CosmoSoul Delivers Soul from Spain

Sunrise was the debut album of CosmoSoul with all the lyrics written and sung by Alana Sinkëy, whose sweet soul voice is sure to bring you a smile. In fact, when there are multiple layers of Alana's voice, such as in the song "Sunny Days," it is hard not to smile.

A truly international act, the five members of CosmoSoul come from three continents and five different continents.

The album was originally hosted on Jamendo and has since been reissued on Bandcamp. You can still get either version, and if you get it at Bandcamp, you can support band with a purchase.

Official Website | SoundCloud | Bandcamp | Facebook

MUSIC COPYRIGHTS: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
IMAGE: original and reissue album covers; photographs by Gianfranco Tripodo; art design 2011 edition by Javier Castro and 2012 edition by Belén Chavarri.
NATIONALITY: Euro W: Spain: Madrid
CLASSIFICATIONS: Soul; Funk; Fusion; Rhythm and Blues; Dance
LANGUAGE: English; Portuguese, Spanish
FILED UNDER: Digital: Popular Class: Rhythm And Blues: Contemporary

Voice and Keys by the American Dionne Bromfield

The brand new release this week, Love Letters And Broken Hearts, from Gumbo Soul Music features singer and keyboardist Dionne Bromfield. Her voice is lovely, controlled, and jazzy. Her songs are from the heart.

Bromfield on keys and voice is joined by Derrick Hines playing bass guitar and Robert Campbell on drums.

This Dionne Bromfield is an American performer.  It seems, however, that the images embedded in some of the mp3s may be British pop and soul singer-songwriter, Amy Winehouse goddaughter and collaborator, and TV celebrity of the same name, Dionne Julia Bromfield. Confusing. See Dionne's bio below.

Gumbo Soul Music writes:

Dionne Bromfield is fabled to have been born with microphone in-hand. She was raised engrossed in performing and worship artistry by her classically trained jazz pianist father and choir director mother. This eclectic artist grew up active in music, theater and dance but perhaps the greatest impressions were left when she was given a chance to “sit-in” with her family’s bands, vocal groups and orchestras. Dionne emerged on the professional Colorado music scene as a teen and, because of her sophisticated musical ear, attention to detail, and ability to effectively adapt her sound to most sounds and styles of music, was quickly dubbed a chameleon.

Not your average “Pop Girl”, Dionne earned her Bachelors of Arts degree in Music, studying musical techniques ranging from jazz and classical to soul, gospel and Negro spirituals. A former Fisk University Jubilee Singer ™ (Nashville, TN), Dionne renders a unique, youthful artistry infused with spoken word and many music genres including soul, classical, rock and Christian music. As a writer, she draws from her faith, experiences, observations and education. As a result, compositions and arrangements are an eclectic art form of their own. She calls her musical blend of storytelling “Life Music”. Currently, Dionne is materializing as an artist to watch. She also remains a highly sought after session and stage vocalist, songwriter and arranger. Dionne’s passionate delivery, personal testimonies, poetic styling and magnetic energy produce a distinct and refreshing experience for all “within reach”.


Music License: © All Rights Reserved
Artist Location: Atlanta

Blues Rock from Vintage Trouble

Yeah, chocolate and peanut butter are a classic combination, but that can't hold a candle to the soul, rhythm and blues, and rock classic combination brought by Vintage Trouble.

Their writeup reads, "a new kind of soul band had been born with unlimited creativity and force."

The band is strong enough to open for the Rolling Stones and The Who this summer. Acts like that are quite an endorsement. Maybe you have seen them on The Tonight Show, Conan, Jools Holland, and making the rounds.

The Vintage Trouble 4-song NoiseTrade Sampler features the lead single off their debut album, "Blues Hand Me Down"; a live track of their song "Love With Me"; an acoustic version of their song "Nancy Lee"; and a recording of their song "World's Gonna Have To Take A Turn Around".

Official Website | Facebook | YouTube

Music License: All Rights Reserved
Artist Location: Los Angeles, California, USA

The Lush Sounds of the '70s from Ill Mondo

The label Circle Into Square descibes Ill Mondo's De Novo album as "a psychedelic exploration of epic proportions" and goes on to say:

Recorded on classic, vintage equipment in authentic 70's style, Ill Mondo employed dozens of studio musicians and a variety of vocalists to complete the album. The recordings started with a Kraut-rock influenced studio jam session, and the sessions were edited down before extensive overdubbing; Mellotron flutes and strings blend with live horn and string sections, Latin percussion accents against the funky drums and a full choir section complements the space echo guitars.

Official Website | SoundCloud | myspace | Facebook | YouTube

Music License: © All Rights Reserved

Artist Location: San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA

Funk Diva Saidah Baba Talibah

Canadian chanteuse Saidah Baba Talibah is bringing the funk sound today, as powerfully as diva Betty Davis did in her day. Saidah's album (S)Cream is funky, sticky, rocking, and waiting for you.

Press release: Satisfying and soulful. Raw and raunchy. Inspiring, tantalizing and scandalous. Dripping with sensuality. Saidah Baba Talibah will take you on a trip, get you high, bring you to your knees and take you to that place called grace, all in one album. Known as an electrifying performer, Saidah Baba Talibah has a powerful voice, which goes from a seductive, soft purr to a powerful bellow at the turn of a dime.

Now Magazine (Canada's largest weekly): "There’s Rock n' Roll. And then there’s the Rock n' Soul of buzzy Toronto-bred vocalist Saidah Baba Talibah, daughter of Tony and Grammy Award-nominated icon Salome Bey, 'Canada's First Lady of Blues'. Strong bloodline notwithstanding, Saidah is a fierce artist that isn't afraid to combine rock/funk/soul in all of her performances!"

Official Website | Noisetrade | Bandcamp | Facebook | iTunes | Amazon

Music License: All Rights Reserved
Image: Saidah Baba Talibah for Kamoy Magazine
Artist Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Classic Rhythm and Blues from Quinn DeVeaux

Quinn DeVeaux and The Blue Beat Revue offer you their album Under Covers. It is a great collection of classic soul, early rock, and R&B favorites.

Official Website |  YouTube | Facebook | myspace | Store | CDbaby | iTunes

Music License: All Rights Reserved
Image: album cover
Artist Location: Oakland, California, USA

Positive Messages To Get You Through

"Imagine what you could do, if you just believed in you?" -- Dawn Pemberton

Message Positive is an uplifting 18-track mix on the Free Music Archive with songs of positivity and inspiration to act.

The compilation jumps nations and continents and visits the genres of hip hop, soul, rhythm and blues, funk, ambient, chill, reggae, dub, rock, folk, singer-songwriter, rockabilly, blues, electronica, pop, novelty, children, dance.

Message Positive features Axial, BJ Block and Dawn Pemberton, The Crevulators, Eaters, Great Lake Swimmers, Higgins, Ill Papa Giraffe, Jon Rauhouse and Neko Case, Kelley Stoltz, Neko Case, Nobody's Bizness, Propaganda Anonymous, Salakapakka Sound System, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Spinnaface, Spinningmerkaba, Uncle Neptune, and Underling.

Every moment is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, baby.

[Download Message Positive]  

UPDATE: Sorry. Download stopped working when mix featured on FMA, 
so here is a rebuild. Hope it works for you now.
 

Music License: see individual track for license
Image: "Happy Sun" by pinkpuffball

Field Trip to Atlanta

Y'all wanna roll wit me down to Hotlanta?  Pop in Life In Technicolor Vol. 1 by Spree Wilson and The Flush (Grammy nominated producers for Outkast, Janelle Monae, Little Dragon, RaeKwon, Phantogram, etc.) and you will find yourself immersed in Atlanta, Georgia, USA culture. This concept album recorded at renowned Stankonia Recording Studios is a fun slice of "blazin' hot hip hop and R&B" with crazy Atlanta radio segments leading you from song to song.

Life In Technicolor Vol. 1 liner notes explain that it is inspired by "vivid and feel-good memories of young love and carefree summers during the 'Golden Days' of Atlanta’s bass music scene.... Drawing inspiration from the sounds of legendary bass music pioneers from Kilo Ali, KP & Envy, So So Def Bass All-Stars to Raheem The Dream. This project, self-proclaimed as 'audio artwork' clearly embodies the true essence of fun times and summer love growing up in the city of Atlanta."

Spree Wilson writes, "The reason we started working on this is because we wanted to make a fun project that was influenced by being young in the summer and falling in love. A lot of these ideals stem from my childhood and spending my summers in Atlanta living with my grandmother. This EP owes as much to the city of Atlanta as it does to the people who impacted my life there musically during that time."

The Flush adds, "Crafting the musical soundtrack for the Life In Technicolor EP was nothing short of amazing. Embarking upon this musical journey with Spree Wilson taught us so much about our city (Atlanta), it's culture, and our role in continuing the musical legacy that inspired the creation of this project. We found a great team mate in Spree, and thankfully we were able to successfully articulate his music vision as the sole producers of the Life In Technicolor EP."

The Life In Technicolor EP will transport you to summer days in the South and make you crave soul food! A free fun vacation thanks to Spree Wilson, The Flush, and the whole cast of performers.

Spree Wilson Twitter - Tumbler - Facebook | The Flush Music

Download at AudioMack

Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Music License: assumed all rights reserved

Joshua Worden's Downtempo Soul

Joshua Worden is a downtempo soul singer, musician, and producer whose music flows smoothly across genres like soul, rhythm and blues, singer-songwriter pop, and even jazz. He creates a calm comfort with his music and an immediate friendly intimacy with his words. He is sharing his songs "The Line (featuring blctxt)" and "Salted Graces." Once you fall in love with those tracks, his entire releases A Pause in the Desert and The Withered Tree are available from Amazon, iTunes, and Bandcamp. Joshua performs with Will Montgomery at venues in the Southeast US, so get out there to see the magic. Official Site | Facebook | Support | YouTube "... displaying an electronic edge with R&B/soul flavor. It's as stirring as his past work, and is produced and executed equally as well - Worden doesn't do things halfway - but is far from more of the same. His efforts are worth your attention." --Florida Times Union "... flows remarkably well. It's stylish and mellow, supplementing its otherwise simple melodies with layers of electronic tunes and ambience." --EU Magazine "Joshua Worden delivers an air of road worn smoothness to an otherwise new sound." --Doughnut Magazine

Iyadede

Rwanda (via Belgium) transplant Iyadede will have you dancing with her sincere pop. Her website seems to be down now, but her 2011 demo, a 2012 tune, and a track with Afrik Yambre are available at Bandcamp.

Bridget Kelly

Despite her pretty face and beautiful voice, Bridget Kelly sings some straight up thug love songs about drinking, guns, and murder. There are some more traditional love songs in the mix, but the lady is a bad ass. She would have to be to hold her own on Jay-Z's Roc Nation label.

With Jay-Z as her boss, and label mates like J. Cole, Willow Smith and Jay Electronica, Bridget Kelly is in good company n the music industry, but it's no wonder that she feels a lot of pressure....

"There's a ton of pressure! My boss is married to the No. 1 chick in the game."

-- in November interview with The Boombox

Her debut album will launch this spring, until then, treat yourself to her free 8-song demo, Every Girl. [click "download", not "download all"]

license: traditional copyrights

Chrisette Michele

The beautiful voice of Def Jam artist and Grammy Award winner Chrisette Michele rolls like the sea. The girl is a lady, and she exudes class.

The Long Island native released a free concept album of songs purportedly inspired by the films of Audrey Hepburn.

Audrey Hepburn: An Audiovisual Presentation in the lead up to her Better LP, due out in 2013 on Def Jam. Michele invited 2Chainz, Rob Glasper, Kenneth Whalum, Nello Luchi, Dunson, Bilal, her brother Lem Payne, and Wale to join her on this smooth, gorgeous, lush album. The result is lovely.

Download and stream via DatPiff or DJBooth.

• "Pray Me Well" Feat. Rob Glasper
• "Charades" Feat. 2 Chainz
• "Favela Chic" Feat. Kenneth Whalum
• "Love In The Afternoon" Feat. Nello Luchi
• "Rich Hipster" Feat. Wale
• "Can The Cool Be Loved" Feat. Dunson and Bilal
• "Your Fair Lady" Feat. Guitar Slayer
• "My Heart" Feat. Lem Payne
• "Kudurista" Feat. Fogo and Lem Payne

Start the Year with Soul

Patrick Van Wagoner, an editor at Epitonic has compiled a playlist of some of their soul selections. All the tracks are freely available. Epitonic has turned on the Oddio crew to many new artists they seek out on trips to the music shops.

Van Wagoner writes, "I don't like to mope during hectic times. Music, yet again, is the perfect tool to combat frustration and stress. Epitonic, yet again, is my source. Of all the playlists I've made in my time here, I think one with a heavy soul influence is what I'm missing most. What better way to swing your mood than some uplifting R&B and soul. Great, modern soul isn't the easiest thing to come by, so fortunately Epitonic is housing these ten tracks so I can get through the rest of the week."

The Bo-Keys

A Soul Playlist
download all at once or individual tracks

The Heavy That Kind of Man (Apogee version)

Dance Floor Plans Already Mine

The Bo-Keys Got to Get Back (to My Baby)

JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound Everything Will Be Fine

Betty Davis Anti Love Song

Dance Floor Plans Keep Standing Up

Aloe Blacc I Need A Dollar

Luke Temple More Than Muscle

The Delta 72 Pleased and Honored Pt. 2

Aloe Blacc The Dark End of the Street (w/ the Grand Scheme) 

JC Brooks and The Uptown Sound

Epitonic also offers your ears several more tracks by JC Brooks and The Uptown Sound.

Working at Working

Workin' Mix

32 tracks from many genres related to employment, unemployment, retirement

 

genres: western, country, bluegrass, mountain music, downhome, rock, pop, experimental
licenses: Creative Commons licensing; click "i" button on songs in player for individual licenses

Join the Party at the Juanitos' Place!

Every album by the French group The Juanitos is a party. The newest release, Welcome in the House of F.U.N., lives up to the band's party standards. Welcome in the House of F.U.N. delivers a sonic soul party, a vacation in the tropics, and time travel back to the swingingest '60s hot spots! There are even tips of the hat to the Chambers Brothers and Jimi Hendrix. Enjoy!

license: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 France License

2010 Gold

After repeatedly playing FMA favorites in an attempt to list the top 10 tracks among those added to the archive this year, it was clear that there is just too much music worth celebrating at the FMA. The task soon morphed into praising the best five to ten selections for many genres in 12 mixes.
These are genre specific mixes showcasing recordings added to the Free Music Archive in 2010 that have been favorites at the Oddio Overplay headquarters this year.

Choice Cuts Added to the FMA in 2010: Oddio Overplay's picks across genres

2010 Gold: Beats
2010 Gold: Classical
2010 Gold: Gentle People, Folk
2010 Gold: Jazz
2010 Gold: Old Time, Historic
2010 Gold: People's Music, International
2010 Gold: Pop
2010 Gold: Rock
2010 Gold: Soul, Rhythm and Blues
2010 Gold: Space Age Pop Styles
2010 Gold: Spoken, Poetry, Field Recordings
2010 Gold: The Avant Garde, Far-Flung Genres

image: Women musicians in a detail of a fresco in Chehel Sotoun ("Forty Columns" in Persian) Palace, Esfahan, Iran, c. 1650

Weekend Sunshine

Here are five collections of free and legally shared tunes to bring sunshine to your weekend! There is something here for everyone and something for any occasion. Feast your ears!

FreeMusicArchive.org player:

• Click artist name for more from this artist.
• Click "i" or song title for license and song info.
• Click down arrow picture to download song.
• Click DOWNLOAD ALBUM to download all tracks at once in a zip.

MEU CORAÇÃO É BRASILEIRO

ABOUT: Brazilian flavors from old traditional folk songs to favela funk
TAGGED AS: funk carioca, favela funk, baile funk, pop, folk, brazil, afro-brazilian, brazilian

TOYLAND

ABOUT: Bouncy, boingy, squeaky, squirmy, twinkling, sparkling! Welcome to a wonderful world of toys, ear candy, and giggles brought to you by Thiaz Itch, El Zoologico, Gangpol & Mit, Cindy Sizer, Lawrence Power, The Bran Flakes, Christian Bjoerklund, René Vis, 8bit Betty, Valzi & Zinger, and Bubblyfish!
TAGGED AS: synth pop, novelty, pop, experimental pop, toyland, toys, chip music, children, childrens music

KAIRAKUDA: AFRICAN WATER

TAGGED AS: international, world, african, africa, north african

UPDATE 06/14/10: Just learned that Kairakuda has a second African mix that you might also enjoy.

MACEDONIA: THE HARMONIC EQUIVALENT OF RUN-ON SENTENCES...

ABOUT: "... made with a road trip mixtape aesthetic in mind, but it should work as well for office cubicle therapy. Be it hip-hop or minimal techno, be it quirky and upbeat click and glitch-laden electronics, from the smooth and introspective to the edgy and erratic"

JASON: INTERNATIONAL SOUNDS 2009

ABOUT: Argentina, Mali, Haiti, Eastern Europe, India, and performances on Transpacific Sound Paradise

Many more to come! Hopefully some by YOU.

Radio News

Busy Doing Nothing radio program has a new timeslot, and here are two more shows you won't want to miss!





Busy Doing Nothing
Host: Charlie Lewis, WFMU veteran DJ
Genre: freeform
Time: Thursdays 6-8PM EST (3-5PM PST)
Station: WVEW-LP 107.7 FM, Brattleboro, Vermont
Listen Live - Playlists and Download Archives

The Sugar Shack
Host: the stylin' DJ Jimmy Bee
Genre: classic soul
Time: Sundays 10AM-Noon EST (7-9AM PST)
Station: Vibe 105.3 FM, Boston, Mass.
Listen Live - MySpace

Surface Noise
Host: the glamourous DJ Lounge Laura
Genre: 1980s punk and new wave classics
Time: Wednesdays 11PM-1AM EST (8-10PM PST)
Station: WMNF 88.5 FM, Florida
Listen Live - Playlists and Archives - MySpace




.

The Sugar Shack

The Sugar Shack re-opens on Vibe 105.3FM

Boston on Sundays
10AM - 12 Noon EST

Sweet Symphonic Soul
1968 - 1982 (+ or -)

On the web at http://www.vibe1053.com

MUTE, Men of No Words

MUTE - Pavement Politics Vol.1 is a new arrival today at Jamendo. You can download it there or get the oggs below. (myspace profile)

cover art
MUTE - Pavement Politics - 01 - Hay Fever (Sleepless Night)
MUTE - Pavement Politics - 02 - A Blue Hill Sunrise
MUTE - Pavement Politics - 03 - Brothers (version 4)
MUTE - Pavement Politics - 04 - The Flats (Streets in the Sky)
MUTE - Pavement Politics - 05 - Death by the Sword
MUTE - Pavement Politics - 06 - The Thief
MUTE - Pavement Politics - 07 - They Got What They Want
MUTE - Pavement Politics - 08 - Telescope 8
MUTE - Pavement Politics - 09 - Is It Too Late for Us All
MUTE - Pavement Politics - 10 - A Bloodly Death Smell (edit.1)
MUTE - Pavement Politics - 11 - I Was in Hell (It Took Me)
MUTE - Pavement Politics - 12 - TSP Meets El Primo