Video: Heart & Soul - James Wolf

Heart & Soul feels a little too obvious in some ways... Nu disco / house painted a little by numbers perhaps, but there's no denying it's catchy as hell. Heart & Soul is produced by Tom Neville, whose credits include Kelis and Ellie Goulding - and you can feel his influence all over this track.

D/R/U/G/S was responsible for one of my favourite tracks of last year and here he provides a remix of Heart & Soul that pitches down the vocals to create something a little more moody and smokey:

Info // Bookings: james@autonomymusicgroup.com

Hearts & Soul is out on Monday through Herculean Records.

Album Review: Banshee - Kendra Morris

I recently covered Kendra Morris as part of my overview of artists I'm tipping for big things in 2014, 2014 Hype. Much like East India Youth, Morris is another artist getting things out early in the year, with her album Banshee set for release next Monday.

Banshee is a break-up record, these songs crafted in the period that followed Morris' break-up as, in her words,  “it’s just so much easier to put a feeling to a note”. The result is a record that takes in a little funk, a little soul and a little blues. There is a clear hip-hop influence here, both in terms of the slight cut-and-paste feel of production that permeates the album and in some of the subject matter - lead single Concrete Wave dealing with the risk / reward thrill of skateboarding, for example.

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Banshee - Kendra Morris

Morris' vocal delivery is difficult to argue with - the frequent use of overdubbing means it is a somewhat brassy execution, yet it suits the songs themselves well. On the whole this a set of bold and assertive pieces, tracks like Spitting Teeth holding no punches in portraying Morris as a lady who is prepared to get her hands dirty.

Which isn't to say Morris doesn't have a voice - the more soulful tracks where the instrumentation taks a half-step back allow her to open up. These turn out to be some of Banshee's most memorable moments - If You Didn't Go's resignated acceptance feels personal in a way some of the other tracks here can't. Similarly, Here switches between hurt Rhodes based gospel blues to emphatic and pleading big soul choruses. It is the best of both worlds, the space letting the verses breath before all that power is unleashed, and marks the album's standout moment.

Banshee is an intricately produced album - almost to the extent that the production gets in the way and feels a little too much. But there is no denying that Morris knows a tune, and all that production work certainly lends proceedings some energy - I wouldn't want to be Morris' next love, because if they step out of line Banshee just might kick their ass.

Banshee is out on 10 February through Naive Records. Available for order from Amazon.co.uk on CD, LP and MP3 [affilaite links].

2014 Hype: Realize You - Empress Of

It seems almost impossible to get any information about Empress Of, which is kind of ridiculous because despite her aloof approach to PR she is screaming for some cross-over success. With slinky indie sass meets snappy synth pop melodies it's hard to figure how you could not love every one of the handful of tracks Lorely Rodriguez has put out as Empress Of.

Rodriguez is Brooklyn based and appears to divide her singing between English and Spanish, with her Systems EP featuring two tracks in each language. That EP is good - Hat Trick being a particular highlight. But the track that has me most excited and caught my attention in the first place is the the single she released towards the end of last year, Realize You. There's a high-art angle to all of this - a sort of synesthesia that comes from Rodriguez's experiments with colour, as explained on Dazed Digital last year when they interviewed her.

Realize You is a beautifully slinky yet stumbling and obsessive record. Soft bubbling electronic melodies and those gorgeous slightly Germanic, slightly techno drums. It is Rodriguez's vocals that steal the show though, her obsession shining through, scary yet alluring: I want to be your boyfriend / and I want to be your girlfriend / and I want to take you there / and I want to watch you do it.

1 November. . .Iceland Airwaves, Reykjavic 2 November. . .Pitchfork Paris 3 November. . .Hit the City Festival, Eindhoven 5 November. . .Birthdays, London 14 November. . .El Plaza Condesa, Mexico City 16 November. .

Check out Hat Trick below:

SYSTEMS A 1 Hat Trick 2 No Means No B 1 Tristeza 2 Camisa Favorita PREORDER via DOUBLE DENIM (World ex. North America) http://doubledenimrecords.bigcartel.com/product/dd019-empress-of-systems-ep PREORDER via TERRIBLE (North America) http://terriblerecords.bigcartel.com/product/empress-of-systems-ep http://www.facebook.com/empressof https://twitter.com/empressoff

There is also quite a bit more on the Empress Of Soundcloud page and a rather surreal video for Champagne:

This is probably the last in my series of posts on artists I'm tipping for big things in 2014. You can read the rest here and check out my Spotify playlist containing some of the bands best songs (and some bands I haven't had time to cover) here.

Stream: The Brae - Yumi Zouma

Yumi Zouma are New Zealand trio Charlie, Kim and Josh and they are just about to drop their debut EP on 11 February through Cascine. Based on the three tracks they have released so far expect soft dream funk with plenty of romance and air kissing.

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Yumi Zouma, source: The Wild - http://thewildmagazine.com/blog/yumi-zouma-interview/

Check out the three tracks the band have put on Soundcloud. The Brae is the most heartbreaking of the three, full on dream pop with lovely vocal harmonies and a lovely but downtrodden chorus. A Long Walk Home For Parted Lovers is sensual, a soft patter and whispered vocals whilst Sålka Gets Her Hopes Up has a nice stop-start rhythm and a killer hook in the chorus. All three are pretty special.

Taken from Yumi Zouma's debut EP, out Feb 11th on Cascine. Preorder the limited 10" record: http://shop.cascine.us/product/yumi-zouma-ep Yumi Zouma on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YumiZouma Cascine on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cascine/102805366448153

Taken from Yumi Zouma's debut EP, out Feb 11th on Cascine. Preorder the limited 10" record: http://shop.cascine.us/product/yumi-zouma-ep Yumi Zouma on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YumiZouma Cascine on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cascine/102805366448153

Taken from Yumi Zouma's debut EP, out Feb 11th on Cascine. Preorder the 10" record: http://bit.ly/L61g1T Preorder the digital album: http://bit.ly/1hJUM3G Yumi Zouma on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1kVlRpg Cascine on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1eR1MsE

EP Review: If Loving U Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Wrong - Lockah

Fresh off of the back of releasing one of last year's best albums (Nonfiction by The Range), Donky Pitch kick start their 2014 with this storming EP from Lockah. The ironically titled If Loving U Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Wrong presents two original tracks as a prelude to Lockah's forthcoming album Yahoo or the Highway, and it follows up on last year's Only Built 4 Neon Nites EP.

Both the original tracks are presented in Lockah's usual style - a smear of pop across a grimey background of Miami bass. There are plenty of his usual rave-antics packed into this EP and it is suitably starry-eyed and uplifting.

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Lockah, credit: Dean Gray

The EP's title track is a flurry of pitched vocals, rave piano and old school drum patterns that come together to create something totally in love with the optimism of early 90s dance but still noticeably contemporary. Ayyo Tricknology is similarly positive but focuses on a little bit of a more up-to-date, bass orientated sound, with plenty of echo and bounce creating a chunky rhythmic track.

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If Loving U Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Wrong - Lockah

Both tracks come with a dub version. If Dubbing U Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Wrong loses the pitched vocal and instead focuses on tight drum patterns and scratching to create a track for the beat heads. Ayyo Bonus Beats is similarly rhythm obsessed, stripping out the synths to create a tightly wound drum track.

It is all further evidence that Nonfiction was no fluke - thankfully we only need to wait until April to hear their next full length offering.

If Loving U Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Wrong is out on 17 February through Donky Pitch. It will be available through Amazon.co.uk on MP3 [affiliate link]. Listen to the title track on Soundcloud below:

Listen to Lockah - If Loving U Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Wrong (12" Edit) by Lockah | Explore the largest community of artists, bands, podcasters and creators of music & audio.