Soporific R&B special

Some days, all you want to hear is music that makes you go arms akimbo la la bananas; other days you'd rather have music that wraps you up like a warm blanket. Today is one of the latter days.

So, without any fuss, let's get on with a short playlist of new R&B slow jams. The sort of music you'd expect to hear at the end of a Janet Jackson album, but one of the early good ones before she started singing about her moist lady parts.

1) Tiann - Oh My
Australian born, LA-based singer Tiann is currently doing one of those "new song every month" things and September's track is a beauty. Muted but melodic, subtle but seductive, I need a third example to go here.





2) Jhene Aiko - The Pressure
Directed by Childish Gambino, this video finds Jhene experiencing situations that make her feel pressured (raising a child, attending red carpet events, having a right old barney in front of a coffee table) over one of the most relaxing grooves ever committed to tape, or whatever it is YouTube videos are made out of.




3) Jessie Ware - Want Your Feeling
This is a little more uptempo - but uptempo for Jessie Ware is what most musicians would call "funereal". That's not a criticism, mind you. Like Tough Love and Say You Love me before it, Want Your Feeling indicates that Jessie's second album is going to be hard to beat when it comes to the end-of-year polls.

Happily, it's also a free download if you pre-order that album today (it's not out in the UK til 6 October). "I swear you will have half the record before it's even out with these instant grat things," notes Jessie, in a slightly narked message to her mailing list.





4) Prince - U Know
Supple, lean and sexy as hell - and the song's not bad either.

A surprisingly modern-sounding groove from Mr Rogers Nelson, lifted from his forthcoming solo album Art Official Age, which is coming out on the same day as the long-awaited 3rdEyeGirl record, Plectrum Electrum. For the first time in a long time, I'm excited by a new Prince record. Fingers crossed!!

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