Flying Wig is an album of recurrent dualities; a can of paradoxes, a box of worms. The redwood and pine-surrounded cabin studio where Banhart was “constantly listening to The Grateful Dead” somehow birthed something slick, modernist, city pop-adjacent and Eno-esque. Banhart's eleventh record, it's the actualisation of a “precious friendship” with the acclaimed solo artist, multi-instrumentalist, producer and Mexican Summer stable-mate Cate Le Bon — a coming together prophesied by the mirror-image titles of their early solo albums (Banhart’s 2002 Oh Me Oh My to Le Bon’s 2009 Me Oh My) and a tenderness built on crude haircuts (“we finally met, soon after she was cutting my hair with a fork and that was that”) and home-made tattoos — but never previously translated into the recording studio. “It’s about transmuting despair into gratitude, wounds into forgiveness, and grief into praise,” - the product of a ritualistic creative practice that melts down and re-casts as it mulls, the stuff of sadness beautified as it changes shape — culminating in a record that “sounds like getting a very melancholic massage, or weeping, but in a really nice outfit… if I’m going to cry, I wanna do it in my best dress.”
quête:char
- A1: When The World Is Feeling Blind (Feat Arya &Amp; Tahnee Rodriguez)
- A2: Cambio Di Stagione
- A3: Frastuono
- A4: Tipografia Miserere
- A5: Little Girl Ready For Big Dreams (Feat Mei &Amp; Tahnee Rodriguez)
- A6: Polibomber
- A7: Badanti
- A8: Bacigalupo
- A9: The Big White Shark
- A10: Dentro Fuori
- A11: Elena O Nadia Flashback
- B1: It`s Like Blanca
- B2: Epico Lirico
- B3: Carignano
- B4: Fatti Sentire
- B5: Nessun Dorma Da &Quot;Turandot&Quot; (Feat Francesca Biliotti)
- B6: Sampierdarena
- B7: Giostra
- B8: Sembra Ieri
- B9: Habibi Lullaby (Feat Rahma)
Calibro 35 unleash the new OST for the second season of TV series BLANCA, to be released on limited edition LP on December 1st 2023.
Italian cinematic cult outfit CALIBRO 35 announces the release of the ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK of the second season of BLANCA, the TV series produced by Lux Vide in collaboration with Rai Fiction, broadcast in prime time on Rai 1 starting from Thursday, October 5th 2023 and directed byJan Maria Michelini and Michele Soavi. The soundtrack will be released worldwide on limited edition, crystal clear LP next December 1st via Milan based label Record Kicks.
The new thrilling episodes of Blanca Season 2 follows the success of the first season, that was aired worldwide on Netflix, M6 France and Telecinco Spain. Accompanying the journey is once again the original music of CALIBRO 35 the Italian "cult" cinematic combo active for over 15 years and with a fan base that includes superstars such as Dr.Dre, Jay-z and Damon Albarn. Made up of 20 tracks in total, the OST was entirely composed by CALIBRO 35 that created the sound universe of BLANCA: an impressive and choral work, which has engaged all the components of the band for a long time, giving the them the opportunity to develop a very vast soundscape.
"It's the first time that we deal with the creation of a 'season 2' and we discovered that the creative process can be very different" Calibro 35 says. "In the first season, we had to build from scratch a sound and musical world consistent with the idea that Jan had (Michielini, director and showrunner of the series); this time, however, we had to develop that already existing world further, in order to describe the new stories and new different characters of the second season. There had to be undiscovered musical territories, that forced us to step out of our comfort zone." The result is that on the 20 tracks of the ost, the heavy dose of Calibro's signature funk grooves of tracks such as "Badanti, "Carignano", "Cambio di Stagione" or "Sampierdarena" is mixed with more moody and soulful tunes, world music, opera and atmospheres à la John Carpenter. Amongst the album's highlights worth definitely a mention the Opening and End titles that feature the voices of Arya, MEI and Tahnee Rodriguez. Essential contribution to the recordings were made by Francesca Biliotti - mezzo soprano of the Monteverdi Choir, Valeria Sturba - exceptional multi-instrumentalist of the avant-garde music group OoopopoiooO, Rahma Hafsi and Elisa Zoot.
Described by Rolling Stone as "the most fascinating, retro-maniac and genuine thing that has happened to Italy in the past few years", Milan-based Calibro 35 enjoy a worldwide reputation as one of the coolest bands around. Active since 2007, during their long career they were sampled by Dr. Dre on Compton ("One Shot One Kill" feat. Snoop Dogg), Jay Z ("Picasso Baby"), The Child of Lov & Damon Albarn ("One Day") and Demigodz ("The Summer Of Sam"). They played major venues and festivals all over Europe and as unique musicians they collaborated with, amongst others, PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish, Stewart Copeland and Rokia Traoré. The BLANCA OST is the latest of many activities concerning cinema for CALIBRO 35: the band has been completely immersed in the world of soundtracks since the very beginning and they have recently worked on other productions as well, both as Calibro and individually. Last June, the band released their 8th studio album, NOUVELLES AVENTURES, recorded in Naples at Auditorium Novecento. With the new LP the group has made full use of their knowledge and resources, refined and enriched over the years, back to making "Calibro's music": a unique mix of funk, progressive rock, alternative jazz and wide-spectrum cinematic music the public has known them for in fifteen years of career.
This music unites our common love for the essence of music, which contains harmonic structures and emotionality without borders." — Musique Infinie
Musique Infinie, the new duo consisting of Noémi Büchi and Feldermelder, is rooted in a shared desire to intertwine two composing veins, and to merge them into a new, massive core. While Büchi combined her background in classical and electro-acoustic music with a bold approach to composition on her highly acclaimed debut album 'Matter' (-OUS, 2022), multi-disciplinary musician and artist Feldermelder has been expanding his artistic practice into unexplored realms for over 20 years. Mutually, they've challenged themselves to fully engage on an artistic exploration aimed at making use of the elementary forces that unfold between them.
Their debut album, simply titled 'I', is a musical hybridization. The compositions make use of simple motives that are radically transformed by expanding them into intricate structures and fantastic layerings. The overcoming of genres with eclectic elements from classical music, jazz, film music and traditional music, combined with the vocabulary of experimental electronic music, complete the vertical plunge into this thickness. The emerging pieces lead into a paradoxical world, both disturbing and euphoric. Pieces that don't give in to calculations and expectations, but progress through ruptures and repetitions. The richness of the compositions and their analog, acoustic and orchestral character reflect the density of the world with its violence, its decadence, its fragility, but also its power, its ingenuity and its beauty.
Composer and sound artist Noémi Büchi creates electronic, symphonic maximalism. Her music is defined by a delicate synthesis of textural rhythms and electroacoustic-orchestral abstraction. She explores the potential of consonance and dissonance, contrasts rhythmic physicality with disruption and playfully emphasizes irregularities, creating an expansive listening experience marked by detail and elevation.
Feldermelder is a polymathic creative whose artistry spans composition, sound design, installation and code. He is co-founder of -OUS Records and an active member of Encor.studio, a collective specialising in creating immersive audio-visual installations. Through his work, he explores the idea of secrecy and its impact on our lives, using music and sound to create a thought-provoking and immersive experience for his audience.
- A1: Play For The Prisoners
- A2: Gaffer With Cedis
- A3: Major T-Bay Loves Girls
- B1: Shake A Leg High Life
- B2: One Touch
- B3: African Thriller
- B4: Lonely Nights Of Lome
- C1: All Night In Accra
- C2: Jah Bless Africa
- C3: No Show In Togo
- D1: Thrilla - Night Of The Assasin Remix
- D2: Midnight In Accra Remix
- D3: No Show In Togo Remix
- D4: Where Did The Major Go Remix
Referred to as "one of Reggae's quietest superstars" Jackie Mitto aka "The Keyboard King" had a remarkable path in Reggae music, a protege of Sly Stone, he started his career as part of Studio One's in house recording band and later went on to work with artists such as Bob Marley, UB40, Barry White, Peter Tosh and Oscar Peterson. This album was the result of a rare occasion of being on tour in Africa and establishing musical connections with musicians from Ghana, recorded in Accra and mixed in London. Predominantly instrumental, this album is essential to any dub conscientious record collection, as it culminates the career of a Reggae legend whilst under new influences in West Africa resulting in an unmistakably characteristic modern dub sound. Re-issued on vinyl with remixes previously only availably on CD format.
- A1: Suprême Ntm Feat Lord Kossity - Ma Benz
- A2: Les Sages Poètes De La Rue - Qu'est-Ce Qui Fait Marcher
- A3: Rocca - Les Jeunes De L'univers
- A4: Ärsenik - Boxe Avec Les Mots
- A5: Busta Flex - J'fais Mon Job A Plein Temps
- B1: La Brigade Feat Lunatic - 16 Rimes (Le Chargeur Est Su
- B2: Beat De Boul - Dans La Sono
- B3: Ideal J Feat 116 & Intouchable - La Voie Que J'ai Don
- B4: Neg' Marrons - Le Bilan
- C1: Sefyu - Molotov 4
- C2: Mac Tyer - 9 3 Tu Peux Pas Test
- C3: Alibi Montana Feat Nubi, Ol'kainry, Dany Dan & Sefyu
- C4: Explicit Samouraï Feat Sly The Mic Buddah - Mode V-Vr
- C5: Nessbeal - Rap De Tess
- D1: Flynt - J'éclaire Ma Ville
- D2: Soprano - La Colombe
- D3: Zoxea - 60 Piges
- D4: Ol'kainry Feat Raekwon - De Park Hill À Xx Pise
- D5: Triptik - Panam
- E1: Kaaris - Zoo
- E2: Vald Feat Damso - Vitrine
- E3: Sasso Feat Kaza - Elle Veut
- E4: La Fouine - Du Ferme
- E5: Younès Feat Médine - V'là Les Problèmes
- F3: Georgio - Héra
- F4: Niska - Réseaux
- F5: Lacrim Feat French Montana - A.w.a
- F1: Furax Barbarossa - Qui M'demandef
- F2: Plk - Dingue
A blistering advancement of the knife-sharp hooks and urgently efficient post-punk structures that they’ve spent over a decade refining since their formation in 2011, the band’s fourth album – and second on Specialist Subject - emerges from a period of flux for the band’s chief songwriting partnership of Emma Wigham (drums/vocals) and Mark Jasper (guitar/vocals). First came a move north to Yorkshire from their native London. “We had decorated a tiny, rented house in Mytholmroyd” Jasper explains. “We setup a practice room in the top of a mill nearby and tried to write music, which we did amid stress about money, and a fear of having made the wrong decision. We had left our jobs, friends and a nice but absolutely tiny flat in London behind, and moved to a small village in West Yorkshire.” Although they found the location to be beautiful, the transition from city life to rural turned out to be an odd fit – too much so, it turned out. From this relatively short stay in West Yorkshire, however, came a more permanent change as the couple welcomed their first child Ivy into the family. Although, they’re hesitant to put too much of Streams and Waterways influence on the shoulders of their young daughter – she arrived a year and a half into the album’s conception – there’s no denying that its themes of loss, birth, and being part of this eternal, momentary life were brought into sharp focus following their new arrival. “Streams and Waterways is about the struggle of looking at the clock, realising it’s actually going pretty damn fast and knowing that really you have no control over anything” Jasper confirms. Perhaps that explains the way that opener The Valley doesn’t even introduce itself before careering into a full-throttled, three-minute scuzzy rager that would approach the descriptor anthemic had it not been kicked and scuffed along the way; it’s maybe why the wiry, ferocious Choice You Make feels like a charge into a storm despite the uncertainty of what you might find. It’s perhaps why even when Witching Waves allow themselves respite on the pared down Open A Hole, there’s a churning anxiety that lies below the acoustic guitar and harmonising vocals: in many ways musically and thematically Witching Waves are relinquishing the control that’s always been a fixture of their music – with all the thrilling and nervous fallout that comes from that. Although the pair have since returned south (having relocated to Exeter), Streams and Waterways also serves as a document of their foray northwards. The surviving artefact from Jasper’s never-to-be-finished studio that he’d began to build in Yorkshire – following the ending of his London-based Sound Savers studio – the record is also the first to feature current bassist Will Fitzpatrick, who joined initially live on their support tour with Australian punks Camp Cope. Fitzpatrick – a key component of Liverpool’s DIY scene for two decades – quickly became a key part of the writing process. Recording sessions were done during periods of lockdown that allowed congregation, Jasper recalling a still unborn Ivy kicking hard during an early mix playback of It’s A Shame’s layered noise rock assault. “The song was about my past, a much harder time. But my future was egging me on” he says. It’s a neat summation of Streams and Waterways and its representation of the discomfort of life amidst the compulsion to ride on its journey regardless. It’s a record that finds Witching Waves looking into the future more than ever before, but still bristles with the rush of being in the moment – because ultimately, despite what may have happened or may yet come, the band’s strongest trait remains being able to keep you feeling in the present.
12 original festive songs, characterised by Johnson’s characteristic songwriting excellence, ranging in tone from the sardonic to the sentimental, featuring traditional seasonal conventions (50s jazz, Father Christmas, mistletoe, sprouts etc) performed by The Xmas Irregulars: Sian Allen – vocals, trumpet, saxophone // John Forrester – vocals, double bass // Robb Johnson – vocals, guitar, tuned percussion // Fae Simon - vocals // Roger Stevens – vocal, piano with Arvin Johnson- drums, Saskia Tomkins – violin & viola // Recorded by Ali Gavan, Brighton Road Studios. Robb Johnson-Brief biography: Robb’s widely recognised as one of the UK’s finest songwriters. “An English original”, (Robin Denselow, the Guardian) “one of our best singer-songwriters ever” (Mike Harding) “one of this country’s most important songwriters (no argument!)” (fROOTS). His work includes two highly acclaimed song suites, Gentle Men, & Ordinary Giants, -a “masterpiece” (fROOTS), “monumental” (FATEA). Last year Murder at the Grange premiered to enthusiastic, sold-out audiences at The Ropetackle in Shoreham & Chats Palace in Hackney – “a cracker of a show… a delightful extravaganza and a uniquely dark and different way to celebrate the winter season” was Folk Radio’s opinion. The Xmas Irregulars: Sian Allen – actor-musician, resident singer at Walthamstow Folk Club // John Forrester – singer & songwriter, bassist in various bands // Fae Simon - studied opera, hip-hop, soul & jazz recording artiste // Roger Stevens – award-winning children's poet & novelist // Arvin Johnson & Saskia Tomkins are both ex-Irregulars – Arvin now drums with Manchester-based band Tigers & Flies, & Saskia now lives & works -to great acclaim- in Canada
The birth point of ecstasy in British music is usually credited to acid house and the second summer of love: a cemented vision of kids sweating and vibrating in clubs, fields and warehouses in 1988, united by universal empathy and mind-popping sounds. However, in 1981, a couple of young men from Leeds went to New York, discovered the drug in its infancy, fused its’ gritty synth pop to acid house’s squelchy 303 groove and recorded an album: Soft Cell’s Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. The rest, as they say, is history.
Shortly before that Soft Cell’s debut single Memorabilia was born. Originally recorded a decade before the explosion of acid house and rooted in predominantly black NYC, Chicago and Detroit gay clubs, Memorabilia is a seminal early prelude to rave culture. Merging a
strutting disco bass line with a futuristic proto acid-techno beat, Marc Almond has past described Memorabilia as “the first acid house techno record ever”.
Dave Ball remembers: “Memorabilia got to about number 99 in the charts, but the clubs picked up on it. In NME or Sounds they had a chart for the Danceteria in New York, and we were in it. Our label Phonogram saw this and thought: ‘why is this weird little duo from Leeds that no one’s heard of suddenly getting played in one of the hippest clubs in New York?’ So I think they thought: ‘we’ll give them another chance’.”
Berlin’s very own upcomers Wally Funk round off the remix package, upping the original tempo slightly, while combining elements the of original production with the later Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing version to create a new hybrid, best played extremely loud!
- 1: The Song Is You
- 2: Laird Baird
- 3: Kim
- 4: Kim (Alternate Take)
- 5: Cosmic Rays
- 6: Osmic Rays (Alternate Take)
- 7: Chi Chi
- 8: Chi Chi (Alternate Take)
- 9: Chi Chi (Alternate Take)
- 10: I Remember You
- 11: Now’s The Time
- 12: Confirmation
This 1957 release, the third in a series of albums expanding on Bird’s 10” Clef releases from the early 1950’s, Now’s The Time boasts some of Parker’s purest recordings and strongest playing, featuring two different quartets. His lyrical and fluid improvisations on cuts like “The Song Is You” and “Laird Baird” are on full display, prime examples of his unmatched genius. This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit.
Helfró ist aus der Trostlosigkeit entstanden. Als seine vorherige Band Ophidian 2015 eine Pause einlegte, begann Schlagzeuger Ragnar Sverrisson bis spät in die brutale isländische Nacht an seiner eigenen grausamen Vision von Black Metal zu arbeiten.
Aus dieser intensiven Zeit der Einsamkeit heraus bahnten sich Helfró ihren eigenen Weg in die extreme Metal-Landschaft. Ihr selbstbetiteltes Debütalbum wurde mitten im Feuer der Pandemie veröffentlicht, aber die schaurigen Melodien und die rohe Aggression des Albums schafften es auf mehrere Jahresendlisten.
Jetzt meldet sich das Kapuzen-Duo mit seinem Nachfolger zurück. Tálgröf" enthält viele von Helfrós charakteristischen, wütenden Tremolo-Riffs. "Fláráð Fræði" schüttelt sich mit der Wut eines Hagelsturms. Doch während sich das neue Album tiefer mit Sucht und aufdringlichen Gedankenmustern beschäftigt, geht es auch über die starre Welt des Black Metal hinaus. Traðkandi Blómin í eigin Hjartagarði" schwelgt in der glorreichen Death Metal-Schredderei, die Rangar schon als Kind mit seinem Onkel gesehen hat.
Helfró sind immer noch so kalt und unbarmherzig wie die Winter in ihrem Heimatland. Aber 'Tálgröf' ist prädestiniert dafür, ein Feuer des isländischen Death Metal zu entfachen!
Helfró ist aus der Trostlosigkeit entstanden. Als seine vorherige Band Ophidian 2015 eine Pause einlegte, begann Schlagzeuger Ragnar Sverrisson bis spät in die brutale isländische Nacht an seiner eigenen grausamen Vision von Black Metal zu arbeiten.
Aus dieser intensiven Zeit der Einsamkeit heraus bahnten sich Helfró ihren eigenen Weg in die extreme Metal-Landschaft. Ihr selbstbetiteltes Debütalbum wurde mitten im Feuer der Pandemie veröffentlicht, aber die schaurigen Melodien und die rohe Aggression des Albums schafften es auf mehrere Jahresendlisten.
Jetzt meldet sich das Kapuzen-Duo mit seinem Nachfolger zurück. Tálgröf" enthält viele von Helfrós charakteristischen, wütenden Tremolo-Riffs. "Fláráð Fræði" schüttelt sich mit der Wut eines Hagelsturms. Doch während sich das neue Album tiefer mit Sucht und aufdringlichen Gedankenmustern beschäftigt, geht es auch über die starre Welt des Black Metal hinaus. Traðkandi Blómin í eigin Hjartagarði" schwelgt in der glorreichen Death Metal-Schredderei, die Rangar schon als Kind mit seinem Onkel gesehen hat.
Helfró sind immer noch so kalt und unbarmherzig wie die Winter in ihrem Heimatland. Aber 'Tálgröf' ist prädestiniert dafür, ein Feuer des isländischen Death Metal zu entfachen!
RAUHBEIN sind nach ihrem Debutalbum, dass auf Anhieb Platz #20 der deutschen Album Charts erreichte, schnell über ihren Titel des Geheimtipps hinweggekommen. Mit Hits wie „Komm mit uns“ oder „Auf die Freundschaft“ erspielten sie sich die Herzen der Fans, eroberten die Charts und machten sich in Windeseile einen Namen.
Mit dem neuen Album „Herz eines Kriegers“ soll die Erfolgsgeschichte nun fortgesetzt werden. Auf den 13 neuen Titeln u.a. mit einem Gastfeature von In Extremo Frontmann Michael Rhein, beweisen Rauhbein gekonnt, wie sie die Elemente aus Folk, Rock und Metal miteinander verschmelzen lassen.
„Herz eines Kriegers“ schließt genau dort an, wo „Steh wieder auf“ aufgehört hat und beschert den Fans ein Album, das seines Gleichen sucht.
2023 Repress
It's the quiet ones we should watch, they always say. Which is particularly astute advice right now, when loud, constant self-declaration and saturated 'brand' visibility have become the norm. But above the babble and brightness, some voices will always speak quiet volumes - with calm eloquence and the kind of certitude that comes from valuing the playing out, not just the prize.
Sweden's José González is just such a voice. He first charmed his way into the UK's earshot via the murmurous and elegant, classically finger-picked folk pop of his 2005 album, Veneer, which has since sold over a staggering 430, 000 copies in UK alone. Two years later came In Our Nature, a further exploration of José's influences (Argentinian Folklore, the '60s US folk tradition and the British pastoral folk-pop style of the same era), on which he resisted the temptation to beef up his alluringly introvert aesthetic. The albums made the UK Top 10 and Top 20 respectively.
Conceived as the natural third part in an acoustic trilogy, Vestiges & Claws is a(nother) hushed and delicate solo set that forefronts the artist and guitarist's compellingly intimate vocal style and intricate playing technique, but it's often strikingly rhythmic in nature and cohere's perfectly, with hand claps and taps on the body of his instrument underlining the songs' mantric rise-and-fall pattern, while elsewhere, over-dubbed guitar parts and multi-tracked vocal harmonies entwine to sweetly immersive effect.
The title refers to both cultural practices and biological features that survive despite having lost their original function, and to currently useful tools, ie the 'claws' of modern life.
Vestiges & Claws was recorded almost entirely by José and self-produced, mostly in his Gothenburg home, using computer plug-ins to achieve a warm, analogue sound. He prefers working alone, mainly for artistic reasons. 'There were a couple of things that enabled me to complete this record: one was curiosity, to be able to play percussion and do a lot of harmonies and also to produce and mix the album; the other was aesthetics. I love to listen to Arthur Russell and Shuggie Otis, to music that has been done mostly by one person in their solitary state.'
As José sees it, the record is his personal, 'zoomed-out eye on humanity on a small, pale blue dot in a cold, sparse and unfriendly space. The amazing fact that we are all here, an attempt at encouraging us to understand ourselves and to make the best of the one life we know we have - after birth and before death.
Big Thief's music, rooted in the songs of Adrianne Lenker, paints in vivid tones "the process of harnessing pain, loss, and love, while simultaneously letting go, looking into your own eyes through someone else's, and being okay with the inevitability of death," says Adrianne.
Masterpiece, Big Thief's debut album, is -lled with characters and visceral narratives, songs that pivot in the space of a few words. Adrianne's voice and guitar playing speak of rich emotional territory with grace and insight. In her words, the record tracks "the masterpiece of existence, which is always folding into itself, people attempting to connect, to both shake themselves awake and to shake o the numbness of certain points in their life. The interpretations might be impressionistic or surrealistic, but they're grounded in simple things.'
Adrianne met her longtime musical partner, guitarist and singer, Buck Meek, in Brooklyn a few years ago, and they quickly formed a creative bond tempered by the experience of traveling and performing for months on end in old dive bars, yards, barns, and basements together. They recorded a pair of duo albums (A-Sides and B-Sides), and Adrianne showcased her songs on a solo album, Hours Were The Birds.
Now, as a full rock and roll band, with Buck on guitar, Max Oleartchik on bass, and James Krivchenia on drums, they bring a steady wildness, giving the songs an even deeper layer of nostalgia. "These guys feel like a pack of wolves at my back," says Adrianne, "they make the songs howl and bark with a fierce tenderness that gives me courage."
After spending last July in an old house that they turned into a studio on Lake Champlain with producer Andrew Sarlo, the resulting collection soars on what Big Thief fan Sharon Van Etten calls "...a real journey, with intelligent stories and twist-and-turn melodies.
Milky Chance erzielten mit ihrem Debütalbum "Sadnecessary" einen bemerkenswerten Erfolg, der sie zu internationaler Anerkennung katapultierte. Der 2013 veröffentlichte Hit "Stolen Dance" wurde zu einem globalen Phänomen und zeigte ihre einzigartige Mischung aus Folk, Elektronik und Reggae-Einflüssen. Das Album war bei Kritikern und den frisch gebackenen Fans ein Erfolg, erreichte in mehreren Ländern Platinstatus und festigte den Status von Milky Chance als bahnbrechenden Act. Auch 10 Jahre später wirkt die Fähigkeit des Albums, eingängige Melodien, poetische Texte und innovative Produktionstechniken nahtlos miteinander zu verbinden, so frisch wie eh und je und macht deutlich, warum Milky Chance seither ein fester Bestandteil der Charts geblieben ist.
Temple, Bassey, MacLaine and now, Hurt; in a world of Shirleys, the name Sophia Ruby Katz has chosen for her music is perhaps prophetic as it captures her stunningly emotive vocal approach. And whilst Shirley Hurt might be the perfect nom de plume for the creative Toronto-based artist, it’s her self-titled debut album which positions her as protagonist of her own universe.
Traversing sonic landscapes, Shirley Hurt’s vocals ebb and flow like lyrical Ley lines tracking the contours of her own well-travelled map. By the age of 18, Hurt had travelled extensively, having lived in upwards of 20 different apartments and houses, as a result never really feeling “at home” anywhere. At this age was when Hurt found herself in New York, dipping her toes into various scenes and musical realms. The first and only place she ever felt at home, and a partial home-base for her, she travelled between Toronto and New York until the age of 26.When the project she was working on in New York reached a dead-end she returned West, moving in with musicians Harrison Forman (Hieronymus Harry, Zones) and Patrick Lefler (Roy, Possum). Being surrounded by their improvising at all hours, a new approach emerged. “Harrison is a virtuosic guitar player, and I hadn't picked up a guitar in any serious way since I was 16,” she says, “by osmosis I started playing again for fun.” Without agenda, the process grew organically from there.
Hurt and Forman decided to travel across the US and Canada in a trailer for half a year, with the entire album written in the final months of their trip. Hurt had been writing loose ideas here and there but felt blocked creatively. When the pair reached Berkley, they wound up house-sitting for a tuned-in friend who recommended she pray, in a very direct way, to remove the block. “I took her advice and to my surprise it worked. The album was conceptualized and finished within a couple of months.” Shapeshifting in tone and phrasing, Hurt’s music alchemizes the furthest corners of experimental indie folk, pop, and country into a singular sound with elegant unpredictability.
Whilst Shirley Hurt’s lyrical and structural ideas may have emerged on the road, the album was self-produced and recorded at Joseph Shabason (The War on Drugs)’s Aytche studio in Toronto’s West End. It was engineered by Nathan Vanderwielen and Chris Shannon (Bart), and Hurt enlisted collaborators Jason Bhattacharya, Nick Dourado, Patrick Lefler, and Harrison Forman to hone her vision. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with the songs until we returned to Toronto,” she recalls. “Joseph and I had been talking about working together after sending across some demos and Jason happened to recommend his studio at the exact same time, so everything came together naturally at that point.”
Whilst her most recent adventures may have seen Shirley Hurt bound for Texas as an official SXSW artist (hand-picked by Gorilla Vs Bear to perform at their own showcase), she currently resides in her native Canada, more specifically rural Ontario, close to friends and family, and is already working on her second album. The ties to lineage are interwoven in the fabric of the music. Hurt’s mother, artist Leala Hewak, instilled a lust for life and innate value of creativity in her from a young age as she explored the role of gallery owner, vintage jewellery show host, mid-century modern furniture expert, real estate agent, painter. Hurt’s father, a civil litigation lawyer and new-wave obsessed music lover with an extensive vinyl collection, introduced Hurt to a wide-range of artists at a young age such as Nina Hagen, Laurie Anderson, Tom Tom Club, and endless others.
In her video for ‘Problem Child’ Hurt’s grandmother walks her through a generationally revered pie-making process. One would be tempted to hear this, and other songs, as autobiographical. Yet, Hurt’s lyrics are rarely pulled from her relationships or personal history––at least not consciously. Rather, they arise from somewhere less tangible or defined. “Lyrics tend to come to me when I am doing non-musical things - washing dishes, brushing my dogs, walking to the grocery store. I have a lot of voice memos on my phone and half-filled notebooks and when I hear something, I have to stop what I'm doing to get the idea down. Usually it’s bits and pieces. It's rare a full song comes to me in one go, but it's great when they do, and those are often my favourites.”
Carving out a space of her own in an all-encompassing universe, Shirley Hurt is the introduction to a long artistic story, and if the journey so far is anything to go by, it will be stippled with evermore unpredictable chapters.
Ltd. Gold LP. In den Annalen der Rockmusik gibt es nur wenige Sänger, die eine so ausdrucksstarke Stimme haben wie Dan McCafferty. Als charismatischer Frontmann der schottischen Band Nazareth war McCafferty an mehr als 25 Alben beteiligt, veröffentlichte Hits wie 'Love Hurts', 'Dream On', 'This Flight Tonight' und 'Morning Dew' und tourte auf der ganzen Welt. Nach einer einzigartigen Karriere von 50 Jahren ist Dan McCafferty am 8. November 2022 im Alter von 76 Jahren gestorben. Sein Name wird in Erinnerung bleiben, seine großartigen Songs werden weiterhin auf unzähligen Rock-Radiosendern auf der ganzen Welt gespielt. Unentdeckte musikalische Schätze wurden in McCaffertys Privathaus Archiv aufbewahrt. Einige davon sind nun auf der posthumen Hommage zu finden: 'No Turning Back - In Memory of Dan McCafferty'. Die bisher unveröffentlichten Songs "Occident" und "No Turning Back" sind Originalaufnahmen aus den späten 1990er Jahren, die McCafferty mit dem deutsche Regisseur, Komponist und Musikproduzent Christoph Busse aufnahm. Der bisher unveröffentlichte Track 'Children's Eyes' stammt aus einer Kooperation mit dem Komponist und Produzent Detlef Wiedeke. Alle drei Titel zeigen die stilistisch enorme Bandbreite seiner rauen Rockstimme. Mit 'Into the Ring", "Starry Eyes" und "Sunny Island" folgen drei Stücke aus einer besonders ereignisreichen Karrierephase des schottischen Musikers. Die Songs wurden 1987 auf seinem inzwischen längst vergriffenen Soloalbum "Into the Ring" veröffentlicht. Das Album entstand zwischen den beiden Nazareth Klassiker "Cinema" (1986) und "Snakes'n'Ladders" (1989. Abgerundet wird "In Memory of Dan McCafferty" mit "Going Home" aus dem Jahr 1993 und aus dem gleichnamigen Album des kurzlebigen Projekts Seasons, mit original schottischem Dudelsack, Fiddles, Flöten und Schlaginstrumenten. Das Lied basiert auf dem Stück "Largo" aus der 9. Sinfonie "Aus der Neuen Welt" von Antonín Dvo?ák. Außerdem gibt es zwei aktuelle Coverversionen der Nazareth-Evergreens 'Love Hurts' und 'Dream On' als Bonustracks, gesungen von dem griechischen Sänger Panos Kalifis, dessen Stimmfarbe der von McCafferty verblüffend ähnlich ist. Last but not least: Auf dem Albumcover prangt ein Foto des jungen Dan McCafferty, während das Booklet zwölf Bleistift- und Kohleillustrationen enthält. "No Turning Back - In Memory of Dan McCafferty" ist ein musikalisches Must Have für jeden McCafferty/Nazareth und Hard Rock Fan.
Limited Edition of 3,000 on Opaque Blue vinyl. - Includes 4 Bonus Tracks from the "Commitment" sessions. - Includes 12 Page Booklet with Liner Notes by Critically Acclaimed Writer, Michael Krugman. // Bobby Darin was, by any definition, a superstar - a chart-topping, multimillion-selling, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, a Golden Globe-winning actor, visionary entrepreneur, and committed political activist. Restless and daring, his refusal to be constrained by genre, resulting in an endless string of top 10 hits, including "Splish Splash," "Queen of the Hop," "Dream Lover," "Beyond the Sea," and "If I Were a Carpenter." While his public persona was all bright lights and glamour, Darin was driven and inspired by the generational shifts and social upheaval of the 1960s. Despite his weakened health, Darin devoted nearly all of his free time towards multiple causes, tirelessly campaigning for his friend Robert F. Kennedy until his assassination in June 1968, after which Darin withdrew from the spotlight and embarked on an unlikely personal journey. He swapped his crooner's tuxedo for folk singer denim, his toupee for an outlaw mustache, a Beverly Hills mansion for a secluded trailer at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur. Commitment is grittier and more audacious than Darin's previous work. From the counterculture anthem "Me and My Hohner" (with its ironic reference to "The Star-Spangled Banner") and the soul-searching "Sausalito" to the wryly autobiographical "Distractions (Part 1)" and the tense funk of "Light Blue," the album's experimentation and free-wheeling songcraft affirm Darin as a generational talent uniquely capable of crossing the borders of age and politics.
Der Longplayer, der zehn Songs enthält, ist der Follow-Up zum Longplayer "Extraordinary Machine", der 2005 erschienen war und Platz sieben der US Billboard Charts erreicht hatte. Einige Stücke des Albums, darunter die Single "Every Single Night", hatte die New Yorkerin ihren Fans bereits auf ihrer jüngsten, komplett ausverkauften Frühjahrs-Tour durch die USA live vorgestellt. Es war die erste Konzertreise der 34-jährigen Grammy-Preisträgerin seit fünf Jahren. Für den Sommer 2012 steht eine weitere Tournee durch die Vereinigten Staaten auf dem Programm. Das Album wird von ihren zahlreichen Fans weltweit heiß erwartet wird.




















