Frank Ocean - "At Your Best (You Are Love) starRo Version"-mp3

Frank Ocean gets the good look from Soluection's starRo.

Frank Ocean -"At Your Best (You Are Love) starRo Version"-mp3

Sam Gellaitry -"Temple"-mp3

The 18-year-old producer from Stirling, Scotland, Sam Gellaitry makes his debut on Soulection with the soft head rush of "Temple" the first single from his Short Stories EP. "I aimed to pay homage to the energies and genres which have helped me get this far as well as incorporate as many ideas as I could into the one track," Gellaitry told The Fader.

Sam Gellaitry -"Temple"-mp3

Shlohmo - "Buried"-mp3

Shlohmo with perhaps his most aggressive move yet with "Buried", off his forthcoming Dark Red LP.

Shlohmo -"Buried"-mp3

Petite Noir -"Chess"-mp3

Cape Town, South Africa's Petite Noir a former metalhead who heard Kanye West’s 808s & Heartbreak, and now no longer runs with the head bangers ball. Petite Noir calls his new sound "noir-wave," bringing together modern, new wave and South African influences. There's a nice review of his The King of Anxiety EP at Pitchfork.

Petite Noir -"Chess"-mp3
Petite Noir ft. Yasiin Bey -"Til We Ghost""-mp3

Burial -"Temple Sleeper"-mp3

Burial with another stunner, "Temple Sleeper" white label single through UK label Keysound.

Burial -"Temple Sleeper"-mp3

The Weeknd – "Earned It"-video

The Weeknd's contribution "Earned It", on the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack.

starRo ft. Jarell Perry - "It's Over"-mp3

Soulection's starRo's from Yokohama, Japan follow-up's his fantstic first single "Particle Of Silent View" with Greg Grease with a new atmospheric delight with lo-fi vocals of Jerell Perry. starRo's Emotion EP arrives Feb. 10th

starRo ft. Jarell Perry -"It's Over"-mp3
starRo ft. Greg Grease -"Particle Of Silent View"-mp3

Metasota -"Sickstee"-mp3

Metasota with new bars, goin' hard on "Sickstee" produced by Killuh Beats. "All I'm trying to do is let my people know....they terrified,we're terrorized". Jewels.

Metasota -"Sickstee"-mp3

Chester Watson x Bobby Raps x Art Vandelay -"Spliffs"-mp3

Chester Watson gets together for a melodic little banger, "Spliffs" with Bobby Raps & Art Vandelay. City Pages has a review of show at Kitty Kat Club Rap Prodigy Chester Watson Turned Down to Stir Up His Audience.

Chester Watson x Bobby Raps x Art Vandelay -"Spliffs"-mp3

I Self Devine y Golpe Seko -"Un Día Nuevo"-mp3

Minneapolis'I Self Devine and Santiago de Cuba's Golpe Seko collaborate for US Cuba Artist Exchange. US Cuba Artist Exchange is a non-political, non-profit artist exchange organization. What does "non-political" mean to us? It means that we do not raise money for the purpose of changing US or Cuban policies. We provide a space for our artists to meet, create and produce. Like in this song, sometimes their collaborations discuss social, cultural or political themes and we do not censor our artists.

I Self Devine y Golpe Seko -"Un Día Nuevo-mp3

Frank Ocean -"At Your Best (Let Me Know)"-mp3

Frank Ocean takes on a cover of Aaliyah's “At Your Best (You Are Love)," which was originally recorded by the Isley Brothers. A nice tribute in honor of the late singer’s 36th birthday Jan.16th.

Frank Ocean -"At Your Best (Let Me Know)"-mp3

FKA twigs performs "Hide' / 'Pendulum' at Brit Awards

FKA twigs performing at Brit Awards Nominations Launch 2015.

Sound Verite Favorites 2014

Sound Verite's Favorites 2014, here's our favorite records. I also posted at Reviler's Best Local (Minnesota) Records. Here's our Village Voice ballot for Pazz & Jop Poll 2014.

FKA twigs-LP1
Sound Verite review of LP1
UK dancer, choreographer, producer, and artist Tahlia Barnett, who goes by FKA twigs, has made a wonderful, sprawling, arty, and challenging debut with LP1. Produced by FKA twigs as well as producers Arca, whose status was raised by his work with Kanye West and who worked with her first recordings EP1 & EP2. Also includes production by Sampha, Paul Epworth, Dev Hynes, Clams Casino and Emile Haynes. With her first two records EP1 & EP2, Barnett hinted at where she’d go. On her debut long player LP1, she goes the full rainbow of soulful electronics, sampled, looped, and textured in a very personal way. FKA Twigs works where Bjork and Aaliyah references all make sense as well as a shared sense of modern sensibilities with artist like Grimes, James Blake and xx.

Barnett quotes the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt when she sings, “I love another, and thus I hate myself” on the opener “Preface” like an erotic prayer, twirling, creeping and sinking in. She confesses of gaining a special trust that allows for a new space on the sultry on “Lights On”. She sings “when I trust you we can do it with the lights on’, I’ll tell you all my secrets and whisper to the days done”. FKA gets a nice assist from producer Paul Epworth on the stunning “Two Weeks”. The records centerpiece, the cinematic “Two Weeks” soars as Barnett proclaims “I’d put you first, just close your eyes and dream about it/higher than a motherfucker, dreaming of you as my lover”, her conviction and dedication is real. With heavy mental, slow flow she yearns on “Hours” with assists from Dev Hynes and Clams Casino with cries of “I can kiss you for hours”. More confessional as she awaits a lovers commitment on “Pendulum” she wonders “I’ve got time but you’re tired of waiting, you only want me in open spaces/ Come fill your gaps with people, I know no one/ So lonely trying to be yours, when you’re looking for so much more”. From her previous life “Video Girls” , where she recalls how “The camera loves you/Ain’t that enough?” yet …“she’s the girl from the video, you lying you lying”. Questioning insecurity, asking if she’s getting played on “Numbers”. Darkness prevails “why you gonna make me cry” invoking early Bjork with production by Sampha. “Closer” has hints of Cocteau Twins and “Give Up” goes in on 1990′s R&B dialing in Aaliyah. She closes with the slower tweaked out burner “Kicks”, where she expresses how to make herself feel good “I love my touch, know just what to do, so I tell myself it’s cool to get my kicks like you.”

Not afraid to show her vulnerability, with a debut that includes “Lights On”, “Two Weeks”, “Hours” ,“Pendulum” and “Numbers” that make LP1 a contender. Forget what you thought about her enchanting videos, her melodies, sexy futuristic R&B, brings to mind the haunting beauty of Massive Attack, with the sensuality of Bjork, for a new Post-Feminist. A modern, mechanical, jittery, hypnotic ode to getting closer, examining oneself, completely enthralled by contact with another person’s touch. Originally posted at Reviler.

Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes

TV On The The Radio -Seeds

Schoolboy Q -Oxymoron

Warpaint -Warpaint

Shabazz Palaces -Lese Majesty
Sound Verite review of Lese Majesty
Ishmael Butler, aka Palaceer Lazaro, along with his sonic partner Tendai Maraire, are Shabazz Palaces. Shabazz Palaces seems to be on a mission to politic, exploring music in a post hip-hop landscape surrounded by the mysteries of the universe. Following up his Sub Pop debut 2011′s masterful Black Up, with Lese Majesty he stays in his lane, that is, that unique space between science, political, cultural traditions, self identity and be-bop, birthed in hip-hop’s weird first alternative division. Keep in mind, Lese Majesty premiered at Seattle’s Pacific Science Center, which make perfect sense. From “throwing cocktails at the Führer,” on “Dawn in Luxor” to considering conspiracy theories and celebratory shouts out to various black revolutionaries both musical and political.

Lese Majesty opens with a trio of the strongest tracks: “Dawn In Luxor”, “Forerunner Foray” and “They Come In Gold”. “Forerunner Foray” is soaked in sub bass and glittering drums, with dark ghostly vocals: “We respect Muhammad, peace upon him, connected with pirates …every time I rock it’s a tongue kiss”. “#CAKE” features Catherine Harris-White of THEEsatisfaction. Lines like “Party like a diplomat….life a bitch, but she’ll get you back” on “Motion Sickness” at first feel simple but their double meanings give them a more complex definition.

There’s no climatic moment as the record ends, it’s simply over. This is conceptual, groovy, thoughtful black art. No hooks, chorus or gimmicky catch phrases. This feels similar to Butler’s first group 20 years ago, Digable Planets, who fused hip-hop’s cool with jazz understated swing, opening new territory. In the spirit of Sun-Ra, Charles Mingus and KRS ONE, Shabazz Palaces keeps looking into where else hip-hop should go, without losing tradition, adding on to the culture great sonic explorers with respect to Fab Five Freddy, De La Soul and Divine Styler. Black New Wave, not quite, this is science. 82/100. Originally posted at Reviler.

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Pinata

Flying Lotus -You're Dead

Muja Messiah – God Kissed It The Devil Missed
The year’s best out-and-out rapping came courtesy of Muja Messiah, whose God Kissed It, the Devil Missed It is a master class in making indignation sound cool. Produced by Mike the Martyr, God Kissed It posits evil politicians (that covers most of them) and the occult as foreground props but at its core, it’s just about trying to cover rent. (On "Fire Mountain", Muja brags about stunting outside of courthouses, but admits "I ain’t afraid to die/ I just don’t wanna die broke.") God Kissed It also sports a guest verse from Muja’s son, Nazeem, a teenager with an anachronistic third eye. via Pitchfork

Black Fire! New Spirits: Radical And Revolutionary Jazz In The U.S.A 1957-82

Sharon Van Etten -Are We There

D'Angelo -Black Messiah

Sound Verite's -New Space: Moon Rock Vol.1-downlaod

K. Raydio & O.D.- One Drop
Sound Verite review of One Drop
Minneapolis new school soul vocalist K. Raydio and producer/crate digger O. D. collaborate on One Drop, a follow-up to K Raydio's excellent left-field debut Lucid Dreaming Skylines (a collaboration with producer Psymun [TheStand4rd/Spooky Black]). Initially, K. Raydio had a strong reference to Neo-Soul giants Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. Not a bad way to start, but on One Drop, K. Raydio finds her own lane. She is a thoughtful soul stylist who pays respect to the masters without mimicking their sound.

One Drop finds K . Raydio and O.D. exploring various avenues of modern soul. Lyrically K. Raydio is much more complicated than Lucid Dreaming Skylines, with personal narratives of her background and life weaved throughout. Addressing those called “others” on intro “Initial”, before opening with the cautionary tale on the stunning, heavy “One Drop”. This song is a gorgeous look into the life of a black girl growing up and dealing with racial complexities where society has its own views of those with “One Drop”. The heavier, southern funk of “Underdog” could be on par with legends Denise Lasalle or Chaka Khan. Taking on that J Dilla thump is “The Black Wall”, followed by another stunner with the mid-tempo, organic instrumental “Float (Another Round)”. They make a funky retro reference on the high energy tease of “First Name”. Slowing down with the elegant “goodmorninglove” , a Sunday morning soul serenade. “Miss Turner” scores with its bad mama attitude alone. On the super groovy Neo-Soul jewel “Gossip”, K. Raydio warns “It's that elementary game and I swear I stopped playing years ago, see what others think of me, I didn't care to know” over a feel good thump, thump rattle that spins into a dizzy array. With a left turn mid-song, O.D. makes like Madlib as he breaks it down and keeps your head nodding with a stutter-step, broken beat. Another strong moment is “Endure”, before closing with instrumental “Rearview”.

Producer/artist/engineer Medium Zach (Big Quarters/Mankwe/Greg Grease) allows each song to breathe and add its own colors. The production itself is full of sonic intricacies that have a richness and exploratory quality. K. Raydio songwriting has matured and become stronger and more confident. The soulful, heavy funk of O. D. shows that Minneapolis has a talented and growing diverse producers' field.

Sarah White + Yellowtail -"Dark Soul"-mp3

First Greg Grease and starRO connect, now another pairing of Minneapolsi and Japan in the same week with Minneapolis vocalist Sarah White and Tokyo producer Yellowtail collaboration for a future soul, breakbeat jump with the new single ""Dark Soul" on U.K. label Kudos Records. The release includes an alternate edit by Yellowtail, as well as remixes by Tel Aviv-based artist NDV (aka Polar Pair), who takes the original into deep bass territory and by NYC's Arch_typ, who flips the track into a deep head noddin' reggae number.

Sarah White + Yellowtail -"Dark Soul"-mp3

Freez & Mike Frey ft. Greg Grease & Metasota -"Roll Another"-mp3

Minneapolis Freez and producer Mike Frey offer a fresh start to the day with "Roll Another" off of the long-awaited Freez's Frozen French Freys. Freez ten track collection of clever word play and easy, melodic production, offers the first, in an already crowded field of promising hip-hop contenders of early 2015. Soul Tools throw a big party Saturday at Icehouse with DJ Willie Shu & hosted by Toki Wright.

Freez
Greg Grease
Sophia Eris
Vison The Kid
Icehouse
Sat. Jan. 17th

Freez & Mike Frey ft. Greg Grease & Metasota -"Roll Another"-mp3

Flying Lotus -"Coronus, The Terminator"-video

Flying Lotus visuals for "Coronus, The Terminator", off Your'Dead.

Flying Lotus -"Coronus, The Terminator"-mp3
Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar -"Never Catch Me (Alternative Edit)"-mp3

starRo ft. Greg Grease -"Particle Of Silent View"-mp3

Los Angeles-via-Tokyo producer starRo collabo with Minneapolis
with Greg Grease. It's the first track from staRo's new Emotion EP, available Feb. 10th.

Of the track starRo says “[“Particle of Silent View”] is the first track I made for this EP. I always saw it as the opening track. I wanted to make this EP like a European art house film starting silently from the scene of a snowy field with nothing else in sight. That’s how I came up with the title too. It was meant to be the instrumental track, but I kept hearing Greg’s deep voice and poetic lyrics intertwined in the beat so I hit him up and he got back with amazing work that made this track even more cinematic. This track has a lot of elements that influence the EP as a whole including my love for post-rock, ambient, hip hop and jazz.

And for Greg Grease "I was inspired from starRo’s track to write something that could have a multiple meaning, depending on who you are. “Everybody wants heaven, but nobody wanna die” could be seen as a commentary on modern day death culture, our expectations in life and willingness to work for reward."

starRo ft. Greg Grease -Particle Of Silent View-mp3

Sango x SPZRKT –“JMK”-mp3

Sango and SPZRKT connect for "JMK".

Sango x SPZRKT -“JMK”-mp3

Crescent Moon & Andrew Broder -"Ritual"-mp3

Arty rappppers Crescent Moon (Kill The Vultures) and avant producer/musician Andrew Broder (The Fog/The Cloak Ox) release "Ritual".

Crescent Moon & Andrew Broder -"Ritual"-mp3

Shabazz Palaces - "Forerunner Foray" -video

Shabazz Palaces animated clip featuring the drawings from Chad VanGaalen for "Forerunner Foray" off the excellent Lese Majesty.

Shabazz Palaces -"Forerunner Foray"-mp3

WAREY -"Way Much (live)'-video

WAREY a new project from Polica front woman Channing Leaneagh. Here's a look at Leaneagh + The Grave Trio performing "Way Much" live at Icehouse, Minneapolis, December 17th, 2014. WAREY will be playing First Avenue's Best New Bands Sat. Jan. 17th. Photo by Jason Larkin.

Ghostface Killah ft. DOOM-"Ray Gun"-mp3

Wu-Tang's Ghostface Killah has been mad busy, hot on the heels of his December release of both hsi solo record 36 Seasons and the Wu reunion effort Better Tomorrow. Staying in his "soulful chamber" Ghostface Killah recruits DOOM and teams with Toronto's BADBADNOTGOOD on the upcoming Sour Soul, available Tuesday, February 24th. No word yet on the long-anticipated DOOMSTARKS project.

Ghostface Killah ft. DOOM -"Ray Gun"-mp3

THEESatisfaction -"Recognition"-video

THEESatisfaction return with the first look from their EarthEE LP. The video for the lead single features Shabazz Palaces, Erik Blood and Taylor Brown, the record drops February 24th on Sub Pop Records.

Mike Mictlan - "so so STRAYNGE"-video

Dommtree's Mike Mictlan goes hard & weird with new visuals for "so so STRAYNGE" off his new, critically hailed HELLA FRREAL, video directed by Adam Dunn. Doomtree's All Hands tour with Open Mike Eagle, Greg Grease (Chicago & Madison) & Hellfyre Club as support, coming to your town soon,

Mike Mictlan ft. Greg Grease -"Junior Blind"-mp3

Allan Kingdom -"Blast"-mp3

Allan Kingdom starts off the year with a "Blast", produced by by Allan Kingdom & Plain Pat. The young colorful MC and vibrant producer is representing St. Paul with a blast indeed.

Allan Kingdom -"Blast"-mp3
Allan Kingdom -"Blast"-video

Cobe Obeah -"Roseshaw Magic (prod. by starRo)" -mp3

Los Angeles indie rapper Cobe Obeah gets a production assist from Soulection's starRo. Of the track Obeah says it's "A demo joint me and starRo did a while back. Just an experiment nothing more, nothing less." Very cool, minimal production from starRo, whose new Emotion EP will drop on Feb 10th. starRo says "It will be your bedroom music for 2015." Be on the lookout for Obeah, as he is preparing a stack of demos, making up his upcoming Behold Magia.

Cobe Obeah -"Roseshaw Magic (Prod. by starRo)"-mp3

Taggart & Rosewood -"The Eastern Five (Shot On Site)"-mp3

Another new project from Ryan Olson & the Totally Gross National Product camp Taggart & Rosewood. The duo of Olson (Poliça, Lizzo, Marijuana Deathsquads) and Zach Coulter of Solid Gold released "The Eastern Five (Shot On Site)", which premiered on The Current. Taggart & Rosewood’s debut album The Killingest is on deck for Jan. 27 on local label Totally Gross National Product.

Taggart & Rosewood -"The Eastern Five (Shot On Site)"-mp3
Taggart & Rosewood -"DRONEBONING"-mp3

Young Ejecta -"Into Your Heart"-mp3

New dreamy pop from Leanne Macomber + Joel Ford aka Young Ejecta with new track "Into Your Heart".

Young Ejecta -"Into Your Heart"-mp3

Atmosphere -"January On Lake Street"-video

Atmosphere latest visuals for "January On Lake Street". Directed by Braden Lee who did a great job with Psymun's beautifully shot "Talk 2 Me."

Atmosphere ft. Haphduzn, Nazeem, Mike The Martyr, Mally, Prof, I.B.E., Musab, and Sep Seven-"Southsiders Remix"-mp3