K-Pop: Mamamoo

The K-Pop business, like most pop scenes, moves quickly. Tens of new groups debut every year with some disappearing before even officially debuting. One of the groups that thankfully hasn't disappeared yet is Mamamoo.

The group, consisting of members Hwasa, Moonbyul, Solar and Wheein, debuted in 2014 with the song Mr. Ambiguous. The retro jazzy sound and ditto music video immediately set the group apart from other Korean girl groups performing at that time. The jazzy pop sound was even more pronounced in Pianoman which, as the name suggests, features a very cool piano line. After Ahh Oop!, a collaboration with fellow singer eSNa, the group started to get a more funky sound as can be heard in Um Oh Ay Yeh (who thought of these song titles? XD). By the start of 2016 Mamamoo had become a well known name in the K-Pop scene. This however doesn't mean that the group relaxed, quite the opposite actually. They released 10 songs with accompanying videos last year. Among these are ballads (My Hometown and Angel), a hip hop track (Taller Than You) and of course catchy pop songs (You're the Best and New York). All of these are great and fun songs to listen to. Their latest hit Décalcomanie has a visually stunning video clip but the song itself starts to sound dangerously generic. I hope that Mamamoo doesn't stray too far from the jazzy sound that hooked me in.

Other favourites: Don't Be Happy, Girl Crush and Woo Hoo

Check out more videos on Mamamoo's Official YouTube Channel. 

Soul: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

When I first discovered Sharon Jones and her band, the Dap-Kings, some years ago I thought I was listening to some old recordings. Their music sounded exactly like the type of soul you would expect to originate from the 1970's, but as it turned out it wasn't. The song I was listening to Give Me A Reason was actually recorded and released in 2010.

The music style of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings can be seen as a renewal and mixture of soul and funk music. Some songs like When I Come Home and People Don't Get What They Deserve lean more towards the funk side, featuring groovy bass lines. Giving Up and It Hurts To Be Alone on the other hand are more soulful tracks with moody brass parts. What I like the most about this type of music is that it feels old and familiar, but never outdated. I guess that's what we call 'timeless'.

Recently the group gained some main-stream interest when their song 100 Days, 100 Nights was featured on the Netflix show Luke Cage. Unfortunately in 2013 Sharon was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and after several years of chemotherapy she died last week, only aged 60. 

But in her own words: I'm Still Here.

Other favourites: This Land Is Your Land, Goldfinger and Little Boys With Shiny Toys.

For more videos check out this playlist on the Daptone Records YouTube Channel.

Trap: Yellow Claw

Trap music is a relative new genre that has gained popularity quickly. Although its roots can be traced back to 1990's southern hip hop it wasn't until the early 2010's that it started to get some mainstream attention. One of the most well known trap DJs of course is Diplo, part of Major Lazer and Jack Ü, and known for hits like Lean On and Believer. However there's a Dutch producer group which might be less known but is just as influential in the trap-scene: Yellow Claw.

Trap music is characterised by deep bass kicks and fast hi-hats usually combined with raw synthesizer melodies. The first songs of Yellow Claw I heard, Shotgun and Till It Hurts, both have this traditional sound. However as their popularity grew the group started to diversify their sound. In the song Wild Mustang (featuring Becky G) for instance, they show a much more poppy sound, while in In My Room they lean more towards hip hop.

In 2014 Yellow Claw created their own record label called 'Barong Family' and started signing young talented artists. Latest addition to the label is 17-year old Chinese composer Chace. Their collaborative song Stranger can perhaps better be classified as tropical house, but since it's currently one of my favourite songs I couldn't resist mentioning it.

Other favourites: Thunder, Techno and Invitation

For more videos check out Yellow Claw's Official YouTube Channel.

Indie pop: Skylar Grey

The first time I heard of Skylar Grey was in 2010 as a featured artist on the song Coming Home by Diddy-Dirty Money. A great hip hop song and probably still one of my favourites of 2010. 
It wasn't until two years later that I heard Skylar's first solo song C'mon Let Me Ride. It's a catchy song that makes fun of the sexualisation in the music industry. But although I like it very much it's not really representative for Grey's style. Take for instance Final Warning and White Suburban, which both come from the same album but have a more modest arrangement and are darker in tone.

A signature sound which Skylar often uses can be clearly heard in her collaboration with Travis Barker (Back From The Dead) and the more recent and beautiful Come Up For Air. Both of these songs prominently feature the drum part, only accompanied by some minor additional instruments. This is something that I, being a drummer myself, can really appreciate.

Last month she released her latest album called Natural Causes. The album features several great songs, like Kill For You (again a collaboration with Eminem) and Lemonade. My favourite song of the album at the moment however is Moving Mountains. It's a very plain song, just Skylar and her guitar. Normally I don't care much for this type of song, but this one's got me hooked.

Other favourites: Wear Me Out, Coming Home Pt. II and Cannonball

Check out Skylar Grey's Official YouTube channel for more videos.