The globetrotting continues with today’s artist, Lianne La Havas, who was born in London to a Greek mother and Jamaican father. She counts Prince among her biggest fans, and has played alongside him on Saturday Night Live and elsewhere.
La Havas released her debut record in 2012 and her sophomore effort, Blood, in July of this year. The album was well-received, hailed as a stirring blend of pop, soul, jazz and R&B. No wonder Prince likes her.
Of all the interesting musical combinations out there, ‘Ethiopian Fiona Apple’ is definitely unexpected. But that’s exactly how I’d describe Mizan, based on this one song anyway.
Mizan (whose last name — or first name? — I couldn’t find on the web) was born in Chicago and raised in Ethiopia and New York. I could find very little else about her online, apart from the fact that her debut EP was released on Nov. 6.
Sharon Van Etten is Jersey-born and Brooklyn-based, an NPR-approved indie folk rock singer-songwriter who’s been performing for a decade and has released four well-received albums. I’d never heard of her.
This moving piano ballad is a nice introduction to Van Etten’s work. It has a Tori Amos feel to it but less avant garde, with a little more of a 60s folk influence.
In a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, the magazine’s editors took advantage of the Adele hysteria to highlight about a dozen emerging artists with a similar sound and sensibility.
I’ll showcase the songs of a few of those artists this week and give my first impressions.
This isn’t a genre I generally like so I’m curious to see if any of these women capture my attention out of the gate.
Amid all of Kanye West’s silliness and tabloid shenanigans, it’s easy to forget that he can lay down some fascinating music. Today’s Random iTunes track, ‘Blame Game,’ is a great example.
An emotional climax of West’s excellent 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, ‘Blame Game’ chronicles the end of a relationship with a mix of jealousy, name-calling, self-loathing and bravado. And it’s all topped off with a hilarious Chris Rock monologue riffing on the song’s themes.
Meet Me In Montauk 