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About The New Beatmaker

Hi!  I'm Lee.  Welcome to my blog.  Here we talk music: news, reviews, interviews, tips, tutorials and more.  I'm also working on the upcoming podcast  Influenced  as a guest, writer and researcher alongside music aficionado Mark Williams and friends.  Watch this space! I have been a lover of music for as long as I can remember, an amateur lyricist for 25 years, a music writer for 15 years and a hobbyist musician and blogger for almost 10 years. My tastes range from jazz to house to hip hop and I love helping artists from all genres develop their sound. My music, videos, reviews and interviews have been featured in a variety of magazines and websites, including: B-Boy Tech Report Gimme That Beat Humanhuman Audio Skills Dream House Beats Where Did the Road Go Beat Tape Co-Op Push Power Promo Drum Magazine You can find my music on Bandcamp: Monkey Mind Sounds AKA LeeTNB And you can find me on Facebook: The New Beatmaker page Lee's personal page

Soundcloud Sessions 2

PODCAST: A diverse, soulful playlist featuring artists from Kaytranada to RJD2

Wow, has it been a month already? Following on from the success of the first edition of ‘Soundcloud Sessions’, I present the second installment. 

Many thanks to everyone who played a part in the success of the first episode.  Thank you for the drops, the retweets, the emails, everything, you guys are fantastic. 



J'Von & Ackryte: 'Season (Few More Frames)'

More from ‘Batman and Batman’, as I described them last monthMy favourite lyricist on the come up shows a bit of an Andre 3000 and Slick Rick influence on this track; whilst Ackryte's signature 'gloom bap' sound of warm, melancholy samples and swing heavy drums is as gorgeous-sounding as ever.

Nobody, Cedric Bixler-Zavala: 'Our Last Dance'

Nobody, co-founder and resident DJ at Low End Theory teamed up with Cedric Bixler-Zavala (The Mars Volta, At the Drive-In) for this woozy, poignant epic.  'Our Last Dance' can be found on Nobody's 'Vivid Green' album, which I had the honour of reviewing for bboytechreport.  I called it 'A Welcome Mix of Styles' and almost a year later it's still an enthralling listen.  Check out the review here.

M-Phazes: 'I Don't Wanna Fall In Love'

Ric Flair voice: 'Woo!'.  A gorgeous reworking of a favourite track of mine from the 90's, I look forward to hearing more tracks like this from M-Phazes (under the banner of side project Camden Arc).  Additional production is by Nehzvil, whose brand of future RnB will be featured in a forthcoming Soundcloud Session, no doubt.

Oh, and beatmakers, make sure you cop your M-Phazes 'The Vault' and 'Dirty 30' drum kits.

RJD2, Kenna: 'Games You Can Win'

I love everything about this cut, but those eighties-ish, almost 'Uptown Girl' sounding 'oh-ah-oh's' (technical term) are the icing on an already delicious cake of a chorus.  This is one of the highlights off his 2010 album 'The Colossus', which is well worth picking up (available at Amazon and on iTunes).

LowTone Society: 'Reel Me In'

What can I say about LowTone Society that I haven't said already? They are a super-talented seven-piece that mix jazz, neo-soul and latin influences; and who play and sing with a virtuosity, a soulfulness and an evident joy that should garner them millions of fans.  For more gushing about them, just click here

Tall Black Guy: 'Sade's Taboo(Sweetest Taboo Blap-Up)'

Tall Black Guy takes a time-honoured classic and flips it in a way that is both respectful of the original and original sounding in it's own right.  Beautiful.  I had the pleasure of reviewing Tall Black Guy's '8 Miles to Moenart' for bboytechreport last year, calling the project 'an accomplished tribute to the Motor City'.  Check out that review and the full album here.

Sweater Beats 'Make a Move'

The first of two in a row from the mighty, mighty Huh What & Where.  Sweater Beats takes an icy, minimalist RnB anthem in a completely different direction, making it big, energetic and euphoric.  I love it; I especially like just how long it takes for the first verse to drop.  The track has a real sense of drama thanks to this extended build up.  Props.

Kaytranada: 'Be Your Girl (Kaytranada Edition)'  

A second appearance in a row for Kaytranada.  I love how he is able to keep the melancholic longing of the original whilst adding that unmistakable bounce.  For more from the man himself, click here.

Wigzen:  'Marilyn Monroe (Wigzen ReVision)'

Shout out to Wigzen! The stark, minimal original is turned into a stonking, disco meets big beat epic.  I have a feeling we are going to be featuring a lot more from this individual in future sessions. 

Zen¡th: 'Cut To Chase'

What an introduction to the newest signee to The New Beatmaker favourite Expansions Collective.  The UK beatmaker turns what sounds like a joyous rare groove sample into the tortured soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto, stopping off in deep space for a few seconds around the 2:40 mark.  Grab this and the rest of his 'Midnight Club' full-length for free here.  For more from Expansions Collective click here.   

Bishop Nehru - 'You Stressin'' (Produced by. Disclosure)


Disclosure make no secret of their love of hip hop, so it should be no surprise to find them linking up with a similarly open-minded artist in the form of Bishop Nehru.  This track sounds simultaneously contemporary whilst harking back to the golden-era classics of icons like Souls of Mischief.  Lovely stuff.  Available on Amazon here and available on iTunes here.

HongryBogart: '31OMG'

I have been meaning to post something from the Chi-Town beatmaker for a while now and this cut really jumped out as one of my favourites.  'Minimalist epic' I call it.  Whatever you want to call it, it's dope.  Bravo.

T-Funk: 'Nebula'

Another appearance for The New Beatmaker favourite.  I recently had the pleasure of reviewing his 'Nebula' project for bboytechreport, where I called it 'an enthralling mix of hip hop, rare groove and ambient soul.  Be sure to read the full review and enjoy the full project here.

The Roots, Big K.R.I.T.: 'Make My'

The Roots are my favourite hip hop group of all time.  'Make My' is one of my favourite tracks from them.  I really hold this track, and the whole of the 'Undun' album in very high regard indeed.  When music is this good you can dead any 'what's more important: beats or lyrics?' talk, as both are nigh-on perfect.  Wonderful.  'Undun' is available on Amazon here and available on iTunes here.

K15: 'Ascension'

The New Beatmaker favourite K15 dropped 'The Black Tape' last month.  The first in a set of tapes inspired by a different colour (or tone in the case of black), the project is full of haunting instrumentals that evoke the feelings of grief and loss.  'Ascension' is a highlight, but the whole
project is powerfully personal and moving.  Available here.

Thundercat: 'For Love I Come (Lapalux Flip)'

See, this right here...This just might be my favourite remix of all time.  In any genre.  'For Love I Come' is the perfect example of how a classic song can be re-imagined in a myriad of ways.  A frenetic classic by the late, great George Duke, turned into a slower, arguably more sensual cut by Thundercat (which brought the frenetic energy back in a big way in the ending); turned into a hypnotic cut which sounds like a UFO drifting across the sky above the Amazonian rainforest by Lapalux.  My flowery language aside, this is phenomenal.  

Loomis & Jones Ft. Lee'tal - 'Motion' 

Taking us out is the dramatic 'half-step / future dub' of friends of The New Beatmaker Loomis & Jones featuring vocalist Lee'tal.  An audio-visual outfit and record label (who also do a mean line in podcast / mixes), be sure to follow them on Twitter here.  Rest assured you will be hearing more cuts from them in future Soundcloud Sessions. 

I really hope you have enjoyed this latest Soundcloud Session.  I really did.  Thanks again to Phashara / AKA Corry Banks for the intro and outro.

Be sure to follow The New Beatmaker on Soundcloud and Twitter.

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About The New Beatmaker

Hi!  I'm Lee.  Welcome to my blog.  Here we talk music: news, reviews, interviews, tips, tutorials and more.  I'm also working on the upcoming podcast  Influenced  as a guest, writer and researcher alongside music aficionado Mark Williams and friends.  Watch this space! I have been a lover of music for as long as I can remember, an amateur lyricist for 25 years, a music writer for 15 years and a hobbyist musician and blogger for almost 10 years. My tastes range from jazz to house to hip hop and I love helping artists from all genres develop their sound. My music, videos, reviews and interviews have been featured in a variety of magazines and websites, including: B-Boy Tech Report Gimme That Beat Humanhuman Audio Skills Dream House Beats Where Did the Road Go Beat Tape Co-Op Push Power Promo Drum Magazine You can find my music on Bandcamp: Monkey Mind Sounds AKA LeeTNB And you can find me on Facebook: The New Beatmaker page Lee's personal page

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