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SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE

~ Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE

Tag Archives: omar

Flava In My Ear: Best Soul Albums Of 2013 (So Far!)

29 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by Vivrant Thang in Best Of Lists, Feeding The Music Jones

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

best soul albums of 2013 list, laura mvula, omar, sing to the moon, soul music blogs, soul music on pinterest, the man

top_albums_2013We’re halfway through a year that has gone by quicker than the speed of light. 2013 has been the worst with regards to my personal life and also as a citizen of these here good ole United States.

When I’ve been at my lowest point, sometimes the only thing left to do is get lost in the music. These are some of the albums that have been in constant rotation and thus earned a place on my Best of 2013 list. I’m curating the albums using my favorite social media tool, Pinterest, where I’ve just created a new home for the blog. If you’re a fan, be sure to follow me as I develop more boards daily.

I’m particularly excited about the discovery of Laura Mvula, yet another songstress from overseas that you should add to your playlists. You’ve already seen what she can do. Her debut album, Sing To The Moon, was released this Spring and I’ve seen nothing but praise for the striking musician’s (trained) vocals and live performance. This album touches my soul. I’m listening to it as I write this post. I’ve seen comparisons to Nina Simone and Lizz Wright and I concur with both. She’s something special. This album will bless you.

You already know how excited I was about another special British artist’s return and boy did he deliver! I took Omar’s album, The Man, on my birthday trip and made the mistake of listening to it at the spa. Not conducive to relaxation at all. When he brings his tour to the DC area, we are going to be working up a black sweat!

Check out these albums and add them to your collection. I wouldn’t steer you wrong! You may see some of your faves missing from the list. Feel free to share them in the comments. I still have a small backlog so you may see some updates to the list.

We have lots of great music to look forward to in the later half of 2013 as well. Are you on pins and needles like I am waiting to hear the new projects from Janelle Monae, Amel Larrieux, and Gregory Porter? Been a LONG time coming for the ladies!

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It’s Essensual That You See Omar in Concert

23 Thursday Apr 2009

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

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

omar, omar concert review, omar live videos, omar lyefook

me_omar

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.

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My Favorite Things: UK Soul Artists

06 Wednesday Aug 2008

Posted by Vivrant Thang in Feeding The Music Jones

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

artists from the uk, artists from the uk that sing soul music, beverly knight, british artists, carleen anderson, Geoffrey Williams, good soul music, hil st soul, list of favorite british artists, list of favorite soul artists from the uk, omar, shaun escoffery, soul artists from the uk, terri walker, uk soul artists

by vivrant thang on uk soul and my favorite things

As we know, not all good soul music comes from artists here in the States. 

The success of artists like Corrine Bailey Rae,  Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse have certainly put the UK on the map in recent years. Duffy and Adele are getting there as well. However, there are so many other artists across the water who have been making music for years and haven’t gotten the same recognition.

Omar, Incognito, Brand New Heavies are just a few of the British artists that have been in constant rotation on my ‘pod for years now. If not on yours as well, shame on you! 🙂 While grooving with Omar recently and reminiscing on the last time I saw him in concert,  I started on a little journey to discover just what other flava the UK could put in my ear.

As with all of my “favorite things” list, this one is not comprehensive by any means. Please hip me to any others I should be checking out in the comments. Also be sure to visit the UK Soul site which definitely helped me discover a lot of the artists featured here.

Beverly Knight “The Queen of UK Soul”
official | myspace

Hil St. Soul
myspace

I had the pleasure of seeing Hil in concert last summer and she is amazing live – even better than the album if that’s possible.

Shaun Escoffery
official | myspace

Terri Walker
official | myspace

Geoffrey Williams
myspace

Carleen Anderson
official | myspace

Natalie Williams
official | myspace

Ola Onabule
official | myspace

Bryn Christopher
official | myspace

Alice Russell
official | myspace

Don-E
official | myspace

Aaron James Cashell
official | myspace

Vivienne Woo
 myspace

Adelaide McKenzie
official | myspace

Steph Newton
 myspace

Rasiyah
myspace

Bembe Segue
 myspace

Eska
myspace

Rahel
official | myspace

Sarina Leah
myspace

Lemar
official | myspace

Nate James
official | myspace

Taiwah
myspace

Alyson Joyce
myspace |

Kyra Simone
official | myspace

Get into these artists! You won’t be disappointed.

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