Takuya Kuroda: Moody

Japanese trumpeter Takuya Kuroda blends jazz and Afro-funk on “Moody,” a single from his sixth album, Fly Moon Die Soon. The album, out now via First Word Records, proves to be Kuroda’s most experimental. Within, he references and employs a bevy of compositions and styles: Fela Kuti’s funk, Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me a Bedtime Story,” the Ohio Players’ “Sweet Sticky Thing,” and Thundercat’s riffs. “Moody” …

Eli Fola: Midnight Fall

Nigeria-born, NYC-based artist Eli Fola champions Yoruba Tech Soul—a genre that fuses “traditional Nigerian sounds, electronic, jazz, house and classical music”—through his self-produced music, saxophone performances, DJ sets and beyond. Most recently, he dropped Soundscape To Freedom, a five-track EP that comprises “soundscapes for a Black person living in America,” he explains. A groovy, hypnotic single, “Midnight Fall” embodies all of the aforementioned influences. Steady …

Romy: Lifetime

Romy Madley-Croft of The xx offers her first-ever official solo material (under the moniker Romy) with the uplifting “Lifetime”—a song featuring her familiar silken vocals over soaring synths. Written during lockdown, it tells a story of togetherness. “I think subconsciously the upbeat energy of the song is a reaction to the stillness and anxiety I was feeling in lockdown. I was missing the pace of …