Tag: Hip-Hop

From The Inbox (08/19/19) // A. Billi Free – “Flourish”

inbox

FROM THE INBOX:

In theme and style, A. Billi Free effortlessly slides between the present and the future and between earth and space on her debut album I Luma dropping August 12th on Tokyo Dawn Records. Meaning “in front” in the Samoan language, I Luma centers A. Billi Free’s sincere musings on discovery and adventure in her universe over soulful, uplifting, dance-ready jams.

I Luma is backed by an electronic/pop/alternative R&B sensibility entirely composed and produced by Chicago production duo and Tokyo Dawn artists, Tensei. Interstellar jazz multi-instrumentalist Angel Bat Dawid on clarinet sets the tone for this enchanted musical journey on the track “Flourish”.

Recorded in New Mexico, Illinois, and Massachusetts, the resulting magic outweighs the challenges of this type of creation as the album’s sonics are strong and richly layered, providing a solid foundation for A. Billi Free’s smooth tone and earnest message to transmit through the cosmos. Rooted in an eclectic blend of hip hop, soul and electronica, she has spent the last decade in the deserts of southern New Mexico and west Texas fusing elements of both the city and the border into her sound.

Video by Scott Iulianelli, Analog Prints.

A. Billi Free is exactly the kind of surprises I like getting in my email. Her new record is absolutely fantastic. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s just a great mix of pop, hip-hop, R&B, and soul.

A. Billi Free
Tokyo Dawn Records

YEAR END! – Top Records Of 2018

Hey, 2018 sure was thing. After almost a year away, I brought this blog back a few months ago. I plan on actually updating on a more regular schedule in 2019. But, that is a problem for 2019 Joe. Anyway, here are my top records of 2018. In alphabetical order, because it just makes sense.

BEST RECORDS:

  • Dessa – “Chime”
  • Dogbite – “True Lofi Will Find You In The End”
  • Drug Church – “Cheer”
  • Gouge Away – “Burnt Sugar”
  • Headlines – “MMXVII”
  • Heavy Mantle – “Weights & Measures”
  • Hop Along – “Bark Your Head Off, Dog”
  • Krimewatch – “Krimewatch”
  • La Luz – “Floating Feature”
  • Lala Lala – “The Lamb”
  • Late Bloomer – “Waiting”
  • Lilith – “I’ll Come Over B/W In Real Life”
  • Miranda Winters – “Xobeci, What Grows Here?”
  • Miserable – “Loverboy”
  • Mitski – “Be The Cowboy”
  • Mothers – “Render Another Ugly Method”
  • Nectar – “Knocking At The Door”
  • Ogikubo Station – “We Can Pretend Like”
  • Open Mike Eagle – “What Happens When I Try To Relax”
  • Restorations – “LP5000”
  • Tancred – “Nightstand”
  • Tanukichan – “Sundays”
  • There’s Talk – “Bathed Water Moon”
  • V.V. Lightbody – “Bathing Peach”
  • Worlds Greatest Dad – “Get Well Soon”

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Absinthe Father – “Jane”
  • Ivy Sole – “Overgrown”
  • Petal – “Magic Gone”
  • Roy Kinsey – “Blackie: A Story By Roy Kinsey”
  • Smol Data – “Smol Data: An EP”
  • Snail Mail – “Lush”
  • Steady Holiday – “Nobody’s Watching”
  • Swearin’ – “Fall In The Sun”
  • Tony Molina – “Kill The Light”
  • Young Animals – “Disposition”

All things considered, Be The Cowboy was my favorite record this year. Or, at the very least, the one I listened to the most.

So, yeah. There you go. Here’s a Spotify playlist