Cellar Darling - Rebels

Dark/Live/Mag Interview with Anna Murphy, Cellar Darling
- On Bats, Squirrels And The Love To Death

Marco: Anna, first of all thank you so much for taking the time for an interview with us.

Anna: Thank you for having me.

Marco: 2018 was a very busy year for you. You toured intensively, in the UK, Japan, South America, played at the WGT in Leipzig and other big festivals. And on top of that you were working on your highly anticipated second album. How are you and the band doing at the moment?

Anna: I for one am exhausted. The album took a lot of energy to write and record. But it was worth it - I'm happy with the result. As for the band, we're currently switching back and forth between rehearsing and working... we all have other jobs and passions which we are trying to balance with our commitment to Cellar Darling. I'm a producer and sound engineer at the Soundfarm Studios in Lucerne, currently working with a death metal band and writing music for my other projects.

Marco: Well, that sounds like little sleep. Which brings me to 'Insomnia'. It was the first released single of the new album, which brought you a lot of positive feedback. The fans are now even more excited about your second longplayer. What can you tell us about it?

Anna: We've just announced that our new album will be a concept album by the name of 'The Spell'. We've released two small parts of a long, intense story... the latest song being the title track and the 'center' of the story about a girl who falls in love with death. The album will be released on the 22nd of March.

Marco: Now you make me even more curious! Would you reveal more of what the story is about?

Anna: Okay, it tells the tale of a nameless girl who is birthed into a world that is in pain, damaged and debilitated by the human beings that inhabit it. We follow her as she searches for a meaning in life, when suddenly she meets and falls in love with death. A spell is cast and a painful, elaborate journey begins.

Marco: Let's talk about Jacob the bat. When I first listened to 'Insomnia' I was immediately caught by the depth, the captivating variety and your beautiful vocal lines. The work seems original, fresh, but also complex, which makes it even more exciting. In the video, the oppressive atmosphere and melancholy is emphasized by the magnificent artwork of Costin Chioreanu. What did Jacob do to you that in the end such a work was created?

Anna: First off, thank you. I'm glad that you can sense what atmosphere we wanted to create with the song as well as hear how much work was put into it. Jacob came to visit us while I was recording the demo vocals in the control room of my studio. It was exciting of course and at one point we were just running around the studio being chased by him, but my main concern was if he'd find the way back out. We left all the windows open over night and he was gone the next day... or at least he hasn't come to say 'hi' since. A few weeks later a squirrel came to visit us at Tommy Vetterli's New Sound studio where we recorded more songs and mixed the album. It was during the only song of the album that has something "lighthearted" about it, a spark of hope. Kind of cool, the bat being there during a dark song and having a squirrel there for the lighter one. The animal world seems to be on board with our music!

Marco: And so do we! The combination of heavy guitar riffs, rocky drums, hurdy-gurdy and your voice has already provided you with a recognition value in your still young band history. But it's hard to assign you to a certain genre. I think that's on purpose, too. And one notices with your songs that your ideas unfold fully because you set no limits to them. When and how did you realize for yourself that you wanted to create new and unique things? I once heard that you are a talented painter as well?

Anna: I've just never had an affinity for boundaries. I think some artists need those 'restraints' and clear formulas in order to function, but I'm the opposite. Genres, set song structures, formulas.. it bores me. The fuel for my creativity is chaotic, 'all over the place', scattered... which also makes the results more difficult to enjoy or understand at times. I also admire the other thing, finding something that works, repeating it and being successful with that. It takes an equal amount of skills as the chaos principle does that I'm messing around with. As for the painting, it's like with the various instruments I play. I love doing a lot of different things, but that also means I gradually and slowly progress with each of them - I don't do one thing perfectly or overly virtuosic, I half-ass my way through ten things and hope I'll be able to do a few of them as good as somehow possible, haha.

Marco: But you seem so calm and balanced. How do you deal with stress? How do you balance yourself and what are you busy with if you don't want to have anything to do with music - or doesn't that happen at all?

Anna: A lot of people say that and it's interesting, because I'm quite a mess to be honest. I would say my core is calm and balanced, yes. But I have bouts of anxiety, paranoia and depression that come and go as they please. So far they haven't gotten the better of me though and I guess that's why I'm perceived as calm - the outside world rarely sees the other side. What helps me the most is being outside, hiking in the mountains is the most cleansing experience for my mind. I try to meditate and read as much as possible to stay grounded. And I surround myself with few, but good people... Oh and wine. Red wine.

Marco: Oh wow, that's an intense mix of emotions you have to deal with. Thank you for this insight in your inner life. Let's get back to your future plans: For 2019 you have already announced a number of tour dates in spring. The focus so far is on the UK. Are there already plans for more countries in Europe, as headliner or support band? What are the next steps you want to take?

Anna: We're working on doing more shows this year, as many as somehow possible. Most of it is still 'in progress' though... I don't really think about the next steps, I just do my part and work towards something unknown in the end. What I can do is create, be present and spread our stories - the future will happen on its own accord anyways and it did so wonderfully last year where we got to see so many parts of the world.

From: https://www.facebook.com/cellardarlingofficial/posts/interview-with-anna-murphy-thank-you-darklivemag-/2152823064784080/

The Pentangle - Captured Live 1972

The Pentangle Captured Live DVD offers a Belgian TV special recorded by the same team that has recorded the Nursery Crime tracks for Genesis, the Plague Of The Lighthouse Keeper for VDGG, Atomic Rooster special, ELP's live presentation of their debut album and a few more. Although The pentangle by 72 was a little pasts its creative prime - the tracks presented here are from the Reflection album onward, we still get a pristine performance with impeccable musical execution and correct sound - although do not expect this to have the sound of 21st century recording quality. The group is set up in a mid-circle with the two guitarists facing each other at the extremes and the others are stuck in the middle but a few feet deeper. This live in studio recording does not offer, of course, the real concert feeling but does give you correct idea of what they were capable of.  Starting with the trad track Circle Be Unbroken, the quintet is clearly in phase and warming for other tracks such as the good Wedding Dress, and the quieter Reflection. Another trad track Willy O Winsburry is taken from Solomon's Seal and the set closes on a great People On The Highway

It is only unfortunate that no Pentangle´s real live DVD has appeared yet. The band had a fantastic live performance that made them famous long before they recorded their debut LP. Well, the closest you got is this release, a studio live recording of them playing on the belgium TV. On the plus side we have decent sound, good images and a fine performance. On the down side we have short playing time and a limited repertoire (they were promoting the Reflection LP and most songs are from it). If you´re a fan of the band (specially a fan of their first line up and jazzy/folk/blues phase) this is a must have. Even if this is not a ´real´ live concert (I mean in front of an audience), this is the closest you can get to see them playing live so far. And do they play good! I love Jaqui McShee´s voice (so close of Renaissance´s Annie Haslam). Maybe not their best performance together, but still a fine document of a time when five talented people formed one of England´s most remarkable prog folk bands of all time.

From: https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=9997

IC3PEAK - Worm

The hip-hop, electronic, and experimental music duo of Russian origin, IC3PEAK surprises us with their latest release "Worm” in collaboration with Australian singer, Kim Dracula. The video directed by the French graphic designer Mattis Dovier shows us a disturbing story through illustrations where he makes a metaphor about metamorphosis. "Worm” breaks with the tour of video clips that IC3PEAK had previously published and tells us a story based on black and white illustrations. The story is located in a subway stop where he tells us a chilling story with a hidden meaning behind it.  From: https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/worm-ft-kim-dracula-ic3peak

IC3PEAK is a Russian music group consisting of Anastasia "Nastya" Kreslina (vocals/lyrics) and Nikolay Kostylev (music). They formed in 2013 after they meet at college. They are known for their unique mix of musical genres, unconventional looks, provocative music videos and politicised lyrics. The group became target of censorship by the Russian security forces with their concerts being suddenly stopped and the members being detained for no reason. Conservative media have accused them of distribution of "subversive" material and their music has been called frightening and destructive. Not scared by the attempts to silence them, in 2019 the group became speakers for free speech in Russia and have guested in multiple rallies. The members self-describe as "Audiovisual terrorism".  From: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/IC3PEAK

We have already had the opportunity to present to you the work of Mattis Dovier, whose creations adopt a particular style: 2D animation in black and white, close to pixel art, with a striking visual universe rich in visual metaphors. Today we invite you to delve in more detail into the world of this artist. Mattis Dovier agreed to come back for us on his career, his style and his projects, but also on his working methods.

3DVF: What is your background?

Mattis Dovier: I am a graphic designer by training, I did a baccalaureate in applied arts then a BTS in visual communication with a multimedia option. Then I did a year of professional training in motion design at the Gobelins school. Even if my school career gave me a lot, I rather developed my animation and illustration techniques as a self-taught person. This is why I did not continue with schools to concentrate on a more personal practice.

3DVF: You are currently a freelance illustrator and animator; what types of projects do you work on the most?

Mattis Dovier: I don't really separate the part of illustration from that of animation, for me it's more of a hybrid, of animated illustration in a way. And more and more, I consider drawing as a simple medium that illustrates a story. But the common thread in my work is its relationship with music, which is why I work more for music videos.

3DVF: Several of your recent films use black and white rendering close to pixel art. Why this artistic choice?

Mattis Dovier: It was a choice that imposed itself on me because it solves a lot of problems that made making clips difficult, even prohibitive. Being alone working on my projects, I had to find a way to work quickly, this is why I became interested in pixel art, we can cover a larger drawing surface on a low resolution image, and therefore gain a lot of time, which makes frame-by-frame animation less tedious. Finally, in addition to the practical aspect, I found this technique interesting for its digital aesthetic associated with the organic side of traditional animation. For black and white it is also a question of speed of execution, but I have always been fascinated by the radical contrasts and the visual impact that this produces among the great masters of black and white in comics. Especially since the “low res” pixel-art aesthetic lends itself quite well to it.

3DVF: On a technical level, what is your process for creating these animations?

Mattis Dovier: My technique is very rudimentary, I use Photoshop like traditional animation software: I create different video layers which serve as layers: one for the contours, one for each fill. When they are invention drawings I use the onion skin function, and when I use videos as a basis, I redraw the video frame by frame on a layer (rotoscope). Generally I mix the two to obtain a realistic result but with a degree of interpretation important enough not to be “photorealistic” and to highlight the drawing.
To get different shades of pixels, I draw pixel patterns which I embed in a layer to draw with. In this way I use pixel grids as more or less dark areas of gray. But there are several ways to do it, you can directly import the grayscale images as bitmaps, but I prefer the “artisanal” solution which gives less random results. Then I edit the animations on Premiere with sound.

3DVF: Is this workflow relatively fixed, or does it evolve over the course of plans and projects?

Mattis Dovier: I remain fairly faithful to my method to maintain consistency in my work and a certain mastery, but over time I refine it by sorting out what works and what doesn't. I often hesitated between breaking this aesthetic or gradually evolving it, and I finally opted for the second option. With each project I try to learn a new technique, for example I increased the resolution of the image to move more towards pointillism and be able to draw more details. In terms of animation too, I no longer animate all the elements with the same ratio, I realized that certain elements must be more fluid and others can be less animated while in my first works I remained on 12 frames/second constant. The main thing is to find ways to evolve without getting bored and falling into repetition. But even if aesthetics are important there are many other aspects to work on such as

Translated from: https://3dvf.com/redaction/dossier-1320-rencontre-avec-mattis-dovier-html/

Siouxsie And The Banshees - Peek-A-Boo

An oddball in the Banshees catalog, “Peek-A-Boo” is a very danceable track built around a reverse sample from John Cale’s song, “Gun” and a manipulated vocal from Siouxsie Sioux achieved through her using a different microphone for each line of the song. Due to the lyrics, “Golly jeepers/Where’d you get those weepers?/Peepshow, creepshow/Where did you get those eyes?“, the band was forced to give writing credits to Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer. During an MTV interview, Siouxsie said that the song is about “the way women are portrayed in our fascist media.”

Creeping up the backstairs
Slinking into dark stalls
Shapeless and slumped in bath chairs
Furtive eyes peep out of holes
She has many guises
She'll do what you want her to
Playing dead and sweet submission
Cracks the whip, deadpan on cue

Reeking like a pigsty
Peeling back and gagging free
Flaccid ego in your hand
Chokes on dry tears, can you understand?
She's jeering at the shadows
Sneering behind a smile
Lunge and thrust to pout and pucker
Into the face of the beguiled

Strobe lights pump and flicker
Dry lips crack out for more
“Come bite on this rag doll, baby!
That's right, now hit the floor”
They're sneaking out the back door
She gets up from all fours
Rhinestone fools and silver dollars
Curdle into bitter tears

Peek-a-boo, peek-a-boo
Golly jeepers, where'd you get those weepers?
Peek-a-boo, peek-a-boo
Peep show, creep show, where did you get those eyes?

From: https://genius.com/Siouxsie-and-the-banshees-peek-a-boo-lyrics

Fleetwood Mac - I'm So Afraid - Live 1976

As is probably easy to tell, I have a weakness for emotionally charged guitar solos — doesn’t everyone, really? — to the point that I can even overlook lazy songwriting or cliché-ridden lyrics if, in the end, it’s all about the power of the mighty axe. But perhaps the greatest advantage of the guitar solo is that it is usually the most dynamic, experimental, "living and breathing" part of the song. Over years and decades of live performance, verses, bridges and choruses largely stay the same (unless you’re somebody like Bob Dylan who’s made a special art out of thoroughly reinventing his catalog over and over again), but the instrumental bits are specifically those moments where you have the potential to "update" the song with whatever textures, moods, and feels you think appropriate for the moment (unless you’re somebody like Lynyrd Skynyrd who have made a special art out of perfectly reproducing the exact same notes, regardless of the level of complexity, over and over again).
And when it comes to moody tunes with awesome guitar solos, no other song in the history of rock music has ever managed to grip my attention to the point of wanting to explore its entire lifeline than Lindsey Buckingham’s ‘I’m So Afraid’, from its first appearance as a studio track on the 1975 Fleetwood Mac album and all the way up to the band’s (and Lindsey’s solo) concert performances in the early 21st century. Compared to Fleetwood Mac’s big hits, ‘I’m So Afraid’ has always been more of a cult favorite — and not just because it was not released as a single, but also because it is one of the few Fleetwood Mac songs that offers not a drop of hope: bleak, morose, and desperate from start to finish, it claims to descend into much deeper depths of personal Hell than even something like ‘The Chain’, so it could never be a radio staple.
Yet it is also a song that has been steadily played at pretty much all Fleetwood Mac concerts since 1975, never ever dropped from the setlist — except for those time periods during which Buckingham stayed out of the band (e.g. on the Tango In The Night tour), presumably implying that nobody could ever hope to do the song justice apart from its own creator, a suspicion confirmed by the fact that absolutely no single pop/rock act of any notable stature has ever dared to cover the tune. Fairly few pieces in the history of the entire genre, to be honest, have been linked more tightly with just one man than ‘I’m So Afraid’, which makes it even more fascinating to track down the complex evolution of the song in live performance.
Although, apparently, no pre-Fleetwood Mac versions of the song have survived, it is usually said that Lindsey wrote the tune around 1971, while suffering from mononucleosis and having Stevie Nicks take care of him through much of the year; according to another account, he did not add the lyrics until his father’s death in 1974, but this I am not so inclined to believe because (a) the lyrics are entirely self-centered, with not the faintest hint of grieving for anybody other than oneself and (b) the lyrics show a certain clumsy crudeness that is more high school than college, if you get my drift: "Days when the rain and the sun are gone / Black as night, agony’s torn at my heart too long" is, frankly speaking, very cringey poetry — Lindsey’s no Dylan, for sure, but he got better with his words later on, and I’d rather believe that a 22-year old wrote this rather than a 25-year old. (Just in case, remember that the transition from 22 to 25 can sometimes be the transition from love, love me do, you know I love you to he’s a real Nowhere Man, sitting in his Nowhere Land).
Yet be it 1971, 1974, or 1975 when the song finally came out, every time I try to put it in context, much to my renewed surprise, I cannot truly understand its proper musical and spiritual roots. In fact, the more I think about it the more I realize that fear — primal, existential fear, the one that gives you a panic attack in the middle of the night with no apparent cause — is an emotion that was largely absent from popular music at the time. Skip a few years ahead to New Wave, and you get yourself Joy Division and The Cure and all sorts of goth-rock and what-not, but how many songs before that do you know that simply want to convey that terrified state of mind, driving you up the wall for no discernible reason? Having checked more than 120,000 titles in my personal digital library, I found absolutely no relevant compositions with words like "afraid" or "fear" in the title; most of them usually carry the encouraging message of don’t be afraid — amusingly, even Nico’s ‘Afraid’ from 1971’s Desertshore is a song of hope, and we’re talking of the prototypical «Goth girl» here!
You could think Jim Morrison, but Jim Morrison did not exude fear or vulnerability — his music embraced the darkness rather than dreaded it. You could think something like the Stones’ ‘Sister Morphine’, which comes close, but it was still a theater piece for Jagger who acted it out rather than lived it out. You could try and go deeper into the past, back to all those creepy old Southern bluesmen, but that would mostly be religious fear, drilled into them by tradition. Ironically, perhaps the closest person before Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac to bottling that vibe may have been... Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, whose own mental condition drove him to record stuff like ‘The Green Manalishi’ that crawled pretty deep under your skin. (And it is hardly a coincidence that the song that secured the acceptance of the Buckingham-Nicks duo into Fleetwood Mac was ‘Frozen Love’ from their eponymous album, which shares a bit of a common vibe with ‘I’m So Afraid’ — even a few lines in the guitar solo are the same — and might have easily given Mick Fleetwood a «this guy is the new Peter» impression).
Anyway, returning to the song, which closed out the self-titled Fleetwood Mac album on a stunningly morbid note compared to the overall vivaciousness, even breeziness of the record — the original studio version is fantastic all by itself, of course. It largely leaves out the ladies in the band, but it is an almost equally strong showcase for both Lindsey and the rhythm section, with John McVie pumping out the most grim-reaperish bassline he could think of and Mick, in tandem, never letting go of the bass drum throughout. Together, they create a bulging paranoid pulse for the song against which Lindsey unleashes his feelings — and those, within the some­what padded studio setting, are dressed up in expressively melodic, almost romantic textures, from the near-falsetto overtones of the singing to the colorful effects on double-tracked lead guitars. The sheer open dread does not begin to pour out until the guitar solo, with its shrillness and distortion, comes out into the open... but then it only does so for just a few bars before fading out, leaving us yearning for more.
It’s pretty much a given among Mac fans that the song only properly came to life on stage, but over the years I have learned to appreciate the special charm of the studio version in much the same way as, for instance, I like the soft acoustic textures of studio Tommy just as much as the rip-roaring stage version. The smoothed-out studio production gives the song, one might say, a slightly more nuanced, «aristocratic», Byronesque vibe, and while in live performance Lindsey usually howls, growls, or screams out the words, letting it all out, here he sings it with no audience in sight, making the entire delivery more of an internal monologue than a theatrical look-at-poor-me tour-de-force. I can certainly dig that; this is an ‘I’m So Afraid’ for the genuine depressed recluse, rather than a desperate exhibitionist.  From: https://onlysolitaire.substack.com/p/the-life-of-a-song-vol-1-fleetwood

Sinéad O'Connor - Fire On Babylon

"Fire On Babylon" is about Sinéad O'Connor's mother, a common topic in her songs. O'Connor has accused her mother, who died in 1985, of abusing her and her siblings. In this song, she levels another accusation when she sings: "Look what she did to her son."
"It had to do with something I found out she'd done to one of my brothers that just really made me angry," O'Connor explained in her memoir Rememberings. "Truth to tell, it's very hard for me to get angry about my mother. It's the way I've survived. I've convinced myself she didn't know what she was doing. People will do that, but of course, I've misplaced that anger and it might be more mature for me to accept it."
The song was released as a single from O'Connor's fourth album, Universal Mother. By this time, she had burned many bridges in the industry, so she had trouble getting radio play or positive publicity. In 1990, she had a huge hit with "Nothing Compares 2 U," a song from her second album, which made her a global star. But she kicked back against the notoriety and became more political, veering as far from pop stardom as she could. Her next album, released in 1992, was a collection of covers called Am I Not Your Girl? By the time Universal Mother came out in 1994, her star had fallen, which was fine with her. She still had enough fans to get the album on the charts in many countries.
O'Connor wrote the song with John Reynolds, her first husband and the father of her first child. They divorced in 1991 but shared a lasting bond and kept working together. He also produced the track (along with O'Connor and Tim Simenon) and played drums on it. Michel Gondry directed the music video, which shows O'Connor in what looks like a doll house as she shares screen time with her younger self. At one point, she presents her mother with a birthday cake that catches fire, a symbol of her resentment. Gondry has many very clever videos with bright colors and shifting perspectives. Others include "Everlong" by Foo Fighters and "Human Behaviour" by Björk.
A few things were different about O'Connor on the Universal Mother album. For one, she had hair. Not a lot, but enough to cover her head. Also, she sang in her Irish accent instead of suppressing it like she had done before. The trumpet riff is a sample of "Dr. Jekyll," a 1958 track by jazz great Miles Davis.  From: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/sinead-oconnor/fire-on-babylon


Tangerine Stoned - Le Verità di Allen

I have a really complicated relationship with The Doors - I love them, but I also roll my eyes at some of the ‘poetry’ for which Jim Morrison was so famous and lauded. My favorite example is from ‘Riders on the Storm’, in which "there’s a killer on the road, his brain is squirmin’ like a toad". That, my dear friends, is lyric!
I had to take that potshot at The Lizard King, but the reason I have occasion to bring up one of the best bands of all times, is that Italian band Tangerine Stoned have made a bluesy, psychedelic album on par with some of the best from the height of the genre, circa 1967. And yes, at times, this album is very much a Doors-ian trip. Young Doors, though, not bloated, alkie, bearded-to-hide-the-double-chin Morrison Doors.
Just to be totally clear, I read the press release notes for the Tangerine Stoned album, and it specifically mentions The Doors as an influence, but also mentions such heavy-hitters as The Seeds and 13th Floor Elevators.
I am way more familiar with The Seeds than the 13th Floor Elevators, having bought A Web of Sound for mere pennies at a junk sale when I was about 12. My dad, the man that has been the biggest single influence on my musical tastes and all, laughed when he saw a Seeds album, but as always, let me figure it out for myself. The Seeds were campy at best, but they were the epitome of the pipestem trouser, page-boy hair, peasant-shirt-with-vest image associated with their ‘scene’, man. Let’s just say this: Tangerine Stoned is way better than The Seeds could ever be, closer to being as good as The Doors.
The opening track is ‘Venice’, which is likely an homage to the beach of the same name, the beach on which Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek (may he rest in peace!) met. This number is bluesy and funky, with sort of haunting vocals. Or maybe it’s about the Flooded City (since these guys are Italian) - Either way, it’s a pretty rocking track. ‘Clean Window’ is more of the same, very smooth, very ‘60s, very ethereal in parts. This track also showcases more vocal range, and some cool-sounding guitar riffery. I think that the mish-mash of clean-sounding and distortion effects on the guitar make this one my early favorite.
‘Blues in Door’ starts off with some Keith Relf-style mouth-harp (that’s what we cool folks call the harmonica) in this rollicking party track. This song reminds me of movies like ‘Coogan’s Bluff’ in which the Psychedelic scene folks are portrayed as crazy, drug-addled, Hammond-playing weirdos. I dig it, man! The harmonica in this mostly instrumental track is cool, and there is a really funky bass almost-solo as well. Anyone up for the Pigeon-toed Orange Peel for a shroom cocktail tonight?
‘Dirty Ceiling’ expounds further on the Hammond organ, and is so similar in style to The Doors, vocally, that it’s almost too close. I am quite impressed that this vocalist’s first language is not English, yet he totally nails it throughout.
I feel like I have to mention the drumming, as well, to be totally fair - it’s solid and not overpowering, and these guys are pretty tight. I get the feeling that they really know what they wanted things to sound like and maybe whomever did the mixing as well - nothing seems like out of place or overdone.
‘Nave Da Bar’ is a bit faster, but more of the same coolness. Swirly guitars and ‘Light My Fire’ organs underneath it, with a cool couple of bass/drums moments mixed in. I’ve got no idea what the lyrics are or what they might mean (something about magical and mystery?), but the delivery is cool and enjoyable. The singer could match Ian Astbury note-for-note in my book.
The last track, and a long one at over 11 minutes, ‘L'Urlo della Strega’, has some Sitar at the beginning (or emulated Sitar?), and I’m frankly surprised that the song is not exactly 4 minutes and 20 seconds long (see what I did there?). It’s a bit meandering for me at the start, as a dude that is not a poker of smot any more, but again, it’s a cool track in the same vein as ‘Riders on the Storm’ or similar.
During my research, I happened to have read another reviewer’s take on this album, and he wrote something like these guys have stayed more than one night at the Morrison Hotel, and goddamnit! I wish I had written that!
Tangerine Stoned’s Facebook page is in Italian, so I don’t know much about them at all, but I am really pleased that I was able to review their self-titled effort. These are some solid musicians that play some pretty good, nostalgia-friendly tunes. And with a huge hole left in the world of music with Manzareck’s passing recently (and I am being totally sincere, I loved hearing him talk about music and such), there is even more room for such an homage to a group with whom I have such a complex relationship. Cheers, Gentlemen! Or maybe ‘Saluto’? Either way, nicely done.  From: https://echoesanddust.com/2013/08/tangerine-stoned-tangerine-stoned/

Dionne Warwick - Walk On By - Live 1964

It’s difficult — and probably somewhat foolish — to try to choose one composition as the definitive work from the long and prolific hitmaking career of pop maestro Burt Bacharach, who died Wednesday at age 94. Working first with lyricist and longtime songwriting/production partner Hal David and later with his then-wife Carole Bayer Sager, Bacharach penned dozens of the biggest hits from the early ’60s right through the early MTV era, spanning doo-wop to new wave, with seven Hot 100 No. 1s to his credit — no two by the same artist, but all bearing his unmistakable thumbprint.
But Bacharach and David’s longest-lasting and most essential artist collaboration was undoubtedly with pop icon Dionne Warwick, with whom the duo scored a career’s worth of exquisite chart hits over the course of the ’60s. Even within the Bacharach/David/Warwick trio’s resume together, it’s difficult to choose just one signature song, as “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” “A House Is Not a Home,” “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and “I Say a Little Prayer” have all proven enduring classics in their own right.
Still, there’s something singular about “Walk on By,” the 1964 hit that has since become a regular finisher in Greatest Song of All Time polls. No work better demonstrates Bacharach and David’s peerless ability to blend the delicate with the overpowering, to capture the sound of a bursting heart in the split second before it shatters into a million pieces, and to do so with timeless textbook songcraft that nonetheless never fails to delight and surprise. And no song better demonstrates why Warwick was their ideal conduit, a vocalist who could find the strength and stateliness in fragility better than any pop star before or since.  From: https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/dionne-warwick-walk-on-by-greatest-song-of-all-time-1235250870/

Raze The Maze - 7am Dream

After MoeTar came full circle four years ago with the release of their final EP Final Four, and having two studio albums in the can from Magna Carta Reords, Tarik Ragab and Moorea Dickason have returned to the Bay Area prog scene with a massive kick in the family jewels with a new project called Raze The Maze. According to their website, Raze The Maze is seeking the internal maze of fear-based corporate driven culture and raise up creativity, connection, and expression in its place. They released their sole self-titled debut in 2019. And now in 2022, they’re following it up with their second album 7am Dream. It has the spirit of MoeTar’s legacy and the elements of chamber pop, avant-prog, and sheer attitude that is brought to the kitchen table. The visions on here have odd time changes, spirituality, brainwashing corruption, and the crazy-ass shit that’s been going on during the pandemic two years ago and into today.
From the continuation of songs such as ‘Under the Spell’, ‘Hero Villain’, and the title-track, they continued where they left-off from MoeTar’s ‘Butchers of Bagdad’ and the ‘Entropy of the Century’. You can tell that the duo have made a reprise by returning and concluding the stories by bringing the final chapters into their compositions. And they have a real psyche of the band’s mystery, adding a twist of lemon into their homemade lemon pie. ‘Persistence’ is a tip of the hat to Zappa’s Uncle Meat-era with escalating grooves to whirlpools of synths, Hanson’s bassoons jumping from one crocodile head to another, and Ragab conducting him to go crazy at the very end. Then, all hell has broken loose for Moorea to transform herself into a vicious, snarling blood-thirsty beast by reading the ‘Letters from the Parking Lot.’ Both she and Tarik race up to the spiraling staircase with crazy textures that have a blistering effect, and right in front of your face as he channels the styles of Alex Lifeson’s arpeggiated powder-keg with a Mother Goose twist in the styles of ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb.’ 7am Dream is an enthralling roller-coaster ride from start to finish. It proves that both Moorea and Tarik are keeping the machine going, and never touching the stop button. It’s an album that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.  From: https://echoesanddust.com/2022/10/raze-the-maze-7am-dream/

Spiral Shades - Frustration

RidingEasy Records is pleased to announce the debut release of Hypnosis Sessions by Spiral Shades on 5th August. A uniquely assembled album four thousand miles in the making. Formed by Vennesla, Norway-native Filip Peterson and Mumbai based singer-songwriter Khushal Bhadra Spiral Shades is a heavy rock record unlike any other.
As avid fans of obscure ’70s rock, doom and proto-metal, prior to forming Spiral Shades both Peterson and Bhadra relied on YouTube to unearth lost music and showcase their individual talents as musicians. Each would upload their own cover versions of songs they had discovered online but it wasn’t until one evening in the Summer of 2012 that Khushal happened to stumble onto Filip’s video channel where he was immediately taken aback by the Norwegian’s choices and impressive guitar playing.
“We appeared to possess identical influences and a love for the ’70s,” recalls Khushal. “Later we discovered that we shared in the belief that music created in that era had a certain kind of depth and emotion. My late father got me into bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple when I was young and those bands completely changed my world. Since then I have been trying to unearth bands with similar vibes.”
Frustrated by the absence of a metal scene in Mumbai but buoyed by the discovery of a like mind, Khushal reached out in hope of exchanging ideas and recommendations. The pair soon fell into discussion about their reverence for Scott “Wino” Weinrich; compared notes about Necromandus’s Barry “Baz” Dunnery’s guitar technique and debated which John Gallo band ruled more, Orodruin or Blizaro. Forming a friendship and shared admiration for the music they played they began sowing the seeds of what would eventually become Spiral Shades’ debut album.
“I don’t really follow the music scene around where I live,” explains Filip. “I don’t think there are any doom metal bands around here that I know of and I don’t have any experience playing in a band. My original goal was always to try and find somebody to jam with. Starting a band or even creating an album was never really something I had planned. Then suddenly Khushal contacted me out of the blue and it kind of evolved from there.”
Using software to pre-programme the drums, Hypnosis Sessions is a completely virtual project where everything was recorded, shared and mixed remotely. Even though this may seem at odds in some ways with the feel of the music contained within, given that the idea was to replicate that traditional approach to 1970s production – raw recordings, free flowing exchange of experimental ideas – the album captures that spirit and conviction in every aspect.
“It did get difficult at times when English isn’t your main language,” answers Filip when asked about the duo’s serve/return method of production. “At the beginning it was quite rough understanding what we both meant at times. Finding the right words is always difficult. However now that we have worked together for a couple of years, we understand each other much better.”
As well as sharing the same influences luckily both share the exact same work ethic. Taking over a year and a half to craft and assemble the recordings that make up their impressive nine-track debut the duo became veritable master controllers of their vision. Ungoverned by time, money or needless pressures they fell naturally into an arrangement that enabled them to write and record unhindered. Honed, polished and perfected the result is the creation of Hypnosis Sessions, one of the most original doom metal albums you will likely hear in 2014.
“Metal records aren’t usually made this way but we had no choice. One has to connect with another musician to make good music even if they are not together. I couldn’t find another musician who had similar tastes so finding Filip was like an instant connection. We knew what we were getting into from the start. We expected nothing; we just wanted to make good music. The kind of music we both love.”  From: https://www.ridingeasyrecs.com/spiral-shades-interesting-band-rock-n-roll/

Nephila - Who Are You

Swedish psychedelic rock band Nephila is set to release their self-titled debut album on The Sign Records. Drawing inspiration from 60s and 70s folk and prog rock, the album includes seven experimental tracks that launch the listener into a journey through space and time. The signature mix of retro rock and heavy guitar solos with fantastic vocal harmonies from their two lead singers makes this album truly stand out. Consisting of seven masked musicians, Nephila combines progressive songwriting and visual expressions to merge mysticism, folklore, and storytelling into a theatrical journey

Q: What is your upbringing?

A: Some of us went to the same music high school a couple of years back and we then wanted to keep playing music outside of school, but some different music from what we were doing in school.  // Josephine

How did you discover music?

Music has been a part of every member’s life and we all come from different kinds of musical backgrounds.  // Josephine

How did you start to write music?

One of our guitarists, Jacob Hellenrud, approached us with a self-written song; we then kept on writing music together. //Josephine

You are a Swedish psychedelic rock band. How did your band form?

I’d say it all started when we got together and did a cover of Rival Sons “Pressure and time” for fun in school. From that moment we’ve continued to develop our own sound and we started to create ‘Nephila’. //Jacob

Why 2 lead singers?

We love those two singers who can make harmonies together, the sound will be much wider and fuller. You can do a lot with it live, both with the performance and sound. Also, it’s really fun singing together, we give each other energy on and off stage. / Josephine

How did you get your bands name?

Nephila comes from a spider called Nephila clavata. The spider spins a golden web. From the beginning, we were eight members. One for every leg of the spider. But we lost one leg on the road, so our logo only contains seven legs now. //Jacob

Describe your music.

Spaceships collide with space rock from the year of 1969. We love combining psychedelic rock and heavy blues with theatrical expressions, our 7-headed rock orchestra wants to bring out the best of 70’s experimental rock while adding our own touch of mysticism and visual storytelling. //Jacob

What was your first performance like?

Our first gig was at a local pub where we’ve played a lot since. A small intimate show for mainly friends. We didn’t have many songs at the time so we played some covers from bands such as Cream and Abramis Brama.  //Jacob

Tell me about winning the Swedish music competition Livakarusellen in 2019?

It was an incredible feeling and absolutely rockin’. We had a blast throughout the whole competition and we grew a lot as a band. It was also a confirmation for us that people actually like and appreciate our music, which made us really happy. //Josephine

Before Livakarusellen you released the video “Growing Down” What is the back story to the video?

Some of the original members dropped out at the same time and we wanted to present the member shift through the video. The video represents a ceremony where the original members hand over the masks and the wreath to the new members.  //Josephine

Tell me about the making of the Belladonna video?

The video is about telling the listeners about the environmental crisis. The actress in the video, Ida Blom, is portraying mother earth, who’s feeling helpless watching the humans fill the world with debris and emissions. But the video ends in reverse, keeping the hope up for the future. Due to covid-19 we made the video by ourselves with the help from the amazing actress Ida Blom. //Josephine

What makes a good songwriter?

For me, a good songwriter doesn’t care about trends or what people want to hear. Instead, the songwriter should set the trends before we know what we want to hear. Express yourself in music and let your instrument lead the way to places you never knew existed. To be able to make something out of nothing, that for me is a good songwriter. //Jacob

What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?

Our first song was called “Blåa kräldjur”, which is “Blue reptiles” in English. Sadly, we never recorded this in the studio, but we played it live a bunch of times! Maybe we’ll dust it off someday and record it. //Josephine & Jacob

What is the process of writing your music?

Often someone comes with an idea or a riff and we jam together while trying to finish the song. Everyone in the band always has something to give with their own musicality so a song could sound completely different when adding all of our own ideas to it. It’s like a big compromise of ideas and you have to know when to “kill your darlings”.  //Jacob

Tell me about your single “White Bones” which was released at the beginning of the year?

“White Bones” is about the refugee crisis, where for example parents have to send their children across the ocean to risk their lives, just so they might get a better life without poverty, war and hunger. Some people won’t always make it all the way throughout the journey across the ocean, sadly some will have to witness the white bones of other travelers. Through the lyrics we want to give the listener some perspective, to picture how it would be if you switched lives. //Josephine

You debut album Nephila came out June 4th.is there a theme behind the music?

The lyrics from the album were inspired by worldwide issues, for example, “Guidance to agony” tells a story about violence against women, especially in near relationships. The song “White bones” is about the refugee crisis, where for example parents send their children across the ocean to risk their lives, so they might get a better life without war and hunger. We also have a song about the environmental crisis, “Belladonna ”, from the earth’s perspective. Stina and I often tend to write about issues around the globe, where a message can be sent through the song to the listener. //Josephine

What is your favorite track on your album?

For a bunch of us the favorite song is “Who are you”, but also “Alla galaxers centrum” and “Guidance to Agony” for some members. “Who are you” and “alla galaxers centrum” is also extremely fun to sing live. It’s like you disappear into the song. /Josephine

If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?

I believe that live music has been laying on its deathbed many years before this pandemic, but covid was the nail in the coffin. But I think that live music will reincarnate and grow greater than before because of it. I hope that people are hungry for live music. At Least we are. //Jacob

Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?

Maybe for someone, but in general, no. We thought that we would be more creative or write hundreds of songs. But it has been really hard to motivate yourself through this. //Jacob

How do you stay healthy during the lockdown?

Doing what you love. Maybe it’s baking, writing music, dancing around listening to your favorite songs, or video chat with your loved ones. It’s important to priorities your health and happiness! //Josephine

Many artists are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.  In October that is going to change at least on Facebook.  Facebook is cracking down on livestreamed shows that include recorded music with new terms of service, preventing artists from using the platform for “commercial or non-personal” purposes, unless they have obtained the relevant licenses. The updated music guidelines state that users “may not use videos on our products [which include Instagram] to create a music listening experience. This will include [Facebook] Live,” and stipulates that such content should be posted for the enjoyment of friends and family only. How do you think this will change the landscape of Facebook?

Everything that keeps people from playing music and expressing themselves could be bad. I get the idea that the artists and songwriters should get paid when people play their music. But shutting music down on one of the biggest platforms in a period where you can’t even go and see live music is a disaster. //Jacob

How can bands keep their fans if they cannot play live in front of the fans and sell merchandise to them at the show?

We think that it’s important to connect with people and make sure to tell them that you’re alive and conversate via text. It is hard for bands to reach a new audience in these times. But I think that it is important to keep in touch with the ones that follow and listen to your music. They are what’s important. //Jacob

Is pay to play still a thing?  Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.

We believe so. It is common to pay to support other bands. It can be a smart thing to reach a certain audience who may like your music, but that never would have listened if it wasn’t because of the headline. If it is financially worth it or not, we don’t know. But we see why it could be good for upcoming bands. //Jacob

What about Holographic concerts in our living room?

I think that it could hurt the live scenes around the world. But I see why people may want to watch Dio in your living room, haha. //Jacob

In the past if a musician stops doing music, they find a new career.  For example, David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants. If you can’t do music, what would you like to be doing?

Move to nowhere and become self-supported from nature. //Jacob

Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million.  In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million), Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year.  Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million.   Neil Young sold 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180-song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited. Once you get to the age of about 70, publishing is far more lucrative than the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams.  A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985.  And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial. The lump sums being offered by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning. Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is willing to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?

I think that this can hurt smaller bands and artists that may have no other choice than to sell their music for financial reasons and for much smaller prices. I get why Dylan or Dee Snider sell their catalogue, they don’t know if their music will be popular in 10 years and they will always be the real songwriters, no matter who owns the songs. But it’s sad that it’s always about the money and not the artistry.  //Jacob

At Spotify’s ‘Stream On’ event on February 22, the company confirmed that more than 60,000 new tracks are now being ingested by its platform every single day.  This means people are adding new tracks uploaded to its platform every 1.4 seconds. The figure, announced by Spotify’s Co-Head of Music, Jeremy Erlich, means that across the course of this year, approximately 22 million tracks will be added to Spotify’s catalog. Spotify confirmed in November last year that its platform now played host to around 70 million tracks. Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, Spotify will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time. But still back at the beginning of the year Spotify deleted 750,00 songs, mostly from independent artists.  What do you think what that could mean to independent artist?

It is really hard to stand out when so many songs are released every single day, and that’s only on Spotify. Artists are struggling to end up on playlists which is so important to be on today. The demand is so much smaller than what is released every single day. Everyone wants to be stars, but no one wants to listen. I believe that it is important to support other artists, add them on your favourite playlists and stream them and create your own community around your music instead of relying on Spotify’s algorithm.  //Jacob

From: https://www.unratedmag.com/nephila/

 

Eddie Kendricks - Keep On Truckin'

Eddie Kendricks only topped the charts once after leaving The Temptations, but when he did, it was with a doozy of a track. Tom Breihan makes the case that “Keep On Truckin’” was the first disco song to top the charts, which may well be true. He also says that it’s more of a groove than a song, which is definitely true. There’s a radio edit, but who cares? You want the full eight minute experience.
“Keep On Truckin'” was produced by funk/soul/disco auteur Frank Wilson. Eddie Kendricks had quit the Temptations in part because he didn’t like producer Norman Whitfield’s psychedelic soul approach, but Wilson’s epic disco vibe also sounds suspiciously like psychedelic soul. Leonard Caston Jr plays the devastating clavinet part. The great James Jamerson plays bass, Ed Greene plays drums, Gary Coleman plays vibes, King Errisson plays congas, Dean Parks and Greg Poree play guitar, and Jerry Peters plays piano and organ. There are also unnamed horn and string sections. The texture is dense: four layers of percussion, three keyboards, two guitars, vibes, horns, strings, and layers of Eddie Kendricks’ voice. It could easily be a mess, but Motown cats know how to stay out of each others’ way, and the mix and arrangement are exceptionally tight. It’s rare for a club banger to be a good solitary headphone listen (and vice versa), but this track works equally well in both contexts.
“Keep On Truckin'” may have disco-like production and grandiosity, but its groove is classic early 1970s funk: heavily swung sixteenth notes, hi-hats ticking away on the eighths, snares smacking the last sixteenth note in the bar to keep you paying attention, muted wah-wah guitar going chicka-chicka on the sixteenths. The tempo starts around 98 BPM, and by the end has picked up to about 104. Motown players keep excellent time, but no one could resist speeding up through a groove this exciting. Here’s a section-by-section breakdown.

Intro: mm 1-4 (0:00)
If it feels like you’ve been dropped into the middle of the song, it’s because you basically have. The intro is an instrumental version of the prechorus, and you won’t hear it in context until later on. Starting the song with a piece of musical connective tissue is harmonically disorienting. The first two chords are Db7 and Bb7. Usually the first chord in a groove is the tonic, but if that’s true, then Bb7 would be a strange followup. Or maybe Bb7 is the tonic? But then Db7 would be a strange lead-in. Anyway, Db7 and Bb7 are repeated, and the answer becomes clear: they must be the bVI7 and IV7 chords in F or F minor. Presumably, we’ll be landing on the tonic in the next section.

Chorus 1/Break 1: mm 5-10 (0:10)
Except, no, we don’t. Instead of the F or F minor you were expecting, there’s a groove on Ab major, with some embellishing Absus4 chords thrown in on the guitar. So maybe Db7 and Bb7 were actually the IV7 and II7 chords in Ab? Strange, but appealing. At measure 9, there’s a Bb7, which sounds like it might be V7/V in A-flat. But then at measure 10, there’s a break on C7sus4, which retroactively explains the Bb7 as actually being the IV7 chord in F like you were originally led to believe. At the end of the break, there are two quick hits on a gospel-like Fsus4, which further set up the expectation that you’ll get a resolution to F on the next downbeat.

Build: mm 11-12 (0:25)
There is indeed a very quick F7 chord on the downbeat, but the clav immediately starts walking up the F minor pentatonic scale. When you hear minor pentatonic over a dominant seventh chord, that’s a sure sign of blues tonality. I would label this short section as being in the key of F blues.

Main Groove 1: mm 13-20 (0:30)
The groove opens up into eight bars of the F Dorian feel that will dominate the later parts of the track.

Prechorus 1: mm 21-24 (0:49)
This is the same as the intro, but now we know what’s going on: the Db7 comes from F minor blues, and the Bb7 comes from F blues or F Dorian.

Chorus 2/Break 2: mm 25-30 (0:59)
This chorus has the same basic feel as the first one: an Ab major groove with a few Absus4 chords for ornamentation. This time, however, one of the guitarists is playing licks in the Ab blues scale. If we were supposed to hear F as being the global key center, then the F blues scale would seem to be the more obvious choice. Hearing Ab blues instead suggests that Ab is the “real” key center, at least right now.

Main Groove 4: mm 90-133 (3:38)
You’re expecting the chorus again, but no, it’s back to the main groove. It starts restrained but quickly builds in intensity. From here on out, we stay in F Dorian, and all structure comes from orchestration and groove. The strings trade blues riffs with the rest of the band, a neat arranging trick.

Breakdown 2/Outtro Groove: mm 134-202 (5:21)
There’s a dramatic break that would make a logical ending for the track, but it’s not even close to being over. The groove breaks down to just congas and tambourine. The other instruments are faintly present, but very quiet. Then they gradually re-enter. The band must have kept on grooving straight through this, and then the breakdown and re-buildup were constructed at the mixing desk in postproduction. This is really what makes the song sound like disco: major compositional choices made by the producer at the mixing stage, using the multitrack recording of a live performance as raw material rather than the finished product. The track doesn’t actually end, it fades out. Remember how it didn’t exactly have a beginning, either? You get the sense that “Keep On Truckin'” really lasts for hours or days, and you just happen to have caught eight minutes of it. Songs have a beginning, a middle, and an end, but a good groove is potentially infinite.

From: https://www.ethanhein.com/wp/2021/keep-on-truckin/

I Draw Slow - All Souls

George Orwell’s quote “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind”, is sadly, as relevant today, as when he made it, in his 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language”.  Perhaps things have always been so, then, and it is not just the chosen go-to operating style of the current crop of departing, or incumbent, holders of high office in several western democracies.
It is a quote that inspired the track ‘Copenhagen Interpretation’, which I Draw Slow chose to be the lead single from their eponymous fifth album ‘I Draw Slow’.  The song is about bringing words back down to earth and frames lead singer, Louise Holden‘s, ethereal voice over banjo musings, and a soundscape that could have graced any 70’s Laurel Canyon close harmony release.
I Draw Slow are probably better known in their native Ireland and the US, than they are here in the UK.  The rest of the band is made up of Holden’s sibling David (guitar), along with Konrad Liddy (upright bass), Colin Derham (banjo), and Adrian Hart (fiddle).  They have spent significant periods touring previous albums in the States, gaining them a strong following there.
This latest album was not born out of happiness.  Coming together after their individual experiences of pandemic-enforced isolation, the band found their influences had broadened and the music they subsequently created together had a new darker edge to it.  Their previous albums - ‘Downside’ (2008), ‘Redhills’ (2011), ‘White Wave Chapel’ (2014) and ‘Turn Your Face To The Sun’ (2017) - had more obvious traditional Irish and Appalachian influences.  In this latest 10-track collection, the band have added to that mix some fresh musical influences - New Orleans funereal jazz, 60’s pop, and cinematic soundscapes.  It all works to create a body of work that is pleasingly hard to place, both in time and in any single cultural home.  The result is music with a welcoming freshness and variety.
Stand out tracks on the album include the haunting ‘Bring Out Your Dead’, 70’s west coast road trip song ‘Crosses’ and the sung Irish language of ‘A chiud den tsaol’ which showcases Louise Holden’s affirmed vocals over a more traditional Irish music backing. A life-affirming dark, yet uplifting, sound.  It will be appreciated by lovers of the more traditional, and acoustic, styles of Americana, as well as those who enjoy west coast 70’s music.
I Draw Slow have created a sound that is very much their own, carrying you away, in equal measure, to the Appalachian woods and Dublin hills, with the odd detour on route to New Orleans or California.  What finer mix of places could there be?  Not quite George Orwell’s chosen stomping grounds of Catalonia and Wigan Pier, but you can be sure he would approve.  From: https://americana-uk.com/i-draw-slow-i-draw-slow

Chicago - Movin' In

 

In August 1969, Chicago went to work on their second album. Their debut album, The Chicago Transit Authority, released a mere four months earlier, broke much musical ground, and rock and jazz fans alike flocked to record shops to get their hands on a copy. However, the album didn't make a big dent in radio play (yet), so the band set back to the studio to record another album. The resulting album, which would not be released until January of 1970, is considered by many critics and fans alike as the band's breakthrough record, scoring the band three Top 40 hits on the Billboard Chart.
Chicago II would prove to be much different than its predecessor. Whereas Chicago Transit Authority was based on horn jams and guitar solos, Chicago II operates in a much more controlled environment. Not only are the horns tampered down, but Terry Kath's guitar playing is nearly non-existent, with the exception of a few tracks, most notably Poem for the People, In the Country, 25 or 6 to 4 and the exceptional It Better End Soon suite. However, Chicago trades improvisation for cohesiveness, as the songs on Chicago II are much more consistent and friendlier to the average listener who does not have a prog rock-trained ear. This is something that most '70s prog bands ended up doing in the '80s, but since Chicago was the first to "sell out", they are forever villainized for their mutiny. That said, Chicago II is still very much a progressive rock album, it just leans much more toward jazz fusion than its predecessor. In 1970, it was still cool for prog fans to listen to Chicago.
Side One opens up with Movin' In, the first of five consecutive standard jazz-rock songs. "Movin' In" opens with all horns blazing before settling into its groove. The song is a lyrical statement, penned by James Pankow, that the group is here to stay and make some noise. The Road is Peter Cetera's vocal entrance on the album. The horns and drums standout on this track, but the real star is Peter Cetera, as he turns in a showstopping performance, showcasing the golden pipes that would soon become an FM radio staple for decades. Poem for the People is my favorite track of the opening five tracks. The tracks opens with piano, followed by horns and then drums. The tempo changes quite a bit throughout the track, and tasteful guitar is sprinkled in by Mr. Kath. Lots of Beach Boys-style harmonies in the bridge and towards the end really make this track special as the horns take over just before the track fades. In the Country is probably the most passionate song of this set, as a prominent bass takes over, and we finally hear a good helping of guitar playing in this sweet, rollicking ode to country living. Terry Kath and Peter Cetera share vocal duties and turn in a delicious performance. The sound of these songs is very much like the songs on their first album, minus the long jams and solos. Rather, these songs are much tighter in construction, featuring excellent horn sections and tight bass and drumming. Finally, we have Wake Up Sunshine, which actually opens up Side Two, which features terrific vocals and harmonies from Robert Lamm and Peter Cetera along without standout horns and drumming.  From: https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/64538/Chicago-Chicago-II/

Pink Floyd - Animated

 Pink Floyd - Speak to Me/Breathe/On the Run - Simone Massi

 

 Pink Floyd - Time - Salvador Dali/Walt Disney

 

 

 Pink Floyd - The Great Gig In The Sky - Bruno Mazzilli

 

 Pink Floyd - Money - Kate Isobel Scott

 

 Pink Floyd - Us and Them/Any Colour You Like - Hueman Instrumentality

 

 Pink Floyd - Brain Damage/Eclipse - Lauren Edmonds

 

 Pink Floyd - One of These Days - Ian Emes

 

 Pink Floyd - The Narrow Way - Kunio Kato

 

 Pink Floyd - Welcome To The Machine - Gerald Scarfe

 

 Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond Pt. 4 - Seoro Oh

 

 Pink Floyd - Brain Damage - Nastassja Nikitina

 

 Pink Floyd - Eclipse - Yosh

 

In 1971 the English illustrator Gerald Scarfe found himself in LA creating an animated film for the BBC. He had spent the previous decade producing editorial cartoons and caricatures for British publications like Punch, the Daily Mail and The Sunday Times – and was now taking his satirical eye to the States. It was an era of drugs and cynicism, and Scarfe channelled these elements into his work. The resulting animation was Long Drawn-Out Trip, a warped visual stream of consciousness that reflected the illustrator’s take on American culture. It was trippy and hallucinogenic, mixing together everything from John Wayne and Micky Mouse to commercials and Playboy. Scarfe’s take on American society was relentlessly engaging, and it’s unique style seemed to strike a chord with viewers.
The following year it was seen by the members of Pink Floyd, and they loved it. They were eager to work with someone on visuals, and so they asked the illustrator if he might be interested. Scarfe – who admitted he was originally “no means a fan” of the band – went to see them perform The Dark Side of the Moon at Finsbury Park. When he saw their performance, his attitude completely changed. He loved the theatricality of their live act and agreed to see if they could find some projects to work on together.
After collaborating on tour programs, stage animations and a music video, Scarfe and the band finally landed on The Wall. Devised by Roger Waters, it was to be a hugely inventive album. Waters had already written three concept albums in the form of the group’s previous LPs – The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975) and Animals (1977) – but this was to be his most personal and revealing album to date. It featured songs about isolation and abandonment and was an exploration of darkness and humanity. Scarfe was the perfect person to visualise these themes, and Waters wanted him involved from the very beginning.
“In the early days, Roger explained the whole of the music and lyrics of The Wall to me,” Scarfe wrote in his 2011 book. “Over the following weeks he retraced his steps, telling me which part of The Wall echoed his own life – his father’s death, his girlfriend’s infidelity etc., which was fantasy and what was fact. Gradually I built up a picture of what I felt I could contribute.”
Telling the journey of a character called Pink, Scarfe visualised his life as a twisted mix of elegance and horror. At the core of the story was the titular wall: a defensive barrier that Pink constructed to close himself off from a cruel world. Through Water's songs, we get to learn about the death of Pink’s father during World War II; we learn how his mother domineered him; how his school bullied him; the government controlled him; and how his wife betrayed him. Scarfe brought all these elements to life with an ink-spattered flick of the wrist. This grotesque cast of characters would go on to become iconic figures in the landscape of pop culture.
The Wall was released as a double album in 1979, but Waters had already envisioned it to be more than just an LP. From 1980–81, the band toured with a hugely ambitious live show. During the course of their performances, a massive thirty-five-foot wall of white cardboard bricks was constructed on stage and onto this was projected animations by Scarfe. The band also worked with the architect Mark Fisher and the mechanical engineer Jonathan Park to turn Scarfe’s original illustrations into massive inflatable puppets that represented characters from the story. These included the "Mother", the "Ex-wife" and the "Schoolmaster". Even today, The Wall Tour remains one of the most ambitious and complex theatrical events ever attempted.
One person whose attention had been caught by the show was the director Alan Parker: “It probably marked the high point of rock-and-roll theatre” he said, “I couldn’t imagine anything ever getting any bigger.” Parker had been a Pink Floyd fan since before The Wall, but the themes of this album really spoke to him. He approached EMI and asked if he could adapt it into a live-action film. Waters had himself already had the intention of turning the album into a film, and – when he heard that Parker was interested in an adaptation – he asked the director if he would consider taking the role. The process of getting it to screen was a challenge for everyone involved. Parker, Waters and Scarfe repeatedly clashed during its production, and Parker later described the ordeal as: “one of the most miserable experiences of his creative life.”
Despite the difficulties, The Wall (1982) was regarded by many critics as a success and it was praised for its unique and often horrifying depiction of self-destruction. As the film’s designer and animator, Scarfe’s distinctive illustrations came to life on screen, and these brought his work to a much wider audience. Throughout the film, Scarfe drew and animated a number of key animated sequences that featured disturbing and surreal images of violence, sex and gore. Over time the film established cult status and, alongside the album and tour, The Wall is now regarded as one of the most iconic and inventive projects in the history of rock.
Sadly, while Scarfe and Waters were collaborating on The Wall, relationships within the band were at an all-time low. The illustrator had worked with the group for six years and, during that time, he had been caught in the middle of one of rock's most bitter break-ups. The Wall would be Water’s penultimate album with the group, and many would argue that it was the band’s last great release
Despite the difficulties and challenges during Scarfe’s collaboration, what they created together was one of the most iconic and imaginative combinations of visuals and music ever undertaken. Within the history of music, it remains to be a groundbreaking work. The same can certainly be said too about its achievements within the history of illustration.  From: https://illustrationchronicles.com/how-gerald-scarfe-and-pink-floyd-built-the-wall

 

 

Żywiołak - Dens Makabreska

Interview with Robert Jaworski from the band Żywiołak

DP: On your website we read that: Żywiołak's music is the result of such musical styles as: folk, punk, rock metal, acoustic trans-techno and drum'n'bass. It also uses elements of music: dub, chillout and ambient, and is combined with the sounds of reconstructed old instruments, "inventions" of newer technology, and archaic and modern vocal techniques. I must admit that after reading this I was a bit scared and didn't know what to expect when going to your concert. Don't you think that this approach to what you do may discourage rather than interest many potential listeners?

Robert Jaworski: Excuse me? But what were you terrified of? So many trends at once? We direct this music to people who are interested not only in the impact shock (I call it the pulse). If such an approach scares away a group of people, I think that they will definitely not be the potential recipients of our music. Yes, our aim at our creation is rhythmic, but the second element is the text layer and ethnic sounds.

Dark Planet: Coming back to the previous question for a moment - could you tell the readers what instruments you use?

Robert Jaworski: Old ones: hurdy-gurdy, fiddle, flute, lute, baraban, djembe... Popular ones: viola, bass guitar, cymbals and part of a drum set, and all kinds of drums.

DP: Why do you focus on folk demonology in your work?

Robert Jaworski: Because we don't know a band in Poland yet that would take this topic seriously.

DP: Don't you think that there are already many bands (in various musical genres) that draw too much from this topic?

Robert Jaworski: From folk demonology? I don't know a single one.

DP: But aren't you afraid that the subject matter may turn out to be too trite?

Robert Jaworski: There is no official topic on this topic. This is knowledge for those interested and a bit of insight into the darkness of history and folklore.

DP: Another very interesting thing is how the band Żywiołak was created, considering that the musicians who composed it previously played / still play such different music?

Robert Jaworski: Just because they play differently doesn't mean they wouldn't want to play similar. Robert Wasilewski played in a folk band into which he tried to incorporate metal elements, but he failed in the long run. I did in mine. I was exposed to rock-metal from the previous band. Maciek Labudzki also plays rock covers in his Mistik Mahżonga. The girls had no experience with such aesthetics - at all. They needed to be educated a bit. However, somewhere there our paths crossed and Żywiołak was created.

DP: In April this year, you received the most prestigious award - the Grand Prix of the President of the Polish Radio for the 9th Folk Music Festival "New Tradition". What do you think made you win?

Robert Jaworski: Certainly the freshness of the trend. The jury had slight reservations about the workmanship, but decided not to take it very literally. Besides, the jury's verdict emphasized our spontaneity as our greatest advantage.

DP: Another question about your success is why you don't hear much about the band in the Polish media?

Robert Jaworski: This question is probably not for us. The media - not necessarily the Polish ones, are always more focused on commercial projects. We have created a quite flashy project, but still a niche one.

DP: Przemysław Trubalski from the website Wiadomości24 refers to the words of Zbigniew Hołdys, spoken after your concert in Warsaw's Pracovnia: "I saw them for the first time in my life, but I will do my best to tell people who decide about the fate of such artists that it is worth helping Żywiołak, that it's worth paying attention to this band. If someone doesn't help this band today, they will watch how the band makes its career. These are unstoppable procedures. The question is, has there actually been anyone who wants to help you open the door to a great career?

Robert Jaworski: I think that Hołdys' statement does not suggest that someone will be found, but rather that someone should be interested in us. I think this is a fundamental difference. I must admit that it would be nice if there were people in Poland professionally involved in the promotion of such non-commercial projects.

DP: Does it bother you that your work is compared to both the achievements of "troLi" and "Hedningarna"?

Robert Jaworski: The fact that our work is comparable to their troLe certainly cannot be questioned - after all, we play pieces of their troLe - and I was the main originator of the idea. As for Hedningarne…

Translated from: https://www.darkplanet.pl/Wywiad-z-Robertem-Jaworskim-z-zespolu-Zywiolak-2062.html