'Real Love' by Chelsea Wilson

Singer, songwriter, DJ, documentary-maker... the list of accolades attached to the name Chelsea Wilson is ever-expanding.  Beyond the aforementioned titles, the Melbourne-based Wilson is also on the advisory panel for Australia's Women in Music' series, Artistic Director of the Stonnington Jazz Festival and host of her own radio show.  The boundless talents of this renaissance woman can now boast the release of her brand new single for 2018, 'Real Love'.

While the release of Wilson's 2014 album, 'I Hope You'll Be Very Unhappy Without Me', embraced the funk and soul, synonymous with the album's revered collaborators - Jake Mason from Cookin on 3 Burners and Lance Ferguson of The Bamboos - 'Real Love' showcases Chelsea's versatility by veering into a disco-esque aesthetic. 

Also, accompanied by a similar all-star cast this time round, including Jake Mason (fresh off the success of 'The Stranger in the Mirror' by his own Jake Mason Trio from earlier this year and the upcoming release of the new Cookin on 3 Burners album), Ross McHenry of The Shaolin Afronauts on the song's production and Ross Irwin of The Bamboos on strings.

Fingers crossed an album isn't too far away but in the meantime we have this awesome floor-filler to tide us over.  You can check the video out below along with the link to Chelsea's Bandcamp page where you can pick up the single.

'ILL DOOTS' by ILL DOOTS

"ILL DOOTS is a group of individuals with different perspectives, from different places who want nothing more than to make good music with no rules."  As outlined on the band's Bandcamp page, this is the bold mission statement for ILL DOOTS' approach to their multi genre-encompassing sound.

Showcasing elements of hip-hop, soul and funk, this Philadelphia-based band ingeniously fuse these joyous musical styles and repackage them as something distinctly... ILL DOOTS!

With their debut full-length project released in 2018 through the incomparable Ropeadope Records, ILL DOOTS have harnessed their skills and experience formed over years of relentless touring and recording - honing their craft - and delivered a project that's quite frankly exceptional.  Produced by multi-instrumentalist Scott Ziegler and recorded in between Brooklyn and Philadelphia, the music is brought to life by band members including Ziegler, drummer Jordan McCree, saxophonist Sam Greenfield, organist Brandon Young, guitarist Anthony DeCarlo and trumpeter Joe Anderson, amongst others.  A huge array of contrasting players and perspectives all thrive and contribute to the musical gumbo that this project successfully delivers.  As the opening quote implies, with no rules you have complete freedom.

Standout tracks include 'Hue', 'Smile', 'Free' and 'Suddenly' but it's the opening few lines of the show-stealing 'Ain't No Way to Live' that linger in your conscience the most:

"This ain't no way to live,
So sometimes I wanna die,
This ain't no way to live,
So I might as well just fight, fight,
And if I'm gonna fight, I fight for what's right..."

Boasting a hefty dose of vocal contributors, from both rappers and vocalists - including Ron Draper, Khemist, The Prof. and Zeek Burse - the album acts as another string in the incredibly versatile bow of Ropeadope Records.  Continually plundering all corners to deliver untapped musical gems from across the globe, they've uncovered a real treasure here.

Pvibez guest show 'Influences & Inspirations' [Mixcloud upload]

Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist... and we're thrilled that our dear friend Paul ("Pvibez") Morgan has now added radio presenter to his already long list of staggering achievements and skills.

Currently riding high from the release of his eclectic four-track 2018 EP 'The Vibezlab Sessions, Volume 1' which features vocal contributions from Eshe Escoffery, Laurnea, Lifford and Andrae Bentley, this incredible guest show carries over the pure vibes aesthetic into 'Influences & Inspirations'.  Originally broadcast in August 2018, 'Influences & Inspirations' gives exciting insight into the music that's inspired much of Vibez's music, from the current EP to previous releases 'Urban Xpressionz' (2011) and 'Love is the Notion' (2016).  'The Vibezlab Sessions' however marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter so this show comes at a perfect time.

With music from Stevie Wonder, Prince, Roy Ayers, Marvin Gaye, Larry Graham & much, much more, Paul offers up an encyclopaedic level of knowledge about his heroes and the projects that he showcases them on throughout this show.  It's an absolute must-listen for fans of classic soul music and we're so massively grateful and appreciative that one of our favourite people has taken the time to do this for us.



'The Vibezlab Sessions, Volume 1' is available to purchase from iTunes.

'Conversations' by AgapeSoul

'Conversations' marks the sophomore album effort from the Darryl Anders-helmed collective known as AgapeSoul.  Six years after the band's debut album, 'Believe in Love', was released in 2012, AgapeSoul have taken their time to craft a stunning follow-up album and build on the foundations laid by this project's predecessor.

The band's core quartet (bassist Darryl Anders, Zoe Ellis on vocals, Aaron Green on drums and Cam Perridge on guitar) continue to see through with their vision as outlined by their own title: interpretations of the word "agape", within an Ancient Greek context, refer to it meaning "the highest form of love".

Moving on to the other key title for the project - the album's title 'Conversations' was born of the dynamic between each of the musicians on the album.  The concept of each player listening to each other and responding in kind forms the template for everything that plays out over the course of the album's ten tracks.  The instrumental 'Fruitvale Gumbo' though provides a fitting alternative in title, particularly in terms of it being symbolic of the album's aesthetic...

Darryl Anders has surrounded himself with a versatile and incredibly compelling and charismatic roster of musicians from vast musical backgrounds: Eric Gales, Chris Bullock and Michael Maher (members of the Texan jazz-fusion band Snarky Puppy) appear throughout, New Power Generation and Madhouse guitarist, Levi Seacer, lends his guitar to three tracks, and guest vocalists Geoffrey Williams, Ashling Cole, Naté Soulsanger and Tommy Sims fit in right at home over these vibrant musical soundscapes.  All of these artists' experiences and contrasting styles very much go on to create the project's own musical gumbo - the beating heart of the album.  On paper, this couldn't look more exciting.

And then you press play...

And it's awesome!

There's a real energy that the collective have managed to capture here that makes you crave to see the band in a live setting - the music's rich, steeped in soul and draws elegantly from funk and jazz.  Comparisons to Incognito and The Brand New Heavies are fair but AgapeSoul bask in the sunshine of their own talent and achievements.

GetToKnow... Dala Records (featuring Billy Aukstik)

Our love affair with the music of Brooklyn-based Dala Records has been building for some time now - in 2018 we celebrated releases by Camellia Hartman & The Soulful Saints ('Return the Favor'), Mel & Kim ('Bad Man'), as well as being able to secure time with label founder, Billy Aukstik, to discuss all things Dala and the release of his 'Stay Strong' EP.

Well, now we get the opportunity to celebrate the label as a whole through one of our GetToKnow... exclusives.  The record label series of our GetToKnow... shows sees us delve through the catalogues of some of our favourite labels so it's with incredible excitement that we take the opportunity to dig into music by the aforementioned artists as well as The Rad Trads, Emily Rault and many more.

But it's with even greater excitement that Billy Aukstik himself joins us in picking tracks from the label's vaults as well!  We hope you'll find this episode of GetToKnow... which boasts 60 minutes of fantastic music along with Billy's invaluable commentary and insight into how some of these songs came to be a real treasure to listen to.