London’s breakbeat duo the Stanton Warriors have got it made. With a rabid international following, several acclaimed and top-selling mix CDs, killer remixes that are played by the world’s best DJs, and a popular night at famed nightclub Fabric, these boys are living their dream. The Stanton Warriors sound is true dancefloor magic fusing gritty hip-hop with bouncy electronica into magnificent symphonies of booty-shaking insanity. To repay their fans for their undying support, these workaholics have released Stanton Sessions 3, a high-energy breakbeat mix that is 100% Stanton Warriors. Nu-Soul was able to catch up with these busy guys in between their hectic tour schedule to find out what they have been up to.

Nu-Soul: How did the success of Fabriclive 30 alter the course of your career? What happened in the few months after it was released?
SW: We have always been busy on the international dj circuit but with the release of a new cd we tend to gather a whole new load of fans to our gigs. I put this down to the fact that it’s always been hard to describe our sound to people and the cds act as a kind of CV, which introduces new people to what we do.

Nu-Soul: How did your partnership with Fabric come about? In what ways have they provided support for the release of Stanton Sessions Vol. 3?
SW: Fabric gave us the platform to put together this project in any way we saw fit. There were no constrains as you’d might expect with a major record label. Also we have a long history with the club.

Nu-Soul: Your night at Fabric London has been going on for 8 years now. How do you maintain such a popular club night?
SW: We have been playing at Fabric for all this time even before we had any sort of name. We constantly make special edits and remixes with the Fabric crowd in mind. The Stanton Session nights had some great line ups where we pulled in acts like Big Daddy Kane, Sway, The Beatnuts, DJ Craze, etc - Its the combination of these acts which have made the nights.

Nu-Soul: Tell me a little about the recent US promo tour. What has the reaction been like in the States?
SW: America and Canada has been going off for us massively in the past few years. Our recent promo tour was the best yet. Selling out LA on a Monday night and Vancouver on a Wednesday night were definitely highlights that spring to mind

Nu-Soul: What can fans expect on the new CD, Stanton Session 3?
SW: Anyone who has heard us DJ over the last 12 months and like what they heard should like this cd. All the big tracks, edits and remixes which have been featured in our sets are all present on this mix.

Nu-Soul: Who are some DJs, producers, and artists that have caught your eye over the last few years?
SW: DJ Deekline is doing some really good booty style breakbeat, Crookers do some great bassline house, AC Slater is doing some fresh sounding dirty dub step. Basically lots of new 1 off tunes we’ve been finding on Internet blog sites have also been exciting us.

Nu-Soul: For those who don’t know, what is the Stanton Warriors sound?
SW: It’s definitely a distinctive sound but one we can never quite put a name to. It once was described as ‘Low Down Booty Bassbin Punk’ or something like that - you’ll have to check the cd and make your own mind up.

Nu-Soul: What are some of your upcoming projects?
SW: we are working flat out on our new artist album which we are very excited about. Hopefully due for release in spring next year. Aside from that we have tours of Australia, The Far East, Russian, Europe etc and then back over in the states for WMC and an April tour. You can check our spanking new website at StantonWarriors.com for all the info.

www.stantonwarriors.com
www.myspace.com/stantonwarriors

Purchase Stanton Warriors music at Itunes / Amazon

When we think of hip hop, we never think of Ypsilanti, Michigan. Well, welcome to the intriguing world of Ypsilanti-native 14KT. One-seventh of the seminal hip hop crew Athletic Mic League, this unique emcee, DJ, and producer - who’s created hits with a who’s who of Detroit talent (Slum Village, Dwele, Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Aloe Blacc, OneBeLo) – has dropped a debut LP, The Golden Hour Soundtrack (A-Side Worldwide/LTP), that’s part instrumental, part electro-funk, yet fundamentally hip hop.

With tracks ranging from love and relationships, to peace and positivity, 14KT weaves an interesting web of individuality.

While “Can We?? (Chill Again)” is a throwback of beats and breaks from the 90’s slow jam “Let’s Chill,” “Hihatspectations” is a sweet ditty of melodic sounds. Nonetheless, the album sometimes bobs and weaves between a head nod and a raised eyebrow. “ICU Smile” featuring Karla Crawford steals its sound from a 70’s soul record: replete with psychedelic soundscape and peace and love commentary, however “Trust Issues” throws the flow. Going from piano and percussions, to a single piano; and then an organ and vocals, makes for a haunting five minutes.

But “The Night” brings it back. Mixing lines from an open mic scene in the movie Love Jones with a loop from “Lose Control” by R&B group Silk, the track is a satisfying segue to the end of the album.

Bringing it home, KT created a short yet soulful ride on “Without Dilla (Donut 2 Dilla Feb. ’06),” a dedication to fellow Detroit-producer, the late James “J Dilla” Yancey from Slum Village fame.

- ND McCray

www.myspace.com/14ktz

Download at Itunes

Woyneab Wondwossen, better known as Wayna, could have been a lot of things. A passion for all things people, culture, and agenda would have served her well in advocacy, business, and politics. Her ability to weave worldly concerns into a single story and common cause could have led her to success in public speaking, education, and the arts. But after three years as a writer in the White House, Wayna chose to become a singer, a single profession that allowed her to tap into all her interests and talents. So far she has used music as a platform to address women’s rights, her Ethopian heritage, the tried and tested themes of love and relationships, society at large, and individual expression. While the positive feedback from and impact of her music has only increased with each album release, Wayna feels she has a lot more to say and a long way to go.

Nu-Soul: How have initial reactions to your new album, Higher Ground, differed from those of your previous album, Moments of Clarity?
Wayna: People have been very generous in their feedback on both projects, but with Higher Ground I’ve been told that people recognize a lot of growth in the writing and production. I just really wanted to dig deeper and get better, and so far people have felt that on the new project. What I’m most proud about though is that both albums are appreciated for being projects people can listen to from beginning to end. That’s usually a pleasant surprise for most music buyers, and I wanted to make sure buyers of my product got their money’s worth and then some.

Nu-Soul: Your album covers common themes like love and social injustice, but It’s not that often that R&B singers talk about office politics. Why was career and life in the office important enough to dedicate an entire song to?
Wayna: It was a subject that really occupied my mind at one point. I was really surprised as a young adult to see how much politics or who a person was “aligned with” influenced people’s perceptions. When I was working at the White House, I had a colleague who wasn’t very competent, but because he had ties with a very high profile person there, he felt free to bully people. And even some of the smartest, most capable staffers felt like they had to tip toe around him. I couldn’t play along. In fact, I think I may have challenged him more than necessary because I was so irritated by the whole thing. My take is that it’s great to build REAL relationships with people you can learn from and who can open up opportunities for you. But at the end of the day, I want to be judged by what I bring to the table. Otherwise, it’s just like high school with paychecks. For some, that is an unavoidable part of adulthood, and maybe they’re right. But for me, it was just so silly, so I vented about it in a song.

Nu-Soul: If you were to do a song whose theme was to represent the next four years of presidency, what would be the title?
Wayna: America Redefined. I know that when I was growing up, my face and culture and experiences weren’t integrated into the picture of what it meant to be American. We were immigrants, we were black, we used tea bags two and three times. Nobody in Ronald Reagan’s family ever washed a plastic cup, or at least that’s not how they were portrayed. The term American is supposed to include all the cultures and stories of people living and building here. With Obama in the White House, I feel like that is more true and that this country is more mine to claim. I think that’s what the whole opposition to Obama is about — a wrestling against that cultural redefinition.

Nu-Soul: The theme of your “My Love” promotional tour and interests in women’s health and education in Ethiopia seem to suggest a general interest in the advancement of women. Could you tell us a little bit about what being a strong woman means to you and how your work and interests relate?
Wayna: I was raised by two really strong women. My mom, who immigrated here in her 20s as a single mother and my late aunt Yeshi Imagnu, who was one of first women to attend Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia and to later serve as a Dean there. Early on, I was very cognizant of their struggles to be taken seriously as immigrants, as mothers, and as professionals. I don’t know if they ever expressed in words, but they taught me, through their own resilience and defiance, that women should be able to define their own lives. And that means everything from how we see ourselves to how we’re treated in the world. So I’ve always been passionate about that and wanted to share the same life lessons in my writing and in whatever opportunities I have to give back.

Nu-Soul: Are you as calm and level-headed as you sound on record?
Wayna: Ha! You should ask my husband that! Honestly, I have my moments, but for the most part, I’m pretty peaceable. I haven’t yet reached Obama-cool, but I’m pointed that way:)

Nu-Soul: If there were one thing that listeners came away with after listening to your album, what would you want it to be?
Wayna: I would hope that the songs would give them some insight into another person’s story that they may not have otherwise thought they could relate to. That is my ultimate goal as an artist — to help us celebrate our untold stories and connect in a meaningful way.

Nu-Soul: How has being from Ethiopia and growing up in the DC area influenced your sound? Where do we hear that in your album?
Wayna: On the song “Home,” my favorite on Higher Ground, I write about the experience of being an immigrant who misses not only her homeland, but the feeling of not TRYING to belong. Also, on my first album, I did a duet with an Ethiopian vocalist/icon Teddy Tadessa on the song “Desperation Days.” And I have a song about AIDS and poverty in Ethiopia, which is my favorite on the first album, called “Slums of Paradise.” (shout out to RODDY ROD) In terms of future projects, I just completed a compilation album called Andromeda, with 2 Ethiopian emcees, B Sheeba and BurntFace, that merges hip hop/soul and traditional Ethiopian instruments.

Nu-Soul: Name one artist or group from DC and another from Ethiopia who you feel have not gotten their due shine.
Wayna: In DC, there is a new collective called OP Swamp 81 www.myspace.com/opswamp81. It is made up of Bilal Salaam (vocalist and songwriter), Dre King (trumpeteer, keyboardist and producer), SlimKat (producer), and an amazing new vocalist named DaNedra. They’re crazy.

In Ethiopia, there is a new acoustic guitar and vocalist duo, who is mixing folk and traditional Ethiopian music in a truly brilliant way. They go by Munit and Jorga.

Nu-Soul: When it is all said and done and you’ve had 25 years of the music industry behind you, what do you want the people to have said about Wayna?
Wayna: I hope they would say that I spoke sincerely about real subjects and real people in an interesting way, that I made a quality catalogue of music that can be enjoyed after I’m gone, and that I made a contribution to honest, soulful music that new artists can be encouraged by.

www.myspace.com/waynamusic
www.wayna.net

Purchase Wayna’s music at Itunes
Purchase Wayna’s music at Amazon

Brittany Bosco, an uncanny teasing Georgia songstress with eras permeating her vocals, will grab all your attention from the drop!

Refusing any comparison, she builds her own boat with obvious material influences from Jazz, Soul, Funk, Electronic and even pieces of Be Bop squashed together. Her EP Spectrum is well rehearsed and prepared. A scattered and interesting album hopefully alluding that Ms. Bosco won’t become a drifting cloud. Opening with fully unexpected audible control, “Welcome to Funkyolon” made me an instant lover when the drum, horn and her voice dropped simultaneously and unlocked her realm’s door. It’s an automatic favorite and doesn’t waste a second acclimating listeners and newly acquired fans to her high strutting.

Her songs, written of personal experiences, emit an unpeeling freshness that is consistent throughout Spectrum. It’s an album serviced in replay because the melodies and her sound wholly embrace each other. Produced independently, each track is different from the previous. The soaring effected Kn0wl3dG3 (Knowledge) produced “Glitch,” as well as the old funk induced “8-track,” produced by Alex Goose and the unexpected slightly operatic melancholy lament “Black and White” are also adored.

Even if Spectrum weren’t an attractively free download, I still would have paid to hear Brittany Bosco’s vocal garb. Why not go ahead and get it? You’ll want her all in your space!

- Porschia Baker

Download Spectrum for FREE

www.myspace.com/brittanybosco

If you’re looking for a flow of contemporary jazz laid upon smooth R&B with a bit of funk thrown in, then check out Metamorphosis by Maysa, the former lead singer of the British funk, soul, and acid jazz outfit, Incognito. After catching a big break in the early 90’s, the singer met Stevie Wonder, and for a year served as a singer in his backup girl group, Wonderlove. Now with seven albums under her belt, and Metamorphosis in stores, Maysa fans can continue to enjoy her soulful, jazzy yet funkdafied sound.

On her third Shanachie-release, Metamorphosis is drenched in light sounds, easy guitars, and lovely ballads, most notably on “I Need a Man” which isn’t about being desperate for a man, it’s actually an ode to finding a good, strong and positive brother - not unlike our new President-elect Barack Obama, whom the song was partially inspired by (check out the Obama mix on her myspace page). With production work from Rex Rideout (Ledisi, Will Downing) and Chris “Big Dog” Davis (George Clinton, Phil Perry), the entire CD mixes soul, dance and jazz seamlessly to create a unique sound that’s all Maysa. On “Never Really Ever” she brings the soul-side; while “Let’s Figure It Out” begins as a jazz tune but quickly morphs into a party jam. Whether receiving musical accompaniment from jazz great Najee on the purpose-drive track “My Destiny” or musing about her findings on finding true love in “Simpatico,” Maysa Leak delivers a diverse array of sounds for her fans and the airwaves.

- ND McCray

www.myspace.com/mleak

Download at Itunes
Download at Amazon
Purchase CD at Amazon

After a successful October Nu-Soul Magazine and Soul Union are back with another evening of Eclectic Soul Fusion at Little Temple.

Come join us at STRICTLY SOCIAL on Wednesday November 19, 2008 for the best in progressive soul artists and one of the best vibes in Los Angeles.

Featuring Live Performances by:

Q Dixon
www.qdixon.com

Jamila
www.myspace.com/jamila3

Special Guest DJ DAZ
dazdillinja.podomatic.com

Plus arrive early for a special Video Screening of Wayna’s Billboard charting single “My Love”
www.myspace.com/waynamusic

Show begins at 10pm

Our resident DJs Destroyer, Milky Wayne, & Myxzlplix will provide the perfect selection of progressive soul, forward-thinking hip-hop, and future beats

Free with RSVP to events@nu-soulmag.com
$5 without

Strictly Social
Wednesday November 19, 2008
Little Temple
4519 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 660-4540
9pm-2am
www.myspace.com/lastrictlysocial
www.nu-soulmag.com
www.littletemple.com

We are bringing the vibe back to NYC and returning to Sutra!

Nu-Soul Magazine, The Bloom Effect, & Soul Union present a special STRICTLY SOCIAL event in New York City on Tuesday November 18, 2008.

We will be honoring of the beautiful and talented Wayna as we premiere the video of her current Billboard hit “My Love”
www.myspace.com/waynamusic
Download Wayna’s music at Itunes

Plus we will have a listening session and CD giveaways for the new Strictly Social Mixed Vol. 2 by DJ Myxzlplix, one of our very own residents.
www.myspace.com/djmyzlplix

Sounds provided by Bagpak Records’ Zilvinas and Yellowtail
www.bagpakrecords.com

This is a FREE event
7pm - 10pm
21+

Sutra Lounge
16 First Avenue @ First Street
New York, NY 10009
sutranyc.com

www.myspace.com/lastrictlysocial
www.nu-soulmag.com

Never failing to please a dance floor, Chicago-bred, San Francisco-based DJ/producer/songwriter, Kaskade (nee Ryan Raddon) creates some of the best house tracks on the recent release of The Om Remixes – a throwback mix from his earlier years at Om.

Before owning dance floors, Kaskade owned and operated a record store, Mechanized Records in Salt Lake City, where in 1992 he was a student at the University of Utah. And in May 2000, he relocated to San Francisco as the A&R assistant at Om Records. While at Om, to build a fan base, he started submitting his own compilations to the label with “What I Say,” as the first single in 2001.

Though Kaskade has scored # 1 hits remixing some of the hottest names from pop-burlesque group The Pussycat Dolls (“Don’t Cha”), and former N’Sync-er, Justin Timberlake (“Lovestoned), the gifted DJ and producer doesn’t stray from label mates on the Om Remixes, creating hot mixes for Colette, Mark Farina, J-Boogie’s Dubtronic Science, King Kooba, and Rithma; even developing the careers of Ming & FS, and Soulstice, while still at Om.

Having left Om in 2006, and now signed with one of the largest electronic music labels in the U.S., Ultra Records, Kaskade can be found touring North America and abroad.

With hard-hitting, infectious beats and sweet-as-pie vocals from Om label mate Colette and others, this set, on one level will move you, and on another make you remember why you fell in love with house in the first place. It’s just good music. Be seduced by tracks like “To Do,” (Mark Farina and Kaskade) “I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On” (Colette), “Cali Spaces” (Mark Farina), and the talented one’s own Chill Out mix of “Steppin’ Out.”

- ND McCray

www.myspace.com/kaskademusic

Download at Itunes
Download at Amazon

A touch of jazz? Check. A sprinkle of funk? Check. A pinch of R&B? Check. Mix it all up and you have E-Bland – though there’s nothing bland about this talented brother. A gifted singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist - who’s known to play every instrument on stage at some point during his live performances - is taking the music world by the horns with his sophomore Reel Music release, Soulcentric. Though a self taught musician (amidst being an accomplished athlete) E-Bland kept his musical talents under wraps in his native Hackensack, New Jersey yet continued digging into his parent’s old soul and R&B records. After receiving his college degree, E-Bland wrote for other artists, and in that found his own voice to pursue music fulltime.

Mixing elements of jazz, funk and R&B to bring soul back to its rightful place, E-Bland brings positivity, honesty and a certain vulnerability to his music. On “Wash the Mirror (Love Yourself)” he speaks of self love and self esteem in our women; in “Necessary” he tells his girl how much she’s appreciated in their relationship. (Hey guys take notes!:) “Talk to Me” is another love note to the ladies; however, if funk is what you’re itching for, listen to “Funk That” featuring Bomani Armah, the self-identified “poet with a hip-hop style, not a rapper.”

What’s so likable about this cd is its fluidity, it never strays too far in any one direction. But bringing it home on the sweet front is the seductive “Sugar High” showcasing the skills of Wayna, a sister with an eerily close sound to that of E. Badu.

- ND McCray

www.myspace.com/ebland

Download at Amazon

There has been a whole lot of buzz going around about Janelle Monae, most of it stemming from the fact that she signed to Bad Boy Records. Don’t let the Diddy association deter you though. Janelle comes from the Outkast camp, as evidenced by her gender-bending science fiction new millennium Grace Jones image. Instead of opting for a full release, Bad Boy is slowly rolling out Janelle Monae, introducing the world at large to her talents via this EP. The concept behind Metropolis is that Janelle Monae is a cyborg on the run or some such nonsense. It’s all really just a clever backdrop for her decidedly left field approach to soul. The EP is really just five tracks, but what tracks they are! Janelle Monae is an exciting new artist that shows a considerable range and depth of talent.

Since Metropolis contains so few tracks it tries to squeeze a sampling of Monae’s style into a short time frame. She apes Outkast’s “Bombs over Baghdad” on the hyperactive drum and bass style “Many Moons” and gets all ethereal on “Smile.” The socially conscious “Mr. President” is a plea to the new leader of the free world to deal with some of our big problems. In fact, most of the songs her are socially conscious, they just happen to be wrapped in adventurous productions. This is illustrated perfectly on “Sincerely, Jane” a positively brilliant track that sounds like the re-emergence of Shirley Bassey with big horns, big booming drums, big operatic voice, and big lyrics about the perils of America’s youth. The whole ordeal displays a level of artistry and theatricality that is rarely seen in modern artists. Janelle Monae is definitely an artist that is primed to change mainstream music. Let’s just see what she does when she has an entire album to play with.

- Norman Mayers

www.myspace.com/janellemonae

Download at Itunes
Download at Amazon
Purchase CD at Amazon