Imagine Paul McCartney going city pop. Love this lo-fi alt-pop jam from Huntington Beach’s Cameron Lew, otherwise known as Ginger Root. Ginger Root – “Better Than Monday”… Continue reading
A new wave of R&B from Los Angeles. Moth is Fana Hues‘ third full-length album. Here’s my favorite song from it. Fana Hues – “Gone… Continue reading
A Marvin mood. Been down with Zara McFarlane’s sounds since I first heard “Mama Done” from her 2011 album Until Tomorrow. On her latest project, the London,… Continue reading
The Montreal producer‘s latest does not disappoint. Timeless is the long-awaited new album from Kaytranada, which manages to both wholly encompass and faithfully document the state of R&B, funk,… Continue reading
Those layered harmonies. Charleston, South Carolina’s Harlem Farr, who records under the name hrlum, describes herself as “a multi-instrumentalist interpreting harmony of the cosmos.” Her new track,… Continue reading
One of the best jazz albums of 2024 by one half of the Melbourne, Australia dance duo Close Counters. Dawn Is a Melody is the debut album from the… Continue reading
A sped-up version of the original. The Los Angeles artist Jeffrey Wilson makes music under the name Amyrion. His latest single, “Backseat,” is tremendously good, however it’s… Continue reading
Verdant, aqueous, and chilled. Maybe Not Tomorrow is the latest release from Julien Mier, the Sydney-based Dutch artist known as Santpoort. It’s a dreamy, downtempo electronic album… Continue reading
A playful, bilingual bop. An indie-funk strut sung in English and Mandarin courtesy of the Seattle duo. Love those dramatic gong crashes. Chinese American Bear… Continue reading
Not an EP, apparently. Totaling only six tracks, the latest album from the Toronto trio is a dextrous display of avant-garde jazz and cinematic instrumentation. Here’s my… Continue reading
Gloriously psychedelic soul and funk from Colombia. Balthazar Aguirre, Johanna Mercuriana, and Santiago Lizcano are BALTHVS. The Bogotá trio fuse Middle Eastern sounds with lo-fi surf soul… Continue reading
The London-based, New Zealand-born musician’s fifth album. The Loop feels considered, cohesive, and personal. Here’s my favorite song from it. Jordan Rakei – “Trust” … Continue reading
Scuzz-fuzz bongo-psyche-rock. Having toured Europe and the US supporting King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard in 2019, Geelong, Australia trio ORB are back with a new single, “Can’t Do… Continue reading
If you like Robert Glasper, BADBADNOTGOOD, Kiefer, Khruangbin, Dilla, Nate Smith, Theo Croker, Terrace Martin, then you need to know about this. The first installment of my new… Continue reading
The duo who first met while playing in Charles Bradley’s touring band. Max Shrager (The Shacks) and Paul Schalda (The Sha La Das) are Las Los. The… Continue reading
Lo-fi alt-pop-progressive-R&B-folk? Not sure what genre to call it, but Montreal’s Ev Bird‘s latest track “Freezer” is a feel-good ode to feeling cold. Ev Bird – “Freezer”… Continue reading
Scandinavian soul. Comprised of musicians from Norway’s Bård Berg Electric Band and Fieh, Sūn Byrd’s new self-titled album is a vivacious and carefully crafted modern soul workout. … Continue reading
Lo-fi D’Angelo feels. Boston-via-Sweden artist Sebastian Mikael‘s latest track is a woozy soul late-nighter that appears to be crafted with the same approach of abandon and unbridled verve as… Continue reading
The Atlanta artist partners with the Toronto trio. “It’s Alright” is the best song on Baby Rose‘s new six-track release, produced entirely by BadBadNotGood. Love that breakbeat… Continue reading
A beat-driven textured soul collage from two of the UK’s brightest future soul luminaries. Jonny Drop and Andrew Ashong have joined forces to create a years-in-the-making collaborative album, Puzzle… Continue reading
Showers of space synths. Translated as “one unified dream,” Uniri is a London-based future jazz quartet headed up by Chiminyo and which also features Al Macsween (Nubya Garcia, Gary… Continue reading
Named after the Mississauga, Ontario highway intersection of 5 and 10. Brothers In The Groove by the Canadian instrumental four-piece Five and Tens is a cinematic odyssey through soul,… Continue reading
David Axelrod takes a cross-country road trip with Ennio Morricone. The latest song from the Brooklyn artist and recent Los Angeles transplant Aaron Frazer imagines psychedelic soul through the… Continue reading
Seoul’s late night soul. “whenyougottago” by the Korean outfit Slowdance 슬로우댄스 is a bilingual, experimental indie-soul jam. Love that slow and short-lived transition into doo-wop at 4min… Continue reading
NYC d’n’b. Produced by 454, “Pool of Life” from Brooklyn’s Anysia Kym is an atmospheric roller pocked with cloudy R&B elements that sounds like it could be a circa-1997… Continue reading
Future soul from Grand Rapids. Western Michigan quartet Earth Radio‘s latest track is “High Water,” a jazz-meets-R&B rumination. Love those piano keys. Earth Radio –… Continue reading
A London-Brooklyn connection. The NYC producer Bad Tuner, whose rework of “Ooo La La” by Brijean landed at number 16 in my Top 30 Remixes of 2023 list, has… Continue reading
Gentle, pastoral sounds from Denmark. Led by Casper Clausen‘s acoustic guitar and vocals, this brand new song from the Copenhagen trio features a warm and bright trumpet motif from… Continue reading
A recommended gem of an article. I love this album so much, although almost every time I play it I usually just end up listening to the opener, “La… Continue reading
One of my favorite albums of the year so far. Philadelphia mallet percussionist and poet Angelo Outlaw has released his debut album, Axis of Time. Produced by… Continue reading
A gorgeous remix. Joe Goddard has turned in a predictably excellent rework of “Cyanotype Memories” by the London-via-Yokohama artist Hinako Omori. Says Joe, “I tried to mimic… Continue reading
Blissful and abounding with beauty. Together, guitarist and Little Misty bandleader Francois Jalbert, violinist and Flore Laurentienne member Mélanie Bélair, and composer Aurélien Tomasi are the Montreal trio Caméra.… Continue reading
100% energy. “Prologue” is a triumphant new beat-driven direction for Kamasi Washington that almost sounds like drum ‘n’ bass. And that crashing crescendo outro from 5min 20sec! … Continue reading
Psyche-R&B-soul. Hope Chiguvo aka Lei Hope was born in Zimbabwe, raised in Leeds, and is now based in Manchester, UK. His latest track “21” is a vulnerable… Continue reading
PREP meets Phum. The London, UK production outfit PREP, whose sound I fell in love with when I first heard their single “Cheapest Flight” back in 2015 (read my review… Continue reading
Another favorite release of mine named “Mahal.” (Here’s the other one.) “Mahal,” by the Melbourne, Australia trio Glass Beams, fronted by Rajan Silva, is a winding, potent instrumental… Continue reading
Now that I see you I can renew My love My love Jesse Henderson and David Parry are Loving, a duo from Victoria, British Columbia who write tender yet… Continue reading
“2am-5am auditory essentials,” according to Fine. Cannot get enough of this new track “Empty Space” by Leeds, UK producer Fin Vallance aka Fine, which features Jonah Evans and vocals… Continue reading
Pure soul that expertly captures the main elements of the genre’s continuum from Marvin Gaye to Gabriels. Connecting via Instagram during the pandemic, Huddersfield producer Barney Lister (who has worked… Continue reading
Ad astra. “Qui Sait” is the latest song from the Toulouse, France cosmic indie-psyche-soul outfit Ceylon, comprised of Louise Holt and Tristan Chevalier (who both feature in the whimsical… Continue reading
Photek-esque drums meet Dillinja-ish bass drops. “Nights” is a minimal and angular drum ‘n’ bass tune from Sully. It features vocals from Manchester-via-Glasgow-via Tbilisi, Georgia vocalist Salo,… Continue reading
A recommended gem of a live show. After hearing the band’s brand new track “Everything’s Beautiful” a few days ago, I was more than excited to check out… Continue reading
Meows from the Juno synth. Amber Navran from Moonchild, keyboardist and clarinet player Jacob Mann, and singer and trumpet player Phil Beaudreau are Catpack. “What I’ve Found”… Continue reading
Can’t stop listening to this album. Translated as “Hi” in Uruguayan slang, Opa meld North American jazz and funk with Uruguay’s native Candombe rhythms. Originally a collection… Continue reading
The Pharcyde, Tupac, A Tribe Called Quest, DOOM, Nas, Ice Cube, Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, and more get the cover treatment from OMA. Rewinding 12 years, I remember falling… Continue reading
Breezy. Daniel Alvarez de Toledo and Jordan Dunn-Pilz are the New York duo TOLEDO. “Lindo Lindo” is their latest track, a casual, acoustic guitar-led indie-pop stroll sung… Continue reading
Set to be his biggest tune since “Hyph Mngo.” So very simple and so very effective, Joy Orbison‘s brand new track is a free-falling low-end monster. Explaining… Continue reading
Bedroom pop-folktronica. Very into “Dizzy,” the latest single from Austin, Texas artist Hannah Stomski, otherwise known as Sprig. There’s something oddly calming about that steady drum machine… Continue reading
New songs added every Monday. An ongoing playlist of 2024’s very best songs. If you dig leftfield beats, electronic soul, and experimental sounds, you’ll feel right at… Continue reading
The Austrian composer and percussionist has collaborated with the Tyrolean vocal ensemble Mad About Lemon. The glacial and wintry “Slow-Mo Moving River” is a thoughtful, stirring yet chilled downtempo… Continue reading
