Well, I thought 2023 was tumultuous enough for us all but it turns out that was just the warmup. 2024 came with ever increasing levels of shock and awe all over the globe. I have always been a voracious reader and news junky, and I spend a good deal of my time when I exercise daily or doing household chores, listening to all my favorite podcasts. But 2024 had one glaring bright spot, I fell in love with new music again using Spotify.

Below I have pasted my Spotify playlist of my favorite new tracks that I discovered this year. Most of them are 2024 releases but not all. I really enjoyed making playlists using Spotify this year and I was reminded of my youth and the art of the mix. I fondly recall making endless mix tapes that I would dub off of vinyl or CD’s and then pass around the class rooms way back in the 1990’s. The rush of excitement when you could get the playing order just right, hip your friends to a new artist, and of course the mixes you would make to tell someone how you really felt about them through the music.

I am also going to give some background on how I discovered and fell in love with these tracks. Why “tracks” you may ask. As an artist, songwriter, arranger and record producer, I hear music in totality. It always starts with a great song. But a recording can also take flight with unique sounds, musicians and studio techniques that can take a song to another dimension.

The sonic art of record making is by far my favorite musical craft and creative muscle. The inherent collaborations with artists, bands and engineers and the finality of the last mastered track going into the world is the process I love. It is the closest thing we have to making a painting that will hang in a gallery or a film you can enjoy over and over again, but with sound as the transcendent medium.

In recent years, streaming and the fall of the taste makers and entrepreneurs, the people who either bent to or fled the corporate will in my profession, have caused us to sacrifice the sanctity of this bond between artist and listener, and thus compromising the overall quality of our records and diluting its message.

These tracks on my playlist defy the odds. Most of the artists on this list are UK based. This is no coincidence. Both their industry, the BBC and their government provide aid and support to the artists with labels and promotion and also grants and social benefits that we may never see state side. It’s become difficult to follow their lead, especially for our young artists, as we here in the “land of the free” are mostly priced out of the game. At least we have a hell of a story to tell. But how?

I want to give a special shout out to my friend Jackson Speller, a great musician and a young man way beyond his years in talent and soul. He turned me on to a few of the artists on this list and I treasure his spirit of curation and his insights into what’s happening these days. His grandpa was the late great Bill Sims Jr, a profoundly gifted musician who shaped so many of the lives of New York City’s musicians and artists like me. I miss Bill every day, but his spirit lives on in Jackson and I cherish that lineage and camaraderie that renders our musical communities in America timeless. Recordings are timeless too, at least as long as humans exist and can stay in charge (I’m looking at you AI…).

Being a “Gen X’er” myself, we have spent so much time reveling in the musical renaissance of the 60s and 70s and trying to find new ways of celebrating it (Yes, I know, Gregg Allman and Little Feat among them!). But these young artists on my list love that music and somehow embody it without having to copy it. They remind me of some of my favorites from the 90s who got unfairly swept under the marketing Grunge rug. Jeff Buckley, Chris Whitley, Paul Weller, Tori Amos and XTC to name a few. I always felt like they were the real heroes of the 90s, they were mine anyway.

I hope you take the time to listen and hear what they have to say. It’s a brand-new day, and the art always wins, no matter what they tell you. Keep the faith and crank it up.

Scott Sharrard

12/12/2024

Playlist Link-

Soubour-“Songhoy Blues”

Timbuktu, Mali is of course one of the original homes of the blues. I have been a big fan of the entire Toure families output from Mali (and this band sports one of its own family members, Garba Touré), but this bands record from 2015 takes it to another level. As much as I deplore Spotify’s royalty rates and tone deafness to supporting creators, I do love their algorithm. And this track popped up while I was playing a mix of guitar music from Mali. This track takes John Lee Hooker and Lightning Hopkins back home to the desert. This is where American grooves come from, the spiritual hypnosis and holy revelry of the Mali sound. Though this is an older track, I find the sound and concept timeless and endlessly inspiring.

Mdou Moctar-“Imouhar”

One more desert blues, and this time it’s a 2024 release. Mdou is the later day Hendrix of the desert, and his newest album is a psychedelic thought piece and concept album that brings the classic rock blues guitar sound into the modern Saharan Desert. The title of this album, “Funeral for Justice” has to be the album title of the year. His guitar sings the meaning behind the message and perfectly rings out in our turbulent times.

Sam Fender-“Me and the Dog”

Ever since I heard “Seventeen Going Under” the title track from his sophomore album, I have been blown away by almost every track that Sam Fender has produced. The quality of his songwriting is unparalleled these days, and his band and record production style are meticulous, soulful and blistering. This track is supposedly a “B side” that’s part of a release of 3 songs to promote his 3rd album that’s dropping next year “People Watching”. I love all three tracks but wanted to highlight this one as I hope he eventually includes it on the album. This one struts and preens sonically while carrying a message of modern psychological struggle in the lyrics, a specialty of his that is no easy task in song craft. This is what great art is supposed to do, making a puzzle with our emotions and forcing us to solve it in 4 minutes or less. Sam is the one to watch going into 2025.

Mk.Gee-“ROCKMAN”

So everyone is talking about this cat, and I understood why from the first album. Mk.Gee is a trailblazer with sonics and just a great songwriter. I confess I first heard about him because of an Eric Clapton quote somewhere in the online music press. I am glad that some of the rock renaissance has remained vocal in their support of new artists, and I have to say it’s not the first-time “slow hand” has hipped me to a new sound. It could be argued he did the same for The Band, JJ Cale and even Bob Marley back in the 70s. Mk. Gee is definitely copping some of the 80’s production sounds that are back in vogue these days, but it’s got the home spun quality of early Joe Jackson or the first two Prince albums. Purposely low fi. Also, he’s doing things with digital sound and digital distortion that were once forbidden in audio, and now he’s finding musical ways to incorporate “mistakes” into ideas and soundscapes. It may take your ear a minute to adjust, but that’s the price of entry.

Michael Kiwanuka-“The Rest of Me”

Like most TV streaming and HBO junkies I discovered Michael’s music while watching the HBO series “Big Little Lies” for which his track “Cold Little Heart” was the theme song. A placement in legacy TV is a crucial financial break these days and could not have happened to a more deserving singer/songwriter. Yet another UK artist on Polydor, I love his voice and how it floats over his songs and arrangements, it’s instantly recognizable and also has a tone that’s fitting for being reflective in our unruly tech world. Like a dystopian Bill Withers, Michael gets us the hard truth but with a spoon of maple syrup soul to cut the acid. This track is a deep album cut off of his latest 2024 release and it became an instant favorite.

SAULT-

“Son Shine”

“Faith”

“Safe Within Your Hands”

“Living in America”

As you can see by the 4-track mini set, SAULT is my new favorite band and possibly my most profound musical discovery of 2024. Led by Producer and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire INFLO, SAULT is a UK born musical collective and supergroup that delivers all of the goods. Incredible original songs that tell the stories of our times, beguiling hooks beats and rhythms, orchestral flourishes, hypnotic bass lines, and most importantly a trio of distinct voices. These three singers (and counting) Kid Sister, Chronixx, and most importantly, the transcendent tone and rich soul of Cleo Sol, front the band. I have heard that their live shows are spectacular occasions that feature custom sets, choreography and digital projections. It also appears that they have also outsmarted the touring industry by mounting these special happenings in major markets for isolated plays and skipping the typical week on week touring slog, a neat trick if you can get away with it. I don’t know how and who pays for all this greatness and how they have made several albums since 2019, and frankly I don’t care. I’m just happy it’s in the world and I can’t wait for what’s next. Viva SAULT!

Nick Prato-“Take It as It Comes”

When Jackson Speller hipped me to this track on one of his playlists I was floored by the fresh voice and the depth of this chord progression. When Jackson told me this was actually a young friend of his from Boston I had to know more and dove into his most recent album to hear more. I’m happy to report that Nick has the best of the things I love about rock and roll. He leans heavily into the sonic blue periods of artists like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin or Jeff Buckley. Lyrically, deeply conflicted and reflective, while also humming with the thrill of creation. Nick has got the goods, and he’s just getting started.

Lianne La Havas-“Seven Times”

Lianne really just gets better and better, and this banger is proof that she can blend her own moody UK funk and folk soul like no one else on the scene today. I became aware of her considerable vocal and songwriting talent around 2012 when her debut album dropped. Prince was also a big fan and early supporter of her career. This more recent collection of tunes from 2020 contains this track which also features a cat I have never heard of, Dan See on drums, just murdering that 16th note break beat, I’m telling you! But like most of the best music, that head bobbing funk is just the undercurrent to a tortured love story. The whole album radiates every kind of love there is in the book. This track was my entry point and still my fav on the album.

Maggie Rogers-“So Sick of Dreaming”

I may have buried the lead on this list, as this is definitely my favorite track of 2024. I have been following Maggie since her debut album and her meteoric rise has been fascinating to watch. She is a true artist who understands all the ins and outs of both storytelling and how to send out her message and get it received in our modern media noise factory. How could someone be so talented at these disparate skills? Only in 2024 could you have a talent like Maggie Rogers. This track sounds like a hit single off of a peak Linda Ronstadt album from the late 70s. It’s honeyed perfection, and it has the kind of groove that could only come from America, that all-inclusive funk that says everythings gonna be alright despite all of the bullshit. A special shout out to the great Ian Fitchuk who plays most of the instruments, and crucially the drums, on this track and who also Produced this album. He’s a singular talent as well. They also got a Grammy nomination for this one this year, go home team NYC!

Lake Street Dive-“Good Together”

Brooklyn’s own Lake Street Dive has been one of my favorite bands since even before their first album. I remember being on a tour bus with Gregg Allman and hearing their acoustic quartet sound blasting through the TV. They were featured on a T Bone Burnett concert film, and we had no idea who they were. Their harmonies, grooves and the singular vocal talent that is the great Rachel Price had us hooked. This one is the title track off their latest album (Another Grammy nomination for NYC!), and it’s a hook laden groove fest in 7/4 time. I guess it was written on a dare to make a song with an odd time groove. Most musicians know that 7 has been a secret sauce ingredient for everyone from Eddie Harris to Peter Gabriel, but I had not heard it deployed this well in a long time. Shout out to one of the great local NYC talents Akie Bermiss on keys and vocals. The man is a star, and he manages to shine within this band as well. They are indeed, “Good Together”.

Parlor Greens- “West Memphis”

I love a good organ trio. Guitar, B-3 Organ and Drums, it’s one of the great American musical traditions. Simultaneously high and low brow, the B-3 organ is the 20^th century mechanical orchestra of the industrial age. A B-3 is a steam punk blues machine, it is an “only in America” leviathan of sound with a rotating speaker washed in a symphony of tube drenched ecstasy. Adam Scone is an old friend of mine from the NYC scene and a master of the instrument. I first heard him play at a small club while I was on a set break at the club next door in the late 90’s. We went on to share the stage a number of times in different jams and also in my own groups. Adams playing always had a certain kind of unique precision and wisdom in his note choice and tones. Parlor Greens seems to be the ultimate fruition of his talents at the instrument. These guys cook, and the arrangements are tight and concise. Their performances here are an antidote to the rambling tendencies of “jazz organ” groups, keeping it loose and most importantly, funky. Lucinda Williams famously sang about finding her “Joy” in West Memphis, and this track certainly achieves that.

DJ Harrison-“Erykah’s Gun”

Another infectious break beat and mood for the collection. As I am making my way through this list, I’m discovering that hypnosis has been a key part of my 2024 vibe. DJ Harrison is a keyboardist and sonic wizard from Virginia. He was also a marching band and jazz major, a great combo for understanding the finer points of how to concoct a Swiss clock like groove that you experience here on this track. Erykah is of course Erykah Badu, a modern soul master herself. This one is from a 2014 record, what a different world that was. The flavor of J Dilla was still fresh in the air back then and you can feel his influence all over this one. It also reminds me of my first years in NYC back in the late 90’s when we would go see Slum Village or Common at SOB’s. That era of what they called “Neo Soul” (the term perhaps being one of the worst moments in the entire history of music journalism and branding). Erykah was the reigning queen of that movement, all though Jill Scott was not far behind during that time. The nostalgia for that sound overtook me with this one and I was happy to welcome DJ’s vision into my playlist this year.

Raye-“Worth It”

Another Grammy nominee for this year, and 3 times no less, is yet another UK based artist, Raye. After you check this track out, make sure you head to YouTube and dig her live performances. She may be one of the most talented artists of her generation. A multi-faceted and renowned songwriter of pop hits, she also has a grasp on trad jazz equal to her affinity for pop chart toppers. Raye is also the one true heir to the Amy Winehouse Soul/Jazz vocal throne, but with more of a “type A” grasp of how to thrive in entertainment, without letting the music biz take you under. She possesses an exquisite instrument in her smoky alto, that can ride from Sarah Vaughn to Mahalia in a flash, while tossing off some spoken word asides a la Prince. She has stylish flare and visual flash for days, but Raye is all substance, swagger and 21st century Moxy. She also gets away with creative murder by making up to date banging radio pop singles, and then taking a full orchestra of talented musicians out with her to perform live shows. Her gambles are all paying off, and that’s nothing but good news for music.

Maro- “Never Been So Sure”

Hailing from Lisbon, Portugal, Maro is another artist with an instantly recognizable esthetic that is multi-cultural without being cloying or over thought. Her mix on this gorgeous track of beats, textures and Portuguese/English riffing is singular. I was not surprised when I discovered that she hails musically from the constellation of talent that surrounds the brilliant multi-talented, and Quincy Jones anointed artist and band leader, Jacob Collier (Back to the UK for our list!). Maro’s albums will definitely put you in a trance of introspection. It’s excellent music for rainy days and long winter nights.

Arlo Parks- “Caroline”

London’s Arlo Parks debut album from 2021 “Collapsed in Sunbeams” blew me away upon its release. I discovered that record on the recommendation of the great Me’Shell N’Degeocello from a magazine interview where she was discussing some of her favorite new music. This track came up in a random mix one day. It’s got that 16th note hi hat driven beat that keeps popping up for me this year, that is driving the song and the story forward. Arlo’s songs tell dystopian tales that paint a vivid picture. This track plays the role of the voyeur as people start to unravel right before her eyes. Frame by frame, she paints a picture of a relationship falling apart, and no one knowing how to put it back together again. As the groove chugs along and the fade comes in, the refrain drowned in reverb “I swear to God, I tried” … This entire album is worth a play, but “Caroline” was her track of the year for me.

Cleo Sol- “Don’t Let Me Fall”

Ok, I admit I’m getting a bonus SAULT track here. Cleo Sol, one of the 3 lead vocalists for SAULT, also has her own prolific catalog of solo albums. These are also produced by the great multi-instrumentalist, INFLO. This song and its production are a cracked mosaic. It could easily have taken the form of a Carole King style arrangement, but it is more of a fractured demo in the first half, where the piano and her voice are the only clear through line. Then the music starts to recede and when we get to the 4-minute mark, it changes textures completely. Filters roll off the top end, a Rhodes electric piano sound takes over the piano as a choir of voices rolls in. The soft nostalgia becomes a break beat, and for the rest of the story, you will need to hear the next track on the album! The magic and mystery of the SAULT universe.

Julian Lage- “Serenade”

Full disclosure, I think New York City’s own, Julian Lage is the best guitarist of this generation. I got to see him perform live with his trio once a couple years back at Le Poisson Rouge and it was almost like a rock show in its level of raw energy. Julians sense of melody, tone and his fearlessness on the fretboard are simply unmatched these days. He also has an ear for writing hooks and making his songs more than just a runway for flights of fancy on the strings. His newest album, 2024’s “Speak to Me” finds him alternating between electric and acoustic guitar pieces. He has a command of both instruments that astounds me. This track features his electric sound, usually an old 50’s Fender Telecaster, an unusual choice for a “Jazz” Musician. But Julian has always skewed closer to a cross between Bill Frisell and Jeff Beck. Every record he has made has been inspiring and fascinating. The guy just has natural facility and mastery of the instrument. I cannot wait to hear where he takes the guitar on 2025.