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Back in the UK for this week’s show having had a great time in the heat of Ibiza visiting Jessie. The island seems a bit quieter this year but the wall art is rather fine. This pic is just a very small part of a large poster on a wall in the Old Town.We "did" Pacha again and I still marvel a the price of drinks: a vodka and tonic and an orange juice = 23 Euros (that’s about $32 or £20). Worth it though it is a great club, just sip slowly!www.pacha.com/ibiza/African Dream – Halo and Kemal From Classic Dubs remixed by Halo. Thanks to Dave and the team at Mn2S for the OK to play that.If you like the sound of that you could do a lot worse than get over to www.mn2s.com or even direct to the album at Tracksource. http://tinyurl.com/loufcrHedonist – Sharon Lang (Nashville, TN, USA) Accompanied by friends and fellow musicians Lyndsay Pruett, John Depriest, and Josh Minyard, Lovers and Thieves is a simple, no-frills portrayal of Lang’s experiences both before and during her time in Nashville. Inspired by the unique community of artists, lovers, gypsies, dreamers, saints, and sinners that occupy this fair city, it truly expresses a love of first-class effort and sincere dedication to all things that are good.
www.myspace.com/sharonlangmusic
Sharon Lang "Hedonist" (mp3) from "Lovers and Thieves" (Per Capita Records) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Rhapsody More On This Album
Any Kind of Love – Del Marquis and Embryoroom (Brooklyn, NY, USA)A formally trained furniture designer, Marquis had no intention of becoming a musician. "I practiced a trade and loved to build things, that is one of the main reasons I started playing guitar, it is such a beautiful object. Things didn’t go as planned and Del joined the fledgling nightclub act, Scissor Sisters. "In NYC, September 11th left so many people in a state of confusion; what you thought was your future path, was very much uncertain. I think those events allowed me to take a risk, and see what might happen with music." Scissor Sisters began 2004 as a little-known act, and ended it as a pop phenomenon. Their eponymous debut album was the biggest-selling album in the UK that year. The album has since gone almost ten times platinum here.As lead guitarist in Scissor Sisters, Marquis has seen two world tours culminating in three sold out shows at London’s O2 arena. Scissor Sisters have sold in excess of 4 million albums worldwide. Marquis felt it was necessary to make music of his own after so much time touring and recording as a band. "I had an idea to do a pop album, but paired with darker themes than what felt comfortable on a SS album. I wanted the music to be melodic and the production to be big, in that I referenced 80’s production, and the records that most successfully incorporated the dawn of digital gear with analogue techniques."Marquis settled on the concept of a multi-media project that would roll out in smaller doses all leading toward a large, complete vision. Working this way allows the project to evolve and take spontaneous turns en route to the finish. The releases aren’t all retro synths and British homage; Embryoroom multimedia group concepted another side to the project. Together, Embryoroom and Marquis worked on the idea of the ‘Shadow,’ an ulterior personality of the work. "We wanted to show a darker side to pop music, how the same song can be reinterpreted to represent a different style and emotion." These versions are called ‘Shadow tracks" and are featured as separate tracks in each installment. The final element of the project is an episodic Science Fiction video, entitled ‘Hazmazk," this visual narrative (often starring Marquis as Viz, a character subjected to examination and abduction) is filled with striking motifs and dark content. Says Marquis, "Its important to have strong visuals as an identity beyond the sound, and although we didn’t necessarily want to create music videos as the sole representation for the project People don’t absorb things in two or three dimensions anymore, its 5.1 sound verses a stereo mix. I feel the project is unlike anything that is currently available commercially, especially given that it is DIY to the core. Following the first two well-received installments – Hothouse, released in December and March’s Character Assassination, Del is gearing up for the May 19th release of Litter To Society. The 9-track work continues his experimentation in blending emotional themes and a forward-thinking vision with a classic synth-soul-pop palette that recalls pioneers of the sound such as The Human League and Tears for Fears merging with more experimental instrumentals. "Litter To Society is the most intense thematic release of the series," says Del. "It would be impossible to divorce one element from the other, i.e. the visuals, the songs, the interludes; each element works together to tell a story.""It is an account of depravity in modern life, told through songs about urban and social decay. Within each moment, there is hope, the ‘child inside" and the possibility of redemption."delmarquis.com /www.myspace.com/delmarquisWe got to meet death one day – Kelly Joe PhelpsKelly Joe Phelps has featured on the show before and it is great to have him back on with such a fine display of subtle slide guitar and heart-felt vocals.The track is from the remastered and repackaged 15th year anniversary edition of Kelly Joe Phelps’ groundbreaking evergreen release Lead me on. This edition features two exclusive, unreleased bonus tracks ‘Ever Be Here Again" and this haunting and inspired interpretation of the 1935 song We Got To Meet Death One Day by Blind Willie McTell. On Burnside Records. You can download that track free of charge through the link below.
Kelly Joe Phelps "We Got to Meet Death One Day" (mp3) from "Lead Me On (15 Year Anniversary Edition)" (Burnside Records) Stream from Rhapsody Buy at iTunes Music Store More On This Album
Why buys CDs? What are the pros and cons of buying downloads vs physical copies. Let me know what influences your decision: peter [at]suffolkandcool.comTebje Pojem – EMAR (Ontario, Canada)From the album Sacred Soul.EMAR (pron. Ehm-Ahr) is an international world music artist. Born in the Balkans and raised in Canada, EMAR’s multicultural influences inspire her to sing and record in several languages including Serbian, Hindi, Persian, Arabic and Church Slavonic. EMAR worked with three renowned producers to create her ethereal, spiritual sound: Genie Award-nominated Sean Eyre, 2007 Canadian Music Awards winner for Best World Music Group & 2009 JUNO Awards Nominee – Andrew McPherson of Eccodek and noted film composer Igor Vrabac. Playing on five of the album"s tracks is World Music multi-instrumentalist Boris Sichon.The album was released last September and is available at CDBaby, iTunes and selected music stores in Canada and the US.www.emarmusic.com/Stagger Home to my Baby – Charlie Morris Band (St Petersburg, FL, USA)Roots rocker Charlie Morris hails from the swampy suburbs of St. Petersburg, Florida, and "writes like a man who has been down the road more than a few times" [music writer and DJ Norman Davis]. The Charlie Morris Band mixes up a soulful stew of blues, funk, Louisiana rhythms and jazzy jams behind Charlie’s original songs about wayward women, drinking,gambling and life on the road. Charlie’s ability to entertain an audience is legendary, and hot solos on slippery slide guitar, organ and piano keep the action moving.Seasoned road warrior Charlie Morris tours regularly throughout the Southeast US, as well as in Europe, where he has played at several major festivals in Europe, including the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Great British R&B Festival.Ten Tall Tales will be Charlie’s 5th CD, and contains 10 new original songs recorded in Switzerland, with the same red-hot Swiss band that’s been touring with Charlie since 2004. Charlie’s Strat and Paul converse with Markus Baumer’s piano, B-3 and Rhodes, David Clarke lays down a bucket-of-beans bass, and Marco "Speedy" Jeanrenaud snaps his snare like a young Turk, while building rock-solid grooves like a mature road warrior.www.bluespages.com/charliemorris/www.myspace.com/charliegatorWolsey Theatre, Ipswich with Lipservice Theatre is putting on a show Desperate to be Doris, a musical based around the songs of Doris Day. They need to recruit a choir leader and local singers to be in a community choir as part of the show in October. rehearsals start at the end of August and the choir will meet once a week for 3 hours. Deadline 14th July call Laura Norman on 01473 295930. Sala – Abuigail Washburn & The Shanghai Restoration Project (Chengdu, Sichuan, China)A folk/electronic project remixing voices and sounds from the China earthquake zone to raise awareness for victims still in need.Presented by Abigail Washburn & The Shanghai Restoration Project in cooperation with Sichuan Quake Relief.Digital & Limited Edition EP CD Available since May 12thIn honor of the one-year anniversary of the Sichuan Earthquakes, two pioneers in entirely different genres – folk and electronica – have merged to increase knowledge and understanding of the continuing aftermath of the earthquake.More than 88,000 have died, with upwards of 5 million left homeless or relocated. A portion of the proceeds from this EP will benefit the Sichuan Quake Relief organization.Afterquake is a collection of raw, remixed field recordings of post-earthquake soundscapes as well as performances by relocated children and their faraway parents captured andproduced by Abigail Washburn and Shanghai Restoration Project creator Dave Liang, in cooperation with Sichuan Quake Relief.The collaboration was inspired in 2008 through Abigail’s volunteer work for Sichuan Quake Relief where she performed in ‘relocation schools" with kids from pre-school to high school – most of whom were relocated from mountain villages to schools in new locations far from their families."The children and teachers expressed intense grief at the loss of home and family,” says Washburn, a former Sichuan resident featured in Newsweek for her "weirdly wonderful”blend of Chinese culture and American-roots music. "I wanted to return and record their stories and songs in their own voices."A kindred spirit was found in collaborator Dave Liang, whose Shanghai Restoration Project combines the sounds of traditional Chinese instruments with hip-hop and electronica. His project has been featured on NPR, KCRW, KEXP and the Beijing Olympics.Despite the tragic nature of the events inspiring this record, the sounds of the children captured by Liang and Washburn are encouraging and uplifting: playground noises – ping-pong, basketball, jacks, handclapping games – are melded into a danceable rhythm; a 7th grade student performs a traditional Qiang minority dance song for her classmates; Tibetan sisters recite a bedtime prayer their mom used to sing to them; a relocated boy sings a ballad about missing his mom over the sounds of his parents rebuilding their house.Afterquake is available as a digital EP and limited edition CD.www.afterquakemusic.com
Abigail Washburn & The Shanghai Restoration Project "Sala" (mp3) from "Afterquake" (Undercover Culture Music) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Rhapsody More On This Album
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