the odd fellow

Been listening to some pretty good music these days, but haven’t been able to write about them much since I’ve been trying to catch up on work since coming back from my surgery.

Janelle Monae, B-Quartet, Casiokids, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Inch Chua…hopefully I’ll have time soon to get them all down on words.

But here’s a quick one about an up-and-coming artiste called Mike Posner. He’s one of the hottest new acts around and a pretty smooth cat. There’ll be comparisons to Justin Timberlake I guess, because they’re both white, sport a buzzcut, and dish out songs you can dance to.

But Mike sort of reminds me of Michael Jackson with that soft voice of his (go figure, listen to him speak) and more dance-pop than JT and his hip hop leanings. He even looks a bit like that Blake Lewis guy from American Idol, and I mean that in a good way. And apparently he was juggling all the music production while getting a degree at Duke University. Decent job eh?

Check out the single Cooler Than Me which makes me wonder if that’s how Jason Mraz would sound like he ditches the uke for a Launchpad and get a bit shimmery on the mix. The vid is below. He’s released a few mixtapes which got him to the labels’ attention and his debut, 31 Minutes to Takeoff, is to be released 10 August in the States. Singapore release is slated for September.

You can even download the track for free from his website in exchange for his newsletter.  Worth getting for a song that would get even the most stubborn wallflower on the dance floor.