Growing up in Ann Arbor, Michiganjust outside of Detroit, Hawthorne lists a host of soul greats including Smokey Robinson, Barry White, Isaac Hayes & Leroy Hutson as some of his main influences. After signing to Stonesthrow Records last year the 29 year olds' debut single 'Just Ain't Gonna Work Out' soon came to the attention of a number of well known dj's and producers. Making it's UK radio debut on Gilles Peterson best of 2008 show Hawthorne's soaring falsetto has also been receiving a lot of support and radio play from the likes of Mark Ronson and BBC 1Xtra'sBenj B. It must also be noted that the multi instrumentalist plays a number of the instruments used on his records and while opinion amongst certain purists is divided, in my opinion he does seem to capture some of the essence of that classic sweet soul sound. Click below to listen or head on over to his Myspace Page for more tracks (watch out for his cover of the 'The New Holidays - Maybe So, Maybe No'). If you are in London you can also catch Mayer performing at Cargo on March 7th 2009.
Although we haven't seen a solo album from Tip in over 6 years, it would seem that his long absence from the game was well worth the wait. With the legendary J.Dilla (R.I.P) offering the posthumous production, this track entitled 'Move' is an absolute gem. The video pays tribute to the Michael Jackson classic 'Rock With You' and also features samples from the Jacksons' tune 'Dancing Machine'. Be sure to look out for 'Getting Up' too, another strong track from the impending album which will be entitled The Renaissance and is scheduled for release on Universal Motown on November 4th.
Sighting a wide range of influences from Radiohead to The Roots, John Coltrane to David Bowie, Frank Bell hails form Atlanta, Georgia. Although he's been making tunes for a good while, over the last year he has gained a strong following after this track entitled 'The Penguin' clocked up over 745,000 YouTube hits. He has a number of other videos of covers and original material on YouTube as well and his Debut EP, 'On Passion and Reason', is now available on iTunes worldwide. Check him out on MySpace too. Definitely one to watch.
Easy peeps, My name is Nicky and welcome to my blog! Seeing as my 'freelance' status allows me to spend a pretty meaty portion of the day 'working' on the net, I thought I'd share some of the stuff that I like. Hope you enjoy.
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Growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan just outside of Detroit, Hawthorne lists a host of soul greats including Smokey Robinson, Barry White, Isaac Hayes & Leroy Hutson as some of his main influences. After signing to Stonesthrow Records last year the 29 year olds' debut single 'Just Ain't Gonna Work Out' soon came to the attention of a number of well known dj's and producers. Making it's UK radio debut on Gilles Peterson best of 2008 show Hawthorne's soaring falsetto has also been receiving a lot of support and radio play from the likes of Mark Ronson and BBC 1Xtra's Benj B. It must also be noted that the multi instrumentalist plays a number of the instruments used on his records and while opinion amongst certain purists is divided, in my opinion he does seem to capture some of the essence of that classic sweet soul sound. Click below to listen or head on over to his Myspace Page for more tracks (watch out for his cover of the 'The New Holidays - Maybe So, Maybe No'). If you are in London you can also catch Mayer performing at Cargo on March 7th 2009.