ALBUM & TOUR NEWS: Iona Lane releases ‘Hallival’, upcoming live dates

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27 Feb 2022

I’ve never heard of Hull’s Slowdaze until an invitation to grab a listen to this release popped into the LSF mailbox. Bloody hell, have I been missing out.

This track is moody, gloriously dark and moody. This track has, and how can you not love a track that includes this, samples of monks chanting. Anyway I’m kind of cutting to the highlights without giving you the rundown on the sound. Well it’s kind of Indie and kind of Gothy, has some banging guitar, and has this overwhelming sense of speed that’s claustrophobic. After much discussion and repeated listening, my helpful friend and I decided that it sounds like The Rolling Stones – ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ period, it’s more than a little bit dark psych – if they’d discovered Indie and Goth and gone ‘hey let’s include that sound in our sound’.

And it’s full of brilliant touches – the aforementioned monks chanting, a hypnotic drone. In amongst a mix that combines a dark thick electronic sound with a raw chiming guitar. Is it indie rock or pop or electronica or dark pop? Who cares, it’s a fabulous song.

Look, this track is a monster. It’s both something you can dance to AND rock out to. It’s brilliantly put together. And it’s atmospheric to the max. Need anything more?

The info

‘This song started as a demo way back in 2016 when I had just started making music on my laptop. It begun as a folk style on my guitar, as most of my tracks do, which I then sketched out on the computer. I’ve always been a big fan of Jose Gonzalez, and I think I had the song ‘Far Away’ on heavy rotation at the time, from his band Junip. The groove for that song ended up informing me of the direction to take with mine and that inspired the beat. I sampled some ominous monk chants from an old song I found on vinyl, and an old drone from an ambient electronic record from the 60s. The whole song kinda got 80% of the way there back in 2016, but I was missing a chorus and it was still a little sparse arrangement wise, so it sat in a folder on my laptop ever since, until last year when I came across it and decided to finish it off!’

The song was recorded at Young Thugs Studios in York, and mixed at LOFT studios in London. It is the first cut from the upcoming EP of the same name. The new EP will follow 2020s ‘Heartlands’, and features a collaboration with alternative R&B artist ‘Downtown Kayoto’. The 7-track EP was written and recorded in lockdown, covering themes of loneliness, longing, love and transformation. Blending elements of psych, neo-soul, hypnotic breakbeats, vinyl samples and woozy lo-fi synths, Glasshouse Walk is the soundtrack for celebrating otherness. The full EP will be released on June 30th 2022.

GIG NEWS: Guitar master & renowned folk artist Martin Simpson is coming to the Victoria Theatre, Halifax Sunday 13th March

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24 Feb 2022

Martin Simpson, widely recognised as one of the world’s finest guitarists, is performing in the Green Room Bar at the Victoria Theatre, Halifax on Sunday 13 March.

The remarkable intimate solo performances Martin gives go from strength to strength – every gig is a masterclass. He travels the length and breadth of the UK and beyond, giving rapt audiences passion, sorrow, love, beauty, tragedy, and majesty through his playing.

“What’s it like being the best guitar player in the world…?” Martin’s modesty and grace prevented him from answering this BBC Radio 4 interviewer’s question recently, but the facts speak for themselves. 40 years after he recorded his first album, Golden Vanity, in 1976, Martin is known as a guitarist of formidable talent and is equally at home playing English traditional folk, American folk and blues and his own compositions.

Universally acclaimed as one of the finest ever acoustic and slide guitar players, and a fine banjo-picker to boot, his solo shows bear witness to an artist at the very top of his game. Whether interpreting material from tradition or singing his own potent self-penned songs, Simpson is a remarkable storyteller: captivating and profoundly moving. His own song writing produced the poignant ‘Never Any Good’, from Prodigal Son, 2007’s Folk Album of the Year.

In recent years, he has been a lynchpin in the award-winning Full English, The Elizabethan Sessions and, in 2015, recorded Murmurs, an exciting new album with Andy Cutting and Nancy Kerr. Martin’s most recent album was released in November last year to the usual critical acclaim. ‘Home Recordings’ was recorded at his home by his regular producer, now neighbour, Andy Bell, and finds Martin singing and playing, literally amongst his beloved guitar and banjo collection and out on his Peak District-facing porch.

He has had the most nominations of any performer in the 18 years of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, an astonishing 32 times, 13 of those as Musician of the Year, winning that particular accolade twice and he is listed in Gibson Guitars’ Top 30 Acoustic Guitarists of all time. Acoustic Guitar readers also voted him number 12 guitarist in the world in 2005.

Tickets for this show are available from £19.75. Purchase tickets online, www.victoriatheatre.co.uk, or by calling the Box Office on 01422 351158

TOUR NEWS: Dream Wife March/April 2022 tour

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24 Feb 2022

London-based trio DREAM WIFE – vocalist Rakel Mjöll, guitarist Alice Go, bassist Bella Podpadec – will be hitting the UK live circuit again this Spring.

The tour follows the release of the band’s explosive second album So When You Gonna…, which earned both a monumental #18 UK Album Chart debut and a #1 placing in the Official Record Store Chart of Independent Retailers. The record, which was the only album in the top 20 to be produced by an all womxn / non-male engineering team, as well as the only non-major label release, was subsequently named one of Rough Trade’s Top 10 Albums of 2020. The Marta Salogni (Bjork, M.I.A., Bon Iver) produced and mixed record dealt with topics such as miscarriage and gender equality.

Originally scheduled for April 2021, the dates will finally take place in March and April 2022. All tickets for the original shows will be valid for the re-scheduled dates and any remaining tickets are available HERE. Support for all shows comes from Lucia and The Best Boys.

Tour dates:

17/03 – Oxford, The Bullingdon
18/03 – Norwich, Waterfront
19/03 – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
21/03 – Leeds, The Wardrobe
22/03 – Glasgow, St Luke’s
24/03 – Birmingham, O2 Institute 2
25/03 – Manchester, Gorilla
26/03 – Bristol, Ritual Union
29/03 – Portsmouth, The Wedgewood Rooms
30/03 – London, Electric Ballroom
01/04 – Brighton, Chalk
02/04 – Cambridge, The Portland Arms

Tickets HERE

TOUR NEWS: Mr Bruce tour March/April 2022

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24 Feb 2022

Mr Bruce AKA Ian Bruce is the former frontman of The Correspondents. An acclaimed portrait artist and an award-winning animator in his own right, Mr Bruce began hatching plans for a solo career while on tour in Australia with The Correspondents in 2018. Bored in hotel rooms between shows, he found himself writing dance music that harked back to his early clubbing days, rather than the jazz and swing infused sound with which he found fame. Fleshing out the songs in the UK with the London-based producer Angus Kemp, Mr Bruce arrived at the 5 club-ready cuts you can hear on ‘RACE TO NOWHERE’ [PART ONE].

Raiding decades of UK dance, from tech house and drum’n’bass to garage and dancehall, the five-track EP ‘RACE TO NOWHERE’ [PART ONE] finds Mr Bruce letting loose as never before. Arriving in the Autumn of 2021, the record was flamboyantly fun, yet lyrically deep; touching on an intense array of topics, from the climate crisis to the breakdown of his marriage in 2019, and his late twin brother, who died just aged 20.

Plotting the follow-up to the EP for release early-on in 2022, ‘RACE TO NOWHERE’ [PART TWO] promises to find Mr Bruce offering deep reflection on the untimely passing of his Correspondents partner-in-crime Tim Cole, who passed away from a pulmonary embolism aged just 35. When placed together, the two parts will together form a complete album like nothing he has made before: ‘RACE TO NOWHERE’.

Writing hard-hitting pop songs designed for the dance floor, Mr Bruce will be bringing his latest creations to live spaces across the UK in 2022 in what he promises will be a boundary-pushing experience. Famed for his high energy antics and spectacular dancing The Correspondents were named one of Glastonbury’s Top 10 acts by The Telegraph and the highlight of Wilderness by The Times, Mr Bruce was back on stage for a smattering of festival in Summer 2021 (Wilderness, Boardmasters, Solfest, ValleyFest, HowTheLightGetsIn & more), but this Spring tour will be his very first solo headline gigs to date.

The brand new stage show featuring new choreography and some of his most flamboyant costumes to date will fuse together his latest material with a carefully selected handful of The Correspondents’ hits to create a unique and unparalleled live experience.

TOUR DATES 2022

MARCH

23 – LONDON, The Lexington – SOLD OUT
24 – BRIGHTON, Green Door Store
25 – SOUTHAMPTON, The Joiners
26 – BIRMINGHAM, Sunflower Lounge
30 – LEEDS, Hyde Park Book Club
31 – NEWCASTLE, Head of Steam

APRIL

1 – GLASGOW, The Hug & Pint
2 – EDINBURGH, Voodoo Rooms
6 – MANCHESTER, The Deaf Institute
7 – CARDIFF, Clwb Ifor Bach
8 – BRISTOL, The Jam Jar
9 – LONDON, Omeara

Tickets on Sale:
https://www.mrbruce.co.uk

WEBSITE: https://www.mrbruce.co.uk/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mrbrucemusic/
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2PzvM2s5ds69VVbNtJNo4E
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/mrbrucemusic
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSs1JzqskFxWJAx0NUBBWEw

SINGLE NEWS: Precept drops new single, ‘Ascend’

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24 Feb 2022

Ascend is the first single from Precepts forthcoming album. The ambient electronic track is the next addition to the ever-growing catalogue of analog horizons. Ascend features synth melodies, driving drums, sub-filling bass all contrasted with ambient melodics and soundscapes. Being the first track created since the debut album, the track represents a slightly more uplifting sound compared to previous work and showcases a new focus on instrumental music in this new found style.

Josh says “This track represents a shiJ musically and was the first track I made with this
renewed focus during the first lockdown. I really wanted to embrace the ambient side of electronic but also try more uplifting melodies. With all that was happening in the world, I just wanted to write something that made me feel good, and hopefully others too.”

The track will also feature on an upcoming collection of individual releases from different artists being put together by analog horizons, which has been established to showcase the exciting stream of ambient/electronica artists from the North. 8 releases over the coming months will be released collectively as a tape compilations in early 2022.

TOUR NEWS: Will Pound ‘A Day Will Come’ tour – May 10-20, 2022

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23 Feb 2022

The day has finally come! Will Pound – the Warwickshire-born harmonica wizard and melodeon maestro – had one of the biggest folk album successes of 2020 with his ‘love letter to the E.U’, ‘A Day Will Come’.

He released the album celebrating the music of Europe in May 2020 soon after Britain left the European Union but the UK tour due to showcase it was scuppered by the pandemic. Now, two years on, the tour is back on course with six dates across five counties, featuring the original talented line-up.

Will had spent summer 2019 travelling across Europe meeting myriad musicians who, in turn, inspired the significant album marking the traditional music of the 27 member states.
The name of the album comes from an 1849 speech made by French writer Victor Hugo in which he spoke of a united Europe and the ‘disappearance of frontiers from maps and of prejudices from hearts’.

Will says: “This was never a pro Remain or pro Leave project – it’s about identity, music and the subject of home.”

The album, which also featured Scottish superstar Evelyn Glennie and Irish-American fiddler Liz Carroll, won huge acclaim being named as one of MOJO Magazine’s Top 10 Folk Albums of 2020 and Songlines Magazine’s Top 10 albums of 2020.

The release whipped up a whistle-stop journey of the music of a continent – from lively Swedish polskas to upbeat Italian tarantellas, swirling Irish jigs, buoyant French bourrées, relentless rachenistas from Bulgaria and sizzling Spanish jotas.

Now the musicians that joined forces on the album are reuniting to take the captivating music on the road, supported by Arts Council England.

The ensemble assembled especially for the project include 2019 Scots Trad Music Awards Musician of the Year Jenn Butterworth (Songs of Separation/Kinnaris Quintet) – an outstanding guitarist who was also nominated for BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of the Year in 2019.

Joining Jenn is Jude Rees (Jim Moray, RSC, Pilgrims’ Way) on oboe, soprano saxophone and English border pipes; brilliant bass player John Parker (Nizlopi) and stand-out fiddle player Patsy Reid, the former Breabach member who has been described as ‘ the most in-demand traditional fiddle player in the UK’.

Naturally Will’s superb harmonica and meodeon playing will be to the fore and the show will also feature new poetry by Polish performance poet Bohdan Piasecki. Poland’s first Slam poet, he is now based in Birmingham and the poetry is inspired by interviews with EU nationals that have made England their home.

Dates

Tue 10 May: SOMERSET: St Andrew’s Church, Wiveliscombe http://www.silverstreetsessions.co.uk/programme.html#pound/
01984 623308

Wed 11 May: WARWICKSHIRE: Warwick Arts Centre
https://www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/whats-on/will-pounds-a-day-will-come-2235/
024 7652 4524

Tues 17 May: YORKSHIRE: Wakefield Theatre Royal. https://www.theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk/events/a-day-will-come-2021
01924 211 311

Weds 18 May: YORKSHIRE: Settle Victoria Hall
https://www.settlevictoriahall.org.uk/eventsandshows/will-pound-080519-d8dzn-587r4/
01729 825718

Thurs 19 May: SURREY:-Stanley Arts, Croydon
https://stanleyarts.org/event/will-pound/
020 8251 0184

Fri 20 May: OXFORDSHIRE: Oxford North Wall Arts Centre
https://www.thenorthwall.com/whats-on/will-pound-a-day-will-come/
01865 319 450

Further information https://willpound.com

SINGLE REVIEW: Blue Kubricks – ‘Friends’/’Of Mice & Men’

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22 Feb 2022

An AA single release from those masters of fun Blue Kubricks. These are ‘leaked’ (honest that’s how they described the release) from their debut EP ‘Manuka’.

Being an AA release there’s no order to these but I’ve gone with ‘Friends’ as the first track to review. ‘Friends’ is a funky dance your arse off track. Think funky indie, people. Funky indie with a huge dose of pop. It is a bloody joyous thing; dangerously infectious and earwormy.

But wait, there is more. Look beyond the enormous fun, and take a closer listen. For this is such a well put together song. Adding to their usual sound is the thrill of horn sounds, adding way too much fun. There’s a jerky feel to the funk that’s going to turn your body into a knot on the dance floor, but this adds something I can only describe as a touch of Talking Heads.

I’m already in sonic overload but let’s move on to ‘Of Mice & Men’. Oh my word, what a track. They take you in the wrong direction with an intro which has more than a hint of Afrobeat but then… it surprises with a soulful sound that kind of mixes soul, RnB and indie. Well that and a certain Springteen muscular feel. Horn sounds again provide a thrill. Guitars chop, chime and warp. Before it takes off into a multi-layered vocal section which is just dreamy.

Look people these songs scream sweaty party time with a bunch of your best mates. Blue Kubricks are bringing it big time.

SINGLE REVIEW: Molly Aisha – ‘Mayhem’

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21 Feb 2022

For some reason I can’t quite work out, I am drawn to big pop ballads at the moment. Leeds based Molly Aisha’s ‘Mayhem’ is a big pop ballad in a classic style – big vocals, piano, way up there drums, a subtle but stunning guitar break – but it’s of now, an alt-pop big ballad.

Saying why it’s of now is difficult but I’m going to try; mainly because my helpful friend said I needed to, as good a reason as any I guess. Mainly it’s because of the vocal style. It’s a big swooping ballad vocal but it has that big synth ballad style even though this isn’t a big synth ballad. I hope you get that.

This is just – I say ‘just’ but you know it’s difficult to do – a wonderfully put together track. It does all the right things at the right time – the quiet intro, the gradual build to the huge sound section. The quiet outro. And there are the most fabulous layers of vocals. Vocals are double tracked, vocals are there in the background adding tension and mood. This is really about her voice – as it should be. And all of this goes to put across a story of love gone wrong in words and music. It’s emotional, it’s meaningful.

‘Mayhem’ is a beautiful sad song. A song that will drag your heart through the mill of heartbreak. A song from her heart.

GIG NEWS: Jack Savoretti Extends his Europiana Tour to The Victoria Theatre Halifax this June 30th

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18 Feb 2022