“What am I to build, if my hands are broken, if I’m not the chosen one?” sings Steven McKellar of Civil Twilight on “Story of An Immigrant”, over a lush, dynamic beat that evokes the sounds of his native South Africa while steeped in the band’s everevolving present. The foursome (Steven, his brother and guitarist Andrew, drummer Richard Wouters and Kevin Dailey on keys and guitar) are living proof of what happens when you stop worrying about being the chosen one and make music built on both the roots that grew you and the love that keeps you thriving every day. Civil Twilight’s songs embrace every corner of human emotion, balancing delicate, poetic lyrics with sweeping arrangements that touch all the senses: a phrase to make you think; a rolling drumbeat you can feel in your bones; a guitar vamp as illustrative as a picture; a shimmer of keys whose light can nearly be seen and heard. Produced by Ben H. Allen (Gnarls Barkley, Bombay Bicycle Club, Cut Copy), their third record on Wind-Up is built on this vibrancy, on the permanent dust of a Cape Town youth; on the connection that unites them all as brothers beyond blood and on their new home in America where they pull from the innate, thriving musicianship of Nashville, where they live. When you listen to Civil Twilight, from their self-titled debut, to 2012’s widely lauded Holy Weather to now, it’s easy to understand why the band has topped five million YouTube views and reached historic success with film and television syncs – because it’s music you can’t shake, that translates experience into moments and creates melodies that become imbedded deep under the skin. We’re all immigrants, in some way, and Civil Twilight’s singing our national anthem.

Kisean Anderson, best known by the stage name Sean Kingston, is a Jamaican-American reggae fusion rapper and songwriter. Known for his dark lyrics, Kingston won the 2007 MOBO award for Best Reggae Act and a Teen Choice award for Best R&B track. Born in Florida, Kingston grew up in Jamaica with his grandfather, reggae producer Lawrence “Jack Ruby” Lindo. In 2007 at the age of 17, Kingston was discovered on Myspace by Tommy Rotem, of Britney Spears and 50 Cent fame, who signed Kingston with Beluga Heights Records. In a joint venture between Sony, Epic Records and Koch Records, Kingston released his first single, “Beautiful Girl”. It was an instant success, reaching number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 and topping international charts. His next single, “Me Love”, released at number one in Australia. Later that same year, Kingston toured with Gwen Stefani and Beyoncé as an opening act. The collection of singles was released as his self-titled first album later that year. In 2009, Kingston released his second album, “Tomorrow” with Lady Gaga, produced by RedOne. The single “Fire Burning” debuted at #5 on Billboard while “Face Drop” climbed to #61. In 2010, he joined the UK group Sugarbabies to record “Miss Everything” and was featured on Bow Wow’s single “For My Hood”. Over the next two years, Kingston released multiple singles featuring guest appearances from T-Pain, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Akon and Dr. Dre. He appeared on Justin Bieber’s single “Eenie Meenie” and his cover of “Pretty Boy Swag” and “Billionaire”. In 2011, Kingston released his free online mixtape “Kings of Kong” which featured Akon, Soulja Boy and Justin Bieber. His most recent album, 2012’s “Back 2 Life”, peaked at number 33 on the R&B Album charts and #52 on Billboard’s Hot 100. The single “Beat It” with Chris Brown and Wiz Khalifa reach number 17 on Hot R&B charts.

Miles Ahead | NYC • MIA • KIN • LDN • TYO • JHB • RJ

OKeh short history: 

OKeh was founded by Otto K. E. Heinemann when he set up his own recording studio and gramophone record pressing plant in New York City in September 1918. Heinemann formed the name of the record label "OKeh", from his initials.  OKeh began by issuing popular songs, dance numbers, and vaudeville skits similar to the fare of other labels, but Heineman also wished to experiment with music for audiences neglected by the larger record companies. OKeh produced lines of recordings in German, Czech, Polish, Swedish, and Yiddish for the USA's immigrant communities. In 1920, Ralph Peer's recordings by African-American blues singer Mamie Smith were a surprise smash hit for Okeh. The company perceived the significant, little-tapped market for blues and jazz by African American artists. Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Bix Beiderbecke are only a few names of jazz greats that have recorded for the label. By 1926 Columbia Records bought the label and kept it running into the 60's with jazz and R&B recordings. 

In 1994, Sony Music reactivated the OKeh label as a new-age Blues label. Okeh's first new signings included Keb' Mo, Popa Chubby, and Little Axe. By 2000, the Okeh label was again retired, but in 2013 it will see its re-launch as a jazz label once again.

Multi platinum selling, grammy nominated country duo Thompson Square's first podcast episode. In this episode Keifer and Shawna give a little back story to how they got started and introduce themselves to those who might not know who they are.

K.R.I.T. WUZ HERE – OUT NOW: https://bigkrit.lnk.to/KRITWuzHere

fire_mutt is following