The Smiths Indeed - Liverpools Stanley Theatre October 28th

                  The Smiths Indeed

Who will be performing The Queen is Dead in it’s entirety to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the album’s release

"A brilliant tribute to The Smiths" (i-D Magazine)

 

If, in the Autumn of 1982, you were a pair of budding young songwriters and performers about to unleash a series of wounding pop songs about sexual attraction and solitude upon an unsuspecting Britain and were surrounded by bands with names like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Ed Banger & The Nosebleeds and Slaughter and the Dogs, is it a surprise that your retort would be a name such as The Smiths?

Between October 1982, when The Smiths performed their first gig supporting Blue Rondo A La Turk at the Ritz in Manchester, and the release of their seminal album The Queen is Dead in June 1986, that same pair of songwriters, Morrissey and Marr, in conjunction with Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, had written, recorded and performed a series of brilliantly illuminating pop songs that gave hope to a generation struggling to guide its way through the morass of a grey, turgid Britain blighted by the Falklands war, the Miners strike and Margaret Thatcher.

To celebrate the 25^th anniversary since release of The Queen is Dead the album will be performed in its entirety by The Smiths Indeed, who reproduce with uncanny accuracy, the energy and the pomp and ceremony of The Smiths during this period of the 1980’s. The Smiths Indeed have been performing since 2005 and developed a rapturous following of their own amongst the notoriously hard to please hardcore Smiths fans both old and new. Due to an increasing demand for their incredible ability to reproduce the atmosphere of a Smiths show, The Smiths Indeed will be moving their performance into larger venues, enabling them to incorporate a more sophisticated concert containing state of the art lighting and video content without losing the feel of a 1980’s gig.

The Smiths Indeed will perform The Queen is Dead and a Greatest Hits set at the following venues on the dates listed below:

 

Friday 28^th October – Liverpool University’s Stanley Theatre, Liverpool £13.50

Saturday 29^th October – Academy, Sheffield £13.50

Thursday 3^rd November – King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow £12.50

Friday 4^th November – Doghouse, Dundee £10.00

Saturday 5^th November – The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen £12.50

Thursday 10^th November – HMV Institute, Birmingham £13.50

Friday 11^th November – The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth £13.50

Saturday 12^th November – Academy, Oxford £13.50

 Thursday 17^th November – Garage, London £13.50

Friday 18^th November – Komedia, Brighton £13.50

Saturday 19^th November – Academy, Leicester £13.50

Thursday 24^th November – Academy, Newcastle £13.50

Saturday 26^th November – The Ritz, Manchester £13.50

MORE DATES TO FOLLOW

http://www.thesmithsindeed.co.uk/

Erics 35th anniversary free show this saturday

SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER

Dave O'Grady

Bird

Cold Shoulder

54321

The Shoestrung

Doors 7.30pm

This Saturday night ERIC'S LIVE on Mathew Street, Liverpool is hosting a free night with local bands playing original music from Dave O'Grady, Bird, Cold Shoulder, 54321 and The Shoestrung from London.

They venue would like to encourage local bands and promoters to come down and introduce themselves and check out the new venue. It's 35 years ago to the day that this cellar was first used for live music. 

Dave O’Grady is a singer/songwriter originally from Ireland now based in the UK combine folk and blues and makes it his own. He first picked up the guitar aged twelve and did his first show at thirteen. Born and raised in Ireland Dave was fed a healthy diet of music from Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jeff Healy and Rory Gallagher to Christy Moore, Steve Earle and Tom Waits.

Since he stepped out of the shadows in 2007 he has performed live such legends of music as Bon Jovi, Seal, Ringo Star.

Bird are a five piece band, hailing from Liverpool. They combine haunting and poetic lyrics with melodic and eerie, sweeping guitar riffs. Bird put themselves under the genre of ‘atmospheric folk’ and atmospheric is definitely the word. Bird’s universe is magical and will leave you with hairs standing up on the back of your neck.

Cold Shoulder are a recent collaboration of three great musicians.  Drummer Nick Kilroe (Echo And The Bunnymen/ Black Velvets), Chris Kearney on vocals and guitar and bass player Andy Ashton. Chris Kearney, ex vocalist of Liverpool band The Aeroplanes has described their music as bitter sweet.  The now disbanded Aeroplanes hit a record on iTunes in 2008 with a massive 22,000 downloads for an unsigned band.

The Showstrung influences include the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Small Faces and Terry Reid, which is always a good start. And after a listen to the tunes on MySpace, you can see why - a mix of old school British R&B (Stones and Yardbirds for example) with a touch of new school indie.

54321 are a Wirral-based band comprising of cousins and brothers who play melodic pop-rock. Their debut album What We Did With Our Days is out now. 

http://www.ericslive.com/

Kay 2 release third video for Dreamers

West London based duo Kay 2 release the third promotional video in the run up to their highly anticipated forthcoming debut mixtape ‘The Strangest Day’.

Having grown up on a small council estate in Chelsea / Fulham with a rich Moroccan and Irish heritage, music played a monumental part in the upbringing of Kay 2, something which has transcended into the music they make today. "It's basically Pop and Hip Hop, with a mixture of any other genre we like," they reveal, whilst name checking the likes of Mike Posner, Wiz Khalifa, Jamie T, Kid Cudi and N-Dubz as some of their musical influences.

They've already peaked at Number 2 on the Myspace UK Unsigned Music Charts, and received interest from countless record labels, distribution companies and tastemakers from across the industry. The diverse duo have also clocked up over 50,000 views on YouTube in the past 6 months, and have slowly but surely turned the heads of leading bloggers with their distinctive, limitless sound.

‘Dreamers’ is the last single before the release of the mixtape, and it has certainly prepped listeners for the eclectic, well developed sound that these boys will be bringing to the table on their debut full length release. Based around a beautifully atmospheric vocal sample, the track is driven by an almost-but-not-quite-jungle drum break and a powerful vocal performance which this collective have become well known for.

You can watch the video for ‘Dreamers’ online now at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncTCBAQ6p0A

HL Music - Kill It Kid Album Launch

We recently featured an article on HL Music's 2nd event at XOYO in London with headliners Kill It Kid. Youll be glad to hear that the evening was a sell out.

The video of the event is below and a full report from the evening can be found here -  

http://www.henrilloyd.com/hl-jeans/hl-music---kill-it-kid-album-launch---xoyo,-london

 

Ruarri Joseph live this weekend

Ruarri’s rather peculiar music career began, in part, when his mother - a practicing witch – relocated her young family from Cornwall to New Zealand, away from his alcoholic father. A childhood was spent living on a farm in the middle of nowhere, where it was common practice to make explosives, drive at fourteen, swim in the ocean and shoot possums. When Ruarri’s family wanted to move to a bigger field, they simply sawed the house in half and took both bits with them.
 
With a growing love of music, Ruarri headed back to England. He met his wife--‐to--‐be at seventeen, and soon found himself a Teenage Dad, working as a nurse for the elderly and mentally ill. Joseph found musical solace gigging in a Jazz Cabaret band, and in 2007 – after buying ten Tom Waits albums to locate the one song he’d heard of – Ruarri stumbled into a solo career, and a Major Label deal. He was, he now concedes, completely unprepared for the music industry, having never really experienced one in his homes of New Zealand and Cornwall. One album and a good deal of critical acclaim later, following support slots with the likes of David Gray, Seth Lakeman and Paolo Nutini (with whom he remains close), Joseph quit his recording contract.
 
Ruarri returned to his roots, writing songs for the fun of it. His wife helped him found a record label and release a follow--‐up album, effectively acting as his A&R. Just as the record, ‘Both Sides of The Coin’, started to get going, the campaign was dealt a hammer blow: Ruarri’s son, Alfie, had to undergo emergency brain surgery, while his wife gave birth to their third--‐born, Harper. ‘Shoulder To The Wheel’, then, was written following the eventual (and full) recovery of Alfie. It is a hopeful record, somewhat unusually shaped by Gospel (or Joseph’s idea of gospel music: like Cobain’s introduction to Punk, Ruarri notes, he is more influenced by the attitudes than the aesthetics). Ruarri’s 4th album will be released in early 2012 and has released an EP ‘Til the luck runs dry’ with 2 new songs taken from the record, which is released through his web site.

http://ruarrijoseph.ning.com/

 

www.facebook.com/RuarriJoseph

Saturday 1st Oct @ Mello Mello Liverpool

Sunday 2nd Oct @ Ruby Lounge Manchester

Monday 3rd Oct @ Milo Leeds

Tickets from www.glasswerk.co.uk / www.ticketwerk.co.uk

 

Liverpool based Bird announce Phantoms E.P.

BIRD- PHANTOMS EP – JACK TO PHONO RECORDS

RELEASED VIA KUDOS DISTRIBUTION 31/10/11

Bird are a Liverpool based 5 piece fronted by 22 year old mystical songstress Adele Emmas. Tales of nostalgia and other worldly beings are the order of the day. The lyrics touch upon matter as varied as celestial bodies, storms, the moon and haunting trips down memory lane. Set to a backdrop of melodious guitars, sweeping violins and subtle percussion, delicately woven together to create the enchanted, magical space Bird inhabit.  

The band formed at the start of 2011 and instantly bonded over their shared love of artists like Kate Bush, The Cocteau Twins, Leonard Cohen and PJ Harvey. Within the first month of playing together the songs on this EP had already taken shape.

Their debut "Phantoms EP" has been eagerly anticipated by their ever growing ardent fan base. The release date of 31/10/11 was something the band earmarked early on. 

"We knew we wanted to put Phantoms out as our first release from day one, it’s already become our signature track live. We decided when we first recorded it that the lyrics and mood of the track leant itself perfectly to a Halloween release."

The EP released on London based "Jack to Phono Records" features four songs. The eerie, almost medieval lead track "Phantoms" "Hey Hey Moonshine" "Tides" and "The Witch-Hunter" complete this first record. The download package contains an exclusive remix of Phantoms by Tom Eno and the film-noire style video for Phantoms, a beautiful pictorial companion to the song.

"This EP is a snap shot of the band, an introduction to Bird. We picked four songs that worked together but could also individually stand up on their own. I believe music has the power to connect with people on so many levels, one thing I am sure of is we will never "fill out" EPs or albums with songs that don’t attempt to touch the listener" 

Bird have been busy honing their craft on their native Liverpool scene over the past 9 months. The gestation period is over and the band are ready to deliver their offerings to the wider world. Dates throughout the UK are planned. Here is what “they” are saying about Bird....

“The bustling audience fell silent and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who's hairs were standing up on the back of their necks. It's different yet brilliant. In particular, check out Phantoms, the track will leave you emotionally tongue tied " (Elite Magazine)

“This is one of the finest half-dozen bands I’ve discovered this year.” (Dandelion Radio)

http://birdofficial.co.uk/  

http://twitter.com/#!/Bird_Official  @Bird_Official

http://www.jacktophono.com 

New Jon Gomm single/video Passionflower released today

With a once-seen-never-forgotten two-handed style, both physical and complex, Jon Gomm is an incredible guitar virtuoso, using one acoustic instrument to create drum sounds, bass lines and sparkling melodies all at the same time.

The son of a music critic, musicians would often stay at the Gomm household in Blackpool on the understanding Jon would get a guitar lesson, meaning he had one-to-one tuition from blues legends like Walter Trout and Bob Brozman.

International tours have generated a huge cult following and Jon is regarded by those ‘in the know’ as one of the world’s most talented and innovative guitarists. His videos are watched thousands of times within days of appearing on Youtube, and his home-recorded debut album Hypertension sold over ten thousand copies with no industry backing. The next, Don't Panic, sold out on Amazon within 5 days.

The songs were home-recorded by Jon, and each one has an accompanying video which has been produced by Jon’s fans, keen as always to get involved and help the cause.

A percentage of the sales of the single will be going to Jon's mum's charity The Happy House children's home for kids in Kenya, many of whom have been orphaned by Aids or malaria.

The first single, Passionflower is a beautifully uplifting track where Gomm’s blues and folk inflected vocals soar over the distortion drenched sound steel strings bending and retuning. The accompanying array of percussive cracks and bangs created on the body of his well worn guitar create an ethereal soundscape. Jon describes it as a song about personal growth inspired by a tropical plant which overgrew the whole of his little backyard in inner-city Leeds.

Passionflower blends technical virtuosity on the guitar with an earthy lyrical style to make an everyman anthem.

Future releases in the project will include an instrumental arrangement of a disco classic, a political call to arms, an overblown acoustic-prog meditation on obsession and a cover version of one of Jon’s favourite songs from his childhood.

http://jongomm.com

Julian Cope - Liverpool Stanley Theatre October 27th

 

 

THE MUSIC CONSORTIUM PRESENTS

JULIAN COPE

Thursday 27^th October 2011

Liverpool, Stanley Theatre, University Of Liverpool

160, Mount Pleasant, Liverpool, L3 5TR

Tel. 0151 794 6868 www.lgos.org

£17.50 advance doors 7.30

 

 

Julian Cope is a singer, poet, occultist and photographer who has enjoyed a 30-year career in the rock business, and is described by his Bloomsbury book publishers as a ‘visionary rock musician and musicologist, hip archaeologist and one-time front man of the Teardrop Explodes’. During that time, Cope has released over 20 solo albums, countless collaborative projects, and six acclaimed books, including his autobiography HEAD-ON and the much-lauded KRAUTROCKSAMPLER.

 

Cope began his career in 1977, as bass player in the short-lived Liverpool punk group The Crucial Three, alongside future Echo & The Bunnymen singer Ian McCulloch, before forming the Teardrop Explodes in late ’78. This band’s four-year reign as a Top Ten chart act collapsed at the end of 1982, when Cope’s infamous love of munching LSD onstage proved too much for both his management and record companies.

 

An attempt to re-launch his career ended in disaster in March 1984, when Cope ignored the presence of several important media figures in his Hammersmith Palais audience, and proceeded to lacerate his stomach in a drug-induced frenzy. A brief wilderness period ensued, during which time he and his young American wife Dorian moved back to Tamworth, the Staffordshire town of his childhood. Now remaining indoors for long periods and collecting 1950s Dinky Toys, it was during this time that Cope’s legendary FRIED album was released, featuring his signature death-and-resurrection lament ‘Reynard the Fox’ and clad in a record cover that showed Cope naked save for a giant turtle shell.

 

In the late ‘80s, however, Cope made his welcome return to the charts with the single ‘World Shut Your Mouth’, and attendant album SAINT JULIAN, which was followed in the ‘90s by such acclaimed albums as PEGGY SUICIDE, JEHOVAHKILL and AUTOGEDDON. However, Cope now moved away from the rock’n’roll business and turned his attentions instead to making a detailed first-hand study of the occult, mythology and Britain’s prehistory.

 

Throughout the mid-90s, Cope scoured the British Isles for lost stone temples of the first monument builders, incorporating three tours of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland in the process. After eight years of research, these results were published in his best-selling tome THE MODERN ANTIQUARIAN, a full colour 484-page hardback that shocked the publishing world by selling over 50,000 copies.

 

Five years later, Cope followed up this extraordinary achievement with an even larger sequel entitled THE MEGALITHIC EUROPEAN that covered mainland Europe plus many of its islands. Cope has performed live with Sunn0))), also appearing as lead vocalist on their acclaimed album WHITE ONE, and has recorded three albums with his proto-metal power trio Brain Donor. He has also lectured three times at the British Museum. In October 2007, Cope’s JAPROCKSAMPLER was released to critical acclaim, thereafter he hosted Manchester University’s William Blake exhibition BLAKE’S SHADOW, at the Whitworth Gallery in January 2008. In May of the same year, his new album BLACK SHEEP was released to tremendous acclaim, and has since formed a band of the same name. Cope is currently working on two books, the first entitled LIVES OF THE PROPHETS: A NEW PERPECTIVE, and his first novel, a road trip set in Sardinia entitled 131.

Barry Southgate - E.P. Epitome review

Australian-based new artist and ex-Australian Idol finalist Barry Southgate, has his debut EP out – Epitome. The EP consists of 5 tracks. The first track Don't You Think is a very up-beat, sun-filled song reminiscent of Bruno Mars in its style and lyrical content. This showcases Barry's vocal range and differs a lot from any of the other tracks on the E.P.

Tracks like Against the Wall and You lend heavily on piano and on You, Barry's voice is heavily mixed but still has that soulful Stevie Wonder feel about it which made it stand out from what would just be a basic,playing by numbers, track.

The weakest track for me was Summer Night. This sounded too much like a 90s boy band song for my liking.Not much of a hook to remember it by either. It does showcase Barry's soulful vocal range though.

Over-all a great debut E.P and something that shows the potential that this young talent and hardworking singer has and definitely makes you look forward to the album which i'm sure wont be far from coming.

And finally the last track i listen to, The Fall, this to me was far to safe and more risk should have been taken. This could easily have been left off the E.P

Is Tropical release new video for single Lies

 

IS TROPICAL - LIES - THE VIDEO

RELEASED ON KITSUNÉ /CO OP – 31st OCTOBER 2011

UK + EUROPE + US TOUR

IS TROPICAL are set to release a new single on KITSUNÉ /CO-OP on the 31st of October 2011.

‘Lies’ is the follow up to the recent ‘The Greeks’ single with its now legendary video and is the third single to be lifted from the band’s debut album ‘Native to’, which was released in June this year.

WATCH 'LIES' VIDEO HERE:

The video is directed by Jonathan Leder, the creative director of 'Jacques' Magazine which is America’s only new luxury erotic magazine.

Listen to "Lies" here: http://soundcloud.com/istropical/is-tropical-lies

Formed in 2009, the IS TROPICAL line up of Gary Barber (Vocals / Guitar / keys), Simon Milner (Vocals / Guitars / Keys) and Dominic Apa (Drums) have developed a worldwide reputation for their stunning live shows. Taking to the stage in their trademark masks, and cloaked by self-made video projections, they improvise constantly changing soundscapes, effortlessly swooping from raw pop anthems to lo-fi dance songs with fantastic results.

To coincide with the new single IS TROPICAL will be touring the UK tour in September. The band wind up the dates with their last London show of the year at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen on the 4th of October 2011. After these dates the band will be heading out to Europe and to the US for their first American tour.

Don’t miss IS TROPICAL’s regular mixtapes. Listen to their latest mix here:

 http://soundcloud.com/istropicalmixtapes/bass001

 

UK TOUR:

23/09/2011 Nottingham - The Bodega Social Club

24/09/2011 Sheffield - The Harley

25/09/2011 Manchester - The Deaf Institute

26/09/2011 York - Stereo

27/09/2011 Glasgow - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut

28/09/2011 Liverpool - Wolstenholme Creative Space

29/09/2011 Bristol - The Croft

04/10/2011 London - Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen

Buy tickets here: www.artistticket.com/IsTropical

EUROPEAN TOUR

05/10/2011 France - Bordeaux - I Boat

06/10/2011 France - Toulouse - Bikini

07/10/2011 France - Paris - La Machine

14/10/2011 France - Nantes - Frishe Alsthom

03/11/2011 Holland – Amsterdam - Paradiso

04/11/2011 Belgium - Brussels - Botanique

06/11/2011 Germany - Hamburg - Molotow

07/11/2011 Germany - Cologne - Gebaude

09/11/2011 Switzerland - Lausanne - Bleu Lezard

10/11/2011 Switzerland - Zurich - Stall6

11/11/2011 Italy - Milan - Plastic

17/11/2011 Germany - Berlin - Magnet

18/11/2011 Denmark - Copenhagen - Rust

19/11/2011 Sweden - Stockholm - Debaser Slussen

20/11/2011 Norway - Oslo - Venue TBC

US TOUR

16/10/11 Chicago, IL, Empty Bottle

17/10/11 Toronto, ON, Wrong Bar

18/10/11 Montreal, QC, Le Belmont

19/10/11 Allston, MA, Great Scott

20/10/11 New York, NY, Good Units 

21/10/11 New York, NY, Santos Party House

22/10/11 New York, NY, Cameo

24/10/11 Vancouver, BC, Fortune Sound Club

25/10/11 Los Angeles, CA, House Of Blues 

26/10/11 San Francisco, CA, Mezzanine 

27/10/11 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex

29/10/11 Mexico City, Terraza Uruboros

MusicMafiaUK presents Jeremy Nicolls

Known for his silky smoothe vocals and intoxicating smile, Jeremy Nicolls has the heavenly ability to melt your heart, make you fall in love and just be carried off with the moods that he conjures up with his voice.

Born in October to Marlon and Joanne Nicolls, from the Caribbean paradise, twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago, both Jeremy and his sister Nakeisha spent hours listening to Fred Hammond, Smokie Norful and many top gospel singers. It was Nakeisha who between the ages three to five groomed Jeremy vocally and challenged him constantly. By age five he had memorized most of Fred Hammond's albums, words, ad-libs and harmonies.

Growing up in a church environment and with his parents also being singers, he has been exposed to traveling, meeting famous people and the stage life as early as he could remember. When asked 'what' and 'who' has influenced his life the most, Jeremy always says, "The 'what' is the Bible. I like the practicality of the stories. They have helped me through some tough decisions." The 'who', would be my parents. I've seen them do some impossible things, and they made me know that dreaming big isn't a bad thing.

Jay, as he is fondly known, is a sports enthusiast. He played with a national youth soccer team, is trained in kick-boxing and has aspired to shoot the basketball like his icon, Carmelo Anthony. He is a videographer and editor by profession, with a keen artistic ability to create mind-blowing presentations. While editing, he sings; while playing basketball, you can hear a sweet melody; in the shower, of course he must sing; in the gym...you guessed it...he sings.

Singing... "it's what makes him happy. He always says, "I've seen music change people's lives, calm down a crowd, bring men and women to tears, and put smiles on the hearts of many. So you know what? I wouldn't stop the melodies. It's who I am!"
Jeremy Marlon Nicolls, "Jay"

You can download the free mixtape here

http://www.mixtapepass.com/music/0000019096-the_introduction_of_jeremy_nicolls.php

 

http://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=144149075630876&refid=0

http://www.jeremynicolls.com/

http://www.twitter.com/JeremyNicolls

youtube channel  

http://www.youtube.com/JNicollsMusic

Sir Mic releases new video and single I cant help it

 

Bournemouth based multi-genre rapper / lyricist Sir Mic returns with the release of his brand new single ‘I Can’t Help It’.

With three popular mixtapes (Mini Me Vol 1, 2 & 3), a host of impressive support slots (including the likes of Tinie Tempah, So Solid Crew, DJ Cameo and DJ Semtex), and a vast feature discography under his belt, Sir Mic is well on his way to establishing himself as one of the finest rappers to come out of the south coast in a very long time.

Renowned for his distinct and diverse style, Sir Mic has the ability to work in a whole host of genres including hip hop, grime, dubstep and dance, and has even been approached for feature work by producers of the biggest dance compilation in the UK, Clubland Smashed, as well as the hotly tipped up and coming hip hop producer Stealf, who later asked the eclectic rapper to feature on his debut album alongside Jadakiss, Joell Ortiz, Ruste Juxx and many other US / UK heavyweights.

Sir Mic marked the beginning of 2011 with the release of his single ‘I Ain’t Going Anywhere’ (featuring Cynikal & Jasmine Knight), which went on to become a huge hit online with heavy press support and over 20,000 views on YouTube.

The south coast rapper now follows up his debut commercial release with an equally impressive effort titled ‘I Can’t Help It’. The piano driven, energetic instrumentation allows Sir Mic to tell an all too common tale of boozing on a weekend with effortless delivery, and the hands-in-the-air chorus line displays the rappers open mindedness when it comes to incorporating different musical tones in his music.

‘I Can’t Help It’ has the potential to become Sir Mic’s most successful release to date, because despite having enough lyrical substance to impress the purists, almost every British citizen between the ages of 18 and 30 can relate to the single’s subject matter. Accompanied by a brilliantly original video (shot in both first and third person in a host of rowdy Bournemouth clubs), ‘I Can’t Help It’ is sure to become another viral hit for Sir Mic, and mark another step on the ladder towards commercial acclaim.

William Tyler and Hiss Golden Messenger @ Leaf Liverpool

This irresistible double bill of William Tyler and Hiss Golden Messenger comes to Leaf on Bold Street on Thursday 6 October.

After his very successful tour of the UK in the company of Michael Chapman early this year, William Tyler returns to the UK for another brief run of mesmerising shows, this time as a double bill with Hiss Golden Messenger, described by David Bowie as "mystical country, an eerie yellowing photograph".

William Tyler is best known as a long-time member of Lambchop and also Silver Jews, though since he released his excellent album Behold The Spirit on Tompkins Square late last year, and won over so many people on the aforementioned tour, the Nashville native's solo reputation is rapidly catching up. American Songwriter magazine was in rapture, speaking of how "Behold The Spirit casts a mighty spell", and reviews fromUncut, Pitchfork, Dusted and many others have been equally ardent in their admiration.

Hiss Golden Messenger is the work of Michael C Taylor of North Carolina, whose bewitching mix of woozy roots and bare-spirited country folk has rarely been far from our turntable for the past year. As well as the full-band recordings he's issued in recent years, this year has seen the release of the Bad Debt cd on blackmaps that is just Taylor, voice and guitar in close-up and it floors us with every listen. And not just us - he's had whole raft of gushing reviews, even DJ magazine giving it 9/10 for its “Beautiful, beguiling songs. Effortless simplicity”.

Support comes from local band Cavalier Song and Liverpool based Simon Knighton. With his husky, dusky voice Simon slips you his intoxicating and impelling songs. Fingers slide across his guitar as he stamps out his powerful beat on the wooden box beneath his feet. His jaunty jigs and bounding lilts smack of smokey reels and bygone backwater countries, while his dark and haunting lyrics hint at mysteries buried beneath.

Radio 2 favourite Juan Zelada returns

“Juan to watch…..” MUSIC WEEK
“We predict a great year ahead for him….” GLAMOUR.COM
‘Spanish singer-songwriter Zelada is now London based and he hasn’t named his debut album yet, let alone released it, but he’s already racked up some A List fans including the mighty Sir Paul McCartney. It’s the fact that his velvety rich vocals ape Paolo Nutini and Jason Mraz that make them sound so satisfying…..’ TIME OUT
Following on from the success of his first single Breakfast in Spitalfields which achieved Record Of The Week at Radio 2 and then spent a giddy 6 weeks on the A list becoming the second most played track on the station during the whole of July, Juan Zelada returns with an intensely soulful and uplifting number The Blues Remain released on 31st October.
It’s been a sensational year for the now much industry hyped Zelada, culminating in a sold out single launch party at the Hoxton Bar and Grill in July, rave reviews in the press including Metro & Time Out and featuring a Radio 2 live session with Jo Whiley and a live session with BBC London Radio’s Joanne Good.
During October and November, Zelada will be touring the UK alongside Communion Records to support the release of The Blues Remain and will be appearing live with likes of Ben Howard. 

 

Juan Zelada live dates:

The Troubadour - London - 30th Sept

Communion - Oxford - 9th Oct

Communion - Glasgow - 25th Oct

The Troubadour - London - 28th October

Communion - Belfast - 1st Nov (Supporting Ben Howard)

Communion - Bristol - 6th Nov

Dingswalls London - 24th Nov

more dates to be announced...