It will not have gone unnoticed. Flying Lotus his new album “You’re Dead!” can now be streamed on FlyLo’s website (sign up.
Perhaps his most DMT-influenced album as of yet. Kind of Alice in Wonderland-ish and personally I would’ve found the title ‘Descent Into Madness’ more fitting. Drop some acid and float down the rabit hole my friend! He describes the album himself as ‘a psychedelic death trip’.
Coming out tomorrow on Warp Records, this might be one of the most highly anticipated albums this year. Flying Lotus and Thundercat really get into it together and it almost sounds like a jazz jam session at times. We picked out the most down to earth track “Eyes Above” for you to enjoy.
Chris McClenney is at it again. This time he ‘Selflessly’ donates the track “Peace” for Visual Vibez‘s non-profit project. Earlier today Chris announced his goal to move out to Los Angeles before July 15th next year. And I’m very sure young Chris McClenney will reach his goal for the world is his oyster.
Two weeks ago Singularis (aka Frank de Bruin) from the Netherlands dropped his track “Shadows“, which is also on the “Selfless” project. I wrote a nice piece on Okayfuture in case you would like to read more about that.
Please make sure you make a donation to support art & music. This time all proceeds go to Playing for Change Foundation.
Night Marks Electric Trio is a Poland- based trio on whom we have been keeping a close look. Jazz music graduates Marek Pędziwiatr (keys & vocals) and Adam Kabaciński (bass & keys) teamed up with Spisek Jednego (productional chops) in order to create their unique sound. A mix of Hip Hop, Jazz and Electronic music is what flows from their minds and into our ears.
The debut self-titled Night Marks Electric Trio EP is a work of love and features vocalists like AB, Raashan Ahmad, Archeo and comes with a fat remix from IAMNOBODI. Straight bangin’ my head to “High Ground“, which in my opinion is a no brainer neck breaker. The song “Breakfast” reminds me of a seventies Jazz Fusion flute player getting lost in a modern day world. Becoming overwhelmed by all sorts of new rhythms and mysterious sounds, but eventually finding her way back again.
Today marks the digital release on U Know Me Records, with vinyl copies to follow in September. The Night Marks Electric Trio EP also features incredible hand-painted artwork from Radek Drutis, an artist known for his work for Stones Throw and Eglo Records.
Daniel Crawford is an experienced jazz musician/producer out of Los Angeles who’s been playing the piano since the age of 6. He has played and toured with the likes of Raphael Saadiq, Angie Stone, Lalah Hathaway, Mary J Blige, Warren G, Rahsaan Patterson, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, The Brothers Johnson and many more. Very impressive!
As a producer Daniel has released several tribute mixtapes to honor Michael Jackson, J Dilla and Fela Kuti. In 2012 he released his first official jazz album entitled “Red Pill” and in May he released the second album in a planned trilogy called “The Awakening“. Joining Daniel Crawford and lending their talents are Amp Fiddler, Vikter Duplaix, Cleveland Jones and Monet.
My apologies for almost forgetting about this album…it was collecting dust on my HD. As they say, better late than never right?! I do have a little extra for you in the form of Daniel’s brand new freebie remix of Usher’s “Good Kisser“. Shout out to Blue for hooking me up and Daniel thanks for hitting us up on Twitter today.
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.
Truly happy to have stumbled upon ThisIsRealMusic.com who introduced me to 19 year old jazz singer/songwriter Billie Black from London. Her second song “I Don’t Need Another Lover” was produced by Imposters and deserves some likes and reposts if you ask me.
She began singing at an early age after hearing reggae, soul and disco records at her mom’s family parties. At age 13 miss Billie Black joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, starting a love affair with jazz that led all the way to a place on the Guildhall jazz degree (where she is now). At 14 Billie went to the Brit School, where she was exposed to a wide variety of music and it was towards the end of her time there she started listening to James Blake, Jessie Ware, Sampha and Kwabs; acts who combine classic vocals with electronic production.
From that point on Billie started writing her own music, putting together a band and working with producers Imposters & John Calvert on a sound that combined her roots in jazz with the bass and dance sounds of the moment. Billie Black will be releasing a first EP this summer and if you want to hear what she has in store just visit her debut show at Electrowerkz July 15th.
Marc Rapson is a man of many dimensions. This talented jazz pianist with a passion for raw hip hop beats spent the last decade quietly building a following amongst those in the know. This new album is for those people.
On “Dark vs Light” Marc blends lucious hip hop beats with a touch of jazz. Vocally he gets a little help from Liz Elensky (on “Love Is All”) and Replife (on “The Rah Rah”). This is exactly the kind of wonderful music we were expecting from a mind that grew up on Ahmad Jamal and A Tribe Called Quest.
Below you’ll find streams of “From Shadows” and “The Kalimba”, but we suggest you listen to the entire Marc Rapson album on the Expansions Collective Bandcamp page and act accordingly!
MisterMack is a 20 year old producer who’s a full time student at the University of Maryland, College Park studying Spanish and Jazz Piano performance. Mack grew up listening to a lot of Soul, Neo-Soul and R&B music, but recently developed a love of Jazz and Electronic music and is focusing on productions in those genres.
Now MisterMack’s latest Jazz Fusion track entitled “Let You Be” is something I had to go and purchase. Go ahead, don’t be cheap and support this little instrumental slice of heaven for just $1!! Most of ya’ll know that I’m a big Jazz fan and listen to a lot of 70’s Fusion. Now I could rant on about how music sounded so much better than, but truthfully I don’t even care right now. Just happy to hear a new generation of future musicians is staying true to the past.
Chris is currently working on singer-songwriter music and Jazz compositions which I’m really looking forward to. He also plans to attend graduate school for law or business to get an understanding of the executive side of the music industry.
Young Taylor McFerrin has been amazing us with beautiful music lately. The three singles leading up to his full-length “Early Riser” album have been nothing but astonishing. With an all-star lineup including Nai Palm, Emily King, Robert Glasper, Thundercat, Ryat and father Bobby McFerrin this was bound to be superb. Luckily the rest of this masterpiece is just as good as what our ears have been fed till now.
We picked our two favorite songs (“Florasia” and “Stepps”) of Taylor McFerrin’s Early Riser to give you an idea how incredible this really is. I’m definitely purchasing this on vinyl and I suggest you too pick up one of the best releases of 2014. The album is available via the Ninjatune shop or at your local record store.
Never have we seen Taylor McFerrin shine so bright! It’s truly his year, because it’s official now. No Decisions left to be made, we’re Already There. The Early Riser album is going to be The Antidote for any miserable day. For his 3rd single Taylor calls in the help of Robert Glasper and Thundercat to ensure another sure shot.
