Special of the Day

One of the most fun things about going out to a gig is finding new music that you didn't know existed that you really like. Today's recommendation comes from one of the last gigs I went to back at the end of May where I discovered James McKenzie and The Aquascene (see my previous blog entry for more detail).

Anyhow, James and the band have recently released a new 4-track EP which I was rather lucky to get my hands on. So what can I tell you? I'm a sucker for strings and guitars together, a real sucker - there's something deeply entrancing about the two sounds together and on this little collection, there's plenty of that mix.

The EP shows a band still very young in its development with much progress to make but with a clearly defined musical statement of intent. The concept of the band definitely works, not just because I say so, but because the music is in its own right pretty interesting. Align with that some very well written lyrics and you get a potentially winning formula.


Each of the songs on the EP stands up to the next very well and for me the band hit the absolute head of the nail with Boat Song, the last track on the EP. Occasionally something musical leaves me silenced by it's brilliance and this track is one of those. I think it's the strings that make the song really leap out but it messed my thought processes around so much that I had to listen to it a couple more times when I first heard it.

The EP is well worth a punt. Accept it for what it is and you'll be pleasantly amazed. Bear in mind this is a band still clearly quite green, in need of a bit of fine tuning (both in terms of instrumentation and vocals) and a good producer and you won't be let down. Look at the EP more as a concept for the future, I suspect the next instalment might be quite brilliant.

I'd strongly recommend you check it out! Oh and I almost forgot, it comes in CD format in a paper bag CD case. I can't describe it any better than that, buy one and you'll probably think it's cool like I do!

By the way I can't find a link to buy the EP but once I post this, I'm sure James will either give me a URL or post a reply with a link!

Double entry...Part 2!

We're just sliding in two tonight...

Ok that's starting to sound sexual! Moving on...

Personal musical hero Jay Nash has FINALLY launched his 4-track ditty with the brilliant Caitlin Crosby under their quite clever Crosby, Skills and Nash ident. The EP which is available on iTunes now is simply incredible.

Their voices pair up perfectly, contrasting yet perfectly suited, on 4 reasonably simplistic songs. But that's the brilliance of it, no gimmicks or over-complications, just great arrangements and harmonies forming four totally incredible songs.


I need say no more, I think I've sold it enough. Go on, go buy it. You know you want to and I know you should!

Double entry...Part 1!

Ok no this hasn't become some strange sex blog (although it'd probably get more views). Tonight you're going to get two blog posts...why, because I can!

First up, lets wind the clock back to the end of May and Greg Holden's launch gig at The Bedford in South London. Admittedly I was there to see Greg but actually (and it pains me to say it and he'll probably not thank me for saying it) it turned out that even his rounded performance was upstaged by the two acts that preceeded him.

First up was James MacKenzie and the Aquascene. Usually a Scottish 6 piece band, James travelled down with just a violinist but the two of them put on an incredible set. You all know I've got a thing for strings, there's something uniquely brilliant about a violin or cello accompanying a guitar.


There's some tracks here and if I were you I'd take a listen. They're still quite green as a band in many senses but you get the feeling there's a bag of talent which will only mature and get a lot better over the next year or so.

Next up and the real show stealer was Brighton-based Fellow Stranger a Folky/Rock band comprising former singer/songwriter Luke Sital Singh. These guys were a real showstopper. Incredibly emotive vocals (some of the best I've heard in years), brilliantly crafted songs, amazing 3-part harmonies and an array of instruments and sounds that combine to form a brilliant sound. There's nothing original about the band but yet they stand out...because they're that bloody good.


Even the girlfriend enjoyed the set so much that she bought a copy of the CD for herself...and one for me for my birthday. The CD is a 5-track live EP and it shows the band at their very best. I don't know if you can buy the CD or the EP online and quite frankly I'm not going to do all the work for you.

But...what I will do is give you the videos from the gig that night, I'd suggest you invest your time and watch the whole thing...you'll see where I'm coming from on both those recommendations. Make sure you watch both parts!


Watch live video from The Bedford Live on Justin.tv

I Don't Believe You....need to read this to buy it!

Greg Holden....new album....immense....go buy it online NOW!

No really, I don't even need to say much here!

OK still not convinced?!? well then you're just being a bit slow on the uptake so here's a brief summary about the album.

It's an album part funded by a kickstarter campaign Greg ran last year which raised him $30,001 (some $10,001 more than he hoped to get). In total over 300 fans, friends and family members (including me) pledged money to help make this album a reality and to enable Greg to work with the team he wanted including the incredible Tony Berg (who produced the album).



This 10 song affair is one of utter brilliance mixing well crafted songs with sensationally catchy music and innovative mixes. It's the fact that it sounds so much bigger, bolder and experimental than any previous Greg Holden that makes it almost unrecognisable...apart from the fact that it is Greg's unmistakable voice booming out across the record.

There's some truly remarkable tracks. From a song writing perspective, The American Dream (which makes me think Johnny Cash a little for some reason) and Following Footsteps stand out a mile and from a musical perspective, Coney Island is just incredible (with the most mindblowing solo from Jessica Hoop).

I'm quite sure this album will prove a massive success for Greg and if he chooses to release To Hell and Back as a single, then it might just send him stellar such is the brilliance of the song and its suitability for radio play.

The one thing I hope this album isn't remember as is "that one with Bar On A on it". This album is so much more than that one song which truth be told, even I'm sick to the back teeth of hearing and playing (on my guitar)...and I mean it in the nicest possible way.

In my opinion, it's undoubtedly one of THE albums of the year and I'd strongly suggest you go and buy it rather than do something naughty because remember folks, supporting independent musicians is vital and them records you love...well the money for them it don't grow on trees!

Go buy it!

Stardom beckons

When you have friends, you want to see them do well. When you love music, you want everyone else to love it too, so tonight's blog post is nothing but an absolute pleasure to take the time to sit down and write since it merges the two streams together beautifully.

Back in the days when I used to blog regularly and got out to lots of live gigs, I stumbled across two bands in one called at that time, Strange Folks and Roy Rieck and The Medley Band. It was the same brilliant seven musicians but playing two different sets of tracks and splitting setlists.

After two years of trials, setbacks (thanks to a certain UK Border Agent) and hard work, these seven brilliantly talented men have finally released their debut album under the now final adopted name of joined band...Acollective.


As a huge fan and friend, I've seen and heard the guys in every formation playing music from the very beginning of their evolution (Idan Rabinovici's Bedroom Folk, through to Roy Rieck's Never Trust The Holy Gracious Medley Band, the Strange Folks - EP plus much more) right through to this latest offering which I cannot evangelise about enough.

Onwards, the 13 track beauty was recorded late last year in their native Israel and produced by the quite brilliant Chris Shaw (yes, he of Leonard Cohen, Super Furry Animals, Guillemots, Bob Dylan and Weezer amongst many others fame). What's magnificent about the album and what's been produced is that whilst being true to the roots of the band's humble musical beginnings, this is a totally different sound to anything they've produced before. If you listen closely you can still hear the screaming harmonica solos of Rieck, the mesmeric keys from Rabinovici, the brilliant Sax bursts from Roy Rabinovici, the guitar and bass solos from Shoham, E-Shine and Slonim and the downright intense drumming from Luzia but this somehow feels bigger, bolder, rockier, edgier, louder and prouder. For the first time in a recording, as a group and with Chris's help, they've managed to almost capture that breathtaking "wow factor" that you get from seeing them live.

The arrangements throughout just work in every way. A lot of people don't understand how complex that is but when you've got so many different sounds to contend with there's often a fine line between nailing a song and totally destroying it. In the up-tempo songs like Whisky Eyes and the very commercially pleasing Better Man everything jumps out so vibrantly not over-powering any other part of it's make-up, just working perfectly in tandem. In the more laid-back songs such as Lewknor Arch and Working Title the sounds blend to form a hazy warm fuzzy glow rather than a clash and even in Home Office, a song I was initially skeptical about when I first heard it live a year ago the arrangement makes sense and lifts a good song to greatness.


On top of brilliant arrangements there's also really nice pull-backs to the music that drew me in to the guys nearly two years ago. Turn To Cry is a wonderful Middle-Eastern sounding track which would've sat as a headline track on a second Medley album had it happened and there's even a complete and quite astonishing re-mix of Stolen Goods, the lead track from the Strange Folks EP.

I just cannot recommend this album to you highly enough. I know I like to hype the music I like up a bit but quite honestly, I believe this album will project the boys to massive stardom. They've managed to craft an album which is so uniquely and distinctively them into a commercial footing which will serve them well, not just in Israel but to the wider world.

This is a band about to enter a whole different orbit. On March 10th, you'll be able to get your hands on physical or electronic copies. You'd be mad not to get hold of it and spread the word.

Here's the full album for you to listen... http://acollective.bandcamp.com/

Best musical find in over a year!!!

NOTE: THIS BLOG HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN 2 PARTS, THE FIRST HALF FEBRUARY 21ST, THE SECOND HALF MARCH 7TH.

Wasn't I only supposed to blog once a month? Actually no, I was supposed to be giving you more free music. Instead though you'll have to excuse this most welcome of distractions. I might be bore you with the back story but I like to set the scene.

Last night I was having a little nosey at a number of upcoming gigs I might go to just to find out who was playing with the artist. I started by looking at who the lovely Ragz was playing with when she next hits London on 7th March. I found a guy called Jack Omer who really impressed me with his Ryan Adams-esque vocals. I went to search for his music, drew a blank so thought I'd check out what other gigs he was playing. His MySpace gave few clues and a Google search came up with I think an old gig but which showed who Jack was playing with. So what did I do, went and did another search to see who these musicians were.

The first I came across was a guy called Antonio Lulić musically as close to perfection for me as it gets. A quick scan of his Myspace page identified he had a new album just out. So I hit the Soundcloud player on his page and was initially impressed enough to keep listening. I flipped back to the original page I found and down the page and found a biog which I think sums it up perfectly...especially the influences.


"Antonio Jorge Lulic has been singing and playing guitar at the same time for about a decade, having cut his teeth in blues and folk jam sessions in the back rooms of bars all over the North. More recently, though, he has been sighted further afield; regularly gigging across London (or busking underneath it), and on stages as far as Europe and the US. Drawing on influences like Bruce Springsteen, Ani DiFranco and Counting Crows, Antonio delivers a torrent of soulful and energetic electroacoustic anthems."

Note Springsteen and Counting Crows - it doesn't get much better does it?

SECOND HALF OF BLOG...

So I headed off on a rapid fire search and ended up spending an iTunes voucher I was given for Christmas on Antonio's debut EP Becomes Unstoppable and his recently released album Never or Tonight. It was quite late at night but I sat up listening to both. When they both finished, I listened all the way through again and then over the course of a week I must've listened to them both once a day at least.



Becomes Unstoppable is a majestic EP. Sometimes with EP's you get two good tracks and two bum tracks, not with this little gem, all 4 tracks are just brilliant. The songwriting and storytelling in each song is absolutely top notch, well thought through and mixed with some truly brilliantly constructed music blending together acoustic guitar, the occasional electric guitar, drums and harp. It's a simple sound yet brilliantly effective and really allows Antonio's gravelly non-British sounding voice to shine over the top of the music. The Girl Next Door and Pretty Soon Now are truly brilliant songs.

Never or Tonight is a gem of an album too, even though most of it deals with relationship break-ups. It's more a continuation of a theme than a new direction by a musician who's clearly developed a lot musically in an 18 month period since Becomes Unstoppable was released. The lyrics throughout are just absolutely brilliant and I find segments in every song relating to feelings I've experienced.

Never or Tonight is a great bridging track between the two releases and is swiftly followed by Now It's Cold, which is a real favourite. I could imagine so many more famous singer/songwriters writing and playing this song - Newton Faulkner springs most prominently to mind and that's a credit to how highly I regard Antonio. A Lost Dog and Made of Stone are really good songs too laced with more great sounds and lyrics.

Track 5 is a beautifully constructed vocal-less folky intermission. The folky theme follows on into What I Need which I just adore. It's a ridiculously good sound, mixing harmonica's, strings together, in fact the first time I heard it I thought it was an early Acollective track. Halfway through the song it changes pace and style in a way that musicians like Jason Mraz manage to do so to great effect, before finishing with that rousing bluesy/folk sound.

Tip Toe is a pretty deep song that leads into Hey It's Okay, an apology song that resonated with me deeply when I heard it, so much so I picked up my guitar and figured out the chords in about 20 minutes and sat playing along with it. The album concludes with When I Can't, another slightly sombre and deep track. It leaves you wanting more or a brighter note to finish on which is actually a really good way to leave an album, it's a musical cliffhanger.

I cannot recommend both releases enough to you, seriously, you'd be mad not to buy them and as they're on iTunes you really have no excuse!

www.antoniolulic.com
www.myspace.com/antoniolulic
www.twitter.com/antoniojl

Free Music?!?!

OK tonight's musical voyage is the first of a double header of FREE music? Holy eff...FREE music Rich, wow that's a revelation, it's called torrents, filesharing and ripping...get with the programme man!

No, no, no this genuinely is FREE music, legally free, not stealing it free, not doing it to make a statement to big record labels free, not denying a musician the right to earn a living free...just plain old FREE music from musicians wanting to share their art with the world.

So the first offering is from the incredible Joey Ryan. Joey recently announced his semi-retirement from music...well as a soloist and has decided to play exclusively with the equally brilliant Kenneth Pattengale. They sound incredible together see below for proof.

Anyways, Joey has decided that to celebrate his retirement, he's made all his music from the past two years FREE...yes FREE. You can download his last EP and full album from www.joeyryan.net There's the option to donate some money should you choose to...I think you should personally, put a value on your appreciation of what you're listening to, even in these difficult times! If you don't want to do that, at least add your email address to the mailing list.

You'll also see a link to buy/donate towards the live album with Joey and Kenneth, so just to whet your appetite for that one...



What about the preacher, did he download it for free? No kids, not only did I buy both the albums but they were hand-signed by Joey in London last June.

Go forth, do the right thing and in the process get some bloody amazing music!