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“Drips To Sip… Refills”

15 July 2009 No Comment

By Dj Pelau (Swagger Lifestyle DJ)

djpelau@swaggerlifestyle.com

Ratings:

5Star (St. Regis) – King George V, Gran Patron Platinum or 1775 Sherry Massandra wine

4Star (Waldorf Astoria) – Blue label, Patron Silver, 1800 Silver or 1919 Angostura rum

3Star (Westin) – Green label, 1800 tequila Reposado or greatly mixed mojitos + caipirinhas

2Star (Best Western) – Black label, your typical Bacardi & Coke, Heineken or apple martini

1Star (Motel 6) – Red label, Jack Daniels or free water at the bar from tap!

Refills

WILLIE ISZ, Georgiavania (Lex)

Menu: dirty-south, left-field hip-hop, rock-soul, spoken-word, electro

Tastes like: a psychedelic onslaught of political, mind-altering, edgy, soulful hip-hop

Ingredients: Willie Isz is the collective of rapper/spoken-word ATL artist Khujo (who completed the Goodie Mob alongside Cee-Lo), and Brooklyn nu soul vocalist/producer Jneiro Jarel. The title track is a good understanding of the direction of this record. A bit silly-sounding, yet seriously saying something relevant, and that’s more from Khujo’s side of the fence, evidenced also on “Gawn Jet” and probably the LP’s strongest track, “In The Red” which is one of those types of deep, southern rap productions that defined The Dungeon Family’s sound responsible for shaping early the music of Outkast, Witchdoctor and Goodie Mob. As Jneiro Jarel collects dust on his edgy vocals, the speedy raps from others following his lead on “Loner9 D brighten up his loneliness, to then bring you to the arrival at the lovely, ‘purple rain’ atmospheric “Didn’t Mean To…” merging of rock and soul, Georgiavania-style of course.

Rating: 5Star 4Star 3Star 2Star 1Star

LEE FIELDS & THE EXPRESSIONS, My World (Truth & Soul/Stones Throw)

Menu: SOUL

Tastes like: rich 1960/1970’s ‘crooning’ from a man’s depth of painful yearning for TLC

Ingredients: Though a celebrity in France, thanks to his own talent and house music maestro Martin Solveig roping him in for a slew of Top 10 hit dance singles over there, this raspy, pain-scarred=2 0voice of Lee Fields unfortunately isn’t as household name as it is in his own backyard, America. Yes, even sadder is when you hear how incredible this record is. But I’m a try my best to bring his soul here, letting you know that others involved such as producers Jeff Silverman & Leon Michels, are just as responsible for this effort to resurge Lee back into this field, seemingly now evermore ripe and ready for the richness of organic soul. Without the help of tons of recent successful modern artists’ (Raphael Saadiq, Leela James, Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones et al) efforts, selling millions of LPs on this same premise of this vintage, yesteryear soul, who knows if we’d even know of Lee Fields. Take for instance “Honey Dove,” which Lee pours his sugar over for extra sweetness to his love, or “Money I$ King” where he seems to get down like James Brown, warning you about the pitfalls of what makes him so American – the perpetual life circulation around money baby! His crying shames though, are more about love than money, and the perfect soundscape is provided by The Expressions, just listen to “Expressions Theme” and make sure you have a Nice Sister (from another mother of course) by your side to look her straight in her eyes. With other tracks cushioning Lee’s vocals on “My World Is Empty Without You” and “Ladies,” it’s time to fall in love this summer, you’ve got everything to lose E2 like a true soulster.

Rating: 5Star 4Star 3Star 2Star 1Star

EKITI SON, Sacred Science (Office Ekiti)

Menu: trip-hop, hip-hop, experimental, downtempo, lounge

Tastes like: Massive Attack, DJ Shadow, Portishead, RZA and Cling

Ingredients: UK producer Ekiti Son (not the image you see for the LP cover art) is one bad watchyourmouth! He follows up his Nepotism EP with a brilliant full-length, featuring a host of guest vocalists, mostly female ones from the European experimental/underground circuit. On “Charmed” featuring Nina is Nimbus, “Ground Level” featuring Ellie Lawson, or Scarlet Monk singing over the groove of “Kisses”, the pounding trip-hop beats contrast beautifully with the pillow-soft vocals by these bar-hopping, edgy hipster singers. My favorite, and ultimate though, probably the most moody cut features singer Valeska and is called “Smile”. Starting off with a distant-sounding, haunting hum of keyboards as some faint dining atmosphere of glasses toasting could be heard in the background, Scarlet’s almost whispering, jazzy vocals commence, but it’s when that perfect beat hits your dome with an elevation in the keyboard chords raising the bar, you’ll have to label Ekiti Son as POTENTIALLY-correct.

Rating: 5Star 4Star 3Star 2Star 1Star

FEDERICO AUBELE, Amatoria (ESL Music)

Menu: sexy lounge, global reggae, dub, nu tango, nu bolero, acoustic ‘Latin’ soul

Tastes like: tunes you’d likely hear piped within the lobby of your 5-Star boutique hotel

Ingredients: Argentinean singer-songwriter/guitarist Federico Aubele moves his lips and music at such a cured, lush and sexy pace, his patient approach to LOVE will captivate your every emotion, whether you’re in denial or not. You might remember his classic debut LP, Gran Hotel Buenos Aires, followed by his next brilliant Panamericana. And now with his elegant, relaxed and sensual latest LP massaging your senses with tracks such “Luna y Sol,” “Otra Vez” and “Te quiero a ti,” you’ll have no trouble at all, seducing and courting the love of your dreams, bilingual or not…

Rating: 5Star 4Star 3Star 2Star 1Star

LEELA JAMES, Let’s Do It Again (Shanachie)

Menu: soul, old school funk, blues, pop

Tastes like: a veteran soul-singer covering some of the most classic soul smashes + pop hits

Ingredients: Leela James might have convinced us that she’s better off covering other artists’ songs, but with a voice like hers, rich and soulful and filled with pain and heartache, I’m not buying it. However, on her latest release, appropriately titled, she leads off with her version of James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” which moves at such a patient, finger-pointing pace, you just want to give her all the power she’s demanding. Her band is tight, she’s sometimes mad, sometimes sad, and definitely sometimes ready for love. Her cover-song choices are great as she reinterprets some classic material from everyone from The Rolling Stones, Womack & Womack and Curtis Mayfield, to Foreigner, George Clinton and Al Green…

Rating: 5Star 4Star 3Star 2Star 1Star

CRADLE ORCHESTRA, Velvet Ballads (Palette Sounds/Goon Trax)

Menu: hip-hop, classical, soul, score music

Tastes like: composer John Williams or LA Philharmonic hired emcees into their orchestra

Ingredients: Cradle Orchestra are Tomoki Seto, DJ Chika, Asuka Mochizuki, Michitaro and Aya Ishii, and they’ll get those goose bumps raised on every tune here on this LP, Velvet Ballads, which features some of the most respected lyricists in hip-hop such as Black Thought (of The Roots), Talib Kweli, OC, Rakaa (of Dilated Peoples), Aloe Blacc and others. On “All I Want In This World” featuring CL Smooth, the flute, violin and bass all make love, as the hand-gliding by CL Smooth is steered towards the cutest ending. This is a truly unique assembly of original-produced tracks orchestrated with a live band feel in a classical music format, where some all-too-familiar vocals by artists such as Asheru on “Cheers” ride patterns of beautiful harmonies and gorgeous melodies into the sunset…

Rating: 5Star 4Star 3Star 2Star 1Star

OREN LAVIE, The Opposite Side of the Sea (Quarter Past Wonderful)

Menu: chic folk, ballad-heavy pop, acoustic-pop, soft-rock

Tastes Like: string and guitar chords, less bass and little or no beat with dominating vocals

Ingredients: This is the perfect soundtrack, and perfect voice to rip you into a quieter relaxation state, away from the reality of being out in the mix of pumping electronic music at the hotel pools, nightclubs and beach festival craziness in Miami for WMC ‘09. Kind of like all the different potions and techniques used to get you sober the next morning after a night of insane drinking or not refusing drugs on that platter. Oren Lavie’s voice soothes, that’s for sure, and on songs such as “Her Morning Elegance,” “Ruby Rises,” the title track and my favorite, “A Dream Within a Dream,” you can have this geared up to lull you to a goodnight sleep, until the ‘opposite side of the solitude’ turns into yet another day of delightful chaos.

Rating: 5Star 4Star 3Star 2Star 1Star

VARIOUS ARTISTS, Let Freedom Sing (Time Life/Sony Music)

Menu: Negro spirituals, blues, gospel, soul, jazz, big band, folk, pop

Tastes like: the songs Rosa Parks maybe hummed in her defiant stance against racism…

Ingredients: This BOXSET, 3-CDs deep, takes you back all the way to 1939 as Billie Holiday sang “Strange Fruit,” to Nina Simone when she sang “Mississippi Goddam,” to Bob Dylan’s classic “Blowin’ In The Wind” and to the original recording of Otis Redding’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” all too significant for today. All the multiple foundational types of African-American and American folk music is spread over here, responsible for shaping so many genres and artists of today. If anything, this LP is even excellent enough to grab, just for the liner notes, rare pictures and historical meaning behind it. Everyone’s original works from such artists as The Impressions’ “People Get Ready,” to fast-forward to our generation with Bob Marley & The Wailers’ “Get Up, Stand Up” and Jungle Brothers’ “Black Is Black,” consider yourself rich in history for possessing this one…

Rating: 5Star 4Star 3Star 2Star 1Star

JUAKALI, Come From Yard (Foreign Familiar/Bagpak Music)

Menu: dubstep, electro-dub, space-reggae

Tastes like: what a fan of reggae AND electronica would eat up like mama’s cook food

Looks like: THIS

Ingredients: Juakali delivers his follow-up to his Breakground EP of 2008, and his style remains intact, with perfect diction moving at a reasonable pace for unfamiliar ears, yet inna a cultural, rootical and political stylee. This time though, the productions, by the likes of Dave Q, Kush Arora and Forensics, make no excuses in its sometimes harsh, electro-feel and nu funk edge, sharpening this LP for fans that prefer their drum n’ bass, or beats harder and beamed up from the ‘Battle Star Galactica’…

Rating: 5Star 4Star 3Star 2Star 1Star

VERSION XCURSION, Past And Present 2004 – 2008 (Version Xcursion)

Menu: dubstep, rockers, reggae, downtempo, lounge, trip-hop

Tastes Like: a stretched-out, dubbed-out newer brand of reggae with lounge-like symptoms

Ingredients: T-Dot’s Version Xcursion is the equivalent to Britain’s Massive Attack, but with a stronger bond and dedication to their Jamaican and Caribbean roots through reggae, and on this release, an assembly of remixes throughout 4 years, Katie Murphy on “Pushing Flowers (Dubmatix Remix)” is the most memorable, with Treson’s “Jen-ee-Rocka (Natewize)” remix, this time more energetic in its trip-hop beat, not far behind. Dubmatix puts the working on “Boom Boom” as Katie Murphy glides her vocals over this dark, haunting, dub-like track and on “Nightmares” featuring Andrea Lucarelli, you’ll be stepping into a world all too familiar to other artists such as Morcheeba, Esthero and Bjork.

Rating: 5Star 4Star 3Star 2Star 1Star