Permanent Clear Light - This Quiet Smiling Man

What’s the concept behind Permanent Clear Light and when did you form this group?

Matti Laitinen: The basic idea is to make our own music the way we want to make it without anybody saying what we should do. We’re all fans of the 60s psychedelia so that is the obvious influence as well as early 70s Finnish prog rock. On the other hand, all of us have always been open to all kinds of good music from pop to jazz. We started working together in 2008, though we had known each other for a long time and even been in some bands together.

Would you like to talk a bit about your background?

I’ve been in a couple of rock bands before. Markku has played in a folk rock jazz band and Arto has played everything from rockabilly to jazz. In our civil lives I’ve worked as a teacher, Markku works at a university and Arto in informatics.

What’s the concept behind Permanent Clear Light? How would you describe your sound?

Our sound is based a lot on keyboards like the mellotron, synths etc. On the other hand, there are a lot of guitars there, too, but not in the form of long solos. We like to create sceneries, pictures, fragments of a movie. The long instrumental sequences are an essential part of our music. The songs usually have lots of layers with everything carefully planned to make an entity. We like to think that we sound like nobody else.

How do you usually approach music making? How important is improvisation for you?

We usually work independently first. Meaning that everyone develops his ideas on his own, we send our ideas to the others, they add something or suggest changes. After that we get together, typically for a week at some isolated place, jam, put everything together and record. After this all the material goes to Arto, who mixes it and adds some stuff and sends it back to us. This finally develops into the final product. We try to avoid doing for example the vocals over again and again. If there are mistakes or irritating details, so be it.

Can you share some further details how your latest album ‘Cosmic Comics’ was recorded?

Most of it was recorded at Markku’s “forest studio”. Basically a log cabin by a lake in the middle of nowhere. Some tracks we made at my summer house. ‘Cosmic Comics’ was actually ready for a long time. When we finally got in contact with Dave at Sulatron records, he suggested some minor changes and we made them and then the album was out really quickly. Some of the material has actually been released by Fruits de Mer records as singles, split singles etc. By the way, a big thanks goes to Eroc for the excellent mastering.

Where did you record it? What kind of equipment did you use and who was the producer? How many hours did you spend in the studio?

As mentioned above, most of it was recorded in the two country studios. Everything is produced by our multi-instrumentalist Arto, who happens to be very good with the recording as well. Nowadays everything is recorded on a computer. It makes the process a lot easier than dealing with tapes. For the equipment we use a normal drum set, different kinds of keyboards and suitable guitars and amps from our, or mostly Markku’s, immense guitar collection. For a band with such a keyboardish sound, we have lots of guitars available. Probably more than any other band around. When we are recording, we work from dawn to dusk for several days in a row. We have found this way of working very productive. New ideas keep popping out all the time during these sessions. The sessions also involve a lot of discussing all kinds of things, drinking, going to sauna, swimming in the lake etc.

Were you inspired by psychoactive substances like LSD at the time of writing the album?

If we used them? No. But obviously they have influenced this kind of music a lot. Markku has been propagating the use of some substances for medical purposes, but I personally am not interested in taking any kinds of drugs.

From: https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2020/11/permanent-clear-light-interview.html

Sandy Denny - Late November / John The Gun / The North Star Grassman And The Ravens

In September 1971, Sandy Denny — on the heels of an incendiary contribution to “Battle of Evermore” from Led Zeppelin‘s upcoming fourth album — released her first solo record, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens.  It carried with it the strength and grace of her previous efforts, and featured many of the musicians with whom she had built her reputation, namely Richard Thompson from Fairport Convention and the entirety of Fotheringay.  It was a confident beginning to a too-brief solo career, and in its quiet power illustrates why Denny’s influence on the British folk and rock scenes was so profound.  Like other inhabitants of her world — thinking Thompson, Nick Drake, Lal Waterson — she was writing ahead of the curve, making deeper and contemporary connections to the wellspring of traditional folk while avoiding the easier middle earth sword epics so much of the rock world was obsessed with at the time (“Battle of Evermore” being a successful example of this).
A sailor’s life, a lament, an existential sea chanty, “The North Star Grassman and the Ravens” has everything describing Denny’s talent:  lyrical finesse, melodic beauty, the alchemical relationship of words to tune.  And of course, that voice, the kind of voice that could sing the traditional “Tam Lin” with menace and authority on Fairport’s Liege and Lief (1969), and turn on a dime to deliver something as hauntingly beautiful as “The Sea,” a song of her own devise, from Fotheringay (1970).  From: https://progarchy.com/2018/01/07/soundstreamsunday-93-the-north-star-grassman-and-the-ravens-by-sandy-denny/

Pseudo Mind Hive - Coming Down

Melbourne psych mainstays Pseudo Mind Hive just released their most inventive and surprising release yet, the aptly titled EP ‘Eclectica’.
Taking influence from diverse sources such as The Allman Brothers, King Crimson, The Stone Roses and Ty Segall, ‘Eclectica’ takes many stylistic twists and turns in its compact run time; all the while maintaining the band’s signature fuzzy sound.
Consisting of five diverse tracks, ‘Eclectica’ is the Melbourne group’s most wide ranging release to date, featuring flavours of jazz, progressive rock, Madchester and of course psychedelia.
Side A leaves no stylistic stone unturned, taking the listener on an unpredictable journey from the chaotic rhythms and masterful dual guitar harmonies of ‘Hot Tooth,’ to the Manchester-esque melancholy of the funky, bass-driven ‘Moon Boots’ and finally to the hand clappin’ retro boogie of ‘You Can Run.’
Side B sees the band return to the prog-tinged psych they are better known for, whilst still exploring new ground. From the candid lyrics of ‘This Old Tree,’ to the push and pull of closing track ‘Coming Down,’ which bounces joyfully between pillowy, spaced out verses and cacophonous, trance-inducing riffs.
‘Eclectica’ is Pseudo Mind Hive’s fourth studio release, preceded by ‘From Elsewhere’ (2018), ‘Of Seers and Sirens’ (2019), and ‘Volume III’ (2020).  From: https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2022/11/eclectica-by-pseudo-mind-hive-ep-premiere.html

Orna - Breakthrough

Weaving intricate rhythms and harmonies together to create a unique sound, Denver, Colorado based quartet Orna surely knew how to pique my interest with “In This Final Hour”, their debut release. I must admit, after the second single ‘Erase’ I was a bit concerned this affair would end up being too Tool-ish overall, but luckily that fear has proven to be unfounded upon further inspection of the album. Vocalist Jessica Worland’s dark and full timbre especially makes it a thoroughly unique listen. A little bit more clearness in the distorted rhythm guitar production-wise would elevate the overall sound in future releases, so there’s still room improvement for sure. Meanwhile this first scent-mark is certainly a very pleasant one already.  From: https://theprogspace.com/album_releases/week-10-2024/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3bUhpmjDLqM1EOsp5c6mtMjukayfRPoEA9gzN5lQBPW8HmtEitAnxE520_aem_ASbNUHZnM3sz14_KIv4ESUHzgRDQdomigLvQe7MxJ0WEXcbaO7FK8t4mUkKwi15-hy1-uu8ukBTev80JNLKyvbqW 

Spooky Tooth - Love Really Changed Me / Sunshine Help Me / Forget It, I Got It

With roots originating all the way back to 1963, the four members that would form Spooky Tooth played together in the British blues mod band The V.I.P.'s in Carlisle, England which most notably is the early act that also launched a fledgling Keith Emerson before he went on to form The Nice and later ELP. The four members of Luther Grosvenor (lead guitar), Mike Harrison (harpsichord, vocals), Greg Ridley (bass) and Mike Kellie (drums) released several EPs and singles as The V.I.P.'s but never really decorated the charts with hits and when the mod and beat scenes started to morph into the world of psychedelic rock, the four members wisely shifted gears and released a flower power freak out album as the band Art in 1967 but after one album the band moved on again and became Spooky Tooth the same year.
After recruiting a fifth member in the form of American keyboardist Gary Wright, the band set out on the English club scene and after quickly capturing the attention of Island records commenced to record Spooky Tooth's debut album It's All About which arrived in May of 1968. Taking a cue from fellow Brits, Traffic, Spooky Tooth crafted a psychedelia-tinged slab of catchy pop rockers with Baroque piano influences, bluesy guitar riffing and a major leap up from the amateurish sounds of Art. The most notable improvement was the psychedelic soul smoothness of lead singer Mike Harrison who found his match in his harmonic double newbie Gary Wright. The two would alternate vocals and eventual Wright would wrest control.
A veritable treasure trove of catchy psychedelic pop records It's All About featured seven original compositions and three covers including the Janis Ian track "Society's Child," Bob Dylan's "Too Much of Nothing" and the classic J.D. Loudermilk song "Tobacco Road." The album was graced with the production techniques of Jimmy Miller who worked with The Spencer Davis group and would become the legendary force behind The Rolling Stones, Motorhead and Blind Faith. Sounding virtually nothing like the band Art which featured four of the members in Spooky Tooth, the songwriting skills of Gary Wright became a prominent aspect of the band's ability to distinguish itself from many of the other British blues based psych bands of the era however the Traffic similarities from the 1967 "Mr. Fantasy" album are undeniable.  From: https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=27640

 

Big Richard - Caleb Meyer (Live)

When was it obvious that Big Richard would be more than a one-festival project?

Joy Adams: It wasn’t really in the first rehearsal. It was in the reception to the show that we played. Obviously, bluegrass is a jam-based genre; it’s common to sit down with your friends and play tunes. But we felt a crazy chemistry in the way we sang and played together that was apparent from the very first song we played at Bonnie’s house. When we played McAwesome Fest, for starters, our set got rained out, so we didn’t get to play the whole set. We were upset about that. We were looking for another gig just so we could get to the other songs. And we also had a bad reaction to us, too. There were people who were very upset about our name and how crass we were onstage and we got some initial hate mail after that first show. That was the moment – in my head, anyway – where we were like, “Oh, we have something here. If we can ruffle some feathers with this band, we’ve got to do this. This is an important thing.”

When and how did you build the band?

Bonnie Sims: We played that first gig in May 2021, our second gig in September 2021, and we hit the ground running in the beginning of 2022. We booked [Colorado festivals] RockyGrass and WinterWonderGrass right out of the gate, and that gave us a lot of fuel in our tank to want to invest in the creative side, start writing together, start rehearsing more, and really invest in the music, because we had these exciting opportunities to be a part of. Not long after we booked those things ourselves, we signed with Crossover Touring. Our buddy Chandler Holt has been our booking agent from the beginning and has been a huge part of helping us get to lots of festivals and play fun rooms.

Eve Panning: That first year or so was an unexpected influx of gigs. We did a ton of touring and I feel like we were kind of playing catch-up. It’s been really fun in this last year. We’ve all settled into the band a little bit more, and it’s been fun to hear the songs that everybody’s bringing and spend a lot of time working on those. You can hear that in the new album. Live From Telluride had some originals, but we were doing a lot of covers because we were so new as a band. This new album is all originals, and it’s been fun to explore that side of things as well.

How have the sound and dynamic changed since Hazel joined you?

JA: The band has changed so much. Hazel is wonderful. Her attitude is fantastic. She’s an incredible musician who has brought the level of the band up a lot. The arrangements have gotten better, the groove is tighter, and the overall balance of band vibes is wonderful. It’s everything all of us could ever have dreamed of, and I blame Hazel for that entirely. She’s such a lovely person to be around, she writes incredible songs that are deep and moving and exciting, and we’re so lucky to have her in the band. She really saved us.

BS: I agree. Hazel brings such a strong singing voice. It’s really fun to lean into the power she brings vocally, intertwine with that power, and lose ourselves in it. And her original songs are incredible. It’s a natural elevation of maturing as a group and playing together. This is year three going on to year four for the band. It’s a lot different. The pace has been incredible as far as how much time we’re spending making music together. It’s very much like a pressure cooker. It has an effect on the music itself, so the sound has evolved immensely and continues to evolve in an exciting way.

Hazel Royer: Thank you, everybody. That’s so nice. When I joined the band, everyone was, “We want to work. We want to try new things and learn new songs.” We spent two months rehearsing before we played our first gig with me on bass. We looked at the music and we became a band before playing the shows. There was an emphasis on learning new material, and there was a really good excuse to do that because there was a new member and no gigs for a couple months, so we had the space to learn new things. I’m really grateful that I got to be a part of that.

EP: When you only have four people onstage and it’s all acoustic instruments, when 25 percent of the band changes, that’s really significant. That means the sound is definitely going to change. But, like everyone said, Hazel has such a powerful voice, she’s such an accomplished musician, so it’s felt great. It’s felt like a wonderful step up.

HR: I was super-lucky because everyone in this band wanted me to exist as myself. That was the primary thing: “We want you to sing. We want you to write your own songs and bring them to the band.” That’s rare for a new person – joining a band and being like, “We want what you do as embedded immediately.” Additionally, we have a lot of crossover, musically, that we all can draw from. I grew up playing bluegrass and old-time music, and these guys are steeped in that. I also like pop music, and everybody likes that, and I had classical studies, and there’s two people who are very accomplished classical musicians, so there was a lot of crossover that made the integration of myself into the band easier than it could have been.

From: https://thebluegrasssituation.com/read/big-richard-big-feelings-their-new-album-is-a-delicious-girl-dinner/ 

Citrus Citrus - Eternal Draw

Citrus Citrus formed in Padova in 2020 when guitarists Lorenzo Badin and Luca Zantomio began jamming together. Drummer Marco Buffetti and bassist Enrico Maragno soon joined, shaping the early quartet into an instrumental project driven by improvised sessions and psychedelic explorations. The band reached its final form when singer and producer Thomas Powell stepped in, widening both its palette and ambitions.
The five musicians cite an impressively broad set of influences—from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard to 1970s Japanese jazz-rock, Krautrock, punk energy, and even strains of folk. More than anything, they describe themselves as a “collective listening circle,” a creative space where each member brings in sounds from a different world and the others respond. “That’s how this record was built,” they say. “By listening together.” True to this ethos, the album’s tracks were shaped through extended jam sessions, slowly evolving into fully formed compositions.
In The Belly of the Eternal Draw ingests all these influences and lets them ferment into something unmistakably Citrus Citrus. Each track opens a distinct little world; yet the record maintains a cohesive identity, flowing like one long inhale and exhale. Psychedelia, groove, drone, playful absurdity, and bursts of genuine heaviness all coexist in its swirling core.  From: https://hiddentrack.ie/reviews/albums/new-releases/in-the-belly-of-the-eternal-draw-by-citrus-citrus/

 

Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - Ain't No Mountain High Enough

I’m not sure what real love is, but Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson had a pretty good go at describing it in “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”.
Husband and wife team Ashford and Simpson were one of the best songwriting teams of the latter half of the 20th century, with hits like “You’re All I Need To Get By” and “Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand)”. But they’re hardly household names nowadays, which is a great shame.
Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson both started out as performers themselves and had hits of their own too, probably most famously “Solid” in the early 1980s. (If you were around at the time you might remember the “Solid as a rock” refrain from that song more than the title itself.) But they really hit pay-dirt when they wrote “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”.
Perhaps because they were both vocalists themselves, Ashford and Simpson had a nice line in duets. Their style definitely suited Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, who recorded the original version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”.
The wonderful thing about their recording is that, even though all the parts were recorded separately, the final result doesn’t sound like it was done that way at all.
Tammi Terrell recorded her section first, then Marvin Gaye wrapped his vocal around hers to make it sound like both vocals had been recorded together live. If you’re thinking “how hard can that be?” the answer is “just about as hard as anything you can possibly imagine”.
Singing the words in time to some notes on a page isn’t especially difficult for a professional singer, admittedly. That’s what they do every day.
But doing it in such a way as to weave their vocal seamlessly around a pre-recorded vocal from another artist and make it such an intimate experience that listeners would think Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell had recorded “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” together in the studio while gazing lovingly into one another’s eyes…well that’s about as hard as it gets in the world of music.  From: https://nowordsnosong.medium.com/aint-no-mountain-high-enough-marvyn-gaye-and-tammi-terrell-diana-ross-23c9fa471ded

 

Brewer & Shipley - One Toke Over The Line / Song From Platte River / The Light

An early example of rootsy Americana that seems to be overlooked these days, Brewer & Shipley offered a nice blend of country, rock, and folk, with some lovely harmonies and acoustic guitar work, that holds up well alongside better-known albums like the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo and the Dead's Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. (Indeed, Jerry Garcia lends his pedal steel to one track here, and long-time members of the Jerry Garcia Band appear as well.)
Tarkio (originally called Tarkio Road, but for some reason later shortened) is the duo's third album, and probably the most visible given the presence of opening track "One Toke Over The Line." It's a wonderfully durable country-rock song, granted immortality by its appearance in Hunter S. Thompson's Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas ("One toke? You poor fool! Wait till you see those goddamn bats..."). "Toke" is the obvious stand-out, but the whole album presents a nice, laid-back 70s stoner vibe. A few, like "Song From Platte River" (or the gospel-tinged "The Light") are a little too straight country for my taste, but the gorgeous harmonies elevate tunes like "Ruby On The Morning" and "Can't Go Home" and "Seems Like A Long Time." And they do a nice job of capturing the post-psychedelic West Coast vibe of the Dead (and particularly Moby Grape) on the upbeat rockers "Fifty States of Freedom" and "Tarkio Road" and the twangy, Steve Miller Band-esque groove of "Don't Want To Die In Georgia."  From: https://www.jitterywhiteguymusic.com/2020/06/brewer-shipley-tarkio-1970.html 

Shadow Show - Aunt Maizy

Three years ago, Shadow Show released their debut album, Silhouettes, in the US (Burger Records) and UK (Stolen Body Records). Since then, they have dedicated themselves to writing, arranging, and producing their epic masterpiece, Fantasy Now!, while occasionally taking breaks for full length US, UK, and EU tours, as well as obtaining support dates with bands like Automatic, Death Valley Girls, The Nude Party, and the 5.6.7.8’s, to name a few. Fantasy Now! is a huge step forward from their debut LP, reaching a more ambitious Sgt. Peppery psychedelic vision that includes swirling pop melodies, fuzz guitar hooks, flutes, tympani, backwards surprise twists, and a magical medieval acapella interlude.  From: https://femmusic.com/2024/02/25/shadow-show-fantasy-now/ 

Coil - Are You Shivering / Backwards / I Don't Want To Be The One / Penetralia / Ether

 Coil - Are You Shivering

 

 Coil - Backwards

 

 Coil - I Don't Want To Be The One

 

 Coil - Penetralia

 

 Coil - Ether

 

When the teenage writer and aspiring experimental musician Geoffrey Rushton attended a gig by one of his favorite bands, Throbbing Gristle, in 1980 and had a chance to meet that group’s Peter Christopherson, it would have been a bold soul to have claimed what was going to result over the next quarter century, even beyond their own almost as long-standing personal partnership. But as the twin axes of the freeflowing musical, artistic and performance entity Coil, Rushton, most commonly but not exclusively known by the name John Balance, often in later years Jhon or Jhonn Balance, and Christopherson proceeded to create a massive subcultural impact. Relying on their interest in a wide range of instrumentation and electronic experimentation, they oversaw a vast slew of releases, from singles through to multiple album sets to unique one-offs including perfumes and book releases, not to mention a variety of notable videos and short film efforts as well. David Keenan’s book England’s Hidden Reverse, about Coil and their sonic and aesthetic compatriots Nurse With Wound and Current 93, as well as Nick Soulsby’s interview collection Everything Keeps Dissolving: Conversations With Coil are a few key resources to help further understand this remarkable double act.
With Balance, especially given his role as lyricist and vocalist, the more public and forthright of the two on various fronts while Christopherson maintained a certain wry reserve, his own widely successful work as a designer, cover artist and video and commercial director helping provide the group a fierce independence, Coil’s music itself was described in many different ways, from psychedelia to industrial to rave to ambient to simply experimental or even folk music. But the truth of their range and goals, informed further via overt resistance to mainstream heteronormative standards of love and sex as well as homophobia in general, connecting further to Balance’s deep interest in occult and esoteric practices, renders the group even more impossible to pin down, pursuing their own evolving vision as they chose. They did not do so on their own: numerous further musicians were key performers and collaborators over the years, most notably (but far from solely) Stephen Thrower in the 1980s and early 1990s, Drew McDowall through the 1990s and Thighpaulsandra in the late 1990s and 2000s, while engineer/producer Danny Hyde was a central participant in many sessions and releases in turn throughout their existence.
Both Balance and Christopherson brought their own creative experiences to the collaboration; while the latter’s Throbbing Gristle work was increasingly well known by that point, Balance similarly had been creating recordings on his own and in collaboration with others via acts like Stabmental and Cultural Amnesia. Similarly their joint first efforts emerged in wider contexts, as both were initial participants in Psychic TV as well as the group Zos Kia, which also included what for years were their only live performances in 1983. Following their formally recorded debut with the How To Destroy Angels EP, the duo soon signed with the Some Bizzare label for their initial two albums, Scatology and Horse Rotorvator, the latter of which became a massively influential album in industrial music circles in particular, as did their harrowing reworking of “Tainted Love,” providing a flipside to Soft Cell’s synth-pop landmark in the wake of the continuing slaughter caused by AIDS and associated health care and governmental neglect. For the rest of the 1980s they regularly appeared on a wide variety of compilations and also began associations with filmmakers with both planned and released soundtracks for directors, most particularly Derek Jarman, as more singles and collaborations emerged, Balance’s regular appearances for years on work by Current 93 being especially notable.
Having left Some Bizzare in 1987 to form what would be their own home label, Threshold House, Coil achieved a remarkable artistic next-level with 1991’s Love’s Secret Domain, incorporating the explosion in dance music interest in the UK with associated elements of hallucinogenic experimentation and their own multivaried inspirations. Both it and associated singles also were something of an American breakthrough thanks to its release on the famed Wax Trax label, while Trent Reznor, starting to come to wider attention with the success of Nine Inch Nails, commissioned some of the first remixes they did in 1992, leading to further remixing work for other artists that would continue until the group’s end, from Depeche Mode to Bill Laswell. Reznor also signed the band to his bespoke label Nothing for what would have been a planned album called Backwards; while demos and sessions were completed, however, nothing was formally finalized for release at the time. As an alternate creative outlet, the group released a variety of singles and albums under differing names such as ELpH, Black Light District and Time Machines, over time stepping further away from their dance-leaning early 1990s towards a more free-flowing drone and instrumental approach. 
Building on this work, Coil’s next major phase encompassed two remarkable developments. The first was a full return to releasing work under the Coil name directly, including a seasonal EP series later collected as Moon’s Milk (In Four Phases) and another overall artistic triumph in particular, 1999’s Musick To Play In The Dark Vol. 1. These efforts were in part driven by their relocation from London to the UK countryside and its attendant slower and calmer atmosphere, as well as fully leaning into a turn from what they considered the masculine ‘black sun’ energy of their earliest days in favor of what they described as a more feminine ‘moon musick’ feeling. The resultant releases reflected their deepening interest in lengthier, often rhythmless constructions; at the same time, they also showcased some of their most enjoyable shorter compositions in turn, Balance’s voice now generally calmer and appearing less often than in earlier years. Late 1999 brought the other major change: Coil’s return to live performance, with a small collective of further guest musicians working with the band on a series of irregular shows around the world over the following years that aimed at being as visually surprising and memorable as their audio work. All of this led in turn to live albums emerging in time alongside continuing studio efforts such as The Remote Viewer and the more formal song efforts on Black Antlers. Christopherson also began participating in in a Throbbing Gristle reunion as Balance continued his many guest appearances with others; while their romantic partnership had ended by this point, they were on a true creative roll in the best of senses.
But what could have yet been a path to even more remarkable work by the two reached an awful conclusion. Over the years Balance had been increasingly open in public about alcohol abuse and its impact on him, with the multi-artist compilation Foxtrot in 1998 created as a fundraiser to assist him, containing a heartfelt, moving short essay from him on his struggle. In November 2004, following a bout of binge drinking, Balance fell from a balcony in his shared home with Christopherson, dying later that evening, only 42 years old. In the wake of the disaster, Christopherson moved to Thailand the following year, completing a final full posthumous Coil release, 2005’s The Ape of Naples, and otherwise spending subsequent years exploring new solo efforts and collaborations of his own, as well as continuing work in Throbbing Gristle and related efforts while planning and releasing more Coil archival projects in turn, including a notable DVD box set containing a number of their famed live performances, Colour Sound Oblivion. But sadly and no less tragically, Christopherson suddenly passed in his sleep in November 2010 at the age of 55, bringing the story of Coil’s key participants to a far-too-soon end. 
Encompassing Coil’s full legacy requires much more discussion than can be provided by this guide – beyond their many studio efforts and live albums, during their existence they released three full CDs alone of various compilation and rarity appearances in their Unnatural History series, containing much crucial work. Meanwhile, their numerous 12” single and EP releases over their earliest years, themselves reissued and compiled at later points with even more rarities, adds considerably to their legacy. A welter of further reissues, releases of live concerts from their later years, presentations of yet more session work, collections of remixes for others, annotated download collections of yet more rarities and unreleased work and much more have created a truly chaotic grab bag of material that, unfortunately, has not all been given the thorough care and detailed attention it all truly deserves.  From: https://theshfl.com/guide/Coil

 

 

Genesis - In Concert UK 1976

 Genesis - In Concert UK 1976 - Part 1

 

 Genesis - In Concert UK 1976 - Part 2

 

In the splendid book Opening The Musical Box - A Genesis Chronicle (by Alan Hewitt) you can read that "this concert was shot at Glasgow and Stafford during the A Trick Of The Tail tour, it's the only visual record of the band with Bill Bruford on drums. The film was shown in the UK cinemas in 1977. You can obtain if from laser disc in Japan." Well, I have still very mixed feelings while watching this footage: on one hand it's excellent material with outstanding performances by all members but on the other hand, I missed the concert because our football team captain decided to give back our tickets, he wanted to be democratic after he only got four tickets for eights persons... I have never hated democracy so much at that moment and it still hurts!
The lightshow was obivously less extravagant than the next Wind And Wuthering show (with the 48 Boeing landing lights), at some moments even a bit dark. It's really exciting to see Steve Hackett playing Fly On A Windshield with his distinctive use of the volume pedal, so moving and creating a very compelling atmosphere. Another highlight is The Cinema Show featuring a very dynamic rhythm section and sensational synthesizer flights on the ARP Pro Solist, Banks' favorite synthesizer. It's a pity that the director decided to spoil the wonderful experience of watching Genesis in concert by using 'silent movie' images, really disturbing, especially during The Cinema Show, brrrr! During Supper's Ready I want the camera to focus on Hackett but the camera crew had other instructions, food for a conspiracy theory? Anyway, despite some irritating 'silent movie' images', it's a thrill to watch this 1976 Genesis line-up with duo-drums and some very delicate Hackett guitar play, my progrock guitar hero!  From: https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=15605 

 

Slow Pulp - Track

Slow Pulp have released a new video for “Track.” The video features hand-drawn animations by Corrinne James, which were inspired by beautiful familial love and what it feels like being a fish pulled out of the water. Massey explains of the song: “I was waiting for the train one day to go home to my parents. There was an older woman who was also waiting on the track and she reminded me of my late Grandmother who I had not thought of in a while. She passed away of alzheimers when I was in high school. My mother often worries she is going to get it as well. The song acts as a letter attempting to reassure her that she will never be forgotten even if she forgets.”
Slow Pulp first started working on new songs in the Spring of 2019, immediately after the release of their EP, Big Day, before scrapping the material following’s Massey’s Mono and Lyme diagnosis. “When we started writing this record, I had been experiencing so much fatigue and getting sick a lot and I didn’t know what it was,” she explains. “The diagnosis validated a lot of what I was feeling. I got tools for how to take care of myself better.” For Massey, taking care of herself meant more than just addressing her physical needs. “The way that I internalize trauma is I will hold it in and not process it for a very long time, but writing songs is the one place where I can’t hide from myself. It just comes out whether or not I want it to or if I’m ready for it to. Figuring out how to write together, as a band, was like me learning how to take care of myself and learning how to communicate better.”  From: https://northerntransmissions.com/slow-pulp-track/ 

Snow Ghosts - Rip

The album is called ‘A Quiet Ritual’, does the name have a meaning? 

Yes, absolutely. The album grapples with themes of death and loss and how as individuals we all have our own 'quiet rituals' and coping methods to deal with grief. When you think of ritual, you imagine large ceremonial events but we wanted to question whether it's the small personal rituals that truly reflect the human condition. 

You recorded it in a castle, what was the castle called? What made you choose to record there?

We have set up our studio in a 'castle' - it has crenelations so that is considered a castle right? We haven't been very creative with the name I'm afraid, so it's just called 'The Castle' at the moment. It does have two sides to it, which we call 'The North Wing' and 'The South Wing' and it is filled with enough taxidermy and strange, medieval-looking furniture to qualify in our opinion. It was important to us to find a writing and recording space that worked with and helped inspire the themes of the album. The Castle is surrounded by stunning historical woodland has a decaying Victorian charm. You have the sense that much of it hasn't changed for hundreds of years and that in itself is an inspiration - particularly for Hannah lyrically. 

Any behind the scenes stories while recording? 

John Kenny came to visit The Castle with his wonderful boar-headed Carnyx as well as a selection of other fascinating horns. During one of the first Carnyx demonstrations, Indy (Ross's dog) was so convinced that the instrument was some sort of animal that he kept growling at its head incessantly . We actually have some of this on video. He was terrified and rightly so!

The album centers on the theme of death, can you explain that further? 

Death is a theme often explored, and  in many different art forms, but we wanted to delve in to how we process such a mysterious commonality, both on a group level and a personal one. The aim was to analyse the rituals surrounding death throughout history and how, in many ways, we have lost the ability to cope as well as we have in generations gone by. Is this  because of modern isolation or the break down of community, religion and rite or is it due to our a tendency to trust our own personal coping-mechanisms rather than grieving as a group? Saying that, death as a topic is timeless. We all have to deal with the death of loved ones and one day we have to face our own. It is something we all share , yet somehow it is still a taboo subject that we are often too scared - at least in the western world - to socially explore. 

There is quite the mix of instruments on this album, such as a boar-headed horn, how did you get hold of these? And what made you decide to use them? 

When we first started writing the album we watched a documentary that featured John Kenny's Carnyx and we were instantly fascinated. It beautifully wove together the album's themes of ritual and history and as an instrument its tone is simply timeless. It can sound aggressive and battle-ready, and yet equally tender and sympathetic. We thought it perfectly reflected the fluctuating stages of grief. We got in touch with John Kenny and he brought his wonderful insight and talent to the album. 

What musical inspirations did you draw on when writing the album? 

Other than collaborating with Toby Young composer and John Kenny on this album, who were both hugely inspiring, the majority of our influences have been non-musical. Being in an historically unchanged environment, surrounded by beautiful woodland and countryside has allowed us to really immerse ourselves in to the timeless aspects of the album concept. That space, environment and time to observe the losses we all share - and have done throughout time immemorial - was by far the most inspiring aspect of this album.

From: https://whenthehornblows.com/content/2019/5/9/band-of-the-week-0079-snow-ghosts 

Pink Floyd - Summer '68

“Summer ’68” is a distinctive track from Pink Floyd’s album “Atom Heart Mother,” released in 1970. Written and sung by the band’s keyboardist, Richard Wright, the song is notable for its bright piano work, lush horn arrangements, and reflective lyrics on the transitory nature of relationships, particularly those formed on the road by touring musicians. With its catchy melody and harmonious backup vocals, it takes a more direct approach to songwriting compared to the album’s title track. The brass section adds a layer of grandeur and a touch of nostalgia, hearkening back to the summer love themes popular in the late ’60s.
Lyrically, Wright offers a candid look at the highs and lows of fame and the personal impact of brief romantic encounters. The reflective nature of the song’s text and its juxtaposition with the upbeat music underscore the bittersweet sentiment of remembering a summer gone by. “Summer ’68” is not only a musical throwback but also a deeply personal account that adds a unique touch to the “Atom Heart Mother” album, showcasing Wright’s songwriting skills within the broader context of Pink Floyd’s evolving sound.  From: https://www.neptunepinkfloyd.co.uk/summer-68-lyrics-pink-floyd-atom-heart-mother/ 

Smoke Fairies - Frozen Heart

Hi Smoke Fairies! Welcome to Get In Her Ears! Hope you’re well. The two of you have known each other since childhood, which is quite impressive! Are you able to tell us a bit about how you initially met and what inspired you to start creating music together?

We met at school when we were twelve and started singing together when we were thirteen. We were interested in harmonies and recognised there was something interesting about the blend of our voices, but it took years to hone the sound into something properly intertwined. It feels like we are still honing it now. When we were kids we just loved playing together and being the centre of attention at school whenever possible; we were probably quite annoying, getting our guitars out at every opportunity. We dreamed of being on tour mostly, imagining it to be an experience where you drive around in a ’70s bus looking at sunsets and rocking up in small towns to wow crowds of people in leather jackets. Realistically, you are in a transit van surrounded by crisp packets driving on various ring roads and getting angry at the sat nav. It’s still great though and I hope our younger selves would be pleased!

I really love your rich folk-strewn musicality and luscious harmonious vocal layers, but who would you consider to be your main musical influences?

Thank you! I get lost in film scores and any form of dark choral music, psychedelic music and melodic moving songs. I’ve just had a new record player in my flat, so it’s nice to explore the old records again – like Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell, who were more formative influences. But nowadays, I feel like one of those boring people that says they “like all kinds of things”… For example, I was running to the Pina Colada song this week and had a really great time.

You’re about to release your sixth album, Carried In Sound, which is very exciting! Are there any specific themes running throughout the album?

The songs explore time and how it feels to get older – looking back on your past experiences from a more confident place and then looking ahead to the future. There are so many changes we go through as we grow, and Jessica and I have known each other since we were young, so there’s also been a constant in our music and friendship. That’s why Carried in Sound felt like a good title, as music has been a tide we’ve been riding all the way through ups and downs. Also there are themes of grief; loss not only for others, but also the things about yourself that you lose on the way. There’s also a hopefulness about finding a new sense of home and love, and being in a place to receive it.

You recorded the album at home with the volume turned down – are you able to tell us a bit about this process and what it was like for you?

It felt really important to shut out the world and focus on our own sound in our own space and on our own terms. The record is about quite personal thoughts, so it felt right to use the spaces and things around us to make it. Even when the narrative is more character driven, they are characters who are quite insular. The process meant we could hone the songs over time, whereas we are normally restrained by studio time, so that was quite liberating. We’ve released quite a few albums now, so this one needed to dive back into what it means to be a duo and put the voices at the front and give the guitars a lot of space to be heard. We needed to try to do it on our own, perhaps to prove something to ourselves but also to remain pure to the vision we had.

And how would you generally say the album differs from your previous releases?

There was no other motivation other than to create something really beautiful, so there’s no songs that are for the radio or for specific audiences – it’s just entirely us. Sometimes it’s just good to lock yourselves away and work out what you really feel and want to say. This record feels like it all has the same vibe and tones, all coming from the same wellspring.

It’s being released independently, and you’ve garnered lots of support through your Patreon page in the run up to its release – what triggered the decision to do this rather than release via a label, and what’s the experience been like for you?

The patreons have been great. It’s been amazing to have such a strong connection to your audience. It’s helpful to know it means something to people, otherwise you can feel too isolated and become negative, and it’s so encouraging to know that people are happy to receive the songs and waiting for them. It’s given us more confidence to do this independently, and obviously provides funding to help support the release of the record, including touring, promotion etc.

You’ve played and sold out numerous UK and international tours over the years, but is there a particular concert you’ve played that stands out as a highlight?

It’s very hard to remember them all. I do recall playing inside a tent at Latitude festival at an evening slot and it started raining and the crowds came into the tent for shelter and it felt like we created a real atmosphere to warm them. It was in the ‘Film And Music’ tent, so there was an old black and white 1920s film of The Naughty Smoke Fairies playing behind us, and the rain was beating down on the tent canvas; it felt very magical. We always wish our music could be used on film soundtracks as we always strive for something quite filmic with our sound. I liked that night because it felt like everything came together.

And you’re setting out on an intimate tour of special venues and churches to celebrate this album release – what inspired this decision?

This album requires focus and patience, so we wanted to play it in venues that naturally encourage audiences to listen. Churches are unique spaces that give harmonies a natural resonance with built in reverb, while also taking you to a place of stillness and thought. Some songs are really are quite hymn-like, so it felt apt to play them in a space where hymns have been sung through the ages.

When out on tour, are there any particular essentials that you like to take with you to keep you going when away from home?

A pillow, to either rest my head on or scream into depending on what’s happening. Jessica once brought an egg boiler with us, it was truly horrific because she kept making eggs in the van for breakfast. That has been banned now.

As we’re an organisation keen to support new artists, we just wondered how you feel the industry is for new artists at the moment? And do you feel much has changed over the years in its treatment of female and queer artists?

So much has changed in terms of an artist’s ability to work independently, which I think is hugely positive in a world where there is such under-representation at every level for women and queer people across the music industry. Learning how to record and produce opens up a freedom to create work on your own terms, build confidence, ignore the pigeon holing and just get on with what you want to do. Under-representation can create imposter syndrome if you don’t see yourself reflected, but now people can learn skills and push their art forwards without needing to get past so many gate-keepers. A lot of change is still needed of course, and the biased structures need to be addressed to really create an equitable playing field. But I think the rise in independently produced and released music is a testament to people finding their own ways to challenge these systems. We all need to make a living somehow though and it’s tough when you always have to find your own strength and motivation, without the backing of a bigger entity. I wish there was more support available for artists making strides on their own, then we would start to see so much more interesting music being produced from many more perspectives. Releasing an album independently is a lot of work, but it’s worth the sense of independence I think.

From: https://getinherears.com/2023/11/21/interview-smoke-fairies/Smoke Fairies 

Preoccupations - Continental Shelf

Preoccupations' beautifully rough version of post-punk is equally life-affirming and well-versed in existential dread. The band's debut album, 2015's Viet Cong, mixed post-punk, psych-pop, shoegaze, noise, and electronics in fearless ways that nevertheless maintained a very human pulse. This connection to their humanity remained on all of their albums, though Preoccupations' music became subtler and more open-ended on 2016's Preoccupations, more anthemic on 2018's poised New Material, and more confrontational on 2022's Arrangements.
Vocalist/bassist Matt Flegel and guitarist Scott Munro, a pair of musicians from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, formed Preoccupations in 2012. Flegel was a member of the celebrated Calgary indie rock band Women while Munro had formerly played guitar with Lab Coast. Flegel and Munro began working on songs together during a European tour as part of Chad VanGaalen's backing band; when they heard about the death of Women guitarist Chris Reimer, they realized it was time to start a new project. They recruited former Women drummer Mike Wallace and guitarist Danny Christiansen, who had worked with Flegel and Wallace in a Black Sabbath tribute act. Originally named Viet Cong, in 2013 the band released a four-song cassette -- cleverly titled Cassette -- that they sold at their shows during a North American tour with Freak Heat Waves. Following their performance at the 2014 CMJ Music Festival, the group signed to the Canadian label Flemish Eye, who issued two songs from the cassette as a single (in the U.S., Mexican Summer released an expanded seven-song version of the tape as a 12" vinyl EP in 2014).In January 2015, the band released their self-titled debut album. Produced by Graham Walsh, Viet Cong added noise and electronics to the band's moody mix of post-punk, shoegaze, and straight-ahead indie rock.
Citing concerns that their name might be offensive to some, in April 2016 the band announced they had changed their name to Preoccupations. Their first album under that name, September 2016's Preoccupations, was a more considered effort that nevertheless highlighted the heavy and danceable sides of their music and featured a guest appearance by Wolf Parade's Dan Boeckner. A deluxe version of the album included a single with covers of Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Key" and the Raincoats' "Off Duty Trip." For their third album, March 2018's bluntly titled New Material, the band recruited producer Justin Meldal-Johnson, who helped add polish and a grander scope to their anthemic songwriting.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/preoccupations-mn0003514608#biography 

Eaves Wilder - Hurricane Girl

Eaves Wilder has announced her debut album Little Miss Sunshine will drop on April 17, 2026 via Secretly Canadian. Ahead of the album’s release, the artist shares her new single “Hurricane Girl”. The North London artist says of the song, “This is my go at cock rock. I love Pearl Jam, I love Janes Addiction, I love Stone Temple Pilots, Sound Garden, Aerosmith. I love how swaggering and soaring they sound. The first time I ever listened to Pearl Jam, I was up a mountain, and I wanted to make mountain music too. Songs with elemental scale.”
The path to Wilder’s debut album began, with a period of silence. After a run of singles and a debut EP, she stepped back from music entirely, hitting pause and questioning her creative direction so intensely she nearly walked away for good (she even, at one point, Googled nunneries). But the distance became a catalyst. While Wilder felt she had too much. “I wasn’t having a nervous breakdown; I was just a hurricane making a whirlwind. I am not stubborn, I’m a mountain. Clouds aren’t pathetic when they cry, so why am I?”
Removed from the outside world and working in isolation in her shed – where she arranges, writes and produces – she began work on her debut full-length, an escapist creation born within four walls. “I want to make worlds now,” Eaves said of returning to her musical calling.  From: https://northerntransmissions.com/hurricane-girl-by-eaves-wilder/

Cream - Doing That Scrapyard Thing

"Doing That Scrapyard Thing" is a song from British group Cream's 1969 farewell album, Goodbye. Composed by the band's bassist, Jack Bruce, with lyrics by Pete Brown, the song, alongside Eric Clapton's "Badge" and Ginger Baker's "What a Bringdown," was one of Cream's final studio recordings.
According to Pete Brown, Jack Bruce approached him to write the lyrics of the song in a telephone call: A funny thing happened with Goodbye. Dick Heckstall-Smith was living with me at the time as his marriage had just broken up. Jack [Bruce] was staying in Los Angeles and called me from there at 3 AM. He said, 'I want you to write the words to this song.' And he played me a theme over the phone, which I recorded on an terrible old Grundig tape recorder. I wrote the lyrics and then phoned him back. That song was 'Doing that Scrapyard Thing'. —Pete Brown
Eric Clapton explained that the song, along with the other studio cuts from Goodbye, were recorded due to a lack of proper live material for the album: We did those cuts after we decided to break up. That was after the last tour — the farewell tour. We were told by Atlantic [Records] that we didn't really have enough live stuff to release on the Goodbye album that was acceptable. So we had to go into the studio and cut some tracks after the tour. We all had bits of songs, so we went into the studio in L.A. and cut them — all in the space of three or four days. —Eric Clapton  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doing_That_Scrapyard_Thing 

Snake River Conspiracy - How Soon Is Now (Smiths cover)

Artsweek: People often casually refer to your music as sounding like Nine Inch Nails or Garbage. What do you think about this tendency to try to classify your music?

Tobey Torres: I don’t really care because somebody is always going to say you sound like someone else. Well, we don’t really sound exactly like anybody else. I guess it’s industrial rock pop, and we do have our pop songs. But if I’m going to write a pop song it’s going to have fucked-up lyrics. Both Jason and I like a lot of different music, and we incorporate it all with our Star Trek-like beats and moaning porn stars in the background.

You guys utilize sequencers and electronics in your songs. How do you think this increasing use of technology has affected music?

I think it’s great, in one aspect anybody can create music these days … but you still have to have all the talent and elements to make something that isn’t trite and boring. I love acoustic and straight-up rock, and it’s cool that people stay true to their roots. But music definitely has to evolve and I’m all for taking it a step further.

What do you think about the popularity of current hard rock acts like Limp Bizkit or Korn?

I like Korn; I think Jonathan [Davis] is great. Limp Bizkit sucks a big turd out of an elephant’s ass! I can’t stand their music; it’s all the same. And he causes so much trouble! You have to have some guts to go out there every night and sing in front of so many people, for him to fucking dis people for doing that is messed up.

Well, what are your favorite current bands?

Queens of the Stone Age are great. We toured with them recently and they’re all great guys. I’ve been listening to At the Drive-In a lot lately; that album rocks!

How do you feel about being a female lead singer in the hard-rock genre that is mostly male-oriented?

I don’t get intimidated by that shit because I’m always around men. I can kick it with the guys, and I’ve got a bad mouth and I’m a tomboy. So, I’m pretty comfortable with it. I try to make the music beautiful and feminine in spots so the women can relate, and so guys also see that I’m not some fake-ass bitch. But I am a woman and I am strong and I like to yell and scream in the mic.

So, how has it been playing with A Perfect Circle so far?

It’s been great; so far we’ve only done a few shows, but they’ve gone really well. We’re a little more rough edged and screamy, but we have our mellow side, just like them. I think this will be a good tour because we complement their music well.

From: https://dailynexus.com/2001-02-08/band-interview-snake-river-conspiracy/ 

 

Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Wig In A Box

The rock’n’roll drag diva played by John Cameron Mitchell in Hedwig and the Angry Inch was born 31,000 feet in the sky. In 1990, Mitchell was an aspiring playwright and erstwhile actor en route to New York from Los Angeles when he met musician Stephen Trask, the only other person not watching the in-flight movie. The two quickly bonded over their mutual tastes in film and music. It was the start of a lifelong friendship that would lead to this darkly funny rock musical—first an off-Broadway hit, then a cult film and Tony-winning Broadway production—about an “internationally ignored song stylist” with an ax to grind against her superstar ex-boyfriend.
Frustrated by his work as an actor, Mitchell was eager to kick off his playwriting career and found a kindred spirit in Trask. The two built the foundation for Hedwig for over a year, incorporating far-reaching and idiosyncratic inspirations: Plato’s symposiums, Bob Fosse’s Cabaret, and malleable gender performances from the glam-rock era. In the summer of 1994, they started workshopping the show at the downtown NYC gay punk club SqueezeBox!, where Trask led the house band. At the musician’s suggestion, the protagonist shifted to a drag character, a disappointed singer who’s left in the dust.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch didn’t exactly begin as a story about a flamboyant rocker, but instead a meek Army general’s son. Mitchell himself moved more than 20 times as the child of an Army commandant, a lifestyle that isolated him as a young person struggling with his sexuality. He found respite in bands like the Cars and the B-52’s, as well as glam-rock groups like Sweet. When Mitchell was 14, his family settled for a time near a base in Junction City, Kansas. There, he met Helga, a German-born Army wife who lived in a trailer park and worked as a prostitute. She’d smoke cigarettes in a tube top and capri pants and let him drink beer and act out pop songs in her trailer.
Standing onstage at SqueezeBox! some 20 years later, that brief memory of Helga spun out into Hedwig’s winged Farrah Fawcett wig, towering heels, and torn fishnet stockings. Though Mitchell had never done drag or sang in a band, he inhabited the pithy German mannerisms and performative bravura instantly, earning high praise from club regulars.
Over the next four years, Mitchell and Trask developed Hedwig and the Angry Inch into a full-fledged production, with Trask providing original songs and playing Skszp, Angry Inch’s bandleader. By the time the show opened at the Jane Street Theater in 1998, its lurid backstory was set: Born in East Germany the year the Berlin Wall went up, Hedwig (née Hansel) became obsessed with gender-bending glam and punk gods like David Bowie, Lou Reed, and Iggy Pop via American Armed Forces radio. He met a G.I. sugar daddy who offered to whisk him away to America under one condition: a sex change operation. He reluctantly agreed but the surgery was botched, leaving our protagonist with the titular “angry inch” of flesh. Rechristened Hedwig, she was plopped down in Junction City and soon left to fend for herself. She wrote music and dated/mentored Tommy, a confused teen who eventually dumped her, stole her songs, and scored it big as a proto-Marilyn Manson. The timeline catches up to Hedwig and her band years later, as she shrieks out the whole sad story onstage at a seedy New York nightclub.
Equal parts wounded tragedy, high-camp drama, and death-defying rock musical, the original Hedwig show blended concepts about gender and sexuality with a razored punk edge. (Hedwig’s queerness aside, Mitchell cast actress Miriam Shor as her aggrieved ex-drag queen husband/backup singer, further challenging the audience’s assumptions about gender in theater and rock’n’roll.) The production netted a rave review from The New York Times and became a hot ticket, with both Bowie and Reed turning up to see it. After a year off-Broadway, Mitchell started turning the role over to different actors, owing to the sheer physical cost of embodying the character every night. But when influential independent film producer Christine Vachon inquired about a screen adaptation, Mitchell got right back into Hedwig’s heels to star and direct.  From: https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/revisiting-hedwig-and-the-angry-inch-a-drag-rock-fantasy-that-was-ahead-of-its-time/ 

Della Mae - Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2022

 Della Mae - Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2022 - Part 1

 

 Della Mae - Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2022 - Part 2

 

You had the original idea for Della Mae nearly 15 years ago. How has the group changed musically since those days?

We were a pretty traditional bluegrass band at the beginning. Our lineup evolved and solidified, and now we have a lot of people in the band who love to write, so we started to build a large repertoire of original music.

Just a few years after forming, Della Mae scored a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album (2014). How did that high-profile recognition affect the group’s career direction?

We were very proud Grammy losers! A nomination is such an honor. It gives validity to what you’re doing. So at that point in our career, it was like, “Oh! People are paying attention; what we’re doing is important.” It definitely changed our outlook on our purpose. Because we’re not only a band, we’re a band with a mission statement. It’s very important for us to be encouraging girls and young women to play music and have a career in the creative arts. And the Grammy nomination added fuel to the fire for us to keep doing what we were doing.

Tell me more about the band’s mission and advocacy.

One of our goals is to make music more accessible to people. We’re always advocating for women; hopefully we’ll inspire young girls to pick up an instrument. We’re also involved in running camps. I personally run two, plus I’m the co-director of Kids on Bluegrass for the IBMA.
We like to branch out into different areas, too. We’re always advocating for more diversity – more women, more people of color – onstage. Any time we can get a seat at the table to help people understand the importance of diversity, we take that opportunity.

In 2013, the group embarked upon a 43-day international tour, sponsored by the U.S. State Department; you visited Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. What was it like being cultural ambassadors?

Traveling to the Middle East and Central Asia with the State Department has been some of the most meaningful work Della Mae has done. It meant a lot to have the opportunity to connect with young women and girls in these countries: to listen to them, and to play music for them and with them. These experiences led us to realize just how much music is a universal language and a great healer. In some places we’ve been, women standing on a stage isn’t something seen often or at all. We hoped that us simply being there would offer hope and represent opportunity and possibility.
And we’re about to go on another tour in June; we’re doing a program in the Netherlands. We’ll be working with kids and teaching them bluegrass. That should be really fun.

You have a busy schedule in the coming months: shows in the U.S. the State Department tour, and a high-profile festival date in Europe. What else is in the future for Della Mae?

We have been in the [recording] studio, and our plan is to release music in conjunction with the Earl Scruggs Fest; we’ll be releasing four singles throughout the summer. We’ve been doing a lot of writing, so hopefully, we’ll be able to get in the studio again this coming winter and have a full-length album for next year.

From: https://blog.musoscribe.com/index.php/2023/08/05/mission-statement-a-qa-with-della-mae/ 

 

Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards - Full album

01 - The Wizard
02 - Traveller In Time
03 - Easy Livin'
04 - Poet's Justice
05 - Circle Of Hands
06 - Rainbow Demon
07 - All My Life
08 - Paradise
09 - The Spell

I must admit to finding it somewhat difficult to write dispassionately about this album, since for the last 30+ years it has been my all time favourite. I do remember however when I first heard it, the one minor criticism I had at the time was that, when compared to the previous "Look at yourself", there were too few instrumental breaks. That misgiving soon vanished however, and ever since it has taken pride of place in my collection.
This was the first album recorded by the "classic" line up, with Lee Kerslake (drums), and Gary Thain (bass), completing the quintet. Ken Hensley was now fully installed as the main composer with the band, and had just entered his "fantasy" phase. These were the final pieces which would see Uriah Heep creating it's finest works.
The album is supremely melodic, and much less "'eavy" than previous albums. The opening track, "The wizard" is an acoustic number, which finds David Byron in his best vocal form. "Easy Livin'" is wonderful three minute burst of driving rock, with everything turned up to 11. The Hammond organ and lead guitar combine with a great bass line from Thain, to provide the basis for this brief masterpiece. "Circle of hands" is similar in structure to "July Morning" from the previous album, with a repeating instrumental conclusion.
The closing two part track "Paradise/The spell", is awesome. It is two separate pieces, which happen to combine well together. "Paradise" is a soft acoustic number, on which Byron and Hensley alternate the vocals on the repeating choruses. "The spell" was in many ways a predecessor for Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". It has a complex structure with a multitude of vocal styles, and time changes a plenty. The centre point is a choral backed slide guitar solo by Hensley, which on its own would have made an excellent single in the "Sylvia" (Focus) vein. It sends shivers up my spine every time I hear it. Had the other tracks appeared on any other album, I would have been listing them individually with glowing praise. In another moment of inspiration, Roger Dean was asked to design the excellent cover, which looks so much better on the gatefold sleeve of an LP.  From: https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=5897