Kei Chaney [2023] - You Are My Angel [Self Released]

Kenneth Kei (pronounced 'K') Chaney, as you can tell from his smooth performance on this song, is a veteran soul singer. 

He was born in Philadelphia into a musical family, his father a gospel soloist and elder sister a pianist and he studied the piano from the age of nine. He was the youngest vocalist to perform with Duke Ellington aged 13. 

In the early 70s he sang with The Magestics and then progressed on to stage plays and the jazz club circuit as both a solo artist and a group singer. 

From 2012 to 2019 he was a member of The Ebonys whilst also embarking on solo recording career releasing a single "Stay" in 2016, then an EP "Lady In My Life" in 2018 followed by another half a dozen singles since.

His latest single "You Are My Angel" was released last month (19 May) which features backing vocals by Tonya Lynette a jazz singer from Philadelphia.

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Details

Rating:	8.5
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	New Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Self Released
Cat No:	None
Date:	19/05/2023
Key/BPM:	9B/90
Price:	£1

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Mike Di Lorenzo [2023] - Play It Cool [Self Released] (Full Album)

It's almost exactly a year to the day since keyboardist/producer Mike Di Lorenzo released his last album "What We Need" (3 Jun '22) from which a few tracks in particular were well received. 

The latest album "Play It Cool" (3 Jun '23)  follows a similar format in that it consists of mainly original songs sprinkled with a few covers and is split between instrumentals and songs with featured vocalists. 

The same vocalist in fact who featured on the last album i.e. Anna Moore on four (five) original songs which she co-wrote with DeLorenzo, Denise Stewart on two covers (Tower of Power's "So Very Hard To Go" and the Ashford & Simpson penned "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing" made famous of course by Marvin & Tammi) and Sonna Rele on another original song.

We were really looking forward to listening to "So Very Hard To Go" but unfortunately the original with Lenny Williams' vocals is so etched in our mind that this version just can't compare we're sorry to say.

The third and final cover is a predominantly instrumental rendition of EWF's "That's The Way Of The World" with an unnamed backing vocalist. There is another song, "I Regret", with uncredited vocals but, given that it was co-penned by Anna Moore, we'd hazard a guess that it is her vocals as it certainly sounds like her.

We feel that several of the original songs with vocals will be getting plenty of airplay on certain radio shows! We simply can't call it between several of them so will let you choose.

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Details

Rating:	8.4
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Soul Jazz
Format:	Album
Media:	Digital
Label:	Self Released
Cat No:	None
Date:	02/06/2023
Price:	£7.99

Copyright © 2009-2023 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved

Miranda Rae [2023] - For What It's Worth [Self Released] (Full Album)

We featured Miranda Rae (Miranda Ashley Renald) with her debut EP "Defying Love" in 2020  which at the time we thought was older and it seems that the EP had been released in 2016. We particularly rated "Invitation For Love" highly, worth a revisit? A stripped back, Tiny Desk performance of it is included below but wait until you hear the full 'boom-bap' version, if you haven't already (link above)!

She's back with a debut album "For What It's Worth" released on Friday (2 Jun '23) which is her first new material since Sep '21.

It's a set of seven melancholic/mournful neo soul tunes with "pieces", "over it" and "sure" being our selections but think it may be one of those albums that you need to keep listening to and others will pop out. She released "sure" as a single with Najee Janey in Apr' 21 but the album version is a new, shorter, solo version.

Miranda is from Cambridge (Boston), MA, and began doing open mic session in Florida in 2013 before connecting with producer collective DNNAO in 2015 who helped her develop her sound to release her debut EP "Defying Love" in 2016. She now has 6 singles, 2 EPs and this full album to her name.

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Details

Rating:	8.2
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Neo Soul
Format:	Album
Media:	Digital
Label:	Self Released
Cat No:	None
Date:	02/06/2023
Price:	£6.93

Copyright © 2009-2023 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved

JaMia Àna [2023] - No Longer Sacred [Self Released] (Full EP)

It seems to be a day for new and relatively new artists. North Chicago's JaMia Àna (JaMia Rockingham), to our reckoning, has released just one single "Cut Ties" in Oct '22, which is included on her, presumably, debut EP "No Longer Sacred"  released yesterday.

We must have missed "Cut Ties" in Oct last year as it is one of the standouts along with "I Hate You". The first four tracks are mellow neo soul before we get a couple of hip-hop and R&B/pop tunes but we're grateful for the two soulful ballads highlighted above.

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Details

Rating:	8
Explicit:	Y ALL but Track 4
Genre/Style:	Neo Soul
Format:	EP
Media:	Digital
Label:	Self Released
Cat No:	None
Date:	06/06/2023
Price:	£5.94

Copyright © 2009-2023 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved

Cole Williams [2023] - A Better Woman [Golden Rules]

Released digitally and on 7" last Nov by Stockholm label Soul Tune, "Better Woman" by Cole Williams it is being released again digitally on Friday (9 Jun '23) by German label Golden Rules as the sixth single from their forthcoming compilation "The Originals 3" scheduled for 27 Oct '23. One of the others you may recall is Carton Jumel Smith's "It's Gonna Be Alright" posted a few weeks back.

Cole Williams is a Jamaican/American artist born in Brooklyn, NYC, now based in New Orleans since 2015. Her musical journey began playing classical piano recitals at Carnegie Hall to singing in the church choir. She majored in Psychology before studying classical voice at New Jersey  University.

Cole has worked with many known artists and appeared on TV, commercials, and large festivals and in publications. She currently has five solo EP/albums to her name and has released two other singles this year, a cover of the Sam Cooke classic "A Change Is Gonna Come" at the end of April and a self-written song "The Golden Road" on the last day of March, both gospel inspired songs.

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Details

Rating:	8.4
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Retro Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Golden Rules
Cat No:	None
Date:	09/06/2023
Key/BPM:	N/A
Price:	£1

Copyright © 2009-2023 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved