Philadelphia native Bilal will release his new album A Love Surreal on February 26th but you don’t have to wait that long to listen to the record in full – NPR is currently streaming the funky R&B effort in their First Listen feature. Bilal, who quickly fell into the Soulquarians scene with The Roots, Erykah Badu and D’Angelo in New York City after graduating from Philadelphia’s High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, smooths his funky style with bright, psychedelic overtones on this latest effort while the lyrics explore the many facets of love. Stream “West Side Girl” below and stream the full record here.
Bilal
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Tonight’s Concert Picks: Psychic Ills at Johnny Brenda’s, Bilal at World Cafe Live, XPN Welcomes Northern Liberties Music Fest with Ruby the Hatchet and more to The Fire
New York experimental rock band Psychic Ills headline Johnny Brenda’s tonight. The psychedelic-infused outfit recalls the distorted and distressed, laidback sound of early Kurt Vile with lo-fi vocals and hypnotic arrangements that seem on the verge of exploding. Psychic Ills will be releasing One Track Mind on February 19th via Sacred Bones Records, following up 2011′s Hazed Dream. Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Nothing and Mike Bruno & The Black Magic Family Band can be found here. Stream “Might Take A While” from the upcoming record below.
Stream a new song by Bilal, “West Side Girl” (playing World Cafe Live on Wednesday, February 13)
Over the course of his excellent career, musician, producer and songwriter Bilal has taken elements of R&B, funk, and hip-hop and mixed them together with fantastic results. His soon to be released new album, A Love Surreal (out on February 26th), continues to build on his career. Bilal has his record release party at World Cafe Live on Wednesday, February 13th. Go here for tickets and more information about the show. Below, listen to the ridiculously funky “West Side Girl.”
Listen to a new Bilal song, “Back To Love,” new album out in February
Unlocked: Aaron Brown of Aaron and the Spell shares his video playlist of influences
Listening to Aaron and the Spell‘s new full-length Sing, you can tell that songwriter Aaron Brown pulls from a large pool of influences. The primary sound is soul, for sure, but there’s a lot more going on than just that. We asked Aaron put together a video playlist of artists that have shaped him as a songwriter. Here are his picks.
Wilco “Side With the Seeds”
“I am a huge fan of Wilco and was so excited to see them at the XPoNential Music Festival. They definitely seep into my music (especially this song).”
Nina Simone “I Love You Porgy”
“Maybe my favorite musician ever. This is the tune that first broke Nina to a wider audience and it happened in Philadelphia! I believe she used to live in West Philly for a time. I’m always walking Philadelphia hoping to bump into one of her relatives still living here.” Continue reading
Watch The Roots perform songs from undun on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Yesterday The Roots released their new album undun. It’s not every day that bands need to work their “day jobs” when they release a new album, however last night The Roots performed songs from the album on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Below, watch “The Other Side,” and “Tip The Scale.” That’s Bilal singing with the band and on “Tip The Scale” they were also joined The Metropolis Ensemble and pianist D.D. Jackson, who performed with ?uestlove during the Philly Paris Lockdown. On this performance of “The Other Side,” the band expand on the studio version with an energetic back and forth between Bilal and guitarist “Captain Kirk” Douglas that you don’t want to miss.
Watch new videos from The Roots and Kindred The Family Soul (via Okayplayer)
The Roots premiered the first of a series of new videos for songs from their forthcoming album undun on Okayplayer yesterday. The album is being released on December 6th. From Okayplayer:
Here is the first of four videos from The Roots undun, the next three to be released at 12:06pm the next three Tuesdays leading up to release on 12/06. Watch the clip for “Make My” above and stay tuned for “Stomp” next week.
Okayplayer also premiered a new video from the husband-wife soul music duo Kindred The Family Soul. The video is the song “Take A Look Around” from their album Love Has No Recession. The video features Philly’s Bilal and BJ The Chicago Kid. Watch the video below.