The Lunchtime Listening Sessions #2

The Lunchtime Sessions #2

This week on we listen to some new and vintage soul from Mayer Hawthorne and Curtis Mayfield, we revisit a Kid CuDi joint in anticipation for his debut album, Tanya Morgan let us know how they get in to clubs, and we check out a track from the Kidz In Space EP.

1) Kidz In Space – Psychedelic Girl feat. Naked and Famous

Episode 001: Chasing Haley (2009)

The Kidz’ debut EP dropped on Monday. The first single, Downtime, has been getting some serious love on iTunes lately and no doubt you’ll catch a bunch of drunken idiots dancing to it down at Waterfront and the like.

Psychedelic Girl signals the beginning of the EP’s story of a guy falling for a girl. Where does the relationship go? Does it end in tears? You’ll have to check out the EP.

2)Kid CuDi – Cleveland Is The Reason

A Kid Named CuDi (2008)

Kid CuDi was everywhere at the beginning of this year, his single Day ‘N’ Nite had the same effect as Drake’s Best I Ever Had, climbing up the charts even though it was released independently, on a mixtape no less.

It really has been a dream year for him. He is now signed to Kanye’s G.O.O.D Music imprint, there are rumours of a new label Dream On of which CuDi will helm, he has worked with the likes of pop royalty, was on the Transformers soundtrack and has his highly anticipated debut due out next month. All this and he only dropped his first ever mixtape last year.

3)Tanya Morgan – Get Me Inside

The Bridge EP (2008)

If you don’t already know, Tanya Morgan is a three-piece group from Brooklyn and Cincinatti. The most notable member, Von Pea is part of The Justus League alongside Little Brother, and featured on their classic debut, ‘The Listening’, from 2003.

Tanya Morgan also released this EP via cassette tape last year.

The beat automatically got me with this one, but the rhymes are tight too, especially at the start, when Von Pea comes off nonchalant and honest with lines like “This ain’t self-depreciating, 15 inch television with 10 stations” and “Kicks scuffed, mother of pearl, formerly white Dunks”. I like honesty in the people, and that goes without saying when it comes to music.

Something to chill in the sun to.

4) Mayer Hawthorne – Your Easy Lovin’Ain’t Pleasin’ Nothin’

A Strange Arrangement (2009)

This is some genuine, contemporary soul to get down to.

I was blown away earlier on this year when a friend of mine pulled out a red heart shaped 7-inch record and put it on the turntable. When she played it I was blown away again. That was the first single called Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out, you can watch the video here.

Old-school soul seems to popping up all over the place right now, and apparently, Mayer Hawthorne is to blame. Owner of Stones Throw Records, Peanut Butter Wolf, signed Hawthorne after hearing only two demo’s, and as is evident with James Pants, he made a very, very good decision. Barber-shop quartet vocals and Motown inspiration seem to stay relevant no matter the year.

Don’t miss out on this one.

5) Curtis Mayfield – Freak, Freak, Free, Free, Free

Short Eyes (1977)

Curtis Mayfield was not only known for his song-writing talents. His production and performance led to his band The Impression’s getting 14 Top 40 hits in the 1960’s. 30 years later in 1990 Mayfield would become paralysed from the neck down, after the tragic collapse of a lighting rig at a Brooklyn concert. Only nine years later he would pass away.

But in his hey day, his prodigious style broke new ground when he began his solo career with the classic Curtis in 1970, an album that added a new angle to soul music, talking of community issues with a sparse backdrop. His seminal work, 1972’s Superfly would show the genius in Mayfield.

Short Eyes is a rare album and although his solo career was beginning to wain at this stage, Freak, Freak, Free, Free is still a magnificent piece of work. Enjoy.