New Track: Down – XamVolo

Xan Volo Down

After receiving widespread plays on BBC 1xtra, Radio X and 6 Music for his previous effort, Runner’s High, UK jazz-soul singer and producer XAMVOLO unveils brand new single Down, taken from his forthcoming EP Chirality.

The latest single is set up take things up a notch. The four-minute smoothie tackles the inner battle many of us have with our own inhibitions as we try to balance our personal relationships with the pursuit of our goals.

Aged just 22, the Merseyside resident has written, produced and arranged his upcoming four-track project. Its brooding, eclectic mixture of Jazz and Soul over hypnotic beats brings to mind contemporaries such as Anderson Paak and Hiatus Kaiyote, firmly establishing Xam as a true artist and one who oversees every single element of his music, which he describes as resembling “a messy mind over raw, dark jazz grooves”.

Song of the Day: Unreliable – Volmer (ft.Zalon)

Volmer unreliable

Hiding behind his sunglasses, Danish phenomenon and dance floor maverick VOLMER lets his music do the talking with the release of his new, bass-heavy track Unreliable, featuring vocals from the soulful and seductive Zalon.

From working in a humble London wine shop to commanding clubs in his homeland’s DJ scene, the four-minute offering signifies just how far the producer has come in the past few years. A slow-jam electro tune that tangles together the full-bodied vigour of deep house and the smooth intricacies of soul, it’s rhythmically reminiscent of artists like Groove Armada mixed with the elegant poise of R&B heavyweights such as Frank Ocean and Usher, comprising a host of silky harmonies, punchy snares and smooth textures. Opening with a swirl of sporadic synthesisers, VOLMER creates a spacious sense of atmosphere for Zalon’s fervent and tender vocals to carry the catchy melody. Inherently groovy and polished off with exquisite production techniques, the track is a ready-made, soul-powered floor filler.

Fresh from graduating from London’s prestigious College of Music, VOLMER took a step back from playing guitar and began his career on the garage and electro scene, crossing paths with a multitude of talented artists such as Phoebe One, Ms Dynamite and Craig David. After returning to Denmark, the 32-year-old continued to work the clubbing scene, delivering hard-hitting and bass-heavy shows while gaining valuable inspiration for his own production ventures.

After receiving acclaim for the audaciously catchy ‘Bassline Business’ – his debut single on disco:wax – Unreliable offers a welcome change of pace from the full-throttle club banger as he teams up with Zalon, the MTV-approved former backing singer to late soul sensation Amy Winehouse. The collaboration gives Unreliable a distinctly suave and poppy dimension to the Copenhagen-based producer’s otherwise irrepressibly catchy rhythms and powerful bass-lines.

On working together, Volmer notes that “I’ve known Zalon for some years now. I loved the work he’s done with Amy [Winehouse] and Mark Ronson so I was really excited when he was finally up for working on some more electronic music. Even though our backgrounds are very different, we have a lot of fun in the studio…there are no limits really.” Despite running in two entirely different musical circles, both artists complement each other’s strengths, making their collaboration all the more enjoyable because of it.

Combining the rich and succulent vocals of a seasoned soul man like Zalon with his own distinctive dance sound, VOLMER has struck gold with his alluring new track Unreliable, making him one of the most exceptionally talented producers to emerge from Scandinavia in recent years.

Unreliable is now available via disco: wax

New Track! Ice Cream – Solo Kings (ft. Black$ Money)

solo king

It’s been awhile since SOHO KINGS showed their face on this blog – that’s because the hip-hop/pop duo from Brooklyn had a busy year. Since the release of their mixtape, The Climb in January, the pair had back-to-back shows in NYC and across the east coast.

Now, late in the 4th quarter of 2015, they are set to release Out My Mind EP, a  short but transcendent expose into their extensive range. The first single, Ice Cream (featuring Black$ Money), is a trap/pop club banger with hard-hitting sonics the group is known for.

Ice Cream is available as a free download via SoundCloud.

New Track! Matter Of Time (Distant Light Remix) – Kyle Lettman

kyle lettman matter of time

At the top of this month, UK R&B singer KYLE LETTMAN was here on NEW LEASE MUSIC with his single, Matter Of Time.

Two weeks down the line, the 90s-inspired old school number gets the garage treatment from production duo DISTANT LIGHT – check out the remix below.

The original version of Matter Of Time is from the five-track EP Under Construction, available now on iTunes.