Welcome all music lovers and participants! Your music library is a collection, and I intend to help you expand it, one step at a time. The musical term suite pertains to a loose collection of instrumental compositions. I love sharing the new songs/artist/bands etc. that I discover and think people need to know about. So welcome to the suite, keep an open mind, and I hope you enjoy this week’s features.
This week, I have been all about soul, funk, and rock genres! The combination of these three genres gives me such a great, mellow feeling. They allow you to relax and hang out, are great as background music for getting homework done, and can even create a great mood for hanging out with parents and friends. Over the weekend and into this week, I have made a playlist including these three genres. In particular, I noticed that there were songs from three artists that I kept replaying: Kendra Morris, Nightmares on Wax, and Snarky Puppy. I hope you’ll give these artists a listen!
Kendra Morris
For those of you who watch Ray Donovan on SHOWTIME, you may have recently heard her song “Banshee” in the end credits! “Banshee” seems to be her hit song this year, and it’s also the title of her latest album released in 2012. Kendra moved to New York City in 2003 with her all-girl band, Pinktricity, which eventually broke up due to the pace of the city. She then decided to be an individual artist, drawing inspiration from soul and funk music of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Her music and her voice are reflections of her influence of funk, soul, and rock. Her discography includes her most recent work Banshee (2012), her self-titled album Kendra Morris (2010), Milk and Cookies Never Lie (2008), and This Won’t Hurt a Bit (2007).
Check out her song, “Banshee” on YouTube!
Nightmares on Wax
Nightmares on Wax is such a beautifully different world of music to explore. The man behind this alias is George Evelyn, and he is most known for his underground parties in Ibiza. His pride and joys are his first two works “Smoker’s Delight” and “Carboot Soul” which he produced back in the 90’s. His sound is a little bit hippy, hi-hop, trippy, and alternative, wrapped in a whole lot of funk. If you search ‘Nightmares on Wax,’ his logo will usually come up. The logo that is associated with Nightmares on Wax show so much about the experience of George Evelyn’s music, perhaps even more so than showing his face would. That’s exactly what he is about, the experience of music.
Other works from Evelyn are: “Feelin’ Good” (2013), “Thought So…” (2008), “In A Space Outta Sound” (2006), “Mind Elevation” (2002), and “A Word of Science” (1991).
Here’s a sample of Nightmares on Wax, “Morse,” on YouTube
Snarky Puppy
Snarky Puppy flourishes as a collaboration of musicians combining funk, soul, jazz, and world music. These musicians came together from New York and Dallas, and everything about their music is infectious! The music that they crank out moves your body, mind, and soul. Everything they produce ranges from relaxing to exciting to riveting! Their most recent work is titled “Family Diner, Vol. 1,” and it’s quite different from other albums. This album is a live show recorded with an in-house audience. The album is a dual CD/DVD where you see all of the performances. They feature some elite vocalists, and put the Snarky Puppy interpretation of that artist’s song right on the stage. This is another musical experience worth diving into!
The song that has been moving my soul, as a vocalist, is “Something” by Lalah Hathaway and Snarky Puppy. Ms. Hathaway is a scatting, doo wop, jazz master vocalizing machine. In this version of the song, she sings chords (more than one note at a time). Here (around the time stamp 6:10) she sings at least three notes at a time! Overall, Snarky Puppy takes music creation to another level with all of the genres they’ve explored over the years.
The talent among all of these artists I’ve shared today certainly is incomparable. Music is supposed to be explorative. I hope that you find that you want to expand your musical library, for there’s a musical experience ready and available for everyone. I assure you that you’ll have fun with these artists and embark on a hunt for more! Happy listening, music explorers!