So, What Are You Listening To NOW?

[rostasi]

32 minutes ago, JSngry said:

It's blinding, not enlightening.

You have to point the flashlight outwards
(unless you're trying to scare someone).

[JSngry]

A flashlight will only show you what you point it at.

I mean, give me a fucking break!

https://www.discogs.com/master/1188411-Ursula-Rucker-Ruckus-Soundsysdom

Ursula Rucker – Ruckus Soundsysdom

Genre:	Electronic, Hip Hop
Style:	Jazzy Hip-Hop, Future Jazz, Downtempo, Hip Hop, Leftfield
Year:	2008

[mjazzg]

Cleo Soul is Neo Soul

1 hour ago, rostasi said:

Acid Jazz was party music born in the mid-80s mostly out of London
with a more improv feeling mixing jazz, soul, and hip-hop with a stylish feel.

Neo-soul, OTOH, came out of Philly in the mid-90s and was/is less about
dancefloor moves and a lot about personal, intimate songwriting with 
serious influence from hip-hop's lyrical stylings and rhythm.

Yes, but I'd Acid Jazz wasn't only party music, s lot was but not exclusivly

It was also a record label (Gilles P) which helped define the term in real time. Acid Jazz came from the Rare Groove and older well established Soul scene when that came up against a Jazz Dance scene focussed on Dingwalls where all of a sudden we were dancing to Blakey and others. Younger musicians blended the influences to varying degrees. Acid Jazz then spread out definitely to Japan, see UFO as early adaptors

And the Jazz Cafe evolved from a predominantly Jazz venue to one that presented all of the music we're talking about and as @Rabshakeh says, in his youth, not mine the Jazz acts were a lot less common.

I don't see Acid Jazz morphing into Neo Soul, Acid Jazz largely faded whilst Neo Soul emerged in parallel, we haven't mentioned Maxwell have we?

[rostasi]

What were you expecting?
"Spoken Word" is what I've seen for her most of the time.

[rostasi]

28 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Cleo Soul is Neo Soul...

Everything associated with Acid Jazz sounded like a party to me! Isn't that what "Jazz Dance" was all about? 

... and, yeah, that was my point about the 10 year or so gap between Acid Jazz and Neo Soul.

[mjazzg]

Jazz Dance and Acid Jazz had a crossover but didn't map exactly onto eachother. 

Jazz Dance was about dancing to Jazz, rediscovered BNs etc and some Rare Groove.

Acid Jazz was about music with a hint of Jazz or a hat tip or knowing wink to Jazz, often a hint to add enough hipness. The most Jazz Acid Jazz band was probably James Taylor Quartet.

[rostasi]

I think I owned every JTQ disc - both CD and LP -
I could get my hands on back then!

Edited 22 hours ago by rostasi

[mjazzg]

Good live band too but I've not listened to them in decades

[JSngry]

54 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

 

I don't see Acid Jazz morphing into Neo Soul, Acid Jazz largely faded whilst Neo Soul emerged in parallel, we haven't mentioned Maxwell have we?

Is there a difference between morphing and evolving? I do hear elements of the former sticking around and showing up in the latter, to then further evolve.

Some organizational things had changed in some pretty basic ways  and they stuck around.

And I forget where Broken Beat/Drum & Bass (all the labels...) falls into the chronology, but that was some replacement toolbox stuff as well.

Beats, changes, melodies, TEMPOS!, nothing is as it was, and one person, place, or thing didn't do it alone or at once!

IMO, this micro wacko subsubsubsub genre labeling is missing the bigger point that a significant portion of the collective reality-perception/dance mojo (instinctual/ behavioral, not social) has changed. The people have changed. The shapes and colors have changed. Accents have changed 

Life has changed. The resistance is strong, but...you can't stop running water.

[rostasi]

7 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Good live band too but I've not listened to them in decades

I still am trying to wrap my head arout Matt "IT Crowd" Berry as an Acid Jazz musician!

[JSngry]

44 minutes ago, rostasi said:

What were you expecting?
"Spoken Word" is what I've seen for her most of the time.

I recall (another) old online interview with her, maybe American, where the gist of it was that she seemed to be mixing rap-type lyrics with "Electronica" and was that going to prevent her acceptance with "R&B" audiences, because that stuff is all "European" not "Urban". Not even a subtle coding there...

[rostasi]

Well, that's some heavy stupid shit there ...
and that kinda crap is de rigueur in lots of areas these days.

Edited 22 hours ago by rostasi

[mjazzg]

32 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Is there a difference between morphing and evolving? I do hear elements of the former sticking around and showing up in the latter, to then further evolve.

Some organizational things had changed in some pretty basic ways  and they stuck around.

And I forget where Broken Beat/Drum & Bass (all the labels...) falls into the chronology, but that was some replacement toolbox stuff as well.

Beats, changes, melodies, TEMPOS!, nothing is as it was, and one person, place, or thing didn't do it alone or at once!

IMO, this micro wacko subsubsubsub genre labeling is missing the bigger point that a significant portion of the collective reality-perception/dance mojo (instinctual/ behavioral, not social) has changed. The people have changed. The shapes and colors have changed. Accents have changed 

Life has changed. The resistance is strong, but...you can't stop running water.

Broken Beat, Drum and Bass come later, 90s maybe very late 80s.

Definite morphing/evolving/influencing from the previous scenes, as much about organisation, places and spaces as anything else. Personalities too.

We mustn't forget the massive influence on all of this of the Pirate Radio scene, a running thread 

Loved Ursula back then, good to hear again

[JSngry]

25 minutes ago, rostasi said:

Well, that's some heavy stupid shit there ...
and that kinda crap is de rigueur in lots of areas these days.

But don't blame the "journalist". Blame the overall environment created by "defining" music in terms of "genre", no, MICRO genre, like the old game Name It & Claim It.

I mean, ok. it makes for good casual conversation, but after a while...prisoners of our own device etc.

Just my opinion 

7 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Loved Ursula back then, good to hear again

Best as I know she's still in Philly, focusing on Poetry and occasionally doing cameos on records that are under the commercial radar.

Strong voice 

[mjazzg]

35 minutes ago, JSngry said:

But don't blame the "journalist". Blame the overall environment created by "defining" music in terms of "genre", no, MICRO genre, like the old game Name It & Claim It.

I mean, ok. it makes for good casual conversation, but after a while...prisoners of our own device etc.

Just my opinion 

Best as I know she's still in Philly, focusing on Poetry and occasionally doing cameos on records that are under the commercial radar.

Strong voice 

You heard Aja Monet?

[JSngry]

I have now!

 

[mjazzg]

1 minute ago, JSngry said:

I have now!

 

Bingo! Check the album

https://www.discogs.com/release/27677148-Aja-Monet-When-The-Poems-Do-What-They-Do

Very strong, I think

[JSngry]

Produced by Chief Adujah!

So, the genre is https://www.discogs.com/release/27677148-Aja-Monet-When-The-Poems-Do-What-They-Do

That's really helpful!!! 👁️‍🗨️

[JSngry]

Ok, Pandora has a channel called Neo Soul Acid Jazz Collective Radio.

Not what I'm looking for. No variety. In anything.

Sounds like an extremely trailing indicator.

[rostasi]

Have you tried another band? They only put out 2 rather uninspiring albums about 5 years ago.

[Rabshakeh]

Also part of the mix here was non-pirate "jazz" radio. What I think was tagged "urban contemporary" in the US, but which I remember being classed as "jazz" (without adjective) here. There Was a whole genre of glossy R&B that was 100% jazz or fusion adjacent and featured (smooth) jazz solos, and which shaded into neo-soul at some edges. Other than a few acts like Sade, it isn't well remembered music, but it is part of the story and a cousin of the more high-tone and artistic neo-soul acts. 

[EKE BBB]

[Dub Modal]

7 hours ago, JSngry said:

Ok, Pandora has a channel called Neo Soul Acid Jazz Collective Radio.

Not what I'm looking for. No variety. In anything.

Sounds like an extremely trailing indicator.

One of the best apps for exploring genres has to be bandcamp, so I highly recommend venturing there and tuning into R&B and it's sub genres. Seems like bandcamp is a really good vehicle for independent artists to platform their albums and their profiles. I went down the rnb rabbit hole there last year and found some good stuff. Shit that would never be heard elsewhere. 

[Peter Friedman]

[HutchFan]

Edited 9 hours ago by HutchFan