Tuesday Tunes--November 24, 2015
Shaun Cordingley
This week, Tuesday Tunes takes more of a dance and hip hop theme to it, with some great twists, a few experimental sounding tracks, some UK flavour and a whole lot of violin.
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any of these songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new and different music, or re-expose them to things they may have forgotten about.
At the top of each section, will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website, so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.
Shame - Young Fathers
A bit of a different start this week with Edinburgh, Scotland's Young Fathers. This is a song that the first time I heard it, I cannot say that it hooked me at all, then I heard it again, and a third time, and then suddenly I found myself on Young Fathers' YouTube channel, just hanging out and listening to some of their other songs, but always returning to 'Shame'. When I caught myself humming it this morning, I knew it had to be here.
Young Fathers won the Mercury Prize in 2014 for their debut album Dead, which, when matched up with 'Shame' and other tracks from their latest album White Men Are Black Men Too, can really give a sense of the unbridled experimentation that Young Fathers seems to revel in. Every song (at least that I have heard so far) is completely different, using heavy instrumentals, or simple loops, well defined, thoughtful lyrics, or the more simple driving repetition found in 'Shame', these 3 men, sometimes with more success than others, are always doing something different.
Young Fathers always seem to be touring or producing music, so I suggest you see what they continue to come up with (and if 'Shame' is not your bag, 'Get Up' might be, as it is much more of a traditional hip hop/dance song).
When the Baseline Drops - Craig David X Big Narstie
This is the first new music that we have gotten from UK R&B/Soul/Hip-hop/Garage artist Craig David for quite some time (his last studio album released in 2010, but chances are, most people over here are only familiar with Craig David from around 2001-2003). It is rather strange how Craig David just sort of disappeared (at least in North America) after the massive hits he scored with songs like '7 Days', but here we are.
Thankfully, we can ignore the gap and enjoy the hell out of this collaboration with grime artist and internet personality Big Narstie,which features a great combination of the always smooth flow of Craig David, combined with the more rave-rap centered aesthetic of Big Narstie. It is hard for me to compare this to anything; it is perhaps best for you just to hear it (on BBC Radio1, which means there's some chatter in the video) and figure it for yourself, but it is a great R&B track...a little bit of grime (not tonnes), and a dance flare that I am damn sure you will hear in and around the UK for a while (if it does not make it here).
C.U.R.E.- BOOTS
Jordan Asher aka BOOTS is perhaps best known as being a producer who suddenly appeared on the scene when he produced and contributed to Beyoncé's self-titled fifth album in 2013. Since then, BOOTS has been releasing an array of singles, collaborating with other artists, scoring the trailer for Fifty Shades of Grey, and working on a film called Motorcycle Jesus.
Oh, and his solo album AQUARIA released eleven days ago (as of this posting), so if you enjoy the strong instrumental production juxtaposed against his almost relaxed sounding lyrical style, then have at it. 'C.U.R.E.' is really probably going to hit with fans of Gorillaz (or that Gorillaz style).
Or you could just enjoy the crazy trippiness of the video. 'C.U.R.E' is definitely not for everyone, but there is a lot here to like if you are looking for something a little off the mainstream when it comes to hip hop songwriting.
Rivers (ftr. Nico & Vinz) - Thomas Jack
'Tropical House' really popped into a bit of popularity this summer (whether you realized it or not), and somehow, this song from Thomas Jack and featuring Nico & Vinz just never really exploded like some of the others did, even though it is a perfect song for summer. Well, now that those of us in the north are buried in snow again, you can remember warm times with this organic, warm and happy track (or maybe you can add it to that ever-growing list of songs you take on vacation we seem to be rolling out here).
Thomas Jack, for anyone into House music, is not an unknown name, but this Australian DJ has not really broken through into a wider audience yet, but with more perfect chill in the sun songs like 'Rivers', it should not be too much longer.
Stereotypes - Black Violin
Classical/hip-hop fusion.
If that does not get you interested, I have no idea why you are reading 'Tuesday Tunes' at all. What you primarily get from Black Violin are two spectacular, classically trained musicians in Kevin Sylvester aka Kev Martin on violin, and Wilner Baptiste (Wil B) on viola. The two are perhaps better known for their collaborations and producing, working with artists ranging from Alicia Keyes to Kanye West to Tom Petty, and have been working together since 2004.
Their third album, Stereotypes released on September 18, and honestly you can pretty much pick any song from any of their albums and really get a sense of just how talented these guys are, and how fun that blend of classical music and a hip-hop beat can be.
In case you haven't noticed yet, knowing that a lot of folks are on the go, I have also compiled the October Tuesday Tunes into one handy Apple Music Playlist for your listening pleasure. Being a former DJ, I also could not just throw them on a list, so I put it together like they were in a set. November's Apple Music Playlist, with all of the songs we have featured this month put into a set, will be released next week alongside the December 1 Tuesday Tunes.
Support what you dig! It's soooo much cheaper than anything else out there. You cannot even buy an hot pocket for what one of the songs listed here would cost you....
See you again next Tuesday with 5 more tracks.