Good day to you and yours. I hope your sky is bright and sunny, and the winds are quiet enough to enjoy some New Music with me. It truly is a big week in releases, and I have twelve titles to recommend. Hopefully you can find something that clicks with you!
If you had “Beyoncé releases a Country Album” on your 2024 Bingo Card, congratulations. It comes out at the end of March. She released two teaser singles this week, and I’d like to draw your attention to 16 CARRIAGES. It’s a track that begins tenderly, giving Bey a chance to demonstrate her perfect vocal control, as it grows in intensity. It piques my interest for an Artist who is still showing all her tricks.
If you’re a regular reader of my words, you may know that I’m a big fan of Brooklyn MC Homeboy Sandman. His flow tickles my neuroreceptors, and I’m down for anything he releases. On the weekend he put out a new single. How is it? Real Good.
This next single blew my tiny little mind. Fatboi Sharif is an MC from New Jersey, and there are bars on Something About Shirley. Solid bars. But it is the production work of Roper Williams on this ten-minute track that verges on Avant Garde audio collage. At time’s unsettling, others exhilarating. Smoke a bowl and immerse yourself.
Portland, Oregon has long been a Sanctuary City for artistic misfits. It is, not coincidentally, the home of Electronic Producer and Vocalist abbymachines. Her latest EP, AB, is SynthPop and Dance, with Spanish and English vocals. Do you wanna ride with me is filling the dancefloor in My Imaginary Nightclub.
The dancefloor is full and it is getting sweaty for a DJ and Producer from Buenos Aires, Colombia. Carlos Quebrada performs as Genosidra. His latest album, Haxan Tek, is seven instrumental tracks of unique beats and turnarounds, keeping your ears flexing and your body moving.
Mohammad Syfkhan is a Kurdish/Syrian Singer and Bouzouki player who lives in Ireland. His new album, I Am Kurdish is uptempo and joyful, and designed for dancing and celebration. Masterful musicianship.
Nathalie Joachim is a Brooklyn-born Haitian-American and is also a flutist, composer and vocalist. On Ki moun ou ye her vibrant voice is joined by drums and electronics, along with strings to create a rich tapestry.
Irish Producer Jacknife Lee has a knack for choosing interesting Artists to work with. This week finds him at the helm of a new record from a female quartet from Mali called Les Amazones d’Afrique. The two entities combine the traditional vocals with Electronic beats on Musow Dance. Exhilarating.
A bizarro Country singer from Montreal got my attention back in November, and he’s already returned with a new collaboration. On Tandoori Knights, Bloodshot Bill is joined by fellow Underground legend King Khan. Classic Rock & Roll and Rockabilly with universal themes such as the love of bacon and soiling one’s pants. Does humor belong in Music? Only if it’s funny.
Detroit, Michigan is thriving, with multiple Music Scenes creating a vibrant Arts community. One band that is bubbling up and due their flowers is the three-piece Shadow Show. Their second album, Fantasy Now!, is a shiny self-produced collection of Garage Pop, bright harmonies and bubblegum hooks.
I’ve mentioned before that there is a genre of Music out of the UK that’s like to call “Lad Rock.” It features a frontman that talk-sings the woes of living in Post-Brexit England. It’s quite catchy if done well, but it’s a little One Note. One such band is Bristol’s IDLES, and on their new album TANGK, there is notable growth from the tired old tropes. Perhaps co-production from Nigel Godrich helped broaden the aural tapestry. Vocalist Joe Talbot has definitely grown nuance and depth to his delivery; less geezer, more singer. Solid.
Deep Search Collective is an assemblage of Artists in San Francisco, California. Among them is Poet and MC Jun Dax aka Quiet. She’s released her debut album, The Ten Doors Of February, and it is a gem of a release. Throughout the ten tracks Dax drops confident and thoughtful rhymes, with brilliant downtempo production from JusOneOh. Recommended if you like A Tribe Called Quest or Digable Planets. It hits the heart hard, and is my Feature Pick this week.
I should mention that I have been posting New Music as I find it throughout the week on BlueSky, and now that it’s open to all, you can find me at New Music Jason. Maybe I’ll see you there. Say hi!
New Music Jason’s Picks 