We’re back from the holidays and witnessing the devastating news from Los Angeles. We just hope that all our friends and contacts in SoCal, and of course all of the residents of this beautiful city, are safe and taken care of, one way or the other. It is really hard to see so many structures…
2.“Te Amar Eterno” – Bruno Berle Brazilian singer, songwriter, poet, and musician Bruno Berle‘s second full-length album, “No Reino Dos Afetos 2”, came out in early April on the London-based Far Out Recordings label. His unique songwriting and singing skills, always veering towards a certain tenderness, was already alive and well on his debut release…
4.“Peaceful Place” – Leon Bridges Leon Bridges has come a long way since his 2015 debut album “Coming Home”. His fourth LP “Leon”, which came out in early October, is clearly his most intimate, very personal and simply his best work to date. My favorite cut from the album is “Peaceful Place”, a song Leon…
5.“State Of Mind” – Jordan Rakei “What’s a love language to meLet’s get to the roots of the treeFeel the love in different waysComfort in different taste”Jordan Rakei‘s “State Of Mind” is the third song from his “The Loop” LP to have made it onto our list of top songs of the year. It celebrates…
7.“Freedom” – Jordan Rakei The second track off Jordan’s brilliant new album “The Loop”, “Freedom” came out in late January as the second single after “Flowers”. The loop (no pun intended) which is running in the back of the track comes full force in the highly energetic vocals, complete with a stunning background vocal arrangement….
8.“Curbs” – Jake & Abe It was during this year’s North Sea Jazz Festival when I witnessed a musician who seemed to really excel as a drummer, percussionist, and vocalist for Meshell Nedegeocello. Meshell was Artist in Residence this year and showed three very different sides of her: her latest album dedicated to James Baldwin,…
13.“Learning” – Jordan Rakei Our Album of the Year is “The Loop” by Jordan Rakei. Three songs from his best LP to date are among our favorites. “Learning” with its amazing background choir and “As”-like ending (yes, as in Stevie Wonder), is still absolutely cracking. Just this one drum beat behind the groove towards the…
16.“Today” – Relyae Brooklyn based artist Relyae, known for his “blissful melodies, uplifting grooves and addictive atmospheres”, released his utterly mellow “Unknown” EP in late September. The five tracks all ooze with a perfect neo-soul/funk/r&b blend. Relyae released his first single back in 2018 with “Be Sad” and there was also a brilliant 7-song album…
18.“Bloom” – Natty Reeves/Jackson MathodThe second track in our list by Natty Reeves came out in early June as a preview to his wonderful “Mist Over Water” EP. The soulful “Bloom” with its bossa-ish sound has some distinctive rhythmic percussion work weaved together with a gentle guitar and some very heartwarming horns, courtesy of Jackson…
19. “Live For You” – Thee Sacred Souls Thee Sacred Souls, a trio from San Diego cleverly and fascinatingly mixing old school Soul of the 60s with the more sophisticated sounds of the early 70s, released their debut album in 2022. To much critical acclaim and praise. In early October, Josh Lane, Sal Samano, and…