Image

Soul

GIVEAWAY: Culture Collide Festival in Los Angeles, CA. October 16-18

2013PosterLA
 
FILTER Magazine’s Culture Collide Festival is preparing for the fifth annual installment of its International Music celebration headquartered in the streets and venues of Echo Park, Los Angeles. This October 16-18, the fest welcomes live performances from artists from a variety of participating countries. Having again raised the talent bar, Culture Collide LA will play host to live sets from Cloud Nothings, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, //Fractures, Quantic and many many more. If you’re a B3SCI regular then you already know that Culture Collide is a yearly highlight.

We are excited to announce that this year we’ll be giving away a pair of passes to Culture Collide 2014! That’s right! One lucky B3SCI reader will win a pair of passes to the October 16-18th Culture Collide Festival. Enter to win the contest by emailing us HERE and letting us know that you’d like to be entered in the Culture Collide Prize Pack Giveaway. (One entry per person). We will be picking our winning submission at random this coming October 15th, so keep an eye on your inbox! You can also get more details on purchasing tickets to the festival HERE. 

Culture Collide california (INFO + TICKETS)

reviewed by
10-10-14

BADBADNOTGOOD – Velvet

badbadnotgood

Canadian wiz crew BADBADNOTGOOD (who are best known for their jazz infused hip hop covers and reworks) succeed with flying colors on their recent original track “Velvet”, a light and easy deep breather with a distinctively cool vibe. BBNG strike quite a sweet balance among the elements of this discordantly melodic swooner; from the song’s lively staccato percussion to the twinkling tones of its electronic keyboard, the wonderfully dramatic “Velvet” truly lives up to its name. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

BADBADNOTGOOD canada: (Soundcloud)

Rating: 8.7

brown8

reviewed by
10-10-14

Speelburg – Aubrey

speelburg

Speelburg a/k/a Brighton-based Noah Sacre impresses on the easy feeling R&B of “Aubrey”. Constructed on a base of sparkling strings and sung through a Jungle-esque future pop melody, “Aubrey” is the work of a very serious and special talent. Give “Aubrey” your ears below.

Speelburg (Soundcloud)

Rating: 8.8

brown8

reviewed by
10-09-14

Palace – I Want What You Got

palace

London band Palace go to church on spirituals-inspired new one “I Want What You Got”. Featured here from the band’s forthcoming “Lost In The Night” debut EP, “I Want What You Got” is as refreshing as it is soulful and communicates a simple melodic beauty that we love. Beatnik Creative is the label for Palace’s October 21 release of “I Want What You Got”.

Palace (Soundcloud)

Rating: 8.8

brown8

reviewed by
10-07-14

Liv – Come a Little Closer

liv

English R&B songwriter Liv blends forward-thinking modern pop with harder-edged UK bass production on unique and infectious debut track “Come a Little Closer”.

Liv (Soundcloud)

Rating: 8.8

brown8

reviewed by
10-07-14

Goldbloc – Days Are Dreaming (WYLN Remix)

wyln

Montreal QC producer WYLN takes a Soulection-styled turn at Goldbloc’s track “Days Are Dreaming” with stunning and soul-stirring results.

WYLN canada: (Facebook)

Rating: 8.7

brown8

reviewed by
10-06-14

JMSN – Street Sweeper

jmsn2

The Sunday afternoon R&B sound of “Street Sweeper” is the lead single from JMSN’s forthcoming self-titled LP. The new album out December 9th on White Room Records features “Sweet Sweeper” along with 13 other new tracks written in the period following the release of his debut Priscilla. “Street Sweeper” is built on eased back beats and washes of classic R&B-styled guitar leads and JMSN’s excellent melodic phrasing. Love.

JMSN michigan (Facebook)

Rating 8.1

brown8

reviewed by
10-06-14

RKCB – Elision

rkcb

“Elision” is modern soul perfection from L.A.-based newcomer RKCB. More Maxwell (who himself is a RKCB fan) than “alt R&B”, “Elision” conveys a straightforward no-pretense quality that is, among current indie R&B-related music, rather refreshing. Sample the excellent “Elision” below.

RKCB california (Facebook)

Rating 8.2

brown8

reviewed by
10-03-14

GRADES – Crocodile Tears

grades

LDN-based GRADES achieves in the “UK female-vocal 2-step” genre to its highest levels on new one “Crocodile Tears”. A+

GRADES (Facebook)

Rating: 8.8

brown8

reviewed by
10-02-14

Idesia – Nu

Idesia

Sometimes the best songs are the ones that surprise. LA-based, electronic-soul band Idesia finds new ways to massage your ears on their recent single “Nu”. The opening drum beat finds me thinking of Radiohead’s “Morning Mr. Magpie”; but then the bass drops, and I’m looking around for Pino Palladino. Still somehow, lead singer Sophie Dimitroff could make even my econometrics homework seductive. By the time the chorus comes around, I am thinking no more. Enjoy “Nu” here, and grab a free download from their bandcamp. Review by Leora Mitzner

Idesia (Bandcamp)

Rating 8.3

brown8

reviewed by
10-02-14

Stwo – With You (From ’92)

stwo2

“With You” is excerpted here from Parisian producer Stwo’s new Nothing Was the Same-inspired beat-tape. In announcing the release, Stwo called the third Drake LP, “one of the best releases of 2013, and probably one of my favorite Rap / Rnb albums ever”, and saying that “I feel like any of these beats could be a great fit with Drake on them”. Ball in Aubrey’s court.

Stwo (Twitter)

Rating 8.2

brown8

reviewed by
09-30-14

Majid Jordan – A Place Like This (Rainer + Grimm Remix)

rainergrimm

Our friends from The North Rainer + Grimm take on another stunning flip, this time in the form of Drake-affiliated internet faves Majid Jordan‘s “A Place Like This”. Already a stellar B3-backed track “A Place Like This” gets the late night booty-shaker treatment the Torontonian duo. In a seemingly vast and endless sea of monster remixes on Soundcloud, R&G continue to set a standard. We can’t wait to hear some original tunes! Reviewed by Brian Litwin

Rainer + Grimm canada: (Soundcloud)

Rating: 8.7

brown8

reviewed by
09-29-14