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Showing posts from January, 2015

Artist of 2015 #3 - H Hawkline

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Heavenly Recordings has had a phenomenal few years with their signing, including Temples , their latest signing is H Hawkline a very talented and unique singer/songwriter. H Hawkline recently finished an opening slot for Cate Le Bon which he has applauded for in several reviews. His music is not perhaps as groundbreaking as you would wish. It does not conjure up a feeling of euphoric discover, nor does it make you feel like you've just heard god. Rather his music, in a abstract way, reminds you of the past, a past full of exclusively psychedelic guitars and songwriters sat on open porches. This is the time when H Hawkline would have been faultlessly successful. Unfortunately  however he has been placed in a world where selling out, looks and cheerfulness are the greatest habits a charting performer can have. H Hawkline will not do any of those things for the money, he is an artist, he promises great music, and with Heavenly Recordings behind him, I think we can all hop

Dallas Taylor CSN(&Y) Drummer dead at 66

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The drummer of the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Dallas Taylor died Yesterday (January 18th) of unknown causes. His death was announced by his widow via Facebook  yesterday. The drummer started his career in cult psychedelic band Clear Light , but his found fame and success as the drummer on the 1969 record Crosby, Stills and Nash. Taylor also performed on the 1970 record Deja Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and was given front sleeve credit alongside the band and bassist Greg Reeves. Taylor also played with Stephen Stills (1970) and his Manassas band (1972-1973), as well as Van Morrison and Paul Butterfield.

Songs in my Head over a Week. 12/1/15 - 18/1/15

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So its sunday. Everyones favourite and least favourite day of the week. Favourite because for the majority of us we have no obligations, least favourite because tomorrow is monday. So I was wondering what I could do next for this blog. Initially I was going to post an interview I had done with a band, but then I decided it was not complete enough so I left it off. I then thought about writing a new piece on a new band, then I decided that I was not enthused enough so I decided to rely on my music taste. So this is the new feature which basically gives the reader a knowledge of my music taste and should give you a chance to learn new music. 12/1/15 - Let Down - Radiohead  13/1/15 - I Am A Cat - Shonen Knife  14/1/15 - What Do I Get? - The Buzzcocks  15/1/15 - Skyway - The Replacements  16/1/15 - Questioningly - The Ramones 17/1/15 - Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J  18/1/15 - Come On, Come Over - Jaco Pastorius 

Artists of 2015 #2 - Tobias Jesso Jr

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I was on the internet the other day, as you all are right now, I was reading about, getting my information and such. I stumbled across a piece on Tobias Jesso Jr. In it the author compared him to Elton John, John Lennon and… Tom Odell. Its not a hidden fact that I hate Tom Odell. So I was very offended that people could look at Tobias and say you're like that piano pop kid. Tobias is on a different wavelength and he is a talented musician. The artist however who he is most similar to is Harry Nilsson, the famous rock balladeer. While Tobias may not have the voice to match Nilsson's he does have the same song-writing spirit. Nowhere is this more prevalent than on Tobias' song Hollywood. Love songs are perhaps the most common sort of song, it is the reason many people play the guitar. So writing an amazing love song is increasingly difficult, but Tobias. Tobias has it. Album Goon out March 17th 

Leon Bridges

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Yesterday I was thinking about how abysmal 2014 was for music. Now there are many points that could be argued that it was a great year for music. But for my personal taste it was beaten by almost any other recent year that I can think about. The stand out moments in 2014 were probably The War On Drugs & Saint Vincent. However some new bands sparked my interest, those being: Jungle, The Districts , Alvvays, and Benjamin Booker. Another such artist is American soul maestro Leon Bridges, who came to my attention around October last year with his incredible  Coming Home . Leon feels like he was built specifically for my music taste. He sings retro-inspired soul music, with a classic nostalgic feeling, while avoiding to seem like a tribute act. He sounds closer to Otis Redding then he does D'Angelo.  The most obvious thing about Leon is that he is a throwback, he reminds you of the 60s, musically and visually due to his style. This is perhaps a mixture of the best

Neil Young's Pono player is finally here!

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Neil Young's long awaited music device is now available to be ordered online for a february delivery. The device promises high quality audio for the player. The device has been heavily funded by Neil Young's kickstarted project which gave investors limited edition Pono players, which have already been delivered to the investors. The device which can store up to 1,200 high quality audio songs is available for £260, and will be delivered in february. PonoMusic Store has opened online, so people can preemptively buy tracks for their Pono player.