The Weeknd unveils a video for the Kanye West-produced “Tell Your Friends.” From the upcoming album Beauty Behind the Madness.
That video didn't make sense until you realize it was set up to be an add for Jaguar(?).
Who cares what your song is about. We need the desert for a stock standard car shoot. [Edited 8/25/15 5:51am]
“It means finding the very human narrative of a man navigating between idealism and pragmatism, faith and politics, non- violence, the pitfalls of acclaim as the perils of rejection” - Lesley Hazleton on the first Muslim, the prophet.
You need to watch the video for "The Hills" to understand it.
I see.
“It means finding the very human narrative of a man navigating between idealism and pragmatism, faith and politics, non- violence, the pitfalls of acclaim as the perils of rejection” - Lesley Hazleton on the first Muslim, the prophet.
“It means finding the very human narrative of a man navigating between idealism and pragmatism, faith and politics, non- violence, the pitfalls of acclaim as the perils of rejection” - Lesley Hazleton on the first Muslim, the prophet.
Listen to the new release from singer Jones, aka Cherie Jones. The East Londoner has given her upbeat debut track, 'Deep', an acoustic makeover; stripping the electronic drum beat to allow her vocals to take center stage. The original track is from Jones' latest EP, 'Indulge' (a collaborative effort with XL Recordings' resident producer Rodaidh McDonald, Ninja Tune artist Raffertie, newcomers Brunelle and A.K. Paul. Check out the acoustic offering below.
By Alexander Aplerku, AFROPUNK Contributor
NEW MUSIC: 'EUPHORIC' - THE SUBLIME NEW SINGLE FROM ALT LONDON SOULSTRESS CONNIE CONSTANCE
Listen to the sublime new release from London alt singer-songwriter Connie Constance - 'Euphoric'. The track appears on her new EP, 'In The Grass'. Constance says: "Euphoric is a love song that twists and turns with the feelings of doubt and fear in the uncertainty of a modern love affair." Her camp describe the 20 year old's sound as, "music for her generation that breathes escapism from the cuts and bruises of young British life, penning lyrics on buses and trains". Check out the new single below.
By Alexander Aplerku, AFROPUNK Contributor
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. 'In The Grass' EP - Tracklist 1. Stars 2. Euphoric 3. Kingdon .
Today we're premiering the new single from Brooklyn-based singer songwriter Tangina Stone - 'Wasn't Love Cafe". The mellow track is her first release on label Feel Up Records (owned by Jillionaire of Major Lazer) and is produced by her long time friend and collaborator Ted Birdie. Regarding the song, Stone tells us: "Love can be bittersweet. Sometimes we don't know that until after we pull cupids arrow out of our backs. In the case of "Wasn't Love Cafe", I was inspired by those who have been in volatile, unhealthy relationships, and as a result now have a full understanding of what love is like when two people really love each other. Love should always be done wholeheartedly." Listen below.
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By Alexander Aplerku, AFROPUNK Contributor
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NEW MUSIC: ONE-WOMAN BAND AND SINGER ESTERE COVERS FELLOW NEW ZEALANDER TINY RUINS - 'ME AT THE MUSEUM, YOU IN THE WINTER GARDENS'
Listen to the latest release from one-woman band, singer, and producer, Estere - 'Me At The Museum, You In The Winter Gardens'. The song is originally by New Zealand singer-songwriter Tiny Ruins, and Estere (hailing from Wellington, New Zealand) has given it her signature experimental touch. Stream below.
“Strange Hellos”, the lead song on Torres’ sophomore album, Sprinter, is bookended by two distinct lyrical wonders. The first is the album’s opening, where the Georgia native, former Nashville resident, and current Brooklyn artist gives her own awkward greeting: “Heather, I’m sorry that your mother/ Diseased in the brain/ Cannot recall your name/ Heather, I dreamt that I forgave/ But that only comes in waves/I hate you all the same.”
It’s abrupt and dark, and alongside the later lyric “strange hellos are not my bag,” it can even be taken with an embedded sense of humor. But it also serves as window dressing to the song’s center, the deep-cutting refrain where Mackenzie Scott exclaims, “I was all for being real/ But if I don’t believe, then no one will/ What’s mine isn’t really yours/ But I hope you find what you’re looking for.” The lines could be seen as a mantra, or as a pre-emptive defense for an album that never shies from the deeply personal and often moving details of Scott’s own experiences.
Scott’s point of view, like her strange hello, shouldn’t need defending, but we get a glimpse into her artistic stance, and it taps into the pulse of what makes her music affecting in the first place. Whether or not the album is confessional, which Ann Powers spoke to in he...PR summary, isn’t really as important as whether the songs are believable. And Scott is wise to know that if anyone needs to believe in the emotion she unleashes over these nine tracks, it is herself. Each chorus on “Strange Hellos” intensifies until she sounds ferocious, threatening to swallow the audience whole with her conviction. It’s a powerful start to an album where power is par for the course.
Musically or technically, Torres isn’t trying to break new ground on Sprinter. The record places its weight on lyrics, songwriting, and the emotion in Scott’s voice. “Cowboy Guilt” is playful in its ambition, coming off like a bedroom St. Vincent, while “The Exchange”, a nearly eight-minute emotional stunner, makes as much use of Scott’s fingers sliding on the guitar strings and birds chirping in the background as it does out of the actual notes she strums. As her acoustic gets louder by the song’s end, all ears train on her quivering voice, unsure if she is breaking down or lashing out. Either way, there is no a question as to whether everyone will believe what they hear. The question is more if the listener is ready to go to the same dark and lonely places that Scott wants to take us. When she sings “I’m underwater,” drowning along with her isn’t a choice, but an inevitability.
But the joy of listening to Torres — and there is a lot of joy — is in her words, her melodies, and the fire she breathes when she sings. The achievement that is Sprinter should surprise no one considering the acclaim for her debut LP in 2013, but the fact that a virtual masterpiece came so soon afterwards is still worth recognizing. Scott is only 24, but she writes with the courage of someone much older. She is already willing to bear the wisdom and insight that comes from her Southern Baptist roots — and from leaving them behind.
“New Skin” finds her moving between lives, between who she is expected to be in different worlds. “Who is that speaking for me?” she asks, only to conclude that it’s “a child of God, just like yourself.“ Moments later, Scott is firm in her identity: “I am a tired woman,” she proclaims. The music doesn’t spring from weariness, but a clear-eyed space where Scott is confident and uncompromising. She’s again “wide-eyed” on the excellent “The Harshest Light”, stepping into the glare in all its fervor, while the title track finds her running from the past, given the excuse to abandon her religious upbringing by a perverted pastor.
Leaving the past behind is difficult for Scott, and she notes that “there’s freedom to and freedom from.” When tasked with the choice between darkness and light, she chooses the sun. “Cowboy Guilt” also sees her coming to terms with her origins, but through a more sharp-witted lens. The humor in the details comes full circle and makes “Ferris Wheel” feel self-referential when she claims “you hide behind … music and wit.” The song’s object is a lover she never had, in whom she sees a lot of herself, whom she desires greatly to relate to, to experience. The same things she admires in another could easily be the things the listener admires in her. “There is nothing in this world that I wouldn’t do/ To show you that I’ve got the sadness, too,” she repeats in the album’s most lovelorn and heartbreaking moment. She fails to show the song’s object her sadness, but she succeeds in illuminating what makes her so special as an artist.
The album’s density makes her earlier disclaimer “what’s mine isn’t really yours” ring all the more true. At times, Torres does hit on universal concepts of alienation and hope and beauty and faith, but at others she stays very much in her own world. The track and field metaphor found in the title is the unspoken realization that life isn’t a 50 yard dash, but, for most of us, a marathon. It goes in circles; it isn’t simply a sprint between two points.
This wisdom comes through most vividly in a couple of spare lines. On “A Proper Polish Welcome”, featuring Scott’s most technically impressive vocals, she sings about “rocking and holy, we came two by two,” like animals moving to an ark to escape a great flood. But Scott doesn’t long for this safety. “I wish I was the sea,” she sings. Later, she admits, “I don’t mind the way it feels/ To ride an empty ferris wheel.” Life has grown more complicated than running to or running from, and as Torres, Scott is better equipped than ever to shed light on the details.
Essential Tracks: “Strange Hellos”, “Ferris Wheel”, “The Exchange”, and “The Harshest Light”
"Algo Sucede" is the title of Julieta Venegas' new musical production. It was recorded in Mexico and Argentina and includes twelve unreleased tracks. Courtesy Photo
“Algo Sucede” is the title of Julieta Venegas' new musical production. It was recorded in Mexico and Argentina and includes twelve unreleased tracks. The album is internationally available as of today, Friday, August 14. The first single from her eighth musical work, "Ese Camino" currently occupies first spots in radios and in digital platforms in U.S.A., Mexico, and Latin America, the musical video clip for the single, with only four weeks of being released, has already accumulated more than 1.3 million views in VEVO. Julieta Venegas has delighted her fans once again with songs and authentic lyrics linked to her passion for life and human experiences. "I wish people connect with what I do- with my music- because it is a form to express myself. I write stories of my life, my way of thinking, and because music is very free, people may take it for their own moments," the singer-songwriter says.
"It's a record with a many colors, bright, agile, and that simply flowed. I started composing in September, and in March I was in New York already doing the mixing by Venezuelan, Hector Castillo. Algo Sucede is a record that includes 12 songs produced in Argentina by Cachorro Lopez, who has a great career and who I have already worked with, and in Mexico with Yamil Rezc, a young talented and independent producer. There's a great variety of nostalgic themes, full of emotions that go all sorts of ways. Life can always surprise you in a wonderful way or can give you a positive lesson," says the composer.
Since her first record album release in 1997 which helped her occupy the most important place in the music industry, selling more than 12 million copies, instrumentalist and producer Julieta Venegas has earned a special place in the music industry, which has brought her numerous awards for their professionalism and performance quality. She is winner of five Latin Grammy awards that were nominated in distinctive occasions by The Latin Recording Academy. Her achievements also include being the winner of a Premio Billboard Latin Awards®, winner of a Premio Lo Nuestro®, and winner of several Premios MTVLA®, among others. Julieta has also been able to successfully compose music for both film and theater.
Parallel to the release of Algo Sucede, Julieta will be touring, visiting countries such as U.S.A., Mexico, Argentina, Central America, Brazil, and Spain. In Spain she received great success with sold-out presentations in several cities in addition to extremely positive reviews from major media last week for her participation in the Festival Starlite de Marbella. She also performed in other cities with big stars likeLenny Kravitz, Placido Domingo, Alejandro Sanz, and Enrique Iglesias, among others.
Check out Julieta Venegas comment on some of the songs of her new album:
"Talks about childhood, in a view from me as an adult looking back and reflecting on perhaps not a concrete childhood memory, but the sensations, such as certain scents in places that are always present and that remain a celebration."
"Algo sucede"
"It's a song talking about things changing, the most beautiful thing about living is that there are always surprises, thing you do not expect. Life can always surprise you in a wonderful way or can give you a positive lesson. The accordion returns, an instrument that describes what I want to tell and that takes me to places that I like very much: in the land, in folk, and is very festive."
"Se explicara"
"It's a mother-daughter song, a song that I wrote while I was on vacation. It was wonderful to write to my daughter that I was thinking of her and to tell her that everything will make sense at some point."
"Buenas noches"
"Talks about dismissing sadness: that there is no more time for the bad. What matters is the future, how life will surprise you, and what happens to you when you least expect it."
"Esperaba"
"Inspired by the adolescence, it is an escape that music gives you: an 'I want to leave' sensation that allows music to transport you."
"Explosion"
"It was perhaps the hardest song on the record because it expresses what I felt in the times of violence and disappearances in Mexico. It talks about femicide, it's an expression of sorrow for what is happening and I wanted to capture it in a song."
After two years, Julieta Venegas, is anxiously waiting to share her new work with her fans and her new followers and ends with saying: "Algo Sucede is a record of celebrating what it is to be alive: life will always teach you things and will always surprise you. Something always happen in life... It will turn tables.. it will show you a lesson.." added the singer.
BY JOHN DONOHUEEllie Rowsell, the band’s lead singer, can whisper like a child and howl like a rabid animal.CREDITPHOTOGRAPH BY BURAK CINGI / REDFERNS VIA GETTY
The English four-piece band Wolf Alice, during its brief existence, hasn’t felt the need to stick to any one sound. They play around with genres, sometimes within a single song. An early track, “Leaving You,” from 2012, starts with warm harmonies that are pure folk before twangy guitars rain a southern-rock storm on the country picnic. “White Leather,” from a year later, finds them lounging in the late-night atmospheric sounds of the xx. The more recent “Moaning Lisa Smile” is all thundering shoegaze guitar.
Their début album, “My Love is Cool,” which comes out today, matches our Internet moment. Just in the same way that a harmless Web search for a restaurant address can result in time spent brushing up on the history and development of, say, badminton (ask yourself, just how did you end up on this page?), “My Love is Cool” is a dizzying descent into the unpredictable nature of today’s music.
Wolf Alice succeeds with a shifting approach because the group is far from shiftless. Joel Amey, who is its drummer, has been in bands since he was in his early teens, and all the bandmates played music before getting together. Since its start, Wolf Alice has gone from serenading empty clubs in London to gracing the legendary John Peel Stage of the Glastonbury Festival. The band’s ascension was fuelled by a key decision, two years ago, by its founders, the singer Ellie Rowsell and the guitarist Joff Oddie. The pair had been playing folk music together for a couple of years when they decided to bring in a rhythm section, Amey and the bassist Theo Ellis. A new sound opened up to them.
The band takes its name from “Wolf-Alice,” a late-seventies short story by Angela Carter. The story, a variation on “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Through the Looking-Glass,” is about a feral girl who is raised by wolves. That would be a good way to describe Rowsell’s vocal style. She can whisper like a child and howl like a rabid animal. On “My Love is Cool,” Rowsell opens with her gentler side. During the first song, “Turn to Dust,” she coos over a sparse backing of light drumming and gauzy guitar work. The sound suggests fog rolling over a green field. Only Rowsell’s lyrics, “Keep your beady eyes on me / to make sure I don’t turn to dust,” suggest that some brutal thing is coming.
The second track is “Bros,” a touching paean to friendship, which the band initially released in 2013. They reworked the song for the album, and it shows the risk of their ambitions. By going into the studio, they muddied the groove a bit; the earlier version was more minimalist and by extension more powerful. Even so, the song’s last lines hint at what drives Wolf Alice. “Me and you, me and you, me and you / We could do better, I’m quite sure,” Rowsell repeats, with the help of studio effects, over and over. This underlining dissatisfaction is the root of their ambition, and it comes up throughout the album.
On the following track, “Your Loves Whore,” Rowsell and company set things straight, with a cascading wall of sound that crushes everything that came before it. Rowsell’s voice builds over quarrelling guitars, and all is redeemed. The band demonstrates an unnerving tic on the song, too—coming to a complete halt for a beat at various unexpected points, leaving a listener in a terrifying place, alone with her thoughts. The song is about a youthful promise not to change after becoming lovers, and it can almost be read as a comment on the relationship between the band and its audience. “When we grow older, we’ll still be friends / We’ll still be lovers, and won’t fear the end.”
“Moaning Lisa Smile,” which follows “Your Loves Whore” and has not been revised since its appearance a few years ago, continues the grinding guitar assault, and points to the band’s sense of humor. The song is not about the famous painting, but rather about Lisa Simpson. “You’re a Germ,” has Rowsell whispering and then yelping, while the guitars continue to establish their supremacy. It’s an ear-splitting and entirely healthy expression of rage. “You ain’t going to Heaven / ‘Cos I’m dragging you down to Hell / Where’s Mum and Dad so you can tell them?” Rowsell shouts.
After that, the band is down the rabbit hole like an Internet search gone awry. “Lisbon” is a galloping run through the back alleys of desire (“Swallow the fear / My stone cold fox / My arms are here”). “Silk” is a stretched-out ballad powered by haunting synths. “Freazy” is like a dash through the back door of a hidden dance club. “Giant Peach” has a spy-thriller feel, with Rowsell’s echoey voice taking on the depth of Joan Jett’s. “Swallowtail” is the drummer’s turn to take the microphone, though it might be better if he didn’t. “Fluffy” climbs back up guitar mountain, and while the band can get lost in the heights, there’s quite a view.
The album ends with a “hidden” track, “The Wonderwhy.” It moves through the many phases that Wolf Alice is capable of inhabiting: chanting guitar cords, anthemic vocal effects, and rapping, as well as pure, attractive melodies. In concert last week at (Le) Poisson Rouge, Wolf Alice played this song early in their set, and, as theatrical white smoke drifted behind them and purple lights flashed, it was as if clouds were opening and parting. When Rowsell chanted the lines “Don’t leave me here, / I’m not sold,” over and over at its end, it was clear that the band isn’t going to stay in one place for long.
Puerto Rican Star Raquel Sofia: From Juanes, Shakira Backup Singer To Kicking Off Solo Career [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO]
Raquel Sofia might have gotten her concrete music education from the University of Miami but she really owes her street knowledge to Juanes and Shakira. After graduating UM with a degree in jazz music, the Puerto Rican singer/songwriter, who resides in Miami, played at private events, bars and restaurants. But it wasn't until she landed a gig as a backup singer for Colombian singer Juanes that her shining trajectory began to bloom.
"From there I spent almost two years traveling and touring. I ended up opening up Juanes' tour with my own songs and everything else rolled out from there. I also worked with Shakira as a back up singer," Raquel Sofia told Latin Times, describing the experience as her "street education," where she learned a lot from their professionalism, talent and dedication. "I learned a lot just watching them every night on stage. How they treat their band, their team, it's so many things that I want to apply to my career and I'm ready for it."
Indeed, she couldn't be any more ready as the Caribbean star heads to the forefront of the stage with her debut solo album "Te Quiero Los Domingos." A production with 10 tracks all written by the songstress herself.
"I had full creative control of it. I wrote all the songs. It was very free and open. I was able to do exactly what I wanted to with the album," she said, stating that she worked with friends and producers she loves and admires. "Every song is super personal, it's a story of mine, it's real and I feel like I'm putting myself out there for you guys. It's very autobiographical," she added.
The first single off of "Te Quiero Los Domingos" is "Agridulce," a very personal song she wrote with the intention to apologize to someone. "It got to the point that saying 'I'm sorry' wasn't enough, so I wrote it in the moment and all of a sudden it became this song that everyone gravitates towards to. It's such a crazy experience and crazy feeling," she said.
The album also showcases "Agua Bendita," a song featuring colleague Pedro Capo. Though she feels very lucky to have worked with artists she loves, Raquel says she aspires to one day collaborate with artists such as Calle 13, John Meyer and Natalia Lafourcade.
Raquel Sofia attends the HBO Catch The Throne: The Mixtape Vol. II Listening Party on March 12, 2015 in New York City. Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for HBO
The Boricua, however, can already cross out salsa singer Victor Manuelle off of her list, with whom she's preparing to launch the ballad version of his salsa single "No Queria Engañarte."
"I'm so excited because he called me out of the blue and said: 'Hey I want you to sing this song with me and also because my daughters are huge fans and they insisted I call you,'" she said of how the collaboration was born. "It makes it more special that that's how it happened. He's this cool, talented guy and it's an awesome experience working with him."
Raquel is a passionate, real and down-to-earth singer/songwriter, which makes it easy to fall in love with her. Moreover, her music is very relatable and definitely worth your time. "I think in the album you get a glimpse of all the sides of me," she said, emphasizing that she her musical influences are artists such as Juan Luis Guerra, Bob Marley, Shakira and Cultura Profetica
Ileana Cabra, Calle 13 Sister, Announces Solo Project: Singer To Release New Album
You might want to start getting a hang of using the hashtag #Ilevitable and spreading the word around, because it sounds promising! The face behind the name and label is Ileana Cabra Joglar, who just revealed her solo project.
She probably sounds familiar because she's no other than the little sister of Calle 13's Eduardo Cabra Martinez (Visitante) and Rene Perez Joglar (Residente), who also forms part of the Puerto Rican group with her amazing vocals and is known as PG-13.
"I want to announce that I'm working on what will be my first album. Soon I'll let you know more ," she wrote on Twitter, adding her website's link and hashtag.
The 26-year-old songstress teased her fans with a 40-second clip of what to expect ---which already looks awesome! “When I sing and interpret a song, I try to reach that special place within a song,” she said in the video. “Then, little by little, I let myself fit into the music.”
After 10 years in the biz with five critically-acclaimed studio albums, 21 Latin Grammys and three Grammys, Calle 13 announced a temporary break. They gave their last concert together in Toronto, Canada ending July. Though we're bummed with the news, we're stoked for their new professional ventures, especially Ile's!
This is the album that will definitely place Samantha Fish at the top; she has achieved a double accolade on her third studio album with vocals full of energy and precision in her delivery combined with guitar playing that lifts the roof off and shows this is a woman who relishes being a Wild Heart of the blues. It is a fitting follow-up to Black Wind Howlin’ which we said was “ …a weather vane of sound as the wind changes direction the tonal range shifts”.
The whole album has a vitality and energy that pours out of the speakers brightening up the room where the music cascades this is a feel good album from Sam; who has a natural talent that is fuelled by deft fingers and vocal chords that shape and deliver the song.
Opening with Road Runner; this is no cartoon character but music with a country blues twang that is being delivered by a musician who just has to play her music, powerful chords and impeccable timing, and wild licks starts the Wild Heart a listening experience that continues over the next eleven tracks. The blues women and guitars can trace their lineage back to Rosetta Thorpe; through to the greats of now Bonnie Raitt and Susan Tedeschi and in the U.K. Joanne Shaw Taylor with her searing guitar breaks, and now into the mix is most definitely Sam Fish with her superb slide and cigar box guitar adding a distinctive tonal cadence. Added into the mix is the accomplished band of musicians that she has gathered around her including a rhythm section, Luther Dickinson on Bass & Grammy Award winning drummer Brady Blade, together they combine a rhythmic dexterity that keeps the shape of every style of roots music being delivered on the album.
What sets the album apart from many is that it is so listenable with the combination of vocals that drag every meaning out of the lyrics whether on a cover, a track penned by herself or co-written. from the country rootsy feel of Blame It On The Moon with her vocals howling with a wildness that has to be moon fever; or Go Home a gentle melodic sitting on the porch tale as she sings “Wrapped those secrets around a telephone pole” this is a reflective song on how families and home shape you. Then there are tracks like Turn It Upwhere the heat is turned up the guitars and vocals wail in a Southern Rock swampy number that gets the adrenalin going; it is a breathtaking number that for me defines the very bluesy greasy groove that is the essence of Samantha Fish’s appeal.
This is a superbly and sensitively produced album, demonstrating what a master Luther Dickinson (north Mississippi All Stars /Black Crowes) is when it comes to understanding what is required in the process of creating an album drenched in the complexity that is music rooted in the fertile musical lexicon that is American roots music. Luther has distilled the essence of Samantha through her pulsating fingers on the frets, lyrical singing resulting in a perfume of musical depth and complexity flowing wild and free from your speakers it is truly on every track a Wild Heart.
What an album… for me the music was… Simply Addictive
Bluesdoodles gives this CD TEN doodle paws out of TEN ….
1. Road Runner (Samantha Fish) 2. Place To Fall (Samantha Fish / Jim McCormick) 3. Blame It On The Moon (Samantha Fish) 4. Highway’s Holding Me Now (Samantha Fish / Jim McCormick) 5. Go Home (Samantha Fish) 6. Jim Lee Blues Pt. 1 ( Charley Paton) 7. Turn It Up (Samantha Fish) 8. Show Me (Samantha Fish / Jim McCormick) 9. Lost Myself (Samantha Fish) 10. Wild Heart (Samantha Fish / Jim McCormick) 11. Bitch On The Run (Samantha Fish / Jim McCormick) 12. I’m In Love With You (Junior Kimbrough)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fVqLHjJii8
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx7FDGpZQsQ
GUITARIST SAMANTHA FISH TALKS ST94 PERFORMANCE & POWER OF THE BLUES
By the time she was 18, Kansas City based guitarist Samantha Fish was already making a name for herself on the local blues circuit. Pioneering her brand of blues-inspired guitar while at the same time cultivating her songwriting craft. Although never one to stray far from those roots, Fish’s music also contains a tasteful amount of rock mixed in with a little country and Americana for good measure. Elements that have not only given Fish critical acclaim, but have also defined her signature sound.
With another extensive year of touring lined up as well as a brand new album on deck, Samantha Fish’s star will only continue to rise.
AXS recently sat down with Fish to talk about her upcoming tour stop at The Sellersville Theater in Sellersville PA as well as get a sneak peak at her upcoming new album.
What can fans expect from your Sellersville Theater performance?
This will be our first time playing in Sellersville. I’ve heard some really good things about the venue and I’m very excited to play there. I’ll be bringing my trio band along with me and we’ll be doing a lot of rock and blues mixed with texture, passion and soulfulness. We do a lot of original material as well as some carefully placed covers.
Tell me a little bit about your trio.
I’ve got Go-Go Ray on drums, whose been playing with me for a few years now. He’s a killer drummer who used to be in the band Billy Goat with Mike Dillon. I’ve also got Scot Sutherland on bass. He’s been on the blues scene for a long time and is also currently playing with Mike Zito and The Wheel. He’s got quite a cool resume as well.
Your recent album, Black Wind Howlin’ is infectious. What is your songwriting process like?
It’s different every time. Sometimes it will start with just a melody that I’ll build off of. I do like to write quite a bit about my experiences. Sometimes the stories may be about me or about someone I know.
Let’s discuss a few tracks from the album: “Miles To Go”
That’s a high energy, burning road kind of song about putting the pedal to the metal and making up for lost time. It’s about life on the road and trying to not get too burnt out even though you’re burning the candle at both ends.
“Go To Hell”
Mike Zito and I co-wrote that song. Mike was the one who came up with the concept idea and the main riff. I really wanted Paul Thorn to be on the record because I’ve always loved his style and approach. It’s a fun song that’s kind of mean. You can figure out from the title what the song is about! [laughs].
“Sucker Born”
I wrote that song coming in from California to Las Vegas. We were driving in the desert and had a couple of days off. I had a falling out with a friend and was sort of in a bad mood when I wrote it [laughs].
Can you give me an update on your next album?
The new album is complete and we’re looking at a June release. Brady Blade plays drums on it and we recorded it in his studio in Shreveport, Louisiana back in October. I’m very excited about it.
What inspired you to play guitar?
I actually started out on drums when I was 13 and took lessons for a few years. During that time I listened to a lot to of classic rock. My dad played guitar and my sister played acoustic, so I started gravitating towards it. Then I saw Stevie Rae Vaughan’s “Live From Austin City Limits.” Watching the passion he had in his playing is what really inspired me.
What makes blues such a great form of music?
It’s honest and real. Through all of the different styles of music and the musical trends that have come and gone, blues is still the longest standing form of American music because it speaks to your soul. There’s no softness to it. It’s real and raw. Tried and true. Blues lives on because people can relate to it.
In addition to the new album, what else are you looking forward to this year?
This year I’m looking forward to developing the band as well as working in some of the new material. We’ve got some really great things coming up. I’m always trying to stay creative because it opens you up to so much as an artist. It’s a good time for me right now. I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be!
Samantha Fish performs at The Sellersville Theater in Sellersville, Pennsylvania on Sunday, Feb. 8.
Tisha Campbell-Martin’s new single “Steel Here” is a declaration to her presence and love of music, which was her first love before acting.
Before her iconic role as “Gina” on 1990’s hit show 'Martin' and he role as “Jay” on My Wife and Kids, Tisha, 46, says music was her first form of expression. "This is where it all began for me. I am a singer first, and acting came later. Being an actress is what I do but music is who I am,” she said in a statement. “I feel most comfortable behind the mic…As an artist, I want to affect people. I like to make people laugh, think, shed a tear, heal...This outlet is important to me because I can connect to people in a different way."
“Steel Here” dropped last month to a bevy of support from fans. The song received 6000 streams within the first two hours of it being posted on SoundCloud. Tisha says she didn’t expect that response, telling EURweb, “I’m still overwhelmed, and it’s still a little surreal.”
The song came about when B.Slade (a.k.a. gospel artist Tonex) heard her sing in LA’s Xen Lounge, the restaurant she owns with her husband, actor Duane Martin. “[B.Slade] came in and said, ‘I know what to do with your voice.’ I was a little leery because the music business, there are so many people, producers who have come and said, ‘I know what to do with you, call me tomorrow,’ and then they don’t call you tomorrow.” A few months later, Martin called Slade and they created “Steel Here,” the first offering from her upcoming album (a release date and title still yet to be announced).
About the LP, Tisha says it has a lot of hip-hop influence, and she even raps a bit. “It’s really a celebration of myself and coming through all of the obstacles and not considering my age, or whether I’m put in a box or not. I just wanted to sing,” she said.
Along with an upcoming album, Martin will co-star in the upcoming ABC sitcom “Dr. Ken.” What do you think about the direction Tisha is going with her upcoming album?
Coeur de Pirate crosses the language barrier with Roses
Writing so much in English was a practical challenge to Montreal’s Beatrice Martin. “I got it proofread,” she concedes.
Montreal-based Coeur de Pirate has more English than ever on her new album 'Roses.' The singer-songwriter, whose real name is Beatrice Martin, says becoming a mother has made her music more hopeful.
By: Nick PatchThe Canadian Press,Published on Wed Aug 26 2015
You don’t need to be bilingual to listen to Coeur de Pirate’s new album, Roses, and conclude that Beatrice Martin’s pirate heart has been broken.
The wounds aren’t particularly recent, however. With her first album in nearly four years, the Montreal-based songstress explores a years-ago breakup (reportedly from Jay Malinowski of Bedouin Soundclash) with the eagle-eyed view of someone now in a much happier place: married and raising a baby girl.
“Everything that came out was mainly emotions about wanting to move forward and wanting to have a positive outlook on life, even though the songs are still pretty sad,” Martin said during an interview in Toronto this week.
“I think to understand what being hurt feels like you need to find true happiness . . . And that same goes to actually be happy — you have to go through something really horrible.
“It’s kind of what I went through and today because I’m happy, I can write those songs because I understand what went on.”
Speaking of understanding, meanwhile, more listeners than ever will be able to parse Martin’s emotion-sick ruminations, since for the first time the 25-year-old has divided her album between English and French — with the scales actually teetering in favour of her non-native tongue.
DARREN CALABRESE / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Singer-songwriter Beatrice Martin, of Coeur de Pirate, seen through a window in Toronto last week.
Writing so much in English was both a practical challenge — “I got it proofread,” she conceded with a sheepish smile — and a practical decision, given that Martin’s robust fanbase in Quebec and France hasn’t yet translated to a sizable English following.
She’s now signed to Cherrytree/Interscope in the U.S., and she isn’t shy about her ambition to seize a larger audience.
“I want to reach out to everybody,” she said.
It helps that the brittle piano balladry upon which she established her career — yielding two platinum records, two Juno Award nominations and four Felix Awards — has blossomed into ornately orchestrated pop.
The songs here are so stormy and cinematic that they seem almost predestined to soundtrack the fall TV season’s most softly lit heartbreak montages.
In fact, all that sweep and swell renders Roses perhaps Martin’s least downcast set — though she says motherhood had a hand in that, too.
“It changes everything,” said Martin, whose daughter Romy was born in fall 2012. “My daughter really made me the better version of myself. I am a better person now. I’m a better human being. I’m patient and I’m centred and stable.
“I wasn’t like that before. I was meaner. I was shy and I didn’t know how to deal with certain things. And now she came along and she totally changed me.
“It really changes your songwriting,” she added. “It was very grim before. My songs were very sad. And I couldn’t get out of anything. It was the end of the world. And now, there’s light at the end of it.”
It was that newly skewed perspective that led Martin to writing “Drapeau blanc,” which of course translates as “White Flag.”
Martin wrote the song about her mother, a pianist who encouraged Martin’s playing — at times, perhaps, too strongly.
Martin began playing the piano at 3 years old and gained entry into the prestigious Conservatoire de musique du Quebec a Montreal at age 9. Five years later, she quit the conservatory, and her mother was crestfallen.
“The song basically talks about the relationship that we have, that is full of contradictions,” Martin said.
“Because as much as I love her, she was still this severe figure in my life and I didn’t know how to talk to her most of the time.
“And it’s just to say: let’s keep in touch, otherwise we’ll stop talking. And that’s not good, especially now that I have my own daughter.”
Alessia Cara has announced her debut EP. Four Pink Walls is out August 28, ahead of a full-length debut later this year on Def Jam. That's the cover and tracklist below. It includes her breakout single "Here."
PUBLISHED: 15:10 EST, 27 August 2015 | UPDATED: 16:12 EST, 27 August 2015
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Impatient: While her peers have gone on to solo success, Londoner Ella Eyre’s career has stalled
Ella Eyre: Feline (EMI Virgin)
Verdict: Cool cat finally gets the cream
Rating:
When Ella Eyre came to prominence with a dazzling cameo on dance act Rudimental’s Brit-winning anthem Waiting All Night, she launched her music career in a manner that has become increasingly fashionable.
Emeli Sandé, who first reached the Top Ten with rappers Chipmunk and Wiley, and Sam Smith, who sang with Disclosure, also helped out on other people’s records before making their own.
Current chart-topper Jess Glynne took her bow on Clean Bandit’s Rather Be.
But, while her peers have gone on to solo success, West Londoner Ella’s career has stalled. Despite that promising start, the Brit School graduate, 21, has struggled to make the move from guest vocalist to independent star.
This debut was due to come out last year, but was shelved to give the big-haired singer more time to develop.
An impatient Eyre admits the delay was ‘challenging’, although the additional studio time plus a confidence-boosting arena tour with Olly Murs have helped her to find her own voice.
With little left to chance, Feline is a potent mix of traditional pop-soul and more contemporary styles that look towards the fizzing dance rhythms and heightened hooks that have become mainstays of British pop.
If that blend gives the album a slightly unbalanced feel, Ella’s boisterous, brassy vocals are a unifying factor, while the presence of six tracks that have already been singles lend an air of familiarity. The album opens by reiterating her modern dance-pop credentials.
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Modern dance-pop credentials: Eyre is pictured (left) at the Brit Awards nominations at ITV Studios in central London in January 2013, and (right) backstage at the Isle of Wight Festival in Newport in June this year
Ella Eyre gives energetic performance to crowd at V Festival
When she topped the charts with Rudimental in 2013, Ella added her powerhouse vocals to a euphoric mix of swirling electronics and clattering drums, and she does the same here on current single Together and the equally frenetic Good Times.
For all the energy of those vibrant dance tunes, her voice is at its most expressive on the old-school numbers.
New release: Eyre's album Feline is a potent mix of traditional pop-soul and more contemporary styles
Her romance with fellow singer John Newman ended mutually last year after both parties, who remain friends, decided to focus on their careers, but the scars of the split are evident on the vulnerable If I Go and Typical Me, in which she refers to the Yorkshire soul man as ‘my favourite mistake’.
A sense of disillusionment with the music business surfaces on All About You, in which Eyre again abandons clattering dance-pop for laid-back R&B: ‘I gave my life, I gave my soul / You gave me nothing back at all.’
Elsewhere, a more nuanced approach is evident.
There are jazzy tones on Two, while delicate piano ballad Even If is an album highlight that puts the onus on Ella’s anguished voice.
‘I’m into punchy, passionate songs with a message,’ said the teenage Eyre when she was tipped as the next big thing on these pages two years ago.
The road since then has been a rocky one, but the better moments here suggest she is finally beginning to realise her potential.
The wait for Feline has been long, but it might just have been worth it.
HALSEY
Badlands (Astralwerks)
Rating:
American singer Halsey offers something more interesting than the average pop puppet.
Like Lorde and Lana Del Ray, the 20-year-old from New Jersey mixes brooding electronic hooks with dark, candid lyrics.
Moody ballad Ghost features a rap-like delivery, Drive echoes Del Ray’s Video Games, and New Americana has the makings of a generational anthem.
Set for her UK live debut next month, she is one to watch.
Warner Bros. will reissue two Van Morrison classics, 'Astral Weeks' and 'His Band and The Street Choir,' with unreleased alternate tracks Ed Caraeff/Getty
Both LPs will be made available digitally and on CD, each featuring a handful of previously unreleased, alternate versions of album cuts.
The expanded Astral Weeks will include the first take of "Beside You," a stripped down, vibraphone-heavy "Madame George" and longer versions of "Ballerina" and "Slim Slow Slider." All offer a deeper examination of Morrison's working relationship with the quartet that helped him record the LP: bassist Richard Davis, guitarist Jay Berliner, percussionist Warren Smith, Jr. and drummer Connie Kay.
His Band and The Street Choir, meanwhile, will include five unreleased bonus cuts, including the gritty third take of "Give Me A Kiss" without piano, horns or backing vocals. The tenth take of "Call Me Up In Dreamland" will also be included, as will take three of "Gypsy Queen" and a funky alternate version of "I've Been Working." Complete track lists for both albums are available below.
Along with the new releases from Warner Bros., Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music, is prepping their own massive Van Morrison reissue campaign after acquiring the rights to 50 albums, videos and compilations released over the past half-century. The label intends to put out deluxe editions of select records — starting with 1972's Saint Dominic's Preview, 1973's Hard Nose the Highway, 1974's It's Too late to Stop Nowand 1990's Enlightenment — and eventually make the full catalog available digitally.
Morrison himself has also been looking back through his discography, releasing a new album earlier this year called Duets: Re-Working the Cataloguethat found him reimagining classic tracks with guests like Steve Winwood, Bobby Womack, Mavis Staples and Taj Mahal. Recording that album, Morrison told Rolling Stone, made him realize just how many songs he'd cut, estimating the total number was between 350 and 400.
"The work was created for survival reasons," he said. "I had to make two albums a year for Warner Bros. I was churning out songs, and not every song got on an album.... I didn't know I was going to have this body of work."
Astral Weeks Expanded Edition Track List
1. "Astral Weeks" 2. "Beside You" 3. "Sweet Thing" 4. "Cyprus Avenue" 5. "The Way Young Lovers Do" 6. "Madame George" 7. "Ballerina" 8. "Slim Slow Slider" 9. "Beside You" (Take 1) 10. "Madame George" (Take 4) 11. "Ballerina" (Long Version) 12. "Slim Slow Slider" (Long Version)
His Band and The Street Choir Expanded Edition Track List
1. "Domino" 2. "Crazy Face" 3. "Give Me A Kiss" 4. "I've Been Working" 5. "Call Me Up In Dreamland" 6. "I'll Be Your Lover, Too" 7. "Blue Money" 8. "Virgo Clowns" 9. "Gypsy Queen" 10. "Sweet Jannie" 11. "If I Ever Needed Someone" 12. "Street Choir" 13. "Call Me Up In Dreamland" (Take 10) 14. "Give Me A Kiss" (Take 3) 15. "Gypsy Queen" (Take 3) 16. "I've Been Working" (Alternate Version) 17. "I'll Be Your Lover, Too" (Alternate Version)
The Athens-based indie duo arrived in Los Angeles’ outlet Friends of Friends with Now I’m Ready, their second album.
The new album expresses each individual effort from the group members following the frontwoman Sarah’s decision to leave the band. Other singles from the album include “Benighted” and the self-titled “Now I’m Ready” with featured music from Ocean Hope.
Early last year, Keep Shelly in Athens announced that frontwoman Sarah P. was leaving the band. But in November of last year, the band released a single, “Fractal,” and a new singer named Myrtha.
Keep Shelly In Athens has been releasing projects with recording studios like Cascine, Gorilla vs. Bear label arm Forest Family and British heavyweight Planet Mu. The band has announced tour dates following the release of the new album that starts in October of this year.
The band has been hoping to overcome the obstacle that one key component of the group may have left, but their new album might also lead into an understanding of what keeps them going while others move on and follow another path, leaving others an example to by in their wake.
The group has undergone some major changes in their sound, following the arrival of their new frontwoman and band member, Myrtha.
The sound being resonated in the new single is almost dreamlike, as if the band wishes for the continuing success while the lineup often changes overtime.
The group has been successful so far, the tracklisting for their new album almost looks like a list of things to do in order to continue on the developing path that will widen or narrow overtime, given the rising popularity of their songs and albums that have been currently released.
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Warner Bros. will reissue two Van Morrison classics, 'Astral Weeks' and 'His Band and The Street Choir,' with unreleased alternate tracks 
