As I mentioned in the last post, I tend to wake up each morning with a song in my head. Today I thought of Sweet Love by Anita Baker. Check out Paul Wells’ piano cover below and stop by YouTube to hear Phyllisia sing it live. Let me know if it gets stuck in your head all day too. Have a great weekend!
Archive for January, 2012
Catching Up With Mimi Soul
January 18th, 2012
9 Comments »Last week I promised you an interview segment that would let you know a little more about me. I received lots of great questions. Check out the video below, where I talk about my biggest surprise and disappointment since starting Finding the B-Side, my passions, and my favorite music.
Five more things about me
6- I started Finding the B-Side as an outlet while I was in graduate school. I had no idea that my Album of the Week posts in 2009 would lead to this much fun but I’m so glad it did and I plan to keep the site going for many years to come.
7- I keep my 800+ albums on a very large rack. I think it has room for about 200 more so I should be good for a while, especially as more albums are distributed digitally (but that’s a different story).
8- I wake up almost every morning with a song in my head. So, my listening mood is determined by whatever type of music pops into my head that day. I keep a mixture of genres and decades in my car so I’m usually ready for wherever my listening mood leads me.
9- I once wanted a cd so badly that I sang on the radio for it.
10- I can do a pretty good two-step.
Thanks for your questions!
The Slakadeliqs – The Other Side of Tomorrow
January 17th, 2012 No Comments »You may recall that Slakah the Beatchild mentioned that an album would be coming soon from his group The Slakadeliqs. Today they released their full length project The Other Side of Tomorrow. The 14-track album definitely has the Beatchild flavor that we’re used to and features guest appearances by Justin Nozuka, Ebrahim, Tingsek, Sandie Black, Tanika Charles, and King Reign & Shad. Preview the songs below and stop by the Slakadeliqs’ Bandcamp page to purchase the album at a price you name.
Robert Glasper Experiment – Black Radio
January 12th, 2012 1 Comment »
Mark your calendars for February 28th, the release date for Black Radio which is the first full-length album from the Robert Glasper Experiment featuring Robert on keys, saxist Casey Benjamin, bassist Derrick Hodge, and drummer Chris Dave. Check out the EPK below, where Robert talks about the recording sessions and the goals of the album. If you watch the video and wish that February 28th would hurry up and get here, you can stop by Robert’s website to get a free song download to hold you over until the album drops.
Black Radio Track Listing
Lift Off/Mic Check (featuring Shafiq Husayn)
Afro Blue (featuring Erykah Badu)
Cherish The Day (featuring Lalah Hathaway)
Always Shine (featuring Lupe Fiasco & Bilal)
Gonna Be Alright (F.T.B.) (featuring Ledisi)
Move Love (featuring KING)
Ah Yeah (featuring Musiq Soulchild & Chrisette Michele)
Consequence Of Jealousy (featuring Meshell Ndegeocello)
Why Do We Try (featuring Stokley Williams)
Black Radio (featuring Mos Def)
Letter to Hermoine (featuring Bilal)
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Brandon Williams – My Everything (Remix)
January 11th, 2012 9 Comments »
A few weeks ago I mentioned the remix contest for Lalah Hathaway’s song My Everything. I have heard several versions of the song and I think that Brandon Williams‘ remix is one of the best. Brandon is a GRAMMY-nominated and Stellar award winning musician and producer and he owns Soulasis Music and SMG Studios in Detroit. Brandon’s version is a ballad and like any good remix, I’m starting to prefer it over the uptempo original. Check out his remix of My Everything below and stop by his Reverbnation page to hear more of his work.
Brandon Williams – My Everything (Remix)
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Anthony Hamilton – Best of Me
January 6th, 2012 1 Comment »I’ve been listening to Anthony Hamilton’s new album Back to Love for a few weeks now and while I like nearly every track, Best of Me is my favorite. Check out this video of Anthony describing how the song came together. You can also listen to it in the Monday Mix player. Have a great weekend!
You Gotta See This!
January 5th, 2012 1 Comment »You gotta see this Quadron cover of Lauryn Hill’s Ex-Factor!
Catching Up With Julie Dexter
January 4th, 2012 No Comments »
Indie artist Julie Dexter is prepared for a very long music career. The Birmingham, England native has the needed technical experience, as she composes and arranges her own music. She is very versatile and uses her classical training to sing soul, jazz, broken-beat, bossa nova, reggae, and afro-beat styles. Julie also understands the business side of things, as she moved to the US in 1999 and launched her own label, Ketch a Vibe Records, through which she has released several albums – Peace of Mind in 2000, Dexterity in 2002, Conscious in 2005, and her latest release, New Again. Julie says that she is into good music and she obviously has the tools she needs to create it. Here’s our chat about the new album and what she hopes listeners will gain from her music.
Mimi: Your bio says that listening to you is like falling in love. Why do you think that is?
Julie: The person who wrote that about me said that that’s how they felt when they were watching me perform. I guess the song choice and the setting were real intimate. It was actually in New York and it was a jazz song. I think he was referring specifically to that song. That’s just a quote but I ended up using it in my bio because I had never heard anyone say anything like that before (laughing). So, that’s really how that came about.
Mimi: What three words would you choose to describe your sound?
Julie: Jazzy, soul, and roots
Mimi: What personal qualities do you try to show through your music?
Julie: In general, I want people to get a positive message from me. When I say positive, I mean something that takes them through their day. Music is a tool for various things in your life, whether it’s to heal, uplift, evoke emotion, or if you just wanna cruise and go somewhere and have a nice backdrop melody. So, I’m very much about giving people a positive message first and foremost. If you can get a positive message from my music that helps you in your life, that’s a beautiful thing. I want you to experience something that’s good for you like vitamins.
Mimi: Why did you name your album New Again?
Julie: I felt that that’s where I was in my life. I had actually finished my album and it was named before I found out that I was expecting my second child. It ironically coincided with the fact that I felt like I was starting a new cycle in my life all over again with a newborn and continuing the new path of motherhood with my daughter who’s in kindergarten. I’m in a different place from where I was five or ten years ago. My last album was in 2005 so it’s new again for those who have been waiting since my last album. So, it has a lot of meanings and I applied the meanings after I named the album because I just liked the title. It’s actually the title of one of the songs. read more »
