Calgary, AB's Boneless is back again following a pair of releases on Gourmet Beats and most recently Off-Switch Audio, featuring that low slung, classic era yet forward thinking production we all know from the great many appearances his tunes have made out live on dub and on mixes from the sort-of aformentioned Joe Nice, J;Kenzo and a boatload of others.
By way of some cosmic miracle, only one Total Hell pops up
when the band moniker is searched on Discogs. And that would
be the band responsible for the five-song blast of heavy metal
sounds at hand. Now active for about two years plus change
and exported from the very metal and punk fertile New Orleans,
Total Hell is DD Deth (aka Drew Owen—Sick Thoughts
wheelman, Trampoline Team etc) on drums / vocals, Henry
Hell (John Henry of Static Static, Heavy Lids) on bass / vocals,
and guitarists Jason “Panzer” Craft (Persuaders, Tirefire) and
Michael Maniac (Michael He-man of Trampoline Team).
If self-deprecation is beyond the listener’s processing skills,
then please know that as self-described purveyors of the “New
Wave of Shitty Heavy Metal”, Total Hell’s big-boy debut is
not “shitty” in any manner whatsoever. These four recordings
(“Desecrate”, “Clones From Hell”, “Violator”, and “Disfigured”)
are melodic monstrosities that hit with a wall-to-wall, floorto-
ceiling hugeness, while doing so in an economical manner.
There will be no mistaking this for Broken Bones screeching out
of an iPhone inside the vegan squat. On the flip, this is no Bob
Rock joint. DD Deth elaborates: “Recorded on a Tascam 8-track
cassette live at home (aka “The Parkway”) by Michael He-Man
and the process was a nightmare. Original tape crapped out on us
back in early 2020 so we had to redo the whole thing. Intros and
interludes were done last minute by me with the cheapest midi
keyboard on the net.” Well, color Goner Records impressed.
One might get momentarily lost in the cavernous drums that
introduce opener “Desecrate”, but soon the buzzsaw-riff-wall
will crush one into a smudge on the bathroom floor. Without
rocking some safety goggles and diving headfirst down a
terminology rabbithole, this is punk jumping into the sack
with metal and leaving black boots on the bedroom floor rather
than white hightops. Xmas came early for fans of Anti-Cimex,
Celtic Frost, pre-shit Discharge, Motörhead, Blitz, Midnight,
Venom, Broken Bones and...one gets the picture.
Ten years after its release, the reissue of this fabulous Matt Elliott record seemed essential to us since it was eagerly expected! It is undoubtedly the most dramatic sequel to the songs trilogy being outstanding for its darkness, from which he has progressively turned away. The Songs Trilogy is over, A new chapter entitled 'The Broken Man' is about to open and is the most delicate of Elliott's albums to date. The angry noise has all but abated, making way for more fragile melodies and a more subtle approach to intensity to immerse the listener. Ideally listened to in total darkness to discover the hope hidden deep within the guitars, voice, choirs, bells, ethereal trumpets, the howl of the dog beneath the skin, in the sincerity of the music. Inspired by the ghosts of European folk music, the voice often resigned but always expressive. Always finding new ways of working, Elliott collaborated with Katia Labeque who interpreted an improvisation of his that became the backbone of one of the central epic pieces on this album 'If Anyone Ever Tells Me That it is Better to Have Loved and Lost Than to Have Never Loved At All I Will Stab Them in the Face'. 'Dust Flesh and Bones', another of the epic pieces on this album, is perhaps Elliott's most beautiful and moving work to date, simple in it's form but emotionally profound. 'The Pain that's Yet to Come' hints at a new almost psychedelic era to come. 'The Broken Man' is an album to be discovered gradually over many listens, and with each one a new depth is surrendered until one can appreciate the panorama in it's entirety. Each track is an invitation to explore one mans analysis of his own descent reflecting the frustrations and sadness that touch us all at some point. Mixed by Yann Tiersen this album is a bridge between the more acoustic work of 'Songs' and the more electronic, ethereal work of Third Eye Foundation. It is finely balanced in the centre of Matt's musical universe.
Reunited after some fourteen years, following the historic success of their first collaboration Raising Sand (2007), which reached #2 on the UK album chart, generated multi-platinum sales, and earned six Grammy Awards including Album and Record of the Year.
Like its predecessor, Raise The Roof was produced by T Bone Burnett, who worked with Plant and Krauss to expand their collaboration in thrilling new directions, accompanied by drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarists Marc Ribot, David Hidalgo, Bill Frisell, and Buddy Miller, bassists Dennis Crouch and Viktor Krauss, along with pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl among others.
The album features twelve new recordings of songs by legends and unsung heroes including Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch and more. Other highlights include a Plant-Burnett original, “High and Lonesome,” and the Lucinda Williams classic “Can’t Let Go”.
SIM CARD HØLDER is not a band. It is the hybrid child of Ian Bruner, Drone Operatør and Gajek. It's procreation date is hard to pin down, but it started 2020 with an Insta chat and one of Ian's piano improvisations recorded in his Colorado living room. From there the album grew in separated covid lockdown wombs at three different locations in Germany. Ian's shadowy instrumentation of light piano and heavily layered and long believed to be dead soundscapes were digested, replanted and grown-over by Drone Operatør's and Gajek's uncompromising and individual sense for song structures and sounds. When finally all body parts were assembled in early 2021 the baby was already fluent in different languages.
Sim Card Hølder grows slowly while meandering through dense and open fields. It switches from calm and dreamy moods to wild fractured outbursts without fragmenting into the arbitrary. A raw spiritual power keeps every part connected and in perfect motion. Each song is a portal into multiple universes that suck you in on thick piano carpets, sharp saxophone spikes and buzzing quadcopter wings, warming insect intestines, blasting raw drums and slow healing winds, screeching synth rhymes, dissonant orchestral tales and floating blue melodies. It's a demanding ride but thoroughly deeply relaxing. The perfect soundtrack to rewind your mind.
k 11: Alone_ (rendered altitude) [feat. Drone Operatør & Ian Bruner]
Reunited after some fourteen years, following the historic success of their first collaboration Raising Sand (2007), which reached #2 on the UK album chart, generated multi-platinum sales, and earned six Grammy Awards including Album and Record of the Year.
Like its predecessor, Raise The Roof was produced by T Bone Burnett, who worked with Plant and Krauss to expand their collaboration in thrilling new directions, accompanied by drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarists Marc Ribot, David Hidalgo, Bill Frisell, and Buddy Miller, bassists Dennis Crouch and Viktor Krauss, along with pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl among others.
The album features twelve new recordings of songs by legends and unsung heroes including Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch and more. Other highlights include a Plant-Burnett original, “High and Lonesome,” and the Lucinda Williams classic “Can’t Let Go,”.
Reunited after some fourteen years, following the historic success of their first collaboration Raising Sand (2007), which reached #2 on the UK album chart, generated multi-platinum sales, and earned six Grammy Awards including Album and Record of the Year.
Like its predecessor, Raise The Roof was produced by T Bone Burnett, who worked with Plant and Krauss to expand their collaboration in thrilling new directions, accompanied by drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarists Marc Ribot, David Hidalgo, Bill Frisell, and Buddy Miller, bassists Dennis Crouch and Viktor Krauss, along with pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl among others.
The album features twelve new recordings of songs by legends and unsung heroes including Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch and more. Other highlights include a Plant-Burnett original, “High and Lonesome,” and the Lucinda Williams classic “Can’t Let Go,”.
Operating on a plane between avant-garde indie, bubbling electronica and cosmic psychedelia, London group Voka Gentle have an addictive, amorphous sound. A three limbed beast made up of twins Ellie and Imogen Mason, and William J. Stokes, each is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer with an imperious understanding of three dimensional sound.
The newest single ‘Necrofauna / The Garden of Eden’ - features Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips.
The hallucinatory mix of squelching synth bass and rhythmic samples, three-tiered harmonies playing off against William’s sprechgesang, and a cutting, full-bodied drum beat is reflected in the oneiric themes.
“This song is a dream sequence about the narrator entering the Garden of Eden, the emblem of an idealised pastoral relationship with the natural world, and realising they can’t stand it and want t o consume and bring destruction to it (I see a deer pass me by and I break its neck / Rip off its hind leg and take a bite through fur, sinew and bone).”
‘Necrofauna / The Garden of Eden’ - recorded with neo - metal battalion Pigsx7 guitarist and producer Sam Grant - is the first release in earnest since 2019’s acclaimed debut album ‘Start Clanging Cymbals’, released via Nude Records. Having come through the dues - paying gestation period that leads up to a debut record, there’s a sense of liberation around this new phase for Voka Gentle - a subtle confidence in their craft. It’s well earned too - with high praise from the likes of UNCUT, MOJO and The Line of Best Fit at press. Support comes too from BBC 6 Music - including presenting an edition of Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone - and Radio 1. Tracks from that album also featured on FIFA 19 and The Sims 2020, aiding in recognition.
A live set at the prestigious Pitchfork Avant Garde festival, as well as a clutch of tastemaker festivals in the UK (Dot to Dot , Live At Leeds, The Great Escape, Kendall Calling, Bluedot, Neighbourhood), alongside the serendipit ous shows with The Flaming Lips and
[l] d2 [When We Go, We’re Taking You All With Us!]
LTD. VINEYARD GRAPE VINYL-
Typically, a band's big indie label debut doesn't come 15 albums into its career, but with Constant Smiles' Paragons, here we are. Primary songwriter and sole "constant" member Ben Jones_who considers Constant Smiles a collective_sees its impressive output as a way to document the group's evolution. Since its live debut as a noise duo on Ben's home of Martha's Vineyard in 2009, Constant Smiles has grown to include contributions from 50 other members, all of whom have personal connections to the group's extended family. And while the collective has indulged an array of musical whims along the way - including Ben's penchant for penning a new set's worth of material for each live performance - Constant Smiles' sound has tightened up considerably over their past couple of albums, in large part as a result of Ben's working relationship with Mike Mackey, who has become his main creative partner. This increased focus manifests on Paragons in the band's most cohesive batch of songs to date, ranging from shimmering psych-pop excursions to bittersweet, piano and string-accented strummers, and an execution that feels like a massive step forward for the band. Through its recent forays into dream pop and shoegaze (Control) and synth-pop (John Waters), Constant Smiles has learned how to incorporate its experimental inclinations more fluidly into the mix. Artists like Yo La Tengo, and the more recent Rat Columns, are good touchstones for Constant Smiles' musical approach - tethering to an indie-pop core while perennially mining genres, always finding new ways to intrigue listeners and pursue a unique vision. Paragons was produced and engineered by Ben Greenberg in the last two weeks of December 2020 at Gary's Electric, with additional recording done by Ben Jones at his home studio, The Void, and his Aunt Leanne's house. The album was mixed at Circular Ruin Studio and mastered by Josh Bonati. The band on Paragons consists of Jai Berger (who performed "Introduction"), Spike Currier (bass and synth), Matthew Addison (drums), Emma Conley (violin), Nicky Wetherell (cello), Adam Lipsky (piano), and Ben Greenberg (guitar and Mellotron).
Endless Boogie re-joins with its fifth proper studio album. It contains and is called ADMONITIONS. Seven tracks of unrefined wisdom, mostly put to tape in improvised fashion with little to no warning. Recorded over two years and two sessions - at the pastoral tranquility of the Stockholm inland archipelago in 2018, and in the dank, cramped basement of a Fort Greene, Brooklyn studio in February 2020. Eklow on crude direction, Sweeney on stealth glamour, the obscurantist clarity of Paul Major is, as always, as ever, on full display, the fierce reality of Mike Bones is crucial, and the stoic solidity of The Harry Druzd lays beneath it all. Old pal Kurt Vile hovers over COUNTERFEITER. Full grease, delivered with ease. It is the band’s humble wish that you immerse yourself and this offering. Endless Boogie emerge from fugue state with a new double LP. Admonitions was conceived a recorded via timewarp between NYC, TX & the Stockholm archipelago. Major growls, Eklow riffs, Sweeney flavors. Mystery players appear as specters in the mirror. 100% guaranteed to drown out paranoid inner dialogue. Onward and inward. . This one goes down swinging.
In 2019 Christian Savill found himself alone and with a year off from playing guitar for his grown up band Slowdive. He started writing and demoing songs with no particular plan. From 2001 he had recorded with longtime friend and collaborator Sean Hewson as Monster Movie releasing several albums on Graveface Records. These new ideas felt different in that they’re more personal and honest.
Christian sent these sketches to good friends and multi instrumentalists, Ryan Graveface (Dreamend / The Casket Girls) and Steve Clarke (The Soft Cavalry) and Beachy Head was formed. Ryan and Christian put flesh on the bones in Savannah just before Covid struck. Matt Duckworth (Flaming Lips) added drums. In between lockdowns back in the UK Steve added harmonies and other instrumentation. The final touch of recording was Rachel Goswell (Slowdive / Mojave 3 / The Soft Cavalry / Minor Victories) contributing vocals on a few songs.
Beachy Head is a chalk cliff in Sussex. It’s one of Britain’s most popular beauty spots but also a notorious suicide spot.
"The Tragically Hip announce they will be releasing a special version of their sophomore album, Road Apples 30th Anniversary Deluxe, on Friday, October 15. The album is available in comprehensive physical deluxe CD and Vinyl and Pure Audio blu-ray audio box set editions.
Created to mark the 30th anniversary of the band’s second studio album which became their first record to hit #1, the Road Apples 30th Anniversary Deluxe editions were carefully crafted with input from each living member of the band. The outcome is a deep dive behind the scenes of what made this album one of the most beloved in The Tragically Hip’s vast catalogue. With all tracks completely remastered in 2021 by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in Nashville, for the first time, fans will hear music from the band with all the grit, vibrancy, and passion of their original recordings, second only to being in the recording studio with them. The physical box set editions, (CD and Vinyl), of the release will contain special Dolby Atmos, 7.1, 5.1 and binaural mixes by Richard Chycki of Road Apples and 5 cuts from Saskadelphia, ensuring fans have a one-of-a-kind listening experience. Fans and collectors will also appreciate the brand-new artwork for each of the packages within the physical box sets.
The expansive deluxe editions of the release are jam packed with rare and more previously unreleased and never heard before pieces of music chronicling The Tragically Hip’s Road Apples era, including:
• Road Apples, the original album re-mastered in 2021 by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in Nashville.
• Saskadelphia, as released earlier this year.
• Live At The Roxy Los Angeles, May 3rd 1991, originally recorded for a Westwood One radio show, often bootlegged and sought after by fans for many years. It has been re-mastered and expanded and includes the rare “Killer Whale Tank” version of New Orleans Is Sinking. This legendary Roxy show is now a double vinyl album. This album is available exclusively in physical product.
• Hoof-Hearted, an album of previously unreleased demos, outtakes, and alternate versions."
'After 20 years of absence THE THE celebrated their comeback with a glorious UK and US Tour in 2018, topped by a sold-out performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the so called “Comeback Special”. What started as an unforgettable live experience now turns into something even bigger as THE THE announce their new live album and make the whole comeback experience available to fans worldwide. Available as 2CD Digipak, 2CD Mediabook, 3LP Black Vinyl, Limited 3LP Crystal Clear Vinyl, Blu-ray, and DVD formats.LIMITED NUMBERS. ALLOCATION SHARED OUT WHEN ALL ORDERS IN AT 12PM DEADLINE.
Our second LP this month is an unreleased magical modern soul LP from the band Coast To Coast, the full story below by band leader Mark Beiner...
I met Ben iverson in 1976 when I was 17 years old. I was a junior at Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens. At that time, I took a part time job as a Produce Clerk at Walbaum's Supermarket on Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights, Queens, where I met Ben Iverson who was the "Frozen Food Manager." In between the music, this job was steady income, and he and his Wife, Diane, started a family and raised two Daughters, Tonia and Cytherea, whom I am still in contact with today.
Back then, I remember going to work early just to talk to him about his musical background and his time spent in the 50's and 60's with the Ohio Doo Wop Group, "The Hornets", or better known as, "Ben Iverson and The Hornets." However, Ben was somewhat quiet and at a loss for words when I questioned him with regard to "Ben Iverson and the Nue Dey Express", as well as his short career as Manager and Songwriter for Brooklyn's own, "Crown Heights Affair" in the early 70's.
Between the 50's and 60's, "Ben Iverson and The Hornets" shared billing at music events with recording artists such as, The Drifter's, Bill Haley and The Comets, Pat Boone, Etta James, Mary Wells, Nancy Wilson, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Lloyd Price and Al Green. Many of these names got their start in the 50's, which Ben met at music concert events hosted by Radio Disc Jockey, Alan Freed. Alan was truly the first Concert Promoter for Doo Wop, Rhythm & Blues, and early Rock & Roll.
In 1978 after Ben and I discussed getting together and composing music, I started writing poetry and expressing in writing my break up with my college girl friend, Paula Vasta. Paula's middle name was Marie, so in kidding around, I would call her "Paula Marie." Ben thought my lyrics were "powerful" and wanted to put them in music. Thus our first recorded 45 rpm record called "Paula Marie", backed with "I Want You Dear." This launched our musical partnership and within a year, the Coast to Coast Band was formed. Ben and I went on to writing two albums worth of material, which in turn gave us a lot of time and presence on stage at our live gigs.
The regular Coast to Coast Band members consisted of Ben Iverson on Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitarist and Co-Executive Producer, Joe Crowley, who is known today as "New York Congressman Joe Crowley." Carl (Woody Wood) Morton on Bass Guitar, Jimmy Johnson on Keyboards. Woody and Jimmy used to hang and play rap in its early days with "Run DMC" in St. Albans, Queens. Lead Guitarist, Lou Jimenez, currently owns his own recording studio, Music Labs in Elmont, Long Island. On Drums, Eddie Byam, on Alto Sax, Jay Cohen, who in the 70's used to record for "Gary U.S. Bonds." Gary Pevols on Trumpet. On Bone, Scott Burrows, Trumpet player, Steve Becker, whom we lost to Testicular Cancer at the age of 25, along side Neil Levine, Stan Stockley, Tom Russo and additional members that came and went that we used for live gigs and studio recordings.
In addition, special recognition goes out to our Producer, Recording Engineer and Multi-sound Recording Studio, Owner, Dave Weiner and staff. Dave and I launched Multi-Sound Records under the Multi-Sound label in 1980.
Last, of course myself, Mark Beiner, where I served as Executive Producer, Songwriter, Business/Marketing Manager, and background vocals.
Unfortunately, Ben Iverson passed away on March 21, 2008, and cannot be here to share this with us, but his music and voice still lives on!
"The art of the remix has been around for several decades, from the fervid imaginations of JA pioneers like Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid or King Tubby to the disco enthusiasts of New York, such as Tom Moulton, who bequeathed us the modern iteration of the remix and provided a template from which most remixers still work. Moulton's first commercial remix, a reworking of BT Express' appropriately-named `Do It 'Till You're Satisfied', which stretched it from three minutes to a luxurious five, assisted the band in securing its first Billboard R&B Number One, as well as providing a pathway for remixers like Walter Gibbons, Larry Levan, Richie Rivera and Tee Sott, to completely reinvent the concept of a remix (and in some instances, deconstructing the idea of what comprised a song). It has subsequently been used as a marketing tool, a dancefloor-devastator, a gimmick (both cheap and expensive) or even as a way of reaching a different audience (think Tori Amos' `Professional Widow'). Khruangbin are no slouches when it comes to the remix themselves. They've been reworked before, in 2016, with the highly collectible EP on Boogiefuturo. But this time, they're taking it a step further with an album dedicated to the art. Entering the tight-knit world of a Khruangbin song can be a little daunting. They have created this entire universe in which the trio seem to function telepathically in the way the music is composed, arranged and played. To mess with their delicate eco-system can invoke feelings similar to that of an unwanted guest crashing a good-time party. "We write our music to be interpreted; this is another wonderful interpretation of the music," reassure Khruangbin. "There is something very vulnerable about letting others work on your music. But through the correspondence with the different artists, we gained a bigger connection to the songs themselves." The choice of remixers for this album is neither arbitrary nor accidental. They're not names picked randomly out of a hat or chosen via a throw of the dice. All have some connection to the band, sometimes personal friendships, musical connections, or simply mutual musical appreciation. Harvey Sutherland and Ginger Roots have both toured with the band, Kadhja Bonet and Ron Trent had their own mutual fan club going on, Knxwledge sampled `White Gloves' on a recent mixtape, Natasha Diggs and Soul Clap's Eli's are recent buddy-ups, Quantic is a mutual friend of Bonobo (crucial in the KB origin story), while I've known Laura for number of years; plus she is also godmother to one of Felix Dickinson's kids. Doesn't get much more intimate than that, right? Some of these remixes were specifically made so you can dance your ass off while getting down to the Khruangbin sound, while some might better be appreciated horizontally with headphones on, wearing fashionably loose clothes. The choice is yours. But all were made with love and respect for Khruangbin. "A good remix deconstructs, recontextualizes, or simply extends a good time," say the band. Amen and out." - Bill Brewster
The Brvtalist is proud to present The Dying of The Outer-Self, the new industrial techno album by Alessandro Nero. Available as a 12″ vinyl & digital re- lease, the EP includes two cutting remixes from hyp- noskull and LɅVΣN, in which both display a biting re- visitation to create a perfectly erosive synergy.
We catapult ourselves into a narrative that tells us
about the loss of the external being – of its appearance and sexuality, of flesh and of course, blood. Zeal- ous industrial sounds from the 90’s unite functional techno with contemporary noise and harsh hitting kick-drums, arriving at the discovery of new auditory carpets and intricate experimentations between the sacred and the profane in a guided recitation of the theater of life. The inevitable misfortune of the human situation, the failure of communication in the age of communication, the distance that causes distortion and a paradoxical, almost divine, impact. If only we could all have a sincere conversation, at least through art.
But sadly, like a distant echo of voices of violence from the past – a ruthless education made of respect and fear, commonly feeding on human and animal bones, is still floating, chopping everything as if the muscles were nothing more than mush to be served for dinner. An organic meat grinder emanating a pulp made of fictitious progress, now what matters are the first 5 seconds of attention, and that’s where your child is biologically more stupid than you – spicy and salty brain balls as a sack lunch for the scholastic trip to the sensory slaughterhouse.
In March 2020 Elton was forced to pause his record breaking Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour due to the unfolding COVID pandemic. As the world began to shut down, different projects presented themselves with artists Elton had enjoyed getting to know through his Apple Music show Rocket Hour. This was the beginning of one of Elton's boldest and most interesting records to date that he has billed ‘The Lockdown Sessions’. This album saw Elton coming full circle and returning to his roots as a session musician. While it was no easy feat recording during a pandemic, a completely new way of working for Elton, he leaned into the challenge with some magnificent results.
Kicking off with current single ‘Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)’with Dua Lipa, the album takes the listener on a heady journey through many different genres, all held together with expert finesse and understanding by one of the greatest champions of music of our time. Much more than a mere collaboration album, ‘The Lockdown Sessions’ is a dazzlingly diverse collection of 16 tracks with 10 brand new unreleased tracks that celebrates togetherness and sees Elton collaborating with an unparalleled range of artists only he could draw together. The enduring influence of his musical milestone with one of the most ambitious projects ever conceived. An unprecedented 20+ artists feature spanning an unbelievably vast range of genres, generations, cultures, continents and more, each contributing a unique style to the album that is sure to hold its place amongst one of pop and rock’s greatest songbooks. ‘The Lockdown Sessions’ sees Elton collaborate with GRAMMY Award winning producer Andrew Watt on five of the tracks.
In Elton’s words: “The last thing I expected to do during lockdown was make an album. But, as the pandemic went on, one‐off projects kept cropping up. Some of the recording sessions had to be done remotely, via Zoom, which I’d obviously never done before. Some of the sessions were recorded under very stringent safety regulations: working with another artist, but separated by glass screens. But all the tracks I worked on were really interesting and diverse, stuff that was completely different to anything I’m known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory. And I realised there was something weirdly familiar about working like this. At the start of my career, in the late 60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast.”
An unparalleled career that has forever changed the cultural landscape, Elton John’s collaborations with Bernie Taupin and others continue to shape the cultural landscape, break records, top charts and win new fans across the generations. We’ve had the book, the film, the farewell tour, the fashion collections and the greatest hits. And now with ‘The Lockdown Sessions’ available on digital formats, fans can enter Elton’s new world which is no doubt another fitting addition to his oeuvre.
On Fast Idol, LA-based Black Marble reaches back through time to connect with the forgotten bedroom kids of the analogue era, the halcyon days of icy hooks and warbly synths. Harmonies are piped in across the expanse of space, and lyrics capture conversations that seem to come from another room, repeat an accusation overheard, or speak as if in sleep of interpersonal struggles distilled down to one subconscious phrase. At the same time, percussive elements feel forward and cut through the mix with toms counting off the measures like a lost tribe broadcasting through the bass and tops of a basement club soundsystem.
