“Astronaut” will be the title track on South London producer/performer Joel Compass’ upcoming due in September EP. Premiering last night on Mistajam’s 1X show last night, the brand new “Astronaut” does the R&B/garage revival thing very very well; complete with bits of melody and instrumental that are light years past many of the genre’s biggest current purveyors.
Joel Compass 
(soundcloud)
Rating 8.0
Nick Brewer and B3 seem to be on a bit of a vibe here. The jazzy tones of “So Good” and the UK rapper’s subtle easy-on-the-beat rhymes are not only refreshingly unique (especially for the Brit rap scene) but also manage an immense catchiness and a stick with you quality that maybe separates him from many of his jazz-hop sort of peers. We’ve had “So Good” on repeat all day and we’re pretty sure you’ll be doing the same after you press play.
Nick Brewer (Official)
Rating 8.0
Marco Polo remixes the Rub (New York DJs Ayers and Eleven) track “Feel You” featuring B3 favorite Misun from earlier this year. M.P.’s remix sports a decidedly a mid to late 90’s feel, particularly in how the diction on Lil’ Fame’s verse and the way the retooled beat break together sound absolutely beamed in from 1997 or 1998. Get a sample below.
Marco Polo 
(Wiki)
Rating: 8.3
Berlin-based Kyson announces debut LP The Water’s Way to be released on L.A. label Friends of Friends. The first preview from Water’s Way is the melodically spectacular R&B-tinged melancholy of “Missing Things”.
Kyson 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.45
The great Mazzy Star announced today that they will release their first LP in 17 years (since 1996’s Among My Swan) and it will be called Seasons of Your Day. Sample below the dreamy desert highway hush of excellent new Mazzy track (!!!!) “California”.
Mazzy Star 
(Official)
Rating 8.5
The tag [Prod. By FTSE] is quickly becoming a certain signifier of a must listen track. The UK producer’s hypnotic infinitely soulful nighttime hours style is a huge favorite around B3. Here, FTSE links up with oft-collaborator Kenzie May and rising London-based MC Thunderbird Gerard for the instantly-draws-you-in twilight blog rap of “Firewurx”.
Thunderbird Gerard (Official)
Rating: 8.3
“Recollection” is first single from Keep Shelly in Athens’ debut (!) LP At Home. Brought to us via the cool team at Cascine, the track (along with the rest of the LP) will see a September 17th release. “Maturing in sound” is often music blogger/journo talk for this sounds more like what I want this band to sound like and in that department, at least for us, “Recollection” does represent a maturation in sound for the Athenian duo. The track is more melodic, the arrangement of it is more concise (easier to get into on the first or second listen than a large amount of KSIA’s previous material). That said, “Recollection” is no less inventive or interesting than “classic” Keep Shelly in Athens, the amount of ideas and just flat out work that went into a composition as dense and varied as “Recollection” have to be immense. Blah blah blah, to conclude, we love it.
Keep Shelly in Athens 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.2
We’re usually pretty reticent to post “remixes” and “edits” of soul/r&b classics; like Marvin’s “I Want You” is one of best grooves ever period. So ostensibly we’re making a little leap here in giving Totescity, the Vegas DJ duo behind this new Theophilus London-featuring remix of “I Want You”, the Team B3/Estate of James Brown soul classic remix stamp of validation; but the remix truly is that fantastic. Hats off boys.
Totescity 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.5
Of course we love this. Mr. “Bread and Baloney”, Mr. “Real Big”, Mr. one of the best rap producers ever Mannie Fresh drops new track “Forever”. Naturally, it’s interesting to hear someone with as lengthy as a career/record as Mannie embrace changes and new trends in music (the Future-esque hook, the 2 Chainz flow) but all told we’re bumping “Forever” out our trunk REAL BIG.
Mannie Fresh 
( Twitter)
Rating 8.2
The velvet-voiced favorite of the site Jesse Boykins III drops off a new recording in the form of a cover of Coldplay’s “Sparks” from 2000. Yes, that is Coldplay and yes, it’s Jesse Boykins covering it. The Brooklyn-based Boykins does a right on very good job of the Chris Martin-penned tune; if Stevie Wonder was into Coldplay (he probably is) and sounded vocally like Jesse, his version would probably sound a bit like this (one of the highest compliments we can give). Parachutes swag.
Jesse Boykins III – SparksJesse Boykins III (Official) (Myspace) (Twitter)
Rating: 8.3
Australian DJ Kilter hooks up an ace “dancing in the summer of 2013” viber of remix for Ben Pearce’s soulful “What I Might Do” track from last year. We’re really loving this one; get yours below.
Kilter
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
We’ve been spinning “Drive (Part 1)” from 20 year old London based producer Ben Khan and processing what exactly to make of such a menacing and anomalous debut? What’s indisputable is Khan’s inclination to play by his own rules. Dark guitars, synth tones, vocal melodies and pulsing rhythms seem to maneuver effortlessly between the experimental pop worlds of projects like Massive Attack and TV On The Radio. We predict that Ben Khan will be one to keep an eye on, and we can’t wait to hear more. Sample why below.
Ben Khan (Tumblr)
Rating 8.3
