Head Space Daily Tune...

This week has been a big one for new music: 

I first saw Andreya Triana at Ronnie Scott’s in 2010, singing with Bonobo at the lunchtime launch of their album Black Sands. She hypnotized me then and I have been a big supporter of Andreya ever since. She has become my most seen live artist. Next week at Village Underground will be my seventh time. The best occasions have been at Jazz Café, Madame JoJo’s (R.I.P) and XOYO, with a couple of dodgy sit down at tables affairs thrown in for good measure. There will be no more sitting down at tables after the release of Giants, her soon to be available second album. The production is big, with multi-layered arrangements. I read a recent review, which compared her to Nina Simone - whose voice is unique - and Paloma Faith. The point is that whilst going after the commercial success of Paloma (whose music is not for me,) Andreya’s voice is KILLER, which is what makes her such a strong live performer. As long as the music compliments her voice and not the other way around, she is on to a winner, which is the overall impression of Giants, an album that could launch her into the big time.

Andreya Triana - Everything You Never Had

The other big release that I have been getting into this week is Kendrick Lamar and his To Pimp A Butterfly album. I say getting into, because that is what you have to do. It is not a record to put on in the background, it demands that you listen, absorb, sit up and take notice. After several listens, I am getting there. Each time, more lyrics are noted, other musical refrains and voices are taken on board and sense and meaning is deepened. The album is backed by a fantastic jazz based sound track which nods to Blue Note and the great black jazz pioneers, so it is steeped in history. Legendary players like George Clinton and Ronald Isley also have cameos, along with Snoop Dogg. Kendrick Lamar has something to say about the state of black America, in how its people have been treated by the powers that be and how it has represented itself. Thought provoking...

Kendrick Lamar - How Much A Dollar Cost

As I mentioned earlier, Matthew E White was in my ears yesterday morning with his new album Fresh Blood. Good songs, soulful voice, interesting musical arrangements – excellent American rock and soul, which at certain points made me think of Steely Dan. 

Matthew E White - Vision

Another album which has been undergoing intensive listening this week is Courtney Barnett’s LP Sometimes I Sit And Think and Sometimes I Just Sit. An Australian accent has never sounded so endearing – not since Charlene in Neighbours, at least. A spiky indie poet, Courtney Barnett is funny, angry, charming, sardonic, thought provoking and melancholic across an album which is bare bones, in your face indie - guitar, bass and drums - accompanied by THAT voice.

Courtney Barnett - Elevator Operator