The Witzard

ElectroBluesSociety are a Dutch -based " Organic Dance music" duo mixing electronics with raw, vintage live Blues -based sounds; self-described as "two guys and a bunch of junk with a broad taste and an open mind. Together, they are mixing modern technologies with 30+ years of live stage experience." ElectroBluesSociety (EBS) consists of drummer and bassist Jasper Mortier and guitarist and Black & Tan Records owner Jan Mittendorp . Mortier has worked with the likes of Paul Oscher , Preston Shannon, "Sax" Gordon Beadle , Philip Walker, and Boo Boo Davis , while Mittendorp has toured extensively across Europe & The US with artists such as Percy Strother , Smokey Wilson, Boo Boo Davis , Erskine Oglesby, and Roscoe Chenier . Jan Mittendorp personally, worked with American R&B singer and guitarist Roscoe Chenier for nearly 20 years and released two of his critically-acclaimed albums— Roscoe Style (1998) and Waiting for My Tomorrow (2006...

Having re-listened to it over the past few months, I must admit, Tom Breihan was right... Take Care is hands down, Drake 's strongest [full-length] effort since So Far Gone (2009). My personal favourite track and quite arguably the album's shining moment, "Take Care" has a deeply-rooted history. Originally penned by Blues singer-songwriter Bobby "Blue" Bland way back in 1966, Gil Scott-Heron re-appropriated "I'll Take Care of You" on his thirteenth record (2010). I'm New Here was liberated through XL Recordings , produced by labelhead Richard Russell , and features a wide array of newly-adopted musical stylings. Roughly a year later, Jamie xx was commissioned to produce a Dubstep -inspired remix album, We're New Here . Drake 's Boom-Bap version of "Take Care" is essentially a refurbished edit that beefs up the Tribal drums and subs in Rihanna for Gil Scott-Heron on the hook. Nearly 6 months after it's or...

Not long after the initial onslaught of 2012, essentially during the first minutes of this New Year ... my email inbox was graced with a message from one "Thomas Defferson" @ ILLAV8R . Labeled, "HAPPY NEW ∂eƒ Sound!! "A Song Called Anything" featuring Alex Isley " said email contained a BRAND NEW mp3 track from eclectic artist, Def Sound. One of my [early] favorite lyrical fragments from the track alternatively stylized and accented as "▲.song.called.åny†hing." has to be "If plan A fails - 25 letters left." Produced-recorded by equally eclectic artists, ®C & Brook D'Leau , "anything" really is a pretty solid blend of genres: Rock, Hip-Hop , Funk-Soul, Jazz , Dance, R&B, Electronic . Def Sounds. 's long-rumored sophomore album, "Anything: The Idea Machine" is coming soon(er) - This coming Spring. If you like what you hear, surf on over to Def Sound.'s Bandcamp page and check out his dense...

Romy xx, Jamie xx & Oliver Sim are currently isolated - hard @ work on the untitled follow-up to their highly successful debut album, "xx" (2009). The xx plan to release the set ahead of a string of Summer 2012 festival appearances. Jamie xx has said that his production style is now inspired by Club music and is "party-motivated." Since bursting onto the UK music scene, Jamie xx has worked with [remixed] the likes of Florence + The Machine , Drake-Rihanna, Gil Scott-Heron, Adele ... Shakira, Kwes , and Gorillaz . Later on in 2009, second guitarist-keyboardist Baria Qureshi parted ways with The xx due to "personal differences;" Qureshi was one of the band's 4 founding members - All of whom met in 2005, while studying @ Elliott School (London) . The first demo from "xx2," "Open Eyes" was released over Christmas Holiday . A sparse, feedback-drenched piano/guitar-based piece, you can tell that "Open Eyes" is a...

The pursuit of "Peace, Love & Happiness" is a pretty basic, universally echoed sentiment... one quite often further solidified and paired up with musical accompaniment. Admittedly not exactly the most "genuine" public figure, Drake has never seemed so real and unguarded as of late; Well, @ least not since the early days of "Best I Ever Had" (So Far Gone) . Now, this may just be a premature evaluation of sorts... But I strongly believe that "Take Care" will serve has the Magnum Opus of Drake's similarly-named sophomore album. This, due in part to an appearance from the reigning Queen of Electro-tinged Smooth R&B and Hip-Hop, Rihanna . If you like what you hear, show your support and pick up a copy of Take Care when it's [widely] released this coming Nov. 15th. "Listen, enjoy it, buy it if you like it... and take care until next time," Tweeted Drake Monday morning, after the imminent album leak-age. For all inte...

"We work with some amazing artists, and we appreciate the support you show them. To celebrate their work, and say thank you to you, we've made a limited edition, double 12" vinyl sampler. It features a track from each of the artists we've worked with this year. It won't be available to buy anywhere. We would love to give you a copy of the XL Recordings Sampler 2011 . If you'd like a copy of the sampler, email your postal address to XL11@xlrecordings.com and we'll send you one, wherever you are in the world. We have 1,000 copies to give away. First come, first served. .. [I know that I quickly put in to get my 12" copy around 12-1pm!] Thank you to everyone who asked for a sampler. The response was overwhelming. If you emailed us we will reply soon." XL Recordings Sampler 2011 tracklist: A1 Adele - "He Won't Go" A2 Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx - "I'll Take Care of You" B1 Radiohead - "Supercollider" C1 Tyle...