Sick of your lockdown playlist? Beats 1 shows how to Jazz it up for 2020
WHETHER BLASTING BINAURAL BEATS for productivity, replaying tracks trending on TikTok or revisiting songs from your old iTunes library while WFH; we are all listening more thanks to lockdown. Plus, with Brits no longer able to discover esoteric indie bands in the small print of 2020’s cancelled music festivals’ line-ups, are we at risk of becoming broken records?
Apple Music says no. Their 24/7 music radio station Beats 1 took it’s only semblance to a break from the airwaves for Blackout Tuesday, where instead of the usual curated schedule, for the first-time since its 2015 inception, users were greeted with the following message:
In steadfast support of the Black voices that define music, creativity, and culture, we use ours. This moment calls upon us all to speak and act against racism and injustice of all kinds. We stand in solidarity with Black communities everywhere. #TheShowMustBePaused #BlackLivesMatter
This one-time programme highlighted and celebrated the work of black artists. So while you’re looking to diversify your shuffle, diversify with social action while you’re at it with our Editor’s Pick of the best Jazz-inspired beats by Black artists that will inject some unpredictability into that playlist:
Ego Ella May - Girls Don’t Always Sing about Boys
Opening with the crackle of a record player, this tune is anything but a repetition of the same old tropes. From the new album ‘Honey for Wounds’ you’d be forgiven for thinking this is tribute to her cool, sateen voice and sweet Jazz/neo-Soul influence.
Listen carefully though, and behind the minimal percussion is a beat that cleverly masks a sample eerily like Morse code. The lyrics are even more subversive:
But I hear love is the only thing worth fighting for// As well as loving the same sex// Sanitary kits for homelessness// Grenfell, mental health // For all
Like 2020’s answer to Sara Bareillies’ Love Song, this track explores themes equally questioning the music industry itself, and the governments it operates within.
Masego - Queen Tings
Making his debut BET appearance at their first virtual awards stream, if Masego’s name is familiar and you don’t know why, it’s probably because he’s the improbably-perfect sax, drums, mixing and minimal voice behind Fkj collaboration Tadow, with 207 million views (and counting) on Youtube.
In contrast, we enjoy Masego’s lungs for singing most in Queen Tings, though sitting still while listening to it’s iconic hip-rocking beat is still a challenge in itself. Here, Masego’s musicality shines, while the lyrics champion strong, iconic black female figures like Solange Knowles, Danai Gurira, and Lupita (Nyong'o).
What’s more, his self-coined style of ‘TrapHouseJazz’ genuinely cannot be found anywhere else, and is worth listening to for the concept alone.
Jorja Smith - Rose Rouge
Annie Mac dubbed it her “Hottest Record in the World” last month, which is a big claim for a cover of an infamously inaccessible French Jazz track.
Jorja’s previous releases are known to be vocal and lyric-heavy, sometimes criticised for the occasional low production quality, as with the first release of Blue Lights.
Listen to Rose Rouge though, and you’ll hear how the twenty-three-year-old Midlander has grown up. Jorja’s sultry voice acts as a riff and embellishment to what feels like a full orchestral soundscape, suited to exponentially more environments than the coffee-shop Jazz is so frequently relegated to.
With a video “tribute to all the people who have paved the way for black empowerment” this is a track that has to be experienced, not just listened to.
