The highly anticipated Douglas Ray Jaffe Project has officially released its debut EP, a striking fusion of literary artistry and evocative sound. This unique musical venture showcases three original tracks, each crafted from the poetic words of author, poet and modern-day philosopher Douglas Ray Jaffe. The EP captivates with its thought-provoking lyrics, powerful melodies and rich vocal performances, making it a standout at the intersection of contemporary music and poetry. The three tracks (“Gullibility,” “For Rachel” and “One More”) feature lyrics from the poetic musings of Jaffe, brought to musical life through the collaboration with various composers.
Produced by the talented and Emmy-nominated Brandwein (Center Sound Productions), the Douglas Ray Jaffe Project explores a diverse soundscape, seamlessly blending literary elegance with dynamic, genre-defying arrangements. With Brandwein’s masterful production at the helm, the EP delivers a transcendent experience, where Jaffe’s enigmatic words meet music in perfect harmony. Each of the three tracks features a distinct collaboration with a range of talented vocalists, ensuring that every song feels uniquely alive with its own voice. From delicate harmonies to passionate vocal performances, the EP elevates Jaffe's deeply introspective poetry to an entirely new dimension.
Douglas Ray Jaffe’s thought-provoking lyrics invite listeners into a world of reflection, introspection, and human connection. As a modern-day philosopher, Jaffe's words challenge the norms and inspire profound questions about life, love and the nature of existence. His poetry, set to Brandwein’s masterful production, resonates deeply, and offers an immersive and emotional journey through sound and verse. The Douglas Ray Jaffe Project EP represents a bold new direction in musical storytelling, one that invites listeners to both ponder and celebrate the poetry of our lives, all while embracing the transformative power of music.
============================================================================
Ahead of her first UK tour this summer, acclaimed US singer-songwriter Juliet Lloyd has dropped a brand new single ‘Wild Again’. Written with and produced by Todd Wright (Lucy Woodward, Butch Walker, Toby Lightman), the track was born out of a NY Times podcast Juliet listened to about the real-life efforts to return the whale that played Willy in the iconic movie ‘Free Willy’ back into the wild.
“It’s an insane, heartbreaking story that asks all kinds of thorny questions about human responsibility and humility and what’s the “right” thing to do and is that the same as the “kind” thing to do. There was a line that one of the trainers said in the podcast, explaining that they were trying to “train him to be wild again.” The complete absurdity of that statement hit me in the moment, and I immediately started jotting down lyrical ideas”, Juliet says.
Shortly after releasing her sophomore album in 2007, US-based singer-songwriter Juliet Lloyd walked away from music completely for more than 10 years, feeling burned out and unhappy with her career progression like so many other independent artists. After going through a divorce in 2019 and in the midst of a global pandemic, she found herself pulled back toward the siren call of songwriting and again making the leap to pursue it full time. Her latest album ‘Carnival’, released in 2024, is in many ways the culmination of those decisions, and the reintroduction of an artist who now has the wisdom of experience.
There’s an unmistakable urgency you can feel when a song is written and performed from a place of complete honesty. That feeling permeates ‘Carnival’. “I’ve always been envious of writers who say they write songs because they have to, because they had these things they just had to get out of themselves,” Juliet says. “I had never really felt that way until this album. I’ve become someone who writes because they have to.”
============================================================================
Yogi-G and The Family Tree are back with brand new single Blind Man and The Monkey ahead of the band’s eagerly awaited album Show Me The Truth out 23rd May. Led by Gaz Whelan—co-founder, Ivor Novello winning songwriter and drummer of the legendary Happy Mondays—this project blends his iconic Madchester groove with fresh, infectious energy, delivering music that’s both raw and transcendent, and also features the irrepressible vocals of Rowetta making the sounds of 1990 come alive again in glorious fashion.
Gaz’s influences mainly stem from John Lydon, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. A more cerebral character than bandmates Shaun, Bez and co. but still a major proponent of that larger-than-life Mancunian braggadocious swagger that have paved the way for a whole subculture of British indie pop bands like The Stone Roses, Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, The Charlatans, Primal Scream, Badly Drawn Boy et al.
With a working title of ‘A Record Collection in One Album’, the newly titled and as yet unreleased album Show Me The Truth is a genre-free zone, a collision of moods and styles that dovetails Whelan’s ragged, dark lyrical musings with soulful vocals and African rhythms.
It’s the aural equivalent of lying in a warm bath in the middle of a snowstorm—where spaghetti western strings stretch from heaven, rubbing up against filthy electric guitars and punk gospel rhythm and rhyme. A hidden optimism weaves through its DNA, offering soul salvation for the cynical, a safe haven from an ever-insane world. As Gaz explains, “Yogi-G and The Family Tree are not hippies, we give a fuller human experience that is more devolved from the punk experience, where you never quite know if you’re going to get a hug or a headbutt. Life is filled with peace and love but equally excitement and pain.”
============================================================================
