The 2013 Okapi Sampler!

Soul music.   Music from the soul, from the very core of being.   Soul music came to us from the joy and pain and love and yearning of African-Americans who used the tools given to them by jazz, blues, and gospel music to create a heavenly sound for us here on Earth.   Of course, the music has adapted and evolved over the years from Southern soul, to the Motown sound, to early '70s Philly soul.  It seemed for a long while that soul music had been picked apart and watered down so much by disco, and hip hop, and house, that it became just another historical genre with little relevance today. 

But, 2013 showed us that our souls still yearn to connect and understand and share.   While technology has put the world in our phones, soul music has re-emerged as a real way to connect to the most human aspects of existence, beyond what social media can provide.   Today's soul makers are using technology to reacquaint us with our core selves.   The best music of 2012 seemed to reach out to the world, while this past year, it seems we reached within.  

And, here are the Lair of the Okapi's favorite songs of 2013....

 

 #10 - The Juan Maclean - "You Are My Destiny"

#9 - Sophie - "Bipp"

#8 - Burial - "Hiders"

#7 - Justin Timberlake (feat. Jay-Z) - "Suit & Tie

#6 - James Blake - "Retrograde"

# 5 - Laura Mvula - "Green Garden"

# 4 - Disclosure (feat. Sam Smith) - "Latch"

# 3 - FKA Twigs - "Water Me"

# 2 - Daft Punk (feat. Pharrell) - "Get Lucky"

#1 - Rhye - "Open" 

There was a lot of good music this year, and it was tough to narrow it down to just ten.   Here are some more great tracks that touched my soul this year. 

Classixx (feat. Nancy Whang) - "All You're Waiting For"

Lorde - "Royals"

Forest Swords - "Thor's Stone"

Holy Ghost! - "Dumb Disco Ideas"

James Blake - "Voyeur"

Janelle Monae (feat. Erykah Badu) - "Q.U.E.E.N."

!!! - "Slyd" 

Jesse Rose - "Dance With Me"
Arrested Development - "Living"