Madcon is a hip-hop group with a huge dose of soul production. If the Roots went all out with the funk soul music, you'd pretty much have Madcon. There are keys, horns, and soulful choruses. Beggin' is an immediate hit that you may have already heard. The question is will these guys be the next Black Eyed Peas, the next Outkast, or more tragically, the next Pharcyde?
I also like Wholehearted, Liar, and Shine.
Admittedly, this video is not so great with the respecting of the women, but what can I say, I like the song.
I always believed that New Orleans funk outfit, Galactic, is at their best when they have vocals and a full horn section. Witness this amazing song, You Don't Know, from their latest, Ya-Ka-May. I dare you not to move, in particular when the horns start really hitting it hard. I also recommend Boe Money, Cineramascope, Double It, Heart of Steel, and Bacchus.
Ozomatli's new album, Fire Away, is strong through and through with radio-friendly gems like 45, It's Only Paper, Elysian Persuasion, Malagasy Shock, and All Around the World. It's sort of surprising and expected at the same time to hear such a mature, strong album from a group that's been around for so long, but if anything, they're getting better. My favorite track, though, is Love Comes Down; it bends one's expectations of Ozo, showcasing a slower, more melodic, emotionally weighty side of their music. The only place I found online where you can hear the whole track is on myspace.
Daniel Merriweather is the latest English soul singer to benefit from Mark Ronson's slick and solid soul production. They collaborated on both of Ronson's solo albums. Their cover of The Smiths'Stop Me was about a million times better than the original. On Merriweather's solo debut, his duet with DC MC Wale, Change, is of note, as well as Not Giving Up, Water and a Flame (another duet, this time with fellow Ronson collaborator Adele), and Chainsaw. I'm not a lyric fans, but I do love when Merriweather sings, "Giving myself to you is like giving myself to a chainsaw. You keep cutting me open wide. Is that the only thing that you're good for?" It seems like a heavy metal lyric, but it fits perfectly in this sweet little number.
Quadron is a Danish dance-pop duo that reminds me of Erykah Badu's first album. The songs are slinky, sly, and smooth. The beats are neo-soul/jazz lo-fi affairs. Average Fruit and Horse are both lovely. Slippin is a catchy doo-wop affair. Jeans is a little funky masterpiece.
tUnE-yArDs is a one-woman sound machine from Northampton, MA named Merrill Garbus. She takes a Beck inspired any sound is a good sound ethic and creates undefinable music that's melodic and unique. I can hear tinges of world-music, twee, and folk influences as well. Although Garbus plays with sounds, by far her greatest instrument is her amazing, unbridled, and unpredictable voice which she often loops over itself even when performing live. There are several tracks I'd recommend: Hatari, Sunlight, News, Jumping Jack, Safety, Want Me To, and Hap-B.
Finally, V.V. Brown is a soul-pop singer from Britain. She's well (perhaps overly) produced and writes songs that are irresistibly easy to sing and dance along to. If you need something sweet and low-cal, then she's for you. Check out Shark in the Water, L.O.V.E, and Everybody. Here's the official video for Shark in the Water
How You Like Me Now is a modern-day James Brown jam. If you like the Godfather of Soul, this track is for you. The drums are slammin and the horns are jammin. It's classic soul from some white guys from Britain. Makes sense.
No Time is a grimey, blues-rock tune. It starts with a scream and drives on through. My man sounds dirty and angry. I wonder how many packs of cigarettes a day he has to smoke to get that growl? The song really tears it up about two and a half minutes in when there's a marching drum breakdown over an urgent horn riff. Unh!
I don't know exactly what Will "Quantic" Holland does. I don't know if he writes, plays, produces or all three. All I know is that anything with the Quantic name is going to be interesting. A few years ago, he moved to Cali, Colombia and began soaking up the local sounds. This summer he released his latest project, Quantic and his Combo Barbaro's Tradition in Transition. It's a melange of latin jazz, soul and funk. All 13 tracks are worth a listen, but my favorites are:
The Dreaming Mind, Part I Mas Pan Linda Morena Un Canto a Mi Tierra I Just Fell in Love Again
The Dreaming Mind, Part 1 has an amazing string section and harp backing up a slow, breezy tune inspired by beaches and sunsets. It reminds me somewhat of Cinematic Orchestra.
Mas Pan is a Latin jazz jam. The expert horns blast a contrapuntal melody over a basic Latin jazz rhythm.
Linda Moreno is the centerpiece of the album. It's an eight minute epic of Afro-Cuban rhythms and traditional story-telling lyrics.
Un Canto a Mi Tierra is the "single". It's short and punchy. The female vocalist croons smoothly in Spanish backed by a salsa rhythm.
I Just Fell in Love Again shows Quantic's soul side. It sounds like a Sam and Dave song, complete with hot organs, plaintive soul vocals, doo-wop girls and those funky horns.
Practically before Ray LaMontagne or John Mayer were born, Michael McDonald was belting out white-boy soul with the Doobie Brothers. Actually, this was probably before the guys in Grizzly Bear were born also. The guy's older than dirt. In fact, if you had told me he was under the dirt, I would have believed you.
So it came as quite a surprise when I heard this rockin', soulful track and thought to myself, "Is that Michael McDonald? I didn't even know he was still alive." When I heard it was a duet with Grizzly Bear I was not as surprised. The guy has a history of duets and covers. He also has one of those signature voices. Whether you ever liked the Doobies or his cheesy 80s stuff, the man can sing.
The song starts with a guitar chord that sounds like a warning. It's edgy. Then McDonald's silky smooth voice rolls in on rails. As the music patiently builds behind him, the track sounds almost like a Jimi Hendrix track that's been plied with sedatives. During the first chorus, Grizzly Bear members play the roll of doo-wop girls, adding another layer of crooning vocals. The dynamics on this track are amazing. After building up, there's an extended a cappella jam that builds it back up to a wild crazy crescendo as McDonald's belts out, "And what was left!!!" again and again.
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