These two are Nikki + Rich, a newly signed soul pop act from Warner Brothers Records.

While I was intrigued from the beginning, it was this slick, stylishly crafted intro video that sealed the deal for me.

And now, a brief summation:

Nikki & Rich are Nikki Leonti, a California-born pastor’s daughter who grew up singing in church, and Rich Velonskis, a Queens, NY-born former DJ and established hip-hop/R&B producer who got his start spinning in New York City clubs as a teenager. These two seemingly opposite characters first met in 2007. Nikki was based in Nashville working as a background singer for Carrie Underwood and Rich was in Los Angeles producing tracks for Eve, Robin Thicke, Mario, and Ludacris, under his moniker Rich Skillz…Rich was looking for a strong vocalist and lyricist to collaborate with and take his tracks to the next level and he found the perfect match in Nikki.

To put it simply, Nikki + Rich are to doo wop as Bitter:Sweet are to acid nu-jazz: a dynamic duo of two (rather attractive) musicians with a flair for the old-fashioned.

Though there’s been some backlash as of late for ‘revival acts’ that call upon the sounds of yesterday (Adele, Duffy, Winehouse), Nikki + Rich show the promise of staying true to today without looking back to the point of becoming a tribute band.

You can now stream the swinging “Cat and Mouse” and the deliciously sassy “Next Best Thing” right now.

I’m utterly obsessed with these two!

Sputter..gah–sputter, gasp! I’m alive, my sweet blogger and blogettes, I’m ALIVE! A week’s time is almost a lifetime in blog world, and as we all full well know…a blogger’s work is never done. Seriously, I hate being away from the Internet for any longer than a day. The world moves on at a rapid pace; music debuts at the blink of an eye, internet memes are born and forgotten, and celebrities consummate and birth at any given time. Who has time to look away in this day and age?

Luckily, I’m back for a bit. Where am I, you ask? Florida. What am I doing there? None of your damn business. Why do you ask? Oh, you say you don’t give a toss? What’s a toss? Oh. Right. English speak, I get confused sometimes. Well good, I don’t want to bore you, either. Onto the music, then.

It’s been two, maybe three years, since PopJustice declared simply that Annie’s Richard X-produced “Songs Remind Me Of You” was to be one of the finest pop gems in recent history. After reading the post so long ago, I decided that the track must, at least, be semi-perfect, as far as the title is concerned. The album then began to go through the usual bag of release date setbacks, track reworking, and general hootenanny causing great delays in final production. But alas, the track is almost upon us—-to the point where PopJustice was finally able to upload a thirty second sample of the work! I screamed, I cried, I learned, and I hope you do the same. It’s a little sad disco, a lot of pumping synth, and a whole lot of reverberating “on the radio,” which is a well established pop phrase of perfection. The full track will be available when the album is released later this year.

Actually, I just visited her MySpace…it seems she’s uploaded “My Love Is Better,” the track that was meant to be a collaboration with Girls Aloud. The group’s vocals were later axed, but the track remains solid. Actually–Wait a minute! Yes! There’s a full minute clip of “Songs Remind Me Of You”! It’s the beginning of the track. Hackers, get to work quickly and splice the two samples together….we’ve got nearly a third of the track!

I went to Virgin today and bought a fine assortment of CD’s: Bitter:Sweet‘s Drama, Hercules & Love Affair‘s self titled album, and Manumission’s 3 CD-Set of Ibiza Classic Collection chock full of the fruitiest house hits from the past years. It was $10. Consider it my silent ode to Pride. I’m in the process of reviewing these.

That being said, I’m currently listening to Sonny J‘s debut, Disastro.

Britney‘s been busy drumming up the best of the lot for her upcoming sixth album, supposedly due out around Christmas. Newly added to the list? Darkchild, mastermind of the superior “Overprotected” remix and dominator of early ’00 pop. The producer joins a long list including Bloodshy & Avant, Guy Sigsworth, and Dallas Austin, a musical orgy of possibility. Mmm…

On and on, on the beat goes…

I don’t like it when my favorite artists buckle down and decide to release new material without letting me in on it first! But that’s exactly what has occurred. As I was browsing the racks of indies at the local Starbucks, I happened upon one of those metallic iTunes album redemption cards for Bitter:Sweet‘s new album Drama. Wha–?! Since when were they releasing new material? Last I’d heard, they were still kicking around the same material, remixed and rehashed. But lo and behold, the nu-jazz electro duo is back with another heap of horn and synth infused trip-hop magic for the masses.

If you’re not recognizing the name, you’d know the sound. They’ve been featured in nearly every alcohol or fashion related commercial possible in the past year or so, as well as countless soundtracks. The album dropped on June 3, so I’m four days late. Needless to say I’m running out to find it right now…I suggest you do the same! Check it out here at iTunes. I’ll get back to you with the full report soon enough!

Finally listening to the debut album of Madita, I completely take back any and all comparisons to the work of Feist. This is nothing like Feist. Her new single may have shards of folkishness, but if it is anything like her debut, it’s merely a speck of musical diversity found in the greater scheme of things. Madita’s self titled debut is an incredibly rich and varied jazz-tronica album, with tinges of Latin-based beats, lounge music, and bouncy trip-hop. Each track is pulls toward a new direction; there are no common threads amongst the album’s tracks. Some feature Madita as a breathy lounge singer such as “Letter to You,” floating amongst liquid sound effect and ethereal landscapes. Then there’s “Monotony,” a track centered around hectic Latin-tinged trumpets and piano, never fully departing from jazz. Even more unexpected are Madita’s vocals in “Wannabe,” which very well could have been performed in the Noisettes’ set list, with its yelping, bitterly beautiful vocal stylings nearly identical Shingai Shoniwa. And then we have “Got,” which may have been recorded by Róisín Murphy during the Ruby Blue sessions. Her singing additionally bears resemblance to a less ambient Natalie Walker, and on the more trip-hop focused tracks, Angela McCluskey. Madita’s vocal ability is like a wonderful and unexpected mix of singers, meshed into one compilation. Her lyrical skills strangely work. I’m not sure if she fully grasps the English language (see phrases such as “steamy toilet”) but it nonetheless flows along with the song. The music itself is in the vein of Bitter:Sweet, but much less bouncy. This is the jazz record that Kylie always dreamed of recording. For those who don’t know, Kylie’s always dreamed about recording an album of jazz standards. This beat-heavy album is a perfect combination of pop with nu-jazz that would be utterly perfect for her to explore. It’s a musical style that I absolutely adore. Please give the selections a try!

DL: Madita – Got
DL: Madita – Wannabe
DL: Madita – Letter To You
DL: Madita – Ceylon

If you like what you hear, be sure to buy Madita online at Amazon.

Introducing something you’ve probably seen before but in many different pieces: Madita, a singer from Germany.

To begin, I saw her latest single’s video, “Because.” As “Strawberry” noted on the PopJustice! forums, she is a blend of Feist on the verses and Rachel Stevens on the chorus of the song. It’s the music Feist wouldn’t dare spill from her lips; the complexity that Rachel Stevens could never properly pull off. Not that it’s the most complex song structure, but the core piano chords are literally the same as “My Moon, My Man,” minus one bright note at the end. You’ll notice this as soon as you play the track. But the track turns jazzy and significantly lighter. In fact, it’s eventually riddled with bright pianos and heaving sighs, blocking out the seemingly daunting atmosphere from the harsh piano sounds below. Please note: The song is still a bit far away from her actual sound after analyzing her Myspace, so take note before viewing. Anywho, I don’t know if she’ll be sued down the line for copyright infringement, but if she’s not taken away in shackles, then hopefully she’ll continue to wrap herself around brightly colored linen.

I visited Madita’s website after seeing the new single to find out her “deal,” and it seems she was born in Vienna in 1978, making her 30 as of this year. She’s already had a debut album, and that too, the upcoming album due January 25th, is her second. (Get it? Ha!) She reminds me of Shakira during the era in which she first broke out in the United States. I say this because of the absolutely absurd usage of language she possesses, including her allusion to energy being sucked out of her to a baby and breasts.

And then I decided to explore her music. That’s when I got genuinely excited. Her featured music on Myspace is as interesting as she appears, the songs diverse and intriguing. I was getting a sense of Bitter:Sweet (essential jazz-lounge-electronica that you’ve heard everywhere before). With a sound that is smothered in lounge-like vocal tricks with a hint of sexuality and a significant amount of an older allure, it seems like Madita possesses exciting potential to unite smooth classic jazz with fresh vitality. I’m highly looking forward to exploring her work in detail later tonight!

Give it a go, let me know how it works for you.

Watch “Because.” Please don’t take it as a representation of her work…it’s rather poppy compared to what she actually does.
Then, listen to this remix of it by Edgar Tones, which sounds a bit closer to her sound.
Finally, go to her Myspace and hear some more from the upcoming album.