janelle monae - dirty computer (emotion picture)

janelle monae - dirty computer (emotion picture)
as part of the release of her album dirty computer, the incredible janelle monae has given us a 48 mins companion film filled with sci-fi references and political statements about identity (in this case a poly one, featuring janelle and actress tessa thompson, that's slowly being erased from her memory). it's alot to pack in so i'm just going to let you enjoy this experience now!

WONGIE SONG OF THE WEEK: cautious clay - cold war (acoustic)

cautious clay - cold war (acoustic)
after falling in love with cautious clay last month, josh has decided to offer a live version of his release 'cold war' and it's AMAZING!!! just press play and get drawn into his brilliant single which ends with a wonderful sax solo (A SAX SOLO!!!). easily my fave act of 2018 so far, hope he gets on your radar too!

ONE TO WATCH: cautious clay - juliet + caeser / joshua tree

cautious clay- juliet + caeser / joshua tree
ooh it's always a good day when you discover a new act that shows up locked and ready with a sound that's distinctly theirs. at just 24 singer/songwriter josh has released a few singles that showcase his eclectic soulful sound with a twist of indie thrown in. it's lush really! turn up these two jams and look out for this brooklyn based performer when he embarks on live performances later this year. LOVE THIS!

WONGIE JAM OF THE WEEK: sza - the weekend

sza - the weekend
i have to be honest, i totally misunderstood the intention of 'the weekend' when i first heard the song. rather than a woe is me being a side-piece jam, it's actually an... 'ok fine, i get him on the weekends, but i get the rest of the week to myself' anthem instead. to be honest, a fine lady like sza should have no problems getting a guy 100% of the time, but it probably wouldn't generate a number as good as this one. oh and the sparse video is directed by solange!

WONGIE FUTURE SOUL SONG OF THE WEEK: sza - supermodel

sza - supermodel
the acoustic loop playing below sza freestyle vocals is easily one of the highlights of her acclaimed debut album 'ctrl'. when the drums kick in at the end it's like we are officially in total celebration of her thoughts and it's kind of genius. no wonder people have been buzzing about this talented voice for the past year. i'm a late-comer but damn i sure enjoy the discovery!

WONGIE FUTURE SOUL SONG OF THE WEEK: little dragon feat faith evans - peace of mind

little dragon feat faith evans - peace of mind
originally an unreleased track from their album 'season high' the swedish quartet couldn't let go of this track and asked the esteemed raphael saadiq to add some producer magic on it. he suggested faith evans as a co-vocalist and the rest is this airy soulful magic track that you hear right before you. little dragon have consistently put out amazing future soul this year and this caps off their incredible year perfectly!

WONGIE SOUL JAM OF THE WEEK: mnek - paradise

mnek - paradise
[8/8 UPDATED WITH THIS WONDERFUL NEW POLITICIZED VIDEO!!]
building on top of ultra nate's 90's club classic "free", mnek has created a thoroughly modern soul track that has all the makings of a new jam that'll influence for years to come. welcome to your perfect sunset soundtrack!

WONGIE SONG OF THE WEEK: jessie ware - midnight

jessie ware - midnight
[UPDATE: THE VIDEO PREMIERED LAST NIGHT!]
OMG YAAAAAS!!!!! jessie returns to our lives with this amazing gem of a smooth soul jam that just oozes the kind of sophisticated sensuality that we crave from ms ware! with an album filled with collabs with christine and the queens, ed sheeran and even julia michaels, it's good to hear that they all are there to elevate her sound to new levels. welcome back!!!

WONGIE SONG OF THE WEEK: khalid - young dumb & broke

khalid - young dumb & broke
there's something wonderfully sentimental about khalid's new single which happily captures the slacker / aimless / haze of high school teenage apathy which in some weird way resonates just as much to this way old 'adult' at the same time. already a sensation with his massive hit 'location' earlier this year, this 19 year old singer/songwriter is easily one of the breakout stars of 2017. love him!

WONGIE SONG OF THE WEEK: raphaella - turn around

raphaella - turn around
love me a good stripped down jam these days! after guesting with the likes of gorgon city, mnek, rudimental and wilkinson, singer/songwriter raphaella has gone and released "turn around" as a solo artist. with this as an intro for most people, i can only imagine what else this talented young singer has in store for us!

WONGIE SONG OF THE WEEK: mura masa feat christine and the queens - second 2 none

mura masa feat christine and the queens - second 2 none
after getting it's world premiere on annie mac, mura masa officially released his secret collaboration with the amazing christine and the queens today! in a stroke of genius, the styles of both artists manages to merge seamlessly on this track, easily making it our song of the week! it's SOOOO good people!

WONGIE SONG OF THE WEEK: james vincent mcmorrow - true care

james vincent mcmorrow - true care
calling it some of the best music he's ever made in his career, james vincent mcmorrow gave us a first listen of the title track of his new album that he's releasing on friday. allegedly recorded in a freer atmosphere, james himself says that you'll hear alot of 'mistakes' on the album, but yet he's in love with the imperfections. i'm definitely in love with the first listen! this is just gorgeous!

VIDEO PREMIERE: james blake - my willing heart

james blake - my willing heart
shot just days before she gave birth to her newborn daughter, natalie portman looks amazing as she celebrates the beauty of pregnancy in the anna rose holmer (the fits) directed video for james blake. it's just hypnotic really.

WONGIE FUTURE SOUL SONG OF THE WEEK: raleigh ritchie - straitjacket

raleigh ritchie - straitjacket
first things first, grey worm (game of thrones) can sing!!!! now that we've got that out of the way, raleigh ritchie (aka jacob basil anderson) has decided to put out the electronic tinged EP 'mind the gap' to close out a very buzzy year after the release of his debut album 'you're a man now, boy'. directed by jacob himself, this is definitely a personal track for him which makes the beautiful track all the more compelling to listen to. love this!

WONGIE INDIE SOUL SONG OF THE WEEK: jack garratt - strong enough

jack garratt - strong enough
i'm just obsessed with jack garratt's blend of his celebration of soul / funk musical chords with a twist of uk modern. every jam literally is that, a hodge podge mix that weirdly meshes perfectly and turns it into something well... jack garratt. love this guy so much.

WONGIE SONG OF THE WEEK: emeli sande - hurts

emeli sande - hurts
the urgent message of vulnerability that emeli proclaims for her return single is just wonderfully epic. if this is a hint of what's to come from the new album 'long live the angels' then i am all in! welcome back ms sande!

NEW SOLANGE!: solange - cranes in the sky / don't touch my hair

solange - cranes in the sky / don't touch my hair
just the visual language alone that solange has for her videos (co-directed by her hubby alan ferguson) sets her up as an artist that's doing interesting things for herself. but then throw in the genre busting music from her new album 'a seat at the table' and you've got one of the coolest releases of the year! nice one!

WONGIE LIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: jack garratt feat little simz - far cry

jack garratt feat little simz - far cry
holy cow this live performance of jack garratt is AMAZING!!! jack gets little simz (who did a remix of her own last month) in on the video and boy her verse is just as stunning. if you don't understand why this guy was easily my fave act of last year, this should give you an idea why. DAMN this is great!

WONGIE ELECTRO SOUL SONG OF THE WEEK: the weeknd feat daft punk - starboy

the weeknd feat daft punk - starboy
setting up the weeknd 2.0 (he literally snuffs out his previous persona), 'starboy' kicks off a new version of the weeknd with some help from daft punk on electro funkiness. can't wait to see what abel (aka weeknd) has up his sleeve for his new album!

NEW FRANK OCEAN!: frank ocean - nikes

frank ocean - nikes
we offered up frank ocean's visual album 'endless' last week and then in less than 24 hours, the singer/songwriter released another album 'blonde' with the accompanying 'nikes' video as the official first release. dreamy and loose, the whole album is a fascinating creative experiment that deserves multiple listens. either way, it's a massive welcome back that we will be breaking down in the weeks to come!