FOLAMOUR
1. Prefab Sprout – Steve McQueen
Pop music as its best. Vocals harmonies, toplines and lyrics are on point on every song, I will never get tired of this one !
2. Monophonics – It’s Only Us
One of the album I most listened to during lockdown, absolute gem of modern soul ! Love how they decided to stick to that 60’s sound without trying to make it cleaner, it sounds sincere.
3. Elliott Smith – Either / Or
A perfect album for lonely winter days. The fragility of his voice and melodies has always moved me deeply.
4. Gregory Alan Isakov – This Empty Northern Hemisphere
Warmer folk here, I love Gregory Alan Isakov writing skills, telling stories I can easily project in, the same way Ray Lamontagne is able to take me with him in a world I’m not familiar with.
5. Hamza – 1994
At home, I’m mostly listening to Folk, Soul and R’n’B but Hip-Hop, especially french speaking one, always had a huge place in my heart and ears. Hamza is one of the top rapper / singer of the french speaking scene, this album is a masterpiece on how to free yourself from genre limits and influences of current music and just be true to yourself.
JITWAM
1. Ronald Langestraat – I’m ready for dancing
I don’t know too much about these cats, but sounds like late 60s spiritual jazz with funky Roland synths and a chorus that sounds like a white boy trying to be SUN RA. Definitely one for when you’re trying to boogie whilst drinking a cup of tea.
2. Setwun – Fade
My boy Teymori put me on this one from the homie Setwun from Sydney. This record is so fire! I was so taken aback when i first heard this record. Amazing instrumentation, production, vocals… my man Setwun does it all. Think Jamiroquai in the sunny lands down under.
3. JITWAM & FOLAMOUR – KAIDI TATHAM – AFTER THE SUN REMIX
Had to put this in there… Kaidi is the overlord. He sent this remix the day after i sent him the stems. The man is a MACHINE and as soon as i put the joint on in my car i my spirit soared. The flutes on the second chorus that comes midway through… and the piano solo at the end…. OH MY DAYS. A huge lesson in songwriting and arrangement right here.
https://www.deejay.de/Jitwam_Sun_After_Rain_EP_w_Folamour_Inc_Kaidi_Tatham_Remix_TJD011_Vinyl__965079
4. RIHANNA – 4 20 (JAMES JOINT)
4/20 is my fav joint of rihanna that she just randomly dropped on 4/20 one day… Has what sounds like Thundercat on the keys and the stripped back jazzy voicings really allow Rihanna’s voice to speak to you directly like she’s whispering in your ear… and who doesn’t want Rihanna to whisper in their ear!? Oh, and the joint is about smoking weed… what more could you want!?
5. CODY CHESNUTT – COME BACK LIKE SPRING
This one makes my heart shudder. A perfect song for the end of the crazy year it’s been. Just Cody, a guitar… and some birds chirping in the background. A message so warm and heartfelt, i can hear the wind blow just thinking about the tune. P.S And it’s a free download!
Jitwam & Folamour – Sun After Rain (Radio Mix) (Studio 54 Music)
New York City record label, Studio 54 Music, has teamed up with on the rise, Brooklyn-based Indian/Australian soul savant, singer, and eclectic music producer, jitwam and forward thinking French producer, Folamour, for the dance music radio mix release of ‘Sun After Rain’. In a new pandemic reality where times are up and down, the new Studio 54 record delivers feel good music for the people, produced by some of the freshest faces on the forefront of the dance music scene today. Linking up at jitwam’s studio in Brooklyn years ago, the two wrote the song together drawing inspiration from Salsoul Orchestra’s track namesake, and created a completely original production of what their interpretation of modern disco influenced dance music is. Built on a classic house groove from Folamour, the tunes glittering rhodes and ascending string lines hark back to the feel good era that Studio 54 is founded on. Featuring Mumbai’s NATE08 on bass, the instrumentation is tied together perfectly with Jitwam’s signature mystical vocals of a simple, yet metaphorically positive message. With mixing and mastering by Chicago don, Anthony Nicholson at Miquifaye Studios, ‘Sun After Rain’ is the perfect storm for the dancefloor in the club, and the dancefloor in your living room. jitwam’s label, The Jazz Diaries, will release a special remix from UK acid jazz and broken beat legend, Kaidi Tatham later this month on his forthcoming EP alongside the original extended version. Check out Studio 54’s newly launched website, Studio54Official.com, where you can find official merch, plus never before seen photographs and anecdotes from the club’s heyday. On a mission to release the best funky dance music in 2020, Studio 54 Music is ecstatic to be collaborating with some of the best emerging producers in the dance music landscape right now.