British singer-songwriter Delilah's debut album From The Roots Up has very quickly become part of my regular music playing rotation. I got put onto her by a friend at Atlantic Records in London, when I was recently there. Born Paloma Ayana Stoecker, her influences range from Buena Vista Social Club and Nine Inch Nails to Chaka Khan, Portishead and Sade. Having started singing at an early age and signing with Atlantic at 17 (she is 22), she paid her dues working with drum & bass/dubstep duo Chase & Status as well as touring with one of my favourite artists right now, Maverick Sabre....
The Future Of Soul Music Is The Past
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.
Sandbloom Serves Music For The Soul
US artist / musician Kevin Sandbloom embraces the extent of his creative ability with music that is soulful and stripped down to its bare essence. From R&B and soul to folk, he does not limit himself. And to watch him live, building beat, melody, sound with guitar and voice is amazing. I saw him by chance at the Nuyorican Poetry Café in New York and left with two of his albums. He is about the creation of good music, as opposed to dumbing down or selling oneself short. His cover of Sade’s Is It A Crime is simply beautiful.
Has It Come To This? (CP)
We seem to celebrate mediocrity and this has carried over into much of what the mass media pushes as great music. To find great, classic music, one has to look beyond what is thrown at us and seek out the gems outside mainstream.
The Skin I’m In
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in Johannesburg has a number of different experiential programmes that are designed to change and expand perspective. I have been fortunate to interact with the space quite a bit and, for the last four years, have spoken at the opening session of their programme for high schools students called Spirit of Youth. The first session is always on Race and Identity. Recently, I was invited to come share my story at their Nexus programme for session on Identity. Essentially, they had a number of guests and we were each assigned a seat with a couple of...
Winner of Sade Hamper
The winner of the Sade Hamper, which consists of 3 CDs (Best of Sade, Lovers Rock & Stronger Than Pride) and 2 DVDs (Live In San Diego & Lovers Live) is NKULULEKO MADONSELA. Congratulations Nkuli. Enjoy the music. Sade is forever timeless. Thank you to everyone who entered and please keep an eye out for further giveaways. I hope that you'll continue to visit for my Ramblings and share your thoughts.