realm's word

Undistorted Views (through rose-tinted lenses)

Comeback season!

Posted by Realm 17 April 2009 comments (0)


Seem's like this is the year for returns...here is some infor for you and yes, most of these are RnB singers, but dont shoot the messenger!
Maxwell's been working on his return for some time, reportedly a double album entitled 'Black Summers Night', due for release this summer. I'm almost nervous to hear this, I mean...it's been so long-awaited that I hope he does himself justice, it would be a shame to tarnish his legacy. But you know, he's talented and has taken his time over this and anyone who produces music knows, a project is never finished, so I'm guessing he's just improving on Neo Soul perfection.
T-Boz will be back I've heard, as will Miss Kelly Price! Now there's a name I've missed... Kelly Price, for those who don't know, is what you might call a soul singer from the 'old school'. I also hear that she's been in Jamaica working with TOK! Give her a ballad, a microphone and DONE, great music and a very welcome return. As for T-Boz, I have no idea what to expect, let's hope she does herself proud, she's contributed to some classics over the years.
Tank, singer of 'Maybe I deserve' and my personal favourite 'I wanna be that' (prod Jazze Pha) is due to return.
A little birdie tells me to expect a return from Toni Braxton. As I understand it, there will be production work from Rodney Jerkins (Darkchild). Not to sounds all negative on Toni, but the last time she 'came back' seemed to coincide with a period of time when she was broke. What ever happened to making music 'just because'? A word of advice Toni, if Brandy's most recent offering is anything to go by, steer clear of Mr Jerkins.
Jodeci are expected to release their long awaited reunion album. I remember the K-Ci and Jo-Jo album 'X' (remember the single 'Crazy'? THAT album) which had an incredible hidden gem of a track on it by Jodeci call 'Slip 'N Fall'...if that's anything to go by then a return album will be worth while.
Speaking of Jodeci, Dru Hill have apparently once again set themselves up with a new member and will return. 'Dru World Order' was good in some places, at least the guys write and produce, credit where it's due.
New album from Omarion due too (blah blah blah).
And with a recent Brandy offering of course follows another...from Monica - will those two ever be mentioned without ones mind drifting to the other?!
Whitney Houston is out of rehab and recording/writing, so expect something from her, I'd love to see if she can come back with a new sound again, 'it's not right but it's okay' was ridiculous.
Case... yes CASE is due to return! Lets see what happens there, 'cause the album 'Open Letter' was inconsistent to say the least, although I still regularly play 'Crooked Letter'! Looking forward to this one!

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Nu, Neo or just plain Soul?

Posted by Realm 16 April 2009 comments (0)

Seems to me that this needs clearing up prior to writing any actual reviews - we, the fans of Soul music are an elitist bunch when it comes to how we view music and more importantly, how the world views what 'we' collectively listen to - Soul music is an expression of self. I'm the first to admit that this is not a nice trait, find yourself in the Jazz Cafe in London and it won't be long before the words 'credible' are uttered by your host for the evening, again elitist and not a necessary term. All music has a purpose on some level even if be as simple as getting people on to the dance floor - as a DJ I've been guilty of playing 'RnB' and 'Rap' (not to be confused with Soul or Hip Hop), but remember, music is about 'feeling' and this can be expressed in a serious or fun, light-hearted way.
The terms 'neo', 'nu' and 'neoclassical' often get used ahead of 'soul'. Many artists don't like to be branded this way, but let's be real, no matter how you fuse various genre's together, classifications are what define us and to me, being pigeon-holed in some cases can be wrong, but when it comes to music, why not. I mean, I love to share 'my' music with those who have yet to experience the feeling I get from the music I love so much and so to define it is to declare it's existence. Us soul fans define the music by using terms such as 'conscious' and as being a 'movement'. And it is just that. The word 'conscious' is banded around to cover many genre's of music and in general refers to the music having a deeper meaning than simply selling records - lyrical content that is written for a reason (self expression, political stance and other down-to-earth, relevant subjects) and a musical sound that doesn't shout 'chart topper', instead staying true to the use of live instruments, allowing artists within the band to shine and importantly - paying attention to the importance of recognising the necessity to stay true.
I call 'my' music 'Neo Soul', it's what I listen to, it's what I do. It's fair to say that most music genre's derive from others in some way shape or form. When I say 'Soul', I refer to a less contemporary sound, it doesn't have to be old in terms of when it was made, but the values are somewhat different to Neo Soul. When I say 'RnB', I refer to a more pop-orientated sound. When I say Neo-Soul I refer to a sound which encompasses experimentation and fusions of whatever genre's feel right, be they Soul, Hip Hop, Jazz, Funk, Rock...anything.
How to know if you're listening to Neo Soul and not any others?
Start with the basics - D'Angelo - Brown Sugar. To me, D'Angelo is the personification of Neo Soul, although his second album 'Voodoo' is where his creativity took his music to a new level...Voodoo moves that little bit further away and into the mind of the man himself and although you see an appearance from Method Man and Redman, the album as an entity is a perfect fusion comprising an epic album. Listen to Voodoo and you'll understand Neo Soul.
Movement? Conscious? Credible?
Are these fair terms for Neo Soul? Yes, for now. There is a general acceptance amongst Neo Soul fans of a certain way of being and understanding of what the music is there for, doing and aiming for. It remains to be seen whether or not it will cross over. With originators like Omar, D'Angelo and Maxwell all maintaining their original focus, they lead by example and if the others can follow in their footsteps, Neo Soul will continue to thrive, on the borders of underground, just where it belongs.

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VJing..ready to become the new standard

Posted by Realm comments (0)


So I'm looking at good old www.htfr.com , checking mixers - been a long time since I took my trusty 1210's out of storage and I'm ready to get back into it - new mixer needed. I know I've been out of the (DJ) game for a fair while now (the resurrection cometh), but sheeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiit, has it been THAT long?
In my day, if it had a digital crossfade your were like 'whoa, that crossfade is so damn smoooooooooth'...but now a days, kids got touch screens.
For those who CAN get their mind round how scratching comes across via A/V mixing (i mean how the audience will see the scratching on screen), imagine scratching two images (obviously you'd be scratching a video which includes music too) with your crossfade set to visual 'chroma key' or 'wipe' effect - so the cut isn't just a 'fade' from one image to another...this adds an entire new dimension to VJing to such an extent that simple mixing can now be seen as 'prep work' for VJing... if you don't VJ, you're way behind and in the next few years, perhaps near on redundant in the club scene as VJing becomes ever present..!!!

Man, no matter what level you think you're at as a DJ, step your game UP!

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Posted by Realm 7 April 2009

I've been contemplating this for a while... should I jump on board the blogging gravy train, and become 'me 2.0' ? The reality is, why not?! I guess there are various reasons as to why any individual deems it relevant to post their life online to the masses, many individuals see blogging as a means to communicate for other reasons (social networking, money, pr, downloading etc...), for me it's a case of allowing myself to indulge in occasional rants, express my views on music and generally use it as a therapeutic outlet. Of course, I'm not here to spill my thoughts on everything, it just seems like a good place to tell the world what's on my mind whenever it suits and who knows, perhaps my Blogging therapy will conclude eventually with a mental breakthrough which is a life-altering revelation?! Hmm, unlikely as it sounds, it's new territory and I think that it'll be a combination of diary-meets-music reviewing-meets-random other life activities.

So here goes, first things first, time to get some coding and make this thing look pleasing to the eye, then I'll kick things off with some posts and have a grand unveiling, red ribbon and all. Until then, sleepy time, me thinks..

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