soul

  • It seems one of the ongoing mantras for this blog is: “Spring where your seeds grow roots.” A perfect example of this mantra in action is the early career of Indonesian R&B and diva, Mellyana Manuhutu. And the perfect entry into a unique slice of dangdut can be found in her kaleidoscopic album, Beatify. 

  • Do you know who I don’t envy? Pop stars. Out of all the careers or aspirations one can hold in the music business, none holds a candle to the sheer amount of stress, anxiety, work, and all-encompassing human problems that one will endure to simply make it as a pop artist. Rockers, jazz artists, and…

  • Some artists make whole careers out of reinventing themselves. The best ones, you name it from the late David Bowie, to Joni Mitchell or Tom Waits, always leave you guessing just what they’re going to do next. The ones that try too hard, which shall remain nameless, always leave you wondering why they just can’t…

  • For any musicians out there: aren’t those perfect, creative, moments the ones you find yourself while playing “in the pocket”? It’s when the groove that swung one way comes together on a beat (and whatever you’re doing is the exactly the right thing to be done). I say this because it reminds me of Suzy…

  • You know, sometimes the hardest part is making a decision. And in my case, it’s selecting the crown jewel amongst so many diamonds. But the choice has been made. The choice is Toshinobu Kubota’s absolutely personal heartfelt ode to the Caribbean and its diaspora: Kubojah – Parallel World I.

  • While I was writing about “Korea’s Madonna”, mentally, my mind going elsewhere, as well, thinking about that other Madonna: the late, great, Minako Honda. Putting myself, mentally in their shoes, I kept thinking about how as a young woman (especially of that ‘80s era) all the nonsense they must have gone through to simply: a)…

  • If y’all can count on one thing about me, it’s on this: I’m unafraid to promote adult music. Years of listening has led me to tuck away a special place for artists or music that gets by not on sonic gimmicks or complexity but on a certain amount of grace and sophistication. It’s what makes…

  • As you all may know now, “late summer” is more of a vibe than a season. It’s in between times when hot summer days ease down with cool, easy-going, summer breezes. For the longest, I’ve been fascinated with music that speaks to this period. It’s precisely this hammock season that I’m going back to an…

  • Time sure does fly when you’re in the pocket. And in the case of my latest Digging Deep mix it’s the reason that caused me to both: a) go over my hour-allotted time (sorry, LYL Radio friends) and b) completely jettison the ending of said mix from the original inspiration behind it. So, I’m asking…

  • Looking back, there’s something very telling in the first video clip I embedded here which you can watch below. In it we see one Jay Alanski participating in Thierry Ardisson’s popular “Le Blind Test” – a show where celebrities and/or musicians are presented with excerpts from records, quizzed whether they can guess what’s playing. What’s…

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