Everybody knows Motown was great, but few realize what an incubator the entire City of Detroit was for soul music in its heyday. For each artist on Berry Gordy’s label there were several more just as good who went with another major, or with a smaller, local indie. Some made their names in r&b, vocal groups or gospel before evolving into soul; others started in soul but had their greatest impact in funk. But even… more »
At eMusic, we take pride in being the place you hear about artists first. Whether it's through our eMusic Selects program - which brought you the first releases by Best Coast, Crystal Stilts, Strand of Oaks and more - or our Breaking Artist features, our editorial team is always on the grind to bring you the best new artists first. Our eMerging Artists station is your chance to be first on the Next Big Thing. more »
The office folks at Righteous Babe Records put this playlist together for eMusic. It has some choice songs from the Righteous Babe catalog but also some friends, openers and influencers we either work with or just plain like to play. Hope you enjoy! more »
Whether your tastes skew toward classics by The Smiths and Wilco or current cutting edge tastemakers like Sleigh Bells and Neon Indian, you're sure to discover something you love on Indie Hits, Past & Present. more »
While the legendary voices of such jazz icons as Billie, Ella and Sarah still ring true, subsequent generations of female jazz vocalists have taken the music in new directions, especially in the '90s, ranging from Cassandra Wilson's new-standard caress to Diana Krall's classics with a twist. Taking their lead, young singers over the last decade have been swinging the vocal tradition onto a new plateau with a pop sensibility. In the mix are tunes by… more »
This mix is not for the faint of heart, so all you groovy geezers take it easy with this one, and let the Daptone crew guide you through a soulful journey of some of our favorite party starters, and late night movers.
Get ready, cause we're gonna swing folks. There's a Happening going down in Bushwick, and we here at Daptone Records would like to share it with you. You don't have to be hip, but… more »
Nirvana and Pearl Jam. This is who you'll hear about when the topic of Seattle's music scene is brought up in a historical context. It makes sense. Alternative music has always been the face of the Seattle scene. But before Kurt and Eddie, there was Ray and Quincy and Jimi. Seattle has soul, and the hip-hop community in the 206 is the living proof. They love their hometown and the music reflects that. "Townfolk Hip-Hop"… more »
Turn your subwoofer into an impact crater. The best new and classic Drum & Bass, Dubstep and Jungle with smatterings of IDM and downtempo. Leaning towards the dark end of the spectrum, the only hard rule is it must have massive amounts of low end. You will be guaranteed to drive your neighbors insane with Mortar Bass Bomb. more »
After Elvis went into the Army and before the British Invasion, the years 1958-63 were rock's forgotten years. But they were the years that shaped the musical tastes of baby boomers and of acts from the Beatles and Rolling Stones to Bruce Springsteen and the Ramones. Hear the dance sensations, the one-hit-wonders, the girl groups and doo-wop singers, surfers and rockabilly twangers, the birth of Motown, the evolution of R&B into soul and so much… more »
As America has gradually discovered East European traditional wedding and dance music over the past decade or so, the brass bands and raucous folk ensembles of the region have been quickly adopted by club-minded producers and DJs from both the U.S. and Europe. It should come as no surprise that the irrepressibly bouncy rhythms and keening melodies of these Slavic and Gypsy traditions would lend themselves nicely to 21st century electronic settings, but what’s impressive is how simultaneously tasteful and riotous so many of those settings have turned out to be. Some of the best of them are gathered on this excellent compilation, which features bands like Goulasch Exotica (whose “Kotyka” offers an intoxicating blend of sturdy electro-funk, fiddle, and Slavic vocals), Dobranotch (whose “Batuta” is turned into a freaky funk-polka by DJ Click), and the brilliant Anima Sound System (whose “Trubulek Vorba” is given a soca-inflected remix at the hands of Jutasi). You’ll hear a distinctly Balkan take on Latin and reggae rhythms from La Caravane Électro (“Rebetiko Song”), an equally distinctive and equally Balkan take on the concept of the house anthem from Mere Mortals (“Perpetuum [Luna Tahina]“), and a surprisingly impressionistic brass band excursion from Leni Kravac (“Zajednica”). All of it is pretty clearly of a piece, regionally speaking, and yet the variety of styles and formats and inflections is nearly kaleidoscopic. In other words, you’ll have your preconceptions simultaneously bolstered and undermined, and if that doesn’t make you want to dance, who knows what will. – Rick Anderson
