KSPACE.TV » jose james

Track(S) of the Day: Unreleased Flying Lotus!

Matt Diehl — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:51:49 +0000

Flying Lotus (aka Steven Ellison) is one of the most original electronic music artists working today (well, except that he’s bogarted dubstep maverick Zomby’s mask game—and that’s coming from Zomby himself!). As a result, FlyLo’s upcoming full-length Cosmogramma is being hailed by those that have heard it—like tastemaker BBC DJ Mary Anne Hobbs—as a paradigm-shifting opus (FlyLo himself calls it a “space opera”) that will change electronic music forever. His second album, 2008’s Los Angeles, was his breakthrough—a game-changer itself, its jazzy mutant stew of skewed electronic beats proving as listenable as it did challenging and adventurous, putting Lotus into near-Aphex Twin legend status. At the same time, he’s been working with a diverse artists like the jazz vocalist Jose James, whose smooth delivery is only made more compelling when paired with Lotus’ digital sandpaper.

Indeed, Cosmogramma must be as good as the advance hype—the likes of both Thom Yorke and Erykah Badu have deigned to put his vocals on it, after all. To further whet appetites until its release in early May, FlyLo’s label, the esteemed Warp imprint, has blessed us with three unreleased tracks, none of which will appear on Cosmogramma, but all of which showcase a different color in the producer’s kaleidoscopic quiver. “Quakes” is one of Ellison’s loping, hypnotic tracks that casts a spell in its rippling, Dilla-esque rhythms of tinkling percussion and off-kilter synth burbles; like his best work, it seems to become a part of the atmosphere it’s heard in, changing it in into Lotus’ decidedly psychedelic image. “Ancestors” is one of the tracks FlyLo has created for the mystical troubadour GonjaSufi, yet it shows more of Lotus’ hip-hop roots: where Sufi’s Devendra Banhart-style hippie shtick is often paired with trebly garage rock, FlyLo surrounds him here with scratchy Wu Tang-style grooves that seem to float in the air, making Sufi seem even more strange and exotic (a feat). As airy as “Ancestors” is, “Photo Shoot,” a remix of an Atlanta gangsta rapper Gucci Mane track, teems with claustrophobia, hitting hard with sirens and insistent drums; on it, FlyLo deconstructs the beat to evoke the ballooned mind state of Mane’s rhymes even more effectively than the original. The promise and diversity of these tracks demonstrate Lotus’ sprawling virtuosity, making anticipation for Cosmogramma even greater: if he can go this far on throwaways, imagine what he’ll do on a fully realized album.

No Smoke, No Mirrors: José James’ “Blackmagic”

Matt Diehl — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:02:37 +0000

José James just might be the male Sade. Like her, this soulful crooner uses his smokely seductive voice to effortlessly fold himself into the listener’s consciousness. But while this young, New York-based singer starts with jazzy soul as his root force—his haunting vocals recall everyone from Billie Holiday and Chet Baker to Bill Withers—he’s smart enough to know that his smoothness will stand out best when placed against edgier textures. For example, James’ recently released second album, Blackmagic, features its share of tinkling supper-club pianos, scat runs, brushed snares and stand-up bass, but there’s also production from the likes of groove iconoclast Flying Lotus (James also shines on a majestic remix by dubstep maverick Joy Orbison). On songs like “Made For Love,” lines like “love to touch your body” could come straight from an R. Kelly jam, but the asymmetrical boom bap surrounding James’ vocals takes the groove out of slow jam archetype into avant-garde bliss.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Most of all, however, the stark yet expressive backing sounds on Blackmagic showcases James’ sly skills: even when placed against samples or synthetic beats, his voice demonstrates the glory of human musical virtuosity. James’ mode is permanently set on simmer, never letting the ache resolve: the vibe is sexy but never overt, expertly deployed without breaking a sweat—the end result proves so unforced, it seems magic has to be involved, despite the pointed lack of smoke and mirrors. All in all, James seems to belong to another era, yet one that’s never existed in either past or future—in a word, he’s timeless.

Out now on Brownswood Recordings – get your copy at your local now or online here
Jose James album cover and riad style photo by Hassan Hajjaj

KSPACE Exclusive: Jose James “Blackmagic” Podcast

Matt Diehl — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:55:02 +0000

Sexy, jazzy, and above all, magical – that describes BLACKMAGIC, the latest podcast from Gilles Peterson, available completely exclusively on KSPACE. In its nearly half-hour of non-stop music, BLACKMAGIC focuses on one of Gilles’ greatest discoveries – 21^st century crooner José James and his second album of the same title, along with samplings of his 2008 debut The Dreamer and other influences that make up his sound.

Click here to view the embedded video.

James blends disparate yet related flavors – hip-hop, downtempo, jazz, even hip-hop – into one focused, artful whole. First track “The Dreamer” features cymbal rides that shimmer like rainfall under trumpets that recall Miles Davis’ soundtrack to Elevator of the Gallows. “Save Your Love For Me,” meanwhile, switches up the game with a drum groove that evokes J. Dilla, its inherent funkiness belying the deeply romantic vocal from James. Indeed, James’ voice holds mystery, emotion, amour, and elasticity – sometimes he recalls the breathy sparkle of Chet Baker, sometimes the passion of Stevie Wonder, at others his voice echoes the tones of his idol John Coltrane, but James always sounds like himself. Hearing him, it’s no wonder that international artists as diverse as Basement Jaxx, Flying Lotus, Nicola Conte and Moodyman all have collaborated or co-produced with James, or that The Dreamer reached #21 on JazzTimes’ top 50 albums of 2008 chart. Expect Blackmagic – to be released worldwide on January 24^th – to follow in those velvet footsteps…

Tracklisting:

1. Jose James – ‘THE DREAMER’
2. Jose James – ‘SAVE YOUR LOVE FOR ME’
3. Vijay Iyer Trio – ‘Mystic Brew’ (Trixation Version)
4. Jose James – ‘TOUCH’
5. Jose James – ‘BLACKMAGIC’ (Untold Remix)
6. Jose James – ‘WARRIOR’
7. Jose James – ‘DETROIT LOVE LETTER’

Friends We Love

Peggy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:36:33 +0000

Friends We Love is now 2.0. Our good friends  Mike Vargas and Moni Pineda have recently re-launched their visual web community with loads of new features with easy click through functions,  all stylish placed upon a very clean and captivating design. Initially  when FWL started out a year ago, the focus was to capture the  inspiration and motivation behind some of our favorite creative  talents through their show Artist Profiles – from Invader to K’Naan, Bobbito to Gilles Peterson (Sportswide), J.Period to Jose James to Zap Mama and Jonathan Levine. Just at a short year and the award  winning site has grown into a web channel featuring four brand new shows – 120 Seconds, Off the Wall, En Vivo, and eMotion Pictures. Not  to mention the ongoing daily blog posts featuring other videos,  causes, ideas and people they also love and support. FWL is one of those small  wonderful ideas you will see grow into something large and spectacular  that will make our world seem alright!

Subscribe  today and Spread the love !

classic remastered-step into the kspace

Jonathan — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:21:48 +0000

There’s a whole lot to be said about CLASSIC for sure ! but most of all it’s kinda that ease comfort and timelessness that probably best expresses the word. We’re very proud of our 1966 Classic original with its sport and cultural heritage, and with that in mind we welcome you to step into our K-Space Classic Remastered platform where our sports icons meet our cultural expression. It’s filled with vids/pics of Adam Green, Ed Westwick, newbies Jackson Swinton, poet performer Kesed I Am, tennis greats Tommy Haas & Ana Kournikova, Ironman athletes Chris Lieto and Katya Meyers and many more with great music by El Guincho , Dobie, Balkan Beat Box, Budos Band. K-Space is rolling out in various stages, so do keep checkin’ back and Before you go, do enter to WIN a pair of Classics of your choice by giving us a 5 line description of what Classic means to you. Winners announced each week.

southport weekender kicks off

Peggy — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:31:14 +0000

Celebrations the world over continues strong. Southport Weekender starts tonight and I can’t think of a better way to give thanks to such a historic Obama week then with 3 day victory dance party. Europe’s most loved music festival showers 5,000 faithful dance lovers with their favorite top names in soulful dance music (and many of our KSPACE.TV partners in de dance) all in an intimate house of worship setting. The line up this weekend is insane De La Soul, Gloria Scott, Karizma, Tony Humphries, Moodymann, and much more. And you know our crew will be in full representation tonight – Jose James, Gilles P (below), Benji B , Ben Westbeech, and Simbad. We love days like this!

For those who’ll miss Moodymann you can check him out on Monday at Worldwide Underground – Bar Rhumba style!

JOSE JAMES PODCAST / NEW VIDEO / BRAINFEEDER

Jonathan — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 10:23:03 +0000

We give a whole lot of updates here about José – all with good reason no doubt. José will be back in London on June 14th guesting with and celebrating Flying Lotus’s new Los Angeles release in a dope car park in Shoreditch. He also has finished the video for ‘Park Bench People’ which you can now check in our TV up left. We are also happy to bring you a new podcast with ‘the BPM’ as part of our new conversation series with Brownswood Recordings. José will be back in the UK and Europe in July and August (the 6th at Roundhouse) – you can check those dates here. Hit us back at konnected@kswiss.nl and you may win a pair of tix to catch José at Brainfeeder or at The Roundhouse in London.

JOSE JAMES NEW VIDEOS + 6 AUG AT ROUNDHOUSE

Jonathan — Fri, 30 May 2008 07:15:16 +0000

Our favorite ‘dreamer’, young José James has just completed his May tour which stretched from Cambridge to Norway to K-Space Amsterdam (to debut his new video ‘Park Bench People’) to Rome (with Nicola Conte) and ending up in St Petersburg. Speaking of new videos, José has also completed one with J.A.M (the Soil & “PIMP” Sessions trio) which you can now see here. No doubt José is also happy to be back at his Brownswood residency at Nublu New York with DJ Moni. Good news is that the next tour is already booked to include London’s Roundhouse 6 Aug and the mighty North Sea Jazz Festival 12 July on the same bill as other top newbies Melody Gardot, Lizz Wright, Soil & “PIMP” Sessions, and heavyweights Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Chaka Kahn, Pat Metheny and oh so many more. Also be on the look out for some dope new Jose tracks with Flying Lotus and live together at the Brainfeeder car park event in east London. Dream dream on …

flying lotus at brainfeeder

Peggy — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:34:33 +0000

Let’s do some maths, shall we. Calculate the following: One Mighty Warp Records plus the exponential power of Flying Lotus (seen above at Benji B’s Deviation) multiplied by the complex fraction of Digital Mystikz doubled with the cubic formula of Danny Breaks then divided by the linear equation of Jose James. Okay now add a monstrous car park right in the heart of Shoreditch. Answer? Times up! What you get is the sum of one of this year’s fiercest, messiest summer event all in a befitting tribute to the release of FlyLo’s Warp debut album “Los Angeles.” L.A….car park…makes perfect sense don’t you think?! The Brainfeeder Festival takes place on Saturday, June 14th at 7-11 Hearn Street starting at 8pm which also features Hud Mo, Rustie, Kode 9 and a very special showcase by Ras G and Samiyam. Come ready for the biggest shake ache, your body and cranium have ever experienced. hit us back at konnected@kswiss.nl for a shot at winning 2 tix.

DOWNLOAD JOSÉ JAMES PODCAST

Victor — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:25:11 +0000

José James, our man from New York, and his crew are making all kinds of efforts to promote his excellent new ‘The Dreamer’ album. Today, the lp hits the shops worldwide while The Dreamer tour continues. What’s more; Dutch dance music platform DJBroadcast has launched an exclusive podkast, featuring several album tracks and remixes.

JOSE JAMES ALBUM RELEASE

Eric — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:41:38 +0000

You will need no convincing that his much anticipated album ‘The Dreamer’ is well worth picking up on 28 January ! on vinyl and CD mind you. It also ties in with the Brownswood Recordings winter sale where you can get some Brownswood Bubblers, Ben Westbeech, Elan Mehler and the mighty SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS. As if this is not enough great news, if in New York on 31st January check Jose, DJ Moni, Elan Mehler & Junior Mance at nublu and also stay tuned for Gilles Peterson’s brand new monthly Brownswood session in London kickin’ off 28 February.

JOSE ‘THE DREAMER’ JAMES ON TOUR

Eric — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:01:31 +0000

The exceptional and multi-talented Jose James is a very welcome addition to the already impressive line up of Gilles Peterson’s World Wide Awards. The New Yorker will perform together with Christian Prommer’s Drumlesson band at the WWA at Cargo London 5 January. These are busy times as he is also about to embark upon a grand tour including London (9 Jan-Vortex), Paris (10 Jan-New Morning), Amsterdam (11 Jan-Paradiso), Stockholm (13 Jan-Berns), London again (15 Jan-Momo’s) with his own amazing band, to introduce his new album The Dreamer to the world. Want to attend 1 of the Tour dates ?

Send me – eric@kspace.tv – an e-mail and maybe it’s your lucky day… In the meantime here’s a very tasty clip of Jose in a special jam session recently at KS1 Amsterdam with SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS – choice !

Click here to view the embedded video.

SOIL&”PIMP”SESSIONS + JOSE JAMES ‘DESTROY’ LONDON

Jonathan — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 10:53:03 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Musically it’s true of course ! This clip is just a small example of the recent magic of SOIL&”PIMP”SESSIONS together with Jose James at the grand finale at London’s Bush Hall of the Brownswood Loves Jazz Tour. Do excuse the sound quality cause it’s shot on my mobile but you can also check more clips at Konnectyou and in the Brownswood Recordings areas. It’s also worth checking for SOIL&”PIMP” on Later with Jools from last week where once again they ripped it up with their ‘death jazz’. Stay tuned for more updates from the BLJ Tour.

NEW BROWNSWOOD VINYL

Eric — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 07:32:10 +0000

Before the embark upon their European Brownswood Loves Jazz tour, playing in Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin and London, Gilles Peterson’s label announces a couple of freshly cut releases. The José James track Blackeyedsusan comes with a remix by broken beat don IG Culture.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Japanese jazz collective SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS is next in line with a single called A.I.E. This particular record boasts remixes by Tugg and the well respected Canadian live act Cobblestone Jazz.

10 EXCLUSIVE INCHES OF JOSE JAMES

Victor — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 18:31:58 +0000

Jose James , has spent his summer hanging with his buddy Gilles Peterson on Brownswood street. The two are prepping for Jose’s album, digging through crates, and enjoying the English summer as much as possible. To tease the craving fans, waiting for the Jose James album that is up for release in 2008, Brownswood has just put out a very special limited edition of the Equinox / Resolution single. Get it here