‘Musicology’ is the new highly anticipated debut album from the amazing Prince. Again he has set the standard to the next level and it is very impressive. Prince is a legend and he likes to bring influential work rather than be a familiar sound. The lyrical content on this collection of tracks is very deep and powerful. Prince, the one who shocked the world with his sexual expression, changing the rules, and making music that is exciting and new, has somehow managed to keep it simple on ‘Musicology’. Bringing us the live band sound and less of the studio synthesizer makes ‘Musicology’ unique and a landmark album. This seems to be a new beginning to his career because the sound is very sophisticated and soulful but then certain tracks make you feel you’re in a block party. The old work of his was in a Popular style and sounded a bit like Madonna back in the day, but he decided to flip it and give us a taste of his sultry side. We all know he is a creative artist and some could say revolutionary, Prince is someone that is not afraid to shock people. This debut is far from you’re average Soul joint, it is electric and has an eclectic feel to it. ‘Prince and The New Power Generation’ have done we’ll on all the tracks. The first single taken from the album is the catchy ‘Cinnamon Girl’. This song will get stuck in you’re head for days. The slow jams on this album are great;’ Call My Name’, ‘On The Couch’ and ‘Dear.Mr Man’ stand out to me as the best. The first track ‘Musicology’ is a party song and it has horns, keyboards and background singers, making it sound like a jam session. The end of the track gives you a reminder of his older stuff and he sings a little solo part. ‘A Million Ways’ is a classic Prince love song, it’s cleverly arranged and has an electric guitar riff and sections that gives it an interesting edge. ‘What Do You Want Me 2 Do?’ has an R&B beat and an acoustic guitar making it sound groovy, its about him not knowing what to do to please his girl. The next song is one of my favourites ‘The Marrying Kind’; it’s a realistic song and opens minds by the truth behind it. It’s a punchy tune with loud drums and electric guitars. ‘If Eye Was you’re Man’ is the next impressive song, it has a piano playing repetitively and it’s just good music. The whole album is genius.

Matthew Daniel [Just Soul]

Van Hunt’s debut is a remarkable first appearance. The selection of self-produced and written tracks; has similar sounds of artists such as Prince and Marvin Gaye. The album has many touching songs and has a few up-tempo numbers such as ‘Dust’, and ‘Seconds of Pleasure’. ‘What Can I Say’ starts with a heart felt piano and Van’s vocals on top make it sultry. It is one of the best songs on the record. The self-titled album is a reflection on his personal life experiences, so it gives you honesty. Each track is compiled with childhood memories, relationships and tribulations. V.H is a man who likes to convey originality. He brings you refreshing and sometimes-commercial sounding music, but still has enough talent to impress the Soul audience. Alicia Keys once commented on how professional his musicianship is. ‘Dust’ is a captivating and powerful, with its Rock like guitars. ‘Seconds of Pleasure’ sounds funky with an infectious groove and bluesy style. ‘Down Here In Hell With You’ begins with a nice guitar riff. ‘Precious’ is again another great Rock/Soul vibe song. The fusion of Rock and Soul music makes him stand out, which makes his music more appealing to those who like Rock. ‘Precious’ is just as good as ‘What Can I say’. The last song is the longest, finishing at a lengthy 5.08, and it has Hip-Hop/Soul feel. His album could be more Soul based but he is a unique artist due to his musical versatility. This guy is one to look out for in the future, as I’m sure he’ll cross over other genres in his music, but keeping Soul music as the base. This is only the beginning for Van Hunt, and I’m just hoping he’ll keep bringing the good music.

Matthew Daniel [Just Soul]

N’Dambi was the background singer we all gravitated towards on the Live album of Erykah Badu, and has continued to have success with her Dallas based band ‘Camp-Wisdom’. It gives you a refreshing experience compared to the usual new Soul acts. Most of the music is Jazz orientated but her Soul drenching vocals brings the twist. Her versatility lies in her talents that consist of song writing, story telling, singing, poetry, as well as writing novels. With all these skills, N’Dambi has something to fall back on, but her music is what everyone knows her for. Her rich voice brings back the memories of past Soul singers, Billy Holiday, Marlena Shaw, Martha Reeves and Glady’s Knight. Starting off with an up beat and light- hearted track ‘Day Dreaming’ opens the album with a lively feel. ‘Lonely Woman/Eva’s Song’ is a dedication and lasts 10.30 seconds. ‘See U In My Dreams’ was one of the songs that stood out for me on ‘Little Lost Girls Blues’ and the live version is even better. ‘Bitter Bitter Blues’ is a personal favorite as it gives a sophisticated and cool atmosphere. The track ‘Soul >From The Abyss’ has an incredible Jazz-bass line at the beginning and the musical instruments softly enter the piece giving it a calming vibe through out. The end of the album has a moving, soul touching song ‘Ode 2 Nina’. N’Dambi has toured as a background vocalist for Grammy Award winner Erykah Badu and often joins the company of Jill Scott, D’Angelo and others. Her professionalism is forever impressive to businessmen and music lovers. N’Dambi’s name stands for butterfly and these wings have definitely taken flight on this record. Be patient for her 2005 release ‘Wired Kind of Wonderful’, surely to be another gem.

Matthew Daniel [Just Soul]

The lush vocals, the Ibiza beats and chill out vibe brings to you Naked Music’s first offering – Aya. Producer Jay Denes (aka Blue 6) formed this beautiful debut album ‘Strange Flower’. Fourteen outstanding tracks, all with honestly prepared lyrics and sweet melodies, make’s ‘Strange Flower’ a new listening experience. She projects her personal vision and gives us an insight to her mind and soul. Aya dropped the opportunity to work with some major record labels to get the correct way she wanted it made. Soon she became part of Naked Music’s family and she met Jay Denes where they found musical chemistry and took it to the studio. Naked Music couldn’t offer Aya money like the giant labels but freedom – and for a year Aya and Jay found them selves forming a wonderful piece of artistry. ‘Strange Flower’ sounds like a cultural melting pot, with influences that stretch from Stevie Wonder to Sunset Club Anthems. Raised in London by Singaporean parents that were both hippies at the time, exposed her to absorb sounds from Jimi Hendrix and Chinese opera. She took all this influential upbringing and left to go to New York at the age of 13. Here she collaborated with Lenny Kravitz, Sweetback, and Pharcyde. Lenny Kravitz and Sweetback’s albums both went gold, and she found herself gaining a group of fans a long the way. She never let go of her first believe, which is, “If music moves you it is irrelevant to what genre it is”. When you have your first listen to ‘Aya – Strange Flower’, you’ll hear mixtures of Pop, Dance and Soul. Naked Music is a unique label and has lots of unknown producers, writers and artists ready to explode. Mixed, Produced and Engineered by Jay Denes and Executive Producer Dave Boonshoft definitely hit the nail on its head with ‘Strange Flower’. It is refreshing but also familiar. Both Aya and Jay wanted to make this not only a personal insight to Aya’s life but a musical journey for the listener’s. This debut album is a rare and raw talent born to give us food for thought and time to chill out.

Matthew Daniel [Just Soul]

When I listened to "2:35 PM" for the first time I found myself picturing an athlete who, in a 400m race, starts like grease lightning and collapses within sight of the finishing line. The album begins with "Keep On Pushin'" which borrows its opening riff from Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come", heavily sampled by contemporary soul artists. But a smile may appear on your face when you realize the line "I was born by the river" becomes "Girl I've lied but please forgive me" and the song has its’ own identity, even though it keeps the same Sam Cooke's and Bobby Womack's style. The following track, "Falling Out" produced by Raphael Saadiq, follows the same plan and turns out to be one of the disc's best tracks. But Calvin, who has a voice like Bobby Womack, doesn't only copy the soul music of the '60s and '70s, he writes and produces most tracks in his sophomore album adding new elements and creating sophisticated sounds. His effort to produce quality music is rewarded because his talented style, filled with deep emotion and passion, is undoubtedly real soul music. Calvin Richardson isn’t only concerned with taking care of his body but he also wants to narrate everyday real life situations with his sexy voice. The messages he wants to convey evolve throughout the disc following the natural evolution of a man's life: crumbling relationships are replaced over time by more stable new partnerships. His friendship with K-Ci & JoJo has markedly influenced his vocals and a couple of songs sound just like Hailey brothers' releases. Calvin Richardson wants to go behind the Neo-Soul movement but he also follows the path created by artists like D'Angelo and Musiq: he accompanies hip-hop beats with smooth arrangements, keeping the same relaxed mood that characterizes the whole album. The collaboration with Slum Village, "You Got Me High" isn't an isolated piece of hip-hop because it's preceded and followed by tracks with same rhythm. The funky "Iwansumo" illustrates Richardson's ability to adapt to different styles of black music but next time 'I want some more' from this because it's too disjointed. The songs worth pressing the skip button for are two productions from the hitmakers Underdogs and Mike City, which are too commercial, but also "I've Got To Move" and "Your Love Is" are disappointments, lacking originality or skill. Maybe the track I prefer is the well-known "More Than A Woman", written and produced by The Untouchables Eddie F and Darren Lighty, two of my favourite producers. Calvin claims this song and its jazzy sounds aren’t affected by the absence of Angie Stone. By the way I definitely recommend this disc. I hope his style, which is very friendly to urban and old-school radio, helps bring soul music back into the mainstream, and hopefully Calvin won't wait until he has another son before releasing his next album!

Claudio Balestrino [Just Soul]