Each week we find a track from an artist or band we’ve been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. On “Cold Summer,” Baltimore R&B crooner CJ Hilton shows he can flip a falsetto like Marvin Gaye and then add some bass and talk-sing like Nate Dogg. He works the duality to fine effect, describing a relationship turned arctic. Producer Salaam Remi lends a ridiculous concoction of guitar, bass lines, and drums to ensure “Cold Summer” blazes your winter.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Each week we find a track from an artist or band we’ve been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. R&B mainstay Anthony Hamilton’s toasty-warm voice is ideal accompaniment as temperatures dip and added “heat” is required. Hamilton nails his part on the Babyface-produced “Woo,” vocalizing in his rustic brogue the “how can something feel so bad feel so right” paradox many lovers go through. “Woo” appears on the latest Anthony Hamilton album, Back to Love.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Each week we find a track from an artist or a band we’ve been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. When we last left Mayer Hawthorne, he was the darling of the retro funk/hip-hop set, hitting falsettos over classically-arranged soul and tweaked drum breaks. The new single “No Strings” is Hawthorne gently evolving into his own man. The dusty ambiance of the past may be cleaned up a tad, but fear not, he’s keeping a toe in the old school jam — sharp-eared crate diggers will notice a slight interpolation of Delegation’s “Oh Honey” weaved in to "No Strings." Vocally, Mayer maintains his Casanova edge, smoothly opining about a woman’s relationship status in that unusual, individual singing style of his. “No Strings” appears on his second album How Do You Do.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Our Discovery Download puts the focus on a different artist each week, offering up a free track we think is worth your attention. Mississippi’s Noel Gourdin mixes up the sublime and the soul-searching on this track from Fresh: The Definition. Thick, crisp beats roll on next to florid piano fills and Gourdin’s falsetto-laden song of praise to all the beautiful ones out there.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
