Soulified

Artist Spotlight: Mélissa Laveaux

Alba — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:33:26 +0000

If I tell you the truth, the first time I listened to Mélissa Leveaux’s music I didn’t like it. It was the cover of ‘Crazy In Love‘, Beyonce’s mega-hit back in 2003. Now, I like it more than the original version. Mélissa made the song hers, and she proved she can turn a commercial hit into a grown folk’s music.

She was born in Montreal, Canada, but her roots are Haitian and this fact can be perceived in her music.

In fact, growing into a multi-cultural enviroment has influenced on her musical taste: from kreyol-calypso folkloric ballads, to early 90’s trip hop and Brazilian samba-rock.

In 2006 Melissa self-produced and released her first full-length album ”Camphor & Copper”, a bilingual raw mix of acoustic soul/jazz. A fresh offering to the folk music scene, that’s for sure.

Another song from her, called ‘My Boat’ can be listened below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoybxroaEM8p

Soulganic set to release “From the Storm to the Sun”

echristoperj — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:18:13 +0000

Website/Twitter/Facebook/YouTube

I was reminded about a group today, that I should have enlightened my readers about a month ago. The group that I speak of is Soulganic. They are a perfected blended sound of Funk and Soul. There are also sprinkles of Jazz, some Blues and a few other ingredients. It’s comprised of Cory McClure (drums, keyboards), Ryan McKeithan (acoustic and electric guitars, vocals), Anthony Rodriguez (lead vocals, bass guitar), and Lucas Torres (percussion). They have released a new album ”From the Storm to the Sun”, which is their second. Their first album was released in 2007, titled “All Directions Forward“.

The new album starts off with “Temporary Thrill”, which also has a accompanying video (below), instantly takes you to thoughts of South America with a stop over in Cuba. You can really get a sense of the care that each of the members bring to the track. I can say that Lucas Torres let his presence known on, which worked well with Anthony Rodriguez’s vocals. The rest of the album continues the world wide tour, that was started by “Temporary Thrill”. Once you think that you know where the next stop is, they change the destination, and you thank them. Once you listen to the soft melodies of “Carry On”, you’re going to wonder where have you been to not have heard of this group or this album. Trust me, I had the same thoughts.

Check out the video, and the album that’s available on CDBaby. I know you will love it.

N’Dambi At “Pink Elephant” Album Signing Tomorrow

echristoperj — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:57:06 +0000

Good news, Memphis N’Dambi fans are in for a treat tomorrow. She is in town for the “Pink Elephant” album signing. It’s at the Stax Museum lobby, Thursday March 4th, between 5pm to 6pm. Also if you don’t have a CD copy of her latest album, you can pick up a copy in the Museum Gift Shop. Also she will be performing at the Rumba Room at 8pm that same evening. I’ll see you there.

[Update] Erykah Badu’s “Window Seat” and “New Amerykah Part Two” Album

echristoperj — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:57:46 +0000

Unless you have been like me, under a rock for the past month, you have heard about Erykah Badu’s upcoming album “New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh” and her new single “Window Seat”. The album will be released March 30th, 2010 A.D. I do believe this will be a great follow up to her previous album. To help promote the upcoming album, she is performing tonight (Wednesday March 3rd) on Jimmy Fallon’s show. Hopefully I will have the video up in the morning. Take a listen to the single below, and tell us what you think.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Update]

Here is the video of the Jimmy Fallon performance last night.

Sade On April Ebony Magazine Cover

echristoperj — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:16:34 +0000

Returning from her hiatus, and making all her media rounds, Sade will appear on the April cover of Ebony magazine. In the issue she discusses her ten year gap between albums, her daughter, and relationships. The issue hits new-stands next week on March 9th. Below is a snippet of the article.

With her highly anticipated album, Soldier of Love, recently topping the charts, Nigerian-born singer Sade, has definitely made the 10-year wait worthwhile. But, what has she been up to during this mysterious hiatus? The notoriously private superstar gave Ebony an exclusive peek into her world outside of the studio. “I’ve had my ups and downs in the years between these albums, said Sade. “That’s partly why I’m able to write songs that people in some way can hear. I express feelings, real feelings.”