Salem Al Fakir - Dream Girl
Salem Al Fakir - Good Song
Salem Al Fakir - Friend

So I've thrown a track in the playlist from this cat from Sweeden named Salem Al Fakir. He has crazy hair (which he's recently cut), two EP's (7 songs in total) and I'm going to follow his output closely from here on out. You can check out his MySpace page, he's received love from his home country and seems poised to get some exposure in the worldwide market with a proper full length album dropping later this month.

Already Salem has a feel and understanding of how to create a classic soul sound while throwing in plenty of new interesting touches. The dramatic intro and Moog runs found in Dream Girl is pure Stevie - it's a very cool tune, the unexpected chorus shouldn't work but it does wonderfully. Good Song is sugary sweet and effortless, I think it's his new single and it's a damn good one. Friend could be my favorite of his small body of work as it relies less on heroes of the past and provides a glimpse on where this kid could be headed in the future. The track may not highlight his vocals but the groove doesn't let up, there's not an ounce of schmaltz and those killer strings (all him) really ties the room together.

It's hard for me not to get excited at his potential as a songwriter, singer and producer after listening to his early catalog. He's not there quite yet - some songs could stand to be less corny overall and stylistically he'd benefit from a little more focus (stick with the soul music dude!). Despite these criticisms, Salem is dangerously close to emerging as a highly creative and maybe even important R&B artist. At worst he's got Remy Shand or John Legend talent, these three songs alone are as good as anything they've ever done if not better. Go get yours in the new year Salem.