Omar – The Man (album preview)

Omar returns with a brand new album that many say is without doubt the strongest of his entire career.
UK Release:2013-06-24
Check for more Info HERE
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Omar – The Man(Album)Freestyle Records July 1st

Legendary multi talented UK vocalist and newly M.B.E awarded Omar releases his brand new studio album – ‘The Man’ on 1st July on Freestyle Records.

There are precious few, if any contemporary UK artists whose creative credentials and influence extend as far and so consistently wide as Freestyle Records most recent signing Omar. Since first breaking through to worldwide renown all the way back in 1991 with his first releases on Gilles Petersons seminal Talking Loud label, and going onto work with all manner of musical legends including a certain Stevie, Erykah Badu, Angie Stone, Syreeta Wright, Common, and Carleen Anderson. With willing, enthusiastic and supportive collaborators like that, it’s undeniable that Omar maintains his reputation as a soul music Don par excellence.

Fast forward to 2013, and Omar’s reputation for being a thoroughly original artist following his own individual path remains undiminished. After recently picking up an M.B.E for his outstanding contribution to the UK music scene, even the British Establishment has now acknowledged what many already appreciated & understood for many years.

And in a most timely fashion, Omar returns with a brand new album that many say is without doubt the strongest of his entire career. The buzz generated by the single release of the albums title track ‘The Man’ (FSR099) confirmed beyond doubt that Omar is very much at the top of his game, with everyone from 6 Music’s' Gilles Peterson, Radio 2′s Trevor Nelson and Jamie Cullum giving both major support and high praise for the simply magnificent new high point for Omar’s renowned ability to write devastatingly catchy melodies, coupled with the more live, funkier production exemplified by this brand new, yet already classic song.

Across the rest of this new album, the musical treats just keep coming and are too many to list! Opener ‘Simplify’ sets the template, with its luscious & majestic, string backed introduction raising the curtain on this deep, hard grooving number which gives Omar the chance to display the full range and capacity of his unique voice.

Getting down and dirty, Omar joins forces with Germany’s Hidden Jazz Quartett on High Heels, growling organ spars with the tough, jagged drum beat on this tough, funk driven collaboration, the story of a man who knows his woman is doing him wrong which is ‘making him crazy’ and is reflected in the contrasting dark & uplifting passages on this killer groove.

Latin textures & rhythms have always been part of Omar’s far reaching musical vocabulary, and within this collection and on Come On Speak To Me and Ordinary Day restless south American beats underpin the crisp and fresh melodies, with the latter track evoking samba fuelled, carnival vibes that simply sizzle with energy, and will wear out discerning dance-floors for years to come for certain.

Soul II Souls’ Caron Wheeler distinctive voice features on the duet Treat You, a tale of troubled love that is mirrored by the delicate, subtle beats and minimal backing which allows these 2 legendary voices unite beautifully.

Completing the circle that began all the way back in the early 1990′s Omar has re recorded his classic love song ‘There’s Nothing Like This’, which this time features bass player to the Gods Pino Palladino.

The touching sentiment remains undiminished, but the addition of soaring strings, soulful, jazzy horns, a vibrant live & acoustic feel, and an extended and new arrangement, Omar has done the impossible; improved upon the un-improvable, that is likely to become the definitive version of an already much adored classic.

This release will surely become known as his most eclectic, confident, mature and soulful album of his career. After all, Stevie Wonder knows, Erykah Badu knows….and now everyone knows, Omar is The Man.

ALBUM: THE MAN
ARTIST: OMAR
RELEASE DATE: MONDAY 1st JULY
LABEL: FREESTYLE RECORDS

ALBUM TRACK LISTINGS:

 

1.    Simplify

2.    The Man

3.    Come On Speak To Me

4.    I Can Listen

5.    Bully ft.The Scratch Professor

6.    Treat You ft Caron Wheeler

7.    Fuck War, Make Love

8.    High Heels ft. Hidden Jazz Orchestra

9.    I Love Being With You

10. There’s Nothing Like This ft. Pino Palladino

11. Eeni Meeni Myni Mo

12. When You Touch We Touch

13.  Ordinary Day

 

Omar – The Man (single) at EMN Chart HERE

FORTHCOMING TOUR DATES:

Thursday 27th June - Official album launch – Jazz Cafe – London

 

Friday 28th June - Official album launch party – Jazz Cafe – London

“When I grow up, I wanna be like Omar” Stevie Wonder 

 

“Omar is one of my favourite artists.. ever” Erykah Badu

 

‘The leading light in British Soul music, he always went a bit different with his productions – properly outernational’ Gilles Peterson, 6 Music

http://www.omarmusic.co.uk/

Omar – The Man [Official Video]

Taken from forthcoming album of the same name, ‘The Man’, released by Freestyle Records: 
http://freestylerecords.co.uk

More HERE
 

Omar – The Man w/ Shafiq Husayn & Maddslinky remixes (Freestyle Records)

Omar on Freestyle Records, coming out 27 May.

“When I grow up, I wanna be like Omar” - Stevie Wonder

There are precious few, if any contemporary UK artists whose creative credentials and influence extend as far and so consistently wide as Freestyle Records’ most recent signing Omar. Since first breaking through to worldwide renown all the way back in 1991 with his first releases on Gilles Peterson‘s seminal Talking Loud label, and going on to work with all manner of musical legends including a certain Stevie Wonder,Erykah Badu, Angie Stone, Syreeta Wright, Common, and Carleen Anderson.

Fast forward to 2013, and Omar’s reputation for being a thoroughly original artist following his own individual path remains undiminished. After recently picking up an M.B.E. for his outstanding contribution to the UK music scene, even the British Establishment has now acknowledged what many already appreciated and understood for many years.

There cannot have been many times a bass clarinet b-line was destined to become one of the most memorable and catchiest moments in contemporary soul, but on the new single, The Man, that’s precisely what happens. Add to that a stunning vocal performance, the slinkiest of beautiful key changes, and an uplifting vibe that simply emanates class and style, and you will understand why those who were privileged to hear The Man early on, all without exception, flipped, slipped and fell totally in love with its soul, its groove and irrepressible spirit.

This release sees three reworkings of the title track; US mainstay of conscious hip hop and electronica, Shafiq Husayn, literally leapt at the chance to remix The Man and gives it a minor mood feel, with spacey synthesiser lines added to emphasise this most memorable of melodies, Maddslinky (aka Zed Bias), came with a remix from a pumping, contemporary club direction including a driving beat coupled with spacy breakdowns and his trademark production skills, and Scratch Professer puts his unique stamp on his retwist of The Man like no one else could!

Completing the circle that began all the way back in the early 1990s, Omar has completely re-recorded his classic love song There’s Nothing Like This, which this time features bass player to the Gods Pino Palladino. The touching sentiment remains undiminished, but with the addition of soaring strings, soulful, jazzy horns, an all round live and acoustic feel, plus an extended and new arrangement, Omar has done the impossible; improved upon the un-improvable, that is likely to become the definitive version of an already much adored classic.

Release (digital):2013-05-06
Genre: Soul/R&B
Label: Freestyle Records
Format(s):DIGI
Cat #: FSR099D

Tracklist

The Man
The Man (Shafiq Husayn Remix)
The Man (Maddslinky Remix)
There’s Nothing Like This (feat. Pino Palladino)
The Man (Scratch Professer Retwist)

BBE Pres. J-Dilla -Think Twice / E – MC2

Released: 2012-04-17
“One of the most important musicians of our time. When we think of John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye, J Dilla will be going down along that history line of greatness.” – Common (from XXL)

“He inspired me so much. One of the best days of my life was when he handed me a record with drums on it. I was so honored.” – Kanye West (from XXL)

Jay Dee’s “Welcome to Detroit” was the album that kicked off BBE’s Beat Generation series. This seminal album (it even has its own Wikipedia entry) cemented Dilla’s reputation as a virtuoso beat maker with a remarkable range of talents. For the first time, (from that album) “Think Twice” appears on a very limited 7” single. It is a cover of Donald Byrd’s seminal classic featuring Dwele on vocals… it shows Dilla’s supreme versatility behind the boards (and on the mic — it’s not the featured Dwele that sings the h! ook).

And from his posthumously relealeased album “The Shinining” :

Common, meanwhile, does the Common thing, which is to ride the beat dumbly (but appropriately) on standout robofunker “E=MC2,” Despite Kanye boosting his sales numbers, it was Jay Dee who consistently brought out the best emcee in Common, his former roommate, and he proves it again here on “E=MC2.”

J-Dilla Changed My Life (London)

The Doctor’s Orders presents

J-DILLA CHANGED MY LIFE
A night in tribute to the life & work of a true Hip-Hop genius.

7pm-Midnight Sunday 5th February 2012
@ Scala, 275 Pentonville Road, Kings Cross, London N1 9NL

Minimum donation £6 in advance or on the door.
£30 VIP Tickets grant exclusive access to VIP bar and balcony & include an exclusive J-Dilla T-Shirt & CD.

Advance tickets from

http://www.ticketweb.co.uk

All proceeds from the night are donated to the J-Dilla Foundation & Lupus UK

Special guest appearance by…
Maureen ‘Ma Dukes’ Yancey (J-Dilla’s Mum)
Hosted By…
Phat Kat (Welcome to Detroit)

And DJs performing for free on the night in loving memory are…
Mr Thing (BBE / Extended Players)
Spin Doctor (The Doctor’s Orders)
Harry Love (Extended Players)
Morgan Spacek
Kidkanevil
Kutmah
DJ LoK (Dilla breaks set)
& very special surprise guests

Room 2 hosted by
Main Squeeze & Classic Material

Goapele – Break of Dawn

RELEASE DATE: 16TH JANUARY 2012

Bay Area songstress Goapele, one of the most alluring and powerful voices of our times, releases her first studio album in almost six years, ‘Break of Dawn’.

The album features production from heavyweights such as Malay of John Legend and Mary J. Blige fame, Bobby Ozuna, whose previous credits include John Mayer and Erykah Badu, and Kanye West, amongst many others. It will be released on Decon Records and Goapele’s own imprint Skyblaze Recordings, representing a shift from major back to indie labels, after releasing her last album ‘Change It All’ on Sony Music in 2006.

‘Break of Dawn’ takes listeners through a journey of sensuality, heartbreak, and ultimately, resolution and inner peace. The opening track ‘Play’, the first single off the album, has had support from major radio players including XFM’s Mary Anne Hobb’s and BBC Radio 1’s Gilles Peterson. It is a prime demonstration of Goapele’s ever-present sexuality that oozes from every note. ‘Undertow’ is a melancholic description of what it feels like to be in the clutches of love with musical inspirations drawing instinctively from early Brandy and Alicia Keys. The second half of the album takes on a more optimistic tone, with ‘Money’ being reminiscent of a funk-injected Neptunes production and ‘Pieces’ showing a more uplifting outlook on love and the end of a significant relationship. Goapele tactfully rounds off her masterpiece with ‘Right Here’ and ‘Milk & Honey’, two club-oriented R&B tracks with a modern twist.

Goapele captivated the music industry in 2001 with her stunning independently released debut album “Closer” earning fans from punters to musical contemporaries ranging from superstars like Erykah Badu, Mos Def and Kanye West to such legendary luminaries as Prince and Stevie Wonder.

She is roundly hailed for consistently delivering emotionally charged yet uplifting soulful cuts that skilfully blend hip hop, jazz, and melodic R&B. She embarks on a 15 date promotional tour across the USA at the start of next year.

Rolling Stone “The spiritual love-child of Sade and D’Angelo mixes sweet soul vocals, jazz-funk instrumentation and hip hop rhythms by underground Bay Area beatmasters. Goapele can kick it in the streets as in the lounge.”

Billboard Magazine “Goapele’s smoky, sensual voice is a beacon that shines on a set that wisely steers clear of overproduction.”

goapele.com
deconrecords.com

Omar & Zed Bias – Dancing (Video)

This collaboration with Zed Bias is Omar’s first solo material since 2006. It is available on Tru Thoughts Records as part of a limited run of vinyl on 9th May, and then digitally from 27th June 2011.

Tru Thoughts are also re-releasing his classic album ‘Sing (If You Want It)’ – which features Stevie Wonder, Angie Stone, Common and Estelle — in the summer of 2011, with ‘Dancing’ as bonus material.

Bonnaroo Announces 2011 Lineup!

BONNAROO MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL
CELEBRATES 10TH YEAR, ANNOUNCES 2011 LINEUP
FEATURING:
EMINEM, ARCADE FIRE, WIDESPREAD PANIC, BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD,
THE BLACK KEYS, MY MORNING JACKET, LIL’ WAYNE,
STRING CHEESE INCIDENT, ROBERT PLANT & BAND OF JOY,
MUMFORD & SONS, THE STROKES, THE DECEMBERISTS,
ALISON KRAUSS & UNION STATION, FLORENCE + THE MACHINE, PRIMUS,
BIG BOI, SCISSOR SISTERS, GREGG ALLMAN, ROBYN, DEERHUNTER,
SLEIGH BELLS, AMOS LEE AND MUCH MORE

TICKETS ON SALE THIS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2011
AT 12NOON EASTERN EXCLUSIVELY AT BONNAROO.COM

Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment are excited to announce the initial lineup for the 2011 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The 10th annual four-day camping and music festival will be held on June 9 – 12 on the same beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. A full list of confirmed acts follows, and more will be announced in the coming weeks. The final Bonnaroo 2011 lineup will total over 125 bands and over 20 comedians performing on 13 stages over four days.Tickets for the event will go on sale on this Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 12noon eastern exclusively at bonnaroo.com.
The 2011 event marks the 10th year for the legendary festival, which began in 2002 as a remarkable idea to serve a passionate yet underappreciated and overlooked fanbase, and ended up becoming the premier multi-day concert destination of the summer whose dynamic and eclectic programming paved the way for the age of the great American music festival. This year’s lineup is yet another fine example of the incomparable eclecticism for which Bonnaroo has become famous. Featured acts include: Eminem, Arcade Fire, Widespread Panic, The Black Keys, My Morning Jacket and Lil’ Wayne, String Cheese Incident, Robert Plant & Band of Joy, Mumford & Sons, The Strokes, The Decemberists, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Florence + the Machine, Girl Talk, Primus, Big Boi, Gregg Allman, Robyn, Deerhunter, Sleigh Bells, Amos Lee, Opeth, Del McCoury and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Wanda Jackson, The Walkmen and an exclusive festival performance by Buffalo Springfield featuring Richie Furay, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Rick Rosas and Joe Vitale. This year’s lineup will again cement Bonnaroo as a force in music discovery, exposing its fans to legendary artists, current favorites, as well as breaking acts.
As one of the special programming highlights of its 10th year, Bonnaroo is excited to announce a rare joint appearance by Dr. John and The Original Meters recreating, in its entirety, the legendary 1974 album Desitively Bonnaroo, the source of the festival’s moniker. Another celebratory aspect to the programming, organizers have confirmed Eugene Hutz as the curator of this year’s specialty venue, dubbed “Global Gypsy Punk Revue.” Continuing Bonnaroo’s tradition as a platform for historic collaborations, the festival is announcing the return of the SuperJam featuring Dr. John, the Black Key’s Dan Auerbach and more to be announced soon.
As the only round-the-clock major U.S. music festival, Bonnaroo packs an unparalleled amount of entertainment options into its four days. The event has offered its attendees the amenities and community spirit of a small city, with 24 hours of activities including a comedy theater, cinema festival, broo’ers festival, silent disco, salon, sustainable gardening lessons, arcade, Internet cafés, restaurants, yoga classes and hundreds of high quality craft vendors. About the 2010 event, Rolling Stone hailed, “In its ninth year, Bonnaroo has done an impressive job of hanging on to its reputation as one of the most eclectic music and arts festivals,” while the Wall Street Journal called it “one of rock’s best festivals,” and MTV claimed, “If you’re angling for a road trip – there’s no better destination.”
In celebration of Bonnaroo’s 10th year and in recognition of the festival’s iconic status, Ben & Jerry’s will be making Bonnaroo Buzz available for purchase in pints in frozen foods freezers across the country as the company has selected it to be one of its prestigious flavors for 2011. Bonnaroo Buzz is the flavor Ben & Jerry’s designed in 2010 specifically in honor of the festival. Until now, it was only available in Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops.
Official festival website is http://www.bonnaroo.com

2011 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival Confirmed Artists:
Eminem
Arcade Fire
Widespread Panic
The Black Keys
Buffalo Springfield feat Richie Furay, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Rick Rosas, Joe Vitale
My Morning Jacket
Lil Wayne
String Cheese Incident
Robert Plant & Band of Joy
Mumford & Sons
The Strokes
The Decemberists
Ray Lamontagne
Bassnectar
Iron & Wine
Girl Talk
Primus
Dr. John and The Original Meters performing Desitively Bonnaroo
Alison Krauss & Union Station
Pretty Lights
Florence + the Machine
SuperJam with Dan Auerbach and Dr. John
Explosions In The Sky
STS9
Gogol Bordello
Beirut
Big Boi
Scissor Sisters
Gregg Allman
Ratatat
Global Gypsy Punk Revue curated by Eugene Hütz
Robyn
Warren Haynes Band
Deerhunter
Opeth
Atmosphere
Old Crow Medicine Show
Bootsy Collins & the Funk University
Wiz Khalifa
Matt & Kim
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
The Del McCoury Band & the Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Mavis Staples
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
Chiddy Bang
Jovanotti
Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers
Loretta Lynn
Cold War Kids
The Walkmen
Devotchka
Wanda Jackson
Neon Trees
Portugal. The Man
Sleigh Bells
Amos Lee
Best Coast
Dãm-Funk & Master Blazter
The Sword
The Drums
The Black Angels
School of Seven Bells
J. Cole
Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea
Wavves
!!!
Junip
Freelance Whales
Justin Townes Earle
Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
Deer Tick
Band of Skulls
Sharon Van Etten
Abigail Washburn
Omar Souleyman
Twin Shadow
Kylesa
Man Man
The Low Anthem
Alberta Cross
Railroad Earth
Jessica Lea Mayfield
Smith Westerns
The Head and the Heart
Karen Elson
Beats Antique
22-20s
Phosphorescent
Clare Maguire
Hayes Carll

Click HERE to view the 2011 lineup video announcement featuring Conan O’Brien

About Bonnaroo:
Bonnaroo was conceived in 2002 and continues to make a strong impact on the American music industry. It has served as a launching pad for such popular artists as Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, Robert Randolph, My Morning Jacket, Ray Lamontagne, Matisyahu, and many others. A creative and cultural mega-success, Bonnaroo has featured a staggeringly diverse range of world-class acts such as Bob Dylan, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Radiohead, Jay-Z, Phish, Willie Nelson, The Police, Pearl Jam, David Byrne, Tom Petty, Tool, Wilco, The Dave Matthews Band, James Brown, The White Stripes, Al Green, Nine Inch Nails, The Dead, Regina Spektor, Widespread Panic, Death Cab For Cutie, Elvis Costello, Ornette Coleman, Amadou and Mariam, Beck, TV on the Radio, Against Me!, Merle Haggard, The Black Crowes, Phoenix, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Bright Eyes, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Earle, Jurassic 5, Modest Mouse, The Mars Volta, Common, Burning Spear, the Flaming Lips, among many others.
The festival is also starting to make quite an impact on the comedy industry as well, as it has featured some of today’s best comedians working today. From Conan O’Brien and Chris Rock to Zach Galifianakis and Jimmy Fallon, to Lewis Black, Flight of the Concords, David Cross, Fred Armisen to, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, Jim Norton, Patton Oswalt, Louis CK, Janeane Garofalo, Aziz Ansari, John Oliver and Brian Posehn, Bonnaroo is now considered to be an essential play for every comedian both established and on the rise.
More acts will be announced in the coming weeks.

Georg Levin-Intangible EP

Released: 2011-01-10

Intangible EP – The Bonus Tracks” features two songs that were previously only available on the vinyl LP of Georg Levin’s album “Everything Must Change”. Here the songs feature the instrumental and dub versions as well as BBE chief Peter Adarkwah’s album pick “I need to understand”.
“Intangible” is Georg’s band’s favorite song and became the opener of his live shows this year. For both the band and the audience this rather slow but infectious groove is a great warm up that puts everyone into the right gear. Listening to it on your car stereo is highly recommended.
“That Girl” is a Stevie Wonder song from the beginning of the 80s that some people might remember. As Georg puts it: “When Stevie Wonder’s ‘Original Musiquarium’ came out I was about ten years old. My godfather gave it to me and I listened to it all the time. Without knowing that it was a collection of songs from more than a decade ago, I did notice that some songs sounded to me, different than the othe! rs. It was the time when Stevie Wonder changed his organic 70s sound into his drum-machine driven 80s setup, while the songwriting more or less remained the same. ‘That Girl’ was one of the songs that marked that change and I often wondered later on how this would have sounded if Stevie came up with it a few years earlier. So the initial idea of my cover version was to ‘seventy-fy’ this song – but at the same time to put it into a modern context. The thing missing here is Stevie’s original voice, that’s why it didn’t make the CD album.