A&R Factory

Jacob Sibi-Okumu – The Joy Christmas Brings: It’s Never Too Early For a Festive Hit

Posted on 7 October 2018

That’s right folks, Christmas is coming whether we like it or not, and so is the Christmas music. You’d be forgiven for recoiling in fear as your first thought turns to Mariah Carey and Paul McCartney. But Jacob Sibi-Okumu’s latest single “The Joy Christmas Brings” may be the festive hit you’ve been waiting to fall in love with. As you listen to the ambiently slow soulful Jazz crooner with his mesmeric vocal capacity, you’re treated to his authentic ability to allow each syllable in the lyrics to resonate over the subtle and tentative arrangement in the single. During the chorus, there’s plenty of groove and rhythmic drive, but the emotive vibe and sentiment of the track aren’t lost. To put it simply, it isn’t a track that you listen to, it’s a soundscape you melt into which will make you hope an album is in the pipelines from the up and coming artist.

If you feel like getting in the festive spirit early, or would just like a pure shot of unadulterated, sweet Funky Soul Jazz you can head over to SoundCloud for yourselves now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ebony Joi – Joi to The World

Posted on 23 December 2017

It is the season when when “twas” and “tis” become an accepted part of the language for the first time since the seventeenth century, gaudy jumpers, or these days possibly onesies, replace having an actual personality, people talk about how A Wonderful Life is the best film ever made and Mariah Carey is every other song on the radio or jukebox. It is also the season when it seems acceptable to release unnecessary and poor quality versions of Christmas classics. That’s why we need Ebony Joi so much.

Eartha Kitt ’s iconic Santa Baby may have been flogged within an inch of its creative life over the years but Ebony Joi has found the perfect new format for the modern age. It loses none of the sultry soulfulness of the original but adds a modern sassy R&B vibe to this new delivery, a slow and sensual grove which wanders wilfully around the beat like a jazz diva and throws in a bit of urban street smarts. Most often there is no need to try to reinvent songs which have all but passed into musical lore but if you do why not give them the perfect make over?