K’naan - Is Anybody Out There? (feat. Nelly Furtado)
One of my favorite MCs is back with an EP called More Beautiful Than Silence, released yesterday and immediately available to stream over at Hilly Dilly (who I owe my last two posts to). I’ve been a big fan of the dusty footed philosopher for a long time and you may not realize this, but I have a big voice crush on Nelly Furtado as well. The whole release is pretty solid, so go grab it!
Acollective - A Better Man
A nice find from @hillydilly, this is a 7 piece band from Israel who’s album came out early last year. Can’t really complain about a bit of Folk/Middle-Eastern Funk on Monday evening, right?
// http://acollective.bandcamp.com/ [buy their album]
Sol - Need Your Love (feat. Ray Dalton)
I’m a huge fan of what Sol’s been putting out; the Seattle music scene is spectacular right now and a lot of the artists there are still on the verge of commercial success, so it’s an exciting time to be paying attention. Sol released this earlier this week for free download.
// http://soundcloud.com/solzilla/sol-need-your-love-feat-ray [free download]
Chris Bathgate - Salt Year
If I’d told you this was Chris Martin from Coldplay would you have believed me? I bet you would have. That probably wouldn’t please Chris Bathgate all that much, as he’s a tried and true artist from Michigan who’s put out some truly gorgeous releases over the years. This record is popping on most Best Of 2011 lists and completely deserves to.
Why should a nigga try to sell a million albums on Itunes when he can sell 5 million $400 headphones? Tell Fiddy how wack his music is, then take a sip of some Vitaminwater. Somaya fucking Reese tried to release a vodka before she dropped an album. When you have the conveyers of an art form more interested in selling anything but music, the music is gonna suck.
The xx - Open Eyes (demo)
It’ll be hard to top the anticipation for The xx’s sophomore album, after what was pretty much a flawless debut. A debut that created the insta-fan madness and devotion rarely enjoyed by bands so early into their trajectory. It seems that in order to pate the appetite for their next release, the band leaked a demo over the holiday weekend and it’s hauntingly gorgeous, as you might expect. Prediction: leaking demos will become a thing.
Sol - Stage Dive
Sol’s an underground sensation that’s about to release his debut album, despite putting out a ton of material (some of which has been shared here). He’s one of the many rappers in Seattle making that city one of the hottest hip hop scenes in the United States right now. This is the first leak from his album, due in January.
The Weeknd - D.D.
Any doubt this is a break out year for Abel Tesfaye are washed away by the release of his third mixtape of the year, Echoes of Silence. Get the free mixtape here. An early Christmas gift from an artist that’s flat out owned the hearts and minds of critics and fans for twelves months straight.
// http://the-weeknd.com/ [download the free mixtape]
Merry Christmas!
I’m gonna slow down the daily posting this week and possibly next, but I’ll likely make it up to you with a mixtape or something.
Have a really great holiday season with your loved ones, great music, and great food.
- Derek
Matthew & The Atlas - I Will Remain
This is in the vein of Avett Brothers and Mumford and just as phenomenal. Big ups to my sister and her fiance for sharing this with me. There’s not a lot out there about these guys, and it appears they’ve just broken up. That means going forward this will be a solo project of London’s Matthew Hegart; a very talented songwriter indeed.
// http://matthewandtheatlas.com/
// [download]
