Well, and once again, Lady Gaga and Nick Knight have teamed up to push quite a few boundaries, and after watching this about 20 times in a row, my mouth is still wide open with all those mind-blowing details. Seriously now, and putting aside all objectivism and possible theoretical analysis: this is some surreal next-level shit, so friggin' amazing!
Ciara's fourth album may have been a flop saleswise, but that doesn't take away its quite good merits. And those are in a large part due to the presence of The-Dream and Tricky Stewart as producers and writers, providing the vibrant synthetic R&B atmosphere that permeates all over Basic Instinct, with some amazing back instrumentals for Ciara to do her thing on. Not only are those beats sexy and seductive on their own, but they also blend perfectly with her trademark soft and anonymous (- compliment here!) voice. (7,5/10)
The UK bass culture is currently living a very-prolific period, and Devlin is another name to add up to a list that already includes huge mainstream-success stories such as Tinie Tempah or Skepta. Bud, Sweat & Beers may be his first album, but it's already a very huge and ambitious affair. The frantic beats don't let it be mistaken by anything else than a grime album, as well as Devlin's flow, or shall I say, angry words-spitting rhymes? But then there are also the immense pop hooks, absurdly catchy choruses, emo pianos and strings, heavy guitars and a whole lot of intense drama, taking everything into another level that comes really close to reaching epic proportions. In a way, it all reminds me of a less-cartoonish version of Eminem, which - in my book - is a very good place to start with. (7/10)
Remember The Sound Of Arrows? This Swedish duo took 2009 by storm with one of the best songs ever done (no kidding here), the perfectly-titled Into The Clouds... and then vanished completely. Well, that absence from the public-radar was all for a good reason, as they went to prepare their debut album, which is now finally ready and will be released very soon. Its first single is titled Nova and it's so fantastic that I'm literally drooling here right now as I write this. Another beautiful half-melancholic / half-ecstactic song, like only the Swedes seem capable of doing, loaded with a myriad of epic goosebumps-inducing synths. Seriously, things like this make me fall in love with the world.
Say what you will about the shameless product-placement throughout, or the slightly nauseating fast-pacing editing, but this is nevertheless one of the best videos she's ever done. And I'm really loving the metaphors drawing a close parallel to her own life: meteoric career start - becoming a celebrity - rise to stardom - inner struggle - breakdown - and, finally, triumphant comeback!
Apparently I finally found out what was needed for me to start liking James Blake's debut: to be sick with a virus and spend a few days at home with not much to do. What was my problem with this album before? The fact that it all seemed too incomplete, like too much sketches and great ideas grouped together but with something still missing. And what changed in the last high-fever days? I suppose my availability and patience to fill in the gaps by myself. So yes, I now agree: this will probably be considered a landmark in the future, when a dubstep musician started building up his own world and used some - but not much - of the scene's elements to create a new and very personal sound. As a matter of fact, I don't think there's much dubstep in here anymore. This album is more a collection of leftfield songs, little melodies with a heavily processed voice - that anyway still sounds fragile enough, actually like everything else in here -, built around some really unique electronic sounds and... a lot of silence. Yes it can sound incomplete in the beginning. But maybe there's another expression for that, and that's: entering someone's intimacy. (8/10)
Born This Way - The Song has arrived! And being able to finally hear it has left me a bit too emotional to write anything else for now, so I'll just leave you with the wise words from the lady herself: "I love my life I love this record and mi amore vole fe yah". Have a great weekend!
Anyone that reads the news and gossip columms from time to time will probably have a hard time taking Sean Combs seriously. Don't blame yourself for that, and actually he's the first one aknowledging this fact, so all the better for it. But judging by Last Train To Paris, at least no one should question his skills as executive producer, considering that he's capable of bringing together so many A-list names to collaborate with him, from Grace Jones, Usher, T.I., Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake and Drake to Chris Brown, Trey Songz and Bilal. Oh and the list of producers is also pretty awesome: Danja, Polow Da Don, Jay-Z, Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, Swizz Beatz, Rodney Jerkins, Sean Garrett, D’Mile, Mario Winans or DEEKAY, among others. The end result is a kaleidoscopic journey described as an “electro-hip-hop-soul-funk experience blending elements of U.K. grime, Mediterranean techno, and the 808s of American hip-hop”. Sounds good, no? With such an ambitious project that goes much broader than the standard hip-hop album, it's a bit inevitable to bring to the table comparisons with Kanye West, but not forgetting that, as said before, Diddy takes himself way less seriously. True, he probably has less than half the talent of Kanye's... but on the other hand, not having a stick up your ass - and surrounding yourself by all the right people - can sometimes result in music that sounds much more fun. (8,5/10)
The new Rihanna's video is finally out there for everyone to drool on. It's all about sado-masochism (just to clear that up), and it's a bit of a mess, but a sexy-hot colourful and fun mess. And needless to say, she looks prettier than ever ♥.
