Monday 14 May 2012

ALEKESAM SUMMER JAMS

It's handy when you have a surname like Masekela. You can reverse it to spell something quite similar to that universal magic word, alakazam. Very handy.

This is the convenient nomenclature that has fallen into the lap of Selema Masekela, aka Alekesam.

He is releasing an LP tomorrow, 15th May, called The Sound of Alekesam and if it's anything like the teaser song 'Summer Jams', it will be well worth a listen - if not a purchase. Take a listen for yourself below to discover the summer goodness of this song:

LISTEN TO SUMMER JAMS HERE. TASTY STUFF

As you can hear, it's a great, dance-friendly, blare-it-out-your-car-window, play-it-to-your-friends-at-a-balmy-night's-social-gathering, groove-laden, refreshing track about summer in a summery place. There's this pulsing bassline that goes steady throughout, becoming rather addictive by the end of it, overlaid with glistening synth sprinkled like tiny beads of the sea.

Sal (as he is known - he is something of a personality, having presented the X Games on ESPN quite a few times) provides some ultra-smooth vocals over the top, cruising words that dip in and out of the water, that roll in the sand, cascade like sunshine itself through cool windows and weave in and out of the bare legs that promenade wonderfully in the hot, breezy air of summer. It's poetry. And matched against the silken virtues of the delectable drum and bass rhythm, it's much more than that. It's R&B for people who don't like R&B, basically: cool, tropical, atmospheric. Forget all those summer staples, which would no doubt along the way include something by Will Smith; all you need is Alekesam.

To help illustrate, here's a helpful caption on his Twitter bio:
A black cowboy riding a dolphin, shoveling sunshine!
Sounds like that.

Don't forget: The album The Sound of Alekesam is out tomorrow, 15th May

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Here is Alekesam on SoundCloud - listen
Follow him on Twitter if you like
The official site of Alekesam
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