Author Archives: Vivrant Thang

New Music from Anthony David

06 Wednesday May 2009

Posted by in Feeding The Music Jones, Music News

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At the Jazzy Soul Collective show in Virginia recently, Anthony David performed two new songs that I hope show up on his next album. I would rush him but it’s a holistic process and all and you can’t get in the middle of that. It will come when it comes.

Meanwhile take a listen to “I Got a Girlfriend” and “As Above So Below.” You may remember “I Got a Girlfriend” from over at SoulBounce a few months back. Check him out performing it live.

“As  Above” truly knocked me off my feet. You can hear me actually say “Wow” at the end of the video. It’s a  beautifully haunting song and a bit of a different sound for Acey Ducey. I  get to really hear all the gravel, likka and cigaweed in his voice on this one. <<—-good thing

Check out Anthony’s newly launched blog  for tour information, rants, and just some truly introspective writing about whatever the hell is on his brain. Or follow him on Twitter. He’s one of the few artists on there that’s actually worth following.

Inside the Artists Studio with Erik Rico

06 Wednesday May 2009

Posted by in Underrated Artist Spotlights

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DJ Stylus and Lil So and So Productions recently took us inside the artists studio with Erik Rico, a writer, producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist whose albums Higher Frequency and Journey Back to Me have been in frequent rotation since I discovered him over at Industry Soul last year. I won’t attempt to pigeon-hole this man’s sound but when I want to be on my electronic soulful shit, I press play on his albums.

As he has with the other Inside the Artists Studio events, Stylus asked probative questions that allowed Erik to drop some serious knowledge on various topics like industry rule 4080 and the state of music (How the fuck DID we go from Coltrane, Gillespie, Quincy, Miles to Lil John and Lil Wayne?). We also got some very intriguing answers to the kind of record  he would make with artists like Al Green, Ray Charles, Aaliyah, Herbie Hancock, and Joni Mitchell.

This is an interview definitely worth watching and re-posting.

Before the interview, Erik performed several songs. You can check them out on my You Tube channel.

As you heard, Erik has a pretty aggressive release schedule. New music is a-coming. Sign up for updates at his website. I did and got this gem in response.

Get into this. Support real music.

Stop the Presses! Did Maxwell Tweet the Track List for The New Album?

27 Monday Apr 2009

Posted by in Feeding The Music Jones, Music News, Upcoming Album Releases

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Update: The press conference went down in NYC yesterday and Butta of SoulBounce was front and center. Check out her flicks from the event.

Get ready to send some hateration and holleration her way because yes, she did meet him up close and personal!

Of course you know she has live video. Check it out!

On Saturday afternoon, while most everyone was out playing in the sunshine, very quietly, without pretense, Maxwell tweeted what appears to be the tracklist for his upcoming album, Black Summer’s Night. You should already know it will be in stores on July 7th. But I, my friends, shall be getting a sneak peek at the Essence Music Festival. Hate on haters! 🙂

According to his tweets, on Friday,  he was headed to master the album. Then the next day he just randomly tweeted several titles in a row. I was confused until I saw “Pretty Wings.” It had to be the track list!

  1. Phoenix Rise
  2. Playing Possum
  3. Help Somebody
  4. Fistful of Tears
  5. Stop the World
  6. Love You
  7. Pretty Wings
  8. Cold
  9. Bad Habits

TOO Short and sweet, yet intriguing!

For those skeptical susies out there, I can confirm without a shadow of a doubt that it really is Maxwell tweeting. Can’t say how but Viv wouldn’t steer you wrong.

So it looks like we may be able to give our collective side eyes a much-needed rest. I think it will really happen this time. Looks like we will have a lot of little Maxie’s, Baracks, Michelles, Sashas and Malias making their debuts April 2010!

Stay tuned to SoulBounce (Did they catch swine flu on Spring Break or something? Nova does have a love jones for bacon. Just sayin.) to eventually get up close and personal coverage of the press conference for the album going down at Sony tomorrow.

Also, the video for “Pretty Wings” is completed and will be streamed here.

Note: I can’t confirm that this is the order the tracks will appear on the album. I’m just listing in the order he tweeted. I personally don’t care if  it went  B, C, A, F, D. Just as long as I see something on July 7th. Mmkay?

Blog Checka: Take Off the Blues with Music News from Foreign Exchange, Sy Smith, Amel Larrieux, and Prince

27 Monday Apr 2009

Posted by in Weekly Round Up

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I’m a little tardy to the party this week. A sista has been enjoying the warm weather and indulging in some of her other passions like film, football and sangria!

Here’s a look at what went down around the music blogosphere last week.

  • This week we finally saw videos from two of my favorite songs of 2008. “Take Off the Blues” with Foreign Exchange and “Fly Away” with Sy Smith.
  • Hurry and watch Prince’s video for “Crimson and Clover” and the replay of his appearance on Ellen before he sicks his big, bad web sheriff on you. [via Pinboard]
  • As usual Nu Soul is confabbing with another great artist. Catch up with Amel Larrieux. [via Nu Soul]
  • Get to know Steph Jones [via Beatlife].

Support the blogs. Support the music.

It’s Essensual That You See Omar in Concert

23 Thursday Apr 2009

Posted by in Feeding The Music Jones, Let's Rock: Concert Reviews

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You know it ain’t nothing but a thang for me to travel up and down the East Coast to see Omar perform. When the “godfather of British soul,” comes stateside, I come a-running. I was hanging with some people before the show and one asked, “Do you really have to go to this show?” After my head stopped spinning around on my neck I basically said, “Nothing but death can keep me from it.”

It was my first time actually seeing him perform in DC. I’ve driven to Philly and even down to Raleigh, NC. DC shows Omar major love. The venue was packed and people were pressed to be as close as they could to absorb the energy from Omar and the band.

You can see from my cheese-eating grin up there that the set was outstanding as usual.He performed about ten songs, a few of them from his latest album, Sing If You Want It. However, most of the sets featured classic tunes like “There’s Nothing Like This,” “Little Boy,” “Essensual,”  “This Is Not a Love Song,” the Roy Ayers cover, “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” and the William Devaughn cover of “Be Thankful (For What You Got). He would have been up there all night if he would have performed the tracks folks were calling out from the crowd. His repertoire is just that deep.

Here are a few videos from the show. As always, the entire show is on the You Tube channel for your viewing pleasure.

My theme song, “Music,” (I live for the music too, Omar)

Little Boy

Essensual

No word on when Omar will release a follow up to Sing If You Want It, but if you’re feenin for new flavor, head over to his official website and listen to a snippet of a new track, “When You Touch.” Love it. I can see the crowd dancing with wild abandon when he starts performing this one at shows.

Meeting him afterwards, I told him how I had traveled far and wide to see him perform and that he needed to come stateside more often. He was genuinely grateful for the support and promised to do so. So if and when he comes to your area, it’s essensual that you have your face in the place.