pop songs that narrate and confront the wider climate of uncertainty and oblivion.
Thematically, Strange World is as much about Bojorges-Giraldo’ and their world — their village, their people, themselves — but also, the very strange world we inhabit right now. Drawing from soul, R&B, jazz, hip-hop and alt-pop the EP’s material sets out to urge for a sense of purpose, security and love admits seemingly universal apathy and chaos.
“I took this long pause to really listen to my village, listen to the needs of my community, and the people around me,” the St. Panther creative mastermind says. “We’re all feeling the weight of the world on our shoulders a bit. We want hope for our listeners, we want people to feel heard and that there’s someone out there representing this feeling.”
Regarding the EP, the Los Angeles-based artist remarks: “It’s been highly impactful–to say the absolute least–to witness the world in the state in today. In so many lyrics and melodies, I’m using this set of songs as a method of putting certain messages into our ether, intentionally shouting certain things from the rooftops that a friend jokingly said ‘for world peace;’ but this music is meant to activate people in some way to meditate about our relationship to each other, which feels like a good use for music right now.”
The EP will feature, the previous released EP title track “Strange World,” which received a double premiere from KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic and FLOOD Magazine and praise from Ones To Watch, Earmilk, RIFF Magazine and others, as well as the EP’s latest single “The Deal.” Featuring an old-school Quiet Storm-meets D’Angelo neo-soul-like arrangement featuring jazzy bursts of keys and a supple bass line, “The Deal” is one-part heartfelt confession of love and admiration, one-part admission of being hurtful/neglectful and one-part yearning plea to do better that feels intimately lived-in and experienced.
“Now I’m not sure if it’s always right to, but I tend to put music where prolonged silences live,” the St. Panther mastermind explains. “I’m not sure why it’s so hard to say what sometimes only music can, but in this case I wish someone had known me better and wanted to write a song like Dido’s ‘White Flag’ shortly afterward, a song that said – if nothing else – my love was true.”
The new single is accompanied by a live performance featuring the acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist in studio with a collection of their various long-time collaborators including McClenney.
Throwback: Happy 90th Birthday, Sam Moore!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 90th anniversary of the birth of Sam and Dave’s Sam Moore.
Throwback: Happy 79th Birthday, Daryl Hall!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Daryl Hall’s 79th birthday.
