Neo soul: Selah Sue

Not all music featured on this site I discover by myself, sometimes I get some help. Such was the case with Selah Sue, a Belgian Neo soul singer, suggested to me by a roommate at work.

Neo soul is a fusion genre of soul music blended with several other styles. This can clearly be heard on Selah Sue's 2011 eponymous debut album. Raggamuffin contains some reggae influences (luckily for me not too much... I'm not a big reggae fan), while Crazy Vibes features a more blues-oriented sound. On the other hand This World is a more traditional soul song with what I call the 'James Bond chord scheme' (start listening at 46 seconds in and you'll know what I mean).

It took her some time, but in 2015 Sue released her second album called Reason. This second album features more electronic influences compared to the first album as showcased by the slightly electropoppy Alone and Fear Nothing, which has a slowed down trip hop beat. My favourite song of the album however is the title track Reason. The arpeggiated synthesizer lines combined with the hip hop beat and Sue's unique sound make it a very hypnotising track.

Recently Selah announced that she's pregnant with her first child, so it will probably take some time for her to release new music.

Other favourites:    Fade Away, I Won't Go For More and 

                               Bang Bang (a collaboration with DJ Fresh & Diplo)

For more songs visit Selah Sue'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 What I like the most about this type of music is that it feels old and familiar, but never outdated.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.

Soul: Andreya Triana

Many of the artists I discuss on this blog are usually famous, maybe not worldwide but at least somewhere in the world. This however is not the case for British singer Andreya Triana with modest YouTube views (in the 100,000's). I first heard Andreya in a videogame called Sleeping Dogs, where she was featured on the radio station Ninja Tune with her single Lost Where I Belong. Whenever the song would play I'd stop doing whatever it was I was doing in the game and just listened. Her music is very soulful and relaxing to listen to and her tone is slightly comparable to Amy Winehouse albeit less raw-sounding. During her time at record label Ninja Tune she released several singles including A TownCalled Obsolete and The Keeper, a collaboration with label mate Bonobo. In 2014 she signed with Counter Records where she released her album Giants in 2015 featuring singles That's Alright With Me and Playing With Fire. This latest album's sound is a bit more poppy compared to her earlier work, but still very enjoyable and deserving of more recognition than she is getting now.

Check out more songs on the Ninja Tune and VEVO YouTube Channels.