“More” the debut track from shrouded-in-anonymity newcomers 4am is beautiful. A terrific piece of melodic writing, that bit around 0:16 when the “give me more” turn in the tune first happens is one of those brief moments of magic that makes this whole music blogging thing a bit more worthwhile. We hope that’s a strong enough endorsement of “More”.
Japanese singer in London Rina Sawayama turns in an electric modern R&B makeover of MJ’s “I Wanna Be Where You Are”. Of the cover, which features a (and these are merely reference points as Rina’s voice is pretty singular in our opinion) Jessie Ware/Mariah-esque timbre in the vocals and a instrumental that reminds a bit fidelity-wise of Beyonce’s “Party”, Rina said about its genesis, “Online you can present your best edited self, and bypass lots of the messiness and awkwardness that comes with real human interactions. Your overheating phone substitutes human warmth. Weirdest of all- you’re together, but also very alone”. Stream “Where U Are” below.
B3 Alaskan beat-maker fave .eets follows up his recent terrific melodic hip-hop tune “Flying High” (covered here) with new gem “Blue Lights”, a beautiful beat-laden vocals-led number which samples DJ Shadow’s Little Dragon-vocals-led tune “Scale it Back”. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
B3-lauded SoCal singer/emcee Anderson Paak just released his latest r&b-genre-rep’n Malibu LP, which sports a talent-filled mix of diverse genre featuring artists (including the Game and Schoolboy Q). We’re checking out the LP and totally recommend its exquisitely understated slick vibe-y vocals-led beauty called “Lite Weight” (for its nifty synthesis of beats and bright r&b sugar-coated vocal melodies from Paak and the Free Nationals United Fellowship Choir). Reviewed by Erin Shay.
The Melbourne AU duo return with their unique blend of visceral R&B melody and cool modern pop grooves on new single “Kintsugi”. The band’s March 2014 song “Old Friend” was one of our favorite songs of the year and “Kintsugi” lives in a comparable zone of quality and neatness of arrangement. “Kintsugi” is excerpted from Hoodlem’s forthcoming debut EP, out in March.
We’re happy to introduce you to the new excellent song called “Mind over matter. (intuition)”, the latest late-night beats-saturated slow-burner jam from B3 new-fave producer Egyptian Art. (As you may recall he hit one of our lists of best tracks 2015 with his showy hybrid tune “She’s So Lovely”.) On “Mind over matter” the enigmatic producer Egyptian Art seduces our ears with an eclectic mix of brilliant contrasting vocals, inviting melodic synth embellishments and a jaunty mix of ultra-hip r&b-heavy bass grooves. Word. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
We’re totally feeling the jubilant-reverberant cosmopolitan house vibes and ground-level stormy-expressive bass-line of new mellow-percussion-framed up-tempo tune “Intimate” from San Diego artist JR JARRIS. In particular we love the beautiful soulful effect of the Eddie Kendricks-sampled bass-line groove which is created courtesy of B3 fave beat-smith E.DOZA. Amazing track! Reviewed by Erin Shay.
The genre of “Feeling U Feeling Me” Alicia Keys remixes is a vast and storied one. This new update of the Diary of Alicia Keys track comes to us from Australian producer Mall Grab and incorporates elements of late night house and low touch beats. We dig.
On the heels of his trap-percussion-drenched falsetto-vocals-tinged ambient atmospheric melodic wonder “No Doubt”, Netherlands producer Sensi Sye turns in luminous instrumental track “Be With You”. Lovely. We recommend the track for its fantastic finely-tuned blend of simple percussion, shimmery synth effects and divine keyboard melody. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
New-to-B3 Cali production artist ZUPER (who is 1/2 of French house duo Milos) wows us with a supremely soulful mildly-repetitive piano-melody-led jazz-hop diddy called “Daily Routine”. Absolutely beautiful. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
B3 fave style-setter producer Krs. enchants with a bass-line heavy twist on “Baby”, the whisper-y Ravyn Lenae-featuring love-emoting acoustic lullaby from Chicago producer Monte Booker. Using his signature sultry bass accents and minimalist touch, Krs. transforms the softly-sung vocals-led melodic wonder into something very sensual and modern. We really dig the song! Reviewed by Erin Shay.
