Soul Strutter: 06/20/23

Tuesday, 20 June 2023

Avery*Sunshine [2023] - Blackity Black [BigShine Recordings]

One that passed us by on Friday when released (according to DSP's) is the new single from Avery*Sunshine "Blackity Black" which is a tribute to 'blackness'.

We featured her last in Apr on a single "W8" with her daughter Drew Menifee (know artistically as DrewTheRu) which is from a forthcoming album, so we assume that this one will be on it too.

Her last album "Four Songs and a Bootleg" last year was very well received.

Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.

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Details

Rating:	8
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Neo Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	BigShine Recordings / Self Released
Cat No:	None
Date:	16/06/2023
Key/BPM:	12B/88
Price:	£1

Bill Albright [2023] - Sitting By The Phone / Middle Of The Night [Soul Junction #SJ1020]

Little did we suspect when we posted Bill Albright's "Sitting By The Phone" on the day of it's digital release on 21 Jun '22 that it would appear on a vinyl release. It is lined up with a, so far, unreleased B side "In The Middle Of The Night" for the next Soul Junction issue due on 7 Jul '23.

At that time the only thing we discovered about Bill was that his real name was Anthony Bills. Soul Junction's Dave Welding has discovered more. He told us that he initially made contact with Bill in Apr/May 2022 via a mutual friend with a view to releasing it later in 2022 but with pressing plant delays it has had to wait until now.

Anthony/Bill was born and raised in Baltimore, MD in 1961. After receiving a degree in Electrical Engineering & Technology in 1981 he moved to New York in 1982 to become a professional model. He returned to his native Baltimore briefly in 1986 only to move to Suwanee (Atlanta) in 1989 where he set up his own cleaning business 'All Bright Cleaning Services Inc' and resides there to this day.

In 1993 he formed a music production company 'Bill Albright Productions Inc'. Biding his time and making live appearances whilst still running his cleaning company Bill waited until he felt the time was right to release his debut single "Sitting By The Phone" in Jun '22 which we said at the time had a strong similarity to Billy Stewart's classic "Sitting In The Park" but with a more contemporary twist. We reposted in Jan this year reminded of it by our "Remembering Billy Stewart" feature as a video was then available for it which was posted in Oct '22 (included below).

It is being paired on 45 with, we are told his next single only available as a download in the US on the same day) "In The Middle Of The Night".

Available to pre-order from Soul Junction now for release on 7 Jul '23.

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Details

Rating:	8
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Retro Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	7" Vinyl
Label:	Soul Junction
Cat No:	SJ1020
Date:	07/07/2023
Key/BPM:	9A/90
Price:	£13

Alli' Starr [2023] - Summertime [Self Released]

The new single from Alli' Starr is "Summertime", no not that one again, an original song which has a 90s bounce and feel.

Her 2020 single "Situationship" featured on Expansion Records' annual "Luxury Soul Family" compilation in 2021.

Alli' (Alexzandria Morgan) is a singer, dancer and actress based in Las Vegas who started out aged 16. During her career she has opened for, or sung BGVs with, the likes of Bobby Womack, Phil Perry, Ronnie Laws, Ollie Woodson Raheem DeVaughn, Carl Thomas and also backed Barbara Streisand at the MGM Grand in Vegas.

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Details

Rating:	8.2
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	New Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Self Released
Cat No:	None
Date:	20/06/2023
Key/BPM:	11A/92
Price:	£1

pscila [2023] - Pillowcase [MindHeartMoney]

Describing herself as a genre bridging Chicana songstress from San Diego, CA, pscila (Isabel Illingworth-Guerra) released her seventh single to date "Pillowcase" since her first in Apr 2019.

It's a light and airy, wispy R&B flavoured neo soul tune which is pleasant enough but may not top everyone's playlist.

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Details

Rating:	8
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Neo Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Self Released
Cat No:	None
Date:	20/06/2023
Key/BPM:	11A/61
Price:	£1

Vahn Black [2023] - Petrichor [Soul Ain't Dead] (Full EP)

We were first introduced to the music of Detroit's Vahn Black (Jada Nycole-Ellise Henderson) when we posted her first single "Bags" in March which was her first release since her debut, an album "Temporary Colors" from Jun 2020.

Since then she's released just one single "Headlights" (31 Mar), a longer version of which is included on her new five track EP "Petrichor" released on Friday (16 Jun '23).

Vahn tells us that the EP is inspired by moments in Glady Bentley's life, who was a large, black, lesbian, cross-dressing, blues singer/ pianist in a notorious gay speakeasy in Harlem in the 20s.

The standout is "Settling Down" which features fellow Detroiter, trumpeter Trunino Lowe. which is just sheer classy adults music!

Lowe is the musical director and also features (although not credited) on other tracks including "Lucid Dreams" (TinyDesk live performance video below).

Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.

Click icons below for further information or to connect with the artist.

Details

Rating:	8.2
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Neo Soul
Format:	EP
Media:	Digital
Label:	Soul Ain't Dead
Cat No:	None
Date:	16/09/2023
Price:	£4.95