Hey all. Forgive me if I'm posting old news, but the search function is out of order and I haven't the time to do it manually.

The reason that I have come out of lurking (besides finishing 'Possessed' by A. Hahn) is to promote two underappreciated artists, namely Supanova Slom and Aaron Carl.

Aaron Carl is a native of Detroit killing the sounds with his electro music. The first time I heard him was from a friend from Detroit. He played me a track and I was sold. His site is at www.aaroncarl.com. Recommended songs are 'Down' (amazing), The Boot (remix)', and 'Wash It'. Those are the grittier funky sounds that are reminiscent of old P. His other material is very pleasing r+b sounds with a deep house flavor. Very gay-positive and sometimes explicit (like P wasn't )...just letting you know.

Supanova is from NY and has a sound very influenced by old P as well as modern hiphop. The influences are varied, yet logically cohere to make a sometimes very intoxicating sound. He's ambitiously decided to make his debut a double CD with a concept. The albums are titled 'Ra' and "Lotus'. His voice ranges from a DMX/Ja Rule type growl with a southern bounce style to layered harmonies and funk reminiscent of songs P might have done if he was still on his darker sound. Very positive messages peppered with a hard style and sometimes hard language. Highly recommended. He's also a big P fan as indicated in his art direction, sound, and musical messages mixing spirituality with an added reverence for the physical. A caveat: His site, www.supanovaslom.com, while visually engaging, is difficult to navigate and contains few audio samples. If you have trouble locating some samples, please contact me and maybe I can help.

That's it. I hope that I've turned you on to some sounds...
[This message was edited Thu Dec 4 19:44:34 PST 2003 by phonzarelli]
[This message was edited Thu Dec 4 19:57:34 PST 2003 by phonzarelli]

I'm feeling manic and eager to share so here are a few more. For this one, I'm going to cross the ocean and stop in Japan:

Double - Takako Hiraiwa, a Japanese r+b artist, excels in the genre for two reasons. She doesn't fall victim to the general J-pop style of r+b which sounds too grounded in the eighties. Her sound is kept fresh by the presence of many producers, including Darren Lighty of SWV fame. The group was actually Takako and her sister, Sachiko, but Sachiko passed away. That also marked the change in the sound from the old school J-pop sound to a more modern American r+b sound with a mixture of japanese and English lyrics. Highly recommended tracks: 'Handle', Uh Huh', 'Wonderful' (from the new album that I've not had the opportunity to listen to in its entirety). I know that some haven't the luck to have a local Asian community to purchase the CD, but I'm sure that you can avail yourself to it some way or the other. Her site is www.forlife.co.jp/double where you can see pics. She removed the audio jukebox...hmph. I think she might be on Def Jam Japan or something now as well.

An aural delight, vocalist Yukimi Nagano, hasn't any solo work out that I have knowledge of, but has done two very remarkable songs with Nordic artists KOOP and Hird. And she started when she was fifteen. When you hear her voice, you will understand why it is so amazing. Here are the URLs:

koop on epit*nic you can d/l the full song for free there.

The more urban, downtempo song 'Keep You Kimi' by Yukimi and Hird is harder to find in streaming form. The Am*z*n link is too short and doesn't flatter the song at all. Needless to say, it is worth every second of time it takes to obtain this gem. Hird's other work is lovely as well.

I hope that I am adding to your experiences. If I'm simply adding to the noise ratio, please let me know.

I wasn't really feeling them first 2. Aaron Carl is not really that funky. He's more house to me. And what the hell was taht Supanova nonsense about? That guy kinds looks like Will Smith too.

Anyways, I'm gonna check these other cats out too.

Aw, you ain't right!
[This message was edited Fri Dec 5 0:29:54 PST 2003 by phonzarelli]

NWF said:

Boom, boom! And shake da room!