Friday, August 26, 2016

Follow me to the PoPcorn (VA, 2016)



Originating in Belgium at the end of the 60s/early 70s, Popcorn was a scene with an emphasis on often obscure black American records. Drawing parallels with the Northern Soul scene from around the same time, young people flocked from all over Belgium to cram into a converted barn to dance to these exotic sounds. Whilst Northern favoured an often uptempo 60s soul sound, popcorn focused almost entirely on slower numbers.
There still remains some confusion as to what exactly Popcorn means in musical terms. Not following established genre conventions, The Popcorn sound is hard to pin down - there are Soul, Blues, Ska, Pop, Jazz and Latin records which are all Popcorn – and all are represented here.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Kandace Springs - Soul Eyes (2016)


Every so often a new singer emerges who’s able to assimilate multiple musical touchstones and still come off sounding remarkably fresh and unburdened by the past. Kandace Springs is one of those artists. The 27-year-old, Nashville-based singer, songwriter and pianist counts such stylists as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Roberta Flack and Norah Jones as her heroes, but as evidenced by her sparkling full-length Blue Note Records debut, Soul Eyes,Springs mimics none of them.