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Track Reviews

Statik Selektah – In the Wind (Feat. Joey Bada$$, Big K.R.I.T. & Chauncy Sherod)

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NYC-based radio-DJ/producer and Showoff Records founder Static Selektah chose an opportune 7/7 date to launch his new star-studded and seamlessly-executed Lucky 7 album; which includes an excellent talent-packed out-with-a-final-bang new single “In The Wind” that hit yesterday as a lead-in to Static’s midnight album-release party at NYC’s Santos Party House. Static’s new track “In The Wind” (which is Lucky 7’s fifth and final pre-release track after “Crystal Clear”, “All You Need”, “Top Tier” and “Beautiful Life”) excels for its wax-philosophical smoothly-stated rhymes and life-is-an-inspiration so lead by positive example equals power message. We also dig the track’s 90’s-esque lyrical styling, bass guitar accents from Brady Watt and distinctly-NYC quintessential-Static blend of hip-hop with soul and jazz instrumentals; including Static’s picturesque meld of beats and horns with heavy metallic percussion. We love the deeply-ponderous positively-charged rap-flow of Joey Bada$$, a sweet and demure chorus hook from Charlie Red’s Chauncy Sherod, and the creative “spittin’ bars” acapella-style ending from southern rapper Big K.R.I.T (who laments that Static won’t give him any beats). We’re into it and look forward to checking out the other songs on the album; although word on the street states that “In The Wind” is the standout track. Excellent song. Reviewed By Erin Shay.

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reviewed by
07-07-15

Premiere: X Ambassadors – Renegades (Miracle Remix)

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Ghanaian-born and based now in Australia is quickly rising producer and musician Miracle. Following up his Hypem Chart topping mix of James Bay, Miracle takes on another pop act in rapid ascent X Ambassadors with a dynamic new remix of alt radio staple “Renegades”. Stream the B3 Premiere of Miracle’s remix of X Ambassador’s “Renegades” below.

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reviewed by
07-07-15

Rave’s Fave: Ezra Furman – Lousy Connection

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Ezra Furman is one of those respected, uber talented artists who’s always floated just under the radar. Perhaps his new album Perpetual Motion People will be the vehicle to expand his reach. “Lousy Connection” touches on 50’s doo-wop and chord progressions. The hooky melody does exactly what it’s supposed to do. It will hook you. Ezra touches on the 50’s through the 90’s with his music. Hopefully this is the time we’ll all catch up to him. Most of his scheduled tour dates are in Europe as of now, with only a few US shows scheduled for August. Reviewed by Bruce Rave

Hear Bruce’s “Go Deep With Bruce Rave” weekly new music show on Indie1031/Los Angeles, KX 93.5-FM/Laguna Beach, and WSUM-FM/Madison. Details and archived shows can be found on his blog and be sure to follow Bruce on Twitter too!

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reviewed by
07-06-15

Persian Empire – Jugo

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Persian Empire is a new twenty-something German experimental-electro producer, a.k.a. Sam Khatam, who’s sophomore EP “Mongo Maracuja” released last October. B3 recently ran across the EP’s blissfully harmonic ambient-atmospheric single “Jugo” which is an exquisite instrumentally-blissful meld of soulful sultry beats, perfect vibe R&B-style vocal snippets and a terrifically-punchy piano-tickled melody that stands out as quite excellent. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Persian Empire (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-03-15

Marie Dahlstrom – Look The Other Way (Feat. Sophie Faith)

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We recently premiered Hans Island track “Let Me Be” the catchy and repetitive, stunning-vocaled gem which features the wonderfully emotive alto-vocals of London-based Dane and rising-star R&B songstress Marie Dahlstrøm; a 2013 Scandinavian Soul Award winner and one-half of the talented up-and-coming new duo , that includes Canadian producer Mawhs. On her most recent collaboration “Look the Other Way” which is the first track to release from the Scandinavian’s upcoming debut summer-solo EP, Dahlstrøm teams up with Baltimore-bred LA-based producer-songwriter D.K. the Punisher and talented UK singer Sophie Faith for a beat-centric 90’s-vibe R&B-soul melange which revels in an artistically impressive deeply-expressive melody that we love. Reviewed By Erin Shay.

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07-03-15

Oh Wonder – Landslide

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London-based down-tempo electro-pop songwriter duo Oh Wonder a.k.a. Anthony and Josephine, who we have featured numerous times on B3 via original track or remix, just hit the blogosphere with the July installment of their one-track-a-month-for-a-year series; which is intended to showcase their talents under a new name. We love the steadfast-cheery lyrics, subtle driving rhythm and whirring synth accents on the duo’s new July track “Landslide” which brilliantly showcases Oh Wonder’s amazing signature harmonic vocal touches that have come to define their sound over the course of the series. With 66,000+ hits on Soundcloud for “Landslide” in a matter of days Oh Wonder have indeed reached new heights in their popular appeal and gained enough momentum to launch their upcoming album in style. Look for the duo’s new album on September 4th or pre-order it now via the Oh Wonder website. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

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reviewed by
07-03-15

Charlotte Cardin – Big Boy

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Quebec-based 20-year-old model, songwriter and jazz vocalist Charlotte Cardin perfects a seductively sultry Amy Winehouse-esque R&B-fusion vibe on her phenomenally-vocaled new track “Big Boy” which energetically revels in slow modern-angle jazz instrumentals and a spectacular female led jazz-crooner sense of style. Look for Miss Cardin at Montreal’s Jazz festival this weekend (July 4-5th) and stay tuned for her debut EP slated for release this fall on trendy Montreal-based indie label Cult Nation. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Charlotte Cardin (Twitter)

reviewed by
07-03-15

Cleopold – Down in Flames

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Get into the attention-grabbing fabulously-expressive synth-lined atmospherics, funky bass-line groove and stunning silky-smooth pop-leaning R&B-infused vocals of LA-Based Australian singer-songwriter Cleopold (who is the newest signee to Chet Faker/Thrupence label Detail Co.) on his incredibly slick catchy-hooked subtle-beat-driven new track “Down In Flames” which is an excellent lead single to his upcoming debut self-titled EP. The new artist and ostensibly mega-talented and soon-to-be-radio-ubiquitous Cleopold is set to head back to Australia in August to support Miami Horror on tour and put the finishing touches on his EP at Chet Faker’s Melbourne studio. We love Cleopold’s beautifully-refined seductive sound and look forward to hearing for more from him real soon. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

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07-03-15

The Internet – Ego Death

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After teasing us with a couple of very excellent R&B-soul hybrid EP-introduction singles in about a month, LA-native male-female duo The Internet (who branched away from music collective Odd Future in 2011) just released their well-balanced soulfully-street dazzling-vocaled new “Ego Death” EP, which features a fine array of big producer names and choice vocal talents; such as, Canadian producer Kaytranada, songstress Janelle Monáe, rappers Vic Mensa and Tyler The Creator as well as singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy. The EP has an overall-solid steady stream of lush and emotional, vocally-stunning slick R&B tracks that beautifully showcase the duo’s many musical gifts and unique hybrid style (which we think also incorporates an eclectic touch of LA’s streets and hip-hop attitude). According to the duo, who are often known as a collective because they tour and perform live with four additional members, “Ego Death” (out via Columbia Records) is a “heady mix of confessions and come-ons” that is largely about “being vulnerable and honest…growing up as a band and individuals….acknowledging our egos and the egos around us, and learning from life’s challenges”. The best tracks on the album are hands-down the Vic Mensa-featured track “Go With It”, “Just Sayin-iTried”, the catchy-hooked “Special Affair” and (our very favorite) B3 recent-feature “Girl” the superb Kaytranada-produced second-single which we loved for its provocative on point-instrumentals, R&B-blessed sweet-rapture ending and golden-touch vocals of Syd tha Kid (who in her versatility and scope reminds us of the vocally-confident multi-talent style-setter songstress Gwen Stefani). Very very good. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

The Internet arizona (Twitter)

reviewed by
07-03-15

Zimmer – Coming of Age (Feat. Polina)

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Parisian producer Zimmer follows up his very good Emile Adams-featuring EP debut track “Escape” with a new beautifully euphoric incredibly well-vocaled deep-house second single “Heartbreak Reputation” from his soon-to-release four-track “Coming Of Age” EP that is available via Roche Musique on July 10th. We’re into “Heartbreak Reputation” for its vibrant crystal-clear slow-building synth line, summer dance vibe and breathtakingly expansive overty-feminine vocals from LA songstress Polina. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

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reviewed by
07-02-15

Leo Kalyan – Golden Age

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Check out the potent clap-heavy percussion, dreamy instrumental atmospherics and alluring guitar accoutrements on new track “Golden Age” by Leo Kalyan the London-based organic-beatmaker and singer-songwriter who we recently featured for his gorgeous-vocaled subtle-beat-tinged R&B track “Fingertips”. New one “Golden Age” is the second track to release from Kalyan’s “Silver Linings” EP which releases on July 24th. If you are in the area be sure to check out the smooth-vocaled Kalyan on July 29th at London’s Waiting Room for the first performance on his new tour. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Leo Kalyan (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-02-15

Jack Garratt – Weathered

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On the heels of his April-released “Synesthesiac” EP, immense multi-talent and B3-blog favorite artist Jack Garratt drops a new absorbing multi-dimensional pop-hooked cross-genre first single from his upcoming early-2016-release self-titled EP. Written, recorded and co-produced by Garratt “Weathered” is a fresh and slick radio-ready Zane Lowe-featured track which expertly shows off the UK artist’s diverse musical gifts and persuasive vocal talents. Garratt excels on the track as a singer, multi-instrumentalist musician-producer and especially grabs our attention with his skills as a sensitive catchy-introspective-vibe pop-leaning songwriter. We look forward to hearing more from Garratt over the course of the year and wouldn’t be surprised if he hits our year end lists in some fashion. Jack Garratt kicks off his European tour on October 30th starting with a show in Manchester. Check out his tour schedule below. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Fri 30-Oct Columns at Manchester Cathedral, Manchester
Mon 02-Nov Trinity, Bristol
Tue 03-Nov The Library, Birmingham
Wed 04-Nov Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
Tue 10-Nov Melkweg Old Hall, Amsterdam
Thu 12-Nov Les Inrocks at La Cigale, Paris
Fri 13-Nov Sonic Visions Festival, Luxembourg
Sat 14-Nov Botanique Orangerie, Brussels
Mon 16-Nov Luxor, Cologne
Tue 17-Nov Gretchen, Berlin
Wed 18-Nov Mojo Club, Hamburg

Jack Garratt (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-02-15