herbie hancock announces collab with kendrick lamar & thundercat!
Jazz great Herbie Hancock is working on his new album, the first one since 2010. And it’s clear that the artist has been keeping an eye on the new generations of innovative and talented musicians.
The guests on the album will include Kendrick Lamar, Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Kamasi Washington, Wayne Shorter and Snoop Dogg.
Alto saxophonist and keyboardist Terrace Martin is producing. He has previously produced music for Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder and many more.
Hancock told the San Diego Tribune: “I’m learning a lot from the young people I’m working with. Because they built the new structures, social media and that whole arena, and that affects how you get things out in front of the public to let them know you’re working on something. So I’m still learning, which I’m very happy about. I never want to stop learning. (…) These days, you can put out two tracks, then something a little later that’s connected to the other two. So where you draw the line is up to the artist. It’s a new day.”
Get ready for something great!
premiere: kiss-off your trash relationship with the help of eclectic jazz band the kris johnson group w/ lulu fall
Funky, eclectic, soul: “Painfully Sober” by The Kris Johnson Group featuring Lulu Fall is an unexpected, high-energy track about ridiculous relationships and even more ridiculous feelings.
Led by vivacious vocalist Lulu, who wrote the track after a painful breakup in 2012, and composed by Kris Johnson, “Painfully Sober” is a refreshing, high-energy jazz track that will make you tingle all over. “I had written this song back in 2012 after a tumultuous breakup,” says Lulu. “The vibe of the song had some edge and angst, but nothing like the level of Kris’s mad arranging and composing skills. Kris helped me breathe new life into this piece and I’m so happy to share this official video with the public!”
A healthy dose of relatable lyricism and melodic liveliness, the frenzied track perfectly echoes the jumble of fast-flying emotions, insecurities, and self-doubt that shake up our worlds when a relationship falls to shit.
“I remember when Lulu first sang the melody of ‘Painfully Sober’ to me,” Kris Johnson tells AFROPUNK. “I knew instantly that this song called for a musical backdrop that captured the same amount of angst, reflection, sadness, and anger that she expressed in her lyrics. It needed funk, rock, soul, and a touch of jazz to support this rollercoaster of a story that Lulu crafted!”
“Painfully Sober” is taken from The Kris Johnson Group’s “The Unpaved Road”.
‘to pimp a butterfly’ sax genius kamasi washington doesn’t make background music, he makes revolutions on ‘harmony of difference’
When you spend your career defying expectations and smashing the entrenched conventions of jazz, there’s really only one way to follow up a 3 hour sprawling masterpiece like The Epic; with a taught 30 minute suite. Kamasi Washington’s latest, Harmony of Difference takes all that made The Epic compelling and distills it down its barest essence. 6 songs, rarely breaking the 3 minute mark, bursting with ideas and energy, all culminating in an epic (but not Epic) conclusion in “Truth.” Snippets of melodies from the earlier 5 songs float in and out, while vocals and keys take the foreground.
The bursts of brilliance that Washington has brought to projects ranging from To Pimp A Butterfly to Ryan Adams’ Gold are on full display here. But instead of showcasing his saxophone virtuoso, he instead focuses on tight songwriting and taking the listener on a journey. When all too many jazz band leaders are obsessed with athletic displays, Kamasi Washington obsesses over atmosphere and energy. Nowhere is that more clear on the Afrobeat-tinged “Humility” or the complex rhythms of “Integrity.” If you want a nice jazz record to put on in the background, find something else. Kamasi Washington isn’t nice. If you want to be reminded that jazz still has the power to spark revolutions, pick up Harmony of Difference.
moses sumney turns loneliness into unforgettable dreamscapes on ‘aromanticism’
Using little more than his densely layered voice, Moses Sumney casts a spell on Aromanticism. It’s a dreamy patchwork of questions that lead nowhere and answers to questions no-one got around to asking. “If lovelessness is godlessness/Will you cast me to the wayside?” Sumney asks on the sublime “Doomed.”
The album ties together threads present in all of Sumney’s work. From his earliest tape version of “Plastic” to “Man on the Moon,” old thoughts and nagging feelings come to the surface. The lingering loneliness that’s always been a part of his music, is foregrounded. It’s not just the thread of stunning songs like “Lonely World,” it’s the whole cloth. In a lengthy blog post, Sumney explains “Aromanticism is a concept album about lovelessness as a sonic dreamscape. It seeks to interrogate the idea that romance is normative and necessary.”
The album is full of contradictions that fit its dream logic. “I’m not trying to go to bed with ya/I just wanna make out in my car,” he sings in the stand-out “Make Out in My Car.” (Spoiler alert: they’re pretty much all standouts.) It’s not just appropriate that Thundercat shows up to lend some low end gravity to Moses Sumney’s stratospheric vocals, it’s nearly inevitable. They both seem to operate in the same dream space in which every chord needs to be richer, every texture more nuanced and complex. Moses Sumney may not have the whimsy and pop-culture obsessions of Thundercat, but there’s no question they’re kindred spirits. I would pay both my dollars to sit in a room and listen to the two of them recount their dreams.
There are no easy answers on Aromanticism. There are no conclusions. Melodies lead down rabbit holes that go nowhere but still made for an unforgettable journey. Thoughts and questions hang in the air unresolved. Sumney declares “This isn’t protest music, however, as much as it is process music.” Throughout Aromanticism, Sumney shows that sometimes there’s power in interpreting dreams.
Aromanticism is out now on Jagjaguwar, and don’t miss his set at AFROPUNK Fest in Atlanta October 15th.
watch the mesmerizing visuals for neo-soul artist xamvolo’s vintage jazz jam “feels good”
You gotta have something going on if you’re going to sample the great Thelonious Monk. But songwriter and producer XamVolo backs it up with some serious songwriting and producing chops on his surprising and inventive new single “Feels Good.” With a laid back vibe and celebratory horns, the song marries a vintage feel with a modern aesthetic. This is an essential fall jam from an artist that demands attention. Check out the visuals below:
video premiere: aubergine machine mix indie-pop and edm in moody darkwave track “u people”
Aubergine MACHINE is a collaboration between veteran producer Ian Carey and newcomer Shanti Ellis. The dreamy pair have been working together since 2012 creating their own brand of electro-R&B that borrows from EDM and mainstream pop and draws inspiration from artists like Santigold, No Doubt, and Fleetwood Mac. Their brand new music video, “U People”, is a sensual, moody darkwave track led by Ellis’ mysterious vocals over an equally expressive visual.
“It was sometime during the end of 2015 that we started to feel like we needed to take some time to revel in some personal dark space and write about stuff. Personal stuff. We started writing “U People”. Somehow in the end, we thought that the darkness felt and sounded more like resilience. When it came time to do the video a year and a half later, there were so many images that came to mind. Political things. Big things. Small things. But in the end we felt like sticking to our original feeling of that dark space and that’s what we did. We found a dark cozy spot and filmed ourselves,” the band tells AFROPUNK.
Video for “U People” Produced, filmed and edited by Ian Carey and Shanti Ellis.
Photos: Ian Carey and Shanti Ellis
Aubergine MACHINE’s WildLife EP will be available this summer.
Follow Aubergine Machine: Facebook | Soundcloud
premiere: new york-based soul singer crystal monee hall blends blues, jazz and contemporary r&b in healing new ep “if you breathe”
New York-based soul singer Crystal Monee Hall’s varied career has included roles on Broadway (RENT), sold-out tours with acclaimed musicians Mickey Hart of Grateful Dead and Dave Schools of Widespread Panic, and performing alongside Kanye West and Chance The Rapper during their debut performance of “Ultralight Beam” on Saturday Night Live. After previously releasing three albums–including two collaborations with Hart–the soulful Virginia native is back with what she considers her “proper debut,” a four-track EP entitled “If You Breathe” out today, showcasing her love for world, blues, jazz, soul and contemporary R&B.
“This project is my soul record. Every Sunday before church, my mom would tell me ‘When you sing, if you don’t feel it from all the way down in your toes, then why sing at all?’” Hall explains. “To her, that didn’t mean the loudest, biggest or highest note, but that your voice emanated from your soul. With that message echoing in my mind, truthful singing and songwriting was the focus of the project from the very beginning. From unconditional love (‘If You Breathe’), healing (‘Just Like Water’), desperation (‘Who Will Witness’) and rage (‘Lost Boys’), I wrote these songs in the hopes that they would heal someone like they have me.”
Tonight (Monday April 17th), the singer will be having an EP Release Show featuring the alternative artist Fusilier at the Rockwood Musical Hall in New York to celebrate the release of “If You Breathe” at 7:00pm. Click here to get tickets on TicketFly, and check out the soulful EP below!:
Follow Crystal Monee Hall: Facebook | Instagram | Soundcloud | Twitter | Website | Youtube
premiere: speech debelle brings soulful lyricism to pete josef’s joyous summer anthem “colour”
In October 2015, Pete Josef released his debut album, Colour on Sonar Kollektiv, a soulful outpouring announcing him as a fresh and exciting voice in pop music.
The album brought Josef to the attention of many respected fellow artists, including 2009 Mercury Award winner, Speech Debelle. Building off of the energy of the album’s title track, Speech penned an inspired verse while listening to “Colour” on the beach. “(It was) my favourite track of 2016,” she explains. “I couldn’t stop freestlying to it so it was more than a pleasure to jump on it.” Her lyricism launches us into the intro to the even sunnier remix about the joys of living in a Technicolor world in what is sure to be a roll-the-top-down summer soul anthem.
The edit is one of many features on Colour Remixed, out April 21st. The album also features 8 exclusive new offerings from Roni Size, Typesun, Envee and Urmet K, and features from Speech Debelle and Manu Delago. Check out the remix to “Colour” below!:
COLOUR REMIXED FULL TRACKLISTING:
1. Colour (Thousand Island Mix feat. Manu Delago) *
2. The Travelling Song (Envee Remix) *
3. Colour feat. Speech Debelle *
4. Night Gospel (Typesun’s Root Elevation Reconstruction) *
5. The Travelling Song (Kyoto Jazz Sextet Remix)
6. Hope (LV Remix)
7. Night Gospel (Typesun Magnetic Sense Field Dub) *
8. The Travelling Song (Mark de Clive-Lowe Remix)
9. The Travelling Song (Roni Size Remix) *
10. TheTravellingSong(DJKawasaki&MakotoRemix)
11. Colour (Urmet K Remix) *
12. Colour(FabianDikofDub)
13. SpringAtLast(TheBlack80sRemix)
14. Colour(PotatoheadPeople’sLightsOnRemix)
15. Mistress(PeteJosefLiveRemix)*
16. Colour(GlowInTheDarkRemix)
*previously unreleased
Follow Pete Josef: Facebook | Soundcloud | Website