Category: Electro Soul

SWING REPUBLIC - MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY

12/4/2014

Aarrrrgh! Can't believe my friends at Lie In The Sound found this one and I didn't. Swing Republic is an Electro Swing outfit from Denmark (west of Sweden...hey, that sounds like a great band name...West of Sweden) and, here, they've created a cool sound, re-imagining the Blues classic "Merry Christmas Baby" in their own unique style. And, the best part, they've done so while keeping Charles Brown's vocals. This track is sweet! It's Swing Jazz, it's Bkues, it's Electro Pop Indie, it's everything you'd want it to be. But do not dawdle. Swing Republic's label, Freshly Squeezed, has posted this as a "Limited Edition" Free Download, which probably means the downloads are capped. Use the widget above or head to Soundcloud.

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ARMAND & IMANI - AWAY IN A MANGER

10/17/2014

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Either the Noisetrade "Embed" feature is new or I'm an idiot and only just saw it (I tend towards the latter). Anyway...cool!

The music business is a funny thing, I've found. It seems to me its an industry that is standing on its head to make sense. Its looking at the world upside down. TV is the same way. Movies, too.

I think the TV example is the easiest way to explain this. If you have an absolutely original idea (and you aren't already "bankable"), you're doomed from the start. "The Pitch", to be successful, has to be one sentence and it goes like this: "This show is Gilligan's Island meets Gilmore Girls." Pick any two successful shows. If you can't--if you actually have to explain your concept in more depth than that (or, God forbid, have the suits read a script)--you are dead in the water.

I'm as guilty as anybody else, in my own way. I try to convey to you what the music sounds like to hopefully trigger an interest. So I'll say "this artist reminds me of that artist" to, hopefully, get you to say, "Oh. I like that artist. I'll try it, then." I get it. But, as an industry, that wouldn't be what I'm looking for. I wouldn't be looking for "the next" whatever; I'd be looking for the first whatever. I'd be listening for something "special". A voice, a sound, a quality--whatever it is. And I know "special" when I hear it. I like to think I do, anyway. "Special" haunts you in a way few other things do. You go back to "special". You can't help but go back to "special". "Special" sticks with you.

All an annoyingly long and indecipherable explanation of why I'm drawing your attention to this cover of "Away In A Manger" from Armand & Imani Hutton. Imani Hutton has something special. I'm not even sure what it is, but I feel it. If I had a label, I'd sign her up in a heartbeat.

Maybe it's the whole package. She writes, she sings, she produces. She's got a message. She's got a vision for the music (or whatever the audio version of a vision is) and she frequently and unselfishly shares or cedes the spotlight to others if its better for the music (or maybe she's doing it for the people, rather than the music, which would be even more spectacular). She has a quiet confidence that you can feel. Her voice is not what you'd expect. Forgive me for doing what I just criticized, but I'm going to go with Sade meets Tracy Chapman on the voice. Her music is flowingly free, original and organic. She's not artificially restrained by a view that says music has to be neatly labeled and categorized. She paints outside the lines and does so beautifully. You could call her music R&B or Jazz or Gospel or Pop or Electro-Pop--its all those and more--but I think I'm just going to call it Imani music.

I don't remember how I came across "Away In A Manger" by Armand & Imani in the first place. And I was busy with other things at the time. But I do remember thinking, "Ooh, I really like that. I'm going to have to get back to that and put it on the Free page." Unfortunately, the way I work, there are so many "bookmarks" on this computer that that's a sure way to bury something and never see it again. About a week went by. And, every day, the desire to "get back to that" grew stronger until it became, "I need to get back to that." And, after searching a bit, and finding it again, I then needed to hear more. Special will do that to you.

So, yes, please check out and download "Away In A Manger". It's on both Noisetrade and Bandcamp. But, man, you really need to hear "Go The Right Way", Imani's most recent album. Here's a review of the album that I pretty much agree with. I'd just add that one of my favorites was "Circuit Dialog/Dance With You". But go find your own favorite. It's an amazing album. Its a masterpiece of aural bliss. And the artist who painted that masterpiece is Imani Hutton. I'd tell you to remember that name but I have a feeling you will. That kind of special is unforgettable.

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Here we hope to direct you to some of the Christmas music on the web that can be yours absolutely free. We will not direct you to mp3 or sharity sites, here, but only to artist sites, label sites, and other authorized and unquestionably legal locations.

SWING REPUBLIC - MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY

ARMAND & IMANI - AWAY IN A MANGER

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