Síomha
Come to Say Goodbye
The Irish singer Siomha (= ‘peaceful/good’) has a voice that moves angels. From a family steeped in music, she grew up with the sounds of jazz, trad, folk and soul, leaving an indelible mark on her musical tastes and influences. She started playing the guitar when she was ten, but it was later in her teens while attending high school in southern France that she first took up the jazz guitar, learning from an Italian gipsy she’d met by chance. He taught her the manouche Gipsy jazz style. Soon, Síomha began to write her own songs.
Siomha Music
Gorillaz ft. Thundercat
Cracker Island
«The ‘Cracker Island’ video, co-directed by Gorillaz co-founder Jamie Hewlett and Nexus Studios’ Fx Goby, reunites the Gorillaz’ 2-D, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs in the Los Angeles County Hospital after all three members show up for unknown reasons; for 2-D, he’s haunted by visions of a cult – as suggested by the song’s lyrics – seemingly run by Thundercat, who pops in and out of reality throughout the visual.» Rolling Stone
Warner
Kokoroko
We Give Thanks
Seivwright. Yohan Kebede. Duane Atherley. Toby Adenaike. Onome Edgeworth. Ayo Salawu. Their sound is located between fusion and Afro-beat. Compared iwith the next review, you’ll notice an evolution towards the abstract. Sheila says. «It’s that feeling when you’re younger and you hear something and you feel some ownership over it. For me, Nigerian music and soul was played in the house a lot so I felt I had ownership over it so when I heard it elsewhere, there was a certain pride and energy filled with it.»
Brownswood Recording
Analog Africa
Afro-Beat Airways: West African Shock Waves – Ghana & Togo 1972-1978
Organ-driven Afro-beat; cosmic Afro-punk and raw new, psychedelic boogie… just some of the flavors found on this highly danceable compilation by Samy Ben Redjeb, founder of Analog Africa. No effort has been spared! To document these fifteen irresistible tracks and the music scene from the seventies, Samy crisscrossed the lengths of Ghana and Togo in search of the producers and artists – or their relatives. In the process, he recorded a dozen interviews, scanned 90 pictured and transferred 120 master tapes. Afro-Beat Airways showcases an amazing diversity of local rhythms spiced with Afro-American funk, soul, and jazz.” More here.
Analog Africa
Stella Donelly
Flood
Stella Donelly, an Australian indie singer-songwriter, is currently on tour in the US. Her debut album, Beware of the Dogs, was released in 2018. She first started singing with in high school, then studied jazz and contemporary music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Her widely acclaimed single ‘Boys Will Be Boys’, about a friend’s rape, was dubbed the Me-Too anthem of Australia. «Like the many Banded Stilts that spread across the cover of her newest album Flood, Stella Donnelly is wading into uncharted territory. Here, she finds herself discovering who she is as an artist among the flock, and how abundant one individual can be» (Bandcamp)
Secretly Canadian