Two of my favorite tracks from 2012 are included on this installment,both from up-and-comers. One is from a soulfully eclectic northern Australian band called Hiatus Kaiyote (yes, thats how they spell it) called "Nakamarra". The other is the slow extended hip-hop opus "Sing About Me" by Compton's Kendrick Lamar, a young cat who single-handedly restored my faith in hip-hop this year as a place where creative, contemplative lyrics almost in a blues fashion can coexist alongside club bumping and grinding. Also here are Japan's United Future Orgnaization, Massive Attack, Aretha Franklin, Leela James, Mark de Clive Lowe + Nia Andrews, Chaka Khan. Plus special treats like Denzel Washington and Branford Marsalis together with a cut from Spike Lee's Mo Better Blues and Russell Brand singing "Pure Imagination", main song from the original Willie Wonka for a minute. Full playlist and other podcasts from me and others are at www.amalrec.com.