My first Luxury Soul collection dates back to 2004. Thanks to Ralph Tee for coming up yet again with the definitive indie soul collection for 2023, compiling 35 tracks on three CDs. What a vast amount of quality tracks on here. I’ve always admired the Isley Brothers tune “Here We Go Again”, one of my…
Dutch singer Wouter Hamel recorded a perfect set of cleverly crafted pop songs on his 2009 album “Nobody’s Tune” and subsequently released four more highly enjoyable sets. With “Little Torch”, which came out last November, he has come up with his most intimate and satisfying album to date. He’s the most tender and gentle on…
It’s been 24 long years. Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt return with a new album after their 1999 “Temperamental” set came out on Virgin Records. “Fuse” will be released on the same label on April 24th. Both worked on solo projects in the last 20 years so it wasn’t as if we were completely lost….
We regularly get some mails from people asking how Gina is doing. Thanks for that folks! Gina is an old dame now. She has some problems with her joints, but she’s having regular physical therapy treatments and massages so it’s not really something to worry about. She’s also getting monthly shots to keep her from…
Pioneering drummer Terri Lyne Carrington has come up with yet another groundbreaking book and accompanying album. On the lookout for women composers of the Real Book jazz charts, she couldn’t find any. And thus, created her own, “New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets By Women Composers”. The accompanying album is nominated for Grammy Awards in two…
One of my favorite singers has finally come up with an album of Latin America’s most beautiful love songs. Jackie Ryan‘s mother was Mexican and so the singer had always included at least one Spanish song in her previous records, like “La Puerta” on “Listen Here”(2012), “Solamente Una Vez” on “Doozy” (2009), or “Historia De…
Singer and guitarist Chico Lessa moved to Rio de Janeiro at the age of 17 and quickly made a lot of friends there. He recorded his first LP independently back in 1982 with a total of 36 musicians and released only two more albums, “Orifício É O Que Não Tem Parede” (1995), and “No Trem…
Released in early November, this is Caecilie moving into new terrain here since this is her first album where she explores the soul/pop side of her and writing all of the 11 songs on board and releasing them on her own, recently established label Loud Lady Music. She will continue to record for the German…
Focusing on albums we more or less overlooked in the last quarter, this is the first one we want to review: singer Carmen Lundy‘s 16th album “Fade To Black” was released in late September and right from the start, with “Shine A Light”, she proves once again why she rates among the most innovative, important…
French funky Afropean duo DjeuhDjoah and Lieutenant Nicholson are back with their third album “2+”. This is a monstrous boogie-filled 15-tracker released just in time for the gray and cold season, bringing a lot of warmth and sun to your home studio or wherever you prefer to listen to your music. We get a fantastically…