Loraine James – New Music Jason’s Picks

The New Music I’m Listening To Superciliously This Week – September 16 – 22, 2023:

It’s a wonderful day, and I hope that everyone is feeling happy and comfortable.

Another great week of New Music is upon us, and I have another nine titles for you to take into your bosom.

A single to start this week’s findings comes from Brazil. Ana Soares is a new Songwriter and vocalist that is gearing up for her debut full-length release. Sozinha Pra Casa has been released in advance, and I’m thrilled by the introduction. The track begins with tentative bass and atonal electronics. Soares begins singing and is accosted by snarling guitar and crashing drums. A simmering groove develops where the singer is able to draw you in. The trombone that accompanies is a delightful touch.

Ana Soares – Sozinha Pra Casa

Roughly a year ago I recommended Loraine James’ Building Something Beautiful For Me. I’m pleased to see this terrific Electronic Producer has returned. Gentle Confrontation is imaginative and thought-provoking.

A Downtempo Hip-Hop duo from Spain caught my ear this week. Chicoes3 is DJ Taktel and Cómodo, and Safary is a luscious fourteen tracks to nod your head to. The Soundscape is vast, with smart samples and traded rhymes that flow with ease.

Radian is a trio from Vienna who use guitar, bass, drums and electronics to create fascinating aural textures. Distorted Rooms is six tracks that verge on Ambient, were it not for the fragmented and disjointed samples cutting in and out, seemingly at will. Delicious Ear Candy.

A new EP arrived this week via the legendary Electronic and Dance-adjacent Label Ninja Tune. I recommended Little Dragon’s new album back in July and they’ve quickly followed-up with a new four-track collaboration with Washington DC duo April + VISTA. The two acts met when Little Dragon was touring the US and they ended up spending a week in-studio together. The end result is Slipping Into Color; a shimmering and warm vibe with beautiful voices connecting to tricky rhythms and sub-bass.

*Little Dragon & April + VISTA – Slipping Into Color*

Luzmila Carpio is a Singer/Songwriter and Producer from Bolivia. Spanning over fifty years, her career has made her one of the most prolific Indigenous singers of South America. Her newest album, Inti Watana – El Retorno del Sol beats with the heart of the Andes. Flutes, strings and drums punctuate Carpio’s voice, which plays with forward-thinking Production.

*Luzmila Carpio – Inti Watana-El Retorno del Sol*

Germany is the birthplace of SynthPunk, so I’m happy to recommend Berlin’s Das Kinn. Their new five-track EP Die Kanten incorporates the angular dexterity of Kraftwerk with the vocals of German Viagra Boys.

Mello Music Group is a Hip-Hop Label that has gathered a roster that looks like an legendary Old-Timer’s team. Artists including Kool Keith, Joell Ortiz and Pete Rock all record for Mello, and now Detroit MC PARADIME has joined the senior circuit. PERIOD. is the first album from the Artist, born Frederick Beauregard, in over twelve years. He doesn’t seem to have missed a step, and the years have given him perspective.

Last month, Aussie solo “Egg Punk” act Billiam released a three-song EP that I recommended. Turns out it was a teaser for a brand new full-length album. Corner Tactics contains eleven more new songs that highlight Billy Twyford’s frenetic style of lo-fi Pop-Punk. Distorted vocals and charming guitar, with a twisted sense of humour make this Artist a great big star in the world of my design, and my Feature Pick for the week.

May your weekend, and your life in general, be filled with joy. I’ll be back again soon.

Upcoming New Releases (And I Feel Fine) – Week Ending Friday September 22, 2023:

Howdy Doody, kids! Is everyone feeling comfy and cozy?

We have a pretty solid release week ahead of us, high in protein and low in saturated fats. Drake has gone back into the lab to complete his masterpiece so no new album from Aubry this week. If you’re looking for Mainstream Hip-Hop, look no further than Doja Cat. I’ll be checking her out.

Doja Cat – Demons

A wide array of Artists have projects coming out this week that I’m eager to listen to, most notably Kylie Minogue, Chai, Arkells, Jenny Owen Youngs, Mouse On Mars, and Loraine James.

Loraine James – Déjà Vu feat. RiTchie

I have a lucky seven titles on my BandCamp Wishlist. I’ll spotlight an underground Hip-Hop figure from 90’s Detroit. PARADIME is an MC with a storied past that includes writing for Kid Rock, and Eminem’s posse D-12, but he achieved no greater than Local Legend status. After hanging up the mic and starting a family, Paradime has returned, with the assistance of Producer Apollo Brown. His first album in twelve years, PERIOD. comes out Friday.

PARADIME – PERIOD.

I’ll get back to you on Friday with some tasty musical treats. Stay real.

The New Music I’m Listening To As A Distraction From The Heaviness Of Life This Week, October 1 – 7, 2022:

Good Monday, everyone. I’m back from a weekend spent in my hometown, with the intention of seeing my mother in Hospice care. Sadly, she passed away on Friday, before I was able to arrive, though I’m told it was very peaceful.

I’m not a very spiritual person, but while we were driving to get to my family, at the very moment that she died, there was a rainbow over our heads. It doesn’t mean anything, but it means something to me.

Music helps keep my mind in a positive frame, and, while I was driving here, there, and everywhere this weekend, I was still able to come up with nine titles to recommend, and to massage my soul.

I have a sneaky single to start my picks for the week. Sneaky, because Sault’s new 10 is a 10-minute track called Angel, divided into three movements. Touching vocal performance with emotional resonance.

Sault – 10

My Imaginary Nightclub has lately been lacking in fresh jams to get my imaginary patrons on their feet. Just in time, before it imaginarily goes out of business, it has been given fresh life. An unfamiliar DJ and Producer, possibly from the State of California, and who goes by Mon$rock, has released a new Beat Tape called Some Slight. It it 26-tracks of continuously-mixed songs, aimed to get your booty shaking or head nodding (if you’re too cool).

The Chillout Room also has some New Music. British Producer and Musician Loraine James has released a new album, titled Building Something Beautiful For Me. Downtempo, with shades of ambience, and always progressing. Yes.

*Loraine James – Something Beautiful For Me*

Band Name of the Week is awarded to Sheffield, UK duo Get The Fuck Outta Dodge. Their aggressive pairing of distorted bass guitar and speedy drums comfortably sits among their Punk compatriots. What sets Dodge’s 17-tracks-in-25-minute, Mammoth, apart is the ingenious way the two of them trade off vocals and harmonize. It strangely reminds me of the way Chuck D and Flavor Flav work together.

My BandCamp Wishlist came through again. Seattle Cellist Lori Goldston’s new album, High and Low, is evocative solo instrumental music performed on an Amplified Cello, with some songs featuring heavy distortion. Her musicianship is bold, with aggressive attack on the instrument to punctuate the droning effect. It is both exciting and meditative.

A three-piece from Brooklyn, NY, caught my attention for its audacious new album. Bi Ba Doom released graceful collision last week, and I love how the trio is using root elements of Jazz (saxophone, bass & drums) with electronics to create something improvisatory and unique.

An interesting blend of Electronic Music and Pop greets us next. A anonymous duo from New York who record as Macula Dog has released their second album, titled, Orange 2. It is eleven tracks that aspire to replicate the typical “verse-chorus-verse” format, but just miss, to astonishing effect.

The Bobby Lees are a band from New York State that released an ep that I featured back in June. They have just released their debut full-length, called, Bellevue. Smart and slinky Rock & Roll fronted by the captivating Sam Quartin. In addition to the four songs previously released, there are nine more tracks to get your pulse racing.

My Feature Pick for this past week comes from another band that I have featured in the past. Sorry are a duo from London that released an ep that I fell in love with last year. I’m so happy to have New Music from them, in the form of a full-length album. Anywhere But Here is couched in Pop, with a darker edge, and full of hooks. New Order meets Siouxsie Sioux meets the future.

I hope you enjoy what I have on offer, and that you are taking care of yourself. If you are, be sure to check in on your loved ones. I’ll be talking to you again soon.