New Tracks on Laurel Canyon Radio – April 18, 2016

New Tracks on Laurel Canyon Radio – April 18, 2016

 

Besides being excited about resurrecting an old radio contest from my childhood (look under news) we’ve got some great new tracks aided to the station this week.

• Black Man In A White World – Michael Kiwanuka

Michael Kiwanuka wasn’t reaching for subtlety when he named his track “Black Man in a White World.” And good, he shouldn’t. Music is all about self-expression, but on the single, which is the first from Kiwanuka’s just announced album Love & Hate, he sings “I’ve got nothing left to say”—a declaration tinged with irony as the chorus comes on and Kiwanuka repeats over and over “I’m a black man in a white world.”

It’s not that Kiwanuka believes he nothing left to say (nobody names their albumLove & Hate without having something to say), but that he believes what he has to say is not what white people want to hear. White people never get as angry as confronting the idea that they have privilege.

“Black Man in a White World” is an uptempo hymn set to handclaps, featuring funky guitar licks and a Motown string section. Lyrically, Kiwanuka’s mixture of frustration and hope can be seen in similarly themed songs on masterpieces like Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On or more recently Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly.  Love & Hate comes out May 27. The album was recorded in Los Angeles and London, produced by Grammy Award winner Brian Joseph Burton AKA Dangermouse and young up-and-coming producer Inflo.

 

• “Wristband (Stranger to Stranger) – Paul Simon

Paul Simon has released “Wristband,” a rhythmic new single, and the complete track listing for his first studio album since 2011. Stranger to Stranger, Simon’s 13th solo album, is due June 3.

“Sound is the theme of this album as much as it’s about the subjects of the individual songs,” Simon says in a press release. “If people get that, I’ll be pleased. The right song at the right time can live for generations. A beautiful sound – well, that’s forever.”

To achieve that sound, Simon turned to composer and inventor Harry Partch for inspiration – even traveling to a lab at Montclair State University, where Partch’s collection of custom-made instruments like the Chromelodeon was housed. Clap! Clap!, the Italian producer known for blending African rhythms and EDM, collaborated on “Wristband,” as well on several other songs. Stranger to Stranger, which was produced with Simon’s longtime musical partner Roy Halee, was also informed by a free-form session held with Simon’s percussionist and a group of flamenco musicians.

The video performance, recorded on The Prairie Home Companion, features Sarah Jarosz, The Punch Brothers, Chris Thile and Andrew Bird.

 

• “Drive” – Joe Bonamassa

If you’re like us at Laurel Canyon Radio, we are always hunting for those once-in-a-blue moon tracks perfectly suited for a haze induced late night drive around Mulholland; “Join Me In LA”, Hotel California” et al.  Well, it’s not like guitarist Bonamassa hasn’t given us many of those late night LA radio licks – but here’s another one, the minor key lead single from the recently released album “Blues of Desperation”.

• “Moccasin Creek” – Grant Lee Phillips

Hot on the heels of returning as the town troubadour in the Gilmore Girls reboot, actual musical troubadour Phillips drops this lovely track on us from the new album “The Narrows”.

 

• “Shadow of A Doubt” – The Wednesdays

OK, we love, love, love this Kickstarter funded album from the Somerville, MA band The Wednesdays – jaunty Laurel Canyon infused harmonies and crisp clear production.  Good luck finding much info about the band.  It doesn’t mean they’re not good – just not public relations savvy.  I presume you can buy this on CD Baby as well as Amazon.