Cut A Rug

Posted by modulatorsoul on November 29, 2013
Posted in: Funk, HipHop, Soul. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

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The long awaited return of Slakah The Beatchild is confirmed for January 6,2013 with his second instalment of Soul Movement.If you haven’t listened to the originally, drop whatever you are doing and go listen here. The song Enjoy Ya Self is still in my rotation even though the first album dropped in 2010. The super talented Toronto native creates these smooth rhythms with a blend of soul, funk, and hiphop. While volume 2 has been under wraps, Slakah released the video for the single Byram’s Groove(Cut a Rug), and it is a heater. You just want to get up and dance, the video doesn’t help, you find yourself trying to compete with those folks dancing. Check out the video below and cop the album here when it drops.

Black Book

Posted by modulatorsoul on November 26, 2013
Posted in: Soul. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

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The super talented British songstress Sasha Keable released her debut EP Black Book last month.  The nineteen year old singer has been slowly creating excitement with her smooth and silky vocals, the versatility of her vocals is evident with the diverse mix of different influences that are throughout the EP.  My favorite track is the Asking for More, at one point Sasha Keable covers Bobby Caldwell’s What You Won’t Do for Love, and she kills it. Can’t wait to hear more from Sasha Keable, download the EP for free here.

Family

Posted by modulatorsoul on November 24, 2013
Posted in: Soul. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

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Swedish born songstress Fatima is ready to drop her new EP Family/La Neta on the Eglo imprint. With the release of the title video Family, she is really creating hype for this release. The production on the new EP will be handled by Flako. While Fatima has showcased her versatility by working with many different producers around the world, I have found that her collaborations with Flako are some of her best. It is like her voice shines over his eclectic production. Check the new video and the b-side below. The EP drops on Dec 2nd, don’t sleep on it!

Elevated

Posted by modulatorsoul on November 23, 2013
Posted in: HipHop. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

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IAMNOBODI dropped his first length album Elevated in early October and I have been sitting on this album for almost two months. Every time I wanted to write a post I thought I should listen to this album just one more time. With each listen, I discovered something new that made me love this album even more. Elevated is probably in my top 10 albums of the year. IAMNOBODI effortlessly creates these deep and atmospheric beats that takes you to a new level of chill. Even with his banging drums and vocal cuts, this isn’t your typical hip-hop instrumental album, the talented IAMNOBODI creates these landscapes with elements  of jazz, house, and soul while staying true to his hip-hop roots. Definitely Cop IT!

Interpretations

Posted by modulatorsoul on November 17, 2013
Posted in: HipHop. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

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After the last few weeks of somewhat fall temperatures, winter is now upon us. The deep freeze, snow, and hibernation begins, but don’t worry S.F.T of New Zealand is ready to melt your winter woes away. S.F.T just dropped his new EP Interpretations and he brings the heat. The Auckland native flips and chops up some classic Rnb heaters over some futuristic hiphop beats.  While  most of the vocals are precisely cut up, you are still able to hear the original vocals come through, it fits perfectly with the laid back production. Smoothness is way to describe this EP, go cop it. Free download!

Reveriemixes

Posted by modulatorsoul on November 11, 2013
Posted in: HipHop. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

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ChoiceVaughan is a producer out of Auckland, New Zealand and has just dropped his new EP Reveriemixes. The new tracks pay homage to 80s and 90s rnb. He flips and chops up some classic tracks from such heavyweights as Babyface, Marvin Gaye to KCi & JoJo.  While giving these tracks an updated sound, ChoiceVaughan is careful to ensure the vocals stand out over the production. The production has this laid back feel that puts you in this chilled out mood, while I think it would be perfect for a late night, ChoiceVaughan describes the album as “a collection of remixes to assist in your afternoon daydreams.” Highly recommended, go Cop it!

Black Radio 2

Posted by modulatorsoul on October 30, 2013
Posted in: HipHop, Jazz, Soul. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

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Robert Glasper the multi talented jazz pianist released his second instalment of his Black Radio Series.  The album features some real hiphop and soul heavyweights which includes Jill Scott, Common, Dwele and a few more. Robert Glasper has this unbelievable vision for both jazz and music in general, he truly strays from the conventional and traditional form to really amalgamating different sounds and genres into his music. While he may lose some of the jazz purists, I think he really gains a wider audience and allows them to hear jazz in a very different way. If you haven’t check out the first instalment cop it before you listen to this one.

Grandma’s Hands

Posted by modulatorsoul on October 22, 2013
Posted in: Jazz, Soul. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

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ModulatorSoul is back and the music keeps coming. During my mini hiatus, UK’s Ayanna Witter-Johnson dropped the new single Grandma’s hands off her upcoming EP Black Panther. Grandma’s hands was originally done by Bill Withers, most people may not have heard the original but know the sample from Blackstreet’s No Diggity. The original had this bluesy soul sound but Ayanna flips it to have this darker jazz sound but stays true to the bluesy sound with the guitar and violin. The new sound fits perfectly over Ayanna’s stunning voice. Check out the new single, and keep your eyes open for Black Panther, it is set to drop Dec 4, 2013.

Fresh Green

Posted by modulatorsoul on October 7, 2013
Posted in: Jazz. Tagged: , , . 1 Comment

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Polish beatmaker Blazo is soon to drop his second instalment of his jazzy beat series Colors of Jazz.  Blazo is genius in creating these heavily layered mellow beats that lets you appreciate the subtleties of jazz while keeping true to the boom bap style. He released three teaser tracks to get you hyped up for the album, however there still isn’t a release date yet.  My favourite song is Fresh Green and man it is on heavy rotation. The combination of the piano and xylophone with the horns playing creates this super soothing sound. This song is perfect for a night’s drive. Check it out!

Blank Canvas

Posted by modulatorsoul on September 26, 2013
Posted in: HipHop. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

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Hip-hop originated from the streets and was governed by the code of the streets. For many years and still today, the code is still intact. One of the overarching rules from the code was respect the elders that laid the groundwork for hip-hop.  I feel that many new young emcees thought they were being overshadowed by these veteran emcees and that their message wasn’t being heard. Well as these veteran emcees have slowly left hip-hop or moved, there has been a void in conscious hip-hop and as a result it has hit a dry spell. Well the new generation of emcees have stepped to the plate and are leading by example. Little Simz wants to be heard and has been turning heads with her dope flow and tight delivery. Little Simz just released her new mixtape Blank Canvas and she keeps getting better and better. There hasn’t been a release from her that I didn’t love. Cop the new mixtape!