Zo!'s homecoming celebration for his release of SunStorm

Sounds provided by: DJ Tony Tone a/k/a Mistamonotone

Note: This is a listening party, there will not be any performances.

Burn Rubber Sneaker Boutique, 202 W 4th St, Royal Oak MI 48067 | (248) 543-3000

Our Brave Soul Artist feature for this month is a self proclaimed "Musical Architect" and a true definition of an artist. Multi-Instrumentalist/Producer Zo! is Detroit-area born and raised Lorenzo Ferguson. Music was always present in and around the Ferguson house, which let to Zo! taking piano lessons at age 6... which he absolutely despised. The idea of working toward a Major League Baseball career served as the greatest inspiration through his teenage years much more so than the concept of practicing music. After his parents consistently pushed and encouraged him to stick with music, Zo! discovered a newfound passion by teaching himself how to play piano by ear by age 11. Zo! got his production start in 1992 when his parents brought home a Proteus MPS keyboard and a Brother PDC100 sequencer for him to figure out. Since then, he has emphasized the use of live instrumentation as the blueprint for his music while constantly looking to expand his sound with each album release.

Its a celebration people!

Get your Sunday grown & sexy on by joining The Foreign Exchange at their favorite hang out in Durham and listen to the lovely tunes of their of 3rd release Authenticity

Hosted by: Phonte+Nicolay

Sounds by: DJ Castro

Music + Giveaways + Wine and more

Six Plates Wine Bar, 2812 Erwin Rd Suite 104, Durham NC 27705 | (919) 321-0203

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Searing and soulful verses served over ethereal, aquatic beats, colored with varying tones and textures that intrigue the ears and expand the mind...these are the trademark characteristics that Nicolay and Phonte Coleman have established musically as members of the duo Foreign Exchange, a phrase that describes the combination of their Dutch and Durham, NC roots and musical influences.

Their 2004 debut, Connected, was a long-distance alliance of beats and rhymes tossed back and forth via the internet, and 2008's Leave It All Behind, which featured the poignant, Grammy-nominated "Daykeeper," maintained the momentum and broadened their fan base.

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The first single from The Foreign Exchange's upcoming album Authenticity, ''Maybe She'll Dream Of Me'', is now available on iTunes! The single bundle contains the album mix, video mix and instrumental version of the song.

Click here to buy "Maybe She'll Dream Of Me" on iTunes

We are especially proud of this wallpaper design courtesy of Kompleks Creative displaying the album cover art of the titles that are currently available through +FE Music!

presented by Revive Music Group

RCDC Experiment is a mosaic of experimental musicians navigating between the boundaries of hip- hop's greatest traditions and post-modern jazz, comprised of bassist Derrick Hodge, Alto Saxophonist and Vocoder player Casey Benjamin, and Drummer Chris "Daddy" Dave. These musicians are already revered for their own unique abilities, but together, their synthesized sounds are an amalgamated mass of explosive sounds on another dimension. Therein lies the future of music: more experimental, more nuanced, and more examples of inhumanely skilled musical ability.
You can here the latest of The RCDC Experiment on Robert Glasper's latest record Double Booked, off of Blue Note Records.

Phonte Coleman, better known as Phonte, is an American rapper and singer formerly of the group Little Brother, which disbanded this year (2010), as well as a critically acclaimed singer of the Grammy Nominated R&B duo with Dutch producer Nicolay, The Foreign Exchange. Phonte's rhymes tend to be no- frills perspectives on working-class life, and his massive recognition in the music world is a huge gain for the North Carolina music community.

The RCDC Experiment will be performing Phonte's latest solo work, his compositions with The Foreign Exchange, and classic Little Brother records LIVE. The importance of this collaboration runs deep, as both The Foreign Exchange and Robert Glasper were nominated for Grammy's in the same category in 2009, further indicating the connectedness of these music communities, and bringing them together on stage for the first time.

Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, New York NY 10012 | (212) 505-FISH

Get ready for the upcoming release of Authenticity with four wallpaper designs brought to you courtesy of our friends Peche Designs of Australia and Kompleks Creative!

In this episode, Phonte laments the death of one of his favorite record stores, explains the tragedy that is Montana Fishburne, and gives tips on Twitter etiquette.

Come chill with Zo! at Moods Music and listen to the sounds of his latest release, SunStorm, presented by Phonte & Nicolay.

a Music Addikts event: Zo!'s SunStorm Listening Party

Sounds by:
DJ Phaze

Moods Music, 1131 Euclid Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30307 | (404) 653-0724

Come celebrate and experience the release of SunStorm with Zo! & +FE Music All-Stars

Jodine's Corner presents .. Zo! & +FE Music All-Stars featuring performances by Phonte, Darien Brockington, Nicolay and more to come

JUST ANNOUNCED: Sy Smith, Chantae Cann, Carmen Rodgers & Algebra will be joining The SunStorm Spectacular

The Masquerade, 695 North Ave Northeast, Atlanta GA 30308 | (404) 577-8178

+FE Music proudly presents "Maybe She'll Dream Of Me", the first single taken from The Foreign Exchange's upcoming third album, Authenticity.

Authenticity will be available 10/14 on +FE Music. Thank you for listening!

"MAYBE SHE'LL DREAM OF ME" LISTEN | DOWNLOAD

Produced by Nicolay and Phonte for The Foreign Exchange Music, LLC
Vocals by Phonte
All Instruments by Nicolay
Piano by Zo!
Recorded and Mixed by Phonte at The Peanut Gallery and by Nicolay at The Beach House, Wilmington, NC

Listening to Zo!'s SunStorm is much like taking a bite out of a Proustian madelaine. After just a few minutes of exposure, a veritable floodgate of memories and associations appears: Songs in the Key of Life, Atlantic Starr, Soul Train, Breezin', Deodato, '70s Philly Soul, Donny Hathaway--you get the idea. All such associations might suggest that SunStorm is thus a retrograde or 'old-school' recording, but I'd prefer to call it timeless. Music of such quietly celebratory sincerity and soulfulness never goes out of style and if anything we could do with a whole lot more of it. Hip-hop is part of SunStorm's stylistic mix but the album's primary focus is soul music of the delectably funky and sexy kind (sometimes directly so, as in the love jam "Make Love 2 Me," which--consistent with its make-out vibe--unspools for ten oh-so-amorous minutes).