Joy Jones' musical child

"soul is how we roll...but in the purest since. soul distilled. our sound is progressive and vintage, spiritual and uninhibited...music is our vehicle for change and insight. wrong notes do not exist in our world. we believe that life’s song is too short to always play in the 4/4. As trailblazers, genres and categories have little bearing on what we do...and what we do is always from the heart. we strive to provide an artistic incubator for artists and musicians alike. we strive to amplify, and testify this love we have for our music worldwide. always representing many sounds, under God with creative liberty and soul sonic grooves for all."

-Joy Jones' musical manifesto

I find it quite appropriate that Joy Jones' debut album Godchild is put out on Future Soul Records, because there's nothing tired about the music this woman produces. She describes her own music as "Afro-beat lullabies, future jazz protest songs and electronic hymns," and honestly, I couldn't do a better job of enveloping her sound in so few words if I tried. Her brand of soul sings like something brand new, incorporating elements of electronica, afro-beat, R&B, all over thought provoking themes that would make Nina Simone proud (check out her cover of Nina's song Be My Husband below). And although the beats feel very electric and inorganic, Jones' voice brings it back to a level human ears can connect with, adding a warmth that prevents it from becoming too future soul, especially as you progress deeper into the album. It's hard to compare her to other artists, so the only one I can come up with is possibly Zap Mama? Regardless, check out the tracks below if you want to try and classify her yourself.

Joy Jones - The Joy (Daz-I-Kue Mix) : Godchild

Joy Jones - Be My Husband (Nina Simone cover) : Unreleased

and the original:

Nina Simone - Be My Husband : Four Women-The Nina Simone Philips Recordings

Visit her website, her label Future Soul Records, and become her friend on MySpace.

Warm Heart of Africa

This 7" arrived in my mailbox a day or two ago (digitally that is), and I've been playing it ever since. It's the salivating preview for the upcoming full length by The Very Best. You might ask who would go so far as the call themselves not only the best, but the very best? The answer is Esau Mwamwaya, born in Malawi, East Africa, and who until until recently, ran second-hand furniture shop in London, before hooking up with Radioclit. The title track here is also the title track of the album, which is scheduled to drop next month (pre-order it here), and is a flamboyant mix of African rhythms and dance hall stylings. It's a track that screams out for remixing. The flip side, Yalira, has got a more traditional African feel to it, and from what I've read is more representative of the album as a whole. If you really dig them, you can get a physical 7", or you can pre-order the album. So, enjoy both below.

The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa (w/ Ezra Koenig) : Warm Heart of Africa 7"

The Very Best - Yalira : Warm Heart of Africa 7" B-side

Visit their website, their label Green Owl Records, and become their friend on MySpace.

Those (rockin') Darlins

Just because it's almost the end of summer doesn't mean that you have to stop listening to summer music. Take the self titled debut from Those Darlins for example. Those darlins pictured above are Those Darlins, and their music comes along just like what you'd expect looking at them. Think The Donnas or The Grates brought down home and rockabillified a bit, and here's what you'll end up with: a ton of electrified exuberance that motors along at a healthy clip. The album's an awful lot of fun, and if you've somehow missed it this summer, it's not too late to get in on the fun. The girls will be walking their boots all over the country the next few months, check out tour dates on their website.

Those Darlins - Red Light Love : Those Darlins

Those Darlins - The Whole Damn Thing : Those Darlins

Visit their website, their label Wow Dang Records, and become their friend on MySpace.

No loss for Scratch

I've been sitting on Loss 4 Wordz WAY too long now. It's been in my car literally for months, and frequently gets popped in when I need to switch things up. Today I'm going to remedy my procrastination and share a trio of tracks from it in case it's slipped under your radar. Although it features such heavyweights as Peedi Crakk, Musiq Soulchild, Daniel Bedingfield, Damon Albarn, Kanye West, Talib Kweli, etc., etc., etc.... the mastermind behind it is Scratch, the world famous beatboxer and former member of the Roots. It dropped back at the end of May (again, sorry about my procrastination) and is the first album from Scratch in a long, long time.

As you might guess from the guest line-up, this album truly cuts a wide swath of sounds, and personally, that's what I love about it so much. You start out with the straight out hip hop of Peedi Crakk laying down rhymes on Let's Go, but almost immediately with the next track, Tonite, things smooth out with Musiq Soulchild grooving a little more suave like, making his home city of Philly proud. From there you travel to the more polished dance floor stylings of Daniel Bedingfield with If Our Love Was A Song. Etc., etc., etc.... Yea, Scratch switches up gears constantly here, yea it still flows seamlessly, and throughout it all you'll find traces of the skills he's known for, his masterful scratching and beatboxing. Below you'll find three cuts, all sporting a different flavor, to show the diversity the album flaunts.

Scratch - Let's Go (feat. Peedi Crakk): Loss 4 Wordz

Scratch - Tonite (feat. Musiq Soulchild): Loss 4 Wordz

Scratch - The Man (feat. Terri Walker & Estelle): Loss 4 Wordz

Visit his website, his label Gold Dust Media, and become his friend on MySpace.

hope, danger, loss

Reading in Bed

"We were still reading for ideas back then, for style. We hadn't figured out what literature was for, actually, that it was mostly about loss, that without hope there was no risk and without risk there was no danger and that every story, in the end, is about danger. We still believed literature could be reasoned with, I mean."

-from Summer, As In Love, from the collection of short stories The Evil B.B. Chow and Other Stories, by Steve Almond

Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions - I Loved and I Lost : The Anthology 1961-1977 [Disc 1]

Paper Moon rises again

At the turn of the year I wrote about Paper Moon's EP What Are You Going To Do With Me?, their warm up for their new album Only During Thunderstorms. Well I finally got around to checking out the LP, even though it's been out since March, and I felt I should remind you all about it in case it slipped past you, too. It contains the title track from the last EP plus nine more upbeat poppy synth cuts that feel right in line with the EP. There's no need to over-analyze this, it's simply fun, slightly alterna-retro goodness that's meant simply to be enjoyed. So what are you waiting for? Listen to Say It's All Over now, where the group proves that they can even sing about the end of a relationship and make it sound upbeat.

Paper Moon - Say It's All Over : Only During Thunderstorms

Visit their website, their label Endearing Records, and become their friend on MySpace.

Jazz Brunch Jam - All Or Nothing At All

I'm going to admit that when I first laid my eyes on Dedicated To You, the image of Kurt Elling on the front made me a little hesitant to give the album a chance. Thoughts that ran through my head: is this guy for real?, is he going for schmaltzy there?, c'mon now there's only one Sinatra!, didn't they already break the mold for male crooners?...

Seriously, I must have looked at it a half dozen times, each time putting it back in my pile of maybe CDs. When I finally got over the hurdle and played it though, I was blown away. The album is a collection of songs all recorded live at the Lincoln Center in NYC, and opens with All Or Nothing At All, a CLASSIC tune from Frank Sinatra's earliest days as a performer, and although recorded by many artists since, of course his version is the one that plays in my head as I prepared to listen to Elling's interpretation. Amazingly, it doesn't disapoint, in fact his fresh arrangement of the song breathes new life into the tune, and this observation holds true for the album as a whole. Songs you might know by heart to the second appear here as if with a new guise. Songs you don't know will be doubly new for you.

And Elling, well he lives up to the persona that he exudes on the cover. What first appears as a costume turns out to be genuine. He's got the voice to match the job. Compare below.

Kurt Elling - All Or Nothing At All : Dedicated To You: Kurt Elling Sings The Music Of Coltrane And Hartman

Frank Sinatra - All Or Nothing At All (live) : Vegas Box Set: Disc 3 Live At Caesars Palace 3/82

Visit his website, his label Concord Records, and become his friend on MySpace.

Sunday Soul - the Brooklyn Soul Festival

I just found out about the Brooklyn Soul Festival this last week and am seriously considering making a pilgrimage to NYC to check it out. It's taking place on August 28th and 29th and features a line-up of some sweet soulful musicians, both young and old, including Otis Clay, Barbara Lynn, Maxine Brown, Roscoe Robinson, Hermon Hitson, Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves, and the Sweet Divines. The bill is split between the two nights, with DJs spinning 45's after the live musicians pack it up to keep the party going until 4 AM. On top of the listening part, you'll get a chance to shop for some grooves to bring home with you at the vinyl fair on Saturday afternoon.

Any readers out there planning on attending and want to possibly meet up? Drop me a line and we'll see if we can get our wires connected (especially if you know Brooklyn and don't mind playing tour guide - or if you know a cheap spot to spend a night or two).

Otis Clay - Pouring Water On A Drowning Man : Atlantic Unearthed : Soul Brothers

Barbara Lynn - I'm A Good Woman : Creative Musicians

Maxine Brown - All In My Mind : Smooth Slow Jams

Roscoe Robinson - What You're Doin' To Me : What You're Doin' To Me 7"

Hermon Hitson - Why Is It Taking So Long : You Are Too Much For The Human Heart

Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves - The Satisfier : Roll With You

Fred Leslie's missing Link (feat. The Sweet Divines) - Going Down Slowly [full length version] (Pointer Sisters cover) : Love Potion #9

Pretend with Arrica Rose

Sunsets on a quiet beach.
Waves crash on the shore beneath our feet.
Time stands still, the past slips away.
You turn to me and solemnly say…

I’ll love you forever and I’ll tell you other lies.
Forever is like the weather no the sun can’t always shine.
But I’ll love you forever and I’ll mean it when I say it
‘cause I’m desperate. Not for you but for forever.

-from I'll Love You Forever & Other Lies

Although Arrica Rose already has a few albums under her proverbial belt, Pretend I'm Fur, her latest EP, is my first encounter with her. It feels like a tragic one, not because it's horrible sounding, but because it seems so melancholically meditative. Of its seven songs, one is a cover (the Bee Gee's Tragedy) and six are originals, but all seem to ultimately focus on a mournful separation, a relationship soured, a loss of resistance to a lonely fate. And yet although the instrumentation is of a quiet tone, it still floats above a sense of apathetic acceptance. indicating a subtle strength that's not willing to go quietly. Listen to the EP's closing track, my favorite of the seven, below.

Arrica Rose - I'll Love You Forever & Other Lies : Pretend I'm Fur

Visit her website, her label pOprOck Records, and become her friend on MySpace.

Far, from Regina Spektor

Man of a Thousand Faces

from her just released album, Far

I find it hard not to enjoy Regina Spektor. To me, she feels like a well balanced mix between Tori Amos' depth and earnestness and Nellie McKay's quirkiness. Love her new album, Far. Love it. She also appears on the recent soundtrack for [500] Days Of Summer with her older cut Us (originally on her Soviet Kitsch major label debut).

Regina Spektor - Us : [500] Days Of Summer - Music From The Motion Picture

Visit her website, her label Sire Records, and become her friend on MySpace.

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Upcoming Tour Dates

September 11th Myth St. Paul, Minnesota
September 12th Chicago Theatre Chicago, Illinois
September 15th Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, Michigan
September 16th Sound Academy Toronto, Ontario
September 17th Metropolis Montreal, Quebec
September 21st House of Blues Boston, Massachusetts
September 22nd Orpheum Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
September 24th Electric Factory Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
September 30th DAR Constitution Hall Washington DC
October 6th The Tabernacle Atlanta, Georgia
October 7th The Tabernacle Atlanta, Georgia
October 14th Radio City Music Hall New York, New York
October 28th The Greek Theatre Los Angeles, California
November 1st Roseland Theater Portland, Oregon

Horse Meat Disco

"At its heart, disco is about two things: joy, and escape.

Disco channels many things – heartbreak, elation, celebration – in an ecstatic catharsis that’s both emotional and physical. Born out of a time of recession, its lush textures and grand drama conjure a world of glamour and extravagance that’s available to anyone. The dancefloor too casts a particular spell. It is a place to forget about the cares of the day, a place where anyone can be anyone they want to be and a place where you can be yourself. It’s a place to conjure the giddy heights of pure pleasure that the daily grind does not allow. 'In the evening,' as the great philosopher Sheryl Lee Ralph sings, 'the real me comes alive. It’s like magic.' "

-from the liner notes to Horse Meat Disco

Disco music has gotten a fairly bad rep, with visions of Tony Manero in his white suit pointing towards the sky seared into most peoples memory when the term is mentioned. It's a shame really, because just as with all genres, there's the mass produced manure that got mass merchandised and played out to death, and then there are the lesser known gems which still deserve to be spun. While history might have it written down that disco died on July 12, 1979, the truth is it just headed back underground where it had been thriving for years before being "discovered" by mainstream America. Truth is, it's still going strong, you just need to know where to look for it. And a good place to start, if you find yourself in London, is Horse Meat Disco.

While the club's only been around since 2004, it's fame and popularity have spread the world over. Founded by James Hillard and Jim Stanton, the club channels the spirit that flowed in the former disco capitol of the world, NYC, before things got ugly. To help spread the gospel of disco, the club teamed up with Strut Records to put together a collection of classic tracks, dating mostly from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, into a 2 CD collection. The first disc holds sixteen tracks, mixed together, giving you the feel and rhythm of what a night might be like on the HMD floor. The second disc has twelve of those sixteen tracks in extended, unmixed form. And while Best Of Disco collections are a dime a dozen (although really, who can get enough of Stayin' Alive), unless you're a disco-maniac, the only name on the line-up you'll probably recognize is Smokey Robinson. So if you can get past your disco bias, there really is some exuberant, enjoyable danceable music to be found here.


Plaza - (Got My) Dancing Shoes : Horse Meat Disco

Visit the album's official website, Horse Meat Disco's website, and Strut Records.

Buzz-In with Scion

I've been a big fan of the Scion A/V series for a while now (check out previous project posts). They pull in a wide range of artists and genres, and the profits go directly back to those musicians involved. It's a win / win situation for the artists and the brand. I've come to expect the unexpected from them, but their latest release takes the cake and eats it, too. Start off with Japanese metal group Boris, pull a track from their creations, namely Buzz-In, and then turn a bunch of diverse DJs and producers loose on it, and the results are wider than the Grand Canyon. I'll say it straight out, the original song doesn't work for me, but all four of the remixes here appeal to me. Here's one, follow the link the hear the rest, and get a free copy of the single for yourself at an upcoming Scion event.

Boris - Buzz-In (Nosajthing Remix) : Scion A/V Remix Project: Boris

Visit Boris' website and become their friend on MySpace.