I’m obsessed with the entire new album from Rhye, but this jam is especially infectious. It’s hard to believe this was recorded in 2012/2013 and not the 80’s.
This is part of a growing obsession I have with indie R&B/electronic sounds of late. I went to a dj show earlier this week that featured a number of iconic R&B samples and remixes and they’ve become earworms, so I made a playlist of recent indie R&B and R&B-influenced electronic tracks to jam along to at work. Check it out and enjoy.
This R&B jam from Autre Ne Veut’s new album has an intense Purple Rain 80s vibe and borrows some production techniques from other electronic ingenues obsessed with rhythm and blues. The distorted saxophone is a pretty unreal touch. One of the strongest singles of 2013 so far for sure. It’s no wonder the album has already garnered Best New Music accolades and the third highest rating of the year from Pitchfork.
James Blake is impossibly young and a formidable talent. His early EPs showcased a talent for future/garage/two-step productions and a taste for the soul of R&B. His best works to date may have been innovative covers, but on Retrograde he crafts an original composition that oozes feeling. It’s a great track, and one of the best of the year thus far.
Been waiting to hear how Jim James’ solo material would differ from his work with My Morning Jacket, and it was well worth it. The stripped-down sound works very well, highlighted here on standout “Know Til Now”. Definitely an early best of 2013 candidate.
As those who know me already know, I’m a bit of a new music snob enthusiast, and compulsively curate playlists of new finds and old favorites on Spotify. I also frequently stream music from turntable.fm, an online radio format that caters to music discovery and new artist promotion. This twin obsession leads me to hear a lot of music released each year, and I always feel compelled to rank or sort it at the end of the year for a list of bests. However, my memory isn’t always great, and the task of identifying and sorting a year’s worth of gems at the end is pretty daunting. So I’ve begun curating cumulative playlists of my favorites as I find them – hence, I’ve already created two Best of 2013 playlists (tracks and albums separately) though we’re not even clear of January.
To highlight some of the gems within the gems, I’m going to start posting my favorite new addition each week using this fancy Spotify embed widget.
My jam this week is Jessie Ware’s “If You’re Never Gonna Move”. Fans of the sentimentality or lyrical message of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” may find this a musical spiritual animal as well, as Ware describes a love off the dance floor who she’ll slowly dance toward to attract attention. It’s a sexy slow-jam version of the Robyn tune, but no less infectious. Check it out.
Jeffrey Mervosh 