AWmusic

I have officially renewed my faith in Hip Hop. I’m simply saying that due to the mainstream take over I really haven’t been investing my ears. Well, a major perk in writing music blogs is that unknown talent email you great music that you can review. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote on Eric Flowchild’s single Walk In The Park, a Brampton-based MC. Today it’s Brandon Dramatic, a young Toronto-based college student/rapper. I need to emphasize his education, it’s important, relevant and evident in his rhymes.

He released a mix tape What You Don’t Know and is offering it to you as a free download. It’s enjoyable and refreshing music for a laid back day.

Brandon Dramatic music on his MySpace, Imeem, and his Blogspot.

Brandon Dramatic Mix Tape Download.

A couple of tracks for your ears!

Ain’t it Funky

PeachFuzz

Magnifique

Album Review
Denitia Odigie, pronounced Dah-NEE-Sha Oh-DEE-Jee. A quiet day requires soothing voices to calm the soul. Such is the case of Denitia Odigie, a strong soul with raw appeal to comfort your mind. I definitely like this new music and almost want to keep it as my secret. However, my selfish bones are away on vacation today.

Denitia Odigie’s new work is the Brick By Brick EP, which is available for sale on iTunes and through her MySpace. It is a very short and delicious musical impression of a revived old soul. The sweetness in her voice is a reminder of Corinne Bailey Rae (her look too), with Feist’s folk raw intensity. She’s been nesting her greatness in Nashville since 2005, releasing independent albums. I’m actually quite surprised Starbucks hasn’t snatched her for their inhouse record label, she would be perfect for their collection.

The Brick By Brick EP is a musical mix with a tinge of country, sprinkles of soul, scatters of acoustic and drizzles of caramel gospel.

Brick by Brick EP, available everywhere for digital purchase.

To listen to the four tracks on Brick By Brick EP.

Video Review
Of the videos on Denitia Odigie’s site, I picked the one below to post. For most parts, I find her quietly mysterious. I hear her voice loud and clear but I don’t really see her. I feel like this video below, although not a complete representative of her, is a glimpse and insight into her creative elasticity. The video is of a noisy background of people chatting while Denitia sings over top with whispering but clear vocals. You can’t really see her except for the fluorescent make up highlighting her smile. It’s quite unique.

Denitia singing "SOLD" from an alternate universe

If you had a choice of signing with Kanye West or Pharrell Williams, which one would you choose? Please. Hands down it’s Pharrell > Kanye. This was the choice Chester French (D.A. Wallach & Maxwell Drummey) had to make. After a bidding war, Chester French signed to Williams’ Star Trak Label. All this fuss for 2 Harvard graduates who call their music ‘ gentlemen rock’, is it worth it?

For most parts, they sound like a mix of She Wants Revenge’s mellow tone and Razorlight’s energy. But mainly, I can hear a great Michael Jackson influence in their work. It’s the ‘Ooow’ & ‘Aaah’ element. You’ll recognize it when you hear it. Anyway, I’m a bit perplexed as to whether or not I really like the album. First, I think a lot of their music kinda sounds the same; and yet, it’s a little scattered without great uniformity. I can hear the talent though, but will they last? Amidst bands that all kind of sound the same, it’s really hard to tell. This is just their start, I think they would have to bring more edge to the table. There is raw talent that hopefully will remain despite their success.

The album, for most parts, contains simple melodies with complex orchestration. The singing seems almost irrelevant, it’s just a way to transfer some of the ideas. Since they produce all the songs, their attention to details is very evident. The littlest sound does in fact make a difference and gives them a bit of an identity. Their lyrical topics stay within the range of young men searching for love and lust around dark corners of the cities.

C’Mon (On My Own) and Time To Unwind in close proximity to Razorlight’s 2006 work. Tracks like The Jimmy Choos and Neal have a Happy Days feel. Fingers is a more Broadway showtune-like influenced track. They move between dark interludes, like String interlude, to western-influenced songs, Beneath The Wing. They use this method within tracks also, where they move from one element to another, like a clear day that sees dark clouds take over and clear up 10 minutes later. The released single She Loves Everybody sounds very influenced by Billie Jean. I particularly like the Country interlude, the sounds of a French countryside. And, my absolutely favourite track is Not Over You, that mixes the sickly sweet xylophone bits, softer electronica keyboards and a 1-2 simple drum beat.

Love The Future is definitely worth a listen and very catchy. It’s 2 guys who make a lot of great noise and I would say, worth the fuss (despite my ambiguity). Btw, who is the geisha love on their cover? lol. And, doesn’t the singer look like Chris Martin’s younger twin?

Go to their MySpace to sample all their tracks.

Chester French – C’Mon

Chester French – Not Over You

Watch the video. Always fun to see female on male violence (yes, I know some people are sensitive. I just have a sicker sense of humour).

A friend has been repeatedly asking me every year since 2002: when is Maxwell coming out with new stuff? Technically, this album should have been released last year in 2008. His new work is set to be released as a trilogy, one every year for 3 years. After 7 years… 7 years, Maxwell (a ladies’ favourite) has finally released new material: Blacksummers’ night.

Maxwell’s last full studio album is Now and also the reason why I began listening to him. The Now album was a good mix of modern R&B, jazzy grooves and great soulful vocals. If there is one thing enjoyable about Maxwell, it’s 1) his attention to detail as a musician, and 2) his vocals. He doesn’t perform vocal gymnastics like others, just great, smooth sounding jazzy ad-libs. Looking back, his first 2 albums, Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite (1996) and Embrya (1998), should have caught my attention. They were good but at the time perhaps too mature for my taste.

Half of the album is signature Maxwell sounds, combinations of trumpets orchestras and hooky soulful choruses. The other half is Maxwell’s venture into more classic influenced R&B, still with full orchestra but more classic melodies and hooks. The album is enough to keep his fans’ salivating until the next stop from his trilogy, due out in 2010. Clearly, his audience will increase as a 7 year-absence can give existing fans nostalgia of his melodies and gain new appreciative listeners of his style. After all, those who were too young back in 2002 are now old enough and experienced enough to understand the soul-searching love he seeks and ruins.

This album is a classic and updated Maxwell with nothing out of the ordinary. I never did really expect anything avant-garde. Maxwell pioneered a signature sound years ago and is continuously perfecting it by growing in his element. This is, BLACKsummers’ night.

Pretty Wings – Maxwell

Cold – Maxwell

Via Dove is a 4-piece band from Saint Louis, Misouri where everybody plays an instrument while performing on stage. The band’s debut EP Twilight came out sometime last year (2008) on Might Be Time Records.

The Twilight EP, not to be mistaken with the Twilight OST, is an alternative/rock/soul type album that’s catchy enough but still independent of Pop beats. It is a musical sombre look at love, obsession and memories. The lead singer’s vocals are smooth and catchy with a sense of melancholy.

My favourite track of the entire album is the first song In Your Eyes. It has a very jazzy-bluesy-alternative rock combination with a catchy sing-a-long chorus. I also like Spinning Out, an upbeat track that starts with slow movements of vocal stretches and then moves into a fast reminiscent of U2’s Vertigo.Looking Around starts with the regular 1-2 upbeat drum but also sets off into a jazzy-bluesy feel, that for some reason reminds me of the beginning of K.D. Lang’s Constant Craving. Even though I enjoy listening to the tracks, I think it’s telling that they remind me of something that I’ve heard before. The EP is simply lacking in identity but still the start of something promising.

My favourites of the EP: In Your Eyes and This Love.

(clockwise left-to-right) Aaron Vaught, Reid Burnett, Mike North, Andy Shadburne

Via Dove – In My Sights (from the Live CD)

Via Dove – Your Blue Eyes (from Twilight EP)

The Twilight EP is available for sale here.

Earlier, I wrote a Pop America Independence Day with MJ Mixes. And now, I’m moving back North, home, with great pride for Canada’s support of Indie artist.

As you may (or may not) already know, I’ve long stopped pumping mainstream Hip-Hop in my ears. But, listening to Erik Flowchild reminded me of my Low End Theory days and it piqued my curiosity. Flowchild’s voice is smooth and fresh, with an tinge of intellectualism. I will admit, I’m not fond of his use of the N-word in his lyrics, I just feel like he’s completely above this and has the potential to phrase things better.

It is difficult to assess his talent based on one track alone, or a couple of tracks (available on his MySpace). However, I think Erik Flowchild is genuine talent and deserving of at least a quick listen. Obviously I’m not the only one, go to his BlogSpot and see him and KRS One.

The single Walk In The Park is from his upcoming album The Delivery Boy, due out sometime in the fall.

Erik Flowchild – Walk in the Park ft. Add-2

Pop America Independence Day Michael Mix

Everyone’s listening to: Michael Jackson. A lot of DJs are sending us MJ remixes. I welcome them all with open arms as I cannot hear enough of his music. I have to admit, I am in complete denial regarding his passing. Let’s just say, I’m pretending he’s not dead and thinking he’s just retired. Read Murielle’s great tribute article, here. In addition, Oliver’s also done a MJ Tribute Dance Mix article, here. This week, I am posting 3 mixes that I think bring MJ’s mixes to a great level of experience.

Billie Wildcat Jean (MJ vs. Ratatat)
I love the beginning of this track and the backdrop plays on MJ’s original track while taking it to a new level of experimental dance. Also, listen to around 3:10, where the track empties out and you only hear the greatness of Michael’s voice. This is a great dance off track. Can someone please use it for a new in-your-face film? Zoolander, Part Deux?

Michael Jackson – Beat It (LehtMoJoe Remix)

Dirty Diana
I don’t even know where I got this mix, I found it in my iTunes. It’s a great Drum-n-Bass Garage mix of Michael’s Dirty Diana (love the track).

Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana (cdfboy).mp3

Remember The Time
This Dangerous LP is definitely one of my favourites in MJ’s collection. In fact, one of my all time favourites is In The Closet (which I cannot find a mix for). Anyway, here I have a remix of Remember The Time, which is quite different because it is a darker take of the track, which makes me sad because the subject corresponds to how we all feel at this time.

Song for MJ (Remember the time) – Don Diablo Mix

LehtMoJoe and Don Diablo Mix provided by Subservient Experiment.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the new Black Eye Peas album sounding like a 90s music compilation, more specifically the MuchMusic Dance Mix CDs. I’m having a déjà-entendu this week. When I first heard the Heavy Cross single (post here), I indeed wanted to hear the rest of the album. Honestly, I don’t feel so inspired right now. Because the BEP album also has that kind of inspiration, it’s hard for me to overcome this feeling of having heard it before. I do understand that The Gossip is more of an indie-band (despite this being their major label release) and it’s the popular BEP that has caught on to their sound and not the other way round.

Hmm, it’s not to say that the album is bad. I guess I wanted them to push their sound over the top, over the limit they had already set. I wanted the initial feeling that I had when I heard their album Standing In The Way of Control. It feels disappointing that I can basically spot the similarities from the last album. But, since this is the first major label release, I guess The Gossip is under pressure to perform and succeed. This would then explain the lack of risks since they need to stick to the formula and sell.

The album starts with Dimestore Diamond, a very bluesy, jazzy, drum inspired track. Ditto’s voice, I believe, is best on this song because the long notes allow us to hear the stretch of her power pipes in slow movements. Men In Love has a quick sample of Aretha’s Changes, which is very fitting seeing that I can hear Ditto’s influence. Love And Let Love is a Salt-n-Pepa Push It-sampled track where parts sounds much like Madonna in her early years (of course just the track – not the singing). Perhaps the catchiest track of the album is Pop Goes The World, with a great built-up clash of sounds chorus.

Music For Men keeps The Gossip signature sound of blues, funk and dance tracks. The new Gossip album is good and definitely worth our dancing feet.

My favourite tracks are: 8th Wonder, Men In Love, For Keeps.

The album is now available on iTunes.

The Gossip – Heavy Cross

The Gossip – Dimestore Diamond

Let’s start with Paramore.

I know they’re huge now after the Twilight soundtrack contribution. Just great. Laguna Beach music on the rise. Their songs are a blur to me. They all kinda sound the same, have the same guitar riffs with the same loud screaming melodies. But still, I’m indifferent to Paramore really. I can’t say they suck because they don’t. I think their music is just not on my radar. Sure, they can play (hmm), and she can sing (ok), but there’s nothing remotely special about their performance and/or presence. The performance seemed all too casual for the ACC, and would have been better suited for a tavern. Although, I did like their stage background of a newspaper with Paramore printed at the top in bold. Most of the audience didn’t want to get up and participate, because we were clearly just waiting for No Doubt. Me, being indifferent, I just wanted to hear the song they’re famous for (guilty), Decode, which they sang at the end of their lengthy, noisy, head-tossing 40-minute set.

Paramore – Decode
Paramore – I Caught Myself

And then came No Doubt.

In contrast, they were so much more glamourous and pro. The set design was a simple white with video background and a spaceship looking middle structure for the drummer and keyboardists. Perhaps it is a matter of budget (of course it is) and soon Paramore will join their ranks of glossy glamour. But I tell you, it’s not just their budget and set design, their attitude was so different.

For No Doubt fans, it was a great night of memories. Most people seemed to have enjoyed the concert immensely. I, for one, will count this concert as one of my all time favourites. They only performed their greatest hits, which made it easy for anyone to follow. They have not slowed down one bit, in fact maintaining an even higher energy level than Paramore and better band chemistry (which I can understand since NB have been together for like 20 years). But still, aren’t they like 10 years older? With children? What gives.

I’ve never seen No Doubt live and I felt happy to have experience their performance. They were amazing. I keep telling my friends. It felt like one big party with good live music. I have to say, I really liked the video montage that played during Running, it was of their first days of performance and rehearsals. It showed that they truly have been there for a long time, paid their dues and deserve all their success.

No Doubt – Let’s Get Back
No Doubt – Stand and Deliver
No Doubt – Ex-Girlfriend

Black Eyed Peas have come a long way and turned in such a different direction. When they first came out with Behind The Front in 1998, they were more indie than Billboard 100. Things have changed for them immensely, especially after taking on female lead Fergie. They’ve left behind Kim Hill, a more soulful artist, and forged ahead to susperstardom with Fergie. For indie lovers, this is a bit of a flaw right? I mean, purposely breaking into mainstream is admitting that you will now be using sounds and beats that will more likely appeal to the masses. In BEP’s case, their sound is just drastically different from their first days of hip-hop. There’s nothing wrong with that. Let’s just call it evolution and progression.

This week BEP’s fifth album’s came on: The E.N.D., they called it. Like N.E.R.D., something about never dies, The Energy Never Dies. It’s true, their energy doesn’t die. The album is full of beats and drum sets that make you move. Some say it’s a guilty pleasure. They’re definitely right. You listen to BEP but don’t want to admit to having them on your iPod when you’re on the treadmill…. but you know you have it. The E.N.D. is full of 80s Pop influence and 90s Hip-Hop/R&B, 90s Dance music influence, applying some Southern Miami/Atlanta bass drums, with a lot of sampling and cheese.

Tracks like Boom Boom Pow, I Gotta Feeling, Rock That Body are the more modern/futuristic (or whatever) sounding tracks. Rock That Body incorporates a sample from Rob Base & Ez Rock’s It Takes Two. Honestly, I love the track Alive, but not really liking that on the track Alive, Fergie’s melody borrows from My Humps, seriously not into recycling within the same group. The 80s sounding tracks are Meet Me Halfway, Rockin’ To The Beat, which sounds cool with the updated technology. Imma Be borrow from the dirty south’s bass drum combo making you want to get down at the club (don’t even lie). I love Party All The Time because I have never heard any use the Eddie Murphy flawed track, it’s a creative mix. Then again, maybe it’s about making something unfinished better. Electric City uses the beginning of I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow and then moves it into the reggae way. Sorry though, the rest of the tracks kind of fall in between the cracks. It’s true.

The Deluxe version (red cover) comes with a bonus CD, which is basically remixes of their old tracks. Pretty good mixes too since they re-sing most of them, it’s not just a fast-forward or slow down over a different beat. They actually change the tracks, while keeping the main melody.

Oh yes, I got the perfect sentence for this album. Do you remember those dance mix CDs MuchMusic used to put out? Black Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D. sounds like the old MuchMusic Yearly Dance Mix CDs with the combination of rock/pop/r&b/dance.

The E.N.D.
Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow

Black Eyed Peas – Alive

Black Eyed Peas – Party All The Time

Remix of Shut Up, from Elephunk, on the Deluxe Version
Black Eyed Peas – Shut The Phunk Up