A So Bones YouTube mix of modern R&B and hip hop
So Bones is a clubnight that specialises in the beautiful and mechanised ends of R&B and hip hop, 21st century soul music, basically. The night has expanded to New York and Bristol and the guy who started it, Robin Carolan, is now running Tri Angle (oOoOO, Balam Acab, How To Dress Well &c), which has had a huge amount of hype because it really is one of the most genuinely thrilling labels in the world.
You can download a mix which Robin made us in 2009, but tomorrow night, they will occupy Fabric’s Room 3 in London, with Romy xx, Girl Unit, DJ Tearjerker [Deadboy’s alias] & Tri Angle DJing, so we asked Robin to pick out his favourite tracks of the moment.
Jhene Aiko Stranger
Jhene Aiko has become a new obsession of mine, which I think has a lot to do with the fact that she sings a lot like Cassie, icy and minimal. She has a mixtape out right now which is amazing, full of really wonky, dreamy songs that stay relatively downbeat throughout. Stranger is probably my favorite.
Jennifer Lopez Fresh Out The Oven
This isn’t the newest song in the world (came out in 2010), but I chose it because I still love it and very few people seem to know it exists, considering it flopped beyond belief, which led J-Lo to revamp herself as some kind of Gaga-Estefan hybrid. I like this song cause it reminds me of the creeped-out digitised rainforest sound they created with I’m a Slave 4 U by Britney Spears, still one of the greatest songs of the 21st century. Plus there’s a part where J-Lo starts talking in tongues, which I always thought was cool.
Fantasia Bittersweet
This isn’t the type of song I would play in a club, but it’s just a straight up, really beautiful song with a lot of old school vibes. Fantasia has kind of a tragic vibe about her (she attempted suicide a week or so before the album carrying this song came out), but you don’t even need to know about any of that to be affected by her voice.
Kevin Cossom Baby I Like It (feat Fabolous and Diddy)
Danja is, and always will be one of my favorite producers in the world. He isn’t as prolific as he once was, but this is one of his newer productions and finds him in frantic mode. There’s so much going on in this song it’s vaguely exhausting, but in a good way, I think.
Soulja Boy Good Life
This is probably one of my favorite Soulja Boy songs, just because it isn’t so focused around a gimmick. It’s just a straight up epic cruise tune that apes The Neptunes, back when they were really good at coming up with gorgeous mechanical soul that would just wash over you.
So Bones will be occupying Fabric’s Room 3 on the 21st April. Also playing are Carte Blanche, Tensnake, Creep, Star Slinger, Chad Valley and D/R/U/G/S. Click full details for more.
