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Brent Faiyaz – Allure (Atu Remix)

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We recently enjoyed the engrossing acid trap meld of electro tune “3”, a brightly-enveloping dynamic-opposite-layered triple-talent-packed collaboration between B3 watch list instrumental-electro beat-maker/mood-setters DPAT, atu and Sango. We are enchanted with the latest collaboration between two artists from this crew, atu and Sango (who plays drums on the track). A remix of Brent Faiyaz’s sultry ambient slow-burner “Allure” the new tune (produced by atu) is a colorful combo of vibrant percussion, grounding beats and subtle melodic keyboard touches. We like how atu artfully maintains the track’s original experimental-r&b pause-heavy atmospheric sentiments. Great remix. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Atu (Soundcloud)
Track Reviews
reviewed by
01-19-16

Kehlani – Did I

kehlani

The Oakland native, Kehlani, had a breakout 2015 and was just nominated for a Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album off of a mixtape. The project is titled You Should Be Here and has continued to fuel the Kehlani flame with a constant run of 10/10 new music releases. The most recent being “Did I”. Reviewed by Jake Goldstein.

Kehlani (Soundcloud)
Track Reviews
reviewed by
01-19-16

Mayer Hawthorne – Cosmic Love

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Mayer Hawthorne announces new LP for Vagrant Records and shares single “Cosmic Love”. For the track, Mayer’s classic soul inspiration pendulum has swung more into the direction of the mid-70’s, as “Cosmic Love” takes it time in communicating a retro-atmosphere-soaked melodic narrative straight from 1975 AM Radio. Get “Cosmic” w Mr. Hawthorne below.

Mayer Hawthorne (Soundcloud)
Track Reviews
reviewed by
01-15-16

Charlotte Day Wilson – After All

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“After All” is the A+ debut track from Toronto singer (and songwriter, Day wrote and produced “After All”) Charlotte Day Wilson. A cool mix of Rhodes-driven introspection and soft-touch percussion and Ms. Wilson’s stunning alto, “After All” floored us immediately. So so good. Listen.

Charlotte Day Wilson (Soundcloud)
Track Reviews
reviewed by
01-15-16

HERO – Crutch

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Alberta, Canada multi-talent artist and Phantom Culture-affiliate Hero wows us with a smooth, soulful pop-hybrid r&b/hip-hop doused sound on vocals-led beauty “Crutch”; a track which entices our ears with its catchy poetic vocals. vibrant keyboard melody and some colorful retro-vibe synth embellishments. Good one! Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Hero (Soundcloud)
Track Reviews
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01-12-16

Anderson Paak – Come Down (Prod. Hi-Tek)

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The high-flying SoCal singer/emcee Anderson Paak opens 2016 with a starmaking bit of soul-driven (Hi-Tek produced!) modern pop. Damn.

Anderson Paak (Soundcloud)
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reviewed by
01-12-16

Flamingosis – Airplane Mode

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B3 featured Jersey producer Flamingosis (who’s on-point signature sample laced style is a fave at B3) ushers in the New Year with a creative nod to disconnecting from technology. On his latest instrumental masterpiece “Airplane Mode” Flamingosis uses rhythmic-patterned percussion and a beautiful sense of sparse simplicity to highlight the track’s gorgeous keyboard melody (in the vein of Nujabes). We think the very dreamy “Airplane Mode” (with its amazing layered drum rhythms) is Flamingosis’ best track yet. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Flamingosis (Soundcloud)
Track Reviews
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01-11-16

Travis Scott – A-Team (Yugi Boi Remix)

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Bay Area producer Yugi Boi mixes in a deep bass groove, subtle synth infusions and a varying range of pointed sultry percussion to complement and bolster Travis Scott’s honeyed vocals and excellent horn melody on a very cool new remix of “A Team”. We like it better than the original! Great remix. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Yugi Boi (Soundcloud)
Track Reviews
reviewed by
01-11-16

Sango – So Voce (Feat. Elhae & ESTA)

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B3 lauded (Seattle-based) producer Sango teams up with Atlanta vocalist Elhae and B3 beat-maker fave ESTA. on new track “Só Você” which features a beautiful weave of vibrant repetitive sensual-sexy vocals, ambient deep soothing beats and lovely minimalist percussive accents. We love the stunning outro on “Só Você” in particular and enjoy the track’s sweet interplay between vocals and beats. Look for it on Sango’s latest “Da Rocinha” 3 EP (which also contains 2015 standout track “Dias Melhores”). Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Sango (Soundcloud)
Track Reviews
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01-11-16

KA-YU – Goddess

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Familiarize yourself with new-to-B3 artist KA-YU (who hails from the Netherlands). KA-YU keeps it bright and simple with a soft sensual mesh of down-tempo beats, jazzy metallic accents and a sweet keyboard melody on “Goddess”. We totally love how the keyboard dictates the track’s cheery mood and how effectively it contrasts with KA-YU’s dynamic, super sexy bass-line. Great tune! Reviewed by Erin Shay.

KA-YU (Soundcloud)
Track Reviews
reviewed by
01-06-16

Sudan – Soul (Eets Remix)

sudan

Get into the soulful mixture of world-music-vibe rhythm and percussion awash some remarkably good vocals on “Sudan” the latest nuance-tempered track from B3 covered Alaska-based beat-maker Eets who we featured in October for his cool-minded hip-hop vibes on “Feathers of Gold”. We love it. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Sudan (Soundcloud)
Track Reviews
reviewed by
01-06-16

J.Robb – Saywhat

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Tune into the understated sensuality and dynamic meld of beats on new one “Say What” a restyle of Donell Jones’ hit “U Know What’s Up” from a relatively new Baltimore artist (swag-surf-gawd) j.robb who we featured in September for his joint-produced gem track “Euphoria” (created with Calgary-bred Canadian musician Skater for the duo’s debut EP “Pastel”). Reviewed by Erin Shay.

J.Robb (Soundcloud)
Track Reviews
reviewed by
01-06-16