Category: Archive
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Grain Audio PWS – portable Bluetooth speaker
This walnut-wrapped Bluetooth speaker is an elegant alternative to its plasticky peers Price $249.00+shipping (approx. £150.00) Website Grain Audio Jawbone should be credited for popularizing a whole new tech category: portable Bluetooth speakers. In fact, Jawbone has been so humongously successful, its Jambox speakers now have hundreds of competitors. One such rival is the […]
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Offering For Anxious album – Diggs Duke
After years of putting out a steady stream of first-class neo soul on his lonesome, Washington-based multi-instrumentalist Diggs Duke releases his debut album on Brownswood Recordings Since 2011, Diggs Duke has been creating a stir with a steady stream of EPs and singles released on his lonesome through Bandcamp and Soundcloud. Thankfully, in 2013 the […]
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Label Love Vol 6 compilation – free music download
Free download of an eclectic 13-track compilation from Tru Thoughts, showcasing artists from nine labels across the globe In an occasional exercise that highlights the work of kindred labels and unknown acts, Jasmine De La Paz has compiled Label Love Vol 6, a 13-track compilation that will cost you absolutely nothing. That’s right, it’s free. […]
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Beat Box: A Drum Machine Obsession book – Joe Mansfield
Many DJs and producers will be salivating over this coffee-table book that details the history of the humble beat box Book Beat Box: A Drum Machine Obsession (Get On Down) Websites Get On Down Gary Land Recently on the Facebook page of nu jazz DJ/producer Kay Suzuki, he posted a plea for a Linn […]
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Do You? EP – Reginald Omas Mamode IV
A South London-based producer who appeared on a Gilles Peterson compilation releases a soulful debut EP full of chunky beats and muted vocals Following a memorable appearance on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Bubblers Ten earlier this year, the awesomely named Reginald Omas Mamode IV has released the EP Do You? on East London record label Five […]
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Laptop Suntan album – Paper Tiger
The debut LP from a Leeds-based six-piece is an electronic journey with a distinct UK flavour Anyone that produces a track entitled David Starkey – he’s a UK historian, by the way – deserves credit, but there’s more to this six-piece than cheeky references to an Oxbridge annalist. While the music of this Leeds-based outfit […]
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Andre Woolery artist profile – modern art
Marvel at the intricately constructed portraits of pop-culture icons from a self-taught New York-based artist Websites Andre Woolery Andre Woolery Shop When someone describes Andre Woolery’s art as tacky, that’s not a criticism but a statement of fact. The Harlem-based artist has made a name for himself creating impressive portraits of pop-culture icons using tiny […]
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Lewis Taylor mix – DJ Bounce – free music download
DJ Chris Bounce has created a great mix honouring the remarkable work of overlooked soulman Lewis Taylor When UK DJ Chris Bounce created this mix, he must’ve suspected few would listen to it – and yet he nevertheless uploaded it no doubt for the same reason Commercial Break is writing about it. UK soulman Lewis […]
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Black Radio 2 album preview – Robert Glasper Experiment
The jazz pianist’s follow-up to his Grammy-winning album contains more neo soul and high-profile collaborations Three years ago, because of his creative detours into the world of hip hop, Robert Glasper was well known for a jazz pianist. And then he won a Grammy and became (almost) famous for winning the Best R&B Album category, […]
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So Many Ways album preview – Lay-Far
A new jazzy, soulful house album by a busy Russian producer turns out to be one of the best of 2013 While this year has been chock-full of great singles, decent albums have been in short supply – and the best have sprung from where you’d least expect them. Feel Good, by Los Angeles-based duo […]