mixtape maestro (2.0)

With pop music growing more and more gimmicky by the minute (Will the Age of Auto-Tune ever be over?) and brand new sub-genres popping up on the daily (making it damn near impossible to keep up with them all), it can oh-so-refreshing when something new comes along with the power to blow you away while also toying the line with being “traditional”. “Painkillers”, from Tennessee-born/ London-based singer-songwriter-actress Lauren Pritchard, is one of those type of tunes, proving that the classic recipe of great vocals, striking lyricism and classy production can still be an intoxicating brew in the crazy music landscape of 2010.

Here, supported by the impeccable rock & soul-fusing arrangement skills of acclaimed producer Eg White (Adele, Duffy, James Morrison) and the always stellar drum work of The Roots’ ?uestlove, Pritchard captivates with her amazingly earthen and bluesy tone offering an inside glimpse into her post-breakup blues and the suicidal urges it brings forth.

Yeah, her lyrics edge into the disturbing as she moans over how even if she were to overdose on the bottle of pills she’s gripping while speeding down the freeway, it likely wouldn’t make her heartache go away, but with those three great aforementioned songcraft elements in place, this downer of a situation is hard to resist not revisiting over and over again.

If the rest of Pritchard’s forthcoming full length debut, Wasted In Jackson, ends up just as good as “Painkillers” hints it will be, we urge the newcomer to start making room on her mantle right this minute, because it’s bound to get filled with a ton of awards in the coming years.

After checking out the “Painkillers” video, and a remix of the tune handled by drum & bass icon Roni Size, head on over to Pritchard’s website for info on where to cop the Painkillers EP.

Lauren Pritchard – Painkillers (Roni Size Remix) (feat. Talib Kweli)

It will forever be a head-scratcher why Melanie Fiona‘s introductory soul-pop gem “Give It To Me Right” never quite became the chart-topping uber-smash it seemed destined to be, but even with that single’s surprisingly modest success, we still get the feeling that as more and more ears become acquainted with the Canadian-born singer’s amazing pipes, she’ll be ranking high amongst today’s R&B greats soon enough.

Aiding in establishing further proof why Mel is all that and a tube of Pringles is her newly released pre-debut album teaser mixtape WQST Radio Presents Melanie Fiona Meets The Illadelphonics (A Live Remix Jam Session of The Bridge), an unsurprisingly solid collaboration between her and much-respected tastemaker ?uestlove that slaps her previously-heard original material and a couple killer covers against some skillfully-constructed organic arrangements.

Hands down, our favorite moment is Fiona’s taking on of the Sam Cooke classic “Cupid”. Yeah the song has been covered so many times over the decades that the idea of yet another artist re-doing it feels instantly tiresome, but once you hear the sound of Fiona’s crystal-clear chops yearning after the title character’s help against nothing but a single guitar backing, it’s like being stung by the record’s doe-eyed poetics and simplistic melodic charms for the very first time.

Download the entire set here (if only to hear her reggae-tastic tackling of Kanye West’s “Heartless”); Fiona’s official debut, The Bridge, arrives later this Summer.

DL: “Cupid (Sam Cooke Cover)” (alt)

Summer vacations/ distractions have brought things around here to a near-standstill, but in an effort to play a bit of catch-up, check out some of these noteworthy tunes below pulled from the ever-packed in-box and various other sites we’ve been digging lately from around the Inter-Webs:

JDP featuring Chester French “She Loves Everybody (Part Deux)”

This up-and-coming Chicago indie-hopper latches onto CF’s most well-known track, the shoulda-been-bigger slut ode “She Loves Everybody”, using it to support his own adventure with a promiscous groupie who has foolishly mistaken him for being a more high profile rap star (“I suppose someone told her we rich,” he sing-song quips at one point).

A bit Flo-Rida-ish, which-at least in this case-isn’t at all a bad thing.

From his new mixtape Air Raid.

DL: “She Loves Everybody (Part Deux)”

The Honey Brothers “Demonstration”

The Honey Brothers are a quintet from New York who call their sound “new wave folk”, and while most talk of them will surely be centered on their superstar drummer (Entourage lead Adrian Grenier), the music found on their recently released Demonstration EP definitely deserves it’s own hype as it’s some of the most feel-good stuff to touch our ears in recent weeks.

Check out the title track, a groovy lil’ indie-rock number that’ll likely have you tapping your toes to it’s summer-ready shuffle within seconds of it hitting the speakers.

DL: “Demonstration”

?uestlove, The Foreign Exchange, Zo! and Carlitta Durand “Purple Flip”

Don’t let the title confuse you, this is essentially a cover of Prince’s “Take Me With You”, and boy does it hit the soul in all the right ways.

Too bad SPIN Magazine couldn’t have employed THIS crew to handle the entirety of that mostly disappointing Purple Rain tribute cover album they had to nerve to drop last month.

DL: “Purple Flip”

Golau Glau “Summer Games”

On first listen to the output from this mysterious UK-born collective, you’ll probably end up with your head cocked to the side and a confused look pasted across your face.

But give these songs some time, as repeated doses of the spell-binding ambiance of “Summer Games”, “Soft Silver Young” and the rest of the band’s uniquely weaved creations reveal a trippy charm that’s quite the soothing aural experience.

DL: “Summer Games”

Keri Hilson featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo “Knock You Down (Chew Fu GhettoClub Fix)”

Even after hearing this billions of times (*thanks radio*), we still find this hit single oddly put together (anybody else left cold by the fact that the three headliners barely seem to recognize the efforts of one another?), but the Chew Fu crew help calm that sense of underwhelmingness a bit with this dancefloor-targeting rehaul which nicely gives a repeated spotlighting to Kanye’s “Michael Jackson” line.

DL: “Knock You Down (Chew Fu GhettoClub Fix)”

Beyonce “Ego (DJ Unique’s I Love Her Remix)”

Sasha Fierce’s newest single given a smoother R&B treatment courtesy of YouTube mash-up king DJ Unique. Kanye-free sadly, but we can still dig it.

DL: “Ego (DJ Unique’s I Love Her Remix)”

When it comes to Maroon 5′s breakout opus, Songs About Jane, “This Love” gets most of the love (and deservedly so), but let’s not overlook the album’s fourth single “Sunday Morning” which was just as good of a grab. With it’s lightly skittering drums, blissful piano work and out-of-nowhere mini jam breakdown, the record summed up the band’s soul-influenced pop-rock grandly (and don’t act you still don’t get all warm inside once Levine’s catchy chorus hits the ears).

For Maroon’s new set Call & Response: The Remix Album, the ’04 hit achieves a new level of magnetism thanks to the input of The Roots’ Questlove. Here, hip hop’s most recognizable drummer inverts the piano chords, edging them with somber electric guitar accents, and trades in the jam bit for a sad-eyed, string-lined bridge probably born out of his obsessive studying of old Al Green records. Quest has ultimately muted the sunny vibrancy of the original, but by shading the record in this downbeat melancholia (perhaps a more fitting nod to the soggy imagery the title typically brings to mind), the lyrics’ bittersweet reflection of long-lost romance (and Adam’s throat-straining yelps at the end) take on a deeper emotional heft.

DL: “Sunday Morning (Questlove Remix)” (alt)

With so many hits between them, it seemed like a surefire thing that Pharrell and Kanye West’s In My Mind duet “Number One” would live up to it’s title and reach the top of the charts. How could anyone resist another dose of Pharrell’s earnest falsetto croon and The Louis Vuitton Don’s witty, big-headed boasts (“I resurrected my gold Jesus of Nazareth/ Now we Fresh as a Prince/ while they Jazzy Jeff”) all on the same track over a blissful synth R&B production fresh out of the mid-80′s? Surprisingly, it seemed people could, as the single only drew a modest chart placing (#57 Pop, #40 R&B) despite it being the only true outstanding moment on Pharrell’s super-disappointing solo debut.

Under the moniker P & The Yessirs, Pharrell has decided to re-release the album based on live instruments much the way NERD would favorably re-shape their In Search Of… album. With the aid of ?uestlove, this revisiting of “Number One” greatly enhances the track’s initial summery appeal. ?uest brings a cozy texture to the feelgood steppers’ groove, already reminiscent of Frankie Beverly & Maze or Bill Withers, with his effervescent drumming laying the foundation for shimmering keyboard embellishments and the kind of soothing bassline-funk R&B has shamefully forgotten about.

Hopefully under this exhilarating new makeover, “Number One” can achieve the kind of appreciation it missed the first time around.

Number One (Questlove) – P & The Yessirs