If Pharrell and/or The Neptunes didn’t produce this then they’ve strongly influenced the duo: the electronic-style production has a very strong Neptunes feel about it from start to finish, combining a base pop element with an infusion of alternative lashings for a great production that boasts energy, power and a touch of cool, making it one that could certainly be a favourite with the mainstream. The Autotune is initially a little offputting, but gradually it works well enough with the instrumental and the whispery nature of their vocals. Inevitably, the track would be better without it, but it works well enough.
The video’s a good accompaniment to the track, using a mostly-monochrome filter and general minimalism to take the audio away from feeling like a pop track and further into a less-definable realm. Worth a watch, worth a listen, and a duo to keep your eye on.
After a forced hiatus due to various other commitments, we can finally resume the latest weekly series from the OTU brain trust. I must admit, this is fast becoming my personal favourite series in OTU history, purely because it allows both yourselves and I to rediscover tracks that we either once loved or once forgot about, and that’s frankly a lot of fun.
Enough of the self-appreciation.
Click on below for another diversity-laden edition of SYFA, featuring a trio of prominent current mainstream names, alongside a couple of acts that have slipped away somewhat.
Searching is the first of a series of visuals by emerging R&B singer/songwriter Jade Alston. A fan-favorite from Jade’s recently released FreEP Single On A Saturday Night, Searching was written by Jade Alston and produced by MPIII Productions.
Smoothed out production and strong vocals, this soulful effort from the upcoming Jade Alston will undoubtedly make for a refreshing listen to many R&B/soul heads.
The synergy between the vocal and production work is strong throughout, maintaining a mellow flavour without excessively capping Jade’s natural energy and vocal strength. The lyrical work is simple and effective, going with a very honest, open approach that has a couple of nice twists, particularly in the hook, whilst the video efficiently serves its purpose of giving Alston some camera time to get viewers familiar. Definitely a talent to watch, and you can grab her full EP (with this track on) for free here.
After a few weeks away, R&B Fridays is back and swollen with star quality for this week’s edition. Of course, in keeping with tradition, it’s also released on a Sunday. Nice to be back into routine eh?
Preeya’s recently finished her second (or third?) stint at Eastenders and returns to the music scene with this new single. Featuring one of my favourite UK producers in Davinche, the production on this track doesn’t disappoint. The song is about Preeya trying to keep her private life just that, private.
The second, and probably more anticipated, video release from Drake sees him deliver visuals for his huge collaboration with Rihanna. Seen by many as the headline track from the album of the same name, this is a mainstream smash hit.
Personally this song got played out very quickly, but I’m sure there’s lots out there who still enjoy it and will lap up the video, so enjoy!
I find it hard to separate this track from Drake’s demo that leaked the other year. Obviously we were never supposed to hear the Drake version as he wrote it for a female lead in mind, but he did a damn good job of it! Once it had leaked I didn’t think we’d ever hear a singer take and finish it, but eventually it’s found its way to new Roc Nation signee, Rita Ora. Those who aren’t familiar with that name should know that she’s a British singer, who’s creating a lot of buzz at the moment, so get in on the hype now.
The video itself is nothing special but does well as support for a big single. I do think that getting Tinie Tempah in as a feature is a good attempt to add some original flavour to a song many had rinsed when the Drake version had leaked. You can pre-order this single by clicking on below.
It’s a little late this week, but with good reason as R&B Fridays is on a 2-week hiatus after this episode, due to ‘international commitments’ of the team.
Google tells me Ambien is a ‘prescription drug to cure insomnia’, so it’s not Novel misspelling ambient/ambience. Phew.
A vastly underrated and overlooked vocalist (and rapper), Novel comes through to spark life back into his career with this 19-track, two-part mixtape. He’s an excellent talent when everything clicks for him, and he’s played his chances well by surrounding himself with some top class producers here, including a man with an untouchable record of pop and R&B productions, Dallas Austin. Looking forward to giving this one a go, and hopefully it’ll jolt the R&B genre back to some sort of decent state. Free grab below.
A hotly anticipated mixtape from one of R&B’s rising starlets, Teyana Taylor comes through with a project that looks to capitalise on her ever-increasing buzz.
A few of the tracks we’ve heard from this were certainly enjoyable, including the Fabolous and Jadakiss-featured D.U.I., and the pressure is there for Teyana to deliver on the rest of the project. Her vocal talents are certainly not in question, and with the features otherwise sparse, you’ve got to hope she’s aligned herself with some good producers to capitalise on her skills. Free grab below.
That’s right folks, do not adjust your monitors. R&B Friday is actually available on a Friday. As a result, it does mean the material isn’t particularly plentiful this week, but it doesn’t mean the quality isn’t there. In fact, I suspect many R&B Fridays fans will rather enjoy this episode, with 2 Frank Ocean-related tracks and a remix of one of The Weeknd’s best tracks featured.
A really likeable track from Usher and Diplo that I’ve had in rotation since its release, and Usher treats fans with official visuals for the effort, suggesting its probably the lead single from an upcoming album.
The video captures the complexity of the audio well, combining slower, isolated scenes of Usher’s reflective moments with speedy, intense ‘action’ sections into a cohesive and enjoyable experience. The duality of both the lyrics and production is used superbly, as Usher’s recollective mindstate is visualised with lonesome scenes alongside flashes of action, and equally the peaks and troughs of the production are emphasised appropriately within those scenes. Other plus points include the closing section of the video, which brings a nice finality and structure by suggesting that most of the encounters we see were indeed reflective inner thoughts, whilst the lighting and scenery used throughout give the track a darker, more serious vibe that removes the gloss from the house-inspired production and gives the track more depth.
I’d expect this to be a very popular single in the next few months. Released here on 16th April, but you can grab it on the US iTunes now.
We’ve seen many weekly series come and go here at OTU, but it’s been a while since we’ve launched a new one, which frankly isn’t in keeping with our ‘we do things differently’ mantra.
That would be the marketing spin on this. The truth is, the thought occurred to me that as modern-day music listeners, we consume so much music on a daily and weekly basis that there have become two clear pools of choice when picking something to listen to: either a classic, old-school track or something relatively new. “What’s wrong with that?”, I hear you cry. “The vast middle in between those two”, I reply.
There are countless songs that lie in that grey area of being a little old, but nowhere near aged enough to be considered ‘classic’, and often they get overlooked. Several tracks may have been ‘ahead of their time’, and you’ll find them an almost brand new listen in today’s climate, or it may simply be revisiting an excellent track to recrete that ‘first time’ feel once again. Welcome to your friendly reminder of tracks we may have once loved (or even completely ignored), and enjoy the fresh yet familiar feeling that accompanies each one.
No artist in the R&B and pop genres has generated the buzz Rita Ora has over the past week, so it’s only right that the Roc Nation signee and London native gets the headline spot for yet another milestone episode.
Over a year after its release, it’s looking likely that this excellent effort from Jesse has all the hallmarks of being his real breakout single. Having been selected for the 106 and Park countdown (if I’m not mistaken), the exposure he’ll now get is a much-deserved reward for his consistently enjoyable output over the last couple of years. His naturally artistic nature stands him in good stead for both future progression and widespread appeal, and I genuinely hope this comes off for him.
The video captures that cool bounce of the audio throughout, whilst breaking it up quite nicely with a light ‘story’ that interjects halfway through and also towards the end, both giving a little context to what would otherwise have been a generic party set. The sequencing and pacing of the video are key features throughout, as the injection of such scenes remove it from the confines of the classic music video, and into a more film-music blend that is considerably more captivating, even if the storyline itself isn’t particularly complicated. Definitely worth a look for R&B and soul heads, and a fine example of how to make an engaging video.
The first of 3 EP’s Miguel is set to release this year (alongside talk of his sophomore LP), he hits R&B fans with 3 excellent tracks to get the Art Dealer Chic series off to a flying start.
Adore blends a slow jam sensibility with a soulful energy, as the laidback, relatively slow-paced production is blended with powerful and diverse vocal work from Miguel. It’s an effective mix that showcases Mig’s crossover abilities well. That I Do (FTRMX) is a livelier offering, relying more on the cacophony of sounds in the production to drive the track on rather than Miguel’s vocal work, though the performance from him is typically consistent throughout. Gravity has a strong hip-hop sensibility in the beat, with a real head-nodding combination of pounding percussion and deep melodies, and the vocals are adjusted appropriately as he dials it back a little on the emotion to ride the natural bounce of the track. A good triumverate of tracks, and I’d recommend them to any R&B head. Free download available below, stream available here.
A very slow week for R&B/pop music this week (those new Chris Brown/Rihanna collaborations don’t count as music), and as a result it’s a pretty short, and stream-heavy, episode this week.
I’ve made this statement before, but R&B really is in a bad spot at the minute, with a serious lack of both quantity and quality as many of its stars are either inactive or pursuing pop careers. It’s a sad state of affairs, but I retain hope that the likes of The-Dream will be back soon to restore the natural order.
Diplo tweeted a track earlier, amusingly claiming it was with a ‘promising young artist’, for it to be revealed as a new effort from none other than Usher. You probably figured that last part out from the title of this post.
The collaboration is a successful one too. Diplo’s served up a progressive production that has a quiet intensity in the verses, building slowly to what actually ends up being a gentle climax in the hook (calm down). It’s an effective twist that throws you off, and increasing awareness of the second layer of progression in the track, as it builds towards the final third, and once again, it switches to the slower style. Clever. Just as much credit goes to the evergreen Usher, whose vocal versatility draws you in time and time again on this one, with his work on the hook being a particularly good performance. One that threatens to be a club banger at times, but in each instance surpasses that ‘easy’ option for increased listenability.
14 brand new tracks from one of R&B’s smoother artists? Your girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/other can thank him later, as Raheem DeVaughn drops off a perfectly-timed mixtape.
Many of those looking to grab this will also likely be familiar with one of his releases from this tape, the likeable Be The One, found in the most recent episode of R&B Fridays (I use ‘Friday’ loosely). I’m sure there’s plenty more of that ilk to be found on this 14-track freebie, and you can find out for yourself with the £0 grab below.
There’s a considerable chunk of buzz around this remix, as The Weeknd apparently personally asked for this remix after seeing a video of it being performed, and he made a good move as I much prefer this to the ricketty, loose original which had little replayability for me. The dark, ominous nature that the slowed-down remix creates adds a depth and intrigue that was wholly missing from the original, and one that works with The Weeknd’s vocals much more fluently. The sharp, irritating percussion is dulled somewhat here which is another excellent stroke, and props go to Shlomo for making this track infinitely more listenable. Click below to stream the track, or here to download it.
With December being the manic month that it is, I completely forgot to grab and listen to The Internet’s debut album, Purple Naked Ladies, which is surprising considering how warmly recieved the offerings preceding the album’s release were. Nonetheless, memories everywhere have been jogged and I’m sure many of us will be looking to check that album out sooner rather than later.
Having given these 4 tracks a brief listen, I can absolutely confirm you’re in for another audio delight. The productions are a fantastic combination of uptempo, midtempo and slowed down, with each having a continuity via the atmospheric, relaxing soundscape each track remains layered with, whilst Syd’s vocals (on 3 songs, the other is an instrumental) boast that delicious, and addictive, whispery quality. In recent memory, this has to go down as one of the better free releases any music fan could hope to grab, and you can do so below.
Apologies for the lateness here, but spending most of your weekend travelling isn’t conducive to the satisfactory scheduling of your favourite weekly series.
Another official but very short blast from Frank Ocean, as he lets loose of this assumedly unfinished track (unless he’s going for 90-second tracks on his album!).
I hope there is more of the track, as it’s a fantastic little slow jam that reminds everyone just how good this guy is. The guitar-laced production has a real Maxwell vibe about it, and Frank supplies his trademark excellence with the vocals, going so far as to double-layer his vocals for a very striking and effective first half. The second half brings out a softer approach that will absolutely melt listeners, as Frank comes through with his most ‘R&B’ delivery to date in that section, proving he can quite easily adjust to a more ‘textbook’ style where necessary.
I wanted to open this week’s episode with a breakdown of why the number 135 was special. Turns out, nothing of any significance is tied to the number, so that’s that.
All caught up? Good. Feel free to resume your browsing by clicking below for this week’s instalment. There’s also a surprise new feature included in this episode that we’ve been requested to add for some time. Mysterious. → Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 135
One from a few days ago, but undoubtedly worth a look nonetheless as the talented Elle Varner comes through with a free 13-track project that should satisfy her ever-growing horde of fans.
The soulful yet modern style of Elle has a nice unique flavour that carries across all of her tracks, whilst each track she’s released has still retained a nice sense of eclecticism and uniqueness. There are a few tracks on here that Elle’s followers will already be familiar with, but the vast majority is brand new material that seems to have already garnered plenty of critical and fan acclaim. You can stream and download the full project for free over at Elle’s Soundcloud page below.
Though it’s only from the soundtrack of the upcoming Think Like A Man film, it’s always great to get some new John Legend, and it certainly helps when it’s one of his better tracks in a long time.
Opening with in an atmospheric and drifty manner, there’s an instantly smooth vibe pouring out of this one, and whilst the song does shift into a more pop/R&B realm with the percussion and additional elements, it retains enough of that initial airy quality to give it a distinctive flavour. Legend’s vocals are never in doubt, and here he actually does a good job of stifling his natural passion and intensity, instead opting for a more structurally sound effort that still showcases his wonderful talent. Definitely worth a listen, and look out for it on iTunes on Tuesday.
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