Sound Archives - Page 9 of 15

Onslaught on Watch The Throne

Apr 7, 2012 | Social, Sound

It has been interesting watching the reactions to Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch The Throne. Album has been out for a minute and, with the release of the first single Otis, everyone and their mother did a remix across the world, from Busta Rhymes, DMX and Justin Bieber through to South Africa's Slikour and Kwesta. The one that stood out for me was Chuck D's Notice which focuses on the unique position that Jay-Z and West are in to influence the global discourse and shift attention away from the seemingly prevalent materialism to the true challenges Americans - and the world - are facing with...

Anthony Hamilton – True Soul Man

Mar 18, 2012 | Sound

Some moons ago, when I was a teenager, we would put together mixes on cassette tape (yes, cassette) for our romantic interests, incorporating songs that expressed our feelings much better than we could. Or we would phone, put the handset up to the speakers and press play. This was also an era where there were generally regular segments during the course of a party where the DJ would switch to slow jams for some up close dancing. In mainstream music today, it is getting harder and harder to find music that you could do the above with unless you are working to bypass hello and head straight to...

Dirty Loops Do Bieber & Gaga

Feb 6, 2012 | Sound

This is one of those wonderfully random things one would probably never ever hear of if it wasn’t for the interwebs. Amidst the noise, some things still do get heard, reaching beyond their traditional borders into the ‘everywhere else’. A friend of mine put me onto the Dirty Loops. Made up of three Swedish musicians, who all eventually came together at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, they have been building a name for themselves with Youtube videos of their various jam sessions in studio. The group consists of: Jonah – versatile, he sings, plays the piano and writes, arranges and...

The Roots Undun

Jan 19, 2012 | Sound

With Undun, which chronicles the life of the fictional Redford Stevens , The Roots also put out a short film. Beautifully shot, intense and engaging.

M.anifest’s Immigrant Chronicles

Oct 3, 2011 | Sound

Ghanaian emcee M.anifest epitomises the marrying of influence, culture, origin and progression and, with the release of his second solo album, Immigrant Chronicles: Coming To America, he builds on his debut album, Manifestations, and his free-for-download album/mixtape, The Birds and the Bees, which was recorded in support of the non-profit Young Entrepreneurs Africa. He is also part of the African Rebel Movement (A.R.M) with Uganda’s Krukid and producer Budo and S&M with Sarah White.

The Future Of Soul Music Is The Past

Aug 28, 2011 | Sound

When one looks at / listens to the soul and R&B music that has been released in the last year, one cannot help but notice how much seems to be drawn from and inspired by eras of old. Melodic, rich and soulful, artists like John Legend & The Roots went the whole way, releasing an album primarily of covers of songs by everyone from Bill Withers to Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. R. Kelly, with the album Love Letter, finally showed us why he is considered by some one of the greater songwriters in the last 15 or so years and Raphael Saadiq continues to pay musical homage to the musicians that inspired him with an expansion on the Motown sound of his previous album.