Category: R&B

BROOKE D - NEW YEARS BLUES

12/29/2015

We were doing Blues on the front page today, so I stumbled across "New Years Blues" by Brooke D, a native of the California coast currently based in Portland, Oregon (I think). Oddly enough, this tune isn't (strictly speaking) Blues. It's a cappella Folk Jazz. What it is is interesting and different. And you know that "different" is one of my favorite words. "New Years Blues" is from Brooke's 2011 EP "A Kinder Winter" and you can download all three tunes free from Bandcamp. Dig around and you'll find a live version that's also free. Brooke is currently working on a real honest to goodness album which hopefully sees the light of day in 2016.

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LOUVRE - NEW YEAR'S EVE (WITH YOU)

12/27/2015

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A Smooth Soul Hip Hop holiday tune from Japan? Free? In Japanese? Oh, yeah, it don't get no better than that. Take a listen to Louvre's "New Year's Eve (With You)" and get the song free from Soundcloud. (Come on, you know you love it.)

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C-NOCH - TO HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS

12/24/2015

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If I'd found this a few days ago, it probably would have made the Stubby's House Christmas collection. I legitimately love this groove. C-Noch is an Indie R&B artist from just outside Detroit, Michigan. He grew up singing Gospel and, living just 10 miles from Hitsville, USA, he also has that Motown influence. But C-Noch's sound is more contemporary and he blends the Gospel and Motown with Hip Hop. The concept for "To Have A Merry Christmas" is brilliant. C-Noch starts with "My Favorite Things". "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, la la la la la la la..." What do you suppose a song like that means to a kid growing up near Detroit, Michigan? How could any city kid identify with any of that? Those aren't the images of Christmas they experience. No. Christmas to them looks like much of the rest of the year--broken glass, snow that's gone black from soot, bills in the mail that they can't afford to pay, a little girl gone missing on Christmas Eve, and far too many guns resulting in "blood in the streets". "What does it mean to have a Merry Christmas?" he asks. In the end, I believe he's rejecting both visions--the la-de-da fairytale holiday in the songs and commercials and the harsh reality he sees around him--as distractions from the real meaning of Christmas. Anyway, that's what I'm getting from the tune, which is as musically well done as it is thought provoking. "To Have A Merry Christmas" by C-Noch works for me on every level. Might not be what you want on your Christmas mixtape, but I'd want it on mine. Grab the free download on Soundcloud and drop C-Noch a "like" on Facebook. He deserves at least that much for this great Christmas track.

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LOREN SMITH - MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS

12/17/2015

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Whether it's personal biases or there are truly significant differences in arrangements, etc., I can't help but feel NSYNC sounds better when anybody but they are singing their music. Loren Smith gives the track plenty of energy and a little bit of Soul, making "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" sound like finger-popping fun. And, hey, you "war on Christmas" folks--kindly note that it needn't be either/or; you can say both Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Here's the proof. Loren Smith, by the way, is a Los Angeles based Pop and Soul singer who has been called "the Luther Vandross of the next generation". So he's got that going for him, which is nice. Download "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" free at Soundcloud.

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ANDRE BYRD - GIVE IT AWAY

12/17/2015

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Always room for a new Soul jam. Andre Byrd, based in Connecticut, ministers through music as he's been doing since he was 15 singing in his father's church. He founded his own music and arts organization in 2009 (180 Degree Enterprises) and has been focused on advancing the careers of other inspirational artists. But now, with his primary inspirational group on hiatus, he's working on his solo career.

For Christmas, Andre wrote this original song, "Give It Away", and that's just what he's doing with it. You can get Andre Byrd's "Give It Away" as a free download from his web site or via Soundcloud.

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SHUREE - GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN

12/15/2015

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More of these types of things don't work than do. But Shuree's "Go Tell It On The Mountain" is just right. The old Gospel warhorse never sounded so lively as on this House mix. If you're looking for Christmas music to get people movin' and groovin' on the dance floor, you can start right here. "Go Tell It On The Mountain" by Shuree is free on Noisetrade (its livelier than their usual fare, too).

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IZZY OLAORE - NOEL (Acoustic Holiday Mix)

12/12/2015

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I'm truly happy to see Nigerian music breaking through in this country. It's kind of neat. Of course, I've always enjoyed listening to Christmas music from far away places. It's something I used to long for as a kid. I'd be reading Billboard magazine, looking at the international charts at Christmas, and wondering why I couldn't listen to those songs.

Anyway, pardon the momentary reverie. Izzy Olaore was born in Nigeria, but was raised in the U.S. Then he moved back to Nigeria for a bit. And, for the moment, he seems to have settled in Nashville. How cool would it be to hear Nigerian Country music? Well, that's not what Izzy does. If anything, he brings in more of a Gospel flavor, though there's also a clear R&B/Hip Hop influence to "Noel".

Izzy has a three song "Holiday Collection"--all three tunes free--up on Soundcloud. There's the regular mix of "Noel" and a third song, "Let's Go", which is more of a Club thing and doesn't strike me as all that holiday oriented. But the acoustic mix of "Noel" is the thing I liked here. Maybe I'm just getting too old (ain't no maybe about it, dude), but the other tracks are just too busy and loud for my head. The acoustic version of "Noel" appeals to me as a much more heartfelt and personal expression of the season. I ain't nobody special, but I'd be interested in hearing more from that guy. The bombastic, loud, Electro Funk Izzy...not so much. Just sayin'.

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b3groover - ORGANISSIMO HOLIDAY SAMPLER

12/11/2015

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I love finding good free Christmas Jazz on the 'Nets. It's like....Christmas. And nothing says Christmas like a Hammond B3 organ.

The maestro on the keys is Jim Alfredson. Jim wears many hats and so I'm still shaky on the group name. The widget says it's b3groover, so who am I to say otherwise? But you can also find organissimo as either a group name or album title (or maybe its the label). And then there's Theo, Jim's Progressive Rock band.

Jazz by any other name rarely comes as sweet as this "Holiday Sampler" on Soundcloud. Seven tracks and they're all free. I'm not even going to try to break down the tracks for you. You know good Jazz when you hear it, and this is the Funky goods. Listen, download, listen again.

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ICE CUTTERS - BABY DON'T YOU CRY TOO MUCH

12/10/2015

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I've had this one bookmarked for about a week and just never got back to it. And I saw it on one of the other Christmas sites (or possibly in a Twitter feed)--can't remember who--which reminded me of what a nice little tune it is. Wish I could remember which site had it; I like to give credit where credit's due.

Ice Cutters are a versatile band from Wales (that's Wales UK, not whales, OK). They write new music in Pop, Rock, Country, Blues, and Americana. "Baby Don't You Cry Too Much" is done in a retro late 50s/early 60s Pop Vocal Group style (think the Belmonts or The Four Seasons...or even one of the early R&B groups). I like it. It's snappy. And I like snappy. Feel free to punch on over to Soundcloud for the download.

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JEREMY J. KING - KING AT CHRISTMAS

12/5/2015

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Do you know how, sometimes, you're expecting something and the thing you get is so different from what you were expecting? And, unprepared, it knocks you completely on your ass? And, for a moment, you don't know whether you were really blown away or if it was just the surprise that did it? Alright, just pretend for a second that you understand the gibberish I'm spouting and listen to this.

Now if that didn't just knock you completely on your ass, then, just.....get outta here. Go on. Go.

You sort of have to appreciate that probably 90% of what's on Soundcloud is total crap. And the other 9.9999% is Indie Rock and Indie Pop that is, for the most part, good enough to make it worth your while (barely) to go through that other 90%.

Jeremy J. King is originally from Georgia. He grew up singing in the church choir. He was recruited by the Columbus Boy Choir and sang with them until he was 12. At that point, he figured he was ready to go solo. He's been recording since then....since the age of 12. Not necessarily releasing anything, but recording. If my math is right, he's 22, now.

Jeremy just recently posted an entire EP of Christmas music, "King At Christmas", on Soundcloud. Now, he's still young and learning. So, yes, there are nits I can pik. He can get carried away with that thing Harry Schearer parodied recently, where he tries to fit more notes into a single syllable than he should. And, personally, I think the echo is higher than it should be. But, oh my God, go listen to "Who Would Imagine A King" again. That might be the most beautiful thing I've ever heard on Soundcloud (self produced, mind you).

Not every song on "King At Christmas" is in this vein. There's some contemporary Soul ("Christmas Around The World"), and a couple of nicely covered Pop Rock tunes ("Christmas Baby Please Come Home" and "Jingle Bell Rock"), and an Ambient Jazz spin on "Snowfall" that's nice and unique. The one track that doesn't work is "The Christmas Song"; it needs to be thrown overboard ASAP. But you should download the rest. You absolutely should download "Who Would Imagine A King" right now.

At the moment, the tracks on Jeremy's "King At Christmas" are all, individually, available as free downloads on Soundcloud. That probably isn't going to last forever (about half of the tracks were included on a Christmas EP last year, which is currently $7 on Bandcamp). While they are free, though, you need to get them. And it would be nice, in return, if you would at least check out Jeremy's current Kickstarter campaign. Pledge if you want to, don't if you don't, but at least hear him out. Solid.

1. Christmas Around The World
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Jingle Bell Rock
4. I'll Be Home For Christmas
5. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
6. The Christmas Song
7. Who Would Imagine A King
8. Snowfall

JEREMY J. KING WEB SITE
JEREMY J. KING on FACEBOOK
JEREMY J. KING on KICKSTARTER

DOWNLOAD KING AT CHRISTMAS

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<<Previous

BROOKE D - NEW YEARS BLUES

LOUVRE - NEW YEAR'S EVE (WITH YOU)

C-NOCH - TO HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS

LOREN SMITH - MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS

ANDRE BYRD - GIVE IT AWAY

SHUREE - GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN

IZZY OLAORE - NOEL (Acoustic Holiday Mix)

b3groover - ORGANISSIMO HOLIDAY SAMPLER

ICE CUTTERS - BABY DON'T YOU CRY TOO MUCH

JEREMY J. KING - KING AT CHRISTMAS

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