soul/funk
News: Soul Legend Percy Sledge dies
Percy Sledge is one of those rare artists who secured their pension pot with their debut single as When a Man Loves a Woman must be played on the radio somewhere in the world every second of the day. Sledge, who died today, is not unusual in the soul world for having one classic single …
Feature: Buyers Guide – 70s Live Albums
From the solo acoustic troubador, to the thunderous rock band in full flight, to the electro pioneer peeping above banks of keyboards and oscillator, there’s few things more thrilling than the experience of music being performed live in front of an appreciative audience. The live album has been a part of the musical landscape ever …
Track: Astronomyy releases the quietly beautiful ‘Swim Deeper’
Young Worcestershire producer Astronomyy blew up a storm with his debut EP, There For U, which was released on his own Lunar Surf label. He’d already built up something of a buzz by posting a series of tracks online, picking up over a million plays on his Soundcloud page. His new track, Swim Deeper is …
See: Roses Gabor releases video for Rush
Roses Gabor signalled her arriveal as one of the most striking and exciting voices in Britain with her 2012 single ‘Stars’. It followed on previous collaborations with Gorillaz and SBTRKT amongst others, and led to much fauning from the likes of Zane Lowe and Huw Stephens. Now she’s back with a new single, Rush, which …
Not Forgotten: Dusty Springfield – Dusty in Memphis
It’s heartbreaking that someone who had such a huge talent as Dusty Springfield suffered from almost crippling insecurity and self-doubt. Legend has it that she struggled so much with the recording of this, Dusty in Memphis, now her most celebrated album, that “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Just a Little Lovin’” aside, she was …
Album Review: Japan Soul “Plastic Utopia”
Japan Soul: call it dance music with a conscience, intelligent pop, whatever you like, their new album “Plastic Utopia” is a fantastic slice of intellectual soul. To reflect my eighties predilections, it’s like a mash-up of the attitude of The Clash with the music and lyricism of Heaven 17 (and even China Crisis) it is something sorely missing from …
Track: Paloma Faith brings the soul on Can’t Rely On You, plus album news
It’s funny who you run into. I, in my younger days (not that much younger, I’ll admit to that) used to have these shoes that allowed my to slide, slightly Fred Astaire like, down the aisles of the Tesco (and other supermarkets in other places, but bear with me on this) nearest to my work. …
Track: Sampha releases new single, Happens
A piano drops, while a single sultry falsetto line glides seamlessly through the sky, before burning up into the heavy, melancholic atmosphere of ‘Happens’. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? A new James Blake Croon-Pop ballad maybe? No. This is the sound of Sampha finally completing his journey out of SBTRKT’s shadow. The …
Album Review: Harleighblu: Forget me not
If the loss of Amy Winehouse left a soul shaped heart in your record collection, and (as it happens, labelmate) Alice Russell isn’t enough for you, then the answer might just have come from Nottingham songstress Harleighblu. Her new album ‘Forget me not’ dropped today, and immediately she has forced her way to the front …
Meet: Harleighblu, and new album news
When I was seven, I was barely into elasticated school trousers, and collecting worms out of the garden, albeit after episodes of Hong Kong Fuey. I might have managed a quick rendition of London’s Burning on the recorder on a good day, but that was about it. In contrast, Nottingham’s Harleighblu (her real name) was …