Zhu’s Nightday is the first album to come out in 2014 that I’ve even liked. Most music I like these days are released as singles, which honestly work best for many artists, but it’s nice to get a hold of stuff like this when I can. Great albums are far more rare than great songs.
I’ve already featured Zhu’s Superfriends track off of Nightday and in it I hoped dearly he was a she (there was alotta mystery going around at the time). But now we’re pretty 100% he’s a man, especially while finding something interesting in our inbox.
While going through our email to find some info a PR guy sent out about Zhu — oh, and how do you people find my email? ******! — I found a gentleman named Steven Zhu hit me up about a few of his remixes almost three years back. Now most likely they’re not connected and I’m just becoming my own little gossip blog, but they do both claim to live in Los Angeles …Steven Zhu has taken down his YouTube & SoundCloud links and…
Never mind. Just found proof. Zhu’s first name is Steven. Hello, Steven :P
Deja vu.
… except Zhu does his own production.
Like Luminaire’s latest, it takes a few rounds of repetition to get a full sentence out of Pasta’s PB&J, but once you do you’ll be glad it did in such a way. It’s all about the build in these two, and all music really. Along with the drops of course.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/147272304" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
I found Blood Orange in a peculiar way, through people in person. I know it’s not peculiar to most, but it’s been mostly the internet for me these days. I did however dig into Blood Orange and found something fresh of my own.
It isn’t so much about that sweet soul voice, but that ‘Sutphin Boulevard’ melody and its variations repeated. Kinda reminds me of Frank Ocean’s ‘Lost,’ another obsession of mine, just a bit cooler. Orange might actually beat out Ocean, only in instrumentals of course.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/16300043" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
I’m not gonna make this a bigger deal than it is, we’re not here for the imagery, but Spook Black did a piss poor job on his visuals (mostly video). His voice, however, has something I’ve only heard from a few others in the last decade – the first I can remember from our very own The Weeknd back in 2010. Though The Weeknd went the elusive route in the beginning, something Spooky should have considered.
We did save him for our one-thousandth post, so hopefully that’ll show our appreciation for his potential.
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So I’ve got a running playlist of what I want to talk about next on here and these three tracks were coincidentally placed one after the other on it. All of which subtly use “baby” beautifully. They’re all good individually, but better as our baby trio.
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The vocals on ‘Givin It Up’ was what first caught my attention, especially the switch up half way through, but the video deserves much more praise. The lyrics like in any song are up to interpretation, but the video solidifies the story with a well-played twist.
Also, thanks goes to Lancelot for the crafty piano work. Another song to add to our playlist of 2014’s piano players (should be out soon).
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/125733502" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
Electronic is overtaking the industry and has done the same on this blog more & more each year. Our list of electronic music is so massive this year we split it in two.
First up is our best electro soul of 2013 that ranges from funk & jazz to R&B & dubstep (melodic dubstep). We weren’t sure if we wanted to include the remixes from our last list, 2013’s Top Remixes, but there is just as much soul in the remixes as any of the originals. Make sure to play through all 25, it’s got a good ebb and flow to it.
Also, stay tuned for our next list in electro: electronic dance music – and not that bullshit shit.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/91014703" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
I may only love about a minute of this song, but I’ve been playing it not stop for the last two days. The build on ‘My Love’ lasts about 30 seconds and is an anthem in its own right, but the breakdown like Panda’s “In Your Eyes” lacks in such inspiration. The deep house interludes are just too sedating for such an upbeat vibe brought on by Jess Glynne. I need a radio edit or something.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/112743632" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
I thought Shy Girls would’ve had girls in it, but his voice is lovely enough. Plus, I’ve had my fair share of females this year, as you’ll soon see (best of 2013 list).
For the remix, Saux gets on this, making ‘When I Say I Love U’ feel like a symbolic day dream you can only picture in the movies. Really brings out those MJ highs Shy Girls breathe out.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/120955350" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
Panda’s new delight is a big house beat that brings one of the best builds of the year. So good the drop couldn’t keep up. Unlike their ‘Eighty Nine‘ track, which was done so damn different. Both tracks are recommended with headphones, as per usual, but more especially.
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