The connectivity of modern music that the digital age has ushered in can take you down some wonderful musical rabbit holes. One minute you are bopping about to something familiar, something which you have deliberately sought out and a few cursory clicks and lateral links later and you might find yourself immersed in music three... Continue Reading →
We keep hearing that the world is becoming an ever smaller place. Most people take that to mean that things such as travel and technology are making us more connected, more accessible, more globe-trotting. But for me, the most interesting aspect of the concept is the merging and creative collision of cultures which goes with... Continue Reading →
Even up until about a year ago I was bemoaning the fact that, despite the way the world was turning, music still seemed to lack any political bite or social messaging, had forgotten what a great platform it had in favour of serving itself, was about the “me” rather that the “us.” Where was the... Continue Reading →
There has always been a social and political undercurrent to My Politic’s songs. Stories as songs, narratives about family and traditions, the working man, tales of the home, the hearth, of hope and reflection and the American spirit all wound into gentle mythologies and relatable histories. But something has changed for My Politic since 2017’s 12 Kinds... Continue Reading →
It goes without saying, although it may just be my limited knowledge of such things, but whenever an album emerges from the Swindon vicinity with a broadly ska-o-centic sound, there will be some connection to champion of that scene, Erin Bardwell. And so it is that Million Miles Away comes courtesy of his Pop-A-Top label, but the... Continue Reading →
The first spin of a new black watch album always feels like coming home. Those first few guitar strums of Saint Fair Isle Sweater are the crunch of your feet on that familiar drive way and then the door opens and you are warmly greeted by shimmering guitars, the lushness of which beckons you inside and by the... Continue Reading →
Electronicy, Loopy, Eastern Blocy and experimental are what initially come to mind when this recording is played. But its much much more than that. It feels like it is coming from a transitory place where the musical world has been stopped in order to regroup and re-evaluate. This feels very current. Very pandemic. It seems... Continue Reading →
Imagine if Ennio Morricone had taken a different approach to Leone’s iconic Spaghetti Western soundtracks and decided to invent dream-pop whilst scoring them. You can’t imagine such a scenario? Well, give The Roogs debut album a spin and you’ll get some idea what that might have sounded like. Courtney Davies and Steve Gerdes are perhaps better known as... Continue Reading →
There is much talk at the moment about the challenges facing musicians cut off from their place of work, much moaning about lack of support for the arts and those who make a living within. There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth on social media about the state of the world and the future... Continue Reading →
It would be only natural to assume that having released himself from the complexities of the sonic world of Karda Estra, that Richard Wileman’s current musical vehicle, essentially a duo with Amy Fry, would result in some much more simply drawn music. And to some extent it does, but of course everything is relative. If Karda Estra was... Continue Reading →
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