Sacred Places

Posted on May 17, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

Harlem, New York, May 14 2021, Buddhabug Records & Studio. Luqman Brown released the Sacred Places L.P., Available on vinyl from Buddhabug and digitally from Apple Music and Spotify. Links are at the end of my rant.

The rant: this is a seriously good album. All the more impressive when we know the road Luqman Brown went down to record this. He intended to release this album in 2017, but he suffered a stroke and relearned walking and talking. I’m not sure if he had to learn to chew gum at the same time. 🙂 As if that isn’t enough, he had heart surgery in 2019.

“Being able to properly put this record out into the world means that I didn’t give up in the face of death. This album was supposed to be released in 2017, but I had a stroke as a result of severe complications with my heart. In 2019, I underwent heart surgery to place an LVAD in my heart to keep it pumping. The result of these health complications left me weak and without the breath to perform,” says Luqman Brown.

“At the time, I thought that myself and this album would never make it out into the world—as proud as I am of it. Nevertheless, I slowly came back, and now the world will get to hear what it’s like living in NYC every day—hard times, staying alive, and taking the time to have a good brunch along the way.”

That is impressive intestinal fortitude. Many would have quit in the face of all that Luqman Brown went through, but to his credit, he didn’t.

The result is an excellent album that defies being put into a genre box. We are treated to some dubstep, some rap, some R&B, some reggae and some straight-up rock and roll on Sacred Places.

After numerous listens, I am still finding little nuggets here and there on each of the 11 tracks. I am going to keep listening because this is a powerful listening experience. I have put Sacred Places on as background while I worked, and I have listened to it intentionally. Both work just fine.

This LP also features Ronny Drayton, Corey Glover, Marc Cary, Roy Radics and Micah Gaugh. They did an admirable job.

ALBUMS CREDITS
Performed by Dope Sagittarius
Written by Luqman Brown and Brian Gosher
Produced by Brian Gosher
Recorded in Harlem, New York and North Brunswick, New Jersey, except ‘LaRonda’
Mixing and Mastering by Brian Gosher.

The record also has social commentary that is relevant to current news stories. Darn, I am listening to the album again as I write this, and the bass sax on the song Hate Us just slapped me in the face to get my attention. Some excellent jazz tucked in here and there. Now I am rocking along with Quitting Time and can’t stop head bobbing along to the groove.

This would make a great listen on a slab of vinyl and the big speakers (Image’) in the music room. It also made an impressive listen on Apple Music and my computer speakers, Bose. And if that isn’t enough, I also enjoyed it on my House of Marley earbuds. This is a win, win, win record and well worth you taking the time to listen to it more than once.

FOR SHARING

‘Black Empress’ https://youtu.be/7kebfP5yi80

Bandcamp (single) https://dopesagittarius.bandcamp.com/track/black-empress-3

‘Define Love’ https://youtu.be/9St-uddBmT8

Bandcamp (single) https://dopesagittarius.bandcamp.com/track/define-love-2

Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/dope-sagittarius/define-love

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/6b2Mmfp4TBKl0n6ZDy2BwK

Vinyl pre-order https://www.buddhabugrecords.com/shop/p/beni-shoga-y62bf-sgpj6

Bandcamp (album) https://dopesagittarius.bandcamp.com/album/sacred-places

Bonus time if you have read this far! The record also comes with a copy of the comic book ‘Dope Sagittarius In the Bumbaclout Strain,’ which was written by Luqman Brown with artwork by Tim Smith III.

Double bonus. The band also present the video for ‘Black Empress’ featuring violinist Mazz Swift (Whitney Houston, Valerie June) and Paris-based hip-hop legend/wordsmith/rap pioneer Mike Ladd (“king of the hip-hop concept” – The Guardian). This rocking hip-hop electro soundclash is a song for this Black Lives Matter age. Directed by Morgan Freeman with support from cinematographer Andrew Coury, this video was produced by Carlyle Smith with Executive Producers Luqman Brown and LaRonda Davis. Filmed at YouTube Studios New York City, it stars Angelana Jones and Anthony Bowman, along with M.C. Whistler on Vox/ Guitar, Ernest G. D’Amaso on Bass, Entrified Mcloud on Keys and Ramsey Jones on Drums. I wouldn’t be surprised if these players appeared on the album. Either way, they are great musicians.

Bluebird, Hollywood… Domino

Posted on May 14, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

An email landed in my mailbox two days back from the fine folks over at Shameless Promotions PR. Inside the email was a link to a music video for the song Bluebird, Hollywood… Domino’ from a band that was all new to me, The Gorstey Lea Street Choir. A pair of names, one for the song and another for that band, that compelled me to know more about them. The band name comes with a story behind it. The song arrives as a story.

First things first, then shall we. Here is a link to the video:

YouTube https://youtu.be/2LDscdfKDPU

The video is a bit psychedelic in style and not for people with epilepsy but decent enough. However, it is the music that grabbed me.

The song opens with a droning synth note, which introduces a rattling snare drum in waltz tempo, followed by the other instruments and a great bass line.

Michael Clapham, half of the duo who call themselves The Gorstey Lea Street Choir, tells us that “This song is a cautionary tale of days gone by, what may have been and where we are now, we are two men in our’ mid lives’ (average age 51 and a half). We have a lot to look back and learn from and a lot to look forward too!!! It’s amazing what we have created, two middle-aged men fumbling around with some of our favourite musical toys in Russ’s converted garage,”

The other half of The Gorstey Lea Street Choir, Russ Philips adds this about the song.

“We are both very proud of what this track and the upcoming mini-LP represents, plus we also cannot wait for you to hear the re-imaginations that our friend and collaborator Choque (Black Star Liner) has created to go alongside the 4 original tracks,” adds Russ Philips.

The band is essentially two friends on a life-long journey; having met as teenagers in the mid-’80s, it took until 2016 for them to turn their teenage plans — discussed back when both were involved in aspiring Manchester bands — into a reality with the birth of this project.

Michael and Russ formed the band after reuniting for Russ’s birthday party and a subsequent impromptu gig. After 15 plus years of not playing an instrument, singing or songwriting, Michael dove back in with an enthusiasm that led to such a massive response from the crowd and landlord alike that the two songs turning into two hours and a guaranteed booking the next month. ‘What’s your band name, boys?” they were asked and ‘The Gorstey Lea Street Choir’ is quickly retorted with a tip of the hat to Van Morrison‘s LP ‘His Band And The Street Choir.’

As of May 13, ‘Bluebird, Hollywood… Domino’ will be available everywhere digitally, including Apple Music and Spotify. The entire album’…from Prince’s Park to Farsley – Volume I’ will be released on July 9 and can already be pre-ordered via the label’s Bandcamp.

Closing remark: mark July 9 on your calendar, you are going to love this album when it comes out.

Keep up with The Gorstey Lea Street Choir

https://www.facebook.com/TheGorsteyLeaStreetChoir 1https://twitter.com/GorsteyLea https://www.instagram.com/thegorsteyleastreetchoir https://500broadcast.bandcamp.com/album/from-princes-park-to-farsley-volume-i https://soundcloud.com/thegorsteyleastreetchoir https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrBSnmQLTE8DaTVZHQG-6Zg/videos https://open.spotify.com/artist/19YNwhd2isI2Vm9melbdRk

If you have any questions, contact Shauna from Shameless Promotion PR at contact@shamelesspromotionpr.com

A Poole for You & Us

Posted on May 13, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

If you throw enough music at my brain, some of it will stick, some will leave a smear, and some will fall away, never to grace my turntable a second time.

Some of the exceptional music not only sticks but spins into earworms or, best of all outcomes, form a groove of their own in the wrinkly stuff inside my head.

Pink Floyd did that to me in 1973 when they released Dark Side of the Moon with the standout track Us and Them. More recently, in 2001, 16 Horsepower’s album Hoarse established a home in my head. In 2009 The Avett Brothers did it to me with their album I and Love and You.

Fast-forward to May 14, 2021, and the Swedish duo Fredrik Forell and Arvid Hällagård, collaborating as “Pool”, have released ‘You & Us’ via Something Beautiful, their debut album. Having press privilege, I was able to preview this album and post my impression of it back on May 11 of this year. It quickly ploughed a groove through my auditory cortex into my cerebrum, where it established a home.

The remainder of this post contains some text from the review that I did on April 11.

Arvid Hällagård handles the lead vocals with a voice that sends chills up and down my spine. ‘You & Us‘ see Fredrik Forell and Arvid Hällagård telling it all in a strikingly raw and unadulterated rumination of loss and sorrow. Going through a divorce as the album was taking shape, Arvid’s heartache beautifully translates into something we can all witness and understand. The record follows the painful journey of putting a relationship to rest, recognising its shortcomings and beginning to move on from start to finish. His vocal style has an almost haunted quality which serves him well on tracks such as the opener “Grave“. About the album’s title track, You & Us, Arvid says, “These are some thoughts about how she and I felt during the relationship, how you have to handle yourself, and at the same time an ‘Us’. Mostly it’s about how hard a relationship can be, having a first kid. You expect it to be in a certain way, and the disappointment when those expectations turn out to be unreal.”

Multi-instrumentalist Fredrik Forell adds the music that verges on Americana folk but opens up new sounds that left me wondering what the hell that was.

I love it! If iTunes had grooves, I would have worn out this album by now. The lyrics and music combine to create a portrait of pain. “You and Us” walks us through the journey of love, love lost, love that never was and love that needs room to grow.

A killer track on “You and Us” that caught my ear was “By The Old Noon“. It was an instant earworm for me. Take what sounds like a banjo and then add some samples, mix them all with the remorseful lyrics, and you get a song that keeps hitting the repeat button and keeps me wondering, “What the Hell was that?”.

I could go on and on waxing poetically about this EP and the sheer brilliance of this album, but I will leave it for You & Us, I and Love and You and Us and Them to enjoy for yourselves.

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

D I S C O V E R

https://www.facebook.com/poolstheband

https://www.instagram.com/poolstheband/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4bcbIKU2rCjMoNim9Icn6t

For press enquiries, contact james@mysticsons.com or dan@mysticsons.com

Chewing Gum

Posted on May 12, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

This is a follow up from a review that I posted back in October of 2020. I had been listening to Promise and the Monster and I was loving every moment. Then I put the album on the shelf until just this past week. Promise and the Monster’s EP was officially released and I have been listening to it over and over again. This is good music my friends.

Having established herself as one of Sweden’s most esoteric and mesmerizing songwriters, with
critical acclaim from Uncut, Mojo, Clash and Pitchfork, Promise and the Monster has set
forth on a new path with her upcoming EP Chewing Gum out on 30th April 2021 on her new
home label Icons Creating Evil Art.

Promise and the Monster is the brainchild of Stockholm-based Billie Lindhal. Now joined by Love
Martinsen, who Billie calls “the invisible other half”, Promise and the Monster is undergoing an
electronic tilt. Inspired by the discord between urban and rural, Billie balances organic
instrumentation with ethereal soundscapes — a heavenly synergy that is more prevalent than ever on Chewing Gum.
Chewing Gum follows leading singles ‘Beating Heart’ and ‘Closed My Eyes’, continuing her penchant for finding the romantic within the dark. Whilst demonstrating a shift towards electronic

instrumentation, Billie’s roots as a classical musician shine through, with cinematic string sections
adjoined with shimmering synths lifting each track into a warm, fairy-tale haze. “Chewing Gum is a
collection of songs that are dreamy, dark and romantic and spins little stories from hell” she says.
Traversing the ambiguous, Chewing Gum creates allure in the unsaid and leaves space for
interpretation. Inspiration doesn’t run short in the world that Billie Lindhal has crafted with her
music, touching on unrequited love, sisterhood and the many reasons someone might close their
eyes. She says, “I wrote ‘Closed My Eyes’ surprisingly quickly after thinking about the ambiguity in
that image, closing one’s eyes for various reasons. It was good fuel. The women in this song are out roaming in the streets.”
However, her musings also extend past the human psyche. Third track, ‘One Summer’ took shape
after watching Swedish 1950s drama, Sawdust And Tinsel, a tale of a travelling circus, she says, “We watched a movie called Sawdust and Tinsel to get the right feeling while recording this one. It is about a tired circus company dragging their circus wagons around in a dusty old landscape.”
The six-track EP features four unheard songs from Promise And The Monster: ‘Diamonds On
Concrete’, ‘Vykort Från Förr’, ‘One Summer’ and title-track ‘Chewing Gum’. Each track serves as a
platform for the hypnotic power of Billie’s haunting vocal.

Chewing Gum comes out on 30 th April 2021 via Icons Creating Evil Art.

D I S C O V E R
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7M9SZIojabB1ukKSYEz2TM
Facebook: www.facebook.com/promiseandthemonster
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/promiseandthemonster

For all press enquiries, please contact megan@mysticsons.com

Pentral – What Lies Ahead of Us

Posted on May 12, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

Brazilian progressive rock / metal trio Pentral present their debut long-player ‘What Lies Ahead of Us’on the trail of high-energy singles ‘Aiming For The Sun’, ‘All My Wounds’ and ‘Silent Trees’– the sonic launching pad into the sonic expansive of a concept album reflecting on today’s society, presenting the saga of a lowly couple fighting for their lives and sanity.

This long-player tells of the tragic reality of many Amazon dwellers, whose habitat, lifestyle and livelihood are brutally taken from them, not to mention the destruction of the forest itself. Through their videos and lyrics, Pentral tells the story about the destruction and pilfering of the Amazon’s natural habitat. The video for singles ‘Silent Trees’ (part 2) and ‘Aiming For The Sun’ (part 2) were filmed in their native Amazon – as chapters in a dedicated saga that will unfold, track by track. Directed by Roger Elarrat and produced by Luana Klautau, this also involves Lucas Escócio as director of photography and editor Roger Elarrat, this video features actors Anne Costa, Guto Galvão, Eduarda Cursino, Boris Knez and Aldo Lima.

Hailing from Belém in northern Brazil, Pentral is made up of Victor Lima (vocals, guitars, songwriter, lyrics), Vagner Lima (drummer) and Joe Ferri (bass guitar). Their unique take on alternative rock can be described as progressive, heavy, groovy and melodic, while the band also deliver a strong political message about what is going on in Brazil and all over the world.
Pentral stands for ‘spirit’ in Latin, indicative of the message this band is trying to inspire via their sound – the need to transcend this material world through the power of music, without losing connection with reality and human frailties.

For this 10-track LP, the trio worked with legendary producer Tim Palmer (David Bowie’s Tin Machine, The Mission, HIM, U2, Robert Plant, Tears For Fears, Ozzy Osbourne, Goo Goo Dolls, Pearl Jam). Produced jointly by Pentral and Tim Palmer produced this album, with Sergio Fouad and Cesar Bottinha co-producing. Palmer also mixed the LP, which was mastered by Justin Shturtz (HIM, The Psychedelic Furs, Nancy Wilson, Slipnot, Tin Machine).

Deeply influenced by their Amazon roots, Pentral’s music is influenced by many global influences while also striving to honor Brazil’s groove and unique harmonies, progressive rock, metal music, atmosphere and melody. This debut album sums up years of experimentation and the search for human awareness of the environment, peace and equality.

“The album ‘What Lies Ahead of Us’ is like a “declaration” and it was conceived way before COVID-19 came out…But it kind of fits the current reality we´re going through. This pandemic is the outcome of the unfriendly way we’ve been treating our environment and ourselves as well, and it served to expose our insensitivity, our lack of empathy,”says Pentral frontman Victor Lima.

“It’s a story about a man and a woman who lives in the woods. The forest is invaded by a group of mercenaries (pretty common in Brazil) in order to burn the woods down and make money with that, the man is killed, the woman manages to survive and she is pregnant, then she gives birth to a girl, and They try to survive in the city, experiencing racism, violence, hunger, selfishness, indifference. The only thing they have – they love each other. So, the elements of the story – environment being destroyed, people suffering discrimination by the color of their skin, by the place where they came from, being selfish and violent for the sake of their own interests and prejudices, politics and religion abuse and extremism and the only way I believe things could be solved – the power of love. The album is like a journey of the three characters (a woman, a man, and their kid) passing through all the issues I’m talking about in the lyrics for these ten songs.”

As of May 7, the ‘What Lies Ahead of Us’ album is available everywhere digitally, including Apple Musicand Spotify. It can be ordered via https://pentral.lnk.to/WhatLiesAheadOfUs or via Amazon.

CREDITS
All songs written by Victor Lima
Produced by Pentral and Tim Palmer
Co-produced and engineered by Sergio Fouad and Cesar Botinha
Justin Shturtz – mastering
Tim Palmer – mixing, additional guitars, percussion and keyboards
Victor Lima – vocals and guitars
Vagner Lima – drums
Joe Ferri – bass guitar
Cover artwork by Heidi Teillefer

Supernaive Versions

Posted on May 12, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

After burning cars, driving a Toyota 2000GT (https://bit.ly/3u6Ubnk), partying in Tokyo (https://bit.ly/3xzQmZW), and being on a TV show (https://bit.ly/3e77QVG) for their debut album “Nekomata” (2020), Supernaive decided to turn their most famous tracks into club versions.

« The idea came to us last year during confinement in Paris, not being able to listen to or play music in concert. The composition of “Versions” became for us a way to escape, to dream of more festive days, while waiting to be able to go back on stage. »

This album is also an introduction to their live show, which we hope you will be able to discover soon!

Supernaive consists of two brothers – bound by blood and sound – blending electronic and acoustic music in an inventive and delicate way. Masks, symbols of eternal youth in Japanese Noh theater cover their faces, allowing the music to give life to their poetic doubles.

To celebrate the first birthday of their album “Nekomata” (2020), Supernaive presents “Versions”, containing 8 alternative versions of their most famous songs as well as 2 bonus tracks. With this new record, they offer bangers after bangers, from breakbeat to acid, in their own colorful way. Despite this explosive mixture, they keep their original sensitivity, and create a perfectly balanced composition, making their vintage synthesizers sing dreamlike melodies and spit relentless rhythms. As usual, François Baurin at mixing (Rone) and Alexis Bardinet at mastering (The Blaze), came to bring the last touch to this electronic piece.
You will (re)discover these 10 tracks in their live show, magnified by a tailor-made scenography and cinematographic projections, immersing yourself in their unique universe.
“We took great pleasure in radically transforming our tracks by imagining the crowd on the dance-floor. It was a way for us to escape in these times of confinement. We can’t wait to play them to you in concert!” » Supernaive.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE & SOCIALS

https://ffm.bio/supernaive

For all inquiries including press and licensing, please contact us : hello@himitsu.audio

Ender Bender

Posted on May 4, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

Charlie, Charlie

Posted on May 4, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

Charlie Nieland rolled out a new LP, Divisions.

As well as a new video to accompany a track off that album, The Land of Accidents, directed by NYC-based multi-faceted artist Hypnodoll.

Do I like this album?

Charlie, Charlie!!

Vis-a-vis yes, yes!!

Is it available on Apple Music?

Charlie, Charlie

https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-land-of-accidents-single/1552866398

What about Spotify?

Charlie, Charlie

https://open.spotify.com/album/4fFYtbeKovv5lvseKETU5v

Can I listen to the album on Bandcamp?

Charlie, Charlie

https://charlienieland.bandcamp.com/album/divisions

Can you tell me more about Charlie Nieland?

Charlie, Charlie

Charlie Nieland’s musical backstory is extensive, having written and produced material with such notable artists as Debbie Harry, Rufus Wainwright, Dead Leaf Echo, Blondie and Scissor Sisters. He scored the feature film ‘The Safety of Objects’ (starring Glenn Close), the pilot episode of ‘The L Word’ on Showtime and the VH-1documentary’ NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell’. Charlie was awarded a Gold record (UK) for his production work on Blondie’s ‘Greatest Hits Sight & Sound’ and achieved a Top 10 Billboard Dance Chart Position with Debbie Harry’s single ‘Two Times Blue’, which he co-wrote and produced.

Nieland also played power dream pop with the band Her Vanished Grace for over 20 years before establishing himself as a solo artist with a mix of nuanced songwriting and sonic exploration. He is currently half of the literature-inspired songwriting and performing duo Lusterlit with Susan Hwang.

Wow, Charlie has been a busy man, hasn’t he?

I’ll give a Charlie, Charlie to that.

Can Charlie tell us more about this album?

Charlie, Charlie, yes, yes he can.

“As the pandemic took hold, so did my plan to produce ‘Divisions’, and I began a listening expedition through my inspirations, from The Beatles to Yes, Cocteau Twins to Interpol, Peter Gabriel to Blur, U2 and The Flaming Lips. I wanted these tracks to be mini-epics, where you hear something new every time you listen. I started recording in my apartment this summer and reached out to drummer Brian Geltner and cellist Patricia Santos, who recorded their parts at home and shared them with me,” explains Charlie Nieland.

“As restrictions lifted, I started a marathon tracking process at my studio that included violinist Heather Cole, both Susan Hwang from my band Lusterlit and Billy Loose from Her Vanished Grace on drums and Susan on backup vocals. I called into service all my instruments, from lap steel to 6 and 12 string electric and acoustic guitars; fretless, fretted, and eight-string basses; analog synths, virtual mellotrons, TR-808s and more. This whirlwind journey is heard here in the obsessive and passionate, surreal and visceral, dream-like progressive rock and the dream pop of Divisions”.

Thanks that tells me a lot about both Charlie Nieland and his album Divisions. But did you like it?

Charlie, Charlie.

I most certainly did like it.

Is this album excellent to listen to while puttering about the house or working on a project?

It most certainly is. I listened to it repeatedly while writing this project.

How about whilst working on a hobby? Building diorama’s for example?

Divisions is perfect for that. The dream-pop floats out and envelopes the listener while doing almost any activity. I maybe wouldn’t recommend it for some tasks such as flying aeroplanes or driving a race car. However, for everyday activities, I can’t recommend this album enough.

Where can I find more information?

Keep up with Charlie Nieland

Bandcamp https://charlienieland.bandcamp.com/album/divisions

‘The Land of Accidents’ https://youtu.be/Ydo_QHH5GSU

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/4fFYtbeKovv5lvseKETU5v

Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-land-of-accidents-single/1552866398

‘Tightrope’ https://youtu.be/jRx4Zf2M3UA

‘Divisions’ single https://youtu.be/5ppmzFqLyJM

‘Another Night on Earth’ https://youtu.be/tV97FMQFtE0

‘Pawns’ https://youtu.be/28zWyWOgB9s

Shameless Promotion PR at contact@shamelesspromotionpr.com

p.s. Charlie-Charlie is a fancy substitution for a standard affirmative and accepted non-standard words roger and wilco.

Lisa Gerrard and Jules Maxwell Deshta (Forever)

Posted on May 3, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

Lisa Gerrard and Jules Maxwell, best known for their work as part of the legendary band Dead Can Dance, present ‘Deshta (Forever)’, the second single from their forthcoming studio album ‘Burn’. The accompanying video is directed by cinematographer Michal Sosna.
Produced by James Chapman (MAPS), the long-play will be released on May 7 via Atlantic Curve, a London-based label that is part of the Schubert Music Europe.

“Deshta recalls a dream of eternity, spinning fearlessly into the perpetual Light,” says Lisa Gerrard.

Jules Maxwell adds: “Deshta has a dark brooding quality. James Chapman’s production has helped draw out a raw earthiness to the piece and Michal Sosna’s accompanying video is brilliantly disquieting and human at the same time.”

The record began its journey more than seven years ago, when Lisa met Irish theatre composer Jules Maxwell before working together for the first time. Things really took root when Gerrard and Maxwell began writing songs for their earlier collaboration ‘The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices (Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares)’. They were later introduced to Chapman and asked him to produce this album, which represents a stunning departure for all three of them.

With Chapman joining the duo as producer, ideas generated freely and over time, a distinct sound for their work began to emerge. Their focus was to create something that was both euphoric and compelling; more inventive than what they had worked on separately in the past. From gentle beginnings, each track builds and intensifies, creating a hypnotic experience to listen to from start to finish. With Lisa remaining in Australia, Jules adding his keys and percussion from France, and James bringing new light to the sound from England, the three were literally worlds apart, but those worlds fused in this music.

“With ‘Deshta (Forever) the aim was to create a huge, expansive and spacious sound. It is a dark, uplifting and mysterious journey. The call and response sections in the vocals are especially haunting. It is a very immersive track, and it was a joy to work on,” says James Chapman.

Sosna’s video is among seven specially commissioned films to accompany the release of the album. The first of these, created by Polish director Jacob Chelkowski’s video for the title track ‘Noyalain (Burn)’, proves more than a little provocative in these days of Covid, as it portrays the simple, traumatic act of touching.

In early March, Jules Maxwell also released his sophomore solo album ‘Nocturnes’ – the debut release for the newly-formed Archangelo Recordings. This beautifully melancholic collection of instrumental pieces was written and recorded over the past four years, much of it in collaboration with the acclaimed UK-based Vincent Dance Theatre.

‘Deshta (Forever)’ and ‘Noyalain (Burn)’ are both available digitally across online platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify. The full ‘Burn’ album, set for release on May 7, can be pre-ordered on vinyl, CD and digitally at https://orcd.co/lisajulesburn

Keep up with Atlantic Curve
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Song of Co-Aklan

Posted on May 3, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

It would be absurd of me to try and describe Song of Co-Aklan, the just-released album by Cathal Coughlan. But I will let a bit of my sanity slip further away from me and put some words together that will hopefully elucidate the hoi-polloi and entertain those who read it through.

Falling Out North Street, the second from the last song on the album, is an excellent place to start. This standout song comes with the bonus of a short film directed by acclaimed Yorkshire-based musician and artist Marry Waterson. In the absence of live events due to the pandemic, short films and music videos have taken on a new life of their own. They don’t stream on MTV like the music videos of 1981. In 2021 we have fantastic short films such as Falling Out North Street and slick music videos, many of them streaming on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLeGoL-w7F8

Falling Out North Street in the words of Cathal Coughlan. “The song tries to describe the absurdity of trying to keep hold of sanity, dignity or confidence in the face of the remorseless advance of time. From the start of the song, a circular pattern from the bass guitar and a plucked cello advances implacably, as the vocal and some transient instrumental elements try to pick a way through the debris of lives and communities. A broad chorus breaks the deadlock every so often, where exhortations are attempted by a wall of voices. Eventually, the singer has to suggest that he and the person he’s addressing might have been better off and happier all along had they been pavement purveyors of shouted gibberish and box-room detritus. And so the song ends,” says Cathal Coughlan.

Listening to this album, Song of Co-Aklan, was a challenge for me. On the first go-round, the music struck me first. Cathal Coughlan has surrounded himself with talent, and they are a cracker band. On the second spin around the album, I listened to the vocals. I have no idea what Cathal Coughlan is trying to say through many of the songs, but he is a fine storyteller in the tradition of Leonard Cohen or towards the lyrics of Frank Zappa.

For example, in the opening track, Song of Co-Aklan, we have this bit, ‘Raise your hands if you don’t know what this means.’ I have my hands up. I don’t know what this means. Several names dropped, such as Bob Nairac, but I have my hands up. I do not know what his character brings to the song as a whole.

My Child Is Alive is a good bit of writing. Here is a sample;

‘He never knew the mother, they just fell together once

Did what he could to dodge her until after nine full months

The baby didn’t make it, quite a scandal in the town

Daddy joined the civil clergy, gained salvation profound

Now the police for the cover they need

make his lovers believe my child’s alive!’

I will continue listening and unravelling this album bit by bit. I am sure it will grow into something even more beautiful with time and effort. In the meantime, I would encourage you, the reader, to check out the links below. This album can be listened to in many ways and means. Happy listening and play safe.

The ‘Song of Co-Aklan’ LP is now available across online platforms, such as Apple Music and Spotify, as well as physically. It can be ordered at https://ffm.to/songofcoaklanalbum.

Falling Out North Street’ https://youtu.be/JLeGoL-w7F8
‘The Knockout Artist’ https://youtu.be/lPr9f0l96pA
‘Song Of Co-Aklan’ https://youtu.be/e6YL06Za4rc
‘Owl In The Parlour’ https://youtu.be/7KKri0pTmkI
Cathal introduces his album https://youtu.be/f3MsD3NR-6M Bandcamp https://cathalc.bandcamp.com
Spotify https://spoti.fi/3fcB7iY
Digital Order https://orcd.co/songofcoaklan
CD / Vinyl order (USA/Canada) https://ffm.to/soca_us
CD / Vinyl order (UK/Ireland) https://ffm.to/songofcoaklanalbum

Shameless Promotion PR at contact@shamelesspromotionpr.com

Weathered Music

The musical explorations of Norman and Joel Weatherly.

Sacred Places

Bluebird, Hollywood… Domino

A Poole for You & Us

Chewing Gum

Pentral – What Lies Ahead of Us

Supernaive Versions

Ender Bender

Charlie, Charlie

Lisa Gerrard and Jules Maxwell Deshta (Forever)

Song of Co-Aklan