Kefaya & Elaha Soroor - Jama Narenji

Afghan singer Elaha Soroor and award-winning music/producer duo Kefaya, Al MacSween & Giuliano Modarelli join forces for a mighty and mesmerizing new album, Songs Of Our Mothers; a fresh, vibrant take on Afghan folk music filtered through myriad forms, from spiritual jazz and dub to Indian classical music and electronica. The album is a collection of folk songs traditionally performed by Afghan women, drawing on Elaha's own experience of fleeing Afghanistan and the struggle faced by many other female artists. The US and Western-backed regimes that came to dominate Afghanistan in the latter part of the 20th century created a climate of heightened patriarchal oppression and persecution of women.
Born in Iran into a family of Afghan-Hazara refugees, Elaha Soroor first rose to fame through the reality TV show Afghan Star. Her rising popularity in a society known for its persecution of female performers combined with her outspoken views on women’s rights led to an environment of serious personal danger and Elaha was eventually forced to flee Afghanistan. 
After arriving in London as a refugee, Elaha was introduced to guitarist Giuliano Modarelli & pianist Al MacSween, founders of award-winning international collective Kefaya. Driven by a shared desire to use music as a tool for political dialogue and action, together they forged the themes, concept and sound of Songs Of Our Mothers. 
These songs tell stories of joy, pain and resilience, passed from mother to daughter in times of hardship and oppression whilst also celebrating femininity, sensuality and the spirit of resistance. As Elaha says, this album is for “those women around the world whose image has been erased, and whose voice has been forbidden.”
The bulk of the album was arranged and recorded in just a few days in Oxford with long-time Kefaya drummer Joost Hendrickx. Al and Giuliano produced and further developed the album, with contributions from a host of world renowned musicians, including Mohsen Namjoo (voice), Manos Achalinotopolous (clarinet), Yazz Ahmed (flugelhorn), Sarathy Korwar (tabla/dolak), Tamar Osborn (baritone sax), Sardor Mirzakhojaev (dambura), Gurdain Singh Rayatt (tabla), Jyotsna Srikanth (violin), Camilo Tirado (live electronics) and Sam Vickary (double bass).
The international line-up, spanning homelands such as UK, Italy, India, Iran & Greece, reflects the album’s global perspective and the way that Kefaya work in collaboration, drawing on multiple sounds and outlooks to present a united front of spirited musical and political expression.
As Elaha says “In the eyes of the world, Afghan identity is defined by terrorism, war, the Taliban and uneducated, domesticated women who need help. I have tried to show other associations with Afghanistan such as the beauty of my mother language (Farsi) and the diversity of our music. Although women are currently facing extreme violence in Afghanistan, I see a lot of similar problems expressed in different ways in Western countries and across the world, this is part of a universal struggle.”  From: https://rachot.cz/kefaya-elaha-soroor_/

 

Curtis Mayfield - Freddie's Dead

The success of an album like Super Fly goes against all conventional wisdom. Nothing this raw, this ghetto, this funky, soulful, and political is supposed to sell five million copies. At least, to my understanding, nothing before the dawn of hip-hop, and even then you had to sacrifice some of those elements for commercial success. That’s what all the “conscious” rappers were telling me around the time I discovered Curtis Mayfield’s album some 15 years ago. It was around the time when George W. Bush was trying to convince the country that there were definitely WMDs in Iraq and even if there weren’t, he was still justified in leading us into another war with no information, no goals, and no end in sight. And yet the only protest music to really penetrate the charts was Green Day’s (decent) “American Idiot” and Jadakiss’ (less decent) “Why.”
The worst political music sounds like political music. It tends to be didactic, sure, but that’s an understandable and almost forgivable sin; it is difficult to condense any meaningful and convincing political message into the space of a few verses and a chorus. But when political music is truly awful—here, think of something like John Lennon’s “Imagine”—it is because the artist has made the same mistake as the politician: they have treated the message as more important than the people it is being delivered to. The best political music doesn’t necessarily announce itself as political because it is concerned first and foremost with the people for whom the politics matter the most.
That’s Super Fly. As Mayfield’s third studio album as a solo artist, Super Fly perfectly encapsulates the post-Civil Rights/early Black Power feel of black America struggling to survive the social and political consequences of the nation’s conservative backlash. This is the backdrop of all of the so-called blaxploitation era of film in the early ’70s, though Super Fly (directed by Gordon Parks Jr.) is the most explicit. The 1972 film follows Youngblood Priest, disillusioned by the drug trade that brought him riches beyond his imagination, as he seeks to set up one final score before leaving the game for good. The soundtrack became the most cohesive and poignant of Mayfield’s albums because it unfolds around this story of the dispossessed, forgotten strivers. The film’s star, the classically trained Ron O’Neal, said in an interview: “Super Fly is about people who don’t believe in the American Dream at all.”
As such, Mayfield opens the album with “Little Child Runnin’ Wild,” a song that was in the works before he got the Super Fly assignment, which balances both the frenetic pace and precarious circumstances of ghetto life. The string section is ominous, while the horns feel like a further warning of the dangers Mayfield describes in the lyrics. But when he wails:

Didn’t have to be here
You didn’t have to love for me
While I was just a nothin’ child
Why couldn’t they just let me be

You can feel the pain coursing through his falsetto as it gives way to resigned, desperate moan on the last “let me be.” You cry for the nameless, faceless child who runs with no escape.
Then, when the percussion kicks in on “Pusherman,” you’re ready to groove. The drums are brought to the fore, giving us a percussive melody foreign to pop music but which hit the definition of funky. It would have been easy to let the tune carry on to the dancefloor with some lighter lyrics, but Mayfield didn’t let listeners off the hook, dropping us into the life of this “man of odd circumstance/A victim of ghetto demands.” He enjoys all the spoils you expect to come from a life of dealing drugs: money, sex, clothes, cars, envy. But Mayfield’s chorus provides us with an important insight into who and what is embodied in the “Pusherman”:

I’m your mama, I’m your daddy
I’m that nigga in the alley
I’m your doctor, when in need
Want some coke, have some weed
You know me, I’m your friend
Your main boy, thick and thin
I’m your pusherman

It’s not simply that the pusherman becomes this singular figure that replaces every important relationship in the addict’s life, but rather that the pusherman could be any one of these people. Black America faced an uncertain world in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the election of President Richard Nixon. Politicians were promising to restore “law and order” after years of urban rebellions frightened white folks who had long fled to the suburbs. Steady divestment from black communities, along with increasing levels of violent policing, right at the moment where black people were supposedly free to enjoy the rights of American citizenship, put black neighborhoods at economic depression levels. The drug trade offered the best sense of escape. No one, as Mayfield pointed out, was exempt from the temptation. He had intimate knowledge of this world. Mayfield was a son of Chicago, having been raised in the notorious Cabrini-Green housing projects. The lyrics were as much his personal reflection on ghetto life as they were based on the characters of the film.
The soundtrack’s biggest hit, “Freddie’s Dead,” is the tragic tale of one of the film’s characters, Fat Freddie, an addict that Youngblood Priest exploits in his plot to make his last big score. Mayfield employs the wah-wah guitar to place some funk underneath the mournful orchestra while warning us against Freddie’s life choices. The most interesting lyrical couplet, though, is: “We can deal with rockets and dreams/But reality, what does it mean.” It’s reminiscent of Gil Scott-Heron’s “Whitey on the Moon,” lamenting the ability of mankind to explore the stars but not provide for people suffering right here on earth. The album and Mayfield’s politics were aligned in being concerned, above all else, about how we care for one another.  From: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/curtis-mayfield-super-fly/

Eurythmics - Conditioned Soul / Adrian / Here Comes That Sinking Feeling / Better to Have Lost in Love

The onset of 1985 found Eurythmics in a commercial sweet spot as they rode a wave of successive hits on the global stage. It was barely two-and-a-bit years since Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) in January 1983 had put Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart on the map. In this brief timespan, the duo had morphed from synth-pop antiheroes – very much encompassing the outsider mentality – to now fully embracing their newly-achieved diva and rock star personalities. Of course, that underdog dynamic becomes increasingly untenable the more successful an act gets; something they were no doubt aware of themselves. It was adapt or die, and so their upward career trajectory was propelled forward by a necessary progression in sound and style.
A sign of the Eurythmics’ rising currency among the pop glitterati, Be Yourself Tonight is a star-studded affair, with an impressive roll call of A-listers lining up for a piece of the action. Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello and various members of the Heartbreakers (sans Tom Petty) all make appearances. Blondie’s Clem Burke even crops up behind the drumkit in one of the promos, though – on this occasion – he doesn’t actually play on the recording itself.
The coup demonstrates Eurythmics’ great pulling power at this point – in itself a humblebrag of sorts: “Look who we can get on our record!” Aligning themselves with the established American big hitters lends further credibility to the sound they helped to inspire.
Meanwhile, they are joined by top-flight bassist Nathan East (who would later play on Michael Jackson’s I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, and Daft Punk’s ubiquitous Get Lucky), as well as Michael Kamen, who provided the string arrangements.
By now, Stewart was blossoming into his new role as go-to producer for the stars, with The Undertones’ Feargal Sharkey’s solo debut album and Tom Petty’s Southern Accents both delivered in the same year.
On his own record, he demonstrates a growing confidence, allowing that previously-suppressed part of his personality to come to the fore. The devil on his shoulder is whispering: “Put that synthesizer away, Dave, it’s OK to be playing guitar again…” And he duly obliges.
And so, he positively embraces the rock star histrionics that the pair had turned away from upon initial success. The cold, insular persona, previously cultivated, is opened out into an explicitly rock approach – tooled up, confident and comfortable in flexing its muscles, playing up to the pomp excesses of the era in sound and image. This is boys and girls celebrating their individual status: as Stewart indulges in the exaggerated rock god persona, Lennox consciously adopts a more outwardly feminine look – a contrast to the intentionally ambiguous androgynous image on which she made her name.
Simultaneously, the singer continued to develop and evolve as a lyricist. While she always had a powerful and mesmerising presence, her words seem to come from a position of renewed strength. She’s still exploring that fertile ground around the powerplays in relationships, and dealing with being scorned, but with less fragility. Take, say, Here Comes The Rain Again, the opener from their previous LP – undoubtedly among their very best work, though lyrically dealing with a sense of foreboding darkness and insecurity, fear of an uncertain future; and compare that with Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves, a self-confident anthem that boldly asserts a positive message for the here and now.
Another quirk of Annie’s lyrical themes: it doesn’t escape notice that this album has very long titles (with equally long subtitles in brackets). This all plays into the sense of bombast. Lennox seems to be coming from the Bernie Taupin School of Song Titles and Composition. Taupin once said something to the effect of: “Give a song a great title and you’re already off to a good start” – in other words, make it epic and something that sounds thrilling when called out by a radio DJ, or reads like a classic staple on a jukebox.  From: https://www.classicpopmag.com/features/classic-album/classic-album-be-yourself-tonight-by-eurythmics/

Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat - The Firesky

There are some things in life that you just can’t get used to, like serendipity. Serendipity is trying to build a sand castle by the river, and accidentally finding a gold flake in the water. Serendipity is being forced to go to the disco and unexpectedly meeting the love of your life. Serendipity is googling “kiss the anus of a black cat” to satiate your fetish for young girls kissing animal buttocks and ending up finding your new favorite neo-folk band instead.
Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat is a Belgian band led by a man who goes by the aptly chosen name of Stef Irritant. The introduction of this album is an acoustic piece played with a drop D tuning, which already hints at the overall vibe of the record: since most of the album is played in D minor, the lower D string is used as a drone to mimic medieval Celtic music and the baroque technique of basso continuo. The verse of the first proper song, ‘The Firesky’, is a prime example of this, but if you’re looking for light-hearted upbeat European folk music, look elsewhere. True to his made-up family name, Stef Irritant sings with an apocalyptic and harrowing voice, constantly out of tune but in a very measured and well-planned manner. The refrain completes the stylistic framework of the band by offering a desperate choir that sounds like it comes from either middle age England or central Yharnam, slightly held back by a suboptimal thin mixing that cut too many low-mids here and there. The band loves dynamics, the songs range from delicate acoustic tunes to majestic distorted outbursts. To show off how they honed the art of creating walls of sound, they included a cover of ‘Beyond the Tanarian Hills’ by the British anarcho-punk band Rudimentary Peni, obviously in D minor (them Belgian bois really love the D). Needless to say, it sounds nothing like the original, if you didn’t know it was a cover it would be hard to distinguish it from the rest of the record. Among all the instruments that make up the wall of sound, a bagpipe is distinctively playing a Dorian scale, a mode whose major sixth degree is usually associated with the song ‘Greensleeves’ by the average western man. It might not sound like a big deal, but this small deviation from a normal minor scale brings the band’s music closer to the whole medieval aesthetic that they want to achieve. It’s details like this that make this album so good.
Don’t be fooled by the band’s name either. The name apparently comes from an ancient ritual performed to identify witches (if any of you know exactly how the ritual is carried out, please let me know), and this interest in shamanism and folk beliefs is reflected in the lyrics. It sounds like Stef is a self-proclaimed messiah of a new religion and is preaching stuff about morality and the end of the world. Most of the time the meaning of the lyrics is very obscure and unclear, just like any respectable religious text… Is he talking about respecting God? Or perhaps about how our lack of decency is setting the sky on fire? Or maybe he genuinely enjoys kissing ani of black cats?  From: https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/80683/Kiss-the-Anus-of-a-Black-Cat-An-Interlude-to-the-Outermost/ 

Sarah McLachlan - Possession / Good Enough / Circle / Hold On

The thing about fandom is that it’s, in large part, based on a kind of fantasy. Sometimes it’s the fantasy of the entertainment that we get lost in, or the fantasy of wanting to be that person we see on the screen. Or perhaps it’s the fantasy of wanting to be with that person. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, at least up to a point, but watch how easily that fantasy becomes toxic, even dangerous.
In the early ’90s, Sarah McLachlan experienced it firsthand through direct communication from some of her own fans who’d send her letters. Most of them were perfectly normal, but as the Canadian singer/songwriter rose to prominence, she’d begin to receive more uncomfortably intimate letters featuring love poems, and ultimately letters from fans she’d never met who held the delusion that they were in fact in a relationship. Occasionally those same fans would appear unexpectedly wherever McLachlan would go in her home city of Vancouver, progressing from inappropriate messages to what would typically be understood as “stalker” behavior. The situation grew unnerving enough that she eventually handed off the responsibility of reading and addressing fan letters to one of her friends, who subsequently stopped doing it when they, too, began to feel as if those letters had crossed a line.
McLachlan put that feeling of unease to use in the thing that she understood best, and redirected it into “Possession,” the lead single from her 1993 album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. In “Possession,” McLachlan takes the perspective of the delusional fan, in slyly sinister phrases that can be interpreted as both romantic and menacing. Its soaring chorus leans more toward the former, at least if you distance yourself from the idea that its seen through the eyes of a person teetering on a precarious edge: “And I would be the one to hold you down/Kiss you so hard/I’ll take your breath away.” But within its verses, “Possession” leans deeper into that obsession, depicting a parasocial relationship as both erotic and desperate: “You speak to me in riddles/You speak to me in rhymes/My body aches to breathe your breath/Your words keep me alive.”
If I’m being real here, “Possession” is kind of a banger. Most of McLachlan’s biggest hits have been ballads, or at least far less sinister pop songs like “Building a Mystery,” but “Possession” gains its strength off the haunted atmosphere she swirls up, somewhere between Kate Bush’s art-pop grandeur, the spectral trip-hop of early Portishead and Seal’s ethereal dancefloor smash “Crazy.” And its McLachlan-directed video—a delightfully over-the-top depiction of societal taboos and mythical women, including Eve and Salome—is precisely how the ’90s looks in my memory, at least via MTV: Earth tones, hazy filters and inexplicably pretentious imagery.
Writing the song proved “therapeutic” for McLachlan, as she explained in a Rolling Stone interview, but the road that led there proved perilous: “for a while there I looked over my shoulder every time I walked out the door.” It gets weirder. One obsessive fan in Ontario, Uwe Vandrei, saw himself in that song, and in an unusual twist, he didn’t appreciate being thrust into the position of muse. More specifically, Vandrei claimed that the letters he’d sent to McLachlan were in fact the basis for “Possession” and actually sued her because of it. The case never made it to court, as Vandrei died of suicide before it could proceed, bringing a tragic and sad end to this peculiar chapter.
The irony underlining the arc of the song’s release is that “Possession” actually made McLachlan more famous. It became her first single to chart in the U.S., reaching number 73 on the Billboard singles chart. Which might not sound earth-shattering, but considering the album it appears on, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, went triple-platinum in the states, it’s perhaps not the peak position itself that’s the story but the enduring appeal of the material.  From: https://www.treblezine.com/sarah-mclachlan-possession-fame-dark-side/

The Grateful Dead - St. Stephen / Doin' That Rag / Mountains Of The Moon / Cosmic Charlie

Allow me to reveal myself as someone who has seen Long Strange Trip, the four-hour documentary about The Grateful Dead, twice. The first time I accompanied my godfather to see it in theaters for a press screening. The second was at home on the couch with my partner, whom I’ve yet to convert into a Dead Head. At least now he claims to “get it.”  
Long Strange Trip begins with an interview with Jerry Garcia telling us about the loss of his father when he was five years old. The next year, in 1948, Garcia went to see Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. These two events, Garcia explains, inspired him to be someone who was concerned with “the weird” in life and nature. This narrative of having been exposed to loss and death, in life and through comedy, at such a young age is what frames the context of the Grateful Dead. Death, darkness, and LSD are the most important foils for the band. Long Strange Trip begins there and it feels important to start there when discussing The Dead. 
The Grateful Dead’s legacy is a large interconnected superhighway of Americana and the supernatural. It’s hard to explain and is widely misunderstood, which is why the definitive documentary about them is four hours long. But if you spend some time engaging with the band’s history, you will find more than you expect. The Dead first and foremost are the most American of bands. Their music is a hybrid of blues, rock & roll, funk, folk, country, gospel, jazz, psychedelia, and, last but not least, experimental. 
It’s on their third studio album, Aoxomoxoa, where they pushed this limit. The title is a palindrome pronounced “ox-oh-mox-oh-ah” and it’s one of the first LPs to use 16-track recording. The band actually recorded the record twice, first with eight tracks and then over again from scratch once sixteen tracks became available to them. They wanted to see what else was possible. 
Aoxomoxoa marks the first official collaboration between Garcia and his longtime lyricist Robert Hunter. The album has two classic favorites on it, album opener “St. Stephen” and “China Cat Sunflower.” Both show up regularly in The Dead’s live sets over decades. But a great majority of the record is acoustic, setting the trend for their next two studio albums, Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty, both released the following year in 1970. 
“Rosemary” is a lullaby. The reverb on Garcia’s voice sounds as if he’s under water. It’s the kind of sound that bends time with every syllable. It’s a short two minutes and the two acoustic guitars plucking underneath him are weaving in and out of each other at times in sync and as each others’ echoes. 
The LP also marks the beginning of Tom Constanten as an official member of the band on keyboards. The percussive, melodic nature of keyboards, organs, and pianos add depth to any sound, and thanks to Constanten, The Dead get deeper into their groove. On “Doin’ That Rag,” he plays along with Garcia’s vocals and the pauses between the verses, bridge, and chorus. 
As listed in the personnel credits, Constanten’s contributions are strictly “keyboards.” But on “Mountains of the Moon,” he plays an electric harpsichord, giving it a distinct folk sound from a bygone era. Alongside the low end of acoustic guitar, Garcia’s vocals linger in a dissonance matching the medieval instrumentation. Slight reverb dunks us in water, again, and it won’t be the last time. 
“China Cat Sunflower” is a pure LSD tune, hard to decipher, with a slightly muffled Garcia singing nonsensical lyrics as the guitar and piano riffs wind up, down, and across each other.
Robert Hunter’s reclusion has always been a purposeful, mystic contribution to the Grateful Dead. Try to make sense of the story in “China Cat Sunflower” and you might go mad. Tuning in and dropping out is the way to go. 
“China Cat” feeds into the eight-minute “What’s Become of the Baby.” This track is not for the faint of head and can pull you into a dark trip. With slow rumblings of the gong, Garcia’s voice is haunting, one letter barely separate from another. It’s absolutely unsettling and is the epitome of the band testing their limits in the studio. Jerry’s voice is the only sound, perhaps a guiding light or a guide of...some kind. It’s here that his voice finally submerges us under deep water.
Through all of their obsessions with death, there is rebirth. Aoxomoxoa’s cover celebrates both and features fertility imagery along with the sun, which also takes the shape of an egg, the wiggling rays at its edge not unlike sperm trying to break through. Below that center is a skull holding eggs between crossed bones. It’s a compelling, round image to get lost in. The roots of the trees are segmented eggs themselves, the flowers’ bottoms take the shape of a small human—what’s become of the baby indeed. Layers of red seep to neon orange. The deeper you dig, the brighter it gets.
Aoxomoxoa closes with “Cosmic Charlie,” a track returning to their blues rock basics with a refrain of melodic voices. Garcia shares vocals with Bob Weir and Phil Lesh. They are often hard to distinguish from one another, which I assume is purposeful because the band is always moving as one. The slide guitar is a welcome electric feature on “Charlie” bringing us back up for air.
No other band has been able to remotely mimic The Dead. They started as a house band for Ken Kesey’s acid tests in San Francisco. Playing for the trip while tripping became their journey and, eventually, their path in life as artists. Thanks to an eclectic background for each of the players—from Garcia’s roots on the banjo to McKernan’s blues harmonica and Lesh’s training as a classical violinist and trumpeter—the delivery is a forever, frequently asked question: what else can we do? Their catalog of live recordings is an endless stream of answers. But their studio records are standalone tests of which Aoxomoxoa is the zenith.  From: https://albumism.com/features/the-grateful-dead-aoxomoxoa-album-anniversary

 

Heartland Souvenirs - Angel From Montgomery

Heartland Souvenirs is a musical trio that honors the timeless stories and melodies of iconic American songwriters while also crafting original songs that echo those same heartfelt traditions. Rooted in nostalgia and reverence for classic folk, the group features Nikki Lemire, Becky Schlegel, and Katy Tessman — three acclaimed artists whose voices blend to create something both familiar and refreshingly new.
Nikki Lemire captivates with her soul-stirring vocals and harp, weaving traditional textures with modern sensibilities. Becky Schlegel’s ethereal voice and acoustic guitar evoke wide-open landscapes and heartfelt emotion. Rounding out the trio, Katy Tessman brings warmth and power with her clarion vocals and mandolin, grounding the ensemble in authenticity and depth.
Together, Heartland Souvenirs breathes new life into beloved songs and introduces originals that feel instantly timeless. Their captivating synergy shines in the two-song EPs Vol. 1 – John Prine and Vol. 2 – Dolly Parton leaving a lasting impression as this dynamic trio brings a fresh perspective to the folk music landscape. With tender interpretations and stirring harmonies, they celebrate songwriting at its most enduring—intimate, meaningful, and true.  From: https://www.katytessman.com/heartland-souvenirs.html

Aretha Franklin - Dr. Feelgood / Think / Chain Of Fools

Some people are going around saying that Aretha Franklin is the Queen oOf Soul, many people are buying her records, and one person (show compere Johnnie Walker) even said that she was the best coloured girl singer ever to make records.
Now it isn't every girl singer who is fortunate enough to have these things said about her or happen to her, whether you go along with them or not. After chasing around and about the metropolis, I tracked Aretha down to her hotel (in the penthouse suite) and asked her a few questions, some of which she answered in length and detail, others which received a mere smile of reply.

As her voice is her fortune, does she do anything to protect it?

"I do vocalistics, if that's what you mean. I was afraid that when I came to Europe I'd end up with laryngitis for the whole trip, but I've been lucky this time. My voice changes as I change climate – it goes down about two octaves when I come to a climate like this." (Aretha had been not too happy about our weather. In fact, she was welcoming quitting our shores to go back to the USA).

How did she feel when her first record for Atlantic, I Never Loved a Man, began to shoot up the US charts, after she had been singing so long without a hit?

"To tell the truth, I never expected that song to be a hit. I was surprised. I could see more potential in Respect – in fact, I can say I knew that would be a hit song. Sometimes I can't get a song right in the recording studio, though. We usually work things out beforehand, not like the Memphis studio where they don't plan things like that, but can end up with a master. We usually know what we're going to do. I sing and the musicians kind of fit things around me. Two of my favourite songs incidentally are Rock-a-Bye, which was on Columbia, and Chain of Fools."

Accompanying Aretha was Ted White, her manager and husband. I asked Aretha if it helped to have Ted as a manager.

"Oh yes. I don't have to worry about the business side. As he's my husband I know I can trust him! I just worry about the singing."

Ted explained that, although Aretha had no hits when she was on Columbia, there was no question of Aretha's style being "suppressed" by that label.

"I'd call it more of an exploration by Columbia. They gave Aretha the chance to sing all sorts of things," he said.

"But it was more kind of 'easy listening', as they say in Cashbox [magazine]," said Aretha. "I started off there with more powerful material – very similar to the kind of thing I'm recording now with Atlantic – and went on to slower music. But I can say that my big records and my success have been due to the backing which Atlantic have put behind me. I can say that I wouldn't have had these hit records if it wasn't for Atlantic, and their organisation."

Aretha reads a lot of newspapers, not too many books, and likes mostly simple things and straightforward people. What did she think about British audiences and how do they compare with their US counterparts?

"I thought maybe they'd like me," she smiled. "But I never expected this, truly. It was so wonderful. My American audiences are pretty mixed. I get all sorts of people, old and young. It's nice. I don't record with my band, though – we use Atlantic musicians."

Did Aretha look back much on old times when she wasn't so successful? Did she enjoy them?

"Oh, we had good times right enough. I was in a group, a gospel group with my sisters Erma and Carolyn. Carolyn is with me here as part of my backing group. We split up and went our separate ways, to do different things. My big ambition later on, when I was with Columbia, was to have a big record. Ted and I have written quite a few songs – but the name on the label credits would be 'White' – we write under my married name. I like writing, and don't confine myself to just the words, or just the music. But I don't particularly write songs with myself in mind."

Ted White explained that they had recently founded the Aretha Franklin Foundation, which gave to charity, and this was an activity Aretha had long been interested in. Aretha's father still sings gospel and has recorded over thirty gospel albums for the Chess label. Aretha's favourite female vocalists are Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey and Clara Ward. And she digs Charles Aznavour – she even wants to cut an album of his songs when she gets the chance.

I asked Aretha that, as she'll undoubtedly be singing in many years time, would she still be doing numbers like Respect and Think (her latest single)?

"No, I shouldn't think so," she laughed. "Music changes, and I'm gonna change right along with it."

From: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/mar/20/aretha-franklin-classic-interview

 

 

Garmarna - Live Festival Mediaval 2013

 Garmarna - Live Festival Mediaval 2013 - Part 1

 

 Garmarna - Live Festival Mediaval 2013 - Part 2

 

Swedish band Garmarna creates contemporary folk firmly rooted in Nordic folk music traditions. They have developed their own sound, influenced by the rock tradition they’ve all grown up with. Garmarna ignores the unwritten laws of how traditional music should be performed; the musicians know no boundaries. The music is half new – and newly-written – and half traditional with ancient instrumentation next to sampled drum-loops, suggestive mouth harps, tender violins and distorted guitars.
Garmarna started in January 1990, just a week after a performance of Hamlet that featured very strong, old Swedish music. Stefan, Gotte, and Rickard were inspired by the show, and they began searching for old tunes and instruments. After a year of playing together, just before their appearance at Sweden’s biggest rock festival, Jens Höglin joined the band on drums.
In autumn 1992, the band recorded an EP. They realized that female vocals would provide a light contrast to the naturally dark moods of the music. Emma Härdelin (a longtime friend of the band) guested on that record, then joined the band in early 1993, completing the lineup. The debut EP sold well in Sweden, and helped the band tour in Scandinavia.
The following year, the band decided to add samples and sequencers to the mix, giving the old tunes a modern musical foundation. Still, the heart of the music remains the harsh Swedish harmonies created by acoustic instruments, topped off by Emma’s intense vocals. The album Vittrad (“crumbling away”) was immediately hailed by the press, calling Garmarna “probably the best folkmusic band in Scandinavia.” In the deep winter of 1994, Omnium released Vittrad in the US, with full English translations of the dark old songs and an extra track Kleveberg’s Fire, pointing the way towards a new style of retro-futurist folk music (including samples from prehistoric Scandinavia.) The band made the cover of Billboard and the CMJ World chart.
1996 started with a long German tour closely followed by the album Gods Musicians / Guds Spelemän (named after a poem by Swedish poet Nils Ferlin.) The Swedish press went wild over it, the album made it to the Swedish sales charts, and it was released by Omnium in September 1996. Again, the band appeared on the cover of Billboard with rave reviews in Wired and Playboy.
Garmarna did a series of concerts in churches in the North of Sweden presenting their interpretation of the medieval works of 12th century German abbess Hildegard von Bingen, together with actress Felicia Konrad. It was Garmarna’s interpretation of her work placed in a 21st century environment. The reviews were great, the shows sold out and the audience was very enthusiastic.  From: https://worldmusiccentral.org/artist-profiles-garmarna/

 

The Mighty Orchid King - Symbiomedome

I’ve run across a lot of quirky genre descriptions on Bandcamp. Mellow Beast bill themselves as “wizard rock;” Louison’s latest album was described as “cyberprog;” and That 1 Guy has called his music “experimental ‘earthshaking future funk’ from the future maybe.” Despite their oddness, I could vaguely imagine what those might sound like. The UK-based quintet The Mighty Orchid King, on the other hand, dubs their music “mushroom-prog.”
Reading the phrase “mushroom-prog,” my mind immediately went to psilocybin and psychedelics–a not-unreasonable leap, if you ask me. However, reading the band’s description of this album, they intended that phrase much more literally. This album tells the story of a mushroom king and the spirits of the dead things he has consumed. It’s quite a clever concept which explicitly draws inspiration from John Milton’s Paradise Lost and carries a strong environmentalist message.
The band says they aimed to create “an entangled musical ecology,” and Mycelium Music Volume I is a veritable clonal colony of amazing music. The album has an impressive degree of sonic cohesion and continuity, and the individual songs flow together in brilliant, creative ways.  From: https://theeliteextremophile.com/2022/10/10/album-review-the-mighty-orchid-king-mycelium-music-volume-i-pinedemonium-awakes/

Church Of The Sea - Eva

For a tripartite arrangement, Church of the Sea manages to fashion admirably vast and enchanting soundscapes with an appreciable variance in both dynamics and energy. The prevailing elements of dulcet keys, downplayed percussion, and lush vocals create a deeply dreamlike ambiance to Eva that further polishes the sound cultivated in the Odalisque debut in 2022. The dreamwork varies in mood, though. A song like “The Siren’s Choice” is something of a fitful sleep; its warm, saturated guitar takes a leaf out of The Grime and Glow-era Chelsea Wolfe, while its lead synths fills the upper register as the bass synths and guitar growl and gurgle in the low-mids. The mood trends downwards in songs like “Widow,” which is more doom-laced and gothic – droning, heavy, but melodic. Finally, “Churchyard” is more wistful for its atmospheric synths until the balladic chorus detonates with absolutely fuzzy, fat, crunched out guitar – all melodically simple, yet absolutely fitting. All in all, Eva is a somber but beautiful creation; blending the best of dark ambient with the best of doom, it may just be your gateway drug into the realm of either.  From: https://regenmag.com/reviews/review-church-of-the-sea-eva/ 

The Babe Rainbow - Like Cleopatra

Australian psych-rock trio Babe Rainbow has dropped their latest single, “Like Cleopatra,” a sun-drenched, funk-infused pop track. This release comes ahead of their newly announced album, Slipper imp and shakaerator, set to release on April 4th via King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s p(doom) Records.
“Like Cleopatra” pairs 80s-inspired grooves with ethereal backing vocals by Camille Jansen, capturing the band’s signature blend of laid-back energy and psychedelic charm. Reflecting on the track, the band shared that it was inspired by dreamy recording sessions near a natural spring, paying homage to their idyllic Gold Coast origins.
The forthcoming album promises to be their most “homegrown” yet, recorded in a warehouse on a banana farm with producer Timon Martin. Rooted in free-flowing jams and vibrant experimentation, the project embodies the relaxed, colorful essence of Babe Rainbow.  From: https://www.beyondthewatch.com/blog/2025/1/15/listen-to-like-cleopatra-by-babe-rainbow

Carmanah - Nightmare

Q: Your music has been described – quite appropriately, I think – as ‘West Coast Soul.’  I was really intrigued by the mix of folk music with very soulful horn and vocal arrangements… what musical influences have shaped your sound?

A: One of the questions that musicians are asked most often is “what genre is your music?” When our producer, Gus Van Go, described our genre as West Coast Soul, I think we had a moment of relief knowing that we finally had a satisfying answer to this frequently asked question. We enjoy mixing a variety of styles and influences into our music. Individually, each band member offers their own touch to the arrangements and to the production of our music. To name a few personal influences, I’ve been inspired by the guitar work of Bahamas, the unique artistry of Feist, and the vocal power of Roy Orbison.

“Nightmare” has been stuck in my head since I first started listening to the album – it’s a really addictive sonic mix of soul and Britpop (to my ears, anyway).  What inspired this particular song?

Nightmare is about choosing to open your eyes and observing what is going on around you, versus living with eyes closed in short-term blissful ignorance. In our modern world, it is easy to turn a blind eye to the many atrocities and issues that need to be addressed. Specifically, Nightmare’s lyrics dive into the threat that logging has on the remaining old growth forests of Vancouver Island. These are rainforests that have never been logged, so the trees are ancient and massive and the ecosystems are irreplaceable.

Gus Van Go has worked with some fantastic Canadian artists (The Arkells, Terra Lightfoot, Whitehorse, just to name a few)… what was the experience of working with him like?

Working with Gus, and his production partner Werner F., was totally amazing. While in studio Pat (bandmate, vocalist, lead guitarist) commented that every day we spent with these guys was like going to university. Gus and Werner took us and our music under their wings and helped us become our very best. They also got a huge kick out of our apparently Canadian “accents.” It was a fun, rewarding and eye-opening month in Vancouver’s Warehouse Studio. The experience continues to inspire us to hone our craft, develop our music and work towards the next album.

If I read correctly, this is your first album (commercial, at least); you released it about a month ago… what has the experience of launching an album been like for you all?

Yep, Speak in Rhythms is our first professionally produced album and we poured our hearts into it. Releasing the album has definitely been a turning point for us in our musical endeavours. It’s been exciting to see the album create a bit of a buzz. On March 9th we celebrated our hometown album release in Victoria, BC at the Capital Ballroom. Hearing people singing along to our new music shortly after the album was released made us so happy. Now we are touring the album throughout Canada and hearing our songs on different stations, having interviews and meeting folks in far places that are thrilled with the album. The sense of community and support from all over is super heart-warming.

You mention on your website that you fuel your tour vehicle with used vegetable oil, and you’ve talked in various interviews about being a conservationist – in addition to lessening your carbon footprint, what are other ways in which your ecological principles impact your work as musicians?

Haha running on vegetable oil is a hot topic for us, and it often leads to further discussions with people about the environment and the need to lessen our individual and collective ecological footprints on the planet. We have found, more and more, that people are receptive to talking about the issues at hand and are often excited to share what they are doing in their own lives to be part of change for the better. On the road, we are learning to be as “waste-less” as possible, using our own mugs and utensils, refusing plastics, eating vegetarian food and supporting local businesses. We take it a step further with our Jellyfish Project presentations at schools all over. These presentations intend to educate youth on ocean acidification, climate change, overfishing and plastic pollution, and inspire conversation and action regarding treating our planet better.

You’ve been touring parts of Ontario; does the music scene in the east differ markedly from British Columbia’s scene? 

It’s March 17th and I’m currently writing this while on the road with the band in Ontario! We are three gigs in at this point (Toronto, Burnstown and London) and it’s been a hoot so far. The venues (the Rivoli, Neat Cafe and the Aeolian) have treated us so well and the audiences have been warm and wonderful. People are good all over and music unites. We see this on the west coast as well, but we’ve definitely been noting and appreciating the concentration of musicianship and skill level found in Ontario’s music scene including PR, promotions, venue managers and sound/lighting techs to name a few. Maybe due to population, maybe deep roots and a driven commercial infrastructure. Either way it’s stimulating.

From: https://greatdarkwonder.com/speak-in-rhythms-interview-with-carmanah/

 

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Lookin' Out My Back Door

Lookin' Out My Back Door was partly written for John Fogerty's son Josh, who at the time was three years old. Fogerty said: "I knew he would love it if he heard me on the radio singing - doot doot doo, lookin' out my back door." In the song lyrics there is a reference to a parade passing by which John says was inspired by a Dr. Seuss book that he read as a kid titled To Think (That) I Saw It On Mulberry Street. >>
Much like The Beatles "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," many people thought this was about drugs when it was really an innocent song inspired by a child. According to the drug theory, the "Flying Spoon" was a cocaine spoon, and the crazy animal images were an acid trip. This was even less plausible than the Beatles misinterpretation, since Creedence Clearwater Revival was never into psychedelic drugs.
The album cover shows Creedence Clearwater Revival's rehearsal space, which is not their original digs: they started rehearsing in a shed in the backyard of their drummer Doug Clifford's house. Clifford once said it was "better than working in a factory," so their rehearsal rooms became known as "The Factory." Clifford's nickname was Cosmo, so this space was known as "Cosmo's Factory."
John Fogerty played a bit of dobro on this track. He's seen holding the instrument on the cover of the 1969 album Green River, but "Lookin' Out My Back Door" is the only time he played it on a Creedence song. In 1993, he bought a dobro at a vintage guitar show and set out to master the instrument, playing it for hours on end and using it on his 1997 solo album Blue Moon Swamp. He got some help along the way from Jerry Douglas, a preeminent dobro player who was part of Alison Krauss' band Union Station.  From: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/creedence-clearwater-revival/lookin-out-my-back-door 

tUnE-yArDs - Real Live Flesh

Though she's released only one full-length and a short four-song companion, Merrill Garbus is has already demonstrated some serious range with her tUnE-yArDs project. BiRd-BrAiNs veered from haunting to folk to singer-songwriter pop to loop-driven tracks infused with R&B, and "Real Live Flesh", one of the songs found on last month's BiRd-DrOpPiNgS EP, does a terrific job of combining all of these elements. The layering of her voice is more prominent here than anything on BiRd-BrAiNs: Wordless syllables are used to sketch out the chords, versions of her purring in her higher register sort of curl around each other like wafts of smoke, and there's almost no instrumentation other than minimal percussion and swirls of cut-up sound. She cuts the ethereal prettiness and ratchets up the intensity with a few gutbucket yowls, hitting on a phrase ("Been away so long/ You love me only in your dreams") that continues a theme explored several times on the LP: what happens to desire when it can't find an outlet? Add reports of an impressive live show, currently on display during her tour with Dirty Projectors, and tUnE-yArDs becomes the sort of project where you can't wait to hear what happens next.  From: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11670-real-live-flesh/ 

Pterodactyl - School Glue

When did your newest album come out?

All: April.

It's your first full-length, right?

Joe: It is. But the oldest song on there is five years old.

Matt: Which one is that?

J: Safe Like a Train.

M: That was on our first seven inch. We recorded the album with these guys called The Brothers (they're brothers) in Greenpoint. They recently started a recording studio. We gave them a sampler of songs that we wrote, but they really liked that old song off the seven inch. Then…

J: We had a recording of it sped up. We said, isn't this novel?

Sped up? Like from 33 to 45?

M: Not that perceivably, but...

J: The old one goes like this. (strums guitar) Then the new one is more like this. (strums guitar) - higher pitched, faster tempo It makes it into a hoppy…

Kurt: Like its trying to get somewhere.

J: Exactly. It's churning along, like a train.

When I listen to your songs, I have these visions of y'all jumping around, wherever you happen to be at that moment performing the songs.

Joe: Or maybe when you play the record, we start jumping around wherever we are.

Is the record hardwired with special radio frequencies inside that relay to a special collar in your neck that makes you jump around? That's the next generation of performance art.

Matt: Luckily not too many people listen to our record at the same time. We have a hidden motivation in not becoming too popular.

What do you do to accomplish that goal?

J: Make music that is difficult to listen to.

M: Make music with no bass frequencies that hurt people's ears

J: In the past it has seemed like a really exciting thing, to make music that shreds people's ears apart. I think it does it less so on the record than at the shows. People say “Man, I like those songs but you are hard to listen to. There is so much of that stuff that hurts you.”

M: “I love your Myspace page.”

J: It's a difficult question; whether to shred people's ears or make them pleased to listen to your music.

Do you desire to shred people's ears, or is it…

M: It used to be. We started playing in college in the basement. We were thinking that the music has to sound really tough. Then we realized that we are all pansies.

Will having Kurt in Berkeley influence the way that your sound develops?

J: This tour has been an attempt to try to play the music that we made with Kurt on the newest record.

M: In practice there's not that much difference between what we've done with Zach in Brooklyn, but besides a couple of new songs that we wrote with him that we haven't been playing on this tour, I think the general idea is doing what we know how to do together the best we can.

Which is perhaps shredding people's ears.

M: We do that with Zach too.

J: That's the funny thing. We do that very naturally. I think some of it has to do with the fact that our ears are damaged in that frequency range already, because we've been playing there a long time. Even when things are shredding other people's ears, we think 'Aw, that's not ear-shredding enough.'

M: And we're wearing ear plugs.

K: Yeah. I think that's the thing with our show, and when we write songs. We're writing songs with ear plugs in, and then we listen to stuff on the recordings, and its not turned up nearly as loud as when we play, so we're kind of shielding ourselves from exactly the frequencies that destroy everyone's ears.

M: And the writing kind of necessitates the volume, or at least we make it so that it does. If we try to turn down a lot, it doesn't sound the same. For Joe and Kurt it's a volume issue, and for me it's an energy issue. I feel the way I'm inclined to play the drums is in a sweaty and emphatic way. I'm trying to improve on a more dynamic range and subtlety, so I'm not always blowing it out. It's a constant struggle.

J: Constant struggle.

Where do you think your desire to play loud music comes from?

J: Emotional insecurities. My mother did not hold me enough when I was a child, so I'm afraid to put myself at risk in performance. So I hide behind the noise.

From: https://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/pterodactyl 

Dikanda - O Mama

Founded in Szczecin, Poland, in 1997, the seven-piece band, Dikanda, has long stood out in a music scene dominated by standard-issue pop. Vocalist Anna Witczak and guitarist Piotr Rejdak teamed up as students to finance a hitchhiking venture to Western Europe by busking. Before they knew it, one jam session and lucky encounter led to another, and Dikanda was born. They became not just a band, but a tight-knit family, and their bond with one another is evident when one sits in a room with them. People of Bangladesh will have their first taste of Dikanda's lively intensity, when the group performs at the Dhaka International Folk Fest 2018, which opens today. The band talks about their musical journey, their expectations from the festival and more.

How would you describe the musical style of Dikanda?

We have termed our style "Dikandish". Of course, our music has its roots in Poland, but over the years, it has become a fusion of classical, jazz, folk and any other kind of music that interests us. Everyone in our band can pitch in their individual takes for a musical piece. Our music is fiery, honest and played straight from the heart.

What compelled you to take part in the Dhaka International Folk Fest?

We have a really long tour this November and we happened to find five free days between our shows in Austria, Germany, Slovakia and Poland. Performing in Bangladesh sounded like an exotic opportunity, as we have never been here before. Also, at the moment, it is really cold in Poland (laughs); so, we are pleased to be invited here.

From all the places that you have toured, which have been your most memorable concerts?

Couple years ago, we played in Morocco and we were uncertain of how people there will react to our music. But, thankfully, the audience was blown away by our energy on stage. Moreover, we had really intimate meetings and jamming sessions with people in the Sahara Desert. That experience was inspiring for us.

Since as a band, you are immensely inspired by different kinds of music, would you be open to collaborating with Bangladeshi musicians?

Absolutely. But, to be frank, we do not have any agenda to look for musicians to collaborate with here. If we come across people we have the right chemistry with, we will be more than happy to make music with them.

From: https://www.thedailystar.net/arts-entertainment/interview/news/dikanda-love-poland-1660543 

Agony Aunts - Mother Make Sleep

It’s been too long, but the Bay Area supergroup returns after 2010’s Greater Miranda, with even more harmony-laden psych-pop.  The band is basically The Corner Laughers; KC Bowman, Karla Kane , Khoi Huynh, and Charlie Crabtree. Add to this many guest stars including Gil Ray (The Loud Family), Anton Barbeau and Allen Clapp (The Orange Peels). So can all those cooks spoil this brew? Not likely.
Opening with the kaleidoscopic “Twenty-four Mergansers” it’s a lot like the Laughers with a bit more Magical Mystery Tour thrown in. Then it follows up seamlessly with “Family Drugs,” the lyrics repeating over with crisp harmonies on the “bottle it up” backing chorus. The psychedelic sheen on everything is comparable to The Pillbugs on the title track. And if you ever wondered what a modern day Mamas and Papas would sound like, listen to “Back To Back Bills.”
The second half is more rock oriented, those dual tracked guitars stand out on the perfect “We Got The Jekyll.”  Raspberries fans will flip for the intro on “Uranium My Love,” a riff heavy melody full of hooks about science. Its not predictable either, “You’re So Vague” is like a combo of Todd Rundgren and The Explorers Club. It ends with the mysterious story behind “Cool Fresh Nights” and Barbeau’s quirky country “Trouble Was Born.” Not trace of filler to be found, production is clean and sounds great through headphones, so its hard to not love this album.  From: https://www.powerpopaholic.com/2013/11/agony-aunts-big-cinammon.html

Natalie Merchant - Jealousy / Wonder

 Natalie Merchant - Jealousy

 

 Natalie Merchant - Wonder

 

When she was a teenager, Natalie Merchant worked at a day camp for special needs children, many of whom had been institutionalized since infancy and abandoned by their parents. This song was inspired by that experience.
She explained on a VH1 Storytellers appearance: "When I was 13 years old, we're talking 1976, I spent my summer working as a volunteer for a bunch of hippies, basically, that got a seed grant from the Carter administration, which had a lot of really wonderful programs for the arts. These people started a day camp for handicapped children, and I worked for them the whole summer. A lot of these children were institutionalized - their parents had left the scene a long time ago. They didn't function so well in a conventional sense, but it seems that a lot of the children had developed like a private language or new senses so they could navigate through the world, especially the blind and the deaf children that we worked with.
From an early age, I had that contact with children who had special needs. I had lost my fear of intimacy with them - especially with Down syndrome kids, they could be really unpredictable and up to that point I had been a little frightened of them. I maintained some of the friendships with those kids and I was always open to meeting children with special needs. So when I wrote the song 'Wonder,' I wrote the song about a woman who was born with handicaps that seemed insurmountable, but she did overcome them, greatly because she had a loving family, especially her adoptive mother - she had been given up to an institution at birth."
This is a very meaningful song to many people who grew up with special needs and their caretakers. The song views these people as "wonders," with doctors having no explanation for their condition, but seeing the work of God in the creation.
"I've met a lot of people through this song, and they've told me that they've taken it on as their song, that it describes them," Merchant said. "It describes their strengths in spite of what others would see as deficiencies."  From: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/natalie-merchant/wonder

 

Rusted Root - Woodstock '99

 Rusted Root - Woodstock '99 - Part 1

 

 Rusted Root - Woodstock '99 - Part 2

 

Rusted Root gave us "Send Me On My Way," one of the most joyful and uplifting songs of our time. It is the ideal musical accompaniment for a hopeful journey, and it relates to a theme of Rusted Root mainman Michael Glabicki's songwriting: the Earth.
Growing up in Pittsburgh, Michael was a committed activist. He used the 1987 version of social media - infiltrating schools to speak out about the atrocities of US imperialism - to rally students for a trip to Nicaragua, where the American government was supporting the Contra rebels in a clandestine war. It was there where he made a connection to the Earth and developed the framework for political songs like "Ecstasy".
Michael sings and does most of the songwriting in Rusted Root, whose mainstays include percussionists Liz Berlin and Jim Donovan, and bass player Patrick Norman. They formed in 1990, releasing their self-titled debut album in 1992. That one held the original version of "Send Me On My Way," which was reworked for their second album, When I Woke, in 1994. This is the version that took off, earning the band spots on tours with Santana and the Dave Matthews Band.
In 2012, Rusted Root released The Movement, which puts their polyrhythms to songs about taking back a world that is becoming spiritually disconnected.

Carl Wiser (Songfacts): I talked to a woman who wrote with Earth, Wind & Fire, and she said that before she was allowed to go in the room and write with them, Maurice White made her read a book called The Greatest Salesman in the World, which outlined his spiritual beliefs. Is there anything like that that influences your songwriting?

Michael Glabicki: No. Not really. If there's anything close to it, it would be Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. That's a pretty solid book in my life. But nothing that influences the songwriting like you're describing that story to be. It's more about life and experience and sort of learning through the spiritual that way.

Songfacts: What's one of those life experiences that was a big influence on some of your songs?

Glabicki: Let's see. I would say it started early on. I had a car accident when I was two and a half. I was run over by a car. And that whole experience woke me up to a lot of outer guides and a whole sort of realization as to why I was here. But I think I came into the world with that, that kind of knowing. And it kind of set it in stone for me.

Songfacts: I'm surprised that you even remember something from being two and a half. That's remarkable.

Glabicki: Well, I remember mostly waking up from it and the feelings that occurred right after I woke up.

Songfacts: What religion were you raised in?

Glabicki: Catholic.

Songfacts: And then how did that transform once you had this accident and these things happened to you?

Glabicki: I never totally bought into the whole religion in church thing. I guess growing up I was very aloof and living more in those outer realms as opposed to in the very concrete world. And I think I just went through the religion growing up. We weren't too religious as a family. But I took little bits and pieces and just put it into my life experience what I felt I needed or wanted.

Songfacts: In a lot of your songs you sing very reverently about the earth, and the sun comes up a lot. Is that at all related to that accident you were describing when you were young and how that transformed you?

Glabicki: Yeah. I don't know if it was the accident or if I was just born that way. But I could always sense earth energy and either my connection to it or people's connection to it or lack of connection to it. And it always really affected me both negatively and positively. If things didn't make sense, I would be very troubled by it. So I would say it was more that I just came into this world with that awareness. Yeah.

Songfacts: Can you give me an example of where something like that shows up in some of your songs in either the lyrics or the music?

Glabicki: Let's see. I would say most of the early music had at least touches of it, if not overt drawings from it. "Martyr" was more from a trip that I took in Nicaragua and the earth energy down there. The people's connection to the earth was very strong, yet they were very challenged by poverty. And so a lot of the problems that were occurring down there were through poverty and people needing to use the earth to survive as opposed to being in harmony with it. I think that was part of the anger that I drew from for those songs. And also, the country that I came from had really started the wars down there, and it didn't make sense to me. So "Ecstasy" and "Martyr," in those songs it definitely comes in and plays a part.
"Back to the Earth," that was from a strong connection that I was having within the band that we would take a lot of trips out to the woods and just be very sensitive to the earth and the environment. We would really feel it out there. And through our very quietly spoken conversations that song came about. So a lot of the early stuff had veins of it running through it.  

From: https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/michael-glabicki-of-rusted-root