Single Review: “Carry The Load” – James Numbere

James Numbere is back and he’s brought us a gospel song that is just gorgeous. Mixed with African percussion, acoustic guitars, piano and strings this just hits the spot.  The lyrics appeal to God for help in carrying the load, and recognises that we are after all human with very human physicalities – the lyrics …

Single Review: “Voices Of Jericho” – Survibers ft. Aniff Akinola

Survibers are back and they’ve deployed a true wordsmith in Aniff Akinola.  He’s given a fantastic backdrop of slap bass  which slips between that and a squelchy synth bass, over a chilled out hip hop beat with a synth pad playing some dark progressions. The vocals are ethereal, Katrina has switched gears here as she’s …

Single Review: “Patience” – JFlames ft. Amethyst

JFlames is back with a smooth retro soul track! And he’s brought with him a singer that delivers the goods!  Amethyst is the star here, bringing a vocal that’s so warm to the ear, and boy can she harmonise. JFlames has given her a lush blanket of a beat to wrap her vocals around. The …

Single Review: “Silence Is Music” – Florie Namir & Franck Biyong

Florie Namir is back with a stunning ballad and a duet partner – Franck Niyong. Their voices are very different, Frank has a soulful touch whereas Florie’s vocals are suited to folk/jazz but they find a middle ground, and this song is a perfect vehicle for this.  It’s an acoustic number, the percussion is gorgeous, …

Single Review: “Shelter” – Marie Keane

This is a gorgeous ballad. Marie’s voice is accompanied by a cello, drums with brushes, a bass, and piano. This is from her album “Mná”, and is one of the slower paced tracks on there. It shows off her vulnerability vocal wise but also shows her versatility too. In fact the whole album is very …

Single Review: “Love Has Come” – SōMuch

SŌMuch are back and they’ve got an EP! This is one of the new tracks that hasn’t yet been heard.  The sound is sophisticated, very polished – but what would you expect of a band mentored by Ralph Rolle of Chic?  Let’s break it down.  The back beat is laid back, the hats give the …

Single Review: “Mona Lisa” – Daniel Etherton

Daniel came to me as a recommendation from Neil March, Daniel sent me this track for my show and I must say… I’m impressed.  This song combines two of Daniel’s passions – music and fine art, as he is an art historian by day and musician by night.  The imagery in the lyrics are clear, …

Single Review: “Going To Watch The Sunrise” – I’M

This is a fantastic piece of electronica from South East London based musician and producer I’M. Lots of of warped basslines mixed in with a beat that you can’t help but move your feet to.  The pitched down vocal sample of “Watch The Sunrise” is simple, but very effective, one of the things that I …

Single Review: “Wish You The Best” – Brave James ft. Blue Lab Beats

Having been a fan of Brave James since the release of their fantastic track “Spaceships”, it came as no surprise that  collaboration with one of my favourite production teams was definitely going to be special.  This is a slower paced track, starting off with percussion and marimbas and it’s gorgeous.  The track as a whole …

Single Review: “That’ll Be The Day” – Buddy Holly

As tomorrow is 63 years since Buddy Holly, along with Richie Havens and The Big Bopper died tragically in a plane crash I thought I’d commemorate this with my favourite Buddy Holly song.  I have memories of jamming this on the piano with my friend Simon and him singing and playing on a battered acoustic …