Get Familiar: GoldLink
Born in D.C, raised in Maryland and now living in VA, rapper GoldLink entered the hip-hop climate last year awarding us a handful of experimental tracks that left most of us somewhere between outer space and Ginuwine. GoldLink calls this “Futuristic Ass Bounce” or “Future Bounce” for the more conservative among us, although ‘conservative’ isn’t quite in his vocabulary. Read more
Sam Smith | Get Familiar
You've probably heard of Sam Smith by now. This 21-year-old British singer's name has been on everyone's lips of late: the no-brainer of new music; President-elect for pop superstardom in 2014.
You might've heard his star-making turns on Naughty Boy's "La La La" and Disclosure's "Latch" - the former remains one of the biggest selling singles of the last year whilst the latter is perhaps the best 'dance' song of the last ten. He can count Maxwell as one of his biggest fans, after the soul music titan spent the entire summer gushing about the Brit to his millions of fans online, and he's sold out shows in New York and LA; all without an album or even a proper single release to his name. Read more
Logic | Get Familiar
Currently ringing bells as loud as fire alarms, does anyone really know Logic? Having been recruited as part of XXL Magazine’s Freshman 2013 list, the Maryland emcee with both brains and bite also just signed his first major record deal with Def Jam. Read more
Luke James - "I.O.U." | New Music
Talented singer and songwriter Luke James is back with a new a song for lovers to groove to with the simmering midtempo "I.O.U.".Read more
The Confect : Get Familiar
With the UK having a solid reputation for developing some of the most groundbreaking production outfits in music, a young collective are fast emerging as one of the future leaders in re-defining the soundscape for future UK 'Urban' Music.
The Confect (also known as The Confectionery), are a handful of talented producers from north London who have left their distinctive imprint on many genres of underground music for the last five years and look set to emerge onto the greater stage of commercial music for 2013 and beyond. Made up of beatmakers TJ, Ones, Miles, Sasman and Jo, The Confect have become renowned for their meshing of numerous traits from the genres of Grime, Hip Hop, UK Garage, and Dubstep to create their own unique atmospheric blend which has breathed life into many projects throughout the years.
First coming to prominence in 2007, The Confect's work on the likes of Guvna B and Franklyn Music drew praise from fans for the depth in their productions and for adding their own twist on the sound expected from the genre. But arguably the producers' first landmark moment came when they took control of all the musical credits on previous Get Familiar alumni Nick Brewer's excellent debut "Alone With My Thoughts". A mixtape which introduced the wider world to both The Confect and Brewer, Alone With My Thoughts' fusing of pulse raising Grime beats with emotive, haunting scores was the formula to the rapper's successful first outing. The relationship between Brewer and the collective remains strong even today, as the outfit provided an emotionally torn musical wave for "Ashamed", the newest track taken from the east London rapper.
http://youtu.be/iV1MdAEi4Zk
Whilst many "bedroom producers" have excelled in recreating the Grime and Hip Hop sounds, The Confect have also successfully crafted a number of tracks from a different end to the Grime musical spectrum. A sensitive and acoustic approach is taken on UK Gospel artist Leke's "Closer", whilst promising Nottingham vocalist Joel Baker was aided with a tranquil musical score for his rendition of Kendrick Lamar's cult favourite "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe".
Arguably the biggest name credit on their list of collaborations thus far came when The Confect laid down an appropriate highly charged anthem for Grime general Ghetts in "On A Level". The revered MC delivered his signature passionate performance over the off-the-wall production, rounding off a truly tiring graft towards recognition for the ever working producers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUdhBQRSxWs
Constantly adding dimensions to newcomers in addition to bringing their A-game to more established acts, The Confect's early journey has produced many highlights thus far and with their profile evergrowing, it won't be long before the UKs best of the best will be fusing their patented rhymes with the outfits fresh orchestration. Stay locked for The Confect's debut EP exclusively on SoulCulture in the coming months.
The Confect Online: WEB // @THECONFECT // SOUNDCLOUD
The Neighbourhood : Get Familiar
"Don’t tell them anything," whispers The Neighbourhood’s Jesse Rutherford to the languid beat of "Female Robbery." Since forming in August 2011, the Californian quintet [employing the deliberate Anglicised spelling of their name] have spent months driving the blogosphere into a hot mess of wild curiosity, bagged BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe’s Hottest Record In The World title four times and played a string of sell out shows. Yet somehow they’ve managed to keep a tight lid on their rapidly increasing profile. Read more
Femi Temowo : Get Familiar
It's probably about time that you're introduced to Femi Temowo. The Nigerian-born guitarist (and producer) is amongst the most talented jazz musicians currently residing in the UK. Fittingly, he's just been nominated for a MOBO in the Best Jazz Act category. Read more
Will Brennan : Get Familiar
In the overly populated musical genre of Hip-Hop, making your presence known as an up-and-coming emcee can be a hard task. With artists slotting into existing positions of conscious rap, hipster rap, non-lyrical rap etc, finding your lane can come with disappointing outcomes, and working extra hard to get your music out. For Florida born rapper Will Brennan, he finds not having a defined lane to be almost a blessing in disguise. Read more
Luke James : Get Familiar
Soulful R&B crooner Luke James may be familiar to some due to his brilliant performance on the BET Honors of his debut single "I Want You." Luke's production has not been great for the last couple of years, but he definitely has the talent to spark a trend and help bring true soul singers with mass appeal back to the forefront of the music world. Read more
Danielle Parente : Get Familiar
Last month we took a trip to Los Angeles, California and whilst having lunch poolside at the Mondrian hotel in West Hollywood (Asia De Cuba FTW by the way), we were introduced to the music of this beautiful new talent by the name of Danielle Parente and HAD to share it with you guys.Read more
Lauren Housley : Get Familiar
We just can't get enough of that Motown sound. From the late, great Amy Winehouse's Back To Black -- a journey through '60s pop -- to Plan B's reinvention as a soul man for his sophmore effort The Defamation Of Strickland Banks, we can't help but consume this music with wild abandon. We love it. How has it endured in the hearts and minds of so many for so long? Only the Gods know, but one thing we can be sure of is that we need some Soul music a la Stax with a dash of Motown, and we need it now...
Enter Lauren Housley. Read more
Marie Dahlstrøm: Soul with a Scandinavian touch | Get Familiar
As an avid listener of R&B and Soul music, I've found that over the last couple of years the sudden swoop of electro-pop has taken over and left the genre to slowly but surely come to an end. On a quest to reignite my hope, I stumbled across London-based Scandinavian R&B, Soul and Jazz singer Marie Dahlstrøm. Read more
Franklyn Music : Get Familiar
Bridging the gap between Hip Hop, Gospel and Poetry comes budding talent, 19 year old Franklyn Music. Born Franklyn Addo, the East London Ghanaian is beginning to establish himself as one of the most promising young rappers in the UK, thanks to the engaging content finely crafted with impressive vocabulary into every verse. Read more
Vonny Del Fresco : Get Familiar
Just under a year ago I came across Vonny Del Fresco on Tumblr with his cover of Childish Gambino's "Do Ya Like," sampling Adele's "Melt My Heart To Stone." His chilled flow and voice, that to me was similar [in a complimentary sort of way, as opposed to ripping him off] to that of Lupe Fiasco, instantly caught my ear urging me to keep an eye on this kid. I have done - and now it's time to bring you in on the laid back sound of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin hailing 18 year old emcee known as VDF. Read more
The Seshen : Get Familiar
Being part of a seven-deep group could be a blessing or a headache. With seven different people come seven different perspectives, ideas and personal influences. For Bay Area based collective The Seshen, who released their self-titled debut in March, their seven members express seven rhythmically harmonious points of view. Read more
Robb Bank$ : Get Familiar
You may have heard his name. You might even follow him on Tumblr. But it’s time to really get with Robb Bank$’ savage life. Flying under the radar of mainstream music press, Robb Bank$ may appear to be just another teenage rapper building a hype off social networks but this is deeper than rap. Read more
