Miles Bonny’s got soul. Classic, R&B, jazz and a little funk too. He raps, sings, makes beats and does a nice tap tap tap on the trumpet. But let me be clear, just when you think Bonny is taking you back with those old school covers of Raphael Saadiq “Still Ray” and The Meters “Clap [...]

Fresh to the game, but hardly green to the rhythm, Chris Turner brings to the mic a fresh take on the most classic of soul and R&B. The track “Liquid Love” has all the sensuality for a lovers’ rock and the tempo and beats for a solid groove. This Oakland-born New Yorker may have yet to [...]

This French-American duo offers something jazzy, something symphonic, something electronic in their latest song “Running,” fresh off their new album “Off the Grid.” Made up of the soulful voice of Lucille Tee and the production repertoire of Fablive,  Dinner at the Thompson’s provides an impeccable sampling into the electro, jazzy, trip hop, nu-soul scene, though [...]

It’s impossible to separate Femi Kuti’s new album, “Africa for Africa,” from politics and his father. The African jazz legend Fela Kuti and the force by which he stood up to corruption in the Nigerian government run deep through the vein’s of his son, Femi Kuti. The rhythm, though modernized, and the political messages of [...]

Ever since I can remember I’ve a had a disposition for moodiness and obscurity, which at the time meant an entire childhood and adolescence of awkward self-loathing without a clear grasp of social norms and communication skills. Movies about outcast, weird girls always appealed to me and made me feel a little more normal. In [...]

Bold, experimental and dark, and absolutely fitting for a festival like South by Southwest, an insanely immense microcosm especially good at highlighting fringe genres. Shabazz Palaces emerged onto the scene shrouded in carefully-crafted cloud of mystery, much like the electro-transcendent synth taps, deranged drum beats and mbira cut-ins weaved between the cryptic lyrics. The project [...]

So the last time I watched the Grammy’s was in high school, and that probably won’t change this year. Very few of the artists and bands that I love are even remotely close to being nominated for a Grammy and I’ve made my peace with that fact, mostly by naively undermining the relevance of the [...]

Combing the vast and wide landscape of jazz and all its cousins for the perfect beats is no small endeavor, which is why compilations like this one are such a pleasure to encounter. Collected and arranged by DJs Frankie Francis, Hugo Mendez, and The Mighty Crime Minister who comprise the U.K.-based SOFRITO music party collective, [...]

Raphael Saadiq took us back to the old school days of R&B with his last album, The Way I See It. But the release of his new video, ahead of his next album Stone Rollin, takes us back to another musical era, rock n roll. Of course, it wouldn’t be Saadiq if it didn’t have [...]

According to RCRD LBL, The Bees’ recent discovery of the “psychedelic ayahuasca plant” has broadened their horizons. Though I don’t know what ayahuasca is, except for a quick Google search indicating it’s an indigenous herbal mixture from South America, “Winter Rose” is supposed to be the product of that psychedelic experience and one of three [...]

Like so many musical progeny spilling out of Scandinavia, When Saints Go Machine brings a unique techno, ethereal splash to the dance floor. Mixing orchestral backdrops with synthesized beats, pulsating drums and melancholic vocals, the group name “When Saints Go Machine” is narrowly fitting. The new lead single, “Fail Forever,” previews an EP by the [...]

In Jed and Lucia’s latest album, “Superhuman Hearts,” folk meets electronic, Belle and Sebastian meet Pink Floyd and a whimsical day meets an acid-trip. Combining acoustic, bass, synth and subdued vocals, Emma Lucia and Mark Reveley, generate a sound that remains consistently dreamy, at times dreary, at other times suspenseful and often hypnotic, but never disrupting. [...]