Just for a bit of fun here's a playlist of 20 Halloween 'related'
tunes.
Sunday, 31 October 2021
Riyah B. [2021] - Frequencies of da B [Self Released] (Album)
A seven track album/EP that slipped out relatively unnoticed on 4 Oct
2021 from Riyah B. titled "Frequencies of da B".
Riyah B. is Mariyah B. Burton from Las Vegas.
It's an edgy vibe, I guess best described as neo soul/jazz hop. She's won
awards in categories for neo soul (2019), jazz (2020) and hip-hop
(2007). Check out her bio on her website link below.
Click icons below for further information or to connect with the
artist.
| Rating: | 8 |
| Explicit: | N |
| Genre/Style: | Neo Soul |
| Format: | Single |
| Media: | Digital |
| Label: | Self Released |
| Cat No: | None |
| Date: | 04/10/2021 |
| Value: | £6.93 |
The 1st SoulStrutter Readers Poll 2021
As it's getting close to the end of the year
I thought it was about the right time to begin a poll for the best of
2021.
Rather than just me choosing what I think are the best of the year, I'd
like readers to send in their own nominations. You can either leave them in
the comments to this post (ONLY) or send to soulstrutter@gmail.com. Entries
in by 30th Nov please.
I will then collate them into a list. I may also post individual readers
choices, so please don't leave your choices anonymously as they won't be
included i.e. if you want to maintain anonymity then email them and state
that you prefer them not to be posted.
To make it straightforward there are just four categories. Please choose
a maximum of five and a minimum of one for each category and points will
be allocated for each position and totalled up at the end to select the
winners of each category.
Best Album
As it seems a bit confusing as to what constitutes an EP versus an album,
the definition of an album for the purpose of the poll is that it must
contain at least six tracks. Compilations are not included but if you'd
like to nominate a compilation and there are enough nominations I could
create a new category for them, likewise, I guess, with EPs.
Best Track
Can be a single or album track
Best Artist
Male, female or group
Best Newcomer
Must be an artist who hasn't released material prior to 2021 but may
include artists making their first solo appearance i.e. previously in a
group..
There are a lot of albums to choose from so, to remind you of some the the
best, here's a list of approx. 75 of the best released this year in no
particular order other than chronological order of release/posting. Note you
don't have to choose from this list as it's just a memory jogger, not only
for albums but for all categories. There are also links to all albums to
refresh your memory.
Tristan -
What Could Possibly Go Wrong
Deborah Bond -
compass:I
Will Downing -
The Song Garden
VannJess -
Homegrown
Tru Soul Davis -
Soul Fiyah
Portrait -
Afro Trees
Kim Tavar -
My Story
Myles Sanko -
Memories Of Love
Terry - #TheElvolutionOfMe
Dav Hall -
SoulSuite
Alvin Garrett -
The Lightness Of Love
Shaila Prospere -
Under My Skin
Kindred The Soul Family -
Auntie & Unc
Zo! & Tall Black Guy -
Abstractions
Deirdre Gaddis -
D-E-I-R-D-R-E Keep Pushin'
Davante Thornton - Luh And Circumstance
Raquel Rodriguez - Sweet Ride
Roderick Harper -
Back To Love
Mississippi Humin Boy -
Crunch Time
S.E.L. -
Loc'd in Consciousness
Keni Jackson -
Keni Jackson
Wil Key -
Globetrotter:B
Hassan Farrow -
So In Love
V9 Collective -
Message In The Music
Yuma Hara -
Reality
Raheem DeVaughn - Love Sick
Children Of Zeus - Balance
Sam Wills -
Breathe
Dimitris Dimopoulos -
Take Me Out Tonight
Conya Doss -
Through Rose Colored Glasses
Lin Rountree -
Fluid
Doug Wonder -
The Black Man Matters
Dawkins & Dawkins -
Never Gets Old Love And Light Vol.1
D Mills -
Prism
Nigel Hall -
Spiritual
James Vickey - Songs That Made Me Feel
Justy - Pain With Benefits
Bridge City Revival -
Introducing
Durand Jones & The Indications -
Private Space
Leela James -
See Me
GarciaWalker&Durrell -
Praying For Rain
Tanqueray Hayward -
Definition Of A Woman
Showship -
School Soul Vol. 1
Carmichael Musiclover -
Slow Motion
The Spinners -
'Round The Block and Back Again
Regi Myrix -
BlakButtahVol.2
Victor Haynes - Can We Talk
JKabel - Collective Thoughts
Jazz Amadi -
Late Bloomer
Wendy B -
Here 2 Stay
Marshella Muzik -
Moodz
Down To Earth -
Still Ridin' High
Anthony Lyric -
With You In Mind (NB this appears to have been withdrawn from Spotify!)
Golden Browne -
Golden Browne
Anthony Hamilton -
Love Is The New Black
Jay King - Soulful Bossanova
Mink Slide -
Funk On Wheels
Kayla Williams - Love Letters
Cornell CC Carter - Next Life
MF Robots - Break The Wall
Rob Ruha -
Preservation Of Society
Jessica Domingo -
Butterfly Paradise
Em-Cee -
Honey Coated Hip-Hop
Secret Night Gang -
Secret Night Gang
BeMyFiasco -
Where I Left You
D. Saunders - Let Me Sing To You
Teddy Bryant -
In The Beginning
Tony Lindsay - Soul Soldier
Funkee Boy - Elevate
Siloam Pool - Simple Complexity
Tom Bailey -
Goodbye To Yesterday
Erica Johnson -
Life, Love & Inspiration
Derrick Givens -
Once Again
MS1 Project -
Remedy 4 The Mind Part 1
SoulStrutter Top 20 - 31st Oct 2021
The SoulStrutter Top 20 of the most viewed posts in the last 30
days (i.e. blog readers choices).
No massive changes again this week but Marvin Gaye & Beverley
Knight has bounded ahead by quite a considerable margin (so no doubt
attracting a wider audience than just soul visitors?). I wouldn't be
surprised if we see the next track from the album Jimmy Ruffin &
Mica Paris on "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted" (released on Friday)
enter high next week if it follows the trajectory of the first track
from the album.
Five new entries, the highest from Melba Moore at #3 and a
top 10 entry for Secret Night Gang's debut album. Last week's SoulStrutter Selection of the Week
D. Saunders enters at #14. The remix of
Eugene Cole's single and BeMyFiasco's album are the other two new entries.
Rina Chanel hangs on in there for the third week even though it isn't
officially due for release until next Saturday (6 Nov. her
birthday).
MS1 Project climb ten places owing to the boost of the official release on Friday.
There will be a big change next week as around 8 entries will exit after 30 days.
Last 30 Days
| Pos | Prev | Artist - Title | Posted | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Marvin Gaye Feat. Beverley Night - Abraham, Martin & John | 06/10 | 25 |
| 2 | 1 | Candace Woodson - All I Need (Rob Hardt Mix) | 13/10 | 18 |
| 3 | Melba Moore - So In Love | 28/10 | 3 | |
| 4 | 4 | Raja-Nee' - Love In A Groove | 08/10 | 23 |
| 5 | 3 | Cornell CC Carter - Next Life LP | 07/10 | 24 |
| 6 | 5 | The Kount & Marc Rebillet - The Way You Make Me Feel | 13/10 | 18 |
| 7 | 8 | Laura Rain & The Caesars - Rise Again | 14/10 | 17 |
| 8 | 7 | Rob Ruha - Preservation Of Society LP | 08/10 | 23 |
| 9 | Secret Night Gang - Secret Night Gang LP | 22/10 | 9 | |
| 10 | 20 | MS1 Project - Remedy 4 The Mind Part 1 LP | 11/10 | 20 |
| 11 | 6 | Down To Earth - I Want to Ta-Ta You Baby (Live) | 07/10 | 24 |
| 12 | 11 | Tygressa - Shake It For You | 05/10 | 26 |
| 13 | 13 | The Whispers - It's Been Too Long | 14/10 | 17 |
| 14 | D. Saunders - Let Me Sing To You LP | 20/10 | 11 | |
| 15 | 17 | Ms. Kriss - Blacbuttafly EP | 12/10 | 19 |
| 16 | 16 | Rina Chanel - Sweetest Of Melody | 12/10 | 19 |
| 17 | 15 | Derrick Sena Feat. Roxiie Reese - Invisible Tears | 08/10 | 23 |
| 18 | Eugene Cole Feat. Felton Pilate - Why Are You Holding Back (Remix) | 21/10 | 10 | |
| 19 | 19 | Mink Slide - Funk On Wheels LP | 02/10 | 29 |
| 20 | BeMyFiasco - Where I Left You LP | 17/10 | 14 |
The Dirty Dozen - The Best Of 2021... Part 38 (Oct 2021 Wk 43) Spotify Playlist
My selection of the best releases this week (Oct 2021 Wk 43)
In no particular order other than tempo.
Possibly one of the poorest weeks that I can remember for good
quality new releases. It's not that there weren't many releases but,
unfortunately, just very few that were considered a good enough standard to
post.
However, the cream always rises to the top, so I've selected a dozen of the best for you to enjoy.
More than half of the selections are album tracks including Pat
Williams, Rev. Evan E. Newman, Erica Johnson, Tom
Bailey, MS1 Project, Funkee Boy and Siloam Pool.
Both MS1 Project and Candace Woodson have been out for a couple of
weeks via BandCamp but both received a general release on
Friday.
For this week's SoulStrutter Selection of the Week four albums were
considered, Erica Johnson "Life, Love & Inspiration", Siloam Pool
"Simple Complexity", Rev Evan E. Newman "Better Than Blessed" and Funkee Boy "Elevate", all worthy contenders and recommended listening.
Although I suspect that
some, if not all, of the tracks on the Funkee Boy album may have been in
the can for a while, for consistency across the whole album, that's
this week's choice. Notwithstanding other tracks on the album, I think "A Better Way" would probably have been SSSotW on it's own.
NB You must be logged on to Spotify to listen in full
The Dirty Dozen - The Best Of 2021... Covers, Reissues, Remixes & Samples Part 32 (Oct 2021 Wk 43)
My selection of this week's best cover versions, remixes, reissues,
previously unreleased and new songs using samples or new releases with
a retro feel (Oct 2021 Wk 43). (In no particular order).
A 'baker's dozen this week as there were so many to choose from including just about everything on the excellent Soul Brother "Wants List 5" compilation which have had to be omitted as there was no space left in the list. There were also a few great vinyl only reissues which couldn't be included from Rance Allen, Ursula Ricks and The Village Choir.
Reissues: The Counts (Soul Junction 45), Indygo
Remixes: Raw Stilo, Jimmy Ruffin & Mica Paris
Samples: Mz'vocalz (Zhane - Hey Mr DJ)
Covers: Wayne Brady (Sam Cooke), Joe Barr (Garland Green), Josh Berkeley
(Isley, Jasper, Isley), Emily Williams (Aretha Franklin), Jonah
(Aretha Franklin), Normal Sole (Betty Wright), Mirror Ball Hustlers (William DeVaughn), Erica Johnson (Bill Withers).
Betty Michaels [2021] - Moving, Growing, Changing [Self Released] (Full EP)
Betty Michaels, a producer and multi-instrumentalist from Seattle, WA, who, for the avoidance of any doubt is male, seems to have emerged in 2019 and has made five releases, two of them being four track EPs.
His latest four track EP "Moving, Growing, Changing", due on 5 Nov 2021, is only currently available via BandCamp.
I heard one of the tracks ("Beauty" featuring Greg Lou) last night selected as a breaker by Russ Cole and played by Franklin Sinclair on the Global Soul Chart show.
Click icons below for further information or to connect with the
artist.
| Rating: | 8 |
| Explicit: | N |
| Genre/Style: | Neo Soul |
| Format: | EP |
| Media: | Digital |
| Label: | Self Released |
| Cat No: | None |
| Date: | 05/11/2021 |
| Value: | $5 |
Alicia Keys [2021] - Best Of Me [RCA]
Last month (9 Sep) Alicia Keys released the first single from her
forthcoming album "KEYS" titled "LaLa (Unlocked)" which featured Swae Lee
and sampled Tyrone Davis's "In The Mood". I'm still surprised that it didn't
seem to receive much airplay.
Yesterday (29 Oct 2021) she released another pair of
tracks "Best Of Me (Original)" and "Best Of Me (Unlocked)". The song
samples Sade's "Cherish The Day" (from "Love Deluxe" 1992).
The "KEYS" album will consist of 26 tracks and is set for release on 10 Dec 2021. It appears that each song on the album will have an original and an unlocked (i.e. remixed) version.
Click icons below for further information or to connect with the
artist.
Jarina De Marco [2021] - Give It To Me Baby [Self Released]
A cover of Rick James' "Give It To Me Baby" which has been out a while by Jarina De Marco. who is originally from Dominican Republic, now based in L.A.
Amazon has it listed with a release date of 15 Oct 2021, yet elsewhere it's listed as 22 Jul, so perhaps it's being
re-promoted?
Not really soul music is it, but posted out of interest as the song has not
been covered many times.
I'm not sure if the song has been covered previously. The only other
'decent' cover was by Smutty & Funky in 2013 so I've
included a video for it below along with a video for Rick James' original
from 1981.
Click icons below for further information or to connect with the
artist.
| Rating: | 7.5 |
| Explicit: | N |
| Genre/Style: | Neo Soul / Cover Version |
| Format: | Single |
| Media: | Digital |
| Label: | Self Released |
| Cat No: | None |
| Date: | 15/10/2021 (22/07/2021) |
| Key/BPM: | 6B/106 |
| Value: | £1 |