Q: Stereo Driver Singer, songwriter and producer Q (aka Q Steven Marsden) returns with “Stereo Driver,” his first single since his debut breakout album, The Shave Experiment. Opening with compressed drums, synths and Q’s smooth vocals professing love, the track sounds like it came straight from the ’80s—if it weren’t for hints of contemporary R&B and funky bass. All these elements make the song a transcendent, …
The title track from Makaya McCraven’s recently released album, In These Times, is a swirling, otherworldly piece that perfectly sets the tone for the album. The Chicago-based composer, bandleader, producer and multi-instrumentalist’s music artfully combines elements of jazz, hip-hop, Motown, folk, funk and beyond to create an elegant melange. The album itself is an amalgam—made up of snippets of improv sessions and live performances that …
Hope Tala: Leave It On The Dancefloor West London-based artist Hope Tala’s “Leave It On The Dancefloor” is a shimmery, synth-driven track. The buoyant tune—co-written with Mozella (aka Maureen Anne McDonald) and produced by Greg Kurstin—is an optimistic ode to the power of dancing your woes away. “I wrote this song imagining what I would want someone to tell me while I was going through a …
