The Plug’n Play: February (‘23)
February 28, 2023
You can listen to the full playlist on Apple Music, Spotify, or Tidal
The Monthly Roundup:
Throughout the month, Kevin and I select some of our favorite releases. In a lot of ways, this playlist — The Plug’n Play — is an extension of our text thread where we send new music to each other throughout the month. We hope you dig it! The first 13 songs were selected by Kevin. Songs 14-27 were selected by me, Stanley. As always, we hope you find a song you like and check out the larger body of work. Here are a few highlights from the month:
(Please Don’t) Leave Me Now — Madison McFerrin
After a series of wonderfully expansive and exploratory EPs, Madison McFerrin’s debut album, I Hope You Can Forgive Me, is slated for a May 12th release. McFerrin’s music traverses notions of genre; b(l)ending Electronic, Soul, R&B, Jazz, making any type of categorization nearly impossible. But that’s what makes her music special (also, as a child of Bobby McFerrin, would we expect anything less?). On her latest single, McFerrin’s crafted an inescapable groove, and an excellent primer for her debut album.
Chucks — Terrace Martin (Featuring Channel Tres)
I first came across Channel Tres, the Compton-born artist, in 2019 following the release of his EP, Black Moses. Since then, he’s had a steady release of projects: albums, EPs, singles, features, and so on. In all of his work — whether it’s with SG Lewis or his latest feature with Terrace Martin — he exudes a level of “cool” that I find both fascinating and appealing. I mean, it’s sort of funny in some ways: on most songs he’s basically just talking or loosely singing (?) — which often just feels like a stream of consciousness, but that’s part of what makes it “cool” to me.
I Never Slept in the Summer Shade — AJAY
These Yesterdays, AJAY’s debut album, exists somewhere between dream and nostalgia, of the past and the future. Though it’s only his first album, AJAY, a Philadelphia-based multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, he displays a clear direction lyrically and sonically; the songs are meticulously crafted and excellently sequenced. On the album, AJAY shines as a storyteller, both in song composition and production — it’s a real delight and breath of fresh air as a project. I Never Slept in the Summer Shade is a personal favorite, but, really, the entire album is something I’ll continue returning to.
