[MP3] Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens – Sinner

Sunday morning soul music vibes from Daptone! From Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens‘ forthcoming album, Cold World, out July 29th, 2014 [click that link to pre-order it via iTunes]. BUY the “Sinner” single HERE.

[MP3 + Music Video] Harrison – Akira

Saw this kid, Harrison last night down at the Field Trip Discovery showcase at The Drake Underground. 18 years old and from right here in Toronto, his beats are sick! He had an amazingly beautiful and diverse crowd dancing non-stop to his edits and new, mostly instrumental tracks incorporating 80s R&B and boogie, electronic, nu-house & disco, funk and anything else that gets people moving. Kid is the truth, belee’dat! Amazing video (above) for his “Akira” track (from the When It’s Bright EP) too.

Follow Harrison online: twitter | facebook | soundcloud

[MP3] Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake – Love Never Felt So Good

When this track leaked last week, I said at the time, “I can’t decide if I think this is great or an absolute travesty!”

I liked the track because it seemed to hew closely to the spirit of Off The Wall which is the era of Michael Jackson solo stuff I probably like the most, but adding Justin Timberlake??! While I get it (kind of), I feel like he is not worthy to be on a track with Michael. Honestly, he’s not fit to shine Michael’s shiny black loafers IMHO. But then again, few are. The good news is that you apparently get to hear the original demo version without Timberlake on the forthcoming Xscape album if you’re a bit of a purist like me. The new version’s production is not bad though.

Speaking of which, been hearing good things about the Xscape album and how L.A. Reid really took pains to take all the left-over pieces of vocals & demo tracks they used to construct the songs for the album to create songs that sound like classic Michael Jackson instead of trying to shoehorn them into a 2014 sound or production template. Glad to hear that and looking forward to hearing how the whole thing sounds.

[MP3] Bob and Gene featuring The Inversions – I Can’t Stand These Lonely Nights

Soulful throwback-style, reggae music as only Daptone Records can do it from their House Of Soul Essentials series. More details follow:

Remember that Tropical delight of a B side, “These Lonely Nights”, from that dynamically dynamite Bob & Gene picture sleeve 45? Well, it’s BACK! This time with a little love from producer extraordinaire, part time Dap-King ringer, and full time Antibalas compatriot, Victor Axelrod (AKA Ticklah) – with a little help from his Kingston trio, The Inversions.

CLICK HERE for more info.

BUY Bob and Gene featuring The Inversions – “I Can’t Stand These Lonely Nights” HERE.

Dig that? Hit the jump for a couple more tracks from the House Of Soul Essentials series: one more track from Bob and Gene, “I Can Be Cool” and Eddie & Ernie‘s “Bullets Don’t Have Eyes.”

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[MP3] Sonzeira – Southern Freeez

This one is for all my London and UK soul boys & girls and those who respect & understand that culture! This remake from a forthcoming Gilles Peterson-produced project and was released for Record Store Day yesterday. Here’s more details:

Taken from Gilles Peterson’s new album project Sonzeira, “Southern Freeez”, featuring Emanuelle Araújo on vocals, is an electronic bossa re-work of Freeez’s famous UK jazz-funk hit, due for exclusive release on 7” for Record Store Day Saturday 19th April.

The album Sonzeira – Brasil Bam Bam Bam features all new material produced by Gilles Peterson and is the product of him being a fan and a champion of Brazilian music in the club and on the radio for last 25 years; culminating in him bringing together the country’s finest artists all on one record for the very first time – under the artist collective Sonzeira.