And the Small Faces disbanded on a new year's eve night, didn't they?
2011/12/31
Could be a nice way to go to 2012...
And the Small Faces disbanded on a new year's eve night, didn't they?
2011/12/30
2011/12/29
2011/12/28
In a Big Year for New Soul, a Small But Influential Label Turns 10
In a year when Adele, the retro-soul stylist with a ground-shaking alto, sold a gazillion albums, and Amy Winehouse, the game-changing soul-revivalist who battled her demons in public, passed away, it's been easy to overlook another milestone in this new era of soul: the tenth anniversary of Daptone Records, the very label that helped usher in that era.
Founded at the start of the decade by musicians Gabriel Roth and Neal Sugarman, the label puts out classic soul, funk, blues, R&B, and afrobeat. Their continued success has been largely off the mainstream radar, serving as a reminder that the soul revival of the past few years has been taking place at all levels of music, from indie-leaning clubs to the Grammys.
Also interesting:
Is the Future of Funk and Soul Stuck in the Past?
2011/12/27
2011/12/24
Paul Weller: ''Sonik Kicks' will be groundbreaking'
Video: Paul Weller - 'Sonik Kicks Will Be Groundbreaking'
Paul Weller has revealed more about his forthcoming 11th solo studio album 'Sonik Kicks', which is set for release in March next year.
Speaking to NME in a video interview, which you can watch by clicking on the player above, Weller said of the record:
It’s very electronic sounding…good melodies, quite experimental in places. I don’t think there’s anything else around that sounds like it. It’s quite unique sounding, personally. Groundbreaking maybe, possibly. For me it is.
The record, which features guest vocals from Noel Gallagher and Graham Coxon, is the follow-up to his critically acclaimed, 2010 album 'Wake Up The Nation'.
When asked about any pressures from the success of his Mercury-nominated record, Weller replied: "When you get a good reaction to a record, if anything, they inspire me to do better next time. It’s nice to have a bit of recognition or a little pat on the back, because it just makes you think, 'Well, I’m doing something right'."
You can hear a track from the album, called 'Around The Lake' by visiting Paulweller.com.
Paul Weller also quelled any hopes that The Jam might one day reform, telling NME: "Personally, I’m not one for nostalgia. What’s gone is gone. You can’t recapture that time."
Happy Xmas...
Xmas times can also be very tough times when it's just a way to remember you're not with the beloved ones, because you're divorced because you lost someone... So I'd like to wish a very happy Xmas to everyone with the Beatles' Xmas record, with their heavenly vocal harmonies. When someone asked Ian Dury's what gift he wanted for his birthday, he simply said "Another birthday"... so all I wish for this Xmas is another year with the beloved ones, including all the friends I've met here...
2011/12/23
2011/12/22
2011/12/21
2011/12/18
Neville Skelly, One of the Weller's favourite for 2011.
Neville Skelly has announced details of his debut album, Poet & The Dreamer, which is released through Setanta / Pias on Monday May 30th 2011.
The 12-track LP features covers of tracks by the likes of Jackson C. Frank, Woody Guthrie and Dion alongside Skelly’s own compositions.
The track listing of the record is as follows:
1. Poet & The Dreamer
2. Brambles & Heather
3. Blues Run The Game
4. Child Of The Morning
5. He Looks A Lot Like Me
6. Colours Collide
7. Will She Hold Another
8. Eleanor Rigby
9. The Road I’m On (Gloria)
10. The World Turns Around
11. 900 Miles
12. Changes
The album was recorded at Ape Studios on the Wirral using an armoury of vintage equipment in a quick-sharp 10 days with Ian Skelly of The Coral (no direct relation) at the helm on production duties and the rest of The Coral contributing variously throughout the record.
Skelly had first made contact with the band via a shared love of Cole Porter and George Gershwin - Neville had done a ‘big band’ record which the Coral had admired. The Coral would go on to provide the encouragement and support Neville needed to record the songs he had written.
A true labour of love, initially inspired by a marriage break-up, work on Poet & The Dreamer first started back in 2008 and came to eventual fruition due to Neville’s persistence and the belief and favour of various artists, music industry sorts and producers who all saw the timeless appeal of the record.
The album is the crystalisation of over two decades of writing and therefore, as you might expect, is varied, rich and melancholic - lap steel guitars next to gently strummed acoustic guitars, capture a languid world-weary beauty. And above all of this, characterising these beautiful songs, sits Skelly's winter-dream of a voice.
Having released 2 well-received EPs last year, Neville also toured alongside The Coral - he played at London’s Royal Albert Hall on the tour. Further U.K. dates will be announced shortly.
Music Mafia UK
Music Mafia UK
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