Jessi Malay – The Thing About Love

I started jogging this week in a bid to get fit for 2015. Going from nothing to actually running in the morning has been a struggle; these San Francisco hills are unforgiving!

It was early on Wednesday morning when I had my Jessi Malay – Thing About Love moment. It was my third morning running, the fog was making it feel a little chillier than the previous two days. I had just reached Filmore and I was flagging, the hills had been killing me (even the flat roads seem to have an incline here!). To be honest I was pretty much done..

…I was just at this moment The Thing About Love came on my iPod. The military style drums instantly perked me up. Slowly I got lost in the beat mixed with Jessi’s soothing voice, I was getting a second wind. My pace picked back up, my breathing settled back down. I started to listen to the words more intently and it was as if she was speaking to me (if you exchange her ex-lover for my laziness that is), “you want me back / but I ain’t looking back / cos baby when it’s done it’s done / already been through this before / but I ain’t letting go / this time I’m sticking too my guns…” it’s just the motivation I needed.

I get to the lower end of the park, skip round over a homeless guy and almost lose my balance. I re-capture my footing and keep pacing on. The song has me fired up, someone has inserted springs to my trainers. Cut right at the far end of park, pause and take a deep breath. Suddenly that hill doesn’t look so big any more.

Miraa May – Voicemail

Nineteen year old Miraa May may have just re-ignited my love for Neo-Soul; on Voicemail she manages to capture the perfect balance of jazz and soul, then tops it off with engagingly playful lyrics. Reminding me of when I first heard Jaguar Wright, this girl has the foundation to be quite special.

Lauren K Faith – Luxure

Luxure is French for lust. Think that says all you need to know about this sexy little record. What I love about it is that its sensuality is never over-powering. The beat is almost hypnotic, quite brooding at times. A song to be played over and over as it is way too short… it barely even lasts 2 minutes!