This collab between two London rappers of West African origin is a hymn to their families’ mother continent… and the women they find there. But it’s the music as much as the sultry vocals that really catches my ear, with its shuffling rhythms, lazy swing and joyful, jazzy undertones.

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This was the first song I ever heard by Tori Amos. It’s also the last, when it played over the closing titles of an episode of Beef last night. A wacky song by a kooky redhead, it was a good fit for what is a wacky TV show about a man and a woman with extreme anger management issues.

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This record, championed by my fellow music scribe Ged Babey, sounds so familiar, touching so many bases from my punk past, yet also sounds fresh. And that’s because, while it’s true that these musicians are no spring chickens, this is a new release.

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The only thing wrong with this slice of psychedelic funk is that it’s too short; far too short. Put all three parts together and the whole thing is less than two and a half minutes long.

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This dirty, primitive, fuzzed-up slice of vintage RnB from comes from four smooth-looking black fellows called The Dyna-Sores.

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When it comes to minimal techno it don’t come much more minimal than Daniel Bell. And sometimes – driving at night, for example – that’s just what you want to hear. Well, I do.

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I wasn’t planning to watch Jools Holland’s Hootenanny on New Year’s Eve. And when I did switch over after the fireworks I certainly didn’t expect to witness an exciting new talent.

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Just as punk began to take over my musical life in 1976 this slice of smooth soul hit the UK charts. But this isn’t them… well, one of them is but the other one isn’t.

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Once upon a time there was a band called Jefferson Airplane fronted by a former model called Grace Slick. But before that Grace was in a band called The Great Society and the Airplane had a singer called Signe Toly.

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Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris were never romantically involved but when they sang together their voices made the sweetest love. Never more so than on this song. (more…)