Influential Waves.

Frank Ocean was an obscurity back in March 2011 when I first heard him, although he'd been in Odd Future since 2010.  Since then he has exploded onto the RnB scene and injected it with life, soul, rhythm and emotion.  When it was published he made the Time 100 list, well you can imagine the excitement, but also there was not actually that much to be surprised about.  The buzz around Ocean is insatiable  he is being talked about everywhere and by everyone.  In the 2 years since I started listening to him he hasn't once played here on his own tour meaning that, as an Ocean-starved nation, the tickets to his Brixton Academy show sold out within about 20 milliseconds.  It is breathtaking what the force of the internet can do to someone.

Here are couple of my favourite tracks, from his Channel Orange album and surrounding areas:-

Strawberry Swing

Bad Religion

Lost

Super Rich Kids (ft Earl Sweatshirt)

Good News Girls Fridays: iv Travel the World

The sun is OUT finally!  That need for vitamin D and fresh air often means you'll find me starfishing the closest grassy patch I can find, or sitting cross legged on a bench watching people go by, pretending to read a book (next step is to cut eye holes in The Times for real spying fun).  These luxuries are pretty rare in rain sodden, rat race London, so I savour these moments when I'm travelling.  And so, to bring myself back to GNG Fridays, here is a small selection of lovely ladies who have cast their musical nets far (and close) from there home countries.

Sweden
Robyn - Cobra Style
Robyn featured in my last GNG as I think she is seriously underrated!  Here is a cover of the Teddybears' Cobra Style which is fun.

France
Coeur de Pirate - Comme Des Enfant
This song is absolutely adorable, I just don't have a clue what she's saying however I can now sing this song almost word for word.  I worry about what it means and what words are coming out of my mouth (apart from a few, deux semaine is stuck in my brain from GCSE French.  Two week holiday in Paris anyone?) but the piano accompaniment is extremely pretty.

Belgium
Selah Sue - Raggamuffin
Cee Lo Green ft Selah Sue - Please
I'm a big fan of this chick and I've introduced here to a couple of friends and she goes down a treat!  Selah Sue is rocking, awesome, and sounds Jamaican, what a dream.  I've included my two favourites, Raggamuffin and Please which features Cee Lo Green.  SS has done another version of Raggamuffin with J. Cole, but I tend to prefer the more acoustic and raw versions of songs.  The version I've linked to is the version I have from the original EP, but she has since done other acoustic covers that are worth YouTubing.  Being only 19 when she penned this track means that there are some incredible stuff yet to come from her.
The song she does with Cee Lo brought me to tears when I first hear it, the emotion in this song is overwhelmingly clear, especially as the song builds, its so beautiful.  Selah Sue's style of singing really translates well into this type of music.  I'm not one to easily admit favourite songs (its so hard with so much out there that's constantly changing), but this rarely moves from top lists.

Sweden
First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar
Who knew that Sweden had such an influencial music scene!  Great duets can be exceptionally stunning and these Swedish sisters are no exception.  Very cool as proven by how much their blogged about and how huge they're getting.  Xfm are big fans!

Malaysia
Yuna - Decorate
I've been side-tracked from my European/Scandinavian tour to South East Asia.  I've had a little 1:40 preview of this song which I adore, and have just found the full version which I've linked to.  Malaysia isn't exactly known for its influences in Western music, so I think this girl is pretty brave (and quite talented to back it up).
The link to the 1:40 version is below, its slightly different from the full length as it hasn't been produced as much - its interesting to see how a song grows and develops and this is a little glimpse of that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBmedWBexHI

Re-reading this post, it looks like today's blog post was brought to you by the letter S.  Alliteration is fun!

Good News Girls Fridays: iii Not As You Know Them

There are some big female names out there taking over the music scene.  They have big record labels and PR teams pushing names and their brands into every marketing crevice they can find.  What is awesome is when you hear the songs you know so well totally switched up and sounding like you've never heard them before.

Here are some of my favourite bigger voices in the industry, but not like you've heard them before

Rihanna - Stay (Branchez Bootleg Remix)
I have had this on repeat since a few weeks ago when I first heard it!  It adds curve and texture to a song that is quite a downer in the original version.  I see what they were going for when the song was produced slow and simple, but it makes it quite boring and in my opinion, doesn't work for radio play.  I would happily get ready for a night out listening to the Branchez Bootleg version as it gives the song a beat that it didn't have before, whereas I might have a breakdown with Rihanna's original.

Destiny's Child - Say My Name (Cyrill Hahn)
I've had this around my ears for a couple of months and have heard it in some great places.  The New Years' Eve party I went to at The Blacksmith and the Toffee Maker pumped out some massive tunes to celebrate 2013 and this was one of them.  At the time I was one of the only people in the room who got excited at the first few beats knowing exactly what was coming up, but that's changing now.  This song is getting bigger and bigger so watch out for it.

Marina and the Diamonds - I Am Not A Robot (Clock Opera Remix)
Just love it when the chorus drops!  Its upbeat, its cute and a its soundtrack for dancing around your house when everyones out.

Gramatik ft Lauryn Hill - So Much for the Doowop (The JaneDoze)
The JaneDoze tend to deliver and this song is no exception.  I like Gramatik's So Much For Love) and everything Lauryn Hill has ever done, and this remix provides me with a funky blend of both!

Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend (Feed Me Remix)
Take a well known song, a popular radio voice, give it a bit of an electro/filthy dirty dubstep spin and I'm happy.


Carly Rae Jepson - Call Me Maybe (Grant - Give Me Scabies)
You know this song inside out, along with the rest of the planet.  Predictions on this chick: One Hit Wonder.  This remix takes one of the best known songs of 2012 and transports you to your very own desert island.  The instrumental lets you completely zone out and leave you somewhere in-between fantasy and reality.  I can't get enough of this, insert it in your eardrums ASAP.


Florence and the Machine - Shake it Out (The Weeknd Remix)
Nicely creative and easy to listen to without losing too much of the original.  I can't hear this song without hearing this remix, its still beautiful despite losing count of how many times I've listened. 

Your Musical Interlude

Some music is presented so well, it doesn't need lyrics.  I'm a bit of a lyric ingester - I only have to hear a song a couple of times before I know the entire song.  This can be rather distracting when I'm trying to write an email to a client and absent-mindedly start quoting Blink 182 lyrics to them (not great when you're talking about a campaign and instead start mentioning how "the State looks down on sodomy").  Anyways, I digress...

Music helps people concentrate and relax (certainly me), but as suggested above, lyrics aren't always appropriate.  Here's a list of some musical numbers that I adore.

John Mayer - Video Games

I found  this cover last year, I'm not the biggest Lana Del Ray fan (the stone throwing can begin now, but I think she's a bit overrated), but the echoey feel to this song highlights how nice the melody actually is as it all blends together.

Daniel Lanois - Sonho Dourado

Wow.  This song bowls me over everytime.  I first heard it on the sountrack for Friday Night Lights the film version.  I would highly recommend watching this film, the emotion that overtakes when this song plays is spell-binding and leaves me sobbing like a baby for at least 5 minutes.  Sonho Dourado is a bit "God Bless America" in parts, but that's why I like it!

Explosions in the Sky - First Breathe After Coma

This is one you may already know, but its another song from Friday Night Lights.  That film showcases some fantastic songs, this is definitely one of them.

Rat on the Roof - Circus Clown

I first heard this guy playing guitar by Camden station, and pretty much instantly fell in love.  He's got some cool stuff and playing some nice gigs around the country and small venues, add him to your list.

Flofilz - Georgia

Welcome to your easy listening dream, sit back, relax and prepare for the least bumpy ride of your life.  This jazzy twist beat is great to get your head bopping.  

Good News Girls Friday: ii Doe Paoro

Thank you Earmilk for introducing me to Doe Paoro, you are one of my favourite music blogs.  Paoro is like an ultra cool Imogen Heap with a haunting edge that makes you say "Um... what?" and put every song on repeat.  I think I've listened to the album Slow To Love about a dozen times already this morning.

Clarity of emotion in the lyrics, tone of voice and beautiful instrumentals in each song make you reflect back to how music should be.  She's stripped back the elements of music to its basic origin no matter of its genre, and blends them all together to a new musical dimension.  Paoro's album feels like it holds the root of so many strands genres that sprang out from her, rather than the other way round.

I've a couple of favourites already on this album, and there are also some really notable tracks.  "I'll Go Blind" is quite bluesy, Lauryn Hill inspired in places, it also has elements of hip hop to it: all of Doe's music is quite hard to place as it crosses so many genres.  "Slow To Love" is incredibly delicate and easy to listen to and wouldn't go out of place in Baz Luhrman's soundtrack for Romeo and Juliet.  But I absolutely implore you to listen to the full album, I don't think you'll be hearing anything quite like it for a while, and there's a link to it on Paoro's soundcloud, perfect!  I can only dream of a long drive that I need to take which will let me get totally lost in this album.

I'd highly recommend checking out her interview with Earmilk, she's in interesting character having travelled the globe and studied Tibetan opera.


Also, she is insanely cool and beautiful.  That is all.

Good News Girls Friday: i Bjork

I've wanted to add a featured theme day to my music blog, eventually there will be one for cover tracks but for now, I'm starting "Good News Girls" Fridays.  GNG is all about showcasing the best female talent out there, be that artist, musician/vocalist or just an inspiring female.

My first GNG is quite an old school choice, but she's so talented and out the box  that Björk totally deserves first spot.  I love how she's super proud of her Iclandic origins and I think her support of Tanya Tagaq’s Inuit throat singing (which in itself is the most bizarre, intriguing thing I have ever come across) is absolutely fascinating.

I’ve included my 2 favourite songs.  I originally found Hyperballad through a band that covered it.  The lyrics are super haunting and beautiful, I don’t know if I would have loved or hated being in Björk’s mind when she wrote it.  Its freaks me out to just the right level, I think I would have gone for it.  My other choice was Big Time Sensuality.  One of her first singles that she released and put her name on the map, its kind of obscenely 90’s but timeless at the same time, I still want to jump and run around every time I hear this song.  It encapsulates femininity and fun so well and Björk is absolutely adorable in the video.

Björk – Hyperballad

Björk – Big TimeSensuality

P.S. If anyone has any recommendations of where I can link to that isn't Youtube/last.fm, I will gladly take these on board!

For Your Future Reference.

Already a huge fan of this T-Rex song, my favourite covers are the ones that turn a song completely on its head and makes you look at the lyrics in a brand new light you never thought you could.

Watch out for Azekel, a superstar R'n'B musician from East London with talent and drive, right at the start of his career.  Enjoy his sweet sounds...

Azekel - Get It On (T-Rex/ XXYYXX cover)