Choice 4 Inc. - Who Knows

As DJ’s and music lovers here at Nostalgia King, we’re always on the hunt for the lesser known, undiscovered and in this case, recently discovered music that has been locked away in the vaults for over 50 years and now finally getting to see the light of day. Choice 4 “Clean Up Your Mind” is a project that was recently found in the Sigma Sound Studios which is currently stored inside of Drexel University’s Audio Archives which currently houses 7000 audio tapes documenting Sigma Sound Studios and its pop, soul, disco, and R&B recordings that became known as “The Sound of Philadelphia.” Founded in 1968 by engineer Joe Tarsia, Sigma Sound Studios served as a hub for many of the defining recordings that emerged from Philadelphia during the 1970s and 1980s.
Talk about tough as nails heavy duty funk!! This is exactly what we would expect to be recorded during that time from a band that’s obviously deep rooted in the funk. “Clean Up Your Mind” features eight never-before-heard tracks recorded in 1972 at the iconic Sigma Sound Studios here in Philadelphia, documenting an early intersection of soul, funk, and psychedelia. The album has been released via Drexel University’s student-run record label MAD Dragon Records and will be available on streaming services and as a limited vinyl release.
Recorded in 1972, the Washington, D.C.-based ensemble included the vocal group The Choice Four and their rhythm section which featured Richard Lee on guitar, Norman Durham on bass, Gregory Tolbert on keyboards, and Woodrow “Woody” Cunningham on drums. These unreleased recordings document an early chapter in these groups’ histories and laid the groundwork for influential careers in soul, funk, and disco. In 1974, The Choice Four signed to RCA Records, while the rhythm section relocated to New York City and renamed themselves Pipeline in 1975. In 1978, Pipeline evolved once again and changed their name to Kleeer. As Kleeer, they signed to Atlantic Records and achieved commercial success, including several charting hits between 1979 and 1985.
The songs on the album were produced by Billy Jackson, a Philadelphia native and foundational yet often under-recognized in our opinion, architect of the Philadelphia Sound. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he wrote and produced for a wide range of artists including Aretha Franklin, The Tymes, Frank Beverly, and many more. His early friendship with engineer Joe Tarsia placed him at the heart of Sigma Sound Studios during its rise as the epicenter of the Philadelphia Sound. These recordings stand as part of that legacy and establish his place within a generation of producers whose work helped define the sound of Philadelphia.  From: https://nostalgiaking.com/2026/05/12/choice-4-clean-up-your-mind/

 

Renaissance - The Sisters / Touching Once (Is So Hard To Keep)

“Novella” is the seventh studio album of Renaissance and was released in 1977. The line up on the album is Annie Haslam, Michael Dunford, John Tout, Jon Camp and Terence Sullivan. The album also has the participation of Richard Hewson.
When we talk about the years of 1976 and 1977 we mustn’t forget the arising of the punk movement. So, those years were a big problem for all progressive rock bands. Those were times of great turbulence and obscurity for all the progressive rock music. Renaissance was able to manage and to last longer than most of the other progressive rock bands before beginning their period of musical decline. During the period of 1977 and 1978, when bands such as Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant and Emerson, Lake & Palmer fell part way or whole way into pop, Renaissance managed to come up with a great progressive album, “Novella”, in 1977, and one very good album “A Song For All Seasons”, in 1978.
While AOR radio and to a lesser extent punk were undermining the creative license of many other progressive rock bands, Renaissance managed to escape relatively unscathed, for a few years at least. Why did it happen? It’s really quite simple. It happened because in fact Renaissance had a different audience base than many other progressive rock bands. In reality, they didn’t need to go through the channels of “rock and roll” or “hit radio” to keep their audience. And, as such, they were able to keep going with elaborate musical ventures even while Yes were being paired back to “Tormato” with “Don’t Kill The Whale”. However, the band didn’t pass unscathed to that and Renaissance began to experience certain problems by 1979. Perhaps no band can outrun the market forever. But the fact remains that they kept their credibility longer than most of their compatriots. And it was a blessing for all their progressive fans, indeed.
Musically, “Novella” followed in the footsteps of the previous albums, but the mood was slightly mellower. The material was maybe also a bit less accessible, and the album requires several listens before you’re able to grasp the melodies. But once you’re into it you’ll find that it has almost all of the qualities from the band’s best albums. It was also the last album where Renaissance still remained a pure progressive band. The 13 minute opener “Can You Hear Me?” has a kind of a melodramatic feel to it, and the instrumental passages are a lot more muted and humble than before. This track glides straight over in the beautiful and atmospheric “The Sisters” that maintains the mellow mood. The acoustic “Midas Man” features one of the last examples of Tout’s sparse use of synthesizers before he unfortunately would take over much of the band’s sound with it. “The Captive Heart” is a piano dominated ballad with some fine harmonies, but the closing epic “Touching Once (Is So Hard To Keep)” is a lot more interesting. It builds up from a medieval styled tune to a symphonic and dramatic crescendo before it gets back to the start again. This is very striking indeed.  From: https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/72129/Renaissance-Novella/

Green Eyes Witch Hands - Ball

Green Eyes Witch Hands is a duo of Canadian brothers based in Bathurst, New Brunswick, which is a town that I had never heard of until I heard of this band. Bathurst’s population falls well under 15,000 inhabitants; its modest downtown faces a recessed body of water. If you would like to have a nice, low-key multimedia experience, I would suggest looking at still images of the town while listening to The Lumberyard, Green Eyes Witch Hands’s newest release. Personally, I lingered on one snowcapped picture in particular. As an acoustic guitar strummed in the background, I was practically living a different life.
The band works in a variety of contemporary indie modes—there’s some cloud rock here, there’s some indietronica, there’s some emo rap—but bonds them together through the power of a less specific kind of songwriting, the kind rooted in decades upon decades of folk and rock. It’s a forward-thinking indie record, the sound of two brothers incubating their own musical vernacular, built on the back of a contemporary moment but, in its execution, knocking against the timeless.  From: https://www.ninaprotocol.com/articles/green-eyes-witch-hands-the-lumberyard 

The Carpenters - Rainy Days And Mondays / We've Only Just Begun / (They Long To Be) Close To You

The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining Karen's contralto vocals with Richard's harmonizing, arranging, and composition. During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded 10 albums along with many singles and several television specials.
The siblings were born in New Haven, Connecticut, but moved to Downey, California, in 1963. Richard took piano lessons as a child, progressing to California State University, Long Beach, while Karen learned the drums. They first performed together as a duo in 1965 and formed the jazz-oriented Richard Carpenter Trio along with Wesley Jacobs, then formed the middle-of-the-road band Spectrum. Subsequently the two signed as the Carpenters to A&M Records in 1969; they achieved major success the following year with the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun". The duo's brand of melodic pop produced a record-breaking run of hit recordings on the American Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, and they became leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening, and adult contemporary music genres. 
The duo toured continually during the 1970s, which put them under increased strain; Richard took a year off in 1979 after he had become addicted to Quaaludes, while Karen suffered from anorexia nervosa. The duo ended in 1983 when Karen died from heart failure brought on by complications of anorexia. Her death triggered widespread coverage and research into eating disorders.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Carpenters

 

Babe Lewis - Yellow Bicycle

The dreamy rolling grooves and spiraling emotionalism of "Royal" by Babe Lewis, the solo recording project of Harrisonburg -Virginia based songwriter Joseph Harder, and performing band with Dane Ludwig (drums), and Valentin Prince (bass, vocals), encompasses abstractions and guitar heaviness that feels seeded from the 2000's, that fertile post grunge period when genres happily collided. For me, the sound feels part slacker garage rock, part neo-psychedelic distilled though indie pop filters. I am appreciating the chorus feeling shoegaze-esque but the verses feeling less so, riding on primarily the bass line and opened up vocals where you can actually make out the lyrics without the lyrics in front of you, a luxury I sometimes miss these days. This gritty blend feels lush and emo while kind of industrial at the same time, an ethereal flesh with callouses. 
Liner Notes offer: [Inspired by the guitar stylings of bands like My Bloody Valentine and Helvetia, the hypnotic lo-fi pulse of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and the mystic harmonies of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Babe Lewis inhabits a niche at the overlap of myriad eras and modes of psychedelic music].  From: https://www.americanpancake.com/2025/05/babe-lewis-and-dreamy-rolling-grooves.html  

Church of the Cosmic Skull - Live at Reggies 2022

 Church of the Cosmic Skull - Live at Reggies 2022 - Part 1

 

 Church of the Cosmic Skull - Live at Reggies 2022 - Part 2

 

With influences from prog, rock and pop new Nottingham-based supergroup Church of the Cosmic Skull are about to unleash their debut album Is Satan Real? on the world. And what an album it is – certainly one of the finest rock records of 2016.
Sitting somewhere between religious cult and ’70’s prog this band are pairing their massive sound with a doctrine of cosmic unity. It could be gimmicky, an eye-roll-inducing pseudo-philosophy in matching white outfits but there’s an air of quiet authenticity about the band, undoubtedly strengthened by their phenomenal sound.
A rising choir of harmonies, some unusual instrumentation and big riffs and growling lead vocals the tracks take the best of the theatrical side of rock and do away with self-indulgent and overt technical displays. It brings rock music back to a core of pounding melodies and ominous builds; a listen that is huge the first time but reveals an underlying complexity of concept with further plays.
With members who have also played in bands such as Dystopian Future Movies, Mammothwing, Hellset Orchestra and You Slut! and a set of principles that include an intention to “Celebrate and uphold the freedom of art, science and thought” Louder Than War caught up with Church founder Bill Fisher to be inducted into their philosophy and music. 

LTW: You describe yourselves as a “twofold entity: a new religious movement…and a 7-piece supergroup.” Which came first – the religious or the musical aspects? How long has the band been in the making?

BF: Love and music have been with us for all of time, they are inseparable. Most of the songs were written many years ago. It made sense to bring a new group of people together around the songs.

Where did that vision for the band, and the aesthetics of it, come from?

All visions come from within the Cosmic Skull.

Given this twofold aspect what place do you think music plays in challenging or reflecting society and political positions?

Music has the power to take us far away from the rantings of the puppet-masters. Ignore their propaganda! They control nothing. Celebrate and uphold the freedom of art, science and thought. Maintain focus on the unity of all living beings.

The Seven Objects you use as pillars of your approach – are these your personal principles to adhere by or something you came up with as a band or…? What is you hope for sharing these Objects and encouraging people to sign up to them?

The Seven Objects are the ‘things we are directed towards’. Perhaps the music will encourage people to be similarly directed.

As a supergroup how did you all come together? Were you playing gigs together or knew each other through the local scene…?

The music scene here is a vibrant place full of willing participants. Michael Wetherburn [Ulysses Storm/Hellset Orchestra] is the go-to hammond player, with a tremendous vocal range. Michael and I share a love of musical theatre and the songs of Queen.
Loz Stone [Iron Swan, Rescued By Wolves] has incredible feel and taste which are the most important qualities in a drummer. Amy Nicholson [Hellset Orchestra/Polymath] is a phenomenal cellist and singer who was introduced to me by Michael, with whom she played in Hellset.
Sam Lloyd [You Slut!/Pilgrim Fathers] is undoubtedly one of the best bassmen I have ever heard and plays a huge role in spreading the Cosmic Word. Joanne Joyce has amazing vocal power and technique, and has some wonderful solo material coming soon. Caroline Cawley, who I met during the formation of our other band, Dystopian Future Movies, has a beautiful natural singing voice which never fails to touch my heart. I am also in love with her.

Prog and ’70’s rock (which you list among your influences) can sometimes be looked down on as being a bit too serious and/or indulgent and theatrical – do you think it’s got an undeserved reputation?

The allusion to Prog/Psych/’70s Rock/Pop came after the songs were developed. My influences are more prog-pop than prog-rock. Kate Bush, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, The Beatles. In the same light, the rock music I always return to is song-orientated; Thin Lizzy, Queen, Sabbath etc. The song must come first. I am not interested in meaningless displays of technical ability.

How easy has it been to take the recorded sound and arrange it for live? On video you have a very strong visual aesthetic, can we expect something similar in the live show?

The recordings feature only single parts from each instrument or singer, without additional layering, so it translated. And yes, live you can expect some strong visuals.

Album is out on Bilocation Records / Kozmik Artifactz – how did you find this label / how did they find you?

I was in Mammothwing, who were also on Bilocation, they released our album last year. They are an amazing label based in Germany, pressing the highest quality vinyl for great bands from all over the world. They’ve worked with Mondo Drag, Ruby the Hatchet, The Heavy Eyes. Recent releases include some wonderful stuff, especially Bright Curse, Friendship, Gin Lady, I can’t list them all here, see the label site at kozmik-artifactz.com.

What’s the plan for Church of the Cosmic Skull beyond this album?

More music and video. CDs are available now, vinyls are coming later. We are booking festivals and a tour for next year, hopefully reaching out to Europe. The word must be spread, for the word is good.

From: https://louderthanwar.com/interview-church-cosmic-skull/ 

 

Bat For Lashes - The Dream of Delphi - A New Transmission

Natasha Khan has always treated pop music like it’s spell-casting; her pinches of synth-bass and sprinkles of fantastical lyrics create an unmistakable sparkle. Over nearly 20 years performing as Bat for Lashes, the singer-songwriter has become an expert daydreamer—her last album, 2019’s Lost Girls, was written from the perspective of a female biker gang—and her theatricality has drawn frequent comparisons to Kate Bush. Then, in 2020, Khan had a baby. Her body became impossible to ignore, and its tenderness inspired her latest album. Dedicated to and named after Khan’s daughter, The Dream of Delphi offers several intriguing ambient-adjacent experiments—until its enchantment fades like a half-formed thought.
To continue the Kate Bush comparisons, The Dream of Delphi is Khan’s own Aerial. Like that 2005 album, in which a typically enigmatic Bush describes her son as sunshine, The Dream of Delphi sees Khan exchange personal sensuality—the wild horses and weepy kissing of past albums—for more earthly musings. The Dream often sounds like a cut-up version of Khan’s discography, taking her beloved strings, sappy ’80s synths, and seashell drums and slicing them into translucent slugs. The instrumental “Breaking Up” twitches slowly, like many of Khan’s bittersweet pop songs, with an imposing synth-bassline that gurgles like an empty stomach. The harpist Mary Lattimore releases starbursts into the title track, matching Bat for Lashes’ tendency to use strings as a sweetener. Khan sings hypnotically of “milk and opal light.” It’s all pretty, but, in comparison to her more hearty compositions, it’s missing protein.
Khan is an efficient maximalist when she allows herself to be, drenching everything with cascading synths—every second should be a waterfall or bust. The impulse to make things bigger translates well to the melody-forward ambient music that makes up most of The Dream, so songs like “The Midwives Have Left” have lovely balloon-like buoyancy. Khan’s fudgy voice thins out as she dips into weightless cooing, nested in piano splinters. These moments are some of the album’s most transportive; they recall the best experimental music about motherhood, like Medulla by Björk. A few of the songs on The Dream of Delphi are a little too underdeveloped and end up dissipating into thin air. But it’s Khan’s lyrics, always so full of gravity and grace, that keep the album from stalling out. “Remember you came from a spiral, unfolding,” Khan sings on “Letter to My Daughter” with the measured insight of motherhood. In this music, motherhood sounds as supernatural as it feels to the people who experience it.  From: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/bat-for-lashes-the-dream-of-delphi/

 

Ladaniva - Saraiman / La Montagne

 Ladaniva - Saraiman

 

Ladaniva - La Montagne

 

The musical group Ladaniva was founded in 2019 by Armenian singer Jacqueline Baghdasaryan and French multi-instrumentalist Louis Thomas. The group’s music is inspired by traditional songs from Armenia, Russia and the Balkans—with influence from travels in Latin America, Africa and Reunion Islands.
Last month they were here in Los Angeles for a sold-out performance. I had a chance to meet the group as they were getting ready for rehearsal before one of their shows at Arbat Hall. Jacqueline Baghdasaryan and Louis Thomas met at a bar one night during a jazz jam session.
"Louie was playing trumpet, and I was singing. And after we started to do the jazz together, and also we did our study in our conservatory together. And after one day, Louis heard that I am singing in Armenia. And he said, ‘let's do something with this,’ because he loved Armenian language and music," Baghdasaryan said.  
No matter where they’re performing or what language they’re singing in--- their energy is contagious. "There's something melancholic, you know. Melancholy is something beautiful in sadness," Thomas said. Baghdasaryan said Thomas encouraged her to write a song in Armenian. She wrote their first song "Vay Aman" and immediately following the release of their music video the song was a hit in Armenia and went viral with millions of views. As far as the name Ladaniva…it’s a Russian car. "Jacqueline's father and my father, when we were kids, both had this car."
Most of their songs are in Armenian, but they also have songs in Russian and French. Jacqueline says her inspiration for songs comes from everyday life—like their most recent song "Shakar" which means "sugar" in Armenian. Jacqueline’s connection to Armenia has remained strong over the years.  
"I was born in Armenia and I grew up in Belorussia. And after I came to France already eight years. I was always in the Armenian community. I did Armenian dance, singing Armenian songs and for me it was my nostalgia to my roots, and I always wanted to sing in Armenian, to dance it, to participate in our culture," she added.  
Louis was born and raised in France. For him, music is in his DNA; he began playing the trumpet at the age of 7. "I was born in a musician family. My mother played the classical piano. And since I was a child, I used to play a lot of different instruments," he stated. His love for music and adventure have had a big influence in his work and life. "I used to travel a lot to learn the traditional music from everywhere."
Their music comes from everywhere... connecting people and different cultures. "A lot of different vibes -- we have joyful vibes, but also we have a nostalgic and melancholic vibe. Our music is like a mix of different cultures… a music of travel and also the humanity," she explained.  From: https://www.foxla.com/news/musical-group-ladaniva-bringing-a-new-twist-to-armenian-international-music  

 

Ethan & The Reformation - Free From Everything

Wild-Minded Woman, released late last year, marked the comeback of Ethan And The Reformation just as we thought we might have lost them for good. But they're back with a new line-up, a new ethos and a change in style. Julia Grantham caught up with them just before Christmas at their packed-out show at Jimmy's for a chat.
I first discovered Manchester-based Psychedelic Rock band Ethan and The Reformation almost by accident. Back in October 2015, I was nervously interviewing friends of mine, Cupids, by the bar at The Brudenell Social Club in Leeds as part of their tour with now international super stars: Blossoms. During part of our conversation, I asked the band if they’d like to give a shout-out to any other up-and-coming bands and along with Hot Vestry, Ethan and The Reformation were mentioned. If I remember correctly, Sid Cooper of Cupids told me Ethan was ‘very sexy’ and even though he was joking, I came away thinking that I must check this band out!
It took me a little while, but after seeing Ethan and The Reformation support Cupids at The Deaf Institute in Manchester in December 2016, I interviewed them for the first time at the one and only When In Manchester metropolitan festival in April 2017, and not long after, everything went mysteriously quiet. I could scarcely believe that a band this good, with such charisma, talent and an ever-growing fanbase would stop performing, take a pause from writing music and, well, seemingly disappear. But they did.
Fast-forward to January 2019, and Ethan and The Reformation have made a remarkable comeback with single ‘Wild-Minded Woman’ (see an earlier review on this site) and played to a full crowd at hip and trendy Northern Quarter gig venue Jimmy’s just a mere 3 days before Christmas 2018. And so now it has been my turn to go quiet for a few weeks. I have been sitting on this interview for a month, but now is the time for it’s big reveal. What a night this was: to witness live music at it’s best after a what has certainly been for me at least, a wait worth having.
Walking in to Jimmy’s on a weekend night has come to be a regular thing for many. It has become as as familiar to its regulars as it is crowded, full of friends, acquaintances and it usually always plays host to bands that people on the scene want to see, want to know, want to be like and want to be associated with. Jimmy’s has the best lighting, the best kit, but it’s almost a bit too good for the size of its stage and its limited capacity, and as such and even though bands on the up will quickly outgrow it, you cannot beat as a customer, the chance to see bands and artists play here: it’s exciting, it’s a privilege and this band: Ethan and The Reformation, were no exception to this precedent. In fact, bar co-owner George Craig of One Night Only fame and fortune took to his own stage this night, to replace Thomas Gorton on drums.
Jack Wakeman, former keyboard-player-turned-bassist in the band, appeared nervous to be opening the evening with his solo material, yet played a confident set of five songs as Jack Oliver Monty, his solo artist alter ego. Perhaps his nerves were due to the fact that he had only found out moments prior that the support band had cancelled, and so with little choice but having had no chance to prepare, he played us a lovely repertoire of tracks including his recent single The Garden, which Even The Stars has reviewed recently as part of his newly released 4 track EP. Taking the stage with just his guitar, the audience cheered, clapped, listened and enjoyed his music as if they had known he was going to be there all along, and rightly so. I turned to my friend to ask her what she thought: “He’s really good, isn’t he?”, was her reply.
And when Ethan and The Reformation took to the stage? It seems strange to say it, but even after over a year of not performing as band, Ethan and his bandmates makes it look oh so easy. His ability to engage and entertain a crowd appears effortless. He’s cool, but in an understated way. Each song flawlessly played, from the well-known and much-loved hit Hollandia to new single Wild-Minded Woman, the room was buzzing. And not just those of us dancing and singing squashed up at the front. I had set up my interview back in the summer and I couldn’t wait to hear what Ethan had to say about the band, their new single, their first performance and the scene today. So after the gig, all thrown together along with the band’s girlfriends, fiancees, friends and a few randoms, we squeezed into the tiny office in Jimmy’s, where we couldn’t really fit, and had a chat.
After discussing the band’s favourite Christmas songs: ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham is Mick Mac’s (Guitarist) and ‘I believe in Father Christmas’ by Greg Lake is Jack Wakeman’s (Bassist) we got down to some proper questions. Responding to the question “Why the big silence?” Mick’s fiancée Kate exclaimed “I got pregnant” almost at the same time as Ethan confessed: “I lost my mojo.”. So, practical and artistic reasons explained the gap in production and performance and two very plausible and understandable ones at that.
Ethan went on to explain further: “Our old stuff was very tripped-out, psychedelic stuff and I hadn’t really been in that space for a while, and felt a bit kinda removed from it, like it’s not coming, it’s not happening for me, and I lost touch with that, that ‘it’s ok, the universe will always will out work’ kinda thing and I then I stepped back from that. I thought hang on, time’s moving on, the world’s moving on without me, I’d better pull my fuckin’ finger out and do summat”. Of the change, the return to music, this was partly due to Ethan working behind the bar at the very venue in which we were conducting this interview, after the band’s electric performance. Turns out, that seeing other bands play here was was part of his inspiration to get back out there. “We got a new line-up, a new direction and it all kinda clicked into place and we feel like now, we’re ready to launch our assault on the world”. Exciting times.
Keen to know what we can expect next, after a very successful comeback gig, and having chatted to excited fans outside after the band walked off stage, Ethan told me this: “Expect more of the same. It’s back to bluesy rock n roll roots- as proud as we are of those seven-minute-psychedelic-odysseys, we’re not in that place now; we’re doing something that’s urgent, it’s something people can get on board with more, cos that’s what’s coming naturally to us, where we’re at now”. “Mick Jagger summed it all up once, (Mick Mac) it’s all in rock and roll- but we like it”.
It may interest readers to know that, next? Well they’re all currently in South-East Asia, among other places- the banks of the River Kwai, to celebrate the wedding of Mick and Kate, where the band will perform live. See below for the links to all the band’s socials and you may see hints of this on there! We can expect Ethan and The Reformation to be back in the UK in the late spring where gigs, festivals and new songs are all on the agenda so keep your eyes, ears and senses open people. This band will keep you on your toes, change, go quiet, come back, and evolve. If ever there were a band to get behind with the ethos: do what you want and own it, this is the band to follow for that reason, and if not? Well, the music is pretty great too.
How does a psychedelic-cum-rock-n-roll-bluesy band fit into the current Manchester music scene in 2019, then? This opened up a huge discussion around what other bands may or not be doing, how there are scenes within scenes, and trends that work for some bands, historically and now, but perhaps not for others. Essentially, Ethan and The Reformation are a band that know who they are, what they’re about, what they love, what comes naturally to them and that’s what they’re putting out: themselves- encased in honest guitar music. I asked: “Should we all be going back to the 70s then, listening to that kind of guitar music?” Ethan answered: “Not necessarily, but we all draw from that time where it was all guitar-led, melody and hooks, and we focus with our live set on the way the tunes stand up. We give a bit back to our audience, yeah, but without thinking : are we gonna be the craziest band around”. I wondered if Ethan was the main songwriter. “Lyrically definitely (Mick) but musically it’s all of us, really”. With the latest single, Wild-Minded Woman, the initial idea was “A very swingy midnight ramble” according to Ethan, but after a few plays with the band it came out the better for it”.  From: https://www.eventhestars.co.uk/2019/02/ethan-and-reformation-interview.html 

Amanda Palmer - Leeds United

According to Palmer, this song was inspired by a real-life incident. “I had been dating this guy from Leeds, Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs, and we had a totally brief flash-in-the-pan fling. We had a really great time together. I really liked him, and I went up to his house in Leeds for a week. He gave me this great Leeds United jersey, which I prized. And then when I got back on tour a couple of days later I wore it on stage. I had a bra underneath, so I took off the jersey and finished the encore all sweaty and stuff. I went back to look for it, the stage was being cleaned, and it was like, ‘Fuck! Where’s my shirt!?’ I had that shirt for all of about 5 days. I’d already gotten all excited and sentimental about it, and then it vanished.”  From: https://genius.com/Amanda-palmer-leeds-united-lyrics

Tone Deaf:  You had your new album come out last year — how has the response been since it’s came out? You also had 15,000 supporters for it. It must have been amazing to have so many people put their faith, their money, and their trust in you for a record.

AP: It’s been amazing. It’s actually less hectic than having major label. You know, with your creativity and your soul and time and own vice-grip, I think it’s a lot easier, but then again I’ve played on both sides of that field and it’s a cost benefit in both departments. Being crowd funded by 15,000 people has its own set of tasks, responsibilities, drawbacks, but I would choose every single one of them one hundred times over the drawbacks of being at the mercy of profit driven major labels.

Tone Deaf: When you do release an album in that sense, is it hard to gauge how successful it’s been?

AP: That’s a really good and complicated question. What I have found is that it’s hard to gauge success, period. Even in the heyday of the Dresden Dolls, success was so slippery and impossible to define. The label defined it one way, we defined it a completely different way. If 20 years of releasing music and touring has taught me anything, it’s that I have to creatively manufacture my own definition of success. It’s definitely not streaming number. It’s definitely not money. It definitely isn’t whether or not magazine X gave me a five-star review, because all of those things have and haven’t been true in certain parts of my career, and have actually no bearing on whether or not a project was successful. I have to say that my ultimate definition of success has a lot more to do with the concrete emotional impact I can see the work having on people when I tour it and when I put it out than it does with whether or not the media weighs in or whether or not something is in the charts.

Tone Deaf: If you look at chart positions, there’s so many variations between so many artists. But then when you see you play live, your fans are so dedicated, and clearly that’s a good gauge of success if it resonates with the people, and you see that they’re enjoying it.

AP: Well that in itself is a slippery slope, because how many people need to be in that room for you to be able to call it successful? I mean, I have gotten to the point as an artist where I think I’ve fine-tuned my ability to the point to where I could bust out that ukulele, and I could play a song for you that would move you, and that’s the only thing I did this year, and I could still call it a successful endeavour, because I connected with, and affected somebody. I think we’ve just been fed the Kool-Aid for so long that scale is everything and blockbuster hits are everything, and success is upsized that we forget as artists that our role doesn’t have to do with size and scale. And we need to start flushing that Kool-Aid out of our system.

From: https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/amanda-palmer-interview-2020/list/check-out-amanda-palmers-do-it-with-a-rockstar/

Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (also known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, storyteller, writer and ukulele player. She's most famous for her work as part of the Brechtian punk cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls, along with drummer Brian Viglione. They released three studio albums and toured as openers for Panic! at the Disco, until they went on hiatus in 2008. Although Viglione and her have done shows together since then, the band has officially broken up, even though Palmer has announced plans for them to produce music again.
In 2012, Palmer famously released an album with her at-the-time band The Grand Theft Orchestra called Theatre is Evil, which was funded entirely over Kickstarter - a groundbreaking artistic decision at the time, which was worth it, as the Kickstarter far overpassed its goal. She released the album for free through her website, and then debuted on the Billboard top 100 Album list at number 10 due to the immense number of Kickstarter pre-orders.
Her songs vary wildly in style and topics, with many featuring dark humor and subject material. She's fond of recontextualizing children's songs in a more mature, adult way, and of making puns. Amanda's also known for performing covers of whatever she feels like, ranging from an entire EP of Radiohead covers on the ukulele, to classic musicals, to Black Sabbath, to Britney Spears, to a reimagining of Rebecca Black's song "Friday" from the perspective of a truck-stop prostitute.
In 2019, seven years after her last studio record, Palmer released There Will Be No Intermission, a far more serious, stripped-down album mostly just featuring her on a piano. It tackles subjects like abortion, death, depression, loss, and the climate crisis, and was released to massive critical acclaim. The world tour accompanying it featured only her at a piano, telling the most intimate and human stories of her life. Concerts often went for up to four hours.  From: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/AmandaPalmer

 

Triptides - Hole in Your Mind

Let’s talk about your new album, Alter Echoes. When did you make it?

GB: We recorded it in the fall of 2019; long before the word Covid was part of our lexicon.

It was recorded and mixed at Clay Blair’s Boulevard Recording studio in Hollywood. How was that? What were the set-up and the vibes like? How were the sessions? 

GB: Clay is a great guy. We had a blast working with him at such a legendary studio. The set-up was fantastic – a beautiful live room that looks like it’s straight out of the ‘70s. There’s a comfortable control room and a little lounge area. Everything one could need to rock.
The vibes were very good. Brendan has known Clay for years, but they sort of reconnected when Brendan moved out to L.A, so it was sort of like working with an old friend. Also, the fact that Clay is from North Carolina and Stephen and I are from Georgia made us feel even more at home. The sessions were great – we had rehearsed the material beforehand, but it still had a very spontaneous vibe to it.

The studio was formerly Producer’s Workshop, where Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan made, or mixed, records. Did any of that history rub off on you?  Liberace also recorded in the studio. Is his piano still there?

GB: Liberace’s piano is unfortunately no longer there! I think some of the energy from those groups still lingers. Whether it rubbed off on us… well, you be the judge!

The new record definitely has a sun-soaked, psychedelic sound. What influenced it musically, or otherwise?

GB: There’s such a wide range of influences it can be hard to pin them all down – from Coltrane to Hawkwind. So many different groups. But I think being in L.A, working together as a band, touring together – it all influenced how the record came together. We knew each other’s strengths and made sure that we played to them.

The single, It Won’t Hurt You, is one of my favourite songs of the year so far. What can you tell me about it? It’s very Byrdsy. Where did it come from? 

GB: I wrote that one in the summer of 2018. It sat around as a drum machine apartment demo for a year or so. When I presented it to the group it worked perfectly with the three-piece arrangement and we decided to record it.

Hand of Time is another of my favourite songs on the record. I think it has a slight Stonesy feel – a swagger, like Street Fighting Man, but crossed with English ’60s psychedelia. Is that a fair description?

GB: I can see that. I think Brendan was thinking about the stripped-down drum patterns from McCartney II. I was probably drawing on Hawkwind or Can. It was just one of those songs that came out of a jam. We were doing a sort of stream of consciousness demo night where we were recording everything to the Tascam 488 tape machine. Suddenly we just started playing it. Listening back afterwards we thought, well that’s going to have to be a song, isn’t it?

Was the spacey track Shining influenced by Pink Floyd? There’s a definite Dark Side of the Moon feel to it. I’m thinking Breathe…

GB: Of course! Shining is a bit of our love letter to our favorite Floyd moments. The lyrics are supposed to be from a disoriented perspective – another realm where things aren’t what they seem. There’s a line where I say, “Relax, you weren’t meant to live,” which was sort of a reference to Nightmare of Percussion, the first track on the second Strawberry Alarm Clock album, where the narrator says: “Don’t worry about dying – you were meant not to live.” I always thought that was really weird and I wanted to include some of that weirdness in the song.

Having A Laugh is one of the lighter songs on the album. It’s poppy and has a McCartney / Beatles feel. Would you agree?

GB: It is and it isn’t. I was trying to comment on how much terrible news people see and hear everyday (“If you really believed half the things they said/wouldn’t be any need to get out of bed”). And this was before the pandemic! At the same time, I was thinking how we need to start taking care of the earth, of each other before it’s too late.

Another lighter, poppier song is She Doesn’t Want To Know – it’s a kind of a bossa nova/ lounge/ Easy Listening tune. Laidback and quite ’60s…

GB: We were going for a sort of A Hard Day’s Night meets João Gilberto thing. Something you could listen to on the beach while the sun is setting. The first evening wind after a warm, summer day.

The last song, Now and Then, is very ’60s. It reminds me of The Zombies and also Cream’s I Feel Free. What can you tell me about it?

GB: For that tune we wanted to go all out ‘60s. We were already in the studio with Clay, who is a huge Beatles fan and an authority on their recording techniques.
Paired with Brendan, who is an authority on Ringo’s gear, in particular, we couldn’t help but do our own Help-inspired UK beat song. We actually meant to use a Hohner Pianet on the track, like The Night Before, but it was giving us issues that day, so we settled on the Wurlitzer 200 electric piano.

From: https://sayitwithgarageflowers.com/2021/02/23/we-have-such-a-wide-range-of-influences-it-can-be-hard-to-pin-them-all-down-from-coltrane-to-hawkwind/

The Wilderness Yet - A Bruton Farmer

Their name inspired by the poem Inversnaid by Gerard Manley Hopkins, The Wilderness Yet are an exciting and skilful new trio with Anglo/Irish roots with a sideline in Scandi folk tunes.
It may be a strange time to release a debut record with no gigs or festivals to showcase your chops in public, but this self-titled album has undoubtedly hit a zeitgeist with its subject matter, as many of us are re-learning (or lamenting the loss of) our connection to the natural world. According to the publicity notes it is, ‘a pastoral paean to trees, birds and bees but never far from sounding the warning bells about humankind’s often devastating impact on the environment.’
But as much as it takes on current concerns, the sound is more timeless: a heady mix of traditions with distinctly English-sounding vocals from former BBC Young Folk Award finalist Rosie Hodgson. She commands every song she leads and enhances the Swedish Polska instrumental Hjaltedyrkan with some ‘diddling’ (tune singing).
Rowan Piggott‘s melodious violin sweeps gorgeously across the album, and – as well as being a talented singer – he also contributes double bass. Also performing solo and in a duo with Rosie, Rowan is a past winner of Bromyard’s ‘Future of Young Folk’ Award. And that he may well be, with at least one foot in the past.
Rowan contributes tunes, songs and lyrics to seven of the thirteen tracks. He even seamlessly adds three extra verses to Hopkins’ Inversnaid (set to music and renamed The Wilderness Yet as the penultimate track). It’s a haunting and heartfelt reading with delectable harmony singing from the trio.
Finishing off the trio is Irish music scholar Philippe Barnes, whose skilful guitar playing anchors the tracks, but he also adds colour with his flute, whistle playing and vocals. Alongside his instrumental prowess, Philippe has penned three tunes, starting with the flute-led Chalice Well (paired with Rowan’s The Welcome).
A music video was released for "A Bruton Farmer" – Shadow puppets by Frances Marriott, Shot/edited by Rowan Piggott. Rowan says:
“We loved this perfectly formed traditional murder ballad which we first heard from James Patterson. Apart from the ultimate attraction of it being in 5/4, it’s a human tale which seemed to fit with the general feel of the album – two brothers who seek to control and oppress their sister through the destruction of her innocent lover, sitting alongside songs about man’s desire to treat our environment similarly. 
“When we were trying to decide on which track to make a video for, it seemed like this long narrative would benefit most from illustration. We think Frances’ shadow play compliments the arrangement perfectly…”. From: https://klofmag.com/2020/07/the-wilderness-yet-album-review-video-premiere/

Pauw - Shambhala

The Dutch town of Twente isn’t really known for its music. If anything it's known for its football club FC Twente, and mainly then for an interview in which ex-England manager Steve McClaren adopted a Dutch ‘accent’ for a pre-Champions League interview. But things are changing, as a psych-prog-pop quartet Pauw, are making waves home and abroad. Consisting of Rens Ottink on drums, Brian Pots on guitar and vocals, Eszl Du Voiis on bass and Kees Braam on keyboards, they are gaining a reputation in their native Holland and anywhere they play for incendiary live shoes and beautifully crafted EPs. Now they’ve released their debut album, Macrocosm Microcosm.
‘Shambhala’ is the standout track. Throughout its duration faux-shoegazing, reverb drenched vocal verses rub shoulders with full on psych-outs, chocked with jangling bells, chimes, sitar sounding guitars and a rhythm section that sounds likes it’s been lifted from Richard Rush’s Psych-Out soundtrack. This is more than revivalism. Instead of trying to create the sound of a scene that never existed, Pauw have made a track full of their collective loves, and what’s more it sounds all the more authentic for it.  From: https://drownedinsound.com/releases/19195/reviews/4149719 

Möng - Ohilen

"Finnen" is the first self-produced album by Möng Project. The duo surrounded themselves with musicians to create an album with diverse ethnic sounds. The long, evolving tracks, giving equal space to each instrument and to the vocals, invite the listener on a timeless and borderless journey. 
Lily Noroozi: accordion, vocals, percussion 
Isao Bredel: nyckelharpa, vocals 
Arnaud Bibonne: flutes 
Mickael Fernandez: world percussion 
Adrien Perron: finger cymbals, zarb 
Julien Maillet: cello, backing vocals
Translated from: https://www.mong-project.fr/musique/  

 

Prince & The Revolution - Raspberry Beret

A remarkably innocent song from the man who gave us lascivious tunes like "Dirty Mind" and "Soft and Wet," "Raspberry Beret" tells the story of a young man captivated by a lady who comes into the store where he is a lowly employee with a rocky relationship with his boss. This girl is a little crazy - she goes in through the out door - very fashionable, and just a touch rebellious.
Prince originally recorded "Raspberry Beret" in 1982, but re-worked it with his newly re-formed Revolution backing band, which had just crystalized into what would become the fan favorite lineup: Brown Mark on bass, Bobby Z on drums, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman and Doctor Fink on keyboard, backing guitar, and backing vocals. If you blinked in the mid-'80s, you missed it, because this incarnation of the Revolution broke up by 1986, with Prince firing everybody but Doctor Fink.
This stands as one of the finest examples of the "Minneapolis sound," blending in finger-cymbals, a string section, and a harmonica as a strategy to create a well-rounded groove. This style is sometimes called "The Prince Sound," but there were a lot of other folks making it as well, many of them working with Prince at some point.
At the time this was released, Prince was under fire from Tipper Gore during the notorious PMRC witch hunt, which placed two of his songs on the list of the "filthy 15" - "Darling Nikki" was the original song that got Tipper's goat. So this is one of the songs where Prince started making his lyrics more family friendly. Nevertheless, you can't miss "Old Man Johnson" as a reference to his you-know-what. Normally we'd stay clear of looking for euphemisms in lyrics, but come on, this is Prince we're talking about.
The video is an odd mashup of performance footage and animation. Simon Fields, who was one of the top music video producers at the time, said in the book I Want My MTV: "We filmed a whole video, then Prince got a Japanese animator to do a completely different video and we mashed the two up. He would mess with directors. He would give them the impression that they'd be in charge of the video, then halfway through he'd go 'Thank you,' take what he liked, and edit it himself."
Prince is notorious for planting hidden messages in his songs, like the backmasking sequence in "Darling Nikki," so fans were confounded when the video included a coughing jag before Prince started singing. What could it possibly mean? The answer is simple: "I just did it to be sick, to do something no one else would do," he told Rolling Stone in 1985.  From: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/prince/raspberry-beret

 

Messa - Fire on the Roof

The Italian doom metal alchemists in Messa are pleased to unveil their new video for “Fire On The Roof.” The track comes off the band‘s outstanding new album, The Spin, released on April 11th through Metal Blade Records.
Messa’s majestic, critically-lauded fourth full-length opus, The Spin takes its listeners on a breathtaking journey across the wide-open skies of their creative imagination and over a compelling landscape of moods, twists, and styles. Based in the band’s eclectic, self-defined “scarlet doom” sound, The Spin rises, falls, broods, bites, comforts, and destroys, all the while resounding with both instinctive magic and obsessive, concerted hard work. After lighting up the underground with a triptych of increasingly distinctive and wondrous records – 2016’s Belfry, 2018’s Feast For Water, and 2022’s Close – with The Spin, Messa is audibly equipped for the proverbial big leagues.
Metal Injection accurately crowns Messa “purveyors of the catchiest doom.” Of The Spin, Decibel Magazine champions “… a sweeping statement that draws equally from doom and goth rock, with hefty doses of classic heavy metal and jazz thrown in.” Deaf Forever concurs lauding “their strongest album to date,” that, “definitively establishes Messa as one of the most exciting and creative bands of the modern era.” Adds Metal Hammer Germany, “Anyone who appreciates the free-spirited combination of an exceptional voice with plenty of quiet moments and some blaring riffs will find Messa to be the perfect band.”
Comments the band on their “Fire On The Roof” single, “Some have experienced forbidden and impossible love. The curse, the fear, the flames that guide you to hell. Magnetism between two humans is hard to ignore – but what gets in the way with those interactions? This song‘s a testament to trusting your own guts and vulnerability.”  From: https://mcgigmusic.com/messa-are-pleased-to-unveil-their-new-video-for-fire-on-the-roof/

Moon Letters - Those Dark Eyes

The genre you propose is a Progressive Rock with different contaminations and 70s reminiscences, where does your passion for these sounds come from?

Dave: We are definitely big fans of music from “classic rock” period in the 60s and 70s but our influences are actually pretty diverse. It seems like the “prog” term gets added to any band that plays longer songs with multiple time signatures but we aren’t trying to do that stuff to sound like anyone in particular, its just what happens when we write.

The band members come from different backgrounds and groups. How was this project born?

Dave: I had been playing in metal bands for a few years but was read to return to a more rock oriented project. I put an ad in classified looking for a drummer and got a reply from Michael Trew. Once I heard his vocals I knew immediately that he was special and we began cooking up the beginnings of what would become Moon Letters. Michael brought in Mike Murphy and John Allday. I knew that we needed a really special “x-factor” drummer and I asked Kelly Mynes, an old friend who I’d always wanted to start a band with, if he was free. It turned out the the timing was right and he was into the project. Everyone really brought their own unique voice and the band was born.

Your album “Thank You From the Future” was released on August 08, 2022. How would you describe this work?

Dave: Thank You From the Future is our 2nd album. We released “Until They Feel the Sun” in 2019. I think the new album represents big steps forward in terms of song writing and production. We had time throughout the pandemic to demo the songs, sometimes multiple times, and keep tweaking them and adding layers. That seems to have paid off as we are super proud of the album. The new album is much more of a headphone listen, with lots of fun little overdubs and some really bizarre and weird stuff deep in the mix. There are a couple things I keep hoping a reviewer will mention but no one has yet so we’ll see!

Long-lasting tracks and sophisticated musical textures in addition to the lyrics, what are the themes of the album?

Michael: We were going for a few new sounds on this record. Robert Cheek, our producer, really captured Kelly’s powerhouse drumming, and Mike’s very articulate bass work. Lyrically, one listener said this album seems a bit more stream of consciousness than linear storytelling.

Your music is full of tempo changes and elaborate textures. How does the compositional process take place?

Dave: For the new album most of the songs started as demos that one individual member wrote. During the peak of the pandemic we had to send tracks back and forth via email but once we were able to get together in a room, then we were able to really workshop things. While the initial demos were complete songs, the final versions often sound pretty different because of all the bits that each member brings to the table. Sometimes additional riffs or sections were even added to the song. So while each song usually started with one band member, its safe to say that we all contribute and that each member is an important part of the songwriting process. If one person were missing it would sound quite different.

In addition to the music, the lyrics are also refined. What themes do they deal with?

Michael: I suppose the present, and future of humans. Things like climate change events and the pandemic have brought many thoughts of “how will we carry on/ where are we going?”. So various stories of end of the world/into the new world, be it space travel or inner evolution.

From: https://progrockjournal.com/interview-exclusive-interview-with-moon-letters/

Tristen - Paste Studios, New York, NY 2017

After more than a decade of delivering delicately blended folk, pop, and rock, Tristen returns with her fourth full-length, Aquatic Flowers. Released on June 4 via Mama Bird Recording Co., each of the 11 tracks beholds a distinctive strength that coalesces into a congruent reflection of her personal and professional milestones. Following her breakthrough 2017 record, Sneaker Waves, she began work on the new album when she was pregnant with her son, Julian, who was born in January of 2019.
“I guess it has been a while since my last one, but it doesn’t feel like it,” Tristen tells American Songwriter over the phone. Sitting on a bench at the Nashville Zoo, a brief hiatus from her day trip with her husband and two-year-old son, Julien, she adds “But I always take about two or three years to make a record.”
Partly due to label timing, the process is also extended by her own creative approach. She explains, “After I put out a record, I like to do something else for a year.” In the past, that’s been to play with Jenny Lewis’s band or just take time to breathe and think about what I want to write about. Making music at this point, for me, I want to make sure I’m making things that are worthy of taking up space.”
While filling in her new role of mother, what seemed deserving of her time—and listeners’ attention—transformed. Somewhere within the political and social upheaval amidst a global pandemic and the chaos of rearing a toddler, Aquatic Flowers bloomed in her mind.
“One thing that happens when you become a parent is you no longer have time to lament over the way you feel,” the artist explains. “Your number one priority is somebody else. Not having time to get stuck in your head with the things that don’t matter allows for so much growth.”
With nearly 16 road-worn years under her belt, the only thing she can attribute to her sonic evolution and prolific songwriting status is time. Though Julian is undoubtedly the muse here, Tristen suggests motherhood is not the only path to self-actualization.
“Whether you have children or not, getting older, you start to have more awareness of your own existence. And then, if you can get it straight in your head, you find gratitude,” she shares. “And I think that I just have more of an appreciation for things like how amazing some of my friends are that are creating and appreciating things my privilege and surviving Covid-19. You just kind of get a little bit more focused on taking care of everybody else, and less so on defining who you are.”
In losing herself, unshackled from ego, she surrendered to those moments that re-shaped her mind. This severance allowed ideas to enter and expand without overthinking. Writing and self-producing with her husband and musical collaborator Buddy Hughen in their home studio dubbed “Tight Squeeze,” Tristen played a part in each branch of creating this album. Yet, there was a fluidity to it all that prevented her from destructive rumination over details.
The artist isn’t even sure where the title Aquatic Flowers came from, but it has been stuck in her head for years. Around the same time she began work on the record, she selected a Megan Kimber painting for her cover art. 
“I just couldn’t get away from that image of the girl in the bathtub,” she says. There’s just so much emotion.” While writing demos, she maintained the emotive portrait in her mind. “I just kept that image and I kept that name, and I threw songs on it as I was writing them to get a working record. By the time it was finished, it really didn’t need to be changed.”
“One thing I’ve always done is felt confident in what I was doing, whether it measured up or not,” she admits. “These songs are just like all the songs that I’ve written, a reflection of what ideas I think are important. But it’s not just about me. It’s got to be something that other people can relate to. In my opinion, I like to write songs that make people think, ‘did she write this about me?’”  From: https://americansongwriter.com/tristen-learns-to-surrender-perfects-her-popcraft-on-new-lp-aquatic-flowers/