Another song from Troye Sivan's upcoming new album, "She's The Best" has been released. Utilizing a sample from Madonna's 2000 hit, "Music", "Party" is all about hanging out with some good friends and having a wild soiree. The song, with spoken-word from Sivan over a progressive beat, is a fairly standard house-pop track but it's the music video that actually leaves a real impression. Beginning with narration provided by actor, Sir Ian McKellan, the rousing clip (directed by Gordon von Steiner who did the singer's previous video for the title track) is a queer, medieval-set romp with Sivan as a knight with lust in his heart and ready to tear up the dance floor. This is an expensive looking video and highly sexually charged, helping to elevate this single to make "Party" appear far more intriguing.
Days after announcing the news on social media, Jhené Aiko unexpectedly released her fourth studio album, "Westside Whimsy". It's been six years since her last album, "Chilombo" and this latest collection by the neo-soul vocalist (which this title was also the name of her personalized smoothie that had been available at the luxury grocer, Erewhon) continues her musical journey reflecting back on her life, relationships and growing up in Los Angeles. Working with an army of producers (which includes Fisticuffs, Boi-1da and PartyNextDoor), Aiko has twenty tracks of smooth, laid back, hip-hop fueled, r&b that features some guest appearances from some well-known so-Cal artists, Ab-Soul, Tyga, Larry June, OHMA and Kendrick Lamar. Here are a few of my favorite songs from the album:
It's hard to believe but it has been twenty years since the release of Beyoncé sophomore album, "B'Day" and to celebrate, the artist has just delivered "B'Day: 20th anniversary edition". This collection has remastered the original album and features nineteen additional tracks with remixes and previously unreleased bonus songs that includes "Morning Dew (Donk)" and "Can I Watch You" with Pharrell. But what is most noteworthy about this edition is that Beyoncé is leaning even heavier with Spanish-language songs with "Amor Gitano", a duet with Alejandro Fernández, "Cuerpo Tumbao (Get Me Bodied)" with Maluma (and samples Celia Cruz’s "La Negra Tiene Tumbao") and a new version of "Irreemplazable (Como La Flor)" that samples vocals from the late "Queen of Tejano Music", Selena.
Some new sounds I'm enjoying includes Adéla, the singer, songwriter and dancer from Slovakia, who has just released her debut album, "Prima" and the latest single, "Nicole Kidman" pays homage to the Oscar-winning actress; Chlöe and Timbaland have dropped another song from their upcoming collaboration with "World on Fire"; the British nu-disco band, Jungle has just released their fifth studio album, "Sunshine" and a single, "Come Back To Me"; Luca is an emerging artist bringing a vintage soul vibe into his music and the latest single from the Harlem-born, twenty-three year old performer is "Sympathy", Rising British artist, Charlie Jeer has teamed with fellow Brit singer/songwriter, Cat Burns for a guitar-driven song, "Small Talk" and Victoria Monet has revealed another song from her upcoming album, "Juicy"
And I will close by paying tribute to Cassandra Wilson, the distinctive jazz vocalist who transcended the sound by blending blues, country, and folk music into her work, has sadly passed away on September 1st at the age of seventy. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, she began her musical journey studying classical music and learning to play the piano, clarinet and guitar as a child. While attending college, Wilson would spent her nights performing with R&B, funk, and pop cover bands. Wilson moved to New Orleans after graduating and emersed herself in the jazz scene there before moving to New York in 1982. This was when Wilson would truly begin to develop her style as a singer by becoming one of the founding members of the M-Base collective where they expressed a new way of creating jazz music. In 1986, Wilson recorded her debut album, "Point of View" which included a few original songs she wrote or co-wrote. But is was her third album of standards, "Blue Skies" that helped gained Wilson some notice and helped her get signed to Blue Note Records in 1993. Her debut on the label, "Blue Light 'til Dawn" was Wilson's true breakthrough, a collection of originals and intriguing covers that included the Monkees, Joni Mitchell and Hank Williams, that gave her critical and commercial acclaim. Her follow-up, "New Moon Daughter" in 1995 would reach number one on Billboard Jazz Album chart and win her the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Wilson would release "Traveling Miles" in 1999, a well-received tribute album to Miles Davis, who was one of her greatest influences, with music inspired by his artistry.
Miley Cyrus has recently announced that she's dropping "Cyrus" from her professional name, moved to a new record label, Atlantic and that she's releasing her tenth studio album, "Bass Persuades". She reveals that the new record reflects a "love story with multiple layers, including a romantic thread running throughout it".
Frustrated with lengthy album rollouts, Miley will release "Bass Persuades" on September 18th, a mere fifteen days after the title track was released as the first single. The song is classic dance-pop that calls for people to put down their phones, reconnect to an analog world and get back to dancing together. The music video for the track, directed by Mert Alas, features Miley is full pop diva mode with her leading a group of sexy, shirtless men through some high-energy dance moves. She will also promote the album with a two-night engagement at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on October 16th and 18th.
