Pop & Rock News

March 16-20, 1992 is the third studio album by Alternative Country band Uncle Tupelo, released in 1992. The title refers to the five- day span during which the album was recorded. An almost entirely acoustic recording, the album features original songs and covers of traditional Folk songs in near equal number, and was produced by R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.

In 1990, Buck attended an Uncle Tupelo concert at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia. Buck was particularly impressed with the band's rendition of the Louvin Brothers' 'Great Atomic Power', and contacted the band after the show. Uncle Tupelo singers Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy exchanged their interests in Bluegrass music with Buck, and decided to collaborate on an acoustic music project in the future.

March 16-20, 1992 sold more copies than their first two albums, No Depression [MOVLP1014] and Still Feel Gone [MOVLP1618], combined. The album generated mostly positive reviews. Jason Ankeny of Allmusic called the album 'a brilliant resurrection of a bygone era of American folk artistry'. Bill Wyman of Entertainment Weekly remarked that it was 'a moving and sincere New Depression manifesto'.

This Brooklynite follows work w/Antibalas, The Sway Machinery, Bright Moments, Akoya Afrobeat & Ethiopian keyboard legend Hailu Mergia w/his band Low Mentality; 2 quirky pop tunes that display his influences. Pic sleeve.

English guitarist and songwriter John Renbourn (8 August
1944 - 26 March 2015) was possibly best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the Folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo career before, during and after that band's existence (1967-1973).

While most commonly labelled a folk musician, Renbourn's musical tastes and interests took in early music, Classical music, Jazz, Blues and World music. John Renbourn's famous phrase was that 'I started out trying to play like Big Bill Broonzy, and I'm still trying.'


On his 1965 self-titled album you can detect some of the influence on traditional Blues like 'John Henry' and 'Candy Man'. But as a player, Renbourn had already very much developed into his own man, imaginative and complete in technique. As debuts go, you'd be hard pressed to find anything much better in the folk cauldron that was London in the mid-'60s. The genesis of a master.

LAST FEW COPIES NOW AVAILABLE. NON-RETURNABLE.

*First vinyl reissue of the highly collectable Italian acid folk album.

* Deluxe 180 gram + gatefold reissue.

* Reproduction of the original 12p Booklet.

* Featuring Library composer and Brainticket graphic designer, Umberto Santucci, 'I cantori moderni di Alessandroni' member Gianfranca Montedoro and Italian jazz legend Cicci Santucci.
Regarded as the link between Italian acid folk, Library music and Krautrock, Living Music was a collective of Italian Musicians, artists and poets active in the counterculture and student movement of Rome in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Taking their name and concept from the New York experimental theatre group 'Living Theatre' husband and wife duo Umberto Santucci (jazz critic, graphic designer (Brainticket) and photographer, library composer) and Gianfranca Montedoro (Jazz and rock singer, member of Alessandroni Vocal group, Brainticket) hosted improvisational sessions at their home where they explored the concepts of communal expression through music and poetry. These experiments would lead to a recording session in which they set their psychedelic compostions to the poetry of Beat poet Allen Ginsberg.
Their sole 1971 album for RCA's Italy's experimental imprint 'Free Dimension' is a phenomenal psychedelic excursion into acid folk, Tibetan chants, Indian drones, and avant-jazz (Featuring Umberto's brother and Italian jazz legend Cicci Santucci) all centered around the powerful voice of Gianfranca Montedoro. It has since become a highly sort after recording for folk and progressive collectors.

Hoping to contact our imagined past, we may buy any rural artifact, form a corn dolly to a country cottage or join a Morris dancing team, or revive local customs which died out in the early years of the century, or pay annual visits to similar customs which have lasted into the present.'
- Bob Pegg, 'Rites and Riots: Folk Customs of Britain and Europe'

In 2014, Folklore Tapes launched their periodic folk tradition series 'Calendar Customs', in which the collective trace ancestral roots much further back than 1846, when the term folklore was said to be first coined by W.J Thomas. Certainly, the vestiges of our social and ritual practice are far too numerous to galvanize into one release, so this twin ten-inch can be seen as our embarkation on what promises to be an ever-unfurling foray into the rites and customs of our forbears, some of which continue to flourish to this day.

Paper Dollhouse responds to the general idea and definition of the term ritual, by conducting a ceremony in the rural landscape within a circle of trees and stone. The exploration involves a quiet dialogue to invoke a subconscious tale informed by their research, as well as the elemental use of fire through the burning of an effigy. Using a stone during their performance, the pair channeled an ancient superstition of Shebbear in North Devon, where a huge rock known as the Devil's Boulder is ritually turned over annually by the villagers, to avoid bringing about calamity. The circular formation is invoked in their use of auditory rounds, intended to make reference to both stone circles and the cyclical energy of the serpent eating its own self.

Magpahi weaves together a rich tapestry encompassing six different forms of ritual from the West Country, largely informed by the work of the late folklorist Theo Brown. Alison presents a sonic vitrine of tales and customs. Among them are the salting down of a corpse at an isolated Dartmoor inn; the plaiting of corn dollies in the field, tied from standing sheaves; the dangers of picking the white flowers of stitchwort (which may result in being spirit-led away by malignant pixie folk); and the work of witches and charmers in Devon, including their use of snakeskin for curses.

Rituals and Practices was originally released on cassette in Autumn, 2012 and features a grimoire of sonic spells exploring symbolic customs and activities from the county of Devon. The original recordings have been remastered from tape for this fourth archival reissue. Both researchers have written new notes, which accompany new archival imagery and photographs bound inside a 12-page booklet. These elements are all housed within a sleeve of new artwork designed by David Chatton Barker.

Kristallklar und ehrlich: Sechstes, von Andrew Hung co-produziertes Studioalbum.
Die 1970 im englischen Norfolk geborene Singer/Songwriterin Beth Orton verfügt neben einer
außergewöhnlichen Stimme über ein feines Gespür für einnehmende Arrangements. Orton ist seit der
zweiten Hälfte der Neunziger musikalisch aktiv. Regelmäßig landeten seitdem ihre Veröffentlichungen in den
Charts. Im Jahr 2000 gewann sie die Auszeichnung als beste britische Künstlerin bei den Brit Awards.
Anfangs heftete man Ortons Mischung aus Akustikgitarre, betörender Stimme und elektronischen Klängen
die Etiketten Trip Folk und Folktronica an. Mit der Renaissance von Folk im letzten Jahrzehnt wirkt Ortons
Songwriting allerdings gar nicht mehr so außergewöhnlich, dass man 2016 für "Kidsticks" noch eine
exklusive, marktschreierische Auszeichnung finden müsste. Ortons ehrliche Folk-Songs stehen für sich. Nach
einer längeren Babypause und dem Album "Sugaring Season" von 2012 ist "Kidsticks" ihr mittlerweile
sechstes Werk. Es wurde von Andrew Hung (Fuck Buttons) co-produziert und beinhaltet zehn fokussierte,
kristallklare Stücke, die von Ortons unverwechselbarem Gesang getragen werden.

The Little Flames were formed in Liverpool by singer Eva Petersen and songwriter / guitarist Mat Gregory. They were later joined by drummer Greg Mighall, bassist Joe Edwards and guitarist Miles Kane. Signed to legendary indie label Deltasonic, the band toured extensively during their first years, releasing edgy and anarchic singles 'Goodbye Little Rose' and 'Put your Dukes Up, John'. Their sound continued to evolve as they absorbed and reformulated an array of influences, ranging from Krautrock, Motown and 60's garage, to film music and symphonic pop of artists like Serge Gainsbourg and Framcoise Hardy. In the Session leading up to the recording of their debut album, working wotj producer Central Nervous System, the band's early spiky sound gave way to something altogether darker and more expansive. The album, The Day is Not Today, Was eventually recorded with producer Tore Johansson, using Sweden's famous Tambourine studios and Gula Studion in Malmo. It showcased the evolution of the band's music, where the energy and impatience of their earlier twisted guitar pop was not only fully honed (Seven Days, If Tomorrow Never Comes), But Juxtaposed with a sound that was both ethereal and cinematic (October Skies, The Girl of Last Year). The album was mixed, mastered ad ready to go in 2007, but before it could be released The Little Flames decided to split up. Miles, Joe and Greg formed The Rascals, with Miles Kane then going on to for The Last Shadow Puppets with Alex Tuner and recording solo material. Mat and Eva have continued to work separately on various music and art projects. The Little Flames' second single, 'Put Your Dukes UP, John' was covered by The Arctic Monkeys after the two bands toured together on the Sheffield band's first two album tours.

'enlightened and transformative.. he sings 'You can't describe the sublime,' but Steinbrink's own angelic philosophizing has proven otherwise...dreamy though undoubtedly haunted'
Pitchfork'polished and fastidiously­ crafted...the type of gleaming pop sound that takes real skill and precision'
The Guardian'precision alt pop with real heart'
Uncut'At first glance his songs pull you in with their calming melodic tendencies but his songwrting craft and well­spun lyrics soon take you a lot deeper.'
Avi Buffalo
After ten years of touring and secluded home recording, Stephen Steinbrink has cataloged several albums worth of gorgeous melody and quotidian dread in his stark, minimal pop. Yet the songs on his latest, Anagrams, beautiful yet unflinching portraits of addiction and mental illness are captured in his most meticulous and high-fidelity production to date. While one might expect the record to be a final destination, a tidy hi-res apex of all his journeying, the album's particularly varied styles and sincere lyrical uncertainty portray a search that still continues."Lately writing songs almost makes me feel like I'm losing it, like I keep digging up and re-burying the same old bone. I tried to continue unpacking these forgotten images and memories, except this time without placing any subjective meaning on them, or any expectation of personal growth to occur after. Maybe it's silly to expect the process of making art to be a clarifying act."Stephen's artistic trajectory can be considered nomadic in the obvious sense: when not incessantly touring Europe and the U.S. in the last two years, he spent his stationary moments writing in California, Arizona and Washington. Most of his previous recordings were the product of self-engineered experiments, culminating in 2014's Arranged Waves, an unabashedly digital tableau of subdued, heartbreaking pop. Now, Anagrams finds him chasing melodies in the polished largesse of a proper studio.Anagrams was intensely recorded over 2 years at UNKNOWN, a retrofitted analogue studio in a lofty, de-sanctified church in the secluded island town of Anacortes, Washington. Assisted by engineer Nicholas Wilbur and featuring performances by members of Mt. Eerie, LAKE, and Hungry Cloud Darkening, Steinbrink's songs gracefully inhabit the vastness of the space in which they were recorded, effortlessly gliding between glacial grunge lurches, lush country movements, and succinct power pop. The most ambitious of Stephen's pop songcraft, Anagrams is ultimately an unpacking of identity. "I don't care about continuing in a tradition of songwriters, and I rarely intentionally self-identify as one. I always wonder if my most recent song is the last one I'll ever write. I try to be more concerned with being open, to imagine myself as a rock or a wrapper or nothing at all. Whenever I can get close to that state of mind the songs come easy, but it seems arbitrary, almost like they would've existed with or without me. I think it's a noble pursuit, to try to be nothing." An effort, ongoing.

LP comes with album CD inside and is reverse board outer sleeve, printed inner sleeve and 180g vinyl.
EU tour coming this autumn

Mammal Hands are a trio of like-minded musicians: Nick Smart piano, Jesse Barrett drums and tabla, and Jordan Smart saxophones. Floa is their second album for Gondwana Records and in the 18 months since their debut, Animalia, they have carved out a growing following both here and abroad for their hypnotic fusion of jazz, folk and electronica: winning fans from Bonobo and Gilles Peterson to Jamie Cullum. Landmark live performances have included shows at King's Place in London and the RNCM in Manchester, as well as a barn-storming debut at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Drawing on a rich well of influences from Sufi and shamanic African trance music, Irish and Eastern European folk music, to Steve Reich and Philip Glass and more contemporary electronica influences, their music is built around deceptively simple sounding ideas that are lent power through the use of repetition and rhythmic loops. They have been compared to both Portico Quartet and GoGo Penguin for the way in which they navigate the choppy waters between contemporary dance music and jazz.

Floa (an old Norse word that means to deluge or to flow) is the sound of a more confident, experienced band: one that has grown together naturally through touring and gigging and through mammoth writing and rehearsal sessions where all three bring rhythmic, improvisational and melodic ideas to the table. Floa was recorded at Gondwana's home from home, 80 Hertz Studios in Manchester, reuniting the band with producer Matthew Halsall and features some of the Gondwana Orchestra strings who played on Halsall's acclaimed album Into Forever. Together they have crafted a wonderful sounding record, the richness of which perfectly illuminates the band's music. Artwork is from Gondwana's in-house design maestro Daniel Halsall whose artwork of symbols created from older symbols perfectly illustrates the creative ideas that drive the band's music.

The release is supported by an extensive UK tour including dates in Norwich, Bristol, Brighton, Manchester and beyond. The band support Matthew Halsall at St John's Hackney on May 26th and have their own head-line show at the Jazz Cafe, Camden on 31st May.

Confirmed airplay from Jamie Cullum BBC Radio 2, Gilles Peterson 6 Music, Radio 3 Late Junction, BBC Scotland Jazz House, Jazz FM, John Kennedy X and full servicing to all specialist and online radio stations. Reviews from The Guardian, Mojo, Record Collector, Jazzwise, Nos Magazine, Nowthen and local press. Online support from AllAboutJazz, Quietus, Access All Areas, Bebop Spoken Here and beyond.

'His Pride. No Spear. No Friend.' is the third full-length album from Essex-based alternative folk collective The Owl Service, their first new material since 2010's acclaimed 'The View From a Hill'.

This record sees the band treading new ground, eschewing both their psych-folk beginnings and the more polished, classic folk-rock sound of 'The View From a Hill' to serve up an album of songs mostly from the British folk tradition but without folk instrumentation, and little in the way of folk sensibilities. Instead the band strived to create a different kind of modern folk album, placing these familiar songs in unfamiliar settings. Whereas previous albums unashamedly wore their influences on their sleeves (literally), giving significant nods to the likes of Fairport Convention, Martin Carthy, Anne Briggs, Shirley Collins and Trees, this time the starting point was the '90s US post-hardcore and early post-rock bands whose sounds the Owls were immersed in whilst arranging these songs. The end product is a unique reimagining of 21st century folk music, a world away from any of their contemporaries.

Expect the usual level of support the band have enjoyed with previous releases from Mark Radcliffe (Radio 2), Fiona Talkington (Radio 3), Stuart Maconie (BBC6 Music) for radio; specialist printed press from fRoots, R2 Magazine; and a wealth of online press from the likes of Folk Radio UK, Bright Young Folk, For Folks Sake etc.

This is the debut album of a trio of young ladies from Georgia in the Caucasus area and their story actually sounds fantastic. Being into singing folk songs and filming one day the three girls made a recording of the love song 'Apareka' and that video gained them 3.000.000 views on Youtube right away. It is folk, three ladies singing to the sound of classic Eurasian stringed instruments such as the panduri and tschonguri, long necked lutes. The all acoustic instrumentation can be considered as the soil from which the voices of the three lead singers rise with the one or another instrumental line going deeper than that of course. It might sound like a miracle that this music gained so much attention in a time of flat ass streamline plastic pop but if you take a closer listen to 'With love' you will realize that it does justice to its title. The melodies sung by the girls grab you by the heart immediately and fasten in your soul right away. This is some passionate brand of Eastern, Caucasian folk and has an enchanting approach within the melodies. The girls sing with a very determined expression in their performance. The TRIO MANDILI seems to be much more than just a group of young ladies playing music. There is a kind of mystical atmosphere rising from this compilation of simple love songs coming straight from the heart. The spiritual vibe shall not be underestimated here. This music will increase the frequency of your vibrancy and literally enlighten you. The compositions themselves may be rather simple as it is the fact with most classic folk tunes from allover the centuries but the emotional depth is amazing and the performance is utterly tight. You cannot get any better. If you love folk music and would like to head a bit more east to discover something fresh and exciting, this will be what you are looking for. The vocal performances belong to the most impressive I ever experienced and I have been listening to quite a bit of music over the past decades.

John Doe's The Westerner will be released May 6th via Cool Rock Records/Thirty Tigers. Throughout his career, Doe has garnered worldwide acclaim: NPR Music describes his work as 'one of the warmest, most welcome voices in pop music. There's a beseeching quality to his singing that draws you in with curiosity,' while American Songwriter praises, '...a winning platter of '60s inspired rock with a singer-songwriter twist.' Doe calls The Westerner his 'psychedelic soul record from the Arizona desert.'
The album features ten new tracks from Doe with guest appearances from Chan Marshall of Cat Power, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Cindy Wasserman of Dead Rock West and Tom Brosseau. The Westerner was produced by Howe Gelb (Neko Case, M. Ward), Dave Way (Fiona Apple) and Doe. The album's artwork was designed by Shepard Fairey and Aaron Huey to support Native American rights via a campaign called Protect The Sacred, with additional photography by Jim Herrington.

John Doe is a founding member of the seminal L.A. punk rock band X and the country spin-off band The Knitters. Doe's solo career began with 1990's Meet John Doe, followed by Kissingsohard (1995), For the Rest of Us (1998), Freedom Is... (2000), Dim Stars Bright Sky (2002), Forever Hasn't Happened Yet (2005), For the Best of Us (extended version in 2006), A Year in the Wilderness (2007), Country Club (a collaboration with The Sadies in 2009), A Day at the Pass (a collaboration with Jill Sobule in 2011), Keeper (2011) and most recently The Best of John Doe: This Far (2015) a compilation of Doe's favourite solo recording moments.

Ezra swears it is not meant for entertainment but he doesn't mind if listeners find pleasure in the grooves. This cycle of ten songs designated for the months of the year (Jan and Feb are missing) aim for the self-professed "lofty goal of real protest."

Ezra Furman is a young singer-song writer with a punky spirit who is not afraid to cram a lot of words in among the hooks and jabs. While taking one for Team Earth he is determined to remain standing in the ring at the center microphone bloody but unbowed.

Ezra swears it is not meant for entertainment but he doesn't mind if listeners find pleasure in the grooves. This cycle of ten songs designated for the months of the year (Jan and Feb are missing) aim for the self-professed "lofty goal of real protest."

Ezra Furman is a young singer-song writer with a punky spirit who is not afraid to cram a lot of words in among the hooks and jabs. While taking one for Team Earth he is determined to remain standing in the ring at the center microphone bloody but unbowed.

Born in 1940 in Berlin, Ralf Nowy's musical interest was first exposed to an audience during his school years, when he formed his first rock'n'roll band in the late fifties. After graduation from the Konservatorium, he joined the German jazz scene and also worked for the Saaerland radio station. His recording career began recording exploitation albums designed for dance parties, following the path opened in Germany by artists like Paul Nero (a.k.a. Klaus Doldinger). But with the rise of the krautrock scene he became interested in new, more experimental sounds and joined forces with Paul Vincent (who had played in Klaus Doldinger's Motherhood, from which he would go on to form Hallellujah) and Keith Forsey (also from Hallellujah) - the three, under the name The Ralf Nowy Group, became on of the hottest acts of the Munich scene.Lucifer's Deram was issued on Global in 1973 and offered an interesting mixture of instrumental sounds which moved freely from psychedelic pop to jazz, progressive rock, and ethnic touches... even some funky guitar is present! In addition to Ralf Nowy (flutes, alto saxophone, oboe), Paul Vincent (guitars) and Keith Forsey (drums) the recording sessions counted on the faboulous work of Al Gromer (Amon Düül, Popol Vuh, etc.) and Liz van Nienhoff on sitar, Gary Unwin and Lothar Meid on bass, Sylvester Levay and Don Anderson on pianos, Andy Marx on guitar, Bernie Prock on percussion and Sankha Chatterjee on tablas. Ralf Nowy has also contributed on works by Drosselbart, Improved Sound Limited, Tender Aggression, a.o.First time reissued on vinyl, comes in remastered sound, housed in a fantastic glossy laminated gatefold sleeve reproducing the original artwork, insert with liner notes and the attractive of being an exclusive 500 copies only edition!

The Year of No Returning - Available for the first time in the UK since release of the new and critically acclaimed 'Day Of The Dog'

5/5 REVIEW IN THE GUARDIAN: 'PLEASE TAKE THE FIVE STARS NOT AS A STATEMENT THAT THIS IS THE BEST RECORD OF 2013, BUT AS A DELIGHTED ENDORSEMENT OF A GENRE CLASSIC.

*8/10 REVIEW IN NME: 'THIS CHICAGO-BASED SINGER-SONGWRITER OFFERS A BRATTY, RAGGED TAKE ON NEW YORK DOLLS, SPECTOR-ERA RAMONES AND E STREET BAND CARNIVAL ROCK, REVEALING A GIFT FOR CRAFTING FREEWAY-CRUISN' TUNES SERVED WITH AN EXTRA HELPING OF ROADKILL'

*GUARDIAN PLAYLIST: 'FEELING A VELVETY ITCH IN THE WAKE OF LOU REED'S DEATH EZRA FURMAN MIGHT JUST HIT THE SPOT...'

Ezra swears it is not meant for entertainment but he doesn't mind if listeners find pleasure in the grooves. This cycle of ten songs designated for the months of the year (Jan and Feb are missing) aim for the self-professed "lofty goal of real protest."

Ezra Furman is a young singer-song writer with a punky spirit who is not afraid to cram a lot of words in among the hooks and jabs. While taking one for Team Earth he is determined to remain standing in the ring at the center microphone bloody but unbowed.

Jeremy Loops is an award-winning folk musician from South Africa, whose debut album 'Trading Change' debuted at No. 1 in his homeland and was named Album of the Year 2014 by iTunes SA. The album is finally released in the UK and Europe with 4 bonus tracks alongside a major headlining tour.
'Trading Change's eclectic style - borrowing liberally from jazz, rock, Folk and hip hop - defies genre constraints. When performing live Jeremy creates loops, with the band adding to this sound, Jeremy, loops layers with various instruments, including guitars, harmonicas, banjos and beatboxing. In the band are vocalist /rapper Motheo Moleko, Jamie Faull on the Sax/ Keys/ Drums as well as Sean O'Tim on Bass/Drums. Together they bring a completely different unique and positive sound to a new school of alt folk music.

After the release of their debut Till Monkeys Fly [MOVLP1667], Here We Go, Stereo! is the second album of Dutch Rock band Racoon, released in 2001.

Racoon started in 1997 as an acoustic duo made up of singer Bart van der Weide and guitarist Dennis Huige. They were joined by bass player Stefan de Kroon and drummer Paul Bukkens a year later, and their self-released demo It's An Ice Cream Day earned them the attention of several record companies and many positive reviews from the Dutch press.


In 1999, Racoon were signed to Sony's S.M.A.R.T. label and at the end of the year they went into the ICP-studios in Brussels to record their full-length debut, Till Monkeys Fly, which included the single 'Feel Like Flying'. Here We Go, Stereo!, was buoyed by the hit 'Eric's Bar'.

Recordstore Day 2016 Release - Limited to 600 numbered units. Special remarks: 2LP in gatefold sleeve with printed inner-sleeves and CD included
The CD included features the 16 tracks of the album. Short info: For the first time, the mythic live of Catherine Ringer at the 'Cigale' that was recorded in 2008 is available! Here, we can recognize the legendary punch of the singer that performs some of The Rita Mitsouko's classics, among others. Numbered edition limited to 600 units.

Limited to 500 RSD Release ! lTerritories: Europe excluding FR + UK 2 tracks, features an unreleased song and the new album 1st single

We're very excited to be releasing a new EP this week called Alta Falls. The 5 songs on this record are some of our favorite misfits from the Sleeping Operator sessions. The cover art is by our elusive friend Madame Gilles, whose posters have been anonymously gracing the telephone poles of Montreal for years.

'A Sailor's Guide To Earth' is Sturgill Simpson's third full-length album and follows his break-through Grammy-nominated 2014 release 'Metamodern Sounds In Country Music'. Beloved by critics and fans, the record was featured on year-end 'best of' lists at The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Village Voices Jazz & Pop, Rolling Stone Country, NPR Music, American Songwriter, Stereogum, The Los Angeles Times, KCRW, Pitchfork, The Washington Post and many others.

Produced by Simpson, 'A Sailor's Guide To Earth' was written - beginning to end - as a letter to his first child, who arrived during the summer of 2014 and features eight original songs as well as a rendition of Nirvana's 'In Bloom'.

Recorded primarily at Nashville's 'The Butcher Shoppe', Simpson was joined in the studio by Grammy Award-winning engineer David Ferguson (Johnny Cash, John Prime, 'Cowboy' Jack Clement) and assistant engineer Sean Sullivan. Along with members of his touring band, the album features Dave Roe on bass, Dan Dugmore on steel guitar, Dougie Wilkinson on bagpipes, Garo Yellin and Arthur Cook on cello, Jonathan Dinklage and Whitney LaGrange on violin and special guests The Dap-Kings.

'A Sailor's Guide To Earth' is Sturgill Simpson's third full-length album and follows his break-through Grammy-nominated 2014 release 'Metamodern Sounds In Country Music'. Beloved by critics and fans, the record was featured on year-end 'best of' lists at The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Village Voices Jazz & Pop, Rolling Stone Country, NPR Music, American Songwriter, Stereogum, The Los Angeles Times, KCRW, Pitchfork, The Washington Post and many others.

Produced by Simpson, 'A Sailor's Guide To Earth' was written - beginning to end - as a letter to his first child, who arrived during the summer of 2014 and features eight original songs as well as a rendition of Nirvana's 'In Bloom'.

Recorded primarily at Nashville's 'The Butcher Shoppe', Simpson was joined in the studio by Grammy Award-winning engineer David Ferguson (Johnny Cash, John Prime, 'Cowboy' Jack Clement) and assistant engineer Sean Sullivan. Along with members of his touring band, the album features Dave Roe on bass, Dan Dugmore on steel guitar, Dougie Wilkinson on bagpipes, Garo Yellin and Arthur Cook on cello, Jonathan Dinklage and Whitney LaGrange on violin and special guests The Dap-Kings.

Bevor zum Jahresbeginn 2011 das Album "The Rough And Rynge" erschien, hatte Christian Kjellvander
mehrere Jahre damit verbracht, Geschichten aufzuspüren und in sich aufzusaugen. Geschichten von der
Straße, dem Land, der Stadt und der See. Zwei Jahre lang tourte er mit Band und/oder seiner Familie mit
allen möglichen Fortbewegungsmitteln durch Nordamerika und Europa. Danach war seine Stimmung so
zwiespältig wie nie zuvor. Einerseits war er erfüllt von Begegnungen mit kreativen, geistreichen und
warmherzigen Menschen, die er an wunderschönen Orten getroffen hatte, andererseits verzweifelte er an
den Auswüchsen des Kapitalismus. Deshalb zog er sich in ein kleines, abgeschiedenes Haus auf dem Land
zurück, wo er die Songs für "The Rough And Rynge" schrieb. Es wurde live mit Band in fünf Tagen im Rynge
Castle aufgenommen, einer Scheune an einem Haus in einem kleinen Dorf an einer Bahnlinie. Die
Neuauflage des Albums erscheint als rotes Vinyl.

Fever Dream, the new solo album from Ben Watt is released worldwide on April 8 2016 on Watt's own imprint Unmade Road through Caroline International.

It was in 2014 - after sixteen years and nine albums as songwriter-performer-producer with Tracey Thorn in best-selling duo Everything But The Girl, a further ten at the helm of his award-winning electronic label Buzzin' Fly, and a radio residency on BBC 6Music - that Watt returned to his roots as a solo singer and songwriter with Hendra, his second album. Arriving thirty-one years after his UK Independent Chart No. 1 debut, it met with wide acclaim at home and abroad for its eloquent lyrics and stripped-back aesthetic, it featured prominently in end-of-year round-ups and pipped Anna Calvi and Blood Orange to win Best 'Difficult' Second Album at the AIM Independent Music Awards 2014.

Fever Dream - self-produced at London's famous RAK Studio 2, and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Maine - takes Hendra's sonic template of open-tuned folk-jazz, distorted string-bent rock, and soulful rumination, and adds a fresh grainy intensity. It renews key partnerships with Hendra's vaunted guitarist-sideman Bernard Butler and engineer Bruno Ellingham, and sprinkles guest vocal cameos from Boston's dream-folk singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler and Hiss Golden Messenger's M.C. Taylor.

'At the album's heart I just wanted to deepen existing relationships,' Watt says. 'Two years of playing live with Bernard has created a strong bond, the music we make feels spontaneous, ardent, unsentimental. We just went in and did most of it live. Small room, small band. A harder edge. Instruments spilling into each other.' The pair are joined by drummer/percussionist and longtime ally Martin Ditcham (Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden) and new double bassist Rex Horan (Laura Marling's Once I Was an Eagle / Neil Cowley Trio), who in Watt's words 'brilliantly blurs the boundaries between folk, jazz and rock'.

'I chose the guests to suit,' he goes on. 'Marissa's sound is gothic and gauzy but tender and revealing. I pictured her with me on the key closing track (New Year of Grace) - which is a kind of answer to the album's opener (Gradually). She was in London for twenty-four hours recently. I just doorstepped her on Twitter, and she said yes.'

Watt's non-fiction writing and lyrics have been integral to his recent acclaim. His second memoir Romany and Tom - a portrait of his parents' marriage - was longlisted for the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize in 2014. (His first, 1996's Patient was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year). Novelist Jonathan Coe recently commented Watt is 'beyond doubt one of the great British singer-songwriters', while The Guardian's senior rock critic Alexis Petridis called the writing on Hendra 'pretty much perfect'.

Of the new songs, Watt says: 'I got back from tour with a few notes for a new book, but life got in the way. Close friends were falling apart, my own relationships were being tested. I found I wanted to capture smaller snapshots about how love shifts over time, what endures, how we cope. And they became songs. Some came out darker and more troubled, others softer and more hopeful. And that then became the album structure. First half heavier, second half lighter. A sense of transformation, rather than just a collection of songs. I hadn't done that before.'

It was in 1981 that Watt first appeared in London as a precocious nineteen year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist. His breakthrough 1982 EP Summer into Winter featured alt-folk icon Robert Wyatt and drew comparisons with Tim Buckley. His early solo work may be overshadowed by his subsequent successes with Tracey Thorn, but his 1983 debut solo album North Marine Drive reached No 1 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.

'The music I heard in my teens - jazz, folk, art-rock - still cuts the deepest with me,' he says. 'I recently spent over ten years exploring instrumental electronic music and clubland (he was nominated for Outstanding Contribution to Dance Music at DJ Magazine Awards 2009, and was a resident DJ on BBC 6Music's 6Mix from 2010-2014) but have come back to language and that band-in-a-room spontaneity. The raw human voice, unaffected words, pushing simple instruments to their limits - that is now what fascinates me again.'

Nach dem weltweiten Hit - Ho Hey und dem gefeierten Debütalbum - The Lumineers , meldet sich das aus Denver stammende Folk-Trio mit ihrem zweiten Werk - Cleopatra zurück. Vorgeschmack ist die erste Single - Ophelia". Auch auf - Cleopatra hat die Band ihre erfolgreiche Mischung aus eingängigen Akustikrock, klassischem Pop und Folk beibehalten, für die sie 2013 für zwei Grammys in den Kategorien Best New Artist und Best American Album, sowie für zwei Billboard Music Awards (Top New Artist und Top Rock Artist) nominiert wurde. Anfang Mai kommen The Lumineers mit ihrem neuen Album für 3 Konzerte nach Deutschland. - Cleopatra erscheint als Digipack-CD (Mintpack), Download, Stream und 180g Gatefold Doppel-Vinyl

33 years after the release of the classic Volume, Contrast, Brilliance... Vol.1' comes this wonderful collection of unreleased and rare demos. Spanning 1978 to 1991, these range from DIY to high quality studio recordings - many are real gems, but some also failed to be released or properly recorded for a variety of reasons (which are explained in the liner notes) - bad timing, odd decisions, even forgetfulness! The range of styles displayed are typical of this iconic and highly influential band - slices of their sound can be heard throughout the indie and mainstream genres of many countries.

This acclaimed Eva album is now available on double 180g vinyl. Cut at 45RPM for that extra quality sound.

Primarily focused on the electric guitar (but also featuring flute and a bit of trumpet) the recording is named after the Pythagorean guitar tuning it employs. The new recording is a truly solo endeavour; composed, performed, produced, engineered and mastered solely by Chatham.

Following his Guitar Trio Is My Life! and A Crimson Grail records—the latter, the extensive revisiting of his groundbreaking 'Guitar Trio' (1977) which featured the entire guitar section of Sonic Youth, and members of Swans, Tortoise, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Modern Lovers, A Silver Mt. Zion & Hüsker Dü; the former, his work for large electric guitar orchestra which premiered in Paris in 2005 (for 400 guitars) and was reworked for the Lincoln Center Out Of Doors Festival in New York City in 2009 (200 electric guitars and 16 electric basses)—Chatham felt a need to get back to basics, returning to that most intimate and direct way of experiencing music: the solo.

Going back to the model of composer as performer that was pioneered in the 1960s by artists such as Tony Conrad and Terry Riley, Chatham began to develop solos that he would play himself, choosing to incorporate the multi-second delay effect pioneered by Terry Riley with two Revox Tape Machines. Feeling that it tied in with his overall minimalist aesthetic (having studied under, and then worked with La Monte Young in the early 1970s) and that the effect (which gives the impression that choirs and choirs of instruments are playing) was fitting as a succession to his 100-guitar idea, Chatham created and layered feedback loops of varying durations using Riley's method in order to create rich, overlapping layers which in practice transcend the limitations of their start and end points, blooming into free-flowing melodies in their own right.

Part One of Pythagorean Dream is comprised of a brief trumpet intro, followed by a guitar piece which implements a finger picking technique (Chatham has long been a fan of this style; John Fahey was one of his teenage musical heroes), before moving to an eBow section, and concluding with the fast tremolo flat-picking technique used in the context of his 100 guitar pieces.

Part Two is principally about Chatham's return to the flute, the instrument which sparked his love of contemporary music; which he mastered in his adolescence prior to experiencing the early Ramones show at CBGB's which caused him to changed course and focus on the electric guitar. While composing this solo work, Chatham figured that the flute's timbre would make a suitably interesting contrast to the guitar and trumpet, which led him to pick up the instrument again. Pythagorean Dream features Chatham on C, alto & bass flutes. The recording is brought to a close with a final guitar piece.

Get Well Soon just released their new studio album called 'Love' (via Caroline).

Fever Dream, the new solo album from Ben Watt is released worldwide on April 8 2016 on Watt's own imprint Unmade Road through Caroline International.

It was in 2014 - after sixteen years and nine albums as songwriter-performer-producer with Tracey Thorn in best-selling duo Everything But The Girl, a further ten at the helm of his award-winning electronic label Buzzin' Fly, and a radio residency on BBC 6Music - that Watt returned to his roots as a solo singer and songwriter with Hendra, his second album. Arriving thirty-one years after his UK Independent Chart No. 1 debut, it met with wide acclaim at home and abroad for its eloquent lyrics and stripped-back aesthetic, it featured prominently in end-of-year round-ups and pipped Anna Calvi and Blood Orange to win Best 'Difficult' Second Album at the AIM Independent Music Awards 2014.

Fever Dream - self-produced at London's famous RAK Studio 2, and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Maine - takes Hendra's sonic template of open-tuned folk-jazz, distorted string-bent rock, and soulful rumination, and adds a fresh grainy intensity. It renews key partnerships with Hendra's vaunted guitarist-sideman Bernard Butler and engineer Bruno Ellingham, and sprinkles guest vocal cameos from Boston's dream-folk singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler and Hiss Golden Messenger's M.C. Taylor.

'At the album's heart I just wanted to deepen existing relationships,' Watt says. 'Two years of playing live with Bernard has created a strong bond, the music we make feels spontaneous, ardent, unsentimental. We just went in and did most of it live.

Small room, small band. A harder edge. Instruments spilling into each other.' The pair are joined by drummer/percussionist and longtime ally Martin Ditcham (Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden) and new double bassist Rex Horan (Laura Marling's Once I Was an Eagle / Neil Cowley Trio), who in Watt's words 'brilliantly blurs the boundaries between folk, jazz and rock'.

'I chose the guests to suit,' he goes on. 'Marissa's sound is gothic and gauzy but tender and revealing. I pictured her with me on the key closing track (New Year of Grace) - which is a kind of answer to the album's opener (Gradually). She was in London for twenty-four hours recently. I just doorstepped her on Twitter, and she said yes.'

Watt's non-fiction writing and lyrics have been integral to his recent acclaim. His second memoir Romany and Tom - a portrait of his parents' marriage - was longlisted for the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize in 2014. (His first, 1996's Patient was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year). Novelist Jonathan Coe recently commented Watt is 'beyond doubt one of the great British singer-songwriters', while The Guardian's senior rock critic Alexis Petridis called the writing on Hendra 'pretty much perfect'.

Of the new songs, Watt says: 'I got back from tour with a few notes for a new book, but life got in the way. Close friends were falling apart, my own relationships were being tested. I found I wanted to capture smaller snapshots about how love shifts over time, what endures, how we cope. And they became songs. Some came out darker and more troubled, others softer and more hopeful. And that then became the album structure. First half heavier, second half lighter. A sense of transformation, rather than just a collection of songs. I hadn't done that before.'

It was in 1981 that Watt first appeared in London as a precocious nineteen year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist. His breakthrough 1982 EP Summer into Winter featured alt-folk icon Robert Wyatt and drew comparisons with Tim Buckley. His early solo work may be overshadowed by his subsequent successes with Tracey Thorn, but his 1983 debut solo album North Marine Drive reached No 1 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.

'The music I heard in my teens - jazz, folk, art-rock - still cuts the deepest with me,' he says. 'I recently spent over ten years exploring instrumental electronic music and clubland (he was nominated for Outstanding Contribution to Dance Music at DJ Magazine Awards 2009, and was a resident DJ on BBC 6Music's 6Mix from 2010-2014) but have come back to language and that band-in-a-room spontaneity. The raw human voice, unaffected words, pushing simple instruments to their limits - that is now what fascinates me again.'

Fever Dream, the new solo album from Ben Watt is released worldwide on April 8 2016 on Watt's own imprint Unmade Road through Caroline International.

It was in 2014 - after sixteen years and nine albums as songwriter-performer-producer with Tracey Thorn in best-selling duo Everything But The Girl, a further ten at the helm of his award-winning electronic label Buzzin' Fly, and a radio residency on BBC 6Music - that Watt returned to his roots as a solo singer and songwriter with Hendra, his second album. Arriving thirty-one years after his UK Independent Chart No. 1 debut, it met with wide acclaim at home and abroad for its eloquent lyrics and stripped-back aesthetic, it featured prominently in end-of-year round-ups and pipped Anna Calvi and Blood Orange to win Best 'Difficult' Second Album at the AIM Independent Music Awards 2014.

Fever Dream - self-produced at London's famous RAK Studio 2, and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Maine - takes Hendra's sonic template of open-tuned folk-jazz, distorted string-bent rock, and soulful rumination, and adds a fresh grainy intensity. It renews key partnerships with Hendra's vaunted guitarist-sideman Bernard Butler and engineer Bruno Ellingham, and sprinkles guest vocal cameos from Boston's dream-folk singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler and Hiss Golden Messenger's M.C. Taylor.

'At the album's heart I just wanted to deepen existing relationships,' Watt says. 'Two years of playing live with Bernard has created a strong bond, the music we make feels spontaneous, ardent, unsentimental. We just went in and did most of it live. Small room, small band. A harder edge. Instruments spilling into each other.' The pair are joined by drummer/percussionist and longtime ally Martin Ditcham (Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden) and new double bassist Rex Horan (Laura Marling's Once I Was an Eagle / Neil Cowley Trio), who in Watt's words 'brilliantly blurs the boundaries between folk, jazz and rock'.

'I chose the guests to suit,' he goes on. 'Marissa's sound is gothic and gauzy but tender and revealing. I pictured her with me on the key closing track (New Year of Grace) - which is a kind of answer to the album's opener (Gradually). She was in London for twenty-four hours recently. I just doorstepped her on Twitter, and she said yes.'

Watt's non-fiction writing and lyrics have been integral to his recent acclaim. His second memoir Romany and Tom - a portrait of his parents' marriage - was longlisted for the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize in 2014. (His first, 1996's Patient was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year). Novelist Jonathan Coe recently commented Watt is 'beyond doubt one of the great British singer-songwriters', while The Guardian's senior rock critic Alexis Petridis called the writing on Hendra 'pretty much perfect'.

Of the new songs, Watt says: 'I got back from tour with a few notes for a new book, but life got in the way. Close friends were falling apart, my own relationships were being tested. I found I wanted to capture smaller snapshots about how love shifts over time, what endures, how we cope. And they became songs. Some came out darker and more troubled, others softer and more hopeful. And that then became the album structure. First half heavier, second half lighter. A sense of transformation, rather than just a collection of songs. I hadn't done that before.'

It was in 1981 that Watt first appeared in London as a precocious nineteen year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist. His breakthrough 1982 EP Summer into Winter featured alt-folk icon Robert Wyatt and drew comparisons with Tim Buckley. His early solo work may be overshadowed by his subsequent successes with Tracey Thorn, but his 1983 debut solo album North Marine Drive reached No 1 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.

'The music I heard in my teens - jazz, folk, art-rock - still cuts the deepest with me,' he says. 'I recently spent over ten years exploring instrumental electronic music and clubland (he was nominated for Outstanding Contribution to Dance Music at DJ Magazine Awards 2009, and was a resident DJ on BBC 6Music's 6Mix from 2010-2014) but have come back to language and that band-in-a-room spontaneity. The raw human voice, unaffected words, pushing simple instruments to their limits - that is now what fascinates me again.'

After nearly a decade, Fog is back. Andrew Broder's project has been tough to trace, leaving a trail of acclaimed albums, each considerably different than the last, on notable electronic labels before disappearing like its namesake. But For Good is as much a return to what the Minneapolis auteur does best — piano, turntables, and voice caught up in a gorgeously taut swirl — as it is a foray into music without precedent: digital soundscapes seamlessly wed to guitar, bass, drums, violin, sax, and synths.

It's the sad/pretty pop of Antony and the Johnsons, Bon Iver, or Julia Holter spliced with the new noise of Arca, Shabazz Palaces, and Oneohtrix Point Never. Broder flexes his knack for better mood-building through collaboration and collage. His Twin Cities geniuses pitch in — Mark Erickson, Tim Glenn, Jeremy Ylvisaker, Mike Lewis, et al. — plus Dntel and Doseone (behind the scenes) and violinist Leah Ottman.

For Good's sonic focus isn't a surprise. In 2015, Broder produced a bleak-banging rap tape for MC Crescent Moon, covered Beach House and FKA Twigs on Soundcloud, and dropped a five-cassette drones-and-beats set for the heads. But the production here is also cleaner than ever, and likewise the vocals, which Broder honed most recently fronting his rock-ish band the Cloak Ox. The lyrics showcase an eye for observation and introspection that makes cousins of Bill Callahan and Phil Elverum, and if there's a heaviness haunting the words, it's the workingman's wont. After holding a series of random, short-lived side jobs, Broder learned a trade so he could better support his family — he's a handyman and commercial painter back home. But in giving more of his time to the grind, he conversely found himself at his most musically inspired. That push/pull is a crux of the new Fog.

Broder funded For Good via Kickstarter, and recorded parts at Justin Vernon's April Base compound (with basketball breaks) and Eau Claire studio Hive (where co-producer Brian Joseph actually keeps bees). But the album was made mostly in Broder's basement, in the company of his space heater and 3-year-old boy, Sonny. While the poetry stays oblique, these are ostensibly songs about hard work ("Jim"), stubborn love ("Trying"), and elusive purpose ("Made to Follow"). Also, being a dad. Tender closer "Father Popcorn" lets all the digitalia recede as Broder contrasts his hustle against the relief of a child's naïveté: "Sticks his tongue out, flops his earlobe... Presses his mouth to the window, blows his own cloud." And right there, in the record's final moments, the concept of "Fog" flips, from a mysterious haze that connotes dread, to a gesture that is, decidedly, For Good.

After nearly a decade, Fog is back. Andrew Broder's project has been tough to trace, leaving a trail of acclaimed albums, each considerably different than the last, on notable electronic labels before disappearing like its namesake. But For Good is as much a return to what the Minneapolis auteur does best — piano, turntables, and voice caught up in a gorgeously taut swirl — as it is a foray into music without precedent: digital soundscapes seamlessly wed to guitar, bass, drums, violin, sax, and synths.

It's the sad/pretty pop of Antony and the Johnsons, Bon Iver, or Julia Holter spliced with the new noise of Arca, Shabazz Palaces, and Oneohtrix Point Never. Broder flexes his knack for better mood-building through collaboration and collage. His Twin Cities geniuses pitch in — Mark Erickson, Tim Glenn, Jeremy Ylvisaker, Mike Lewis, et al. — plus Dntel and Doseone (behind the scenes) and violinist Leah Ottman.

For Good's sonic focus isn't a surprise. In 2015, Broder produced a bleak-banging rap tape for MC Crescent Moon, covered Beach House and FKA Twigs on Soundcloud, and dropped a five-cassette drones-and-beats set for the heads. But the production here is also cleaner than ever, and likewise the vocals, which Broder honed most recently fronting his rock-ish band the Cloak Ox. The lyrics showcase an eye for observation and introspection that makes cousins of Bill Callahan and Phil Elverum, and if there's a heaviness haunting the words, it's the workingman's wont. After holding a series of random, short-lived side jobs, Broder learned a trade so he could better support his family — he's a handyman and commercial painter back home. But in giving more of his time to the grind, he conversely found himself at his most musically inspired. That push/pull is a crux of the new Fog.

Broder funded For Good via Kickstarter, and recorded parts at Justin Vernon's April Base compound (with basketball breaks) and Eau Claire studio Hive (where co-producer Brian Joseph actually keeps bees). But the album was made mostly in Broder's basement, in the company of his space heater and 3-year-old boy, Sonny. While the poetry stays oblique, these are ostensibly songs about hard work ("Jim"), stubborn love ("Trying"), and elusive purpose ("Made to Follow"). Also, being a dad. Tender closer "Father Popcorn" lets all the digitalia recede as Broder contrasts his hustle against the relief of a child's naïveté: "Sticks his tongue out, flops his earlobe... Presses his mouth to the window, blows his own cloud." And right there, in the record's final moments, the concept of "Fog" flips, from a mysterious haze that connotes dread, to a gesture that is, decidedly, For Good.

Greasy Bear formed in Manchester in 1969 as a folk/rock outfit and were christened Manchester's answer to The Grateful Dead .' Managed by Roger Eagle, the band soon gained a reputation as a tight and eccentric live act due to the on stage antics of C.P. Lee (vocals) and Bruce Mitchell (Drums). Other band members were Ian Wilson (vocals/guitar), Steve Whalley (Guitar) and John Gibson (Bass).

In1970,with a collection of songs penned by Lee and Wilson, Greasy Bear recorded 9 tracks, hoping to secure a deal with the now highly collectable Philips/Vertigo label. They worked with producer Terry Brown, who had recently produced the work of Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick.

The deal with Philips fell through and the band soon went their separate ways. C.P. Lee and Bruce Mitchell formed Manchester anarchic-satirical rock band Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias. Bruce was also the other half of Factory records duo The Durutti Column.

Ian Wilson went on to form Sad Cafe with the late Paul Young and Steve Whalley also played in Sad Cafe and joined Slade for 14 years in 1992 whilst Noddy was in Toyland.

46 years later and Is Adrian There finally gets the release it deserves. This previously unreleased gem will not disappoint.

A1. Windy Day
A2. Five Black Horses
A3. Betcha Gonna Need
A4. Autumn Fair
B1. Geordie
B2. Brown Eyed Boy
B3. Country Brown
B4. Tallawaya

Trembling Bells are back with Wide Majestic Aire, a seven-track mini-album, which acts as a companion, piece to The Sovereign Self and cements their reputation as one of Britain's most exciting and exploratory groups.
'Wide Majestic Aire' is among my favourite songs that I've written,' says the band's founder and leader Alex Neilson of the title track. This romantic ballad, sung by Lavinia Blackwall, sees the compass of the band's music swing back in the direction of folk after the prog and acid rock of Sovereign Self. It is in some ways archetypally Trembling Bells in its evocation of the landscapes of Yorkshire and Oxford and its invocation of great artists of the past - Larkin, Blake, Lorca and Turner. Such a sweet and melodic song could function as a gateway drug to the rest of the band's music, which is to be welcomed, as there is much to explore in their rich back catalogue.
A major river in Yorkshire, the Aire passes through Leeds, Neilson's hometown. The Aire was a sanctuary for me,' he says. I grew up on a council estate in Bramley and the river was five minutes away. As a teenager I'd listen to the Velvet Underground, Captain Beefheart and Incredible String Band while walking my dogs along the banks. These were the things that moulded me and sent me on a certain path in life.'
2016 promises to be a busy year. There are plans to release a live album of their shows with Will Oldham, Neilson hopes to put out a solo record, and to record an album of traditional songs sung by Stewart Lee. A short UK tour will climax in mid-April at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Prestatyn, curated by the comedian, during which the Trembling Bells will perform No Roses, the classic 1971 album by Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band. Neilson will also drum on the forthcoming album by Shirley Collins, a folk legend, now aged 80
Trembling Bells are a psych folk phenomenon. The Glasgow based quintet have released five albums since 2008, all to unanimous critical acclaim. Their debut album "Carbeth" received album of the month nominations in Uncut, Observer and Rolling Stone magazines and the group have earned praise from artists as diverse as Paul Weller, Stewart Lee and Joe Boyd.
Trembling Bells are: Lavinia Blackwall (vocals, organ, electric guitar), Mike Hastings (electric, acoustic, 12 string guitar, vocals), Alasdair C Mitchell (Wurlitzer piano), Alex Neilson (drums, vocals), Simon Shaw (bass, vocals), Katy Cooper-(violin), Ross McRae (trombone) and John Wilson (violin)
They are so wild, they are so British, they are so exciting. They merge so many different and exciting forms of music that I love, from traditional English folk, to jazz, to prog, and the meld it together in a way that is not exclusive at all. It's embracing, it's colourful, it's funny, they're full of personalities - I love the whole kit and kaboodle of what they do.' - Stuart Maconie

With her debut EP - Break Of Dawn the Berlin based Mieke Miami whet the appetite for the now available long player already last October. It's the beautiful morning serenade Break of Dawn' itself which opens up this eleven track strong album named In The Old Forest' ringing in springtime in a augustly levitating manner with Mieke's sugar-sweet voice. Thereafter the album's title track takes us by the hand buoyantly and leads us through this wondrous, old forest, which has a multitude of stories to tell. For instance one about a man without shoes ( UFO'), another one about a companionship with a tree ( The Owl') or the one about a stroll along a sea full of memories ( Bantry Bay'). But most of all these tales recount this special feeling called summer ( August' and Summer'). The whole LP spreads this subtle serenity which you only witness during this season of the year. Maybe except for All Over and Radioman', two songs marching to some kind of a different drummer but in doing so add a pinch of variety in tone and style. Otherwise you could consider yourself to be strictly in the land of bliss by listening to this album.

The band supporting Mieke Miami (Carolina Bigge on drums, Thomas Stieger on bass and guitar and Johannes Saal on keys as well as guitar) creates a sound not only accentuating Mieke's sophisticated songwriting but stimulating it along the course. For instance, listen to Fly'. This dreamy piece of pop with a musicall well-versed foundation - from the songwriting to the orchestration and of course the lyrics. In short, In The Old Forest' simply makes you happy, even on days less warm and less summery.

Two new tracks from this scottish band. Psych-Folk, influenced by The Byrds, Beachwood Sparks, The Church and many more folk-psych-pop stars!