Soul Strutter: 07/05/23

Wednesday, 5 July 2023

Tia Gordon [2023] - On My Mind [Self Released]

We posted a single, "Sunday", from Tia Gordon in Jan '23 and since then she has released two further singles and a third "On My Mind" today, which is now her eighth since her first in Mar '22.

She is a UK based singer/songwriter from Sevenoaks (with a Caribbean background) who started out in 2019 recording with Garage Band posting her music on Instagram (and then migrated to Soundcloud) who states she has been influenced by artists such as Summer Walker, Billie Eilish, H.E.R. and UMI.

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Details

Rating:	8.2
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Neo Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Self Released
Cat No:	None
Date:	05/07/2023
Key/BPM:	2B/85
Price:	£1

Logic [2023] Noell [BMG]

The latest release from Logic is another that bundles the last few singles with the newest one, suggesting that an EP or album is developing. His Spotify profile reads like a novel but is nothing compared to what's written on his Wikipedia page, so we'll try to summarise.

His 'real' name is Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, so not only a double barrelled name (unless Bryson is his middle name), but a 'false' title (as we're pretty sure he hasn't received a knighthood just yet and couldn't possibly receive a 'proper' one as he is not British) and not the first but the second .. so no delusions of grandeur there then! Seriously though, Sir is actually his his given name by his mother.

He's a 33 yr old rapper, singer, songwriter, producer from Rockville, MD, who emerged in 2010 and has released around 8 albums and received two Grammy nominations. To say that he is popular would be an understatement as he has 2.1m followers on Twitter, nearly 7m on Instagram, 2.4m on facebook, 3.3m on YouTube and another 603k on Soundcloud!

Two of the three tracks, "Noell" and "Figure It Out" (which has a bit of a retro feel), may appeal to soul listeners but the second one is probably best not mentioned as it's hard hip-hop for the 'yoof' and thankfully only 2:02 long which is still 2:02 too long for our delicate ears!

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Details

Rating:	8
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Neo Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	BMG
Cat No:	None
Date:	05/07/2023
Key/BPM:	12A/82
Price:	£1

Summer Banton [2023] - Miss Me [SAB Records]

We can't find any information about Summer Banton but suspected from her vocal inflections that she was from southern England and it transpires that she is from SE London. She's released 8 singles and an EP since emerging in Jul '19 with her latest single "Miss Me", released on 9 Jun, being her first since Oct '21.

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Details

Rating:	8.3
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Neo Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	SAB Records
Cat No:	None
Date:	09/06/2023
Key/BPM:	11B/95
Price:	£1

Chris Ballin [2023] - Shining [Self Released] PROMO

The last single from Chris Ballin was "Beautiful" in May, which really should have gained more attention than it did. We thought it was very good but his latest single "Shining", due on 10 Jul, may be even better, so surely this one will get the attention it deserves?

Chris has been known for his ballads and wanted to showcase his flexibility and do something uplifting, different, fresh and upbeat for the Summer with his last two releases and we think he's succeeded. We are told that Chris is currently focused on releasing a new solo album soon which no doubt will include "Beautiful" and "Shining".

He is originally from Nottingham, moving to London to pursue a career in music which has now spanned over 20 years. He began at the age of 8 as a drummer later joining his family group and soon learned to sing.

He released his debut album, "Do it Right", to critical acclaim in 1996 which Blues & Soul wrote was one of the finest recordings in the UK's music scene.

Chris has worked and toured with some of the worlds best known artists such as Luther Vandross, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Craig David, Omar, Alexander O'Neal, Simply Red and Chaka Khan and maintains a long-standing relationship with Incognito, featuring on their 1997 "Beneath The Surface" album and on one of Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick's projects "Inner Shade".

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Details

Rating:	8.8
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	New Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Self Released
Cat No:	None
Date:	10/07/2023
Key/BPM:	N/A
Price:	£1

Shazz & Ken Norris [2023] - Innerside Remixes [Batignolles Square]

An absolute monster modern soul tune, Shazz "Innerside", that burnt up the dancefloors late 90s and early 00s. As with many popular dance tunes, there is a multitude of different mix variants and a set of 7 of them were reissued digitally on 9 Jun, perhaps to celebrate its 25th anniversary as it was originally released in France in 1998.

In addition, Paul Mooney's One World Records is reissuing two of them (Universal Soul Mix and Radio Edit) on vinyl 7" on 4 Aug which is available to pre-order from vinyl dealers.

Shazz is French producer Didier Delesalle, the name is derived from Soul House And jaZZ. The lead singer on "Innerside" is Ken Norris from Shaker Heights, OH, now resident in Hamburg.

Our favourite mix is the 'Original Giant Single' mix as it is a bit more stripped back and soulful once you get past the intro, but they are all good.

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Details

Rating:	8.7
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Soulful House
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Batignolles Square
Cat No:	None
Date:	09/06/2023
Key/BPM:	too many variants to list
Price:	£6.59

Marlon Robinson [2023] - When It Comes To You [American R&B Company] PROMO

The latest project out of Julio Herrera's American R&B Company (The R&R Soul Orchestra) is a debut single (for the label) "When It Comes To You" by singer/songwriter Marlon Robinson from Aurora, IL (just outside The Windy City). The song was produced by Julio Herrera and Cecil Sanchez and arranged by Marlon Robinson and co-written by all three.

Whilst it is showing on DSPs with a release date on 16 Jun, it was only officially unleashed yesterday.

A bit of detective work discovered that Marlon has released two previous singles, "Spread Love" (Jan '19) (video below) and "Crazy Game" (Dec '20) (although they are on a different Spotify profile), and has a few videos performing live on YouTube from 2009 and 2016 if you dig deep enough.

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Details

Rating:	8.3
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	New Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	American R&B Company
Cat No:	None
Date:	16/06/2023 (04/07/2023)
Key/BPM:	1B/96
Price:	£1