soul

A Confessional Space (Sampha, Process review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

There is space for soul music in the electronic genre. So much space for it that the music goes to great lengths to amplify our own souls. And yes it’s a lot to process, but it’s worth it, I know this.

 

Sampha – Process
released February 3, 2017
********* 9/10

Sampha is a UK Singer/Songwriter who lives in the worlds of soul, r&b and electronic music. With moody and beautiful tracks and an overwhelming sense of passion to boot. When it comes to emotional jams, I never know if it’s a really a cliche at mention tropes super early on in a review, but electronic music often gets dumped in with outer space, and yet Sampha knows how to combine that sensitivity in with heartbreaking melodies, beautiful piano sequences, and explosive instrumentation.

There is a fire inside these tracks and I don’t think there is a way to put it out.

With that mentioned, there are also a great many quiet moments rooted in the fundamentals of soul and r&b throughout, and opener track Plastic 100 Degrees Celsius sets it all up nicely as far as slowburner tracks go. Investigating his mortality through an unidentified lump, Sampha lets us know right away this is not going to be the typical self-gratifying album.

This is a guy who has collaborated with some of today’s most forward thinking artists. From Frank Ocean, to Jessie Ware, to Drake to 40. Not to mention both Beyoncé and Solange, and yes he’s made his voice known with Kanye too. Working behind the scenes, this guy has been actually been working on Process for years, a lot of it coming together while his mother fought cancer, and as a consequence it is gut wrenching to listen to.

A tour de force of production, sonics, and lyrics, Sampha has proved yet again that living in the alternative will do for R&B, hip hop and soul music exactly what it did for rock in the 1990s. Make them epic. This really has been a decade of emotion, process, and processing – Sampha and his piano, are at the centre of it.

Take in the track, (No One Knows Me) Like the Piano. It perfectly demonstrates this notion.

This is an album full of standout tracks, it’s hard to look at the whole without looking at the parts, as each song could be viewed on it’s own and dissected for hours. I kind of wish I had spent more time with it before I released this review, if I’m being perfectly honest. Maybe it’s that family weaves so clearly through each of the tracks and dovetails the message of going home when you need to with What Shouldn’t I Be?.

Sampha is haunted by insecurities just like any of us, Blood on Me proves it, but there is also warmth in his longings, wishing for more time with his mother on Kora Sings.

I especially enjoyed Take Me Inside and Under, which are explosive in their instrumentation while maintaining the pace of everything else surrounding them on the album. How he is able to clearly define both his image and perception of him is something due to patience and humility, and it’s in those two tracks, among others, where we see why the current greats have worked with Sampha.

It is both a process of musical production and of grieving, and it works excellently. An opportunity to join him in his own private world of sound, even as he feels stripped away from that which he knows best.

theories Summarized

It’s a weighty powerful album and invariably one of my favourites this year.

Process is an exercise in contemplation, one that demands you sit with it, come back to it, leave it alone for a while, and then binge on it over and over again, all the while daydreaming inside your own head. It’s incredibly intricate, and it’s a process all it’s own. My theory of course.

Tim!

An Orchestrated Album Made Effortless (Valerie June, The Order of Time review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

 

We need to find more light. Because the light shines brightest when we focus on it over the dark.

That’s the challenge musicians, singers, and songwriters face every day. How do you serve a greater purpose and cut through the darkness of monotony? I think this week’s album review might have an answer.

 

 

 

Valerie June – The Order of Time
released March 10, 2017
********* 9/10

Valerie June is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She has a unique sound, which I realize is something of a cliche to say, but it’s true. June holds dear a mixture of blues, soul, and mountain music. But not just mountain music, there is a mixture of gospel, country, bluegrass and folk in there too.

This is the fourth outing for June and much like her third album, Pushin’ Against a Stone, June continues to explore the notion of quality music over innovation.

June works over each song slowly, building in nuance and an essential quality of care for her own vocals. It’s heavy in places, and airy in others, but never feels unnecessary or problematic. Starting off with soft opener Long Lonely Road, a saccharine exploration into salvation, June continues onward and upward, considering the very key elements of time, love, and music as we wander through her album. It an autobiographical track that is immediately intimate, but not a tell-all by any means.

Following this is probably one of my favourites of the album, Love You Once Made. Filled with organ sounds and shifting effortlessly between indifference and indignation, it describes the true feelings of a love lost. Luckily for us, this is only the beginning of the organ use – Shakedown is the opposite of what precedes it, upbeat and effervescent, it could have a place in any popular blues act of the day (read: The Black Keys). Next up is If And, another of my much liked tracks. In this one, June sways to the beat and rhythm while crooning away about the dangers of an unloved woman.

The whole album plays out this way, full of wisdom, and vocal intensity, June is doing what so many other acts out there seem to refuse right now, and that is to provide substance. Wonderment on Astral Plane, simmering heat on Man Done Wrong, and the consideration of intimacy on Front Door. These are just some of the themes explored throughout The Order of Time, but this album is most definitely something that will either grow on you or put you off, I can write that with confidence.

But what I’m most excited about in listening to this album is that Valerie June is black woman drawing from a wealth of musical history and managing to make something far cooler than anything I’ve heard in a quite some time, and she does it without concerning herself over political issues – the music delivers it best.

 

 

 

 

 

Valerie June continues to make music which separates itself from the mainstream while operating within it. This is a rare feat for any artist and worthy of our attention. But as I mentioned previously, it might not be for everyone, and that’s okay. I like that notion that light is cutting through the dark in due time.

Tim!

A State of Depression (Childish Gambino, “Awaken, My Love!” review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

When you care, you can come off a little creepy. Especially when you put a little stank on it.

This is why it’s important to inject some passion and some perspective into your music, it gives the audience a point of leverage and an opportunity to empathize with you.

Take this week’s album review for instance…

Childish Gambino – “Awaken, My Love!”
released December 2, 2016
******** 8/10

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Donald Glover is an American actor, writer, comedian, and musician. When making music he either goes by the stage name Childish Gambino (performing) or mcDJ (disc jockey). As a recording artist, he usually performs under the stage name Childish Gambino, and as a disc jockey, he performs under the name mcDJ.

His breakout role was with the Derrick Comedy group, followed quickly by writing for 30 Rock and with support from Tina Fey. He later got a role as Troy on the NBC sitcom Community and now stars in the FX series Atlanta which he created. And if that’s not enough cool for school, Glover has voiced the Ultimate version of Spider-man on an animated series and will be portraying a young Lando Calrissian in the standalone Han Solo movie.

Glovers first album Camp came out in 2011, followed by Because the Internet in 2013 and most recently “Awaken, My Love!”, which is why we’re here after all.

It was odd to pick up this album last week, know that it was released in hushed whispers, be very aware that Childish Gambino had disengaged with his previous model of work AND still feel like this was coming out of absolutely no where. I really wanted to hear more nerd hip hop because I had had a taste for it twice already, but that is not what this album is. Childish warned us he was a quiting the hip hop game, and he did.

It’s a love letter to the 1970s, with equal measures of soul, funk, R&B and psychedelic rock dispersed throughout. You can tell that Childish did his research and made sure to reference many of the greats of the era, while infusing his own emotion and experience into it. It’s incredibly engaging and makes me feel the feelings. You’ll probably connect best with Me and Your Mama right out of the gate, but the themes in Boogieman and Zombies remind me of that younger/sillier Donald Glover and taste pretty sweet.

In the wake of a Donald Trump presidency, not unlike Common did recently with Black America Again, this feels like an emotional outcry against prejudice, fear, hate, and anxieties of all stripes. Have Some Love Riot and Terrified practically lay it out there for you to scoop up and eat.

I think Baby Boy is my favourite though now that I think about it through and through. It’s rather sentimental and sweet, full of harmonies and soft sounds, and likely inspired by the birth of his son.

Childish Gambino might not have enjoyed putting this album together, it was a complete left turn for him when you consider it, but it’s very apparent that he is tapping into something different, possibly inspired by his new show Atlanta. The nerd rap was an important part of his identity when he was working on the show Community, working to find a voice and separate from the pack, but tapping into funk while he helms the ship makes sense. There are a lot more emotions to navigate and way less certainty of the destination.

 

 

 

If you haven’t already been convinced to pickup this incredibly soulful effort by Childish Gambino, I don’t know what you’ve been doing for the last 598 words, but this is it folks, this is creative experimentation that works and while it isn’t perfect, it’s far more ambitious than some of the other musicians I’ve reviewed this past year. For real. Could just be a theory though.

Tim!

Birds Of A Feather (Michael Kiwanuka, Love & Hate review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

I watched American Beauty this past week, and it made me cry dear readers. It wasn’t something I was expecting, but I suspect the movie just opened me up to the experience of addressing some hard feelings I had about love, loss and hate. If you’ve seen the movie, I think you’ll know what I’m talking about when I say it was during Lester Burnham’s final monologue.

That’s the challenge with feelings though, you don’t always get what you expect in life, but that doesn’t make them any less important to work through.

 

 

 

Michael Kiwanuka – Love & Hate
released July 15, 2016
********* 9/10

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Michael Kiwanuka is a British singer-songwriter that makes soul music with a folk backing. Influenced by many classic acts of the 1970s, including Jimi Hendrix, Bill Withers, Otis Redding, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Tommy Sims, Kiwanuka has now released two albums on the Communion Records label.

I think it’s safe to say that we can hear hints of those musicians in his sound, and  there are other artists which could fit the reference bill as well, like Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, but that doesn’t mean because Kiwanuka has skipped the innovation party that he is an imitator by any regard.

Rather he sings about his personal experience using soul music as his platform. Black Man In A White World is an excellent example of this and a great second track to include on the album right after Cold Little Heart. At almost ten minutes long, that first track is emotionally heavy and rightly so because of the self-analysis it runs through.

This record is full of little examples of heartache and unresolved pain. You know how it goes though, life has it’s moments of joy and newfound love, but when that relationship hits the end of it’s value  you’re left without closure and unfortunate leftovers of those emotions. Falling is the third track and it describes that sense of love lost and the hindsight bias of moments that should have been red flags.

As the album works towards the middle Place I Belong, title track Love & Hate, and One More Night each do their part to keep the tempo somber and compelling in it’s deep explorations of tolerance. The title track in particular brings more of that length to the game, running at just over seven minutes in runtime.

After all Kiwanuka is narrating a story of man looking to find his place in the world, one which is confusing at best and tragic at it’s worst. But the hidden strength is definitely in the production provided by Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton; where we can feel included in this raw questioning of things and appreciate his insecurities. After all, while the record is very heavy in it’s themes, the tone isn’t so dark as to leave us out of journey.

While I have a special place in my heart for Cold Little Heart, and Love & Hate, the stand out track is probably Father’s Child, another longer song which explores the spiritual side of life and looks for both meaning and guidance.

With all of that said, Love & Hate is a solid album and definitely worthy of an inclusion in your collection, but don’t take my word for it, check out some of these music videos first. 1 2

 

 

 

Michael Kiwanuka is exploring some great ideas and feelings on this record, and while the saying goes, you can only hate someone you once loved, it’s in the quiet moments of reflection that we realize that those strong emotions are what allow us to enjoy and appreciate life. It might be sad to let someone go, but our lives are all the better for it, Kiwanuka just asks we spend some time with it.

But that’s just a theory.

Tim!

 

Homecoming (Leon Bridges, Coming Home review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

To be brief, I personally believe the most awesome power of music is that it can address specific emotions. And particular kinds of music have the ability to draw up those feelings in ways that no other kinds of sound can. Soul music easily comes to mind in this regard.

As a white man, with a mixed ethnicity of european countries, I have little in the way of understanding the totality of soul music. As its origins are tied into the lives, successes, challenges and dreams of black people, especially from the United States.

But I can appreciate the quality of the music and the basic human emotions that those artists put forth. Fortunately this week’s review comes from an artist who can properly address the genre.

 

 

 

Leon Bridges – Coming Home
released June 23, 2015
******* 8/10

leonbridgescominghome

Todd Michael Bridges is better known by his stage name, Leon Bridges. He released his first studio album Coming Home under Columbia in the summer of 2015 after playing in local clubs in and around Fort Worth in the USA. A chance meeting with White Denim’s Austin Jenkins is what pulled things into focus though.

Bridges’ music is 1950’s and 60’s inspired soul, with elements of gospel, R&B and blues thrown in for good measure.

He is only 26 years young and has experienced a meteoric rise from washing dishes and playing at open mics, to releasing a couple of singles to Soundcloud, Spotify and other streaming sources in 2014/early 2015, to working his first album to be released in time for summer.

This was almost a year ago.

And this might also be obvious if you’ve heard the title track Coming Home, which was one of the singles from the album, but this record was put together with vintage equipment and using local musicians that White Denim collaborate with. If you need to reference the rich back catalogue of soul music to get a feel for his sound, Otis Redding and especially Sam Cooke come to mind. And Bridges purposefully dresses the part which means if you snuck a vinyl copy of this album in with some records from that era, it wouldn’t look out of place.

Yeah, yea, timotheories that is all well and good, but what does the album sound like? And is it any good?

Well, in a word, yeah.

If you enjoy a good combination of guitar, drums, piano, saxaphone, female back up vocals (and who doesn’t), along with smooth sounding lyrics set to ballads, and relaxed storytelling, then Coming Home will feel just like home.

I decided to buy this album on a whim. I was inspired by the cover art and I’m a sucker for a good crooner (read: yesterday’s post about marketing), which is the vibe I got, so if that’s an indication of the quality of the record, great, but for you non-believers, let’s continue on.

One of the perks of writing a review on an album that has been out for a little while is that I get to lend my spin to the review process without the urgency element and draw from the wealth of information already available. Drawing a parallel between myself and Bridges, I have choosen to become comfortable with a set of creative rules (some might say limitations, and they’d be wrong) so that I can best exemplify what it is I want to put out there in giving you useful feedback on music. Which is an important point to make about Bridges – comfortability.

Yes, Leon Bridges wears “vintage” clothes and echoes all the common pieces of the genre, but dammit if he isn’t authentically expressing his love of music and soul in particular. He is comfortable in and snuggles up close to the genre

Which is why I gave it an eight. This is an incredible piece of soul music, from a technical standpoint. I can’t fully commit though, because Bridges doesn’t either.

You see, dear readers, Bridges isn’t of the time period this music beckons from and he doesn’t have the same urgency and exhaustive energy behind the albums. At least that’s the impression I get. I suspect with time he will improve incredibly.

For now, I recommend the listen to the album we do have and you should definitely check out these tracks to get you started 1 2 3 4.

 

 

 

In short, yes Leon Bridges is a talented musician and yes he should keep singing soul music because he is damn good at it, but whether he has fully captured the essence of the emotional genre remains to be seen. My hope and belief is that he will improve with age, and so I’ll add this album to my collection.

But what do yo think? Is my theory on point? Comment! Subscribe! Share! I’ll see you tomorrow with something theatrical.

Tim!