Alternative Soul

Today’s Track: Ibibio Sound Machine – ‘Got To Be Who U Are’

March 15, 2024 — Leave a comment

Whether you’re reading in Surulere, Isale Eko or Ikoyi to Yaba – its time for a new post!

Pictured: Pictured: Eno Williams (Lead Vocals/Chief Songwriter/Producer), Scott Baylis (Synths/Trumpet), Max Grunhard (Saxophone/Synths), Alfred Kari Bannerman (Lead Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals), Tony Hayden (Trombone/Synths), Phillip PK Ambrose (Bass Guitar), Anselmo Netto (Percussion) and Joseph Amoako (Drums) performing at the Pool Recording Studio, London (2019) (Photo Credit: Kimberly Junod/WXPN)

Good Morning to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it used to be my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day before my adulthood got right in the way! I’ve got a multi-culturally appealing new release to share with you today from an 8-piece group called Ibibio Sound Machine, a contemporary Jazz project that was formed in 2010 by vocalist Eno Williams alongside producers Max Grunhard, Leon Brichard and Benji Bouton with the idea of fusing elements of 70’s jazz, traditional 80’s Afrobeat and modern Drum ‘N’ Bass together. After the first sessions were in the can, they diverted their attention to successfully completing the line-up by adding live musicians to form their initial live band. Since releasing their debut single on Soundway in 2014, the band have released four albums, performed at events such as KEXP’s commemorative World Clash Day in 2019 and collaborated with Alexis Doyle, the frontman of Hot Chip. Their new album – ‘Pull The Rope’ – has been set for a May 3rd release on Merge Records and a live tour in cities such as Cambridge, Birkenhead, Norwich, Leeds, Dublin, Brighton, London, Edinburgh, Nottingham and others will take place during the rest of the year. Seek identity with ‘Got To Be Who U Are’ below.

One signature element of Ibibio’s Sound Machine is how vocalist Eno Williams often sings in different languages because her mother’s native tongue was Ibibio. While she was born in London, she spent most of her childhood in Nigeria with her family. Her mother, in particular, would recount numerous stories concerning folklore to her and Williams has taken inspiration from these memories by crafting lyrics from these sources to use in her music with a modern twist. ‘Got To Be Who U Are’ gets off to a rapturous start by quickly pacing itself through the steps of emphasising the message of the songwriting to incorporating a percussive African mbira chord to the mix and introducing a more uplifting electronic dance tone to the track as the washing synths establish another groovy element. There’s a breakdown in the middle that gets the nightlife vibe across, before repeating the groove to the point of irresistance from the listener. Lyrics like “Down in London to Africa” and “From Surulere to Isale Eko” revolve around the point of how music connects us regardless of location as a result of a simple hook or a tasty instrumental. These name drops are here for a reason too because Surulere, Isale Eko, Ikoyi and Yaba are areas of Nigeria, thus symbolizing the childhood of Williams again as the band have done so articulately across four albums now. Overall, this is a highly enjoyable new release that truly kicks off the marketing machine for the new LP in fine, fiery style by connecting the dots between the band’s diverse music influences and by symbolizing how musical movements unite people across the world and deliver a fundamental connection between these parties with no concern about where they may be. All of the above and a catchy chorus helps too.

Pictured: Official UK tour poster of Ibibio Sound Machine’s ‘Pull The Rope ’24’ Tour (2024) (via Merge Records)

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Today’s Track: YĪN YĪN – ‘Takahashi Timing’

January 26, 2024 — Leave a comment

A three week gap between posts is a new record in recent times. Time for a new post!

Pictured: Kees Berkers (Drums), Remy Scheren (Bass Guitar), Erik Bandt (Lead Guitar) & Robbert Verwijlen (Keys) (2023) (Photo via Periferias.org.uk)

Good Afternoon! I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it was previously my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day before my adulthood got right in the way! January is always a difficult time to find new music because we’re gearing up for the festival season where more opportunities for promotions at live festivals are greater and the mood of the globe is generally low. However, the mantle has been adopted by Bill Ryder-Jones, Marika Hackman, Sleater-Kinney, The Vaccines, Patricia Taxxon, Sprints (See my previous post for more on that) and a few others to fulfill this year’s lineup of take-whatever-you-can-get lineup of the bleak midwinter supplies. My favourite LP release of the month was from Yin Yin, a 4-piece from Maastricht (The Netherlands) who pitch their rich, comforting sound as Khruangbin meets Kraftwerk.

If you are enticed by a vibrant concoction of Psychedelic Funk, vintage-leaning Disco and East Asian-influenced Soul as the gin connected by a colourful blend of Surf Rock and Japanese instrumental sounds as the mixer, I feel you would enjoy their vibe too. I have been aware of Yin Yin’s flair for a few years, having seen their performance on KEXP’s YouTube channel and vaguely dipping into their space travel inspired record ‘The Age Of Aquarius’ (2022) and the Samurai Cinema-enhanced ‘The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers’ (2019) debut LP in the past, both of which make for nimble, curious and rewarding listens. For their latest album, they have democratically replaced founding member Yves Lennertz (Organ, Stylophone and Percussion) with new lead guitarist Erik Bandt. ‘Mount Matsu’ (out Jan 19th via Glitterbeat Records) was produced in their studio-turned-home in Belgium with the dynamic quartet combining traditional synthesizers with conventional Chinese instruments, most notably a Guzheng, which is known for its spacious flow between melodies. My sampler is ‘Takahashi Timing’, a single which Yin Yin calls an ode to their tour manager who ensures their punctuality.

“Art and ideas are personal and precious and the process of doing this truly together has been about more than just making an album, it was also a study of how collectives work”, the Dutch band say about their most recent full-length, adding, “We have decided to only use vocals sparsely, which leaves plenty of room for the listener’s imagination: you can really let your fantasy run wild as you listen and dance to it”, in an article for Ebb Music, as they visualise the process of creation like the ascension of the fictional mountain of the album’s namesake, hence the title’s theme.

A real sense of bond strikes through on ‘Takahashi Timing’, which kicks off with a groovy, percussive intro which brings the evocation of warmth to the dancefloor – or my headphones. The guitarist strums away at an uptempo pace before the glistening qualities of the bell-type percussion creates a groove that seems reminiscent of La Roux’s ‘Supervision’ album tracks. “Never too late” is the recurring vocal refrain that suggests a positive and uplifting tone, while the decent collection of disparate Disco and soulful Funk elements drive the beat forwards. New elements get added to the mix at their respective intersections, with some particularly refreshing Synth chords towards the end that modernises the experience of hearing the track. The track feels quite busy, admittedly, but it never sounds too chaotic for its own right. Instead, the sound is one that feels characterised by a passionate bunch of musicians cheerfully jamming away at real-time in a studio. Overall, it’s a hands-in-the-air style of track that manages to channel an alternative spirit while remaining accessible and radio-friendly enough to pick up potential listeners along the way because the mood is straightforward but the influences are more complex and niche. It appeals to a fairly general audience but its worthy of the credibility of any crate-digging vinyl fans’ shelf.

Pictured: VInyl Cover Art for ‘Mount Matsu’ (LP) (Released on January 19th, 2024) (via Glitterbeat Records)

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Today’s Track: Jitwam – ‘Brooklyn Ballers’

May 5, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Chalo co-founder Jitwam in a promotional photoshoot for ‘Brooklyn Ballers’ (2022) (Photo via PR)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for me to give a shout-out to the Broolyn Ballers and each of the readers from elsewhere as we get prepared for yet another daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A self-described “Psychedelic Soul Savant” who was born in North-East India, now based between New York and Sydney, moved to New Zealand and Australia to spend his formative years there, later living in monasteries in Thailand and washed-out apartments in London, Jitwam is the co-founder of Chalo, an ambitious creative project alongside Dhruva Balram that supports up-and-coming Indian, Pakistani and Kashmiri artists, with a full-length self-titled album being released via The Jazz Diaries in 2020 that had its proceeds donated to the Human Rights Law Network and the Zindagi Trust. As a solo artist, however, he’s released a string of EP’s and a few albums, with 2019’s ‘Honeycomb’ serving as his latest LP. Jitwam has also collaborated with numerous artists including Dam Swindle, Mike Bloom and renowned Broken Beat maestro Kaidi Tatham. Other career highlights include his placements on Moodyman’s DJ-Kicks compilation series, embarking on a national NTS Radio tour in India, touring across the US and Europe, and opening a show for the acclaimed Funk virtuoso Roy Ayers with his full live backing band. His brand new single – ‘Brooklyn Ballers’ – is a one-off release from what I gather, but it offers an energetic ode to his passion for (just) one of the area’s that he has lived in throughout his eventful lifetime. Give it a spin below.

“Brooklyn Ballers is a homage to the city in all its hustle and bustle“, Jitwam explains about the far-reaching notes of the track which are delivered below the soulful and radiant instrumentation, adding, “The magic in the air, that can make dreams come true and can turn your fears into your worst nightmares“, in his own single’s product description on the Bleep website. The opening reminds me of one of Skule Toyama or Night Tempo’s modern Chillwave records, where the summer atmosphere shines right through thanks to the raucous sampled guitar hook that induce the nostalgia of the 70’s Disco-Rock era, before the track soon evolves into more of a Detroit House style of record with additional elements of Hip-Hop and World Fusion music. The lead vocals have a spoken, but catchy and rhythmic, delivery to them where subtle nods to Guns ‘N’ Roses ‘Paradise City’ and Joe Smooth’s ‘Promised Land’ creep in due to the lyrics and the key song structure. A myriad of styles, including Psychedelic Soul and Vaporwave, make their way into the instrumental-driven sections of the track. Jitwam melds together the Gospel-esque backing vocals, some Madlib-style sampling and some Maribou State-style cues of World-Funk and Dub into the mix too to finalise the package, which plays out as a chilled soundtrack to his simple love for the location and a very deep, percussive groover that acts as an ode to some of New York’s most respected producers. The area’s energy is almost embodied by the Jazz inflections and the Detroit House influences, creating a laid back shuffle that gradually builds and draws upon various elements to expand it beyond the original state. A chef’s kiss.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Brooklyn Ballers’ (Single) (Released on March 23rd, 2022) (via Roya Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking out my latest blog post, and I’ll be ready to take you through a new entry of ‘New Album Release Fridays’ tomorrow as we take a quick preview of one of the weekend’s new and notable album releases. The record in question comes from the Prog-Jazz and Electronica sides of the Alternative Music spectrum by a duo made up of two members from The Comet Is Coming. The duo’s drummer has also toured with Sons Of Kemet, Melt Yourself Down, and Yussef Kamal.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Beryl Marsden (feat. Gospel Garden) – ‘Hello, Stranger’

May 4, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Changes: The Story Of Beryl Marsden’ (Released on January 31, 2012) (via RPM Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for us to go ‘Retro’ with another old-school edition of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ on One Track At A Time, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! The latest favourite of Cherry Red Records to grace the feature, Beryl Marsden’s story began in the Merseyside boom of the 60’s where she found fame on the Liverpool club circuit after singing with local groups like Howie Casey and The Crew, after she won a talent competition at the age of 14. One child in a family of ten, she would start performing at the Star Club in Hamburg, re-locate to London and subsequently sign with Decca Records as a solo artist with Tony Stratton-Smith as a manager. In her career since then, Marsden supported The Beatles on their final UK tour in 1965 and participate in projects like Shotgun Express (Which Rod Stewart, Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Peter Green were also all members of), The She Trinity, Simbad, Gambler and The Beryl Marsden band. Her material was mostly centered around a then-contemporary Pop and soulful R&B style, although her solo records unfortunately gained little commercial success. Nevertheless, she has built up a reputation as an undeservedly neglected talent praised by sites like AllMusic and The Liverpool Echo. She has also been remembered in recent times with a theatrical musical – ‘One Dream: The Beryl Marsden Story’ – that was performed at the Cavern Club for two nights, which Beryl Marsden would close with a live performance. She was also portrayed by actress Gemma Sutton in 2013’s ‘Cilla’, a three-part TV drama series about Cilla Black. Her lack of success commercially was mostly contributed to how her singles were never released in a traditional album format, and this notion did not change until January 2012 when her first compilation – ‘Changes: The Story Of Beryl Marsden’ – was finally made available. Check out ‘Hello Stranger’ from it below.

‘Hello Stranger’ is likely one of Beryl Marsden’s more well-known original recordings because it was used in the 1997 film ‘Another 9 1/2 Weeks’ (Which was also released as ‘Love In Paris’ in certain markets) which starred Mickey Rourke and Angie Everhart, which features the clips that you just saw in the video above. It was also credited to “Gospel Garden (feat. Beryl Marsden)” in some territories too, but it was nonetheless one of her more radio pop chart-friendly works. Gospel Garden’s blueprints are also clear, as the track gets off to a start with some ethereal Synths and ambient washings of Bass that conjure up an atmosphere that, to fit the title, feels strange yet familiar. Marsden’s lyrics are more emotionally driven, as she waxes nostalgic with sustained refrains like “Have you had a good time?/It makes me smile when you look at me that way” that leads melodically into the bridge, where she questions the interest of a former lover with lyrics like “Can I come home with you tonight?/Is that what you’re asking?” and “You say you’re gonna treat me right/A stranger’s touch is what I need tonight” as the bassline builds up to some playful keys that lead nicely into the heightened pace of the chorus, where catchy hooks such as “It’s a strange kind of magic/When we touch” and “Strangers you and I will always be” play out above the soulful combination of keys and drums, which feels different to the slow-burning energy and gradual progression of the main verses that establish a slightly more gritty and subdued quality. The track is still quite lushly produced, and it demonstrates how richly her voice has aged throughout the decades too as her darkened vocals are conveying a decent variety of emotive qualities during the verses before the more formulaic Dance-Pop song structure creeps in around the halfway mark, but these elements still work cohesively together because of her uncertain presence. Her voice was enough to give you a light tingle down the spine, and that’s executed clearly here.

Pictured: Beryl Marsden in a rare promotional photoshoot (Date n/a) (Photo via REX/Associated Newspapers)

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking out my latest post on the blog, and I will be back tomorrow to review a recent, eclectic single by a self-described “Globetrotting Psychedelic Soul Savant” who is one of the co-founders of the Chalo project. I can’t wait to bring his exciting new single ‘Brooklyn Ballers’ to your notice and it follows variable collaborations with artists such as Dam Swindle, Mike Bloom & Kaidi Tatham.

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Today’s Track: Sondre Lerche (feat. CHAI) – ‘Summer In Reverse’

May 2, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Avatars Of Love’ (LP/Album) (Released on April 1st, 2022) (via Self-Released)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for us to wish for warmer weather as we get settled down for the Bank Holiday with yet another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A Norweigan singer, songwriter and guitarist now based in Los Angeles, Sondre Lerche grew up in a Bergen suburb where he became fascinated by 1980’s Pop, Bossa Nova and Neo-Psychedelia, captivated by bands like The Beach Boys and Prefab Sprout. He began formal guitar instruction at the age of 8, played regular acoustic gigs at the club where his sister worked as a teenager, wrote his first track at the age of 14, and got scouted by eventual mentor H.P. Gunderson. Since that time, Lerche has released eight full-length studio albums, signed up to a lucrative record deal with Virgin Norway, and he’s gained praise from various sources including Brooklyn Vegan and Stereogum, additionally earning the award for ‘Best New Act’ at the Norweigan Grammy’s within his first year of writing and producing music. Lerche’s been busier than ever lately, having released ‘Avatars Of Love’ – a double album featuring 14 tracks that run past 90 minutes in total – on April 1st, 2022. The project was created at home in Norway following what Lerche thought would be a temporary move from Los Angeles in March 2020, but it was completed in a brief yet intense period of a year. Rather than letting his material pile up, Lerche decided to just simply record each track as soon as it had been written, working with a variety of musicians and producers in-person in Bergen as well as reaching out to a variety of international collaborators over the internet. Among the guest list are AURORA, Mary Littlemore, Dirty Projectors’ Felicia Douglass, Anne Mülle and Rodrigo Alarcon. A melancholic but sweet new single from it, ‘Summer In Reverse’ features the Japanese Alternative Pop outfit CHAI, who admittedly seem to be cropping up on everything nowadays – having worked with Gorillaz, Superorganism, Mondo Grosso, JPEGMafia, MNDSGN & Ric Wilson in recent times. Let’s check out the official music video below.

“This song was written on January 1, 2021, so it’s a bit of a hangover song really. A hangover jam about trying to unhook and ready yourself for a new year through facing some brutal truths“, Sondre Lerche says about the soulful single, adding, “I wanted someone else to sing the pre-choruses, kind of like a soft Greek chorus and I had just heard and loved ‘Donuts Mind If I Do’ by CHAI, so I reached out. I’ve been immensely inspired by Japanese city Pop and ambient New Age, and I love how the two go hand in hand somehow. I was thrilled to have some company on the song, so it didn’t feel so pathetic and sad“, to amusingly describe his collaborative experiences with CHAI. The jumping ramp for the single starts with a glitched drum beat and a looped, light Samba-inflicted guitar melody. The playful combination introduces a slightly twisted, widescreen splashing of Synths after the opening verse, as Lerche’s radiant crooning blends together with the dream-like qualities of CHAI’s backing vocals to create a breezy groove that doesn’t cool down and lets up for the occasional sampled String crescendo, adding a virtuosic feel to the section that reminds me of Jens Lekman or The Avalanches from a production standpoint. I like how there’s a melancholy and a bitterness to the instrumentation, but it still retains a warm feeling due to the soulful and Prog Jazz-leaning influences. I really like a lot of the lyrics here too, with refrains like “We should get together every summer/and make each other miserable all fall” and “Or can you only love me in the summer?/Or, never at all?” managing to convey a wide spread of emotions while also seeming endlessly quotable at the same time. In conclusion, this is a fantastic single that really took me by surprise in how it feels both aesthetically pleasing and dynamically rich in texture, unleashing a tapestry of moods that feel like the definition of bittersweet. Clever, playful and elegant. A total package.

Pictured: Sondre Lerche in a recent photoshoot to promote ‘Avatars Of Love’ (2022) (Photo by Tonje Thilesen)

That leaves me with little else to say today, other than to thank you for supporting the site today. I’ll be back at it again tomorrow with an exciting in-depth review for ‘Fine Everything’, which is probably the most well-known single by an emerging indie rock band that I discovered on a recent episode of Steve Lamacq’s ‘Roundtable’ on BBC Radio 6 Music, where it gained positive reviews from the show’s panel. This trio have worked with Blood Red Shoes’ Steven Ansell as a producer. They have also supported the likes of Sasami, Penelope Isles & She Drew The Gun for live gigs across the UK too.

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Today’s Track: Neil Frances – ‘Dancing’

April 21, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Jordan Feller (Drums/Synths) and Marc Gilfrey (Samples/Producer) (2022) (Photo by Victoria Smith)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come time to shine your favourite pair of dancing shoes before we get invested in yet another daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Saying “We like the idea of our music sound-tracking people’s weekends” to Karen Gree of NME in a recent interview, Neil Frances is not a solo artist – but rather the Los-Angeles based Alternative Soul duo of Sydney-born musician Jordan Feller and Southern California native producer Marc Gilfrey, who have named their debut studio album ‘There Is No Neil Frances’ to illustrate the fact. Out now via Nettwerk Music Group, the LP was recorded in Echo Park Studio over the past year and it follows the loose narrative of an insect who is trying to find its place in a utopian dreamscape. Exploring a wide assortment of Alternative Pop and Experimental House sounds on previous releases like 2018’s ‘Took A While’ EP and 2021’s ‘Stay Strong, Play Long’ EP, Neil Frances met in New York and began the project in 2016 with their intention of creating honest and authentic music. The duo have opened up a sold-out show for SG Lewis at The Shrine. They have also supported the likes of Jungle, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Poolside on tours across the US. The duo will also be performing at the Shabang Live Music & Arts Festival, WonderStruck Festival and Firefly Music Festival throughout 2022 as well, and so there’s a handful of places that you can find them love if you thoroughly enjoy the new album like I have, which features contributions by Benny Sings and GRAE. Give ‘Dancing’ a listen below.

Neil Frances have gained support from KCRW, Under The Radar, Magnetic, Flood and Brooklyn Vegan in the past few years, and their own cover version of Stardust’s ‘Music Sounds Better Than You’ has amassed over 70 million streams. Explaining the concept behind their latest outing, the duo say, “Our new album is about self-realization and becoming the person that you dream of. The concept is that we are insects on Earth who ascend into outer space to become divas at a galactic ball”, in their descriptive press statement. As the ninth track on the long-player, ‘Dancing’ marks a transition point into more accessible sounds that seem easier to groove to, compared to the slower build of the earlier tracks, with it’s silky and smooth Nu-Disco vibe. An airy, gently processed lead vocal mixes together with the World Fusion-based Drums in the opening as atmospheric lyrics like “As the sea comes speaking to me/Time will voice its drift out of key” and “When I see this all to my brain/Tell the lord we’ve trouble where we went” cleanly kick-starts the dense journey of Psych-Funk, Trip Hop and Progressive Soul that flows cohesively throughout the single. A bold, one-note hook of “When dancing is seeking delight” illustrates the themes of the track beautifully in the chorus. Musically, the instrumentation represents an ethereal blend of Future Funk and soft R&B that gets stretched out by effective sampling, light vocals and manipulated sounds to create the slow-burning textures and give the groove a hypnotic quality in the process. The sparse danceability reminds me of ‘The Slow Rush’ by Tame Impala, while the vintage-leaning dance music elements recall back Gilligan Moss to my mind and the calming mood of the soulful vocals makes me reminisce over MNDSGN’s material. There’s an eclectic range of influences in here, but Feller and Gilfrey manage to make the spatial trip through these layers of music their own by developing their 90’s New-Age influences with a neat amount of detail and showing their versatility as producers who are not constrained to one specific genre. Overall, ‘Dancing’ is a song that will make your feet move involuntarily to the rhythm.

Pictured: Neil Frances in a photoshoot for ‘Finding Rhythm’ (2021) (Photo via NorthernTransmissions.com)

That brings us to the end of another roughly 24-hour period on the blog, and I really want to wish you great luck for the rest of your week in return for your generous support. I’m going to be back for ‘New Album Release Fridays’ tomorrow as we turn our attention towards the long-awaited and slightly delayed debut album release by an Australian Psychedelic Rock 4-piece who created their own Lazyfest music festival.

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Today’s Track: EARTHGANG – ‘All Eyes On Me’

April 18, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Olu (aka Johnny Venus) & WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dut) (2022) (Photo by Jordan Payne/Rolling Stone)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to wipe the chocolate from those Eggs off of your face for a few moments as we listen to yet another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! The music video for ‘All Eyes On Me’ has recently surpassed over one billion views on YouTube, a great result for the Atlanta-based Hip Hop duo of Earthgang, which is comprised of southern rappers Olu (aka Johhny Venus) and WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dut – who was born as Eian Parker) who were co-founders of the Spillage Village collective which also includes JID, Hollywood JB, JordxnBryant, 6LACK, Mebera and Benji. Earthgang mostly feels like a side project for the two creatives, who have released a trilogy of EP’s and one major album on the Dreamville Records label that fellow rapper J. Cole heads. The duo released a few singles like ‘American Horror Story’, ‘Aretha’ and ‘Erykah’ to showcase the diversity of subjects being disected throughout the record, but ‘All Eyes On Me’ seems to be one of the most symbolic examples of their new album’s sound and core values. ‘Ghetto Gods’ – their second studio album – has received positive acclaim from publications like AllMusic, Exclaim, NME and Rolling Stone, along with consistent radio airplay from KEXP, making their top ten list of albums being featured regularly on their DJ’s shows. It was produced by Kawan “KP” Prather and SinceThe80’s, and it features a varied range of guest collaborators too. Among these names are people like CeeLo Green, Baby Tate, Future, JID, Ari Lennox, and more. Check out ‘All Eyes On Me’ below.

Referencing the hardships that everyone has been dealing with throughout the pandemic, such as the loss of jobs and the missed opportunities in our lives due to the long-term effects of recent years for their music video, Olu and WowGr8 encourage us to enjoy the most profound things in life while celebrating their survival as black people in America. An effective opening sets the scene with lyrics like “Warriors die, but they live in the sky/I’ve never seen a Gucci watch in my future, sign of the times” that Olu spits out to reference the financial difficulties that many have been struggling through. WowGr8 tells his side of the coin in the next verse, as he raps about taking care of his family despite personal issues in order to tell a larger narrative of the ‘target’ that is placed on the back of his community and the judgment that black people are still constantly subjected to within the environment. The chorus brings together the themes of poverty, addiction, police brutality and prejudice in the legal system with an upbeat spin anyways, as the pair shout us out with sequences like “You survived last year/Get your hands up” and “I know that money tight, that slimmy check light/I should stash some, but we gon’ ball for the night” that illustrates the point of living for today and not showing an overload of concern for tomorrow. The rougher topics of racism, tragedy and horror stories from the hood are still gently crammed into it, but the general vibe is a more relatable and uplifting one overall. These lyrical musings play out to the calming tune of hi-hat’s, chirping backing vocals and an 808 knock that creates a mellow groove throughout, and the duo’s production has a similar energy that drives the emotional, booming Bass beats forwards as the two celebrate their simple achievements of chasing your dreams in a world full of creatives that is plagued by external struggles, and I can see why the track has found so much popularity recently because the points being made are rather universal, but they still feel deep enough to stand out a little bit. I’m not sure that I would revisit it hugely often because it is straightforward, but the verses feel very conscious and the chorus has a catchy energy to it, which makes it feel engaging despite clearly being influenced by mainstream trap. An important act of just patting yourself on the back.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘GHETTO GODS’ (LP/Album) (Released on Febraury 25th, 2022) (via Dreamville Records)

That brings us to the end of another roughly 24 hour period, and the end of another daily post on the blog. Thank you for showing me your support as always, and I’ll be back tomorrow to review a single from an upcoming new album being released by a Canadian singer-songwriter, of Serbian heritage, who is based in London. She has recorded two sessions for Marc Riley’s show on BBC Radio 6 Music, and she recorded a cover version of King Crimson’s ‘I Talk To The Wind’ as a charity single in 2020. Monkeybiz, a website, have described her previous album as “a beautiful work of art”.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Betty Davis – ‘Come Take Me’

April 6, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Betty Davis in an unknown official photoshoot (date n/a) (Photo via The Vinyl Factory/Baron Wolfman)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to go retro for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ on the blog, which helps me to fulfill my goal of writing up about a different piece of music every day! We’re going to be remembering Betty Davis today, a North Carolina-born singer-songwriter who made an erotic string of Afro-Funk, R&B, Soul and rock-tinged Blues albums during the 1970’s. Davis was also known for her sexually provocative lyricism and her flamboyant live performances and, although she never became a household name, she developed a cult following and she has been cited as an influence by contemporary artists like Janelle Monae, Outkast and Jamila Woods, as well as fellow icons like Prince and Grace Jones, for her experimental blend of genres. Davis wrote, arranged and produced all of her own music in her time, a rarity for any female artist, yet alone a Black woman, during her era. She started out as a model, appearing in magazines like Glamour and Seventeen and working with designers, before she became the second wife of the legendary trumpeter Miles Davis. Although their marriage ended after a year due to implied abuse, she personally introduced him to Jimi Hendrix and Cream. She also penned material that got The Commodores signed to Motown Records. Davis sadly left us, aged 77, in February in Homestead, Pensylvania – where she had lived since her childhood – after being diagnosed with cancer a week prior. At one point, Marc Bolan of T-Rex fame encouraged her to write music for herself and she took that advice to heart when her self-titled debut studio album was released in 1973. Originally released by Just Sunshine Records (an upstart label), the record preceded three more solo albums and it got a CD and Vinyl re-issue in 2007 via Light In The Attic Records. She enlisted the help of The Pointer Sisters, Neil Schon, Sylvester and more guest contributors to bring the distinctive record to life and my focus track – ‘Come Take Me’ – was previously an unreleased track until 15 years ago, when it was included on special editions of her self-titled LP. Get a better idea of her sound with the cut below.

Her AllMusic profile describes Betty Davis as “a wildly flamboyant Funk diva with few equals… [who] combined the gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futurist fashion sense of David Bowie and the trend-setting flair of Miles Davis”, according to the website, and so the music world continues to feel the effects of her tragic loss earlier in the year. ‘Come Take Me’ feels like textbook Betty Davis at her finest and most distinct, although the Vinyl re-issue of her entire back catalogue felt as though it was long overdue before the mid-00’s and it had not happened properly yet. That said, if you like the Jazz-tinged Psychedelia of Sly & The Family Stone, the loose Funk influences of Beck’s ‘Midnite Vultures’ era and his unconventional song structures, and the aggressive delivery of 70’s Rock ‘N’ Roll stalwarts, this one is for you. The intro feels a little unorthodox, before the guitar stabs and the wonky bassline comes in, with Davis croaking lyrics about not disrupting the rhythm and treating a lover right albeit with a frenzied and rather crazy attitude. The drums progress nicely throughout the track, starting off with a slow and steady vibe, before controlling the rhythm with a more frantic pace. Davis recites her lyrics with an instructive growl in her voice that complements the unapologetically Funk production of the track, where the warbling vocals carry the wobbling guitars and the trickling fusion of the Motown-esque Bass and Drums to create a rather irresistible groove. It doesn’t sound too out of date and although the songwriting may sound dated, Davis’ imagination of combining then-contemporary Blues-Rock sensibilities with creative, provocative explorations of lust, desire and sexuality in her howling vocals and erotic Jazz/Funk melodies is still there. Davis was a class act who was ahead of her time. The wide world wasn’t ready for her.

Pictured: Betty Davis in an official erotic photoshoot (date n/a) (Photo by NewYorker.com/Native Voice Films)

That’s all for now! Just to let you know that if you enjoyed today’s tribute to Betty Davis, a re-issue for her final album is also planned to be happening through her label sometimes in 2022. Thank you for checking out my latest post because your support is always highly appreciated, and I’ll be shifting our attention back to new music releases tomorrow with a review of a recent single by a South London-based indie rock band who will be releasing their self-titled debut album via Dan Carey’s Speedy Wunderground label on April 29th. They have performed at festivals including Green Man Festival, SWN Festival in Cardiff, and Fred Perry’s All Our Tomorrow’s live Festival.

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Today’s Track: Blue Lab Beats (feat. Fela Kuti, Killbeatz, Kaidi Akinnibi & Poppy Daniels) – ‘Motherland Journey’

April 4, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Namali Kwaten (aka NK-OK) and David Mrkapor (aka Mr DM) (2019) (Photo Credit: Blue Note Records)

Good Afternoon to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, as usual, and I’m writing fresh off this marathon of a WWE WrestleMania 38 weekend with yet another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Pitching their sound as “Jazz-Tronica”, Blue Lab Beats are the North London-based experimental electronic music duo of sampler and producer Namali Kwaken (aka NK-OK) and multi-instrumentalist David Mrkaor (aka Mr DM) who have sat in the additional production seats for their work with artists like Ruby Francis and Age Of Luna, and they have remixed A-list pop culture superstars like Dua Lipa and Rag ‘N’ Bone Man. The follow-up to 2021’s ‘We Will Rise’ EP is the Grammy award-winning and MOBO-nominated musicians’ latest full-length studio album ‘Motherland Journey’ which they released in late February on the legendary Blue Note Records label. The new creative project explores a whole suite of Avant-Jazz, Prog-Jazz, Afro-Funk, Trip Hop, Boom Bap, Northern Soul and Contemporary R&B influences, and it has been described as an “extremely special album” to the duo, who say, “This album took us two-and-a-half-years to finish, or longest process to make an album, but it was so worth it. On this album you’ll hear many fusions of genres and inspirations that we gathered throughout that time frame and especially to work on so many of the songs during the first lockdown, it was a test in itself”, about their recent release. The title track samples Afrobeat activist icon Fela Kuti’s 70’s song ‘Everything Scatter’ and they were given permission by the BLB estate themselves to use that sample. It features guest contributions from Kaidi Akinnibi and Poppy Daniels, while they also travelled to Ghana to record it along with Killbeatz as the producer. Let’s give it a spin.

Much like all of the classic Afrobeat music releases of the 70’s and 80’s, ‘Motherland Journey’ is designed to replicate a communal experience where all of the different influences and the guest contributors are welcome as long as the album’s flow is not disrupted, and the duo also comment, “When we got confirmation to have Fela Kuti’s vocals from his publishers in Nigeria we were honestly blown away that he could really feature on our tracks. An absolute dream come true.”, on Kuti’s featured artist credit for the eclectic track. The track gets off to a bright and warm start immediately, with a quickly established groove formed by the percussive African drums and the prominent Amapiano stabs that pulls apart the standard tropes of their favourite genres with the introduction of the electronic music elements and the sparse guitar melodies to give the classic sound a more modern, updated feel. The pair layer up some of the Trumpet samples and the Afrobeat-tinged backing vocals together to blur the contrasted electronic and organic sounds together occasionally, but the rotating instrumentals and the upbeat textures creates the most dominant impression where we’re witnessing something improvisational and organic from a live house band, like the performers who used to visit Kuti’s shrines at the heart of the Afrobeat cultural movement, who are simply taking to center stage and jamming with one another, creating a timeless feeling as opposed to overtly recycling outdated ideas for simply nostalgic effect. It is not necessarily futuristic, but it feels well-built and structured neatly, with new melodies being bought into the mix to keep the grooves from getting a little tiresome. Overall, ‘Motherland Journey’ is a wonderfully encouraging listen that pulls off a fresh re-boot of it’s ideas by blending the organic percussion of the classic Afrobeat days with the progressive electronic production standards that we’re used to hearing more often from the west. The final results feel quite accessible and engaging to a fairly wide audience, without the feeling of commercialism ever truly dominating their sound in a blatant way. It just feels timeless and eminently buoyant.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Motherland Journey’ (LP) (Released on February 25th, 2022) (via Blue Note Records)

That brings us to the end of another uplifting track on the blog, and thank you for continuing to support the site. I’ll be back tomorrow to discuss the new single from an Oxford-born classically trained electronic music producer who has been covered more than once before, since I’m such a huge fan of his work. He’s going to release his first album in a decade this July, and his collaborative single ‘Heartbreak’, which he created with Bonobo, was nominated for this year’s ‘Best Dance/Electronic Recording’ honour at the Grammy awards. The British musician is currently based in Los Angeles.

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Today’s Track: Lucius – ‘Next To Normal’

March 31, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Second Nature’ (LP/Album) (Available from April 8th, 2022) (via Mom + Pop Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for a fairly occasional slice of Pop Pleasure for yet another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A track that can appeal equally to a mature audience and the typical Eurovision enthusiast, ‘Next To Normal’ is a retro-futurist Dance-Pop track that celebrates eccentricity and quirks, and it comes to you from the Nashville-based project of Lucius, whose line-up appears to include only Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig this time around, although the line-up has included Coco’s Dan Molad and lead guitarist Peter Lalish, alongside the touring musicians Casey Foubert (Guitar) and Josh Dion (Drums) in the past. Lucius have received acclaim from publications such as The New York Times, Paste, Rolling Stone, NPR and The Village Voice over the years. They have contributed to the work of numerous other artists including Harry Styles, The War On Drugs, John Legend, Mavis Staples, Sheryl Crow and several others. The duo’s previous album, ‘Good Grief’, was released some time ago, in 2016, but that track record is set to shift with the release of their fourth studio album – ‘Second Nature’ – and that takes place in just a handful of days away, releasing on the Mom + Pop label on April 8th. The album was recorded in Nashville’s RCA Studio A with Brandi Carlile and Dave Cobb. Check out the lead single.

“It is a record that begs you not to sit in the difficult moments, but to dance through them”, Lucius say about their upcoming album collectively, explaining, “It touches upon all these stages of grief – and some of that is breakthrough, by the way. Being able to have the full spectrum of the experience that we have had, or that I’ve had in my divorce, or that we had in lockdown, having our careers come to a halt, so to speak. I think you can really hear and feel the spectrum of emotion and hopefully find the joy in the darkness”, in a press release. ‘Next To Normal’ starts off with a disco-esque exchange between the lead and bass guitar, before steady drums and a psychedelic, Funk-driven bass guitar line escalate the ethereal quality of the electronic soundscape, before the two Berklee College Of Music graduates begin crooning with a confident yet laidback tone. Their lyrics speak about having the power to stand out instead of just fitting in, losing friendships as a consequence of bad mental health, and finding someone who could love your vulnerabilities, with lyrics like “Laughing at the wrong times/Saying things too straight” and “All of this translation/I was over-compensating” that feel defiant and headstrong in texture, but they are still acknowledging the grief that a difficult emotional time can bring to your life in a straightforward way. It continues to evolve in terms of instrumentation, with scattered breakbeats and sharp guitar accents that are held together by a consistent drum groove. The chorus feels more celebratory and anthemic than the punchy verses, with declarative Pop hooks like “When I’m close to you, I’m next to normal” and “I feel immortal/I’m high without the paranoia” that perfectly suit the Disco theme of the rhythm while suiting the more confessional lyricism and slightly slower beats of the verses. Overall, ‘Next To Normal’ works well because the hooks and rhythms are eminently listenable and their catchy melodies grow on you in many listens, yet there’s a subtle hint of a darker theme lurking in the background that gives it larger depth. As a wise follower of the BBC Radio 6 Music community group on Facebook noted a few days ago, if you don’t like just a little bit of Pop, you are a snob.

Pictured: Jess Wolfe (Co-Vocals/Bass Synth) & Holly Laessig (Co-Vocals/Keyboard) (2022) (Photo via TheBoot.com)

That brings us to the bottom of the page for another day! Thank you for supporting the site for the first time or the hundredth time, as it really means a lot to share this music with the world using the platform. I will be back tomorrow for ‘New Album Release Fridays’ as we take a glimpse into the new LP record by a charming London-based Post-Punk group currently signed to Bella Union with an uncharacteristically German name. Their previous LP – 2019’s ‘Tainted Lunch’ – got a 9/10 from The Line Of Best Fit and they have always been supported kindly by BBC Radio 6 Music. They also released the three-track ‘European Cowboy’ remix EP for Record Store Day, 2020.

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