One In A Million
Miami-based Danny Daze and Australia’s Young Edits have teamed up this month and created a rather special bootleg of the late Aaliyah’s One In A Million.
Perhaps this will spark an ongoing musical relationship between the two and based on the final result, it could be incredibly fruitful.
Danny Daze & Young Edits – One In A Million (Aaliyah bootleg)
Aaliyah’s death is still to this day such a huge loss for the music industry on a whole and you can only imagine how huge of a star she would have been if she were still alive and making music.
Al Green on Sam Cooke
A classic song sung by so many great singers to this day.
Rest in peace to Sam Cooke and here’s Al Green’s version – packed so full of emotion.
Sends shivers down the spine.
Introducing… Kwabena Adjepong
Kwabena Adjepong but better known as Kwabs is one of the most exciting voices to emerge on the soul and jazz scene for years, but his humble talent is set reach far beyond these two genres.
Born and raised in London to parents of Ghanian descent, Kwabs’ listed musical influences include Jill Scott, Erkyah Badu, Cece Winans and Fred Hammond but studying music and jazz at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music led to a truly unique vocal talent, demonstrated beautifully in his unplugged cover of Corinne Bailey Rae.
His first big breakthrough happened when he was chosen by drum and bass pioneer Goldie for the BBC show ‘Goldie’s Band by Royal Appointment’ which saw the singer take to the stage in front of members of the Royal family to perform alongside other specifically chosen young musicians. The emotion on this video is palpable.
Music, footage and interviews on Kwabs is scarce at the moment but there’s no doubt we’ll be hearing a lot more from the man – we’re huge, huge fans.
Funking Christmas Tree!
I’m not big on decorating the Christmas tree, especially when my dog Eddie rips every hanging decoration off and eats the pines like they’re peanut butter, but a cure for the chore is music, and rather than dusting off the festive classics record, Motown edits were the true calling this year…
Rayko’s output of classic edits is massive but his latest work is definitely one of his best yet and this one played whilst putting up the lights!
Rayko – Say You’ll Be (Rayko Roller Disco Edit)
Tinsel up next and Swiss producer Mercury recently laid down this epic Marvin Gaye reworking of Sunny – it’s definitely not sunny outside but this warmed the blood.
Marvin Gaye – Sunny (Mercury Edit II) - right click, save as to download
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Lastly the final touches of the various hanging shapes, treats and most importantly the star on the top with Drop Out Orchestra’s edit of The OJays
The OJays – Back Stabbers (Drop Out Orchestra) - right click, save as to download
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Aaaah Christmas, gotta love it.
Call Off The Search
If you don’t recognise the gentleman by face, there’s a strong chance you’ll recognise his distinctive voice which formerly debuted on the Wretch 32 single, Don’t Go.
Now he’s putting all his energy into launching a solo career and with a voice as mesmerising as a Derren Brown tv spot, he’s destined for greatness.
Call Off The Search is the single, available as a free download via his Facebook page and the video dropped this week.
Josh Kumra - Call Off The Search
The (brief) Story of Charles Bradley
I put on Charles Bradley for the first time today just before running out the door in a flustered rush and I’ve been itching all day to get a chance to properly sit down and listen to him.
For various reasons and to my bemusement, Charles Bradley’s talents as a performer were never picked up on until now, however his life experiences make his music, lyrics and overall character that much more meaningful and sincere.
After reading his biography online, we learn that he spent a large chunk of his life on the streets in New York trying to get by and along with his family, grew up listening to soul godfathers like James Brown, Solomon Burke, Arthur Alexander and Otis Redding and as a result, gained a huge love and admiration for the music. It was only recently though that Daptone Records discovered him performing covers under the name Black Velvet in NYC and that is the real start of a much needed break for such a timeless voice.
Thinking about it now, this current age of music is never better for an act like this. The early days of the soul godfathers were unforgiving at best despite the glitz and glamour we see in images and videos and discovery platforms like blogs, YouTube, social networks and more enable his talents to spread to every corner of the globe.
Charles Bradley – The World (Is Going Up In Flames)
Charles Bradley – Heartaches and Pain (Live in KEXP)
Charles Bradley – Why Is It So Hard (Live in KEXP)
Find out more about him via his Facebook page.
We’re smitten!
Jay.Soul
Jay.Soul divides his time between Amsterdam and Shanghai, which ultimately points toward a deep appreciation for chicken chow mein and rizla king skins however it’s music which takes the fore.
We featured his Midas Touch/Milly Elliot blend on our Live Mix #1 which led to some more investigation into his productions and below are some stand-out edits from his SoundCloud.
Midnight Missy – Midas Dutch (Jay.Soul Blend)
Nas – Made U Look (Jay.Soul Remix)
Aaron Jerome – Angel Lady ft Andreya Triana (Mr.Windmill & Jay.Soul ReTouch)
