Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends - Side 2

01 Fakin' It
02 Punky's Dilemma
03 Mrs. Robinson
04 A Hazy Shade Of Winter
05 At The Zoo 

Anyone can claim to write some of the greatest pop songs that the world has ever heard, but if they don’t have the actual lyrical voice to back everything up, it’s never going to go very far when someone starts comparing them to the true legends of rock and roll. But Simon was determined to keep pushing himself until he found songs that he knew could stand with the best melodies of all time.
After all, no kid comes up with a song like ‘The Sound of Silence’ by accident. Simon had captured a feeling that everyone was going through in the aftermath of the assassination of John F Kennedy, and even though a lot more people were interested in what the likes of Bob Dylan were saying, Simon had a more nuanced take on what the country was feeling at the time. Dylan was one to lecture his audience at times, but Simon was there more to observe what was happening around him and make stories out of that.
That’s half the reason why a tune like ‘Richard Cory’ worked so well, but even when he and Art Garfunkel were making their best tunes, something felt a little bit off about their albums as a whole. There was no shortage of fantastic tunes across their records, but Bookends was the first time that their records held together as a whole for Simon. Which is strange because it doesn’t really hold together at all if you look at it.
Both sides are practically two separate records stacked on top of each other, but in this case, that isn’t exactly a bad thing at all. Simon wanted the opportunity to make songs that spoke to people, and even if that meant cutting his album in half, that was what he was going to do to ensure that he was making the record that he wanted to make.
And compared to everything else that he had done, Simon felt that he had finally hunkered down and delivered something that he could be proud of years after the fact, saying, “Bookends was our first serious piece of work, I’d say. I still like the song ‘America’. ‘Mrs Robinson’ is a little dated now, but the line ‘Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio’ is interesting for a song that has nothing to do with Joe DiMaggio.”
That line might have been a fine time capsule for the time, but if you look through Simon and Garfunkel’s early records, you can see why Simon felt that they finally got things right. Their first album had basically done nothing, and even if they had innovated their sound to a certain degree on Parsley, Sage Rosemary, and Thyme, the fact that Simon had less-than-kind words about ‘The 59th Street Bridge Song’ was always going to mark it down a few spots in his personal album rankings.
But even if they had finally hit upon the kinds of songs that worked, that meant that the shit was immediately going to start hitting the fan. Bridge Over Troubled Water was still a great album all things considered, but after spending the majority of the record at each other’s throats, Bookends feels like the first and only time where Simon felt like the duo finally had each other’s best interests at heart when they were making their record.
That kind of camaraderie wasn’t meant to last forever by any stretch, but Simon didn’t expect it to, either. The evolution of any songwriter is about making something great and then moving on, and while Simon would love to have a record that feels as good as Bookends felt to make, it was better for him to take a chance and see where things went whenever he released a new record.  From: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-1968-album-that-became-paul-simons-first-serious-record/

 

 

Nameless (UA, Ternopil) - Amazonia Crying

Nameless (UA, Ternopil) is a Ukrainian rock band founded in February 1992. Nameless is English. Those who have lost their names. The name is taken from Ursula Le Guin's novel "The Wizard of Earthsea". It is perhaps the oldest psychedelic band currently existing in Ukraine. Taking the aesthetics of the 60s of the last century as a basis, "N" from the first live performances was distinguished by the originality of the sound and non-standard musical solutions.
In the early years, the band played at joint concerts with the Hadyukina Brothers, Vopli Vidoplyasov, Plach Yeremii, Mertvyi Piven, Shchastia, Tartak, Faktychno Sami, Motor'rolla, etc., participated in domestic festivals, toured Ukraine. In parallel, the band's first albums are being recorded at recording studios in Ternopil, Lviv, and Kyiv.
Nameless (UA, Ternopil) is one of the first rock bands on the domestic scene to begin experiments with performances and video accompaniment of concerts. The band's innovative approach had a significant impact on the formation of the creativity of a whole galaxy of Ternopil bands: S.K.A.Y., Those Who Fall Up, ZSUF, Electrostatic Death, Green Sisters, "OrAnj", The gEE's, Los Colorados, Plastic Drops, Echo Gardens, Aloisy Karambol, Red Cardinals, and others.
Some of the musicians who played in the band previously moved to Kyiv, where they continue their careers in various fields (among them are Igor Pelykh, a famous TV presenter on the ICTV channel; Oleg Lomakovsky, now the drummer of the band Shchastia; Sergey Nedashkovsky, now the drummer of the band S.K.A.Y.; Valery Melnikov, now the bassist of the band Vasya Club). This did not prevent Nameless from transforming into a kind of artistic association that absorbed the whole spirit and philosophy of life in the "cool city of Ternopil" - now N. works at the junction of fine art, literature, theater and video art. Club concerts of "Nameless" are two to three hours of original music on a blues and neo-psychedelic basis with elements of "shoegazing" and psy-folk.
In the summer of 2007, the members of Nameless (UA, Ternopil) recorded the album “Something Happened in the Forest…” at the Kyiv studios Happy Records and DZZ, club performances and presentations of the disc begin.
In 2012, Nameless achieved some international recognition. Joint songs were recorded with such prominent figures of modern psychedelic culture as Anton Newcombe from The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Volta Sound, The Kingdom of the Holy Sun, Juan Trip. The musicians took part in the international project Davenport Burime, the Dobro project, which was founded in Kyiv by musician and producer Dmytro Ostroushko. Zoryan and Svitlana, having founded the DJ duo Hopta, became residents of the international Internet TV channel DEAD TV International, where they actively promote Ukrainian music and art on the international stage. Svitlana Frolova, with her unique psychedelic style of drawing, was given the opportunity to create posters and playbills for international tours of bands such as Jesus and Mary Chain, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Chatham Rise, Rosco, and others.  Translated from: https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nameless_(UA,_Ternopil)

Lunatic Soul - Realm Of The Weeping Willows

“An album that arrives at the perfect moment,” says Mariusz Duda. In what’s now the aftermath of the dissolution of Riverside, he continues: “Lunatic Soul is changing,” the eight albums that make up the dark cycle The Circle of Life and Death, Lunatic Soul is set to transform into a project where more musical light and hope will begin to emerge.
Ending on the high of The World Under Unsun (the poignant final track, The New End, said to be his final, not farewell but statement to the Riverside fans) and Through Shaded Woods, Transition II gives a glimpse of the brighter elements and exists to bridge the gap – a transition indeed – the old and the new.
The release includes four tracks. Two remixes, a new track and a ‘condensed’ track. Harking back to the folk-forest-melancholic instrumental form of Through Shaded Woods it won’t be a hardship for any LS aficionados.
The unreleased, new to this set, Realm Of The Weeping Willows is eleven evocative minutes that might be a close cousin to Navvie from that album. Not surprising, it being a piece in development from that period. More ‘electric’ with fuzzing features but in keeping with the rhythmic bounce and one that shifts course into a more pastoral acoustic setting. Eleven minutes allows space for the arrangement to wind through a dream-like repose before picking up the pace with a haunting melody. All very Mike Oldfield if you need to make some connection.
This release also presents newly remixed versions of Hylophobia and Vyraj, both originally recorded for the Through Shaded Woods sessions, now remixed from the ground up. Both tracks along with the title track originally released on a limited 2CD edition of Through Shaded Woods in 2020. The latter fits neatly with the uptempo and rustic atmosphere, balancing up again thumping heft of the former.
The main treat is the title track, with which those of us in the know will already be well versed. One of those pieces of music that deserves more than to find release on an ‘extras’ disc. Rising from the shadows and taking up a huge 28 minute chunk, the monolith of Transition II has a shiny new edit – condensed to 23 minutes(!) – to fit a side of vinyl. Mariusz Duda has carefully reimagined and reduxed Transition II into a new 23-minute shape designed to fit a single side of vinyl without losing any of its hypnotic grandeur.
The slightly abbreviated form drifts in like a low fog with the haunting ambience that seems to indulge in some backwards spooling trickery. It sets off a sequence that adds credence to the Oldfield arranging/composing style, as seemingly disconnected segments segue – check the percussion/bass sequence about a third through. Simple piano chords are accompanied by latter period Marillion-styled guitar doodles in a relaxing and dreamy flow before the familiar distant voice and chugging acoustic guitar that dominates Through Shaded Woods returns. The condensed version even begs the question of whether or not there’s a possible longer version than the original. Feels like there should be.  From: https://atthebarrier.com/2026/06/24/lunatic-soul-transition-ii-album-review/

K.D. Lang & The Reclines - Luck In My Eyes / Trail Of Broken Hearts / Walkin' In And Out Of Your Arms

"Luck in My Eyes" was co-written by k.d. lang and Ben Mink during the creation of the album Absolute Torch and Twang, marking a key collaboration in lang's shift toward a more refined country aesthetic. This partnership, which began with lang's earlier album Angel with a Lariat (1987), saw the duo co-author eight of the record's twelve tracks, allowing lang to mature her songwriting voice beyond the punk-inflected honky-tonk of her independent releases. The song developed amid lang's broader artistic evolution, drawing from her upbringing in the rural Alberta community of Consort, where she was immersed in local country music traditions that shaped her resilient, heartfelt style. As part of the album's overarching concept, "Luck in My Eyes" exemplified the fusion of emotive torch balladry with twangy country instrumentation, enabling lang to broaden her appeal while honoring her roots.  From: https://grokipedia.com/page/luck_in_my_eyes 

Squeeze - Big Beng / By Your Side

When Squeeze announced they were breaking up after the completion of their tour in support of 1982's Sweets From a Stranger album, it came as a surprise.
After all, they were only one record removed from the previous year's East Side Story, which gave them two of their biggest hits in "Tempted" and "Labelled with Love"; Sweets had been something of a commercial disappointment, but it still felt like they had unfinished business. As it turned out, the members of Squeeze ended up feeling the same way — it just took them a couple of years to get there.
The story behind the breakup was nothing if not familiar. The work it took to peel off their early string of hits required constantly cycling between the studio and the road, coming up with a steady stream of new material without having much of an opportunity to take a breath and live life in a way that would actually prove conducive to writing songs — let alone songs that lived up to the high standard they'd already set. The band's chief songwriters, Chris Difford and Glen Tilbrook, were particular victims of their own success.
"Though we were flattered to be compared to Gilbert and Sullivan and Lennon and McCartney, those comparisons proved to be a millstone around our neck," Tilbrook later admitted. The road to the (first) Squeeze reunion started with Difford & Tilbrook, the 1984 LP released by the duo. They were initially hired to write a stage musical, and after that project ended its three-month run, they did what came naturally and reentered the studio.
It might have been easy to assume that, without having to consider the creative input of other band members, Difford and Tilbrook would have been in the perfect spot to deliver a set of songs wholly to their liking. Other factors got in the way, however, including stereotypical issues such as drug use and romantic relationships interfering with in-studio harmony. In the end, the Difford & Tilbrook record came and went without making a lasting impression.
Undeterred, they intended to continue working as a pair, but it wasn't long before the idea of reuniting Squeeze came up. After attending a performance by the band's former keyboard player, Jools Holland, Tilbrook called Difford in late 1984 and floated the idea of getting the band back together.
"I thought it was a silly thing to do, as we'd disbanded only recently," Difford recalled in an interview with The Atlanta Constitution. "But we went into a rehearsal hall and tried it out, and it sounded great. … The idea is to carry on Squeeze from now on, but still do our solo projects in the same way Genesis and Phil Collins survive, although it'll be much more interesting than that."
With renewed enthusiasm, the group entered the studio, accompanied by producer Laurie Latham, whose recent high-profile work included Paul Young's hit album No Parlez. In a decision they'd later live to regret, they decided to record the new material in extremely '80s fashion — specifically, by cutting their parts individually rather than playing the basic tracks live. It helped give the songs a sound befitting then-current trends, but it also played against their strengths as a performing unit and undercut much of the reason for getting most of the original lineup back together.
It also quickly became clear that any hit singles would be an accident. Difford and Tilbrook remained a potent songwriting team that had a knack for sticky melodies, clever lyrics and sharp instrumental hooks. But they had rarely set out to record radio-friendly material, and Squeeze's breakup and reunion hadn't changed that. Label execs who might have been hopeful that Difford and Tilbrook's recent stab at becoming commercial pitchmen by writing a Dr. Pepper jingle would lead to a record full of obvious hits were headed for disappointment.
"The record company gets mad if they don't hear a hit single, and at first, our company didn't like the new album because of that," Difford told Hackensack's The Record. "I'll be the first to admit there are no hit singles on the album, but that's not our main concern. We don't take the approach Duran Duran does of writing a hit and then filling the rest of the album with anything. We're interested in producing the best overall product we can."
That product, titled Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti in typically cheeky Squeeze fashion, arrived in stores on Aug. 26, 1985. It quickly became apparent that the pattern established by a growing number of the band's records — stellar reviews, not-so-stellar sales — would be continued with their sixth LP: Cosi peaked at No. 57 on the U.S. album charts, and only one single, "Hits of the Year," charted at all, barely squeaking into the Top 40 at No. 39.
The critics, in general, were kinder. Although several reviews balked at the fussy production and busy chord changes, writers were still happy to have Squeeze back in action — and some came away feeling like they'd heard a new highwater mark in the group's catalog.
"All the songs on Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti are as near perfect as they can be," enthused Tom Traver of the Winston-Salem Journal. "There are no holes in the arrangements, as there sometimes were in the band's earlier days. The verses keep you moving along effortlessly to the chorus, which always hits you in the gut with its irresistible hook. And Difford's literate lyrics, which should be difficult to sing, sound effortless in Tilbrook's care ... the best record Squeeze has ever made."
Whether or not that's hyperbole is up for debate, but either way, Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti gave Squeeze the spark they needed to enter the back half of the '80s as a fully functioning unit. It paid dividends pretty quickly, too — their next album, 1987's Babylon and On, produced their biggest U.S. hit, the No. 15 "Hourglass." The road ahead wasn't always smooth, with multiple lineup changes, label switches, and another breakup further denting their always precarious commercial prospects. Still, much of their best work lay ahead of them, and this was the record they needed to make for it to happen.  From: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/squeeze-album-reunion-story/

 

Steeleye Span - Copshawholme Fair / All Things Are Quite Silent / My Johnny Was A Shoemaker / One Night As I Lay On My Bed

The original ‘Hark! The Village Wait.’ was the product of a time when the mix of electricity and traditional music offered a bright new dawn. Five individuals and a couple of drummers decamped to Sound Techniques in Chelsea to cut an album they’d thought and fought about across Winter 1970 in an old house on Salisbury Plain. Even as they started recording all the band knew it wasn’t to last. Yet for all the disquiet and dissatisfaction leader Ashley Hutchings had drilled his quarrelsome companions well and the album they cut stands as testament to what could have been had that initial disparate version of Steeleye Span held together beyond four, brief months.
In the 21st century Steeleye Span is altogether different. The past they say is another country, Steeleye’s whole reason d’etre modernises British roots, so having decided to revisit their debut, there was no way it would be an exercise in reproduction. Maddy Prior’s sleeve note makes it clear that Span are playing this 2020s and the naivety doesn’t really figure, even if the charm still lingers. Obviously a seven piece band versed in the heavier end of things means some of the acoustic atmospheres and frail sounds you’d get from dulcimer, concertina, mandola and autoharp are less even though Benji Kirkpatrick’s banjo and bouzouki do occupy the same niche. There’s even more contrast since in the intervening years Steeleye’s prominently used the fiddle, back in 1970 the instrument wasn’t in evidence beyond one background snatch.
However, ‘Hark! The Village Wait. Live.’ is an enjoyable romp, recorded on the road in 2017 – locations not revealed- the majority of the songs – no jigs back then, see previous sentence –  those which make the transition with distinction. ‘ The Blackleg Miner,’ still a powerful polemic and biting threat to those who’d break the line, the anger and animosity is underscored by the guitars and rhythm section. ‘The Hills Of Greenmore,’ handled by Benji K chronicles a hunt for hares, rolling and bouncing along on a lilting melody. Maddy’s in fine voice on the songs of lost or bittersweet love. ‘The Blacksmih,’ retains its regret and betrayal, ‘All Things Are Quite Silent’ chronicles the lasting emotional shellshock left by a press gang, whilst ‘The Dark Eyed Sailor,’ is lost, love found and all the more tuneful and melodious for it. However perhaps the most powerful version present is ‘Lowlands Of Holland,’ which lays before the listener an echoing, rocking melee of bouzouki, acoustic guitars, fiddle breaks, spiked lead guitar and solid  groove as Maddy delivers the story of brave, but futile voyages in which death is the certain outcome. Harmonically they’re all on superb form, after all seven voices which blend together as well as these can’t fail to make an impression.  From: https://spiralearth.co.uk/hark-the-village-wait-live-steeleye-span/

Hypnogaja - OpenWide

Crash Chords:   What band or musician most influenced your sound as a band?

Hypnogaja:  We are influenced by so much music – and so many different types of artists- that this question is literally impossible to answer. Our iPods are all over the map, with music from different decades and genres. On any given day in the van, you might hear songs by Pink Floyd, Portishead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Prince, Gnarls Barkley, Metallica, Alice In Chains, Donna Summer, Massive Attack, Eurythmics, Fleetwood Mac, KISS, Nirvana, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, The Beastie Boys, Blondie, Stone Temple Pilots, Bernard Herrmann, Marvin Gaye and more, more, more. We can’t get enough music into our ears.

Crash Chords:   How did you come up with your band name?

Hypnogaja:  It’s derived from “hypnagogia” – a term that ShyBoy (our vocalist) first heard in psych class. Basically, it’s a lucid dream – the state your mind falls into as you drift into sleep. This transitional state has been long regarded by scientists, philosophers and artists to be a highly creative moment for the human mind.

Crash Chords:   How did the band get together?

Hypnogaja:  Most of us migrated to Los Angeles for one reason or another. One of us is a native to SoCal. We all found ourselves in this band because we share a love for writing and performing music. Hypnogaja started out more as a studio project, with heavy electronic leanings. As people have come in to the group, our sound has evolved and gone in different directions with each album – not because of a lack of musical identity but because of our thirst for creative exploration.

Crash Chords:   Where do you seek inspiration from when writing new music?

Hypnogaja:  From everywhere. Writing is so intangible. You can sit in front of your notepad, keyboard, computer, with your guitar, etc. one day and nothing comes out – and then on a different day, some great new idea flows from seemingly nowhere. It’s all about tapping into the stream at the right time, when you’re in the right frame of mind.

Crash Chords:   What interests do you have outside of music?

Hypnogaja:  We all have very different personalities, which I think makes for a really interesting collaboration. Our collective interests run the gamut from films, books, record collecting, comic books, live concerts/theater to various sports (especially hockey and baseball), travel and, of course, amusement parks of any kind.

Crash Chords:   What is your favorite food?

Hypnogaja:  Several of us have gotten hooked on the Food Network, and we’ve been enjoying shows like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives – where the host goes around and eats at the best diners in America. I think we all enjoy a good steak, there’s some avid sushi fans and there’s always room for home-baked desserts. On tour, our best meals are the ones that are home-cooked by fans, friends and family. You can only eat at so many gas stations and truck stops before you start needing some real nutrition.

From: https://crashchords.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/band-bonding-a-review-of-hypnogajas-album-truth-decay-and-an-interview-with-hypnogaja/ 

The Wonderful Nobodies - Somewhere New

The Wonderful Nobodies (Seth Taylor, Lacy Green, and Aaron Williams) are a Nashville-based trio of singers, songwriters, and multi-instrumentalists hailing from the Appalachian region of Virginia and North Carolina. Individually, they've written hundreds of songs and have played on stages from the Grand Ole Opry to Carnegie Hall. However, it was a Friday night jam that made a band out of the long-time friends. 
Taylor: “Aaron and I had been roommates for a couple years and got this idea to start hosting a weekly jam at the house. At these jams we like to call “Bellerfest,” we'd play anything from Jimmy Martin to Katy Perry to The Band, and there was something special about the three of us playing together in that environment. We decided we had to make a record that sounded like you walked through the front door of that living room, sat down and had a drink with us.” 
In an attempt to capture that initial magic, they converted a room in the shared house to a studio. When Green brought in the beginnings of “Saviorville”, Williams saw the band's sonic and lyrical identity start to take shape. 
Williams: “We all had experience in traditional recording studios, but none of us had ever made a record this way. It was a lot of learning and leaning on each other. Despite the initial challenges of recording ourselves, we felt that capturing the honesty of the performances was more important than technical perfection, so we just tried not to overthink our instincts and to have fun following the songs where they led us.” 
What results is a debut album confidently blending their country, rock, and pop sensibilities. The title, A/B, speaks to their album era influences, trial and error process, and the dual nature of the band and it’s songs. 
Green: “To me, TWN is about that gray area between the black and white. It's about being proud and humble. It’s about being a small town kid in a big city. Being scared, but brave at the same time. I think those are the kinds of contradictions that the characters in a lot of our songs are facing. In an either/or world, they're trying to figure out how to be both.”  From: https://thewonderfulnobodies.com/about 

 

Spooky Tooth - Waitin' For The Wind / That Was Only Yesterday / Better By You, Better Than Me

“A bit of advice from Jimmy M.: Maximum cycle characteristics and frequency response at high decibel level have been set according to standards suggested in the Guy Stevens Producer Manual, chart R‑357, in index, page 304. These recommended standards were compiled by the same authority having recently measured audible damage created by supersonic aircraft — if for any reason you do not agree with the standards, turn it up.” — Liner notes to The Rolling Stones’ “Sticky Fingers” (1971)
Even as a long-time adherent of Guy Stevens, I never agreed with the above mentioned standards and chose instead to turn it up on every possible occasion. A perfect example of said occasion is “Spooky Two”– especially since Jimmy Miller (the author of the advice dispensed above) produced the album and Guy Stevens (the group’s main mentor) had produced several of Spooky Tooth’s studio efforts years before the core group of musicians took on the name. But most of all, because Spooky Tooth tore it up all over “Spooky Two” in such a confident and consistent manner that it’s a blast and a half — Make that three blasts, at twice the volume.
Prior to Spooky Tooth, the quartet of Mike Harrison (vocals, keyboards), Luther Grosvenor (guitar), Greg Ridley (bass) and Mike Kellie (drums) comprised the final line-up of Cumbrian R&B group The VIPs, which then mutated into Art. This short-lived group would release only one LP as well as appearing as the uncredited backing band on the first Hapshash And The Coloured Coat album. But once American expatriate Gary Wright joined the quartet as keyboardist, vocalist and primary composer,[1]Spooky Tooth was born as a dual keyboard-driven group who played it simple, played it hard and hammered out every ounce of feeling with each vocalised expression, rhythmic phrase and well-placed riff. Ultimately, the primary underlining influence on “Spooky Two” was soul music — represented by the arrangements made around the strength of the two vocalists while flashes of gospel, country, distorted blues and assorted post-psychedelic elements wove around and combined together in a variety and consistency that was one of enduring Rock. It wasn’t just eclectic for eclecticism’s sake, but rather: an expansion outward from their previous R&B, soul, and psychedelic experiences into something else. During that Progressive Rock netherzone of 1969, the search was on for something new (whatever form that might take) but whatever it was, it definitely had keyboards and Spooky Two had two of ‘em: a Hammond organ manned by Gary Wright and a Baldwin electric harpsichord worked by Mike Harrison. Both of them had fantastic voices and with the backing of one brilliant guitarist and a solid rhythm section, you can feel the burning of their quest in their practical talents of musical creation while the visionary production of Jimmy M. ably captured its rampant dynamics in all its immediacy.  From: https://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/the-book-of-seth/spooky-tooth-spooky-two

Mio - Kråkevisa

Mio's musical world and their live performances can be called a "phenomenon", and have in a short time put the group on the map as one of Norway's most exciting bands. With a stunning show and a raw frontman with an enormous voice and unique communication skills, the folk rock band has impressed on stages and festivals all over the country.
Many before them have mixed folk music and rock, but Mio manages to create their own twist on folk rock - which they themselves like to call "Folk 'n' Roll". Mio draws rich inspiration from both Norwegian rock, punk and folk music. Fuzzy fiddle playing is combined with a large arsenal of folk instruments, a jazz-inspired rhythm section, energetic bass and expressive guitar.
The Oslo-based band made their album debut with "Ingen tid å miste" in the summer of 2023, to great acclaim and positive reviews. The music was described as: “restless folk rock from and for a chaotic world, with virtuoso details and an approach to the rawness of the musical presentation that breaks all boundaries!” by Dagsavisen.
In the spring of 2025, they released their long-awaited second album “Hva nå?” on By Norse Music. There, Mio takes their music in a darker, more somber and harder direction than before – characterized by an uncertain, heavy and difficult time. The phenomenon Mio must be experienced live – join the adventure!
Mio is Dionisia Fjelldalen (vocals), Maja Hveding Styffe (fiddle and Hardanger fiddle), Hennie Hagen Johnsen (accordion, kleinharp, flute, keys etc.), Jakob Nome (guitar), Marianne Friisberg Larssen (bass) and Eilif Hallingstad Finnseth (drums and percussion).  Translated from: https://ranglerock.no/artister/mio/ 

 

Love - A House Is Not A Motel / Andmoreagain / The Daily Planet

Laurel Canyon, a rural idyll ten minutes from Hollywood and The Strip, became widely populated after it was settled by developers in the 1920s, who built weekend and vacation properties for wealthy Angelenos intending to spend their leisure time hunting up in the mountains. Later, in the 1960s, Laurel Canyon later became a kind of countercultural centre, as the major names (and many minor names too) of the folk-rock scene bought the funky cabins that used to belong to Charlie Chaplin, Harry Houdini and Louise Brooks. Billy James, of Columbia Records, lived there. Mark Volman of the Turtles. Neil Young, Crazy Horse, Joni Mitchell, Jim Morrison, members of the Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds and the Mamas & the Papas. Even Frank Zappa.
In 1967, Arthur Lee was one of those musicians. The leader of Love, a moderately successful folk-rock band with increasing leanings towards the orchestrated and the psychedelic, Lee was a well-known, striking figure on the LA scene. The son of a black father and white mother, Lee’s very appearance set him apart in the overwhelmingly white world of rock and roll music in the mid-sixties, and his ornery personality and drug-fuelled paranoia merely added to his isolation. He spent most of his time in his house on Mulholland Drive, listening to the sirens and the traffic noise from the city below, obsessing about what the hell was going on down there.
What was going on down there was a crackdown by the police – begun in the summer of 1996 and said to have been instigated at the behest of local business owners – on the kids who hung out in the coffee shops and drugstores and on the street corners of the Sunset Strip, with a curfew instigated for kids under 18. The folk-rock scene had inherited the Strip after it was abandoned by the film stars and gangsters that had made it their playground in the 1930s and 40s, and for a while young musicians and the kids who constituted the scene mingled freely (“There was a magical quality to it,” said Billy James; “like a carnival midway,” said musician/photographer Henry Diltz). But in 1967, concerned about what looked like it might be becoming a countercultural uprising, the new Republican Governor of California – a former actor by the name of Ronald Reagan – doubled down. Police were not sparing with their use of the side-handle.
Lee, like most of his peers, was appalled and it was inevitable that his disillusionment, which coexisted cheek by jowl with his native cynicism, would find its way into his music as he convened his straggling, multi-racial band at Sunset Sound to record Forever Changes. Most of the band members were by now strung out on something or other (heroin and acid mainly, but coke probably figures too, this being Los Angeles) and the sessions did not go smoothly at first, requiring producer Bruce Botnik to bring in session players for the first couple of songs tackled during the sessions (Neil Young is said to have been involved in arranging The Daily Planet, too). It’s amazing they got the thing done at all.
A House is Not a Motel is one of the record’s more musically aggressive tracks, with a twisting, knotted tension that is only released by the duelling lead guitars that take over (both played by Johnny Echols? One by Echols and one by Lee or Bryan MacLean? – the two guitar tracks have a very similar tone, suggesting that maybe they’re two of Echols’s takes playing simultaneously). While A House is Not a Motel lacks the orchestration that is the album’s defining musical characteristic, in its mix of fingerpicked acoustic guitars, intricate drums, lyrical paranoia and screaming lead guitars, it’s quintessential Love.
It’s become part of the record’s legend that Forever Changes failed to sell in great numbers. This is partly an exaggeration; the record did stay on the Billboard chart for 10 weeks, and was a top 30 hit in the UK. Given that Love seldom played outside the Greater Los Angeles Area and band relations were so low that Lee turned down most of the opportunities the band were offered, that wasn’t a bad showing. Today, though, with its utterly idiosyncratic mix of psychedelic rock, acoustic fingerpicking, orchestral pop and mariachi brass, Forever Changes is universally regarded as a masterpiece, one of the very finest LA records and a towering achievement that casts a long shadow over everything Lee did subsequently.  From: https://songsfromsodeep.wordpress.com/2018/02/09/a-house-is-not-a-motel-love/

Mawaca - Macadeiras

The initial core of Mawaca was formed in 1992 by Kitty Pereira and Magda Pucci, the group's founders, with the participation of singers Marta Espírito Santo, Fabiana Lian, and Valéria Piccoli, friends and choir members from choral groups that Kitty and Magda conducted in the 1990s.
During this period, several instrumentalists participated in the group, some for a short time, others to this day. Between 1992 and 1994, the singers met weekly as a study group where they experimented with vocal sounds from various parts of the globe, with the collaboration of native specialists in the languages ​​they sang.
The professional debut of the group Mawaca (still spelled with a K) took place with the show From Pygmy Songs to Scottish Songs, at the Hall Theatre and the Paulista Theatre, in 1995. In the preceding years, between 1992 and 1994, the singers met weekly as a study group where they experimented with vocal sounds from various parts of the globe, with the collaboration of native specialists in the languages ​​they sang.
In 1996, still with the first lineup: Kitty Pereira, Magda Pucci, Fabiana Lian, Marta Espírito Santo, Valéria Piccoli, Cristiane Mariano, Rosana Araújo and Viviane Querino, the group presented the scenic show Sequenzas, at the Tuca-Arena Theatre, under the direction of Kleber Montanheiro. Subsequently, they participated in the International Festival of Early Music and Oral Tradition in Curitiba.
In 1998, with a new lineup, the group released its first album, CD-Plus Mawaca, at the Itaú Cultural Institute and the Ática Bookstore, with support from the São Paulo State Cultural Incentive Law. This show had stage direction and costumes by Kleber Montanheiro. Mawaca's first work seeks to emphasize, in a panoramic way, the musical diversity of the world, and travels from Africa to the Celtic world. The album includes a multimedia track, with playful and educational content, created by Maurício Nacif, with musical research by Magda Pucci and iconographic research by Itamar Vidal, where each song is approached within its cultural context. In the same year, Mawaca participated in the World Music Festival, curated by Jean Yves de Neufville, at the Sesc Vila Mariana theater, alongside World Music artists such as the English group Baka Beyond, the Iranian Jamshied Sharifi, the Senegalese Baaba Maal, and the Moroccan Hassam Hakmoun.  Translated from: https://mawaca.com.br/biografia/ 

Live - The Beauty Of Gray / Mirror Song / Mother Earth Is A Vicious Crowd

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 25 years since Mental Jewelry was released. When you look back on that album now with so much perspective, what thoughts come to mind?

Kowalczyk: What’s been most exciting about the experience is not only listening to the original album but also the second CD, which is a live performance from The Roxy that we did back in 1992. Just to listen to that and realize that we were not fucking around. We were nineteen and swinging for the fences from the minute we stepped out with that album and tour.

What was the songwriting process like for the band back then?

Kowalczyk: We usually did a mixture of riffs and ideas to jam out and others where I might bring something in that was more fully-formed that we would tear down and rip apart. It’s always been that hybrid and I think that’s even the way we’re approaching our writing now.

Taylor: Because we were so young when we were writing, there were obviously no rules. It was a process of self-discovery. I can remember having conversations with Ed with my perception of how difficult it must be to write lyrics, and then he would tell me he was having problems putting together chord parts. But we always pushed each other.

Kowalczyk: One of the other things that strikes me is how much that energy at its core has never left the band. It’s been a constant, intense and visceral approach to performing. We throw down hard every time we’re on that stage.

Let’s discuss a few tracks from Mental Jewelry. What can you tell me about “Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)”?

Kowalczyk: I remember sitting in the practice loft of Chad Gracey’s garage and Chad Taylor was there playing this rhythmic groove. I was following his rhythm and started doing a chant over that. There are only two or three more chords but there was enough to get an emotion across. Then you add Gracey’s drumming and how energetic the song is. We wanted a song that would grab people’s attention right out of the box. It definitely did that.

Taylor: At the time, I had no idea I was even writing a song. I remember Ed telling me to keep playing and then he started singing overtop of it. That’s actually my first memory of a collaboration with Ed. The other funny story about that song is because it was one of the first songs we had written, I remember telling our manager that I didn’t think it should be on the album. I have to laugh at that now because it came out of the box and was the signature thing that started to build the band. But again, we were young and blissfully unaware of the business and were just trying to put our best foot forward.

How about the track “Pain Lies on The Riverside”?

Kowalczyk: That was the first time I had a fully formed a song on acoustic guitar and walked in and said, “Hey, what do you guys think?” Chad playing that cool shaker part and that groove was something I never would have imagined. But that was the brilliance of the band. Our songs were never one train of thought. They were an amalgam of jamming free flow versus here’s a full formed song. Let’s learn how we can make it fit.

How did the band come back together?

Kowalczyk: Chad and I met up for a beer in York about a year and a half ago, and the rest is the history of the reunion. It was a magical beer [laughs].

Taylor: When you turn into adults it’s easy to go your own way. But the truth is, it’s the magic in the music that pulled us back together along with the sheer volume and magnitude of our friendship.

Ed, what was the biggest thing you’ve learned since reuniting with Chad?

Kowalczyk: Having known Chad since grade school and being in a band since I was thirteen, I like to say that when we got back together it felt like riding an old bike that was brand new. We have this great foundation and chemistry and muscle memory that just kicked right in. But I also noticed that we were stronger. After everything we had gone through we came back sounding better than ever.

From: http://www.fansoflive.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6002 

 

Steppenwolf 7 TV Special 1970

Steppenwolf only recorded seven discs for Dunhill Records in the short span between 1968 and 1971, six of them studio albums, and one allegedly "live" -- though there was early Sparrow material recorded in May of 1967 not released by the label until 1972. Throw in a greatest-hits package along with Columbia's reissue of yet more Sparrow recordings, and how they came up with Steppenwolf 7 for the title of this, their fifth studio recording for Dunhill, is a question for hardcore fans of the band to debate (don't even bring the movie soundtracks into this equation). Richard Podolor has taken the production reins from Gabriel Mekler, as he did with Three Dog Night, but where the producer was able to take Hoyt Axton's "Joy to the World" to number one in a notable six weeks in 1971 with the vocal trio and labelmates of this group, the author of "The Pusher," Axton, is represented here by his "Snowblind Friend," a topic not likely to get Steppenwolf chart action. And that's the dilemma with Steppenwolf 7. This is a very worthwhile Steppenwolf recording, chock-full of their trademark sound, but nothing that was going to penetrate the Top 40. John Kay and guitarist Larry Byron (listed on the song credits as Larry Byrom and on the live album as Byron -- take your pick, he's a notable session player) co-write five of these nine tunes, "Ball Crusher" being what you expect, as is "Fat Jack," Byrom's only co-write here with new bassist George Biondo (and perhaps one of them on the vocals, as it certainly isn't John Kay). A nice, thick Goldy McJohn keyboard and solid beat still don't give this tune enough of an identity to be considered hit material. Kay and Byrom do a better job of heading in that direction with their "Foggy Mental Breakdown" and "Hippo Stomp," while Byrom's instrumental, "Earschplittenloudenboomer," had the attitude to be the next "Born to Be Wild," just not enough of the magic -- not explosive enough and no sneering Kay vocal to bring it home. What is happening here is that John Kay is heading in the direction of his 1972 solo disc, Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes, especially on the cover of Roth's "Forty Days and Forty Nights" and the country-ish "Snowblind Friend," which is the other side of Hoyt Axton's "The Pusher," the effect of cocaine on the victim/user. Kay and Byrom come back with more driving rock in "Who Needs Ya?," played well and listenable, but just missing the edge that gave "Rock Me" and "Magic Carpet Ride" their specialness. The blueish images of the bandmembers in a desolate area with two skulls above them on the album cover make an interesting statement. Steppenwolf 7 is an intriguing collection of album tracks showing the two sides of John Kay -- the hard rock singer and the artist setting his sights on interpreting other musical styles. It came at a moment when the band needed to redefine itself on the AM band, but opted instead to just put out a decent product and take few risks.  From: https://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/2015/10/steppenwolf-1970-7.html 

Oktobernatt - Vonin

Atmospheric, melancholic, and explosive: Two years after forming, the Berlin-based indie band Oktobernatt has released their five-track debut EP, "Coordinates°"—a record that invites you to hit play again and again.
When I recently clicked on a recommended music video titled "Rasa"—which had only a few hundred views—I honestly didn't expect much. After all, who produces music videos these days, and how often are they actually interesting?
However, I was quickly proven wrong. I was even more delighted to discover that the band behind it, Oktobernatt, is an independent group from Berlin.
The six musicians—Gabriel Jansson Svedberg (vocals), Vignir Vidarsson (bass), Alban König (guitar), Ole von Garrel (drums), Myra Amneskog (keyboards), and Joona Keturi (guitar)—hail from Iceland, Sweden, Finland, and Germany. They came together in 2024 and recorded "Coordinates°" at Berlin’s Trixx Studio (known for hosting artists such as Can, Dave Gahan, and Nina Hagen).
The EP features five gripping tracks characterized by dreamlike soundscapes and vocals filled with a yearning quality reminiscent of the unmistakable Beth Gibbons (of Portishead)—albeit in a grittier incarnation. Through beautiful vocal lines, distorted guitars, and melodic bass work, Oktobernatt create an atmosphere that pulls listeners into a world of their own for the duration of the tracks (which tend to be quite long).
The Berlin-based sextet describes their music as "dream rock"—perhaps the edgier sibling of dream pop. Furthermore, Oktobernatt have a genuine passion for music videos; the captivating cinematography accompanying their songs transforms the EP into something akin to a multimedia project. Strong Songwriting
The opening track, "Vonin," begins with an acoustic guitar arpeggio before becoming increasingly explosive—only to stop just short of a full-blown eruption. And that is precisely one of the band's hallmarks: building tension and a climax, only to take a sudden musical turn at the last moment.
The other songs largely follow this pattern, too—with the exception of the indie-folk ballad "Sweet One." This track highlights Oktobernatt’s songwriting prowess and offers a brief moment to catch your breath before sweeping you into the aforementioned "Rasa." The closing track, "(65.3968°N 20.9094°W)," brings *Coordinates°* to a fitting conclusion—leaving you wanting to start this captivating EP all over again immediately.

Joona, Oktobernatt’s guitarist, was also kind enough to answer a few questions about the band and the EP release—here goes:

Thanks for your time, Joona—how has the Berlin art and music scene shaped you as a band?

Hi Matti. Berlin is a melting pot for a huge variety of art forms and musical genres. There’s an underground gig with an affordable entry fee almost every night. Playing alongside other up-and-coming artists in such an exciting environment has been a fantastic experience.

In your opinion, what exactly defines your very unique sound?

I think every band member leaves their own unique mark on Oktobernatt. We’ve found our signature bass sound, paired with atmospheric guitar melodies, creative synth textures, and powerful vocals. Plus, each of us brings our own artistic influences and playing style—all of which come together to create our sound. You come from different countries and cultures—what role does this personal background play for you as a band and for your music?
Naturally, we draw a wide variety of inspiration and artistic approaches from that; all in all, it expands our range of expression and allows us to share niche music from our respective cultures with one another.

We can hear the result on your strong debut EP, "Coordinates°"—in what formats will it be available?

We’re releasing it primarily in digital format, but there will also be a limited run of CDs—and possibly even cassette tapes—available for purchase at our shows.

Does that mean release gigs or a small tour are already in the works?

Yes, we’re playing a release show in Berlin in early April, and a few other performances are already being planned for early summer. However, our biggest project as a band isn't coming until the end of summer—though, unfortunately, I can't reveal any more details just yet.

Translated from: https://crazewire.de/oktobernatt-coordinates/ 

Nil Lara - How Was I To Know

Nil Lara is a Cuban-American songwriter with Venezuelan roots who has just blown me away. I read about him recently on Matt Nathanson’s celebrity playlist (of all places), sought him out, and immediately loved what I heard. Lara is soulful and passionate and sings like his heart is burning. Add in heavy doses of warm & layered Latin percussion, traditional Cuban and Venezuelan string instruments, and his soaring chants and vocals (in a combination of Spanish and English) – and I was hooked. It’s been named by some “Number 2 on my list of Best Albums By People That 99.5% of the World Has Never Heard Of.”
His 1996 self-titled album was critically acclaimed, but never received the popular attention it deserves. As such it is kind of hard to find: It is on iTunes (but not eMusic), and you can find used copies on Amazon. I would completely go see him live, and surely dance myself sore, but he seems to be on indefinite hiatus. Download these, and buy the album, though – sheer fabulousness.  From: http://www.fuelfriendsblog.com/2006/07/19/world-music-wednesday-nil-lara/

Samaïa - She Moved Through the Fair

"She Moved Through the Fair" (also called "Our Wedding Day", "My Young Love Said to Me", "I Once Had a True Love", "She Moves Through the Fair" or "She Moved Through the Faire") is a traditional Irish folk song, with a number of iterations, that has been performed and recorded by various artists. The narrator sees his lover move away from him through the fair, after telling him that since her family will approve, "it will not be long [love] 'til our wedding day". She returns as a ghost at night, and repeats the words again, intimating her own tragic death and the couple's potential reunion in the afterlife. There are numerous alternate versions, some sung about a male lover, with different lyrics, such as "Our Wedding Day" and "My Young Love Said to Me", among others.
"She Moved Through the Fair" has been found both in Ireland and in Scotland, but pieces of the song were apparently first collected in County Donegal by Longford poet Padraic Colum and the musicologist Herbert Hughes.
The melody is in Mixolydian mode (major scale with a flattened seventh—a fairly common mode within Irish and Scottish musical traditions), placing a large emphasis on the 1st, 4th, 5th and 7th chords of the scale. John Loesberg speculated: "From its strange, almost Eastern sounding melody, it appears to be an air of some antiquity," but he does not define its age any more precisely.
The lyrics were first published in Hughes' Irish Country Songs, published by Boosey & Hawkes in 1909. In a letter published in The Irish Times in 1970, Padraic Colum stated that he was the author of all but the final verse. He also described how Herbert Hughes collected the tune and then he, Colum, had kept the last verse of a traditional song and written a couple of verses to fit the music.
One verse was not included in the first publication: Colum soon realised that he had not put in the poem the fact that the woman had died before the marriage, and so he wrote the verse that begins: "The people were saying, that no two were e'er wed, but one had a sorrow that never was said ..." and sent it on to Hughes, too late for publication in that particular collection. This extra verse was published in other collections, along with the other three verses. The lyrics were also published in Colum's collection Wild Earth: And Other Poems (1916), though the traditional origin of the final verse is not mentioned there.
In the course of the same Irish Times correspondence, however, another music collector, Proinsias Ó Conluain, said he had recorded a song called "She Went Through the Fair", with words the same as the other three verses of "She Moved Through the Fair", sung by an old man who told him that "the song was a very old one" and that he had learned it as a young man from a basket-weaver in Glenavy.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_Moved_Through_the_Fair

Vivacious vocal trio Samaïa are in town for the London leg of their European tour. Their debut album is a rich powerhouse of women’s voices reinterpreting folk songs from across the globe, gilted with unique harmonies. On this episode of A World In London they gifted us with treasures from Sweden, Turkey, and Bulgaria, and we learned about their unconventional warm up exercises that include massage and yoga! ‘We sing with our whole body’ explains Luna Silva, going on to describe the athletics of intertwining melodies through three voices. Samaïa weave a rich tapestry of polyphony, mostly accapela, but with minimal touches of percussion, that add to the primal feel of their songs. In fact they met at a Georgian polyphonic workshop, which hints at how extraordinary they are. Luna is the daughter of a Spanish clown and English actress, studied ethnomusicology at SOAS, plus Hindi, ukulele, and jaws harp. Noémie Nael comes from a theatre background. Eléonore Fourniau, studied in Istanbul, plays the saz, and is a queen of Anatolian ornamentation. The three might all have been raised in France but when it comes to music, possibly even The World Is Not Enough to contain their wanderlust! Samaia take their name from a Georgian dance performed by women which originated in the 12th century. Sample a glorious tricolour of harmony, magic, and shakti with the 21st century Samaïa now - three wonderful voices dancing in one superlative body of sound!  From: https://artofjazz.blogspot.com/2019/05/samaia-polyphonic-wanderlust.html 

The Chemistry Set - Firefly

The cult psychedelic band has quite a history. Founded by Dave Mclean and Paul Lake in 1987, the band are veterans of the alternative Manchester label “Imaginary” and cassette only label “Acid Tapes”; they helped pioneer the late 1980’s UK neo-psychedelic boom.
The Chemistry Set counted the legendary John Peel’s as a fan (Peel even went so far as to sending the band a hand-written fan letter!) They also appeared on Factory Records boss Tony Wilson’s TV show and were in the Indie Top 20. The band have gone from strength to strength and The Psychedelic Scientists celebrate their 35th anniversary in 2022, with a new album ‘Pink Felt Trip’ released in July, on the “Fruits de Mer” label. The new album will represent their 45th release.
Known for their sophisticated original songcraft as well as their uncanny ability to interpret often obscure (but always classic) psychedelic songs with unparalleled cover versions, The Chemistry Set have taken some the most lysergic works of The Pink Floyd (‘See Emily Play’ mixed with a section of Brian Wilson’s ‘Smile’), Love (acoustic version of ‘A House Is Not a Motel’), The Jimi Hendrix Experience (unplugged version of ‘Love Or Confusion’ with sitars and tablas), The Rolling Stones (‘We Love You’), Del Shannon (‘Silver Birch’ mixed with ‘Sanctus’ by David Axelrod), The Moody Blues (‘Legend Of A Mind’) Tomorrow (‘Hallucinations’) to more to exciting and unexpected places.
The band have been lucky to get feedback from some of the artists that they have covered. A few years ago, the late great Ray Thomas of The Moody Blues had a listen to The Chemistry Set’s cover of his classic ‘Legend Of A Mind’ and had this to say, “Well done Chemistry Set. It’s not an easy song to cover and you’ve made a cracking job of it. Very impressed with the flute work”.When covering Del Shannon’s acid drenched ‘Silver Birch’ the band inserted a section of ‘Sanctus’ from David Axelrod’s ‘Mass in F Minor’. The band are huge fans of Axelrod’s orchestral arrangements and sent the song to him and he said, “Real music, music to make you sit and think”.
The new album includes a cover of Mark Fry’s ‘The Witch’, whose album ‘Dreaming with Alice’ released in 1972 is a cult classic. The Chemistry Set have given the song a twist, with a Gregorian Chant intro, that is taken from The Bee Gees acid drenched 1967 song ‘Every Christian Lion-Hearted Soldier’. Mellotron flutes, Iranian setar and acoustic guitars abide, faithful to the original vibe but then heads into ‘Colonel Kurtz’ territory a la ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ meets The Red Krayola. The title track kicks off like a deranged amalgamation of ‘Safe as Milk’ era Captain Beefheart versus ‘Freak Out’ period Frank Zappa with Arthur Lee muscling his way into the party with ‘7&7 is’.
‘Pink Felt Trip’ also includes a 10-minute trilogy, entitled ‘Self-Expression Trinity’. The first part is a bold Moody Blues-esque orchestral piece entitled ‘Cesar Manrique’, a tribute to the great Spanish surrealist artist. It features a cupboard full of mellotrons, piano’s, gongs, choirs and orchestral percussion. The second and third parts ‘Once Upon a Time’ and ‘Liberation’ deal with the subjects of freedom and self-expression, with classic psychedelic melodies and stunning guitars.
The front cover of the album is in the style of the 1960’s psychedelic concert poster designer Victor Moscoso and is designed by the Swedish designer; Robin Gnista, who has created designs for John Cale, The Pretty Things, Levitation Festival, Television and The Black Angels.
A delicious piece of psychedelic rock is about to be unleashed on June 6th on a special limited edition 12” vinyl. It will be available with a real pink fuzzy felt cover with pink felt bubble-gum, posters, artwork and a bonus CD.  From: https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2022/06/pink-felt-trip-by-the-chemistry-set-album-premiere.html