Freedom

Posted on September 5, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

It is early September, and the crisp winds and cooler temperatures tell us that autumn isn’t far away. It arrives on September 22nd this year. Growing up, this meant that we were going back to school after the Freedom of the summer holidays.

September also meant the arrival of the Christmas wish books from Sears and Eaton’s. We were not rich, but through the magic of wishing, we experienced the freedom of making any object in the catalogue come to life and be our plaything for as long as we could keep the catalogue away from our siblings.

Dublin-based Kilkenny-born indie-pop artist Cat Dowling will release an album this fall via FIFA Records. While we wait for the album, we have the freedom to explore Cat Dowling’s new single, Freedom and let our imaginations take us to beautiful places where we can run and laugh and dance and be free.

Dowling also presents the video for ‘Freedom,’ created by Alba Lahoz. When Covid restrictions were momentarily lifted in Ireland, Cat’s three free-spirited tearaway children do their thing, showing that Freedom is a space inside us that can never be tamed.

“Sometimes we think big. Sometimes we think small. Sometimes we think with all we have got. When we have limited access to other humans, the humans closest to us are the most important humans of all,” says Cat Dowling.

“This video was filmed on a bitingly cold December afternoon when the light was sparse, winds howled, and the skies randomly opened. We managed to find the sun, fell in love with the wind and forgot about the camera. It was mainly filmed on Donabate beach and Dollymount Strand in Dublin. Freedom is best explained and expressed in childhood when there are no limitations, everything is possible, and we are free to be truly ourselves”.

Freedom’s out now, available everywhere digitally, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. Fans can expect Cat Dowling‘s next long-player to be released in November of this year.

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Thawing Permafrost

Posted on September 5, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

The loss of permafrost will have drastic long-term effects on our planet.

The addition of Permafrost is having a dramatic impact on my Apple Music Library. I have put the single, Restore Us, from the band Permafrost, on an endless loop as I write. The single Restore Us is from the soon-to-be-announced album Fear of Music, which is the title of one of my all-time favourite albums. It is, of course, the Talking Heads that I allude to, and Permafrost have cited the Talking Heads as an influencer for their music.

Permafrost is making a comeback after a hiatus. Formed in Norway in 1982, they were active during the first post-punk wave and finally, we can all join them in this exciting new wave. The band has also grown to include British keyboardist Daryl Bamonte, who took the video footage for their new single ‘Restore Us’ while on the road with Depeche Mode for their Music For The Masses tour.

The single, Restore Us was released on September 3 and is available everywhere online via the Fear of Music label with distribution by Secretly Noord. We can also find the single on Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. It can be pre-saved on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/Permafrost-RestoreUs

The video is available right now:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfB3e-ToRlk

I await the album, Fear of Music, and re-listen to the single over and over and over as I wait.

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Posted on September 3, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

Harry Stafford and Marco Butcher have never actually met in the flesh. But they are punk soul brothers from the same muddy musical pond. Connecting with one another during a year of ‘lockdown hell,’ their exchange of ideas and talk of musical influences inadvertently led to their collaboration.

As innovative juices began to boil, the frantic exchange of digital files culminated in ‘Bone Architecture,’ a 12-track album that both had been itching to make. This superb collection includes reworked older material, brand-new compositions and even a dirty blues version of the Pink Floyd classic ‘Arnold Layne.’

‘Bone Architecture‘ is a raw and, at times, unforgiving forage into urban punk blues with fuzzed-up jazz and garage trash rock. Here, Harry and Marco’s styles have clashed magnificently into a powerful record that crosses many genres but with a dirty blues makeover.

“There’s something about collaborating that is pure magic to me, ’cause you’re not sharing ideas at the same time and you’re in the moment. There’s something about the not knowing what the other will bring. The surprise factor. The fact that music is very elastic and not always the way you listen to it in your mind but something else, something cooler, greater,” says Marco Butcher.

“I guess mutual respect has a lot to do it too, sharing the same type of ideas about music and life… For some time, Inca Babies ‘This Train’ was my bandstand music when I was crossing a very dark and dangerous lifestyle, when I decided NOT to die. This album was the one I listened to the most.”

Marco’s tracks were recorded at his Boombox Studio in Winston Salem, then shipped to Manchester, where Harry laid down vocals, piano and any instrumental tomfoolery he saw fit at Black Lagoon Records. The files also flew to London for trumpet player Kevin Davy to blend some jazz tones.

On September 3, ‘Bone Architecture‘ will be released on CD and available everywhere online, including Spotify and Apple Music. Both formats can be ordered via Bandcamp and the Louder than War shop.

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Ghosts of New York State

Posted on September 1, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

I drove through New York state and loved every kilometre of the journey. There were scenic and historical rest areas all along the highways and byways. However, we didn’t stop for a proper visit in New York, city or state. That leaves the door open for us to return and take in at least some of what we missed driving through New York.

We didn’t encounter any Ghosts of New York State. On the other hand, I enjoy listening to Ghosts of New York State, the new single released today by Will Graefe and Jeremy Gustin, who make beautiful music under the nom de plume Star Rover.

“The seed of ‘Ghosts of New York State‘ began with the fingerpicked riff, which alternates between 6/4 and 7/4 meters throughout. We wanted this song to communicate the numb and dislocated feeling of the words while maintaining a propulsive groove and nervous energy. The burst of colour in the middle represents a kind of blinding epiphany. This song is about family and the weight we carry, sometimes unknowingly and unconsciously. The end mantra is ” The ghost, the host. The ghost, my host,” says Will Graefe.

There is also an excellent video based on the song Ghosts of New York State:

I will give a broader account of Star Rover on October 15, when the LP will be released. As of August 31, ‘Ghosts of New York State‘ will be available across digital platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music. The ‘Star Rover‘ LP will be released on October 15 and pre-ordered via Bandcamp.

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Weathered Music

The musical explorations of Norman and Joel Weatherly.

Monthly Archives: September 2021

Freedom

Thawing Permafrost

Ghosts of New York State