Grammy-nominated Soul singer, Leon Bridges has just dropped his highly anticipated sophomore album ‘Good Thing’. The 10-track album features the singles ‘Bad Bad News’, ‘Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand’ and ‘Beyond’. It’s a contemporary soul/R&B album, however, he has Jazz/Funk driven tracks such as ‘Bad Bad News’. Leon Bridges rose to notoriety in 2015 when he released his first album, ‘Coming Home’, the album channelled early ’60s R&B which caught the attention of many. Bridges sweet soul music is bringing a new flavour to R&B and this new album is cementing his path within the industry.
So last night Ronnie Herel and I were lucky enough to spend the evening with The Robert Glasper Experiment, and I use that terminology deliberately…I will explain later.
For those of you who are still not familiar (shame on you) Robert Glasper is a musician and producer who recently released two albums; ‘Black Radio ‘ and ‘Black Radio 2‘ with his band under the title ‘The Robert Glasper Experiment‘ and who treated London to a live performance at The Eventim Apollo last night.
From the start of the show one thing was clear – this was going to be a night of effortless, unapologetic musical authenticity. Robert and the rest of the ‘Experiment’ band came on stage sporting their own unique styles but sharing the same laid back vibe with Robert on keys, Derrick Hodge on guitar, Casey Benjamin on lead vocals and saxophone and Mark Colenburg on drums. This collaboration should be re launched named ‘The Robert Glasper Masterclass’ as all 4 members are exceptional, world class musicians who played with finesse and have an incredible chemistry together. Mark Colenbug gave without a doubt the best drumming performance I have ever seen, his sticks did not rest for the first 30 minutes of the show, he was effortless yet so full of energy and I’m pretty sure we could solve the Global energy crisis by using the power which he emulates from his drums!
The night felt like everyone there had been invited to a private jamming sessions in Robert Glasper’s basement, he explained that the group suffer from ‘Musical ADD’, an excellent description as they flowed across genres, mashed and riffed contemporary and classic songs, going from Cyndi Lauper to Janet Jackson to Bill Withers then to J Dilla. The Robert Glasper Experiment were on stage doing their thing – at many points with their eyes closed just feeling the music and that is why I say I spent the evening with Robert Glasper because it didn’t feel like a performer / audience scenario, it was everyone in the room together celebrating their passion for music.
What made it feel even more unique was the way that special guests Raheem Devaughn, Laura Mvula and Emeli Sande all casually joined the band on stage at points to jam with them. Each guest provided roof raising vocals; Raheem Devaughn performing a number of tracks including ‘Worries‘ and ‘Woman‘, Laura Mvula joined for ‘Calls‘ and Emeli Sande for ‘Somebody Else‘ all sounding even more incredible live than on any of their recordings.
Robert Glasper was the ultimate charismatic front man; funny, genuine and infectious, he was clearly having the time of his life on stage and you couldn’t help but feel the same. This experience was unique and exquisite, I would challenge anybody who is passionate about music regardless of genre not to be in awe of the performance that The Robert Glasper Experiment gave last night and if you were not fortunate enough to be there then make sure you don’t miss out next time!!
Soul and RnB fans if by this point you haven’t discovered Brandon Williams – get familiar. Brandon is a multi-talented Grammy award winning producer, musician and and composer who has collaborated with the likes of Amp Fiddler, Janet Jackson, Talib Kweli and Musiq Soulchild to name a few.
This week Brandon dropped a new track ‘Now I Know‘ feat Jesse Boykins III and Robert Glasper and the high expectations I had of a track with such powerful soulful artists have been met and exceeded. The track is neo soul / Jazz at it’s best, Glasper and Williams bringing instrumental and production finesse with Jesse Boykins III smooth and hypnotic vocals blending it all together. You can download the track for free on Brandon Williams site www.bwilliamsmusic.com/music or donate ‘your price’ for a download – although frankly I cant afford how much I think the track is worth!!
These 3 artists are big names in the soulful game and definitely ones to watch. Robert Glasper delivered arguably the album of the year last year with ‘Black Radio 2‘, Brandon Williams is putting the final touches to his forthcoming album ‘XII‘ set to drop this Summer and Jesse Boykins III just released his new single ‘Plain‘ from his forthcoming album ‘Love Apparatus‘ due for release April 22nd.
Emerging from the same camp as Devlin, Ghetts and Griminal, Code Red are carving out their lane in the UK music scene, ahead of 2011, with their 1st track ‘Over’.
They’re already being compared to N-Dubz but I think they have something new to offer.
