DOWNLOAD: Jae Franklin - Always Needed You
Jae Franklin may be classified as R&B, but "Always Needed You"—the title track off an upcoming free album—is more Portishead than Beyonce. But that just goes to show how underground contemporary R&B bears as many similarities to mid-'90s trip-hop as it does to TLC. "Always Needed You" has a faded elegance, as best embodied by the haunting piano loop that courses through the track. The air in the song is smoky, a word that can also be used to describe Franklin's voice, which has the upper register cooing of many contemporary R&B singers as well as the worn purr of jazz singing. Sad and sleepy, this is the kind of track for all of you who stay home, but also stay up way, way past your bedtime.
Jae Franklin - Always Needed You
PREMIERE: The Electric - Start Of The Show
Russian DJ/producer Vadim reaches back for his most recent project, trying to give a hip-hop spin on old school soul, latin, funk, and rock with The Electric. Along with Chicago MC Pugs Atomz and UK singer Sabira Jade, Vadim tries to destroy the borders separating underground hip-hop and rare groove, showing how the two can often coexist without the need for vinyl crackle or obvious sampled touches. As a result, the music they make is, for a hip-hop track, surprisingly organic and loose, more like a jam session than a rigidly sequenced track. "Start of the Show" is an outtake from their forthcoming album—Life Is Moving, out March 14th on OGS (Organically Grown Sounds)—and with its playful rapping, earthy breaks, snaky chorus, and fat horns, the track gives you a taste of what the rest of their work might sound like.
The Electric - Start Of The Show
DOWNLOAD: Phaseone - Being With You (Soul For Real Cover)
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Growing up, I spent a lot of my babysitting loot at the local Sam Goody (RIP) raiding the R&B racks for tapes of anything from bubblegum pop to deep ballads to the bedroom bangers—even if those had no place in my adolescent life. Soul For Real's "Being With You" falls under the latter category, a departure from their infamous pop hit "Candy Rain" and reimagined here by Phaseone. Coaxing the song into subtle drum and bass seems like it wouldn't have the same appeal, but he's onto something with this cover. The synths are putting in work—breaking down into what would have been a wailing call to love-making arms and feels just as sexy, even if it's made from by a machine. Even with all its shoegaze lean, it still feels deeply rooted in its R&B influence—a baby-maker for the rave and slow jam sets alike.
Phaseone - Being With You (Soul For Real Cover)
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