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owt’ great for 08 ?

Posted February 1st, 2008
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so ..anything to cheer the cold bones of soul music fans heading into 2008 ?

there’s a new mag covering the scene – ’shook’ , outta the uk.. can it fill the shoes of talismatic but ceased trading titles such as ‘blues & soul’ and ’straight no chaser’ ?

the ‘raheem devaughan’ 2nd solo set ‘love behind the melody’ is on a mostly rnb tip…”but includes ‘marathon’ a mesmerising modern soul masterpiece!

…also out is ‘jaheim’ -’the makings of a man’…includes a cover of a classic womack cut that shouldnt really say much to folk raised on the original but may hook youngers..

indie soul wise…’satya project is a blend of soul and smooth jazz which vintage fans will be checking for..and ..

rogier – life & music .. promises an album as sassy as the sample single thats been floatin around for a while…

…..in march – ‘reel people’ release – ’seven ways to wonder’ on papa and do check the domu presents pete simpson set..which includes the stunning single…play this song..

and ..whisper it ! – the holy trinity of ‘neosoul’ Erykah Badu, D’Angelo and Maxwell may grace us with newness this yr ….but a bet blog late last yr , said….(edited below)

                                                                                            

its collectively speaking the case , that the neosoul movement has for the most part crashed into a dead-end. …before you send hate mail, this is not to say that Scott, Stone, Badu, et. al. aren’t still making great music. It’s just time to usher in new progressions in R&B, which is already underway thanks to the new vanguard of 21st century soul that includes Georgia Anne Muldrow, SA-RA Creative Partners, Erika Rose, Platinum Pied Pipers, J*Davey, Mark de-Clive Lowe and Tiombe Lockhart.

Truth be told, the “neosoul” term wasn’t coined by a musician (in fact, many of the artists associated with neosoul HATE the word), but by producer Kedar Massenburg, who introduced Badu to the world music a decade ago. What originally was a collective of talented, individual artists, offering a much needed alternative to mainstream R&B by instilling more live instrumentation and a knowing nod to the ’70s, became overcrowded with interchangeable artists, most of them clones of neosoul archetypes – D’Angelo, Erykah, Angie, Maxwell, India.Arie and Jill Scott.

Perhaps the last great hurray for the neosoul movement was Dave Chapelle’s movie, Block Party, which featured Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, the Roots, Bilal, and John Legend at the top of the game.

But for the ‘neosoul” brand to really die, certain clichés need to cease regarding the music. Listed below are but a few; let us know if any others need to be added.

1. Simulated record needle dropping on scratchy vinyl. C’mon people, we’re almost passed the age of CDs.
2. Cloying references to veteran R&B artists (Stevie, Marvin, Otis, Sam). If you’re an R&B artist, it’s almost a given that you love Stevie Wonder or Marvin Gaye. Just get on with writing a solid song.
3. Icky spoken word interludes. There’s nothing worse than suffering through bad poetry.
4. Songs about writing songs. The artiste portrayal is getting a little trite, especially when singers croon about writing a song rather than just delivering one.
5. Fender Rhodes and applejack hats. It worked for Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder and Billy Preston back in the day. But there has to be other looks and sounds out there.
6. Candles and incense stage props. The best way to look like a Erykah Badu clone is to kept clogging up the stage with this.
7. Music references in stage names (e.g. Musiq Soulchild, Hill St. Soul and Floetry). Let the music speak for itself. If you’re a soul (or spoken word) artist, your stage name doesn’t need “soul” or something that rhymes with “poetry” in it for us to get it.

such a great bet blog from 07 – wish i’d written it – even though i dont agree with all it says….the debate..like the music …should be stimulating shouldnt it ?

ps …anyone looking for ’soul love’ might wanna head to the Angie Stone – Valentine’s gig in London on Feb 13 at London ’s Shepherd Bush Empire venue….

~ Published in Story Board / new 2008.
~ Tagged with: new 2008