Tours City born producer FKJ (French Kiwi Juice) released his third EP called “Take Off” earlier this week on French label Roche Musique.
There elements of Disco, Soul and Funk in his sound, but even though it’s a little smooth at times it sounds quite refreshing and melodic. It’s real feel good music! FKJ claimed some serious fame with his previous “Time For A Change” EP and is now well on his way to makin’ it big.
The first single featured Madelyn Grant (who we are sure you will hear more from in years to come) and the second song with Damon Trueitt sounds a bit like an Electric Wire Hustle cut. Since I’ve been in a Jordan Rakei mood these past 24 hours, it seems only natural to stream “Learn To Fly” featuring this super talented Australian guy on vocals. Last but not least let’s end with the fourth and final track “Open The Door”. Now enough with the reading and streaming already…purchase on iTunes if you like really what you’re hearing.
A lot of ‘Future R&B’ artists have been coming out of the UK for the past few years, but for some reason I’m starting to like Leo Kalyan. On the song “Over You“, which seems to be filed under ‘demos July’, he collaborates with Karma Kid and MNEK. Resulting into an absolute dutty dutty slow grinder.
For some reason Leo Kalyan seems to have a thing for poolside chillings and the color blue and it makes me wonder if he’s really over hue. Soothing lows with uptempo hi-hats and a mean groove make this track a sure winner. We are keeping our ears open for more future music!
In Februari there was a Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp in San Francisco. This collaboration between starRo, Mr. Carmack, Teeko, Mikos Da Gawd and Jusmoni was recorded in a hotel room. It took a day and a half and some gear that RBMA provided and of course a lot of weed creativity.
Quite honestly a bit on the late side with this one, but had to share it anyway. Maaaaaaan this “Catch Me” jam is straight methamfetamine mixed with some crack and a line of cocaïne. Now I’m waiting for somebody to send over a high quality version for my personal music collection.
Visual Vibez is a collective of volunteers who are passionate about impacting communities through art, music and spreading love. Their “Selfless” initiative gets support from Esta and most recently Diversa also donated a track to support the non-profit MusicianCorps!
Selfless is a month long campaign where independent musicians donate their music to support an art/music based non-profit or charity. Though the songs are free to download, it seems only fair that you donate so that the gift of music can be taught to a new generation of kids. Whip out your credit card and start showing some serious love for another great Visual Vibez action!
Last week I came across this YouTube stream of Dorian Concept‘s “Draft Culture“, but I had to listen again this week to make sure I was going to share it with ya’ll.
We first encountered Dorian Concept’s music on ‘When Planets Explode’ and since then developed a sort of ‘Bipolar Friendship’. The new track sounds very familiar and almost like a Bobby Hutcherson sample or something. Maybe I’m just hearing things. Never the less great first cut of the album with an incredibly energetic vibe.
Already stoked to hear the rest of the new “Joined Ends” album that’ll be out 22 September on Ninja Tune.
Trian Kayhatu’s was born in Jakarta Indonesia, but as a young lad moved to the Netherlands with his folks. At an early age he got into music and was heavily influenced by his uncle, Indonesian jazz pianist Chris Kayhatu.
This guy loves making good music and you can hear he’s been doing what he loves for many years now. Trian Kayhatu is in a super funky band called Butufunk consisting of Trian Kayhatu, Azteka and Karish. Ya’ll better recognize!
Trian’s been featured in online music web magazine DE:BUG and his music has been played on the radio by Gilles Peterson (BBC), Ennio Styles (Stylin’) and Joe Kay (Soulection). It will be no surprise that his next project on Darker Than Wax is straight butta. We’re very excited to exclusively premiere the title track of his upcoming “Suture” EP.
Avay (formerly known as Mad-B) and The Hotel (previously known as Nova Dreamz) have shifted things into second gears releasing the song “Fall” together. Eventhough the track was created somewhere in 2013 it still sounds like a fresh summer breeze on a humid late night evenening. Something you can seriously fall for!
Not much is known about this London-based duo other than they are into making some serious Future R&B. We really hope to hear more music from Avay and The Hotel soon, but rest assure we’ll be one of the first to let you know if anything new surfaces. Make sure to show some support and follow both on Soundcloud.
Everyone meet LA-NO, a next generation producer coming out of Amsterdam. He has been picked up by Darker Than Wax and has worked together with a few producers such as El. Train (Manchester) and Trian Kayhatu (Rotterdam).
La-No’s bugged out rework of “Say” My Name with El is a super sexy slowed down tribute to Destiny’s Child’s and really vibin! Glad to be discovering so much new talent from all over the globe, but especially in my own hometown. No date for an official release yet, but keep tabs on Delano if you know what’s good for you.
The most humble person I have ever met is without a doubt the Italian stallion…DJ Blue. Combine this with the fact that he has deep-rooted passion for music and you might understand why DJ Blue is such a dope DJ.
Blue grew up in a tiny village near Venice (Italy), but decided to take a leap of faith and move to the big city of Amsterdam a few years ago. Music was the reason for him to leave the comfort of his hometown and start a new adventure. He gets acknowledgement from the heads, but has yet to reach the reconition he truly deserves. With his latest “Low End > High Pass” mix, he takes a big step in the right direction.
Stream “Low End > High Pass” and follow DJ Blue while he takes you for a ride, sharing his most beloved electronic sounds of the moment.
Proficient drummer Richard Spaven is almost ready to release his first full-length album, “Whole Other*“, on Fine Line Records. It continues where the previous “5ive” EP’s on Jazz Refreshed left off. A lot has happened since then. The track “1759 Outro” of his last EP was picked by FlyLo and was featured in the best selling video game ‘Grand Theft Auto V’. For those that don’t know, Spaven has supplied the drums for artists such as Flying Lotus, José James and Gregory Porter on stage and in the studio.
His new Whole Other* album is rich and genre defying. It showcases the drumming artistry many of us associate with Spaven, combined with his own productions in a realm somewhere between jazz and electronica. Blue Note’s rising son Takuya Kuroda appears playing the trumpet soulfully, while The Hics join Spaven (last minute) on the albums title track.
Our top choice was “SideIISide” featuring Sharlene Hector on vocals and Grant Windsor on rhodes. To us this is a perfect example of how musicians translate soulful jazz into bass-heavy electronic music with the most ridiculous neckbreaking drum patterns. Richard Spaven somehow manages to bridge the gap between two worlds using his drum sticks. We’re honored to exclusively premiere this song and in keeping with Spaven’s passion for the club scene – “Whole Other” will be followed by remixes from Mala (DMZ), Ital Tek (Planet Mu), Falty DL (Ninja Tune) & Frederic Robinson (Blue Mar Ten).
On July 7th Richard Spaven’s Whole Other* will be available digitally, on vinyl and CD via Kudos.
