Rex are an Amsterdam based trio and they have just released 'Palaces' a beautiful track with hints of Nick Cave however the trio add so much more. === Amaroun already has a reputation for creating music that is hard to categorise, not that it matters 'Talk' is just one very individual song and it's wonderful. === They describe themselves as a mountain rock band and somehow Whitacre give that description credence as new song 'Prodigal' amply demonstrates. === Mats Wawa have a new album out called 'Rock Omelette' which comprises of ten tracks, described by their promo as a mixture of "AOR, slacker soul or just classic rock" it's all of that pulled together by the bands consistent catchy and highly melodic sound. === The Mowgli's are back with 'Weight On Me' and again the band are on top form with a colourful video accompanying this hook filled song. === Reliant Tom share 'Nevermind The Garbage' a song that opens gently and gradually adds musical layers and power and packs plenty of atmosphere and emotion. === We get to share the third song and video from The Claudettes just ahead of their new album 'High Times in the Dark', this time we have '24/5' which is a fiesty little rocker to say the least.
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Rex - Palaces.
Amsterdam-based trio Rex explore the darker side of life with style, sexuality and a touch of melancholy – combining post punk, new wave and even elements of Spanish rhythms. This month, they are set to release upcoming track ‘Palaces’.
Despite sharing the same influential interests from the likes of The Bad Seeds, Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen, the bands idiosyncratic sound stems from their own musical backgrounds. Frontman, and guitarist Jonathan Rex was born with flamenco in his blood, while Drummer Nout Kooij was raised as a die-hard punk, and Bass player Sara Elzinga was introduced to blues music before she could walk.
With Jonathan’s powerful vocals wrapped elegantly over heavy electric strings and a throbbing drumbeat, ‘Palaces’ dwells upon love and death and the overwhelming emotions that comes along with it. Discussing the song, Rex says: “The song embraces the sorrow of loss, and powerless felt when you lose someone close to you. It raises the questions of how to continue on with life and survive without them.”
Having gained cult status in their native city, the three-piece have also seen action in European cities such as London, Berlin, Spain, whilst touring and at festivals. This year will see Rex on the rising scale, as they welcome the release of their debut EP this spring.
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Amaroun - Talk.
Amaroun has a reputation for creating strong melodies with simple beats accompanied by scrupulous lyrical honesty. As a self- proclaimed emo kid of the noughties and a lover of many genres from Gospel to Grime & Hip Hop to Reggae, Amaroun is not easily categorised.
With a driving hunger to release music, and prolific writing prowess, Amaroun (aka Jay Brown) is releasing music each month throughout 2020. January saw the self-produced and genre bending track ‘Perish’ with the honey-like ‘Rosey’ following four weeks later. Now, March 27th will see the release of 'Talk', Amaroun's third record this year and first full studio recording. 'Talk', co-written with Charles Watson (Slowclub) and produced by Charlie Andrew (Alt J/ Matt Corby/ Maricka Hackman) is a song about the moment communication breaks down between two people –– “Whenever I sing this song it takes me back to those moments and makes me realise how important talking is to keep your connection alive” she says. “I have no regrets, I learnt
so much about what I wanted from these experiences and use them to inform my own self growth and how I approach the beautiful connections with people I have today”
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Whitacre - Prodigal.
Whitacre, the self-described “mountain rock” band hailing from Denver, CO., has premiered the new single, “Prodigal,” with Billboard. The single will appear on their new album, Seasons, to be released April 17th, 2020. Recorded at Third & James in Denver, produced by Joe Richmond (Tennis, Churchill) and mixed by Yuuki Matthews (The Shins), Seasons marks the first time the band recorded in a big space and they found creative freedom to experiment with new ideas, marking an evolution from their last EP, 2018’s Within The Mountains’ Shadows.
Fusing elements of Americana, folk, and rock with punk tinges, Whitacre has become one of Denver’s fastest rising bands, selling out shows with Mt. Joy, Wild Child and Birdtalker, playing legendary venues such as Red Rocks and The Bluebird Theater, and amassing half a million streams on Spotify. With the release of their debut full-length album, Seasons, on the horizon, the four-piece, made up of Paul Whitacre on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Chase Perry on banjo, Mark Cunningham on drums and Joe Fishel on bass, are poised to break out nation-wide.
“At the risk of sounding a bit cliche, ‘Prodigal’ was a monumental song for the band. It was the first time we really collaborated on the writing process - every member contributed to the lyrics, the story, the melody, etc. It was a special moment to let others into the creative process for the first time, and it really set the tone for how we've written songs ever since,” frontman Paul Whitacre explains. “Every member of this band has a story of running away from 'home.' We've all lived through a time that we were doing the exact opposite of what we knew we were supposed to be doing. ‘Prodigal’ touches on the presence of hope and redemption, regardless of how low you are in life.”
A metaphor for the different phases of life, Seasons helped the band process the concept of there being something to use and learn from in each season and experience. The message of the album goes along with the band’s mission: “We have a burning desire to tell a story that isn’t often told in the music industry today. One of redemption and restoration. We want to reassure the broken-hearted that there is hope, we want to show the invisible that we see them and that they matter. We believe that doesn’t only happen in lyrics but in a melody as well. We believe in the power of music and that it is used to soften and heal hearts.”
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Mats Wawa - Rock Omelette (Album).
Mats Mentzen Wang’s aka Mats Wawa is releasing new album Rock Omelette, the follow-up to 2018’s EP Scuzz. The young songwriter was unwittingly booked to a handful of showcase festivals in 2015, based on a few bedroom demos. And that’s how Mats Wawa was born – he needed a band. Now, four years later, Wang has matured, and so have his musical tastes.
Call it AOR, slacker soul or just classic rock – let the listener decide. Whatever you call it, the album is chock full of tunes. From a short rock opera about French & Moland (two Norwegian mercenaries imprisoned in DR Congo), via the song “Canned Heat” which sounds like…and to the first single “Sparkly Eyes”, some of the most beautiful blue eyed soul you’ll hear this year, with strings imported from 70’s Philadelphia.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that this record has become an eclectic collection of songs, as the following influences are named: Elton John’s Tumbleweed Connection, Laura Nyro, Lee Hazlewood, The Byrds and Jessica Pratt. Maybe that’s what Rock Omelette means. Still, the innocent naiveté that’s been Mats Wawa’s calling card, permeates the entire album, fronted by Wang’s characteristic voice which keeps it all cohesive.
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The Mowgli's - Weight On Me.
All of life is a journey and the best journeys are those taken with friends. For the 5 members of The Mowgli’s that road has seen their friendship tested and rebuilt numerous times. From their earliest Venice, California days as a 10+ revolving cast of characters to their current line-up, the core members have evolved from playing midnight warehouse parties to the stages of the largest festivals.
While there have been many highlights - appearances on late night TV shows, incredibly rewarding collaborations with charities and electrifying performances in legendary venues among them - there have also been tests: Losing band members, battling with the stress of constant touring and maintaining their friendship, trying to remain both grounded and optimistic when things go amazingly well and when they don’t. But there have been benefits of creating deep bonds and close relationships, not least the marriage of singers Katie Jayne Earl and Josh Hogan in 2017. “Being in a touring band is hard work,” says Katie, “but inspiring. It only works because people care about the band and we have a core who support us, people who have both been there since the beginning and joined along the way. Those supporters keep us motivated.”
Their latest single "Weight On Me" is a mid-tempo mashup featuring hints of psychedelia, Jazz & rock n roll. The song talks about the pressures of keeping up with everyday life and taking on the weight of the world around you while keeping your head on your shoulders. It is the latest addition to their catalog of releases that are undeniably infectious and wholeheartedly relatable.
For The Mowgli’s, as for any band, this whole experience is a journey - and not always an easy one. It tests your self-belief, your stamina, your relationships and your mental and emotional health. “Since this band started we’ve been through a lot of changes: gained members, lost members, been shuffled around labels and learned a lot about the music industry,” says Andy. “Now it feels like we’re really independent again, refocused on curating our live show, more in touch with the business of being this band.” He adds “Our sound has evolved but we always circle back to the basic themes: love, feeling good, excited for life no matter what the day delivers.”
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Reliant Tom - Nevermind The Garbage.
Brooklyn-based experimental art-rock duo, Reliant Tom shares new single "Nevermind the Garbage" and announces a new forthcoming album 'Play & Rewind' out May 8th, 2020 via Diversion Records. We've partnered with Black Book Magazine to bring you the vulnerable and visceral new song. Singer Claire Cuny took inspiration from the tragic passing of her father who died suddenly in 2018 on the day of the band's last album release no less. Claire explains, "The song is about learning to return to a semi-normal routine by learning to manage the grief..."
Tracing their origins to a chance meeting at a DIY show in Brooklyn in 2015, the Brooklyn-based post-rock electronic band and experimental performance art Reliant Tom is centered around its core creative duo, Western Massachusetts-born, Brooklyn-based composer Monte Weber and Dallas, TX-born, Brooklyn-based choreographer and vocalist Claire Cuny. The duo’s collaboration is a seamless synthesis of their individual talents and interests – sound design, wearable technology, modern dance, and hook-driven, yet genre-defying songwriting.
“Reliant Tom gives me the outlet to explore both pulse driven works while maintaining the other musical elements which I find fascinating - timbre, aleatoric processes, and interactive technologies,” Weber explains. Adds Cuny, “Our ultimate goal with Reliant Tom is to be a multi-media performance experience that straddles the line between pop and experimental music - and philosophizing about what that even means, and is that even possible as ‘experimental pop’?”
Thematically, the duo’s two previous releases, 2016’s self-released, self-titled EP and 2018’s critically applauded, full-length debut effort Bad Orange, touch upon the pitfalls of digital communication and the generally blasé nature of modern social interaction – through the guise of avant-pop and avant-punk-influenced musical devices and arrangements featuring electric guitar, vocals, a hybrid electro-acoustic drum kit, synthesizers, and Weber’s Kontrol Instrument, which he developed while studying at the Paris-based Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music as a way to make electronic music more tactile and immersive in its performance.
Slated for a May 8th, 2020 release through Chicago-based Diversion Records, Reliant Tom’s sophomore effort Play & Rewind is a decidedly bold and self-assured step forward: Cuny’s sultry and expressive vocals while being prominently placed front and center, effortlessly glide over lush yet spacious arrangements of shimmering acoustic guitars, atmospheric electronics and twinkling keys with the material possessing a cinematic air that recalls Dummy-era Portishead, Tales of Us-era Goldfrapp, Radiohead circa OK Computer and others. And while continuing to be tech-heavy in their means of sonic production, their thematic exploration of communication and interaction in the digital age takes a back seat. This time taking a more human approach, the material may arguably be the most mature yet accessible, most emotionally honest and vulnerable of their growing catalog.
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The Claudettes - 24/5.
The Claudettes new album is due out out on April 3 and is entitled "High Times in the Dark".
The band have already shared two songs from the new album, namely 'Bad Babe, Losin' Touch' and 'Declined'.
The latest song ahead of the album is 24/5 and as was the case with the last two songs, it's accompanied by a new music video.
As we have previously mentioned Johnny Iguana the bands piano player and songwriter commented "I believe it's definitely our best yet". It's produced by Ted Hutt (Violent Femmes, The Devil Makes Three, Old Crow Medicine Show, Lucero) and will be released on Forty Below Records.
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Showing posts with label The Mowgli's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Mowgli's. Show all posts
Sunday, 29 March 2020
Sunday, 5 January 2020
The Mowgli's - Eddie 'Tan Tan' Thornton - Ben Watt
There is a brand new video from The Mowgli's for 'Wasting Time', a gorgeous, catchy indie pop song that really charms. === Eddie ‘Tan-Tan’ Thornton has been in the music business for decades and played with some of the best, his new single 'Fur Elise' is a refreshing reggae/ska take on a Beethoven classic and is taken from the splendid 'The Reggae and Ska Nostalgia Album'. === Ben Watt latest single is 'Figures In The Landscape' which comes from his forthcoming 'Storm Damage' album due at the end of this month. Once again Ben's solo work is impressive and oozes personal feeling and passion.
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The Mowgli's - Wasting Time.
We have the new visuals from The Mowgli's. Entitled "Wasting Time", the song details the struggle to find meaning in life. Joshua Hogan confides "We all want to do something meaningful, but we don’t always figure out how. This song tells the story of being lost in a repeating loop of every day routine and the fight to keep moving forward." 'Wasting Time' features bold pop melodies, dreamy synths and driving rhythms. The Mowgli's have garnered over 150 million streams on Spotify alone and are about to embark on a U.K. tour.
All of life is a journey and the best journeys are those taken with friends. For the 5 members of The Mowgli’s that road has seen their friendship tested and rebuilt numerous times. From their earliest Venice, California days as a 10+ revolving cast of characters to their current line-up, the core members have evolved from playing midnight warehouse parties to the stages of the largest festivals.
While there have been many highlights - appearances on late night TV shows, incredibly rewarding collaborations with charities and electrifying performances in legendary venues among them - there have also been tests: Losing band members, battling with the stress of constant touring and maintaining their friendship, trying to remain both grounded and optimistic when things go amazingly well and when they don’t. But there have been benefits of creating deep bonds and close relationships, not least the marriage of singers Katie Jayne Earl and Josh Hogan in 2017. “Being in a touring band is hard work,” says Katie, “but inspiring. It only works because people care about the band and we have a core who support us, people who have both been there since the beginning and joined along the way. Those supporters keep us motivated.”
The release of The Mowgli’s first major-label LP Waiting For The Dawn in 2013 saw immediate success with the hit single San Francisco. The record - which focused on the joy of bringing people together - immediately connected in a cynical world. The band quickly found themselves playing to sold out crowds in clubs around the US and inundated by requests for press, sponsorships and partnerships. Appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Firefly, Osheaga, Bottlerock and many other festivals followed as did performances on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Conan and a stint as the SXSW House band for Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live (Bravo)
The follow up LP, 2015’s Kids in Love (which spawned the feel-good single I’m Good) saw the band explore personal relationships including their own inter-band ones, and their third LP Where’d Your Weekend Go? which came in the Fall of 2016, often found the band working on songs together from their very inception - giving much of the record a relaxed and communal feeling.
Parting ways with their original label in 2017, The Mowgli’s released a pair of EPs: I Was Starting To Wonder (2018) and American Feelings (2019), each backed by national US tours and both exploring the “band experience” to a large extent. The first EP focused on travelling, missing home, looking for excitement in the daily churn of a tour, finding it in the back alleys and on the rooftops of America. The more recent EP American Feelings turned more towards relationships and connections, noticeable in Talk About It and Mr. Telephone which both harken to the lack of discourse and engagement prevalent in society today, especially with technology serving as both a facilitator and barrier. Says singer/guitarist Josh Hogan, “Communication is a very powerful tool. If we could learn to communicate in a healthy way, this place would be much less divided.”
Katie adds: “Talk About It started out being a song about communicating your way through difficult situations, but as it evolved, it became a song not only about having hard conversations, but about forgiveness. And it’s really special to me.” Whereas those songs look outwards, Hard To Love and Norman Rockwell focus inwards, taking a critical look at emotional failings in the former, and attempting to create a new reality to escape to in the latter.
“…Wonder” was supported by a deliberately small club tour. “It was exciting to get back out on the road, up close and personal with our fans who have stuck with us from the beginning,” says Katie. “We took a really needed break after [Where’d Your Weekend Go?] - after years of almost non-stop touring.”
“It was a relief to get back on the road and do something a little different for that tour,” adds Josh.
The band also travelled to Honduras and Guantanamo Bay last year, entertaining the Armed Forces during the week of July 4th. Truly an eye-opening experience, the two shows rank as unforgettable for the band. “You get that sense that people are really grateful to just have a connection with back-home - especially in Honduras,” says Josh. “It was so cool to feel that energy and look around when you’re playing and realize where we were and what it meant to everyone.”
For The Mowgli’s, as for any band, this whole experience is a journey - and not always an easy one. It tests your self-belief, your stamina, your relationships and your mental and emotional health. “Since this band started we’ve been through a lot of changes: gained members, lost members, been shuffled around labels and learned a lot about the music industry,” says Andy. “Now it feels like we’re really independent again, refocused on curating our live show, more in touch with the business of being this band.” He adds “Our sound has evolved but we always circle back to the basic themes: love, feeling good, excited for life no matter what the day delivers.”
Always with a mission to bring hope and positivity into the world, The Mowgli’s have been involved with numerous charities including The IRC, Heal The Bay, Happy Bottoms and many food banks and homeless shelters.
Upcoming tour dates:
JAN 14 TUE The Wardrobe Leeds, United Kingdom
JAN 15 WED Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, United kingdom
JAN 16 THU The Joiners Southampton, United Kindom
JAN 17 FRI The Castle & Falcon Birmingham, United Kindom
JAN 18 SAT Cluny Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kindom
JAN 19 SUN Stereo Glasgow, United Kindom
JAN 21 TUE Castle Hotel Manchester, United Kindom
JAN 22 WED Louisiana Bristol, United Kindom
JAN 23 THU The Camden Assembly London, United Kindom
JAN 24 FRI Phase One Liverpool, United Kindom
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Eddie ‘Tan-Tan’ Thornton - Fur Elise.
Eddie Tan-Tan Thornton’s journey to his first solo album, is a love story spanning some 50 years, which began in Spanish Town, Jamaica. Fur Elise (Single) is taken from The Reggae & Ska Nostalgia Album.
Soon after his father passed away, the 13 year old Tan-Tan was sent to the musical Alpha School, run by Nuns, which was to influence and change his life in ways he never would have expected. Tan-Tan’s life could easily have been one of crime, but instead, thanks to one nun in particular, Sister Ignatius, he found his lifelong faith and passion for music, the trumpet! Even today, Tan-Tan still thinks very highly of her, proudly showing the few remaining photographs he holds close to his heart.
Reggae & Ska Nostalgia is a journey of some 35 years, representing some of his favourite tracks to which Tan-Tan adds his musical touch and trumpet, demonstrating why he has played for the cream of the crop of musicians: Boney M, The Beatles (Got To Get You In To My Life), Andy Fairweather Low, Georgie Fame, The Small Faces, Desmond Dekker, ASWAD, Lilly Allen, Gyspy Kings, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Jools Holland, Jimmi Hendrix, Sandy Shaw, to name a few.
At the age of 87 Tan-Tan is still gigging on a weekly basis, and can often be seen riding his bike around Acton!
These tracks were all recorded in analogue, on 24 track tapes. Producers Mike Howlett and Anthony Cooper decided to digitise the first single, Beethoven’s Fur Elise, out on February 14th, to maximise on the improved technology, some 35 years after Tan-Tan and Anthony initially recorded the track together! There is a vibrant animated video to accompany the single release, and Tan-Tan hopes that classical purists, will enjoy the track too!
It was following a young Jamacian girl, in search of work, that brought Tan-Tan to the UK. He was not part of the Windrush movement, that was happening simultaneously. No, he arrived, like that star he was to become, by plane, rather than by boat! So it was following his heart that brought Tan-Tan to the UK, bringing his trumpeting to the attention of so many of Britain’s best musicians. But it is to May, a Scottish lass, whom he finally married and made a home with in Acton, west London, where he still lives today.
About Eddie ‘Tan-Tan’ Thornton: Tan-Tan credits his days at The Alpha School when he says “To me, Alpha is like heaven. You get up, you eat, you play music, you eat, you play music. Alpha is the most inspirational place for me. The discipline and respect and everything.” To this day, Tan-Tan is an ardent Roman Catholic, having made two pilgrimages to Rome, to see the Pope.
In ‘60s London Tan-Tan and his fellow musicians would hang out at Blaises, The Marquee Club and The Roaring Twenties, where he would be found in the company of John, Paul, Ringo and George Harrison. The Small Faces even dedicated a song to him, ‘Eddie’s Dreaming’.
Eddie Thornton says “I am very grateful to The Father for everything. Coming from nowhere, I’m very grateful. Travelling around the world three times - my passport is full up! And it’s all because of Alpha.”
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Ben Watt - Figures In The Landscape.
"Figures in the Landscape" is the latest single to be taken from musician-writer-DJ Ben Watt's upcoming fourth solo LP, Storm Damage, out on January 31, 2020. It follows the recent singles "Balanced on a Wire," described by BlackBook as "one of the most visceral pieces of music he’s ever recorded" and premiered on Lauren Laverne’s BBC 6 Music show, and "Irene" featuring Low's Alan Sparhawk.
The single is accompanied by a powerful half-lit performance video directed by photographer-film-maker Edward Bishop, and shot at RAK Studios in London, where the album was recorded in April 2019.
"It’s a call to action in response to feelings of powerlessness," says Watt of the song. "I wrote it in a period of personal crisis and political upheaval. The random nature of both can leave you feeling insignificant, lacking agency in the world, but in the end I guess you have a simple choice: to get up and celebrate what you have, or get out and take issue with it."
The production - a contemporary hybrid blend of Watt’s new "future-retro trio" (upright piano, double bass, acoustic-electronic drums), pulsing vocoder and impressionistic samples - sees the song open on a "stuck" piano hook before breaking free under cascading synths and Watt’s urgent vocal.
Storm Damage completes a compelling trilogy of albums since Watt's late-flowering return to solo songwriting and singing six years ago after ten years as an acclaimed DJ-remixer-label boss with Buzzin' Fly and seventeen in multi-million-selling duo, Everything But The Girl with Tracey Thorn. 2014's acclaimed "comeback" album, Hendra won Best Second Album at the AIM Awards, UK. It was followed by Fever Dream in 2016, which caused The Guardian to comment, "In his early fifties Watt in making some of the best music of his career."
Watt also adds an extra date to his upcoming North American tour. He plays Club Helsinki in Hudson, NY on Saturday April 4. Full itinerary below.
Tour Dates:
3/31: Washington, D.C. - Union Stage
4/2: New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
4/3: Boston, MA - City Winery
4/4: Hudson, NY - Club Helsinki
4/5: Toronto, ON - Rivoli
4/7: Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark
4/8: Indianapolis, IN - Lo-Fi Lounge
4/9: Evanston, IL - Space
4/10: Milwaukee, WI - The Back Room at Colectivo
4/11: Minneapolis, MN - The Dakota
4/14: Seattle, WA - The Triple Door
4/15: Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
4/17: San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
4/18: Los Angeles, CA - Largo
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The Mowgli's - Wasting Time.
We have the new visuals from The Mowgli's. Entitled "Wasting Time", the song details the struggle to find meaning in life. Joshua Hogan confides "We all want to do something meaningful, but we don’t always figure out how. This song tells the story of being lost in a repeating loop of every day routine and the fight to keep moving forward." 'Wasting Time' features bold pop melodies, dreamy synths and driving rhythms. The Mowgli's have garnered over 150 million streams on Spotify alone and are about to embark on a U.K. tour.
All of life is a journey and the best journeys are those taken with friends. For the 5 members of The Mowgli’s that road has seen their friendship tested and rebuilt numerous times. From their earliest Venice, California days as a 10+ revolving cast of characters to their current line-up, the core members have evolved from playing midnight warehouse parties to the stages of the largest festivals.
While there have been many highlights - appearances on late night TV shows, incredibly rewarding collaborations with charities and electrifying performances in legendary venues among them - there have also been tests: Losing band members, battling with the stress of constant touring and maintaining their friendship, trying to remain both grounded and optimistic when things go amazingly well and when they don’t. But there have been benefits of creating deep bonds and close relationships, not least the marriage of singers Katie Jayne Earl and Josh Hogan in 2017. “Being in a touring band is hard work,” says Katie, “but inspiring. It only works because people care about the band and we have a core who support us, people who have both been there since the beginning and joined along the way. Those supporters keep us motivated.”
The release of The Mowgli’s first major-label LP Waiting For The Dawn in 2013 saw immediate success with the hit single San Francisco. The record - which focused on the joy of bringing people together - immediately connected in a cynical world. The band quickly found themselves playing to sold out crowds in clubs around the US and inundated by requests for press, sponsorships and partnerships. Appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Firefly, Osheaga, Bottlerock and many other festivals followed as did performances on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Conan and a stint as the SXSW House band for Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live (Bravo)
The follow up LP, 2015’s Kids in Love (which spawned the feel-good single I’m Good) saw the band explore personal relationships including their own inter-band ones, and their third LP Where’d Your Weekend Go? which came in the Fall of 2016, often found the band working on songs together from their very inception - giving much of the record a relaxed and communal feeling.
Parting ways with their original label in 2017, The Mowgli’s released a pair of EPs: I Was Starting To Wonder (2018) and American Feelings (2019), each backed by national US tours and both exploring the “band experience” to a large extent. The first EP focused on travelling, missing home, looking for excitement in the daily churn of a tour, finding it in the back alleys and on the rooftops of America. The more recent EP American Feelings turned more towards relationships and connections, noticeable in Talk About It and Mr. Telephone which both harken to the lack of discourse and engagement prevalent in society today, especially with technology serving as both a facilitator and barrier. Says singer/guitarist Josh Hogan, “Communication is a very powerful tool. If we could learn to communicate in a healthy way, this place would be much less divided.”
Katie adds: “Talk About It started out being a song about communicating your way through difficult situations, but as it evolved, it became a song not only about having hard conversations, but about forgiveness. And it’s really special to me.” Whereas those songs look outwards, Hard To Love and Norman Rockwell focus inwards, taking a critical look at emotional failings in the former, and attempting to create a new reality to escape to in the latter.
“…Wonder” was supported by a deliberately small club tour. “It was exciting to get back out on the road, up close and personal with our fans who have stuck with us from the beginning,” says Katie. “We took a really needed break after [Where’d Your Weekend Go?] - after years of almost non-stop touring.”
“It was a relief to get back on the road and do something a little different for that tour,” adds Josh.
The band also travelled to Honduras and Guantanamo Bay last year, entertaining the Armed Forces during the week of July 4th. Truly an eye-opening experience, the two shows rank as unforgettable for the band. “You get that sense that people are really grateful to just have a connection with back-home - especially in Honduras,” says Josh. “It was so cool to feel that energy and look around when you’re playing and realize where we were and what it meant to everyone.”
For The Mowgli’s, as for any band, this whole experience is a journey - and not always an easy one. It tests your self-belief, your stamina, your relationships and your mental and emotional health. “Since this band started we’ve been through a lot of changes: gained members, lost members, been shuffled around labels and learned a lot about the music industry,” says Andy. “Now it feels like we’re really independent again, refocused on curating our live show, more in touch with the business of being this band.” He adds “Our sound has evolved but we always circle back to the basic themes: love, feeling good, excited for life no matter what the day delivers.”
Always with a mission to bring hope and positivity into the world, The Mowgli’s have been involved with numerous charities including The IRC, Heal The Bay, Happy Bottoms and many food banks and homeless shelters.
Upcoming tour dates:
JAN 14 TUE The Wardrobe Leeds, United Kingdom
JAN 15 WED Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, United kingdom
JAN 16 THU The Joiners Southampton, United Kindom
JAN 17 FRI The Castle & Falcon Birmingham, United Kindom
JAN 18 SAT Cluny Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kindom
JAN 19 SUN Stereo Glasgow, United Kindom
JAN 21 TUE Castle Hotel Manchester, United Kindom
JAN 22 WED Louisiana Bristol, United Kindom
JAN 23 THU The Camden Assembly London, United Kindom
JAN 24 FRI Phase One Liverpool, United Kindom
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eddie Tan-Tan Thornton’s journey to his first solo album, is a love story spanning some 50 years, which began in Spanish Town, Jamaica. Fur Elise (Single) is taken from The Reggae & Ska Nostalgia Album.
Soon after his father passed away, the 13 year old Tan-Tan was sent to the musical Alpha School, run by Nuns, which was to influence and change his life in ways he never would have expected. Tan-Tan’s life could easily have been one of crime, but instead, thanks to one nun in particular, Sister Ignatius, he found his lifelong faith and passion for music, the trumpet! Even today, Tan-Tan still thinks very highly of her, proudly showing the few remaining photographs he holds close to his heart.
Reggae & Ska Nostalgia is a journey of some 35 years, representing some of his favourite tracks to which Tan-Tan adds his musical touch and trumpet, demonstrating why he has played for the cream of the crop of musicians: Boney M, The Beatles (Got To Get You In To My Life), Andy Fairweather Low, Georgie Fame, The Small Faces, Desmond Dekker, ASWAD, Lilly Allen, Gyspy Kings, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Jools Holland, Jimmi Hendrix, Sandy Shaw, to name a few.
At the age of 87 Tan-Tan is still gigging on a weekly basis, and can often be seen riding his bike around Acton!
These tracks were all recorded in analogue, on 24 track tapes. Producers Mike Howlett and Anthony Cooper decided to digitise the first single, Beethoven’s Fur Elise, out on February 14th, to maximise on the improved technology, some 35 years after Tan-Tan and Anthony initially recorded the track together! There is a vibrant animated video to accompany the single release, and Tan-Tan hopes that classical purists, will enjoy the track too!
It was following a young Jamacian girl, in search of work, that brought Tan-Tan to the UK. He was not part of the Windrush movement, that was happening simultaneously. No, he arrived, like that star he was to become, by plane, rather than by boat! So it was following his heart that brought Tan-Tan to the UK, bringing his trumpeting to the attention of so many of Britain’s best musicians. But it is to May, a Scottish lass, whom he finally married and made a home with in Acton, west London, where he still lives today.
About Eddie ‘Tan-Tan’ Thornton: Tan-Tan credits his days at The Alpha School when he says “To me, Alpha is like heaven. You get up, you eat, you play music, you eat, you play music. Alpha is the most inspirational place for me. The discipline and respect and everything.” To this day, Tan-Tan is an ardent Roman Catholic, having made two pilgrimages to Rome, to see the Pope.
In ‘60s London Tan-Tan and his fellow musicians would hang out at Blaises, The Marquee Club and The Roaring Twenties, where he would be found in the company of John, Paul, Ringo and George Harrison. The Small Faces even dedicated a song to him, ‘Eddie’s Dreaming’.
Eddie Thornton says “I am very grateful to The Father for everything. Coming from nowhere, I’m very grateful. Travelling around the world three times - my passport is full up! And it’s all because of Alpha.”
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"Figures in the Landscape" is the latest single to be taken from musician-writer-DJ Ben Watt's upcoming fourth solo LP, Storm Damage, out on January 31, 2020. It follows the recent singles "Balanced on a Wire," described by BlackBook as "one of the most visceral pieces of music he’s ever recorded" and premiered on Lauren Laverne’s BBC 6 Music show, and "Irene" featuring Low's Alan Sparhawk.
The single is accompanied by a powerful half-lit performance video directed by photographer-film-maker Edward Bishop, and shot at RAK Studios in London, where the album was recorded in April 2019.
"It’s a call to action in response to feelings of powerlessness," says Watt of the song. "I wrote it in a period of personal crisis and political upheaval. The random nature of both can leave you feeling insignificant, lacking agency in the world, but in the end I guess you have a simple choice: to get up and celebrate what you have, or get out and take issue with it."
The production - a contemporary hybrid blend of Watt’s new "future-retro trio" (upright piano, double bass, acoustic-electronic drums), pulsing vocoder and impressionistic samples - sees the song open on a "stuck" piano hook before breaking free under cascading synths and Watt’s urgent vocal.
Storm Damage completes a compelling trilogy of albums since Watt's late-flowering return to solo songwriting and singing six years ago after ten years as an acclaimed DJ-remixer-label boss with Buzzin' Fly and seventeen in multi-million-selling duo, Everything But The Girl with Tracey Thorn. 2014's acclaimed "comeback" album, Hendra won Best Second Album at the AIM Awards, UK. It was followed by Fever Dream in 2016, which caused The Guardian to comment, "In his early fifties Watt in making some of the best music of his career."
Watt also adds an extra date to his upcoming North American tour. He plays Club Helsinki in Hudson, NY on Saturday April 4. Full itinerary below.
Tour Dates:
3/31: Washington, D.C. - Union Stage
4/2: New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
4/3: Boston, MA - City Winery
4/4: Hudson, NY - Club Helsinki
4/5: Toronto, ON - Rivoli
4/7: Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark
4/8: Indianapolis, IN - Lo-Fi Lounge
4/9: Evanston, IL - Space
4/10: Milwaukee, WI - The Back Room at Colectivo
4/11: Minneapolis, MN - The Dakota
4/14: Seattle, WA - The Triple Door
4/15: Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
4/17: San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
4/18: Los Angeles, CA - Largo
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Sunday, 10 November 2019
The Mowgli's - Arborist - Yr Ods - Sasha Bell
The Mowgli's have a new video for 'Fighting With Yourself' where Katie Jayne Earl takes on lead singer responsibility for the first time doing so with abundant charm and finesse. === The first single from Arborist new album 'A Northern View' is 'Taxi'. The video is a grand companion for this fabulous spoken word piece that conjures even more mental images, this really is breathtaking. === Described as off beat euphoric pop Yr Ods song 'Tu Hwnt I'r Muriau' is most definitely that, and the Welsh language once again shines, with or without your ability to translate. === From her first and just released solo album Sasha Bell shares a video for 'Castle Keep'. Having been part of many other musical projects often with a sixties feel, this song demonstrates her ability to move on, without losing any of the class and creativity.
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The Mowgli's - Fighting With Yourself.
The new video from The Mowgli's is entitled 'Fighting With Yourself'. The track narrates accepting change and not fighting against the tide. Sonically the song shines with 90's pop punk influences. 'Fighting With Yourself' is Katie Jayne Earl's first time stepping into the limelight as lead singer.
All of life is a journey and the best journeys are those taken with friends. For the 5 members of The Mowgli’s that road has seen their friendship tested and rebuilt numerous times. From their earliest Venice, California days as a 10+ revolving cast of characters to their current line-up, the core members have evolved from playing midnight warehouse parties to the stages of the largest festivals.
While there have been many highlights - appearances on late night TV shows, incredibly rewarding collaborations with charities and electrifying performances in legendary venues among them - there have also been tests: Losing band members, battling with the stress of constant touring and maintaining their friendship, trying to remain both grounded and optimistic when things go amazingly well and when they don’t. But there have been benefits of creating deep bonds and close relationships, not least the marriage of singers Katie Jayne Earl and Josh Hogan in 2017. “Being in a touring band is hard work,” says Katie, “but inspiring. It only works because people care about the band and we have a core who support us, people who have both been there since the beginning and joined along the way. Those supporters keep us motivated.”
The release of The Mowgli’s first major-label LP Waiting For The Dawn in 2013 saw immediate success with the hit single San Francisco. The record - which focused on the joy of bringing people together - immediately connected in a cynical world. The band quickly found themselves playing to sold out crowds in clubs around the US and inundated by requests for press, sponsorships and partnerships. Appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Firefly, Osheaga, Bottlerock and many other festivals followed as did performances on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Conan and a stint as the SXSW House band for Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live (Bravo)
The follow up LP, 2015’s Kids in Love (which spawned the feel-good single I’m Good) saw the band explore personal relationships including their own inter-band ones, and their third LP Where’d Your Weekend Go? which came in the Fall of 2016, often found the band working on songs together from their very inception - giving much of the record a relaxed and communal feeling.
Parting ways with their original label in 2017, The Mowgli’s released a pair of EPs: I Was Starting To Wonder (2018) and American Feelings (2019), each backed by national US tours and both exploring the “band experience” to a large extent. The first EP focused on travelling, missing home, looking for excitement in the daily churn of a tour, finding it in the back alleys and on the rooftops of America. The more recent EP American Feelings turned more towards relationships and connections, noticeable in Talk About It and Mr. Telephone which both harken to the lack of discourse and engagement prevalent in society today, especially with technology serving as both a facilitator and barrier. Says singer/guitarist Josh Hogan, “Communication is a very powerful tool. If we could learn to communicate in a healthy way, this place would be much less divided.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arborist - Taxi.
“Taxi” is the first single to be taken from the breathtaking new album, A Northern View, by Northern Ireland’s Arborist. A stand-out, jolt-from-the-blue, set-piece, “Taxi” is a spoken word epic story inspired by Arab Strap, Belle and Sebastian and James Yorkston, who have made the droll Scottish storyteller’s delivery a constant. As singer-songwriter Mark McCambridge explains; “I wanted to do something similar with the Northern Irish voice. It’s a story about a claim from my Dad’s cousin and good friend through his youth, Henry McQuillan, that he conceived the idea of turning a famous Irish traditional song into a rock song.”
The video for “Taxi” stars Dublin actor Barry Ward who was recently in The Capture (BBC), Irish movie Extra Ordinary and has been the lead in Jimmy’s Hall by Ken Loach, amongst many other projects.The powerful video captures the intense mood of the song, with the light-relief pay-off at the end. It was shot in Belfast and created by London-based director Sam O'Mahony who said, "The song has such a strong narrative that I felt, rather than literally reflect the words, we would create our own piece of visual poetry to exist alongside the track without competing with it. Initially, we thought of just having Barry Ward representing Henry, but instead went slightly further and created a kind of time-jumping ballet in which Henry’s memories exist in various dimensions, moving past each other unaware until they are ultimately drawn together."
The single is available on all digital platforms now. There's also a remix by Domino recording artist Seamus Fogarty. Arborist will be hitting the road in Jan/Feb with critically acclaimed Canadian psych-folk second-cousins Kacy & Clayton.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yr Ods - Tu Hwnt I'r Muriau.
‘Tu hwnt i’r Muriau’ is a slice of off-beat euphoric-pop taken from Yr Ods new album laith y Nefoedd (which follows on 22 November on Lwcus T). Tapping into Yr Ods delicious style of juxtaposing neon-bright off-kilter pop tracks with a much sinister lyrical undercurrent, ‘Tu hwnt i’r Muriau’ is a song about brainwashing people to think just like you, and to come and live your life with you. It’s the sonic representation of what the band described as “kind of a montage vibe of someone going around the country preaching and gaining a following.”
To put it into a context, the theme of ‘Tu hwnt i’r Muriau’ is one that runs through the veins of the long-player laith y Nefoedd from which it is taken. A concept album conceived alongside award-winning Welsh author Llwyd Owen which tells the fantastical, dystopian tale of cults, post-Brexit Britain, nuclear war and bunker-raised virgins. All narrated by a failed alcoholic sci-fi writer and anti-hero T Lloyd Lewis, and with a subtext exploring Welsh youth, culture and confidence.
Yr Ods are instrument swapping musicians Griff Lynch, Gruff Pritchard, Rhys Aneurin and Osian Howells. Since forming in 2008 they have become one of the world’s most beloved Welsh language acts, making a genre-shifting, multi-faceted and left-of-centre fusion of imaginative indie-pop which recalls the quirky experimental charms of Gruff Rhys, Gwenno, H. Hawkline and Cate Le Bon, whilst remaining untouchably individual. Yr Ods have previously released two critically acclaimed albums Troi a Throsi (2011) and Llithro (2013) both released via Sain, they have toured the UK and Europe extensively and performed at big festivals including Maes B, Swn, Green Man and No 6, as well as achieving the career high of headlining National Eisteddfod of Wales alongside a forty-piece orchestra, and an audience of two-thousand fans.
‘Tu hwnt i’r Muriau’ was engineered and recorded by Yr Ods at the ‘old crack den’, mixed by Tom Loffman and mastered by Hafod Mastering. It was released as a digital single on 8th November with the long-player laith y Nefoedd following on 22nd November (digitally and on limited edition vinyl and book box set), both released via Lwcus T.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sasha Bell - Castle Keep.
Sasha Bell has been involved with a handful of projects that have released some of the finest 60s-inspired pop records of the last two decades. Whether with the Ladybug Transistor, The Essex Green, or The Sixth Great Lake, she adds a special touch to her music that is dreamy, lush, and pastoral. Now, for the first time in her storied career, she’s stepping out under her own name, releasing her first-ever solo debut album, Love Is Alright, out now.
The Essex Green’s most recent album, last year’s superb Hardly Electronic, found them contemporizing their sound while retaining the pleasing elements of their distinctive retro sound. Love Is Alright also follows that pattern, blending a more contemporary style with touchstones from the past. Perhaps that’s not surprising, as her contributions had originally stemmed from what would become the album you’re holding now.
Yet Bell’s influential reference points for Love Is Alright are a bit different. Whereas her bands have generally focused on a more baroque pop element-par for the course considering they’ve long been a part of the Elephant 6 collective-the sounds found here touch upon 1970s fare. Vocally recalling Judee Sill or Melanie Safka, while the arrangements occasionally recall the work of Melissa Manchester, Carly Simon, and even the occasional nod to ABBA. Written over the past several years and recorded in San Francisco at The Studio Time Forgot and at Jason Quever’s (The Papercuts) studio, it’s an album full of sophisticated arrangements that is quite easy on the ears.
Love Is Alright is a journey through time, small moments writ large. Whether she’s singing about missing The Essex Green (“Candy Mountain”), stress management (“Molly’s Got A Talent”), reflections on relationship struggles (“Castle Keep”), a grandmother’s obsession with rare books (“The Library” ), or a tribute to a deceased bandmate (“Heavy Doors”, a eulogy to San Fadyl, drummer for The Ladybug Transistor, who passed away in 2007) Bell invites you into her world via a wistful musical diary.
After a rewarding career that has resulted in a discography of excellent music, Bell is now stepping into the spotlight on her own, and Love Is Alright is an unsurprisingly excellent first step forward, a step that isn’t surprising for those who have followed her career, and one that offers up a delightful, subtle, and sublime experience for the new listener.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Mowgli's - Fighting With Yourself.
The new video from The Mowgli's is entitled 'Fighting With Yourself'. The track narrates accepting change and not fighting against the tide. Sonically the song shines with 90's pop punk influences. 'Fighting With Yourself' is Katie Jayne Earl's first time stepping into the limelight as lead singer.
All of life is a journey and the best journeys are those taken with friends. For the 5 members of The Mowgli’s that road has seen their friendship tested and rebuilt numerous times. From their earliest Venice, California days as a 10+ revolving cast of characters to their current line-up, the core members have evolved from playing midnight warehouse parties to the stages of the largest festivals.
While there have been many highlights - appearances on late night TV shows, incredibly rewarding collaborations with charities and electrifying performances in legendary venues among them - there have also been tests: Losing band members, battling with the stress of constant touring and maintaining their friendship, trying to remain both grounded and optimistic when things go amazingly well and when they don’t. But there have been benefits of creating deep bonds and close relationships, not least the marriage of singers Katie Jayne Earl and Josh Hogan in 2017. “Being in a touring band is hard work,” says Katie, “but inspiring. It only works because people care about the band and we have a core who support us, people who have both been there since the beginning and joined along the way. Those supporters keep us motivated.”
The release of The Mowgli’s first major-label LP Waiting For The Dawn in 2013 saw immediate success with the hit single San Francisco. The record - which focused on the joy of bringing people together - immediately connected in a cynical world. The band quickly found themselves playing to sold out crowds in clubs around the US and inundated by requests for press, sponsorships and partnerships. Appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Firefly, Osheaga, Bottlerock and many other festivals followed as did performances on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Conan and a stint as the SXSW House band for Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live (Bravo)
The follow up LP, 2015’s Kids in Love (which spawned the feel-good single I’m Good) saw the band explore personal relationships including their own inter-band ones, and their third LP Where’d Your Weekend Go? which came in the Fall of 2016, often found the band working on songs together from their very inception - giving much of the record a relaxed and communal feeling.
Parting ways with their original label in 2017, The Mowgli’s released a pair of EPs: I Was Starting To Wonder (2018) and American Feelings (2019), each backed by national US tours and both exploring the “band experience” to a large extent. The first EP focused on travelling, missing home, looking for excitement in the daily churn of a tour, finding it in the back alleys and on the rooftops of America. The more recent EP American Feelings turned more towards relationships and connections, noticeable in Talk About It and Mr. Telephone which both harken to the lack of discourse and engagement prevalent in society today, especially with technology serving as both a facilitator and barrier. Says singer/guitarist Josh Hogan, “Communication is a very powerful tool. If we could learn to communicate in a healthy way, this place would be much less divided.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arborist - Taxi.
“Taxi” is the first single to be taken from the breathtaking new album, A Northern View, by Northern Ireland’s Arborist. A stand-out, jolt-from-the-blue, set-piece, “Taxi” is a spoken word epic story inspired by Arab Strap, Belle and Sebastian and James Yorkston, who have made the droll Scottish storyteller’s delivery a constant. As singer-songwriter Mark McCambridge explains; “I wanted to do something similar with the Northern Irish voice. It’s a story about a claim from my Dad’s cousin and good friend through his youth, Henry McQuillan, that he conceived the idea of turning a famous Irish traditional song into a rock song.”
The video for “Taxi” stars Dublin actor Barry Ward who was recently in The Capture (BBC), Irish movie Extra Ordinary and has been the lead in Jimmy’s Hall by Ken Loach, amongst many other projects.The powerful video captures the intense mood of the song, with the light-relief pay-off at the end. It was shot in Belfast and created by London-based director Sam O'Mahony who said, "The song has such a strong narrative that I felt, rather than literally reflect the words, we would create our own piece of visual poetry to exist alongside the track without competing with it. Initially, we thought of just having Barry Ward representing Henry, but instead went slightly further and created a kind of time-jumping ballet in which Henry’s memories exist in various dimensions, moving past each other unaware until they are ultimately drawn together."
The single is available on all digital platforms now. There's also a remix by Domino recording artist Seamus Fogarty. Arborist will be hitting the road in Jan/Feb with critically acclaimed Canadian psych-folk second-cousins Kacy & Clayton.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yr Ods - Tu Hwnt I'r Muriau.
‘Tu hwnt i’r Muriau’ is a slice of off-beat euphoric-pop taken from Yr Ods new album laith y Nefoedd (which follows on 22 November on Lwcus T). Tapping into Yr Ods delicious style of juxtaposing neon-bright off-kilter pop tracks with a much sinister lyrical undercurrent, ‘Tu hwnt i’r Muriau’ is a song about brainwashing people to think just like you, and to come and live your life with you. It’s the sonic representation of what the band described as “kind of a montage vibe of someone going around the country preaching and gaining a following.”
To put it into a context, the theme of ‘Tu hwnt i’r Muriau’ is one that runs through the veins of the long-player laith y Nefoedd from which it is taken. A concept album conceived alongside award-winning Welsh author Llwyd Owen which tells the fantastical, dystopian tale of cults, post-Brexit Britain, nuclear war and bunker-raised virgins. All narrated by a failed alcoholic sci-fi writer and anti-hero T Lloyd Lewis, and with a subtext exploring Welsh youth, culture and confidence.
Yr Ods are instrument swapping musicians Griff Lynch, Gruff Pritchard, Rhys Aneurin and Osian Howells. Since forming in 2008 they have become one of the world’s most beloved Welsh language acts, making a genre-shifting, multi-faceted and left-of-centre fusion of imaginative indie-pop which recalls the quirky experimental charms of Gruff Rhys, Gwenno, H. Hawkline and Cate Le Bon, whilst remaining untouchably individual. Yr Ods have previously released two critically acclaimed albums Troi a Throsi (2011) and Llithro (2013) both released via Sain, they have toured the UK and Europe extensively and performed at big festivals including Maes B, Swn, Green Man and No 6, as well as achieving the career high of headlining National Eisteddfod of Wales alongside a forty-piece orchestra, and an audience of two-thousand fans.
‘Tu hwnt i’r Muriau’ was engineered and recorded by Yr Ods at the ‘old crack den’, mixed by Tom Loffman and mastered by Hafod Mastering. It was released as a digital single on 8th November with the long-player laith y Nefoedd following on 22nd November (digitally and on limited edition vinyl and book box set), both released via Lwcus T.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sasha Bell - Castle Keep.
Sasha Bell has been involved with a handful of projects that have released some of the finest 60s-inspired pop records of the last two decades. Whether with the Ladybug Transistor, The Essex Green, or The Sixth Great Lake, she adds a special touch to her music that is dreamy, lush, and pastoral. Now, for the first time in her storied career, she’s stepping out under her own name, releasing her first-ever solo debut album, Love Is Alright, out now.
The Essex Green’s most recent album, last year’s superb Hardly Electronic, found them contemporizing their sound while retaining the pleasing elements of their distinctive retro sound. Love Is Alright also follows that pattern, blending a more contemporary style with touchstones from the past. Perhaps that’s not surprising, as her contributions had originally stemmed from what would become the album you’re holding now.
Yet Bell’s influential reference points for Love Is Alright are a bit different. Whereas her bands have generally focused on a more baroque pop element-par for the course considering they’ve long been a part of the Elephant 6 collective-the sounds found here touch upon 1970s fare. Vocally recalling Judee Sill or Melanie Safka, while the arrangements occasionally recall the work of Melissa Manchester, Carly Simon, and even the occasional nod to ABBA. Written over the past several years and recorded in San Francisco at The Studio Time Forgot and at Jason Quever’s (The Papercuts) studio, it’s an album full of sophisticated arrangements that is quite easy on the ears.
Love Is Alright is a journey through time, small moments writ large. Whether she’s singing about missing The Essex Green (“Candy Mountain”), stress management (“Molly’s Got A Talent”), reflections on relationship struggles (“Castle Keep”), a grandmother’s obsession with rare books (“The Library” ), or a tribute to a deceased bandmate (“Heavy Doors”, a eulogy to San Fadyl, drummer for The Ladybug Transistor, who passed away in 2007) Bell invites you into her world via a wistful musical diary.
After a rewarding career that has resulted in a discography of excellent music, Bell is now stepping into the spotlight on her own, and Love Is Alright is an unsurprisingly excellent first step forward, a step that isn’t surprising for those who have followed her career, and one that offers up a delightful, subtle, and sublime experience for the new listener.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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