quête:maria savage

Nachdem sie gesehen haben, wie die Abholzung die Landschaft Costa Ricas bedroht, stecken Metalheads weltweit ihre Köpfe zusammen, um das Ökosystem der Welt zu erhalten.

Seit Gründung der Band im Jahre 2022 hat die 501 (c) (3) gemeinnützige Organisation 100.000 Quadratmeter Regenwald in Costa Rica geschützt. Savage Lands arbeitet mit lokalen und globalen Organisationen wie dem Jane Goodall Institute sowie mit vielen Entscheidungsträgern in der Metallindustrie zusammen. Auf „The Last Howl“ gibt es die Growls von John Tardy (Obituary) und hochfliegende Soli von Sepultura-Gitarrist Andreas Kisser. Heilung's Zeremonienmeister Kai Uwe Faust segnet den Black 'n' Roll von „Black Rock Heart“, während Maria Franz (ebenfalls Heilung) die melancholische Power-Ballade „No Remedy“ mit ihren beruhigenden hohen Tönen anmutig auflockert.

"Army of the Trees" führt mehrere neue Arten von Metalheads in das Ökosystem von Savage Lands ein. Die Eurovisions-Lieblinge Lord of the Lost versprühen bei „Out of Breath“ ihr Blut und ihren Glitter, und die Leadsingle „Ruling Queen“ wird von keiner Geringeren als Alissa White-Gluz von Arch Enemy mit ihren schlangenartigen Clean vocals und dem Gebrüll einer Löwin vorgetragen. „Jetzt ist es an der Zeit, Stellung zu beziehen“, brüllt die Band während des donnernden Titeltracks des Albums, der von Julien Truchan (Benighted) und anderen Säulen der französischen Metal-Gemeinde unterstützt wird, in einem wilden Schlachtruf.

Erhebt eure Hörner und schließt euch der Army of the Trees an, um die gemeinnützige Metal-Bewegung zu unterstützen!

Fast sechs Jahre nach seiner letzten Solo-Veröffentlichung meldet sich 21 Savage mit seinem lang erwarteten neuen Studioalbum "American Dream" zurück. Das Album, das zwei Wochen in Folge auf Platz 1 der Billboard Top 200 Charts stand, setzt die Trap-Tradition des Rappers fort, fügt aber einige neue Elemente hinzu, darunter R&B auf dem Track "prove it" mit Summer Walker und Pop auf der Doja Cat-Kollaboration "n.h.i.e." Mit Featurings von Metro Boomin', The Weeknd, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Lil Durk und anderen fehlt es aber auch nicht an Hip-Hop-Elementen.

Elza Soares’ 34th studio album and her first to feature previously unrecorded material exclusively composed for her. Over a sprawl of distorted guitars, squalling horns, taught strings and electronic shards, samba is savaged by rock ‘n’ roll, free-jazz, noise and other experimental music forms as Elza tackles the burning issues of 21st century Brazil: racism, domestic violence, sex and drug addiction.

A true legend of Brazilian music Elza has an incredible musical oeuvre that stretches back over seven decades mixing samba with jazz, soul, funk, hip hop and electronica. Her life-story is a rags-to-riches-to-rags rollercoaster of triumphs and tragedies that has made her a voice for Brazil’s repressed female, black, gay and working-class populations.

We can't think of many other performers like the singer/songwriter/dancer/actress Asha Puthli who have excelled in such a broad range of genres. From 60s psych, Classical Indian music, Free Jazz, Pop, Soul, Disco, to Rock, the list goes on. A 'best-of' or an 'essential collection' is always going to be a subjective thing, but for what is unbelievably the first official compilation covering the full breadth of Asha's illustrious career, we aimed to provide a snapshot into her ever-evolving musical journey and a tribute to the vast richness of her catalogue.

Some singers want to be famous, others are pop star icons, and some are artists; Asha is the latter. Asha is a true force of nature, regardless of the genre she explores, she fully commits, moves on, and reinvents herself, always progressing. Looking back on Asha's career, it is evident what a trail-blazer she was, opening doors for her contemporaries and those who came later to step through. Whether it was conscious or not, you can recognise Asha’s influence in aspects of Kate Bush's ethereal image and performance, in Donna Summer’s high-smooth vocal sound and disco stylings, and in the gumption and power of Grace Jones.

Kick-starting the compilation is ‘Pain’, the Indian psychedelic garage rock sounds of The Savages featuring Asha. We have to admit, we had to strongarm Asha into letting us include this track at first; also due to its rare nature (and lack of any master tapes) the recording we present here is raw and low-fi. However, we felt its inclusion was important to fully represent the journey of Asha's career, the same consideration was also applied to two of the Asha & The Surfers’ songs that we have included in this collection.

Asha saw a link between jazz and classical Indian music "the improvisation, the minor chords, the free form, the liberalness of the art" we showcase her love of jazz here with seminal works with the legendary Ornette Coleman, taken from the revered 'Science Fiction’ album. Asha's 'CBS years' are represented here, how could we not include 'Space Talk' on this collection, and how these years progressed into her amazing disco offerings such as 'I'm Gonna Dance' & 'Music Machine'. The bizarre 'We're Gonna Bury The Rock With The Roll Tonight' from 1980 has also won us over. A pseudo-50s throw-back song that sounds not un-similar to the post-modern, leftfield, pop of an MIA production to come years later. Rounding off the compilation we have Asha's interpretation of a Michael Jackson classic that sat lost on a cassette-only released in India.

Grace Cummings is an actor and musician from Melbourne, Australia. Grace
learned piano as a child and took up the guitar as a young adult, but only
began to write and perform music in 2018. She went from a debut gig at
Melbourne’s Old Bar to a breakthrough performance at Boogie Festival in the
space of six months, picking up support slots with J Mascis and Evan Dando
along the way.
 With buzz building around her powerhouse live show, Grace grabbed the
attention of Flightless Records (King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard), who
released her debut album, ‘Refuge Cove’, in late 2019. Refuge Cove won
praise from publications around the world, including Pitchfork and All Music,
and Grace was tapped for support slots with Weyes Blood, Cash Savage,
Teskey Brothers and Allah-Lahs.
 In 2020, Grace recorded the single ‘Sweet Matilda’ for Mexican Summer’s
‘Through the Looking Glass’ series before landing a worldwide deal with
indie powerhouse ATO Records (Alabama Shakes, My Morning Jacket, King
Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard). Her sophomore album, ‘Storm Queen’, is
now set for release.
 Available on CD and opaque white vinyl. (Once the coloured vinyl format has
sold out, a standard vinyl format - ATO0589LP - will be made available.)
 A graduate of the drama program at the Victorian College of the Arts, Grace
appeared in Elbow Room’s award-winning production ‘Prehistoric’, which
played to packed houses and widespread critical acclaim at the 2018
Edinburgh Fringe. In 2021, she made her debut with the Melbourne Theatre
Company in 2021, in Joanna Murray-Smith’s ‘Berlin’.
 “Cummings isn’t content to merely sing along to her melodies. She tears her
low, surging voice to shreds, braying like she’s beckoning you from the
opposite end of a crowded room. It adds an eerie, intense quality to her
music - a desperation behind the calm of her arrangements.” - Pitchfork
 “One of Melbourne’s hottest new talents... filled with raw power.” - Beat
Magazine
 “Cummings has a voice that demands to be heard, while her lyrics cut
through to the heart, leaving listeners gasping for air.” - Folk Radio UK
 “Like a combination of Sandy Denny, Odetta, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen
and Marianne Faithfull... as the last piano chord ends, you are left wanting
more.” - Your Music Radar
 “There’s a striking androgyny in her tone, it brings the power needed for
these songs to make you stop and listen...Her wit is very sharp and it bites
back with cunning rhetoric.” - Stomp and Stammer
 “Take notice of Cummings as a fresh new Australian talent.” - X-Press Mag