If you watched television during the 60s and 70s (69 -74 to be more precise) in the UK then you will recognise, if not immediately, Peter Wyngarde’s Jason King character from ITC’s Department S program. For those not familiar then take Austin Powers and inject it directly in the gentleman’s region with a gallon or […]
Slowly Rolling Camera is a British four piece band made up of Dionne Bennett (lyrics and vocals), Deri Roberts (sound design, electronics, trombone, additional saxophone and production), Elliot Bennett (drums and drum programming) and Dave Stapleton who is the composer as well as playing keys. There’s a whole host of other contributing musicians on the […]
Fire were a late 60’s/70’s three piece band, The Magic Shoemaker (“a fairytale opera”) was released on the Pye label in 1970 and was recorded in January 1970 at the label’s studios in London. This reissue is re-mastered from the original master tapes by Ben Wiseman at the Audio Archiving Company and released on Esoteric […]
I must confess that I’m a bit of a new comer to Jazz but the more I explore its wide and varied sub genres the more I am enjoying it. Step up to the turntable Gearbox Records and Tubby Hayes “Seven Steps To Heaven: Live at The Hopbine 1972”. Now, to aficionados of British Jazz […]
OmenOpus are, it has to be said, a new band to me and they have a handful of albums and EPs on the Monty Maggot label that we’ll take a listen to over the next couple of months, but judging by what I’ve heard so far they certainly know where they’re going and what they’re […]
Released at the end of January 2014 on Blue Castle Records (the label that Crosby founded with Graham Nash in 2011) and downloaded here in FLAC from HighResAudio, “Croz” is David Crosby’s first album of solo material in twenty years and contains eleven new and original tracks recorded at Crosby’s home studio. Croz will be […]
Anne Hytta is a leading player of the Hardanger fiddle in her home country of Norway and here in Draumsyn performs her own music which is very much rooted in the traditions of this distinctive instrument. Here’s what her website says about the record “The music is both modern and old – new and original […]
Popcorn? When this CD turned up on the doorstep I was expecting bubblegum pop or some-such but what I actually heard when I pushed the play button was nothing of the sort. So what is Popcorn music? I’ll refer to the liner notes of “Sweet and Salty Popcorn” to explain. Popcorn is a “genre” (movement […]
Well this is certainly a good deal of music for your money with Dusty Kid’s third album coming in at round about the two hours mark spread over two CDs which are limited to just 1000 copies on the Isolade label. III is interestingly mixed with the use of vintage consoles and everything being recorded […]
Recorded in 1963 and released in July of the same year on the Verve label (and then later in 97 where there were extra tracks) this is Ella Fitzgerald and the Count Basie Orchestra with Quincey Jones being responsible for the arrangements (Fitzgerald later worked with Jones on the 1989 “Back on the Block”) and […]
Empyrean Isles was recorded in 1964, released on the Blue Note label, established Hancock as a serious artist and is now available on hi rez format (this copy came from HighRes Audio in Germany) The album contains two of Hancock’s most famous compositions – “One Finger Snap” and the brilliant “Cantaloupe Island” which is one […]
Out 27th January on the Kompakt label Pop ambient 2014 is the 14th instalment of this series of albums presided over by label head honcho Wolfgang Voigt. Pop Ambient kicks off with “The God of Pads” Ulf Lohmann who’s had a six year hiatus and it would appear he’s back in fine form with the […]
Like me, the name Leon Haywood may well be a new one to you but don’t let that stop you from reading further because this one is a bit of a hidden gem. Haywood is best known for his crossover hit “I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You” from 1975 which has been sampled by […]
Charo, or Maria del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza as her parents would have known her, is a Spanish-American singer, actress, comedienne and flamenco guitarist well known back in the day for her somewhat flamboyant style and her catchphrase “Cuchi-Cuchi” (‘Cuchi’ is a Spanish slang term for a woman’s genitals. However, Spanish speaking countries […]
Even if you’ve been living under a rock for the last 35 years or so you must have heard either some of Loleatta Holloway’s disco charged tunes or at the very least one of the many tunes that sample her …”Love Sensation” anyone? “Queen of the Night” was first released in ’78 on Gold Mind/Salsoul […]
The Koto is the traditional 13 string Japanese instrument and Kimio Eto is widely regarded as its master. He began training on the instrument at the age of eight and composed his first work aged eleven. Amazingly he was blind from the age of five according to the sleeve notes and this makes this record […]
I stopped listening to BBC Radio 1 a long time ago but that’s not to say I don’t enjoy dipping into that totally uncool territory that is the hit parade as I believe it’s called by the younger people. We bought last year’s Live Lounge sessions and enjoyed it a great deal despite my preconceptions […]
Now Sounds have raided the vaults of Hollywood’s Capitol Records to bring us 24 slices of psychedelic pop pie from the late 60s with many of the tunes being on CD for the first time, all sourced from the original master tapes and compiled and produced by Steve Stanley. Needless to say I was a […]
Another band I missed first time round as I was in full on house and techno mode in 1991 when Quality Street, the band’s only album, was first released. This re-release on the 3 Loop Music label is a two CD package with the original album, a CD of selected B sides and two Radio […]
Let me go on record by saying that I’m a bit of a fan of The Polyphonic Spree. Let me also say that I’m a bit of a sucker for all things festive. So I was quite excited when “Sounds of the Holidays Vol One Holiday Dream” dropped through the letterbox recently.
There’s been a bit of a trend recently towards metal supergroups (the heavy music community is practically salivating at the prospect of Killer Be Killed), but Mutation is one that may slip under the radar. Well I’m gonna do my best to see that it doesn’t. Describing themselves as a “collective”, the band is comprised […]
Arcade Fire. The Canadian indie heroes have been pretty quiet of late… the only murmurs that have permeated our newsfeeds were allegations of pop diva Delta Goodrem ripping off their classic track “Rebellion (Lies)”… Until they announced they were releasing a double album!
Bird Radio (Mikey Kirkpatrick) is originally from Hereford, is a graduate in music from Goldsmiths College in London and has his own production company (Avacado Music) which has produced over 30 recording projects. The world needs more artists like Bird Radio who are not afraid to stand apart from the mainstream musical dross with which […]
Nu metal. Time has made a generic misnomer of the term. It’s no longer “nu”, and in many pundits’ eyes & ears, isn’t even metal. Whatever your opinion of the bands lumped into that category, general consensus is that Korn were among the pioneers and just about the cream of the crop. This is either […]
Of the slew of ’90s/alt/grunge acts releasing albums of late, Pearl Jam is pretty much the only one which boasts a steady line-up and a consistent timeline of releases dating back to their debut. They’re late to the party if you choose to compare the most recent release dates, but they’ve been omnipresent for the […]
I have to admit I’ve been a bit remiss in reviewing this particular record. It arrived a while ago (it was released on the Comeme label in late October) and it’s been hammered on the main rig ever since. So let’s backtrack a little – I reviewed the “One Night in Comeme Vol iii” compilation […]
Kaito (Hiroshi Watanabe) hasn’t released a full length album since his “That Was the Way” and that was three years ago and so it was with a good deal of anticipation that I received his latest effort “ Until the End of Time” on the Kompakt label. It kicks off with the massively uplifting “Sky […]
“Hey there sugar with your eyes so blue, ridin’ around in your red HQ!”. Haha, those lyrics… they warm the cockles of my rural Aussie heart! After releasing a couple of well received EPs, the four Findlay siblings and best known band from the tiny rural town of Darraweit Guim if you can believe it, […]
