Kwaye – ‘Cool Kids’

There’s always one kid at school who’s really good at singing. For us, this was Kwaye. Assemblies and productions were peppered with performances that showcased his raw talent; his abilities as a singer have always far outshone anyone his own age.

It’s a good thing for all of us, then, that he seems to have found his mojo with his new track ‘Cool Kids’. Fun, funky, and fresh, Kwaye’s distinct sound neatly combines disco, R&B and pop. Top this off with an outstanding vocal range; we can only hope there is more to come.

If JUCE can make it, there’s absolutely no reason why Kwaye can’t. Watch out for the name!

Loyle Carner – ‘A Little Late’ EP

Monday night I went to Loyle Carner’s EP launch at Birthdays (Dalston) and it absolutely blew me away. Though he politely apologised for his nerves at the start of the gig – this was his first headliner – he needn’t have done. Slick, smooth, and inspiring throughout.

I spoke to Loyle on twitter last December and he assured me that just after Christmas there would be new tracks. 8 months later, and available for free download here, his aptly named EP ‘A Little Late’ has now dropped and is fantastic.

Thoughtful and melodic, Carner’s rhymes take us on a journey of love, life and loss. His real talent lies in his excellent delivery – spoken word, repetition, and a hazy and refreshing South London sound. At a time when people are scrutinizing UK hip-hop ‘A Little Late’ has dropped an atom bomb on the scene.

Rebel Kleff is the production force behind most of Loyle’s tracks and it turns out he’s also pretty good. His collab with Carner on ‘The Money’ is all about ‘making money for my fam’ and for me, comes a strong second after ‘Cantona’, even though choosing a favourite isn’t really possible.

Both ‘BFG’ and ‘Cantona’ are stories about Loyle’s late father who is the driving emotive force behind a lot of what he does. At his EP launch he even wore his father’s Man U shirt. But it is in such tracks that his charisma and intricacy vow to overpower any overwhelming feeling of sadness for the listener. Instead, they remain engaging and fun; he’s creating nothing short of masterpieces.

But what really struck me on seeing Loyle Carner was his sweet, humble demeanour. I wasn’t alone in feeling inspired by his incredible yet very human performance. He mentioned that he and his dad always dreamt of sharing a stage together; and I have absolutely no doubt that they will share many, many more.

Huge shout out to Loyle Carner, remember the name.

Tyde/Au Revoir Simone.

A quick link to Tyde’s latest remix of Au Revoir Simone’s ‘Just Like A Tree’, a delicious repetetive vocal on a deep minor house vibe. The London boys keep throwing us something new every couple of months, and the growing recognition is much deserved. Au Revoir Simone is a trio of female twenty-somethings hailing from NYC, and if you’re not familiar with their sound, they fall into the pop genre; think Beach Boys crossed with Empire Of The Sun. Tyde give us something different each release, and after a couple of original tracks (one on our First Ear First Year EP), it’s great to see diversity in their work. Check it out!

Gravity (ft G-Eazy) by the code

The initial bursts of contorted bubbles synths on the beginning makes us think that we are in music dream like place…but slowly but surely brings us back to reality of riffs of guitar and a strong bassline.

The influence on this Herfordshire production duo of bands such Wekknd or James Blake.  the soft falsetto voice of the singer  fits perfectly here “Make it go where no life no life, No life can escape it, Bring them all in the cold line, So I can be blame, Let go of my dreams, But you’ll find ??? All that’s got me saying uuhhh baby, Turn it on baby, Uuuh baby” these lyrics got me hooked. 

Gravity was originally released six months ago, but now The code remixed and added the rapper G-Easy.

Rapper G-Eazy is flawless here. his flow and lyrics are on point leaving nothing to imagination to why these lyrics are about “Uhm, it’s like I’m here but I’m not, I’m on where my heart appears to be shot”

this song is pure perfection. Simply an ode to dreams.

 

 

 

First Ear July.

Our biggest month yet! With our first mini-EP release to celebrate our 1st birthday, some great live music and plenty of event attendance and coverage, we had a great month. Did you miss any of it? Never fear. First Ear July is here. Press that play button on the playlist below and zone out to our special selection.

The Soul Diaries X First Ear

The Soul Diaries is one of our favourite shows, those of you who follow us on twitter will see us tweeting about it every Friday afternoon. The show is presented by the talented Nikita Chauhan, she has an amazing taste in music and plays all things soul, funk, hiphop, future beats, and a lot of music which dances between these genres. Last week she invited our editor Jackson Waites (me) to join her on the show, to talk about First Ear and select some tunes. A big thank you goes out to all of you who tuned in live and tweeted us, if you missed the show then you can listen again here.

https://soundcloud.com/nikitachauhan/the-soul-diaries-x-first-ear

JT Joints Twisted – Playlist ft My Love (Wavs Edit) Track Première

Very excited to première Wavs edit of Justin Timberlake – My Love, after watching a teaser he put up on his instagram I had to hit him up to feature it here on First Ear. Relatively new to the Future R&B scene his Ginuwine edit, Do 2 U, first got my attention, he is definitely one to keep your eye on, get at him on his twitter & soundcloud.

Our remixes playlist series has featured some R&B and pop greats, like the other artists we’ve featured before Justin’s vocals lend themselves well to a multitude of genres. Starting out with chilled Future R&B and Ambient Vibes this playlist progresses through to more funky, nudisco and house by the end. Let us know if theres a remix you think should be in here!

 

 

Ayla Nereo – Eastern Sun (SassyKittyRemix) // Free Download

Canadian Future Beats producer, Sassy Kitty, who was one of the artists featured on our Birthday EP , First Ear – First Year, recently dropped his latest track, a remix of Ayla Nereo _ Eastern Sun. The smooth chilled future vibe on thie one makes it suchh an addictive listen, so it’s no surprise that it has racked up almost 15,000 plays in 10 days.

 

https://soundcloud.com/sassy-kitty-productions/ayla-nereo-eastern-sun-sassykittyremix

C-Hawk & Sam Sullivan: “Only The Beginning” // Free Download

Exactly two weeks after releasing “Only The Beginning” (the debut album from C-Hawk and SamSullivanBeats of ProU) it has hit 25,000 plays! The two advanced 18 year old New Hampshire natives take on this album with incredibly fresh production by Sam and high-energy rhyming from C-Hawk [Connor Hawkins]. Get the free 1-click download on DatPiff here!

C-Hawk has only been rapping for six months yet holds his own: especially with his impressive double time flow on “Down To Ride”: the intro track. All the piano and sax on the album are played and recorded by the talented teenage musicians, whom are best friends and grew up together. Features include well-known Boston MCs Mr. Fritz and Just Juice!

Standout tracks to me are: “Listen Close” and “Bliss”, but I liked something from every track, as you will find in this consistent album. A pleasing 11-track journey.

First Ear June Playlist

June has been a great month for music and you will hear a summery vibe running through this playlist, here’s every track we’ve covered over the last month.

 

 

It’s our first birthday on the 3rd July so keep your eye out for a little birthday treat from us!