When the right producer and the right artist link up, the results can be golden. Such is the case with JSOUL and B.Jamelle. After grinding independently and individually for years, the Baltimore-based producer and D.C.-based singer have combined their many talents as the duo JSOUL x B.Jamelle. Also known as The Mellowdisiac, they've taken that moniker a step further as the title for their debut project, the EP Mellowdisiac.
The Mellowdisiac introduced their collaboration with the single "Really Love" featuring rapper Jamil Honesty earlier this year and followed that up with the soothing "To Flower" earlier this month. Those two songs are just a sample of the jams that await on the EP that fuses elements of soul, jazz and hip-hop and reminds us of the heyday of neo-soul before it became synonymous with – and as tired as – smooth jazz.
Standouts include "As Above Below," "Mush," "Blissfully Undone" and "Bonadouce." JSOUL's production is elite with a treasure chest of samples that are chopped, blended and mixed to perfection and give B.Jamelle a solid foundation for her lyrical and vocal creativity. JSOUL includes everything from snippets of Jimi Hendrix (on "Jimi's Wisdom") and Prince interviews to Nikki Giovanni reciting a poem to a comedy bit by George Wallace to a stack of old records throughout that will keep you guessing their origin.
In their own words, The Mellowdisiac describes this EP as, "A collection of clean yet dusty melody driven jazz/soul-infused tracks with an unorthodox approach. Imagine if you will, that Madlib had a sonic baby with Jill Scott and that baby grew up to make music, it just might sound like this." That description nails it; we couldn't have said it better ourselves.
Rooted in the past with an eye to the future, JSOUL x B.Jamelle make quite an impression with Mellowdisiac. The EP is available now exclusively on Bandcamp and will be hitting additional streaming services next week. Press play below to vibe out to the EP, and just let this one ride.
JSOUL x B.Jamelle / The Mellowdisiac Mellowdisiac [Bandcamp]
