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Review: Rochelle Jordan – Play with the Changes

The first thing I noticed when I heard Rochelle Jordan for the first time was how effortlessly she blends soul, R&B, hip hop, house, and (especially) trip hop. Those last two bits are what really hooked me. There are plenty of great R&B artists out there who blend soul, R&B, and hip hop, but few of them add house and trip hop elements – and fewer do it well.

Jordan does it quite well on her new record, Play with the Changes. The trip hop touches are noticeable right out of the gate on the album’s opener, “Love U Good.” Quick, electro beats and swirling synths dance around Jordan’s hypnotizing voice…and then that house beat kicks in and you’re floating on air and believing beyond hope that Jordan is actually talking to you alone. The house grooves continue on “Got Em,” which will be played all over dance clubs once they open up in a post-COVID world. Rightfully so, as the synth-bass alone is worth cover charge.

“Next to You” is another sexy track with Jordan’s pleas for more than snuggles as sharp synths and kinky bedroom beats pretty much make you want to get naked. “All Along” is a fun track with peppy beats and samples and Jordan saying she’s looking for someone she can trust and “Someone to spark me up.” Meow. Excuse me while I release some steam from under my collar.

The bass of “Broken Steel” hits hard, but not as hard as Jordan’s vocal work – which is gorgeous – and her lyrics about the daily struggles of black women to be strong every day while carrying sometimes enormous crosses that we can’t (or don’t want to) see. “Better shut my mouth. If I sing my feelings, then they’ll say I am too loud. Blend into the crowd. Once they see my color, then they’ll think that I’m too proud. They’ll think I’m super-tough and made of silver stuff, all while I’m falling apart.” Damn. You think it’s a sexy jam at first, and then Jordan puts on a pair of brass knuckles that read “TRUTH” and wallops you in the forehead.

“Count It” blends birdsong with gooey, thick bass and Jordan telling her lover, “If you ever leave, I might be lonely, but if you ever leave, I won’t be beggin’.” She’ll make it without you, me, or anyone else. The opening beats and synths of “Already” would fit perfectly onto a Thievery Corporation record, and Jordan says, “Yeah, I’m good to go. Nothing personal.” after a break-up. Her ex has offered apologies and a good time, but it’s too late. She’s already moved onto better things (a dance floor being among them, judging from this song’s groove).

Jordan soon has “Nothing Left” to give her lover (apart from sharp synth-snare drums and brooding bass) after trying, again and again, to make their relationship work. She’s finally had enough and is leaving to replenish herself. “Lay” opens with Jordan leaving a message for someone to call her back before she sings about being worried about her lover being hurt whenever he leaves her sight due to her watching too much news and seeing what’s happening to black men across the country. “Your head’s always on a swivel. I like it better when it’s on my pillow…You’re safer with me when I’m watching you sleep,” she sings.

“This could be something, or nothing,” Jordan sings on “Something” – an agile track that has a bass line and beats that seem to move in multiple directions at once and Jordan wondering if her new beau is going to be “the one” or “the none,” so to speak. “Dancing Elephants” will have you bouncing next to them in the club. The thumps and bumps are undeniable, as are Jordan’s lyrics about wanting to keep dancing with her lover despite knowing the relationship isn’t going to last. They’re dancing around the elephant in the room. “This is all we know, this is how it goes,” she says. They’ll dance, things will seem better for a while, but that elephant will still be there in the morning. The closer, “Situation,” brings in a little bit of drum and bass music to go with Jordan’s falsetto and lyrics about realizing she’s fallen harder for her lover than she initially realized.

Jordan can not only blend musical styles well, she can also pen love songs that will make you swoon one moment and sit up straight the next. Play with the Changes is one of the best records of 2021 so far, and Jordan seems ready to be one of the Next Big Things – but part of me can’t help but wonder if she’d prefer to stay somewhat on the fringe (which is totally bad-ass).

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rochelle Jordan releases “Something” from her upcoming album.

Los Angeles-based artist Rochelle Jordan releases a new single, “SOMETHING,” from her forthcoming album, Play With the Changes, out April 30th on Young Art Records. Following a string of singles – “NEXT 2 YOU,” “ALL ALONG,” and “GOT’ EM,” “SOMETHING” was produced by Machinedrum and continues to highlight not just Jordan’s own personal evolution, but a path to pushing her sound forward. “I took a bit of time in 2016 to reflect back on my previous project and realized I had been sitting in the more emotional side of myself and was speaking to being hurt a lot,” says Jordan. “‘Something’ was the start of me rebelling against my more vulnerable side and learning to let go of expectations. I wanted to learn to have an attitude of ‘What will be, will be’ and that opened up the direction of where my writing would go for this project, less emotional, more nonchalant, and straight-up taking control of myself and situations. Something is a reflection of that mindset for sure.”

Machinedrum adds: “Rochelle and I have been collaborating since 2015 and have built a very strong musical relationship and close friendship since then. She’s one of my favorite artists to work with as she’s forward-thinking, incredibly talented, and has a timeless voice. ‘Something’ was one of the first tracks Rochelle and I collaborated on. I loved that she resonated with this off-kilter beat I had made. I knew we were going to do great things together based on how beautifully she wrote to the beat. I’m thrilled and honored to be a part of her journey. It’s been an amazing experience working so closely with her and KLSH on this album, I’m super proud of what we’ve done together!”
Listen to Rochelle Jordan’s “Something”

Produced by Jordan’s longtime collaborator KLSH, alongside Machinedrum, and Jimmy Edgar, Play With the Changes presents Jordan as a modern heir in a lineage of powerhouse vocalists with style and imagination. After a contemplative period marked by spiritual and artistic growth, Jordan returned with a slew of ethereal soul – collaborations with Jimmy Edgar, Machinedrum, JacquesGreene, and J-E-T-S, all leading up to the radiant breakthrough that is her new album, Play With the Changes.

Defying categorization to create a project full of slinky, dancefloor-packing burners that channel her U.K. roots, Play With the Changes is reminiscent of Jordan’s childhood nights spent listening to her brother’s 2-step hymns from the other side of the wall. These are songs of experience: grappling with depression, homesickness, and struggles with an industry that rarely has room for true originals – especially ones who write all their own music. But they are unmistakably songs of triumph.
Pre-order / Pre-save Play With the Changes

Watch the “NEXT 2 YOU” Video

Listen to “ALL ALONG”

Watch Visualizer for “GOT EM”

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rochelle Jordan’s new album, “Play with the Changes,” is due April 30th, but she wants to get “Next 2 You” right now (if you’re lucky).

Los Angeles-based artist Rochelle Jordan announces her new album, Play With the Changes, out April 30th on TOKiMONSTA’s Young Art Records, and today presents new single/video, “NEXT 2 YOU.” For Jordan, a desire for sonic expansion has long been embedded into her fusion of futuristic and ancestrally soulful R&B. To hear a Rochelle Jordan song is to absorb a blend of sampledelic 90s pop, vintage UK house and garage, 31st century electronic bangers, airy late night ballads, and progressive hip-hop. On Play With the Changes, Jordan showcases not just her own personal evolution, but a path to pushing sound forward. Produced by KLSH, Machinedrum, and Jimmy Edgar, the album presents her as a modern heir in a lineage of powerhouse vocalists with style and imagination: everyone from Whitney Houston to Celine Dion, Aaliyah to Amerie, Kelis to Mariah Carey.

Following singles “GOT EM” and “ALL ALONG,” “NEXT 2 YOU” is an alluring R&B track backed by a 2-step beat and radiant, celestial synths. The accompanying video was directed by Lissyelle Laricchia. “When KLSH first played me this beat, I thought it was so jarring and unconventional that I fell in love with it,” says Jordan. “It really took me back to the days when I obsessed over Deadmau5 and Artful Dodger, but this was a very futuristic sound I hadn’t quite heard before. It’s as strange as it sounds, as it feels, and is as beautiful and unique as I love for my music to be. As far as the lyrics go, the song is about what it says. I’m trying to get next to you.”

Watch Rochelle Jordan’s Video for “NEXT 2 YOU”

Born in London to British-Jamaican parents, Jordan and her family relocated to the eastside of Toronto in the early ‘90s. Her father, a drummer, encouraged her love of art and instilled an appreciation for Northern soul, and Jamaican reggae and dancehall. Bleeding through the walls of her childhood bedroom, the adolescent Jordan soaked in the record collection of her older brother: funky UK house, nocturnal drum and bass, garage, and all the gospel samples contained therein.

Jordan’s first releases ROJO (2011) and Pressure (2012) revealed an effortlessness to her left-field R&B sound, blending sultriness with grit, confidence and a playful experimental streak. After relocating to LA, Jordan’s career swiftly elevated. She toured with Jessie Ware, collaborated with Childish Gambino(Donald Glover) on his 2014 Grammy-nominated album, Because the Internet, and landed a stint doing voice over work for the Adult Swim show, Black Dynamite, where she appeared in a memorable episode featuring Erykah Badu, Chance the Rapper, and Mel B. of the Spice Girls. Jordan’s first complete statement, 2014’s 1021, produced the acclaimed singles “Lowkey” and “Follow Me.” Pitchfork named the latter one of the most essential post-Drake Toronto tracks, calling 1021 “one of the best Canadian contemporary R&B albums of the last five years.”

After a contemplative period marked by spiritual and artistic growth, Jordan returned with a slew of ethereal soul – collaborations with Jimmy Edgar, Machinedrum, Jacques Greene, and J-E-T-S. It all led up to the radiant
breakthrough that is her new album, Play With the Changes.

Defying categorization to create a project full of slinky, dancefloor-packing burners that channel her U.K. roots, Play With the Changes is reminiscent of Jordan’s childhood nights spent listening to her brother’s 2-step hymns from the other side of the wall. These are songs of experience: grappling with depression, homesickness, and struggles with an industry that rarely has room for true originals – especially ones who write all their own music. But they are unmistakably songs of triumph.
Pre-order / Pre-save Play With the Changes

Listen to “NEXT 2 YOU”

Listen to “ALL ALONG”

Watch Visualizer for “GOT EM”

Play with the Changes Tracklist:
1. LOVE U GOOD
2. GOT EM
3. NEXT 2 YOU
4. ALL ALONG
5. BROKEN STEEL FT. Farrah Fawx
6. COUNT IT
7. ALREADY
8. NOTHING LEFT
9. LAY
10. SOMETHING
11. DANCING ELEPHANTS
12. SITUATION

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Ahmad at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Psymon Spine – Charismatic Megafauna

The opening track of Psymon Spine‘s new album, Charismatic Megafauna, “Confusion,” is pure dream / synth-pop bliss and lets you know that you’re in for a treat. The whole album mixes dance grooves with synth hooks and funk and inspires you to move and / or chill.

Bright synths, cool bass, and sweet disco beats are all over this record. Psymon Spine’s founders, Noah Prebish and Peter Spears, describe the slightly dark “Modmed” as a break-up song about leaving their previous band – Barrie. The bass on it is as thick as a dozen donuts eaten during a self-pity binge that becomes a “You know, what? Screw it. I’m eating these donuts because I’m moving on.” celebration. “Jacket” moves and sways like it has some junk in the trunk.

“Jump Rope” is a sexy romp with female vocals about meeting and defying expectations. “Milk” features Barrie – the lead singer of Prebish and Spears’ former band – doing backing vocals on another cool, bass-heavy track. “The game is called ‘Channels,” they sing on “Channels” – a fast dance-punk track about the drudgery of work and going along with the crowd when you really want to go off-road, forge your own path, and tell your doubters, “Get the fuck out of my face.”

“Different Patterns” mixes acoustic guitars with Knight Rider bass for a weird, dreamy effect. “Real Thing” bubbles and pops with synths that remind me of God Lives Underwater tracks and electric drums hit so snappy they could be a breakfast cereal. “Solution” bounces with a wicked house music beat that builds to a floor-filling frenzy. The album ends with “Unwound” – a bit of a psychedelic treat to send us off on a trippy note.

It’s a pretty cool record that blends its multiple influences well – making you dance and think. That’s not an easy task, but they make it seem easy.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Cody at Clandestine PR.]

Yoshinori Hayashi gets you moving with new single – “Touch.”

Tokyo-based producer Yoshinori Hayashi announces his new album, Pulse of Defiance, out April 9th on Smalltown Supersound. The album is an outstanding statement, expanding Hayashi’s ever-growing world of sound and showcasing his musical versatility in the process. Spanning ecstatic jungle breaks, club-ready techno, and free jazz’s unpredictable gait, Pulse of Defiance is a sonic journey through Hayashi’s marvelous mind that provides new surprises at every turn, and with every successive listen. Jockeying lead single “Touch” oscillates with floating synth and a danceable beat, presenting a first taste of his expansive and addicting sound.

Stream/Purchase “Touch” by Yoshinori Hayashi

Pulse of Defiance is the latest and most fascinating step in Hayashi’s still-blooming career—a half-decade of fantastically quixotic output that’s established him as one of electronic music’s most fascinating aural conjurers. After a string of releases on esteemed labels like Lovers Rock, Going Good, and JINN, Hayashi made his Smalltown Supersound debut with 2019’s Ambivalence, his first full-length album. An immersive and fascinating work, Ambivalence submerged Hayashi’s sound in distant, underwater textures that added layers of allure to its loose, jazzy confines; it was followed up by last year’s Y, a four-tracker that splayed drum-machine freakouts and wobbly low-frequency textures across techno’s brittle framework.

In 2020, space disco masterminds Prins Thomas and Bjørn Torske offered lush remixes of Ambivalence cuts that emphasized just how musically fluid Hayashi’s style is—and Pulse of Defiance is more concrete proof that he’s working without limitations. Within the opening third of the album’s enticing sprawl, the listener’s treated to gorgeous jazzy hip-hop breaks, upward-scaling piano drama, and cavernous techno reminiscent of rave-era greats like Orbital and Underworld. From noise-bursted drum’n’bass to rapid-fire club music, there simply is nothing Hayashi can’t do.

Indeed, such virtuosic and diverse-sounding music collected in a single statement brings to mind myriad reference points; but Pulse of Defiance is also a work that could only come from him at this point, the latest delightfully surprising release from a musician that continues to chart his own path.

Pre-order Pulse of Defiance

Pulse of Defiance Tracklist:
01. Callapse
02. Make Up One’s Mind
03. Luminescence
04. Touch
05. Twilight
06. Go With Us
07. Morning Haze
08. Frequency
09. Flow
10. Shut Up
11. Gallop
12. I Believe In You

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Top 40 albums of 2016 – 2020: #’s 5 – 1

Here we are at the top of the music mountain. Again, putting this list together wasn’t easy. It went through at least four drafts before it felt “right.”

#5: BODEGA – Endless Scroll (2018)

This post-punk record by the Brooklyn band took a good chunk of the world by storm, receiving a lot of airplay in England and across U.S. alternative radio stations and being played at Paris fashion shows. It’s full of great hooks, scathing lyrics about hipsters, death, perceptions of masculinity, sex, and people willingly enslaving themselves to technology. BODEGA instantly became my favorite band of 2018 when I heard this.

#4: Flat Worms – Antarctica (2020)

This wild psych-punk (and I’m not sure that’s an accurate description) album unleashes raw power from the get-go and doesn’t let up for the entire run. It takes subjects like consumerism, rich elitism, racism, existential angst, and xenophobia head-on with hammering guitars and drums as heavy as a glacier. This album was locked into my #1 spot for Best Albums of 2020 after its release.

#3: The Well – Death and Consolation (2019)

This doom metal album from Austin, Texas’ The Well was my favorite album to send to fellow doom-lovers for Christmas in 2019. It hits hard in all the right ways – chugging bass and guitars, fierce yet in-the-pocket drumming, and lyrics about mortality, horrible things that lie beyond the veil, epic mystical battles, and overcoming fear of such things to transcend this illusionary existence. Heavy stuff? Yes, but The Well carry it with the ease of Hercules.

#2: Kelly Lee Owens – (self-titled) (2017)

This album made me want to create electronic music even more than I already did. I hadn’t touched my digital turntables in months, and then Kelly Lee Owens releases her self-titled debut of house, ambient, and synthwave music and slaps me awake with it. Seeing her live at the 2018 Pitchfork Music Festival only slapped me harder. The problem? She’s so good, and this album is such a strong debut, that it’s tempting to hear it and think, “Damn, why should I even bother?” I’ll be happy if I can create something a fifth as good as this.

#1: David Bowie – Blackstar (2016)

I mean, come on, was there any doubt? David Bowie’s final album is a masterpiece. I can’t say it any better than that. He faced his mortality with introspection, acceptance, and even humor. His backing jazz band is outstanding on this, and every song carries extra weight when viewed with the hindsight of knowing the Thin White Duke was getting ready to head back into the brilliant dimension that spawned him.

Thanks for all the good music, everyone.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 40 albums of 2016 – 2020: #’s 30 – 26

We reached the top 30 of my top 40 albums of the last five years. Whittling my list down to 40 records was hard enough, how about 30?

#30: Underworld – Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future (2016)

Easily one of the most optimistic and uplifting albums of the last five years, Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future was a triumphant return for Underworld and had all of us look up to a shining light ahead that could be reached if we all worked together. The themes became more important each passing year.

#29: Blanck Mass – World Eater (2017)

Speaking of records built around synths, drum machines, and analog gear – Blanck Mass’ World Eater is a powerful record that expands on Underworld’s optimism and fuels it with some trepidation and danger.

#28: Soulwax – From Deewee (2017)

The electronic music hits keep on coming. This stunning record combines vintage synths with double live drumming to produce a wicked record that was recorded in one take. One. Take. It never ceases to impress.

#27: Cookin’ Soul and MF DOOM – DOOM XMAS (2018)

Made all the more special since the untimely passing of MF DOOM, this is not only a great rap album, but it’s also a great Christmas record. Cookin’ Soul mixes samples and beats with def(t) talent and layers them over freestyles by DOOM. The result is brilliance.

#26: Ron Gallo – Stardust Birthday Party (2018)

Zen punk. It’s the best way I can describe it. Ron Gallo created this album after doing a two-week silent Zen retreat and filled it with great hooks and rip-off-the-veil lyrics about embracing presence and impermanence. It was a shot in the arm well before the COVID-19 vaccine and songs like “Always Elsewhere” will stay relevant until some sort of global consciousness is reached.

What’s coming next? A lot of shoegaze and psychedelia, that’s what. Stay tuned.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: LADYMONIX – Club Nowhere

Back in October, when we were in full COVID-19 doldrums, wondering how we were going to safely hand out Halloween candy and being baffled by everything happening (or not) in Washington D.C., LADYMONIX released Club Nowhere – a four-track EP that is made to make you move and forget your troubles. Turns out we still need this EP three months later…Boy, do we ever.

The opening title track is a house music dream, bringing to mind warm night clubs in European towns with its lovely, piping synths and thick bass. It grabs your attention, and you’re thankful for the pick-me-up. “Mood” is a lush track almost in the “chill vibe” category, but with enough dance beats to keep you bopping on your way and from getting a gin and tonic.

On the B-side, “Gonna Let” is even more hypnotic. It curls around you like a happy cat and will have you creating a dance club in your kitchen, living room, bedroom, or driveway. LADYMONIX’s sampling (and the chopped-up restructuring of a single vocal sample) is top-notch…as is that killer bass groove. “Movin’ On” encourages you to leave the past, the drama, the anger, and anything else keeping you down behind…and to dance your way out of the MF’ing room.

You can’t help but be happy listening to this EP, which is a tremendous blessing in these crazy times.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Too Free – Love in High Demand

Hailing from Washington D.C., Too Free (Awad Bilal, Carson Cox, and Don Godwin) got together to make a record that blended multiple genres (R&B, electro, house, synthwave) and to get people to move and love themselves and each other. They also decided to force nothing about the album. The record, like their friendship and collaboration, would naturally emerge and be a full team effort. The result, Love in High Demand, sounds like they’ve been making albums for years instead of it being a debut.

Opening track “Gold” blends Tears for Fears synths with nearly industrial / goth bass and beats while Bilal sings to his crush that he could be his one and only if his lover would accept not only Bilal but his own true nature. “Elastic” has Bilal putting his foot down, saying, “Boy, I’m not a clown.” and declaring he won’t wait all night (let alone his whole life) for his lover to get his head straight. Cox and Godwin’s beats on it are sharp as tacks, and the guest guitar of G.L. Jaguar of Priests is a nice touch.

“Touch Upon Touch” is a sultry track with Bilal’s vocals weaving a sexy tale as his bandmates almost recreate an Art of Noise sound. The beats on “ATM” are nothing short of outstanding. Bilal’s vocals almost sound like they’ve wandered in from another song, and it works. It works very well, making you want to dance and yet stand still at the same time so you can just absorb the whole thing. “X2” races with near-punk speed and layers Bilal’s vocals over each other to point where you’re not sure which set of lyrics is the lead one. It’s a cool effect.

His vocals on “The Void” echo back and forth with gospel-style passion and trip-hop styling before the album moves onto the longest track on the album, “Breathing Underwater” (at just over five minutes). Godwin’s simple, groovy bass line roots the song and the electro beats and Bilal’s sampled breathy sighs provide the rest of the rhythm. Bilal sings about touching “all the right stuff” and letting himself drown in ecstasy.

On “Wanna Let Me Know,” Bilal delivers a smoky performance as he encourages his lover that he’s ready to his next Big Thing. It’s a short R&B / synth appetizer for the closer, “No Fun” – which is actually a lot of fun. “…change your life, make up your mind,” Bilal sings. His lyrics and Cox and Godwin’s make-out dance music beats encourage all of us to “go for broke” and pursue the love we want and deserve. You can’t ask for a much better message to go out on than that.

Love is indeed in high demand nowadays. Too Free’s debut album not only acknowledges this, but gives us the (loving) shove we need to go after it – on the dance floor, across the street, through a webcam, or anywhere else.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 35 albums of 2020: #’s 15 – 11

We’re more than halfway through the list now. Let’s not waste time.

#15: Ela Minus – Acts of Rebellion

Part-electro, part-goth, all great. Ela Minus made us move, stand up and fight, and otherwise get off our collective duffs during a year when we needed to be shaken out of our funks.

#14: October and the Eyes – Dogs and Gods

Have you ever seen Cult of the Cobra from 1955? In that movie, a woman who can turn into a cobra tracks down the men who, for kicks, infiltrated her cult’s rituals, and kills them one by one. She falls in love with one of the men, however, and you can guess the rest. This album is pretty much what the Cobra Woman would have playing on her ear buds as she stalked and seduced her victims.

#13: Falle Nioke and Ghost Culture – Youkounkoun

“Barké,” a song from this EP, stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it. The record mixes Afrobeat and electronica in perfect amounts, resulting in slick dance tracks and hypnotic songs.

#12: Kelly Lee Owens – Inner Song

Kelly Lee Owens makes electronic music that can make you dance, sigh, relax, or meditate – all sometimes in the same track. Her second album continues to set the bar high for others behind her. I say it many times, but I don’t mind repeating it – She’s both an inspiration for me to make my own electronic music and at other times throw my digital turntables out the window due to thinking, “Damn, that’s just not fair.” after hearing her tracks.

#11: Public Practice – Gentle Grip

Trust me, this post-punk debut album is as intriguing and sexy as its cover. I’d been waiting for a full-length Public Practice album since 2019 when they released a few singles and I saw them live in Chicago. The wait was well worth it. Gentle Grip is outstanding and leaves you eager for more.

The top 10 are next!

Keep your mind open.

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