Psychedelic Soul

Today’s Track: Bien Et Toi – ‘Haiku’

February 5, 2024 — Leave a comment

“Some heat for anyone to play when they get the aux” is all you need. New post time!

Pictured: LA-based electronic producer Gianluca Buccellati aka Bien Et Toi (2023) (Photo by Bellamy Brewster)

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! If you like music that personifies the statement that you saw in my intro above, more pleasure awaits you when you check out the ‘Voici’ EP by the LA-based producer who said it! The man in question is Gianluca Buccellati, an electronic music producer who has enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with well-liked artists like Hazel English, Biig Piig, Terry Presume and Declan McKenna. Most notably, he fulfilled production work on Arlo Parks’ blockbuster release ‘Collapsed In Sunbeams’ which won the Mercury Prize, also receiving some album of the year nominations at the BRIT Awards and the Grammy Awards following its release in January 2021. As a solo musician, he started out as a member of White China during a run in New York and he has represented artists as an A&R scout operating from mini studios that he set up in Air BnB’s dotted around the globe. His music is recorded and released under the alias of Bien Et Toi which translates to “Well, and you” from French to English. Therefore, his answer must be very predictable if you were to ask how he’s doing. Bright and aestival are two words which accurately describe the sumptous sounds of his six-track EP ‘Voici’ released last year. I feel particularly cold today and his EP makes for a perfect antidote for dull weather in winter. Therefore, why not sample ‘Haiku’ below?

“This collection of songs was created when I was in a completely care-free state of flow”, the emerging producer tells us about his six-track EP ‘Voici’ in a revealing press statement, finishing off his sentence with, “After my last EP [2022’s ‘London Safari] I wanted to create a body of work that had less features and felt more personal. This EP is for people to let loose to, a soundtrack for pool parties or warmer nights” as he describes the production process of the release. It traverses through the chillout music sounds of 00’s compilation albums that have been lost to the domination of the internet and deviates into downtempo Electronica that cleanses the palette of the listener after a long hard day’s on shift at work, inviting you to build a fantasy in your mind that feels as kind as the “Well, and you” translation of his recording name. ‘Haiku’ is never afraid to showcase Gianluca’s work with many Hip-Hop producers by opening with a basic drum beat set above some auto-tuned vocals that feel obscured as to create a sense of intrigue around the track’s meaning. The textured Synths enter the fray promptly, raising the tempo and wrapping layers around the cryptic vocals while conveying a comforting space that puts a hand on your shoulder. A buzzing sound keeps the pace going even while the synths are retreating, before the winning crescendo rewards your attention once again. While the track never veers into hugely melodic and Pop-oriented territory, it maintains your focus by giving its electronic instrumentation a more human quality. There’s an emotive feel in how the multi-layered Synths control the pace of the track and feel like a cohesive pairing with the mechanical vocals in terms of drawing you in with its sense of invitation. Overall, this is one that fits whatever suit you need it to whether that’s a moment of reflection late at night or a trip to view a midsummer sunrise with the roof of your convertible down.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for the ‘Voici’ EP (Released on August 29th, 2023) (via Temple 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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New Album Release Fridays: Soccer 96 (feat. Salami Rose Joe Louis) – ‘Yesterday Knows Me’

May 6, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Inner Worlds’ (LP/Album) (Released on May 6th, 2022) (via Moshi Moshi Records)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has finally arrived for us to enjoy some celestial analog Synths and lumbering Hi-Hat Drums with 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! Sharon Van Etten, Belle and Sebastian, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Sunflower Bean, Peaness and – as my mother just informed me earlier this morning – Emeli Sande are all taking advantage of the warm weather (and a gap in the release schedule before Kendrick Lamar unleashes his new cryptic juggernaut next week) with new albums this week. Another LP release worth keeping an eye on is the latest album by the London-based Prog-Jazz duo Soccer96, which is comprised of keyboardist Dan Leavers (Danalogue) and drummer Max Hallett (Betamax) who are also members of The Comet Is Coming. The two musicians like to keep busy in their separate careers as well. Leavers has performed alongside Scratcha DVA and Henry Lu, and he has produced albums for Ibibio Sound Machine, Snapped Ankles and Flamingods. Meanwhile, Hallett is also a member of Hot Head Show and Super Best Friends Club – and he’s also played the live drums with Sons Of Kemet, Yussef Kamal and Melt Yourself Down. They have become a regular addition to my digital library with their ethereal blend of Sci Fi-leaning Electronica, post-apocalyptic Ambient and poly-rhythmic Grime-Jazz. For their live sets, the diverse duo also pride themselves on using no laptops, sequencers or software when they perform, instead opting to play each of their parts in the moment. ‘Inner Worlds’ is the follow-up to last year’s ‘Dopamine’, an ambitious record based loosely on a narrative centered around a corrupt AI system that landed a spot on my very own ‘Top 25 Best Albums Of The Year’ 2021-end list that was published back in January on the blog. It releases today digitally, but it won’t be available to purchase on physical formats until May 27th via Moshi Moshi Records. The leading single – ‘Yesterday Knows Me’ – enlists the aid of Salami Rose Joe Louis, who previously provided the vocals for ‘Sitting On A Satellite’ that was taken off 2021’s ‘Dopamine’. Check out the music video for the single below.

Rozi Plain, Simbad, Tom Herbert and The Colours That Rise also appear on the new release, and Soccer96 pitch it for your pleasure by noting, “We’ve been reflecting on the relationship between our inner worlds and outer worlds, how our minds shape our experience and our experience shapes our mind“, in the LP’s product description on their Bandcamp profile, concluding, “How caring and nurturing our inner worlds can improve our relationship with our outer experiences. We see the creation of music as the bridge between these two worlds“, in their own words. Building off the unorthodox time signatures and Space-Pop synths of ‘Dopamine’, Soccer96 invite us all into the alluring and deliberately mechanical tone of ‘Inner Worlds’ with a typically whimsical arrangement of multi-layered vocals and gently Trip Hop-leaning instrumentals. Their beats feel ‘broken’ and ‘wonky’ to a characteristic degree, and they are tuned well to the sounds of the Soul-tinged vocals by Joe Louis that feel slow-burning and almost robotic in delivery. Instrumentally, it’s all about the texture for Soccer96 as always, as the duo continue to lay out their formula of intense textures and rather meticulous compositions that straddle the line between chaos and order like a well-balanced walk on a tight rope, while giving off the hazy and psychedelic vibes that distort the vocals and loop the drums in a sense of propulsion that slowly ascends and descends gradually. The crunching break-beat plays catch up to the more upbeat keyboard work for the most part, while the sequences bass ostinato provides subtle hints to 70’s Psych-Funk and 90’s New-Age recordings at differing points. Towards the end, there’s also a squelching solo where the electronics are really turned up to eleven and replace the wide-eyed mood of the verses with an extra angle being added between the melee of the drums and keyboard where the cut is more focused on brute sonic impact. Musically, the lead single feels very varied while the barely audible lyrics add another dimension to the light grooves. The cohesion is solid though, and there’s certainly the creativity here to warrant the genre-fluid variety of styles feeling suitable together. It’s not really a major departure in sound for the duo, but it shows the experimental and independent duo doing what they do best and embracing their creative freedom to deliver a fascinating and imaginative tapestry of textures, moods and functions. This is bound to be another Soccer96 record that you should not miss.

Pictured: Dan Leavers (Keyboard/Synths) and Max Hallett (Drums/Percussion) (2021) (Photo Credit: William Barnes)

Looking for more where that came from? Check out my previous Soccer96 post here:

‘Sitting On A Satellite’ (feat. Salami Rose Joe Louis) (2021) – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/09/24/new-album-release-fridays-soccer96-feat-salami-rose-joe-louis-sitting-on-a-satellite/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Dopamine’ (Released on September 24th, 2021) (via Moshi Moshi Records)

That brings us to the bottom of the page once again, and I thank you very much for your support today and over the years. Remarkably, I have just reached the milestone of 1,000 posts being published on the site, as of yesterday. There will be no new daily post tomorrow in the traditional sense, but please stay tuned to the homepage and the social media profiles for an important announcement arriving in the coming days.

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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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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: Hamid Al Shaeri – ‘Ayonha’

April 13, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Hamid Al-Shaeri in a recent photoshoot to promote the ‘SLAM Years’ LP (2022) (Photo via KCRW.com)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for us to go retro for another new weekly entry of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ 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! Egypt’s leading representative of Arabic Pop (A genre that sounds like westernized synthesizer pop music) is Hamid Al-Shaeri, a key artist for the SLAM! label throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s. Often considered to be the key pioneer of Al Jeel music, this Libyan-Egyptian singer, songwriter and producer is acclaimed by critics for providing a homegrown alternative to foreign Pop artists, both as a solo musician and for his production and writing work for other artists. His impact also extends to the wider popular culture of his native country, following his recent appearance as a guest judge on an Egyptian alternative to the ‘Got Talent’ franchise of TV talent shows. In 2011, he also condemned the actions of Muammar Gadaffi – his native country’s then-ruler – against the Libyan people and he issued a call for Egypt to support them. On 25th February, ‘Habibi Funk 018: The SLAM! Years (1983 – 1988)’, was released. His first single – ‘Ayonha’ – roughly translates to the title of ‘Her Eyes’ in English and it still holds a special heart of the Habibi Funk label’s team. They say, “If you were to ask us for a defining Habibi Funk track, there are a few that come to mind. However, none are as widely connected with us at this point as Hamid El Shaeri’s ‘Ayonha”, in a press release. Although it was not as commercially successful as the popularity of his later work that ran into the 00’s, Egyptian music journalist Malak Makar considers the era as a precursor to El Shaeri’s Al Jeel style than representative of genre. In 2017, Pitchfork’s Andy Beta also described his London-produced cut ‘Ayonha’ as “the most arresting track” on Habibi Funk’s seventh release.

The recent compilation is dedicated to Hamid El Shaeri’s work for the SLAM! label throughout the times, and the idea for the project came about when Habibi Funk met Hamid El Shaeri through singer Youssra El Hawary in 2016 at his office and rehearsal space in the outskirts of Cairo. They insisted on collaborating with him after hearing his songs from the early 1980’s, composed at a time where he had just left Libya to pursue his career in Egypt via a detour in London, where he also recorded his first album. The label recalls, “He liked the idea of an effort to amplify his early works again, which, when originally released, were far from an economic success. While he was down to assist with an interview and his blessing for the project he also told us that for any license we needed to speak with the original label SLAM! who released these songs, still held the rights and also remained in business over the decades though they didn’t actively release any new music”, in a press statement. ‘Ayonha’ is an upbeat and whimsical offering that wouldn’t sound out of place on morning AM radio in California, as the cheerful melodies and the easy-going vibe, combined with the abundance of glistening Synths and the airy harmonies which convey a radiant mood, captures a burgeoning interest in wistful production and exuberant, glitzy Pop sounds for El Shaeri. The lyrics are just as generally glowing in atmosphere, as they roughly translate to lines like “Take me in your hands/Take me to a moon in the clouds” and “Give the life which has gone and which I lost back to me, let me forget the sadness and the wounds, and years of loss and suffering” in English, according to the lyricstranslate.com website. The sound is not excessively Pop-based, but there’s a generally upbeat feel evoked by the opening 60’s-leaning Strings and the percussive acoustic lead guitar melody. Ultimately, this is a crucial encapsulation of the career of a top European star. While he may be relatively unknown to music lovers in the West and there was an initially underwhelming reaction to his early work at first, it hasn’t aged terribly at all and it can lift your spirits on a day where your mind is somewhere else. Buoyant spectacle that became popular across generations in his native market.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘The SLAM! Years: 1983 – 1988 (Habibi Funk 018)’ (Compilation LP/Album) (Released on February 25th, 2022) (via Habibi Funk Records)

That brings me to the end of yet another daily track on the blog. Thank you for checking out my latest post and showing me your support today, and I hope that you found it interesting. As my duty demands, I will be back tomorrow to highlight some refreshing new music by an emerging experimental electronic music artist who utilizes 90’s Acid House sounds and UKG influences to the best of her abilities, and she has a Malaysian and Irish heritage. Her debut EP, ‘Bluff’, is out now via PLATOON.

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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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