#and the statement that fm released was so funky??

[smushedmuffin]

*screams*

i am panicking (at least im not crying anymore lol (😀)

i hope that he does what is best for him given the events that cannot be changed anymore. i hope he knows that we will support him in any of his future endeavors (on the off chance beomhan has tumblr lol: please dont kris wu 2.0 yourself though 😔) .

On another note since i cant just have a serious post- holy shit his tattoo is majestic. I hadnt seen it before That One Live™️, but wow, its so pretty

but anyways, i sincerely hope that he is taking care of himself the best he can and that he has faith and trust in us to not just abandon him since he’s not a trainee anymore

[fieldsofplay]

Michael Gorwitz’ Top Albums of 2022

25.  Daphni – Cherry

Hello and welcome to 2022. You made it. We made it. Things kinda seem like they’re getting better, no? So what better way to kick off this annual survey than with a perfect little dance record, Daphni’s Cherry.  Daphni is the pure dance alter-ego of Dan Snaith, better known as Caribou (and once upon a time, Manitoba).  So if you ever wished the song craft would stop getting in the way of albums like Our Love or Swim, then Cherry is the record for you.  Side projects often let artists flex muscles that don’t get enough workout in their main gigs, and thus often provide simple pleasures in unadorned forms, and Cherry is no exception.  No one is reinventing the wheel here, but more importantly, nor is anyone trying to do so.  The first track “Arrow” tells it all, a steady, brisk beat, a fun vocal loop, and that’s it, but really, what more do you need to get your booty shaking? More importantly, that simple purple and pink cover is just too beautiful to behold, so it had to go first to set a lovely hue for all the good music to follow.

24.  Vince Staples – Ramona Park Broke My Heart

Vince Staples is approaching a similar place to Kevin Morby (see below) where his supreme consistency is starting to almost work against him.  Ramona Park Broke My Heart is Staples’ fifth album, and its just as perfect as the proceeding four, which does create a bit of indistinguishability with each successive release.  Unlike Morby however, Staples’ string of releases do chart more a stylistically-varied path, even if it’s a bit circular.  Summertime ’06 was the stark Clams Casino produced statement of purpose, Big Fish Theory was a fascinating detour into club beats, FM! was experiment in minimalism.  Last year’s self titled was the first without a formalistic construct, and thus felt closest to Summertime ’06, and this year’s Ramona Park is more of the same.  However, that same remains some of the best hip hop around.  The one-two of “Papercuts” into “Lemonade” are some of Staples’ best songs.  If this is what it sounds like to be in a rut, why not revel in a place of such excellent output.

23.  Toro y Moi – MAHAL

MAHAL is emblematic of a fun phenomenon, namely, where you pick up a release from artist you once cared about, but not a ton and haven’t checked in in a minute, and you’re pleasantly surprised that they’ve still got it.  Toro y Moi was simultaneously kind of a chillwave also ran, and also someone who seemed like would be around after the hype-wave crested.  MAHAL is definitely not chillwave, but it’s definitely good.  It has a 70s skronk to it, and a summer bounce, like T. Rex it’s equally good for a sunny road trip and to chill out to.

22.  King Gizzard – Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava

Jam bands (whom I do not like) often try to cloak their musical meanderings in the intentionality of jazz, as if to say “we’re not bullshitting here, we’re engaged in serious praxis,” when in reality, they’re just hitting the bong, then the record button, and just going with whatever wanders out of their instruments.  This year’s King Gizzard album (I’m not typing that whole title out, banner year for long-ass album names, shouts Sufjan!) is dangerously close to being a jam-band record, but I’ll point to one key stylistic divergence.  Unlike a jam band pretending its playing a version of jazz, King Gizzard here are working in funk, with all the looseness, energy, and yes, jams, that that genre entails.  For generations, funk has given artists room to spread out, find a groove, and lock in, taking the listener along for the funky ride.  Am I splitting hairs? Perhaps.  But if you swapped out of the vocals on “Ice V” I think you’d be hard pressed to tell it wasn’t a deep cut from Sly’s Family Stone.

21.  The Reds, Pinks and Purples – Summer at Land’s End

When I write these lists I normally try and serve two masters: the first is the larger story of music in a given year, the second are my own idiosyncratic predilections. Summer at Land’s End is definitely me looking in the mirror and doing finger guns, and hey, its my list, so why not?  One of my favorite forgotten records of the last 20 years is Wild Nothing’s Gemini, and while Summer at Land’s End lacks that record’s uptempo jangle, it traffics in the same gauzy reverb guitars and sad structures.  As pop music and R&B continue to steamroll the “discourse,” I continue to light a candle for these little off kilter guitar albums.

20.  Sorry – Anywhere But Here

Sorry got a lot of hype two years ago for their debut 925.  Honestly, it never did much for me, it just kinda sounded like a band that liked the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as much as I did (not a knock, well it’s kind of a knock, but liking the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is cool).  Normally, that means I wouldn’t have paid much heed to their follow up, but when I heard it was breakup album, I was interested enough to give the band another go (I don’t know what it says about me that I thoroughly love a good breakup album, but here we are).  Less interested in being “experimental” for its own sake, and more focused on channeling those artsy influences into rock solid songwriting, Anywhere But Here takes Sorry’s conflicting interests in pop and trip hop and channels them into a rain soaked album (there’s literally a song called “Screaming in the Rain”) that surmounts the sum of its parts rather than always breaking apart into arch referents.  Take “Baltimore” for example, a tiny piano intro is passed along to bass and guitar, with the vocals hopping along in lock step with the bass in classic post punk fashion.  On Anywhere But Here, Sorry live up to the initial hype.

19.  Kevin Morby – This is a Photograph

As briefly discussed above with Vince Staples, Kevin Morby is fully a victim of his own consistency at this point.  This is a Photograph is arguably the best album he’s ever released, and if that’s the case, why is it down here at 19? The reason is by putting out great albums of similar sounding (or, at least, structured) music every single year, it becomes impossible for any one release to break through not only the crowd of music in a given year, but even amongst his own catalogue.  If this was Morby’s third release instead of his eighth (!) it might top this list, it’s that good.  Gelling all the elements that have come to define prior Morby releases, This is a Photograph stands as his best statement of freewheeling americana.  “Stop Before I Cry” actually moves me to tears, it’s that beautiful.

18.  Wild Pink – ILYSM

Wild Pink’s ILYSM is an interesting pair with Morby’s This is a Photograph.  Billed months before it came out as the band’s Yankee Hotel, that advanced praise actually proved to be a bit of a disservice, setting the expectation bar at unreachable heights.  However, unlike Morby’s eternal consistency, ILYSM actually does take some big swings at stylistic experimentation, which of course, are what generated those Yankee Hotel comps in the first place.  Opener “Cahooting the Multiverse” sets the stage perfectly, opening portals to different universal variants of this band’s maudlin country pop.  The music cuts out for a few off-kilter beats, backup singers join in, and the music warbles through processors.  “Cahooting” presents several different versions of a Wild Pink track, all withing the same song. The title cut employs a robotic chorus to chant the album’s mantra (“I LOVE YOU SO MUCH”), and the whole song comes off as the most interesting War on Drugs song in several years.  

17.  MJ Lenderman – Boat Songs

While Lenderman’s main act Wednesday made waves with Twin Plagues, it was their cover album Mowing the Leaves Instead of Piling ‘Em Up that caught my ear, and on his solo album Boat Songs he continues the drift into more countrified sounds evinced on Mowing the Leaves.  While his lyrics—fixated as they are on ‘90s sports icons—have garnered a lot of attention, I sometimes find them too cute by half.  What makes Boat Songs truly great is the way Lenderman is able to make big sounds out of low fidelity.  He gets a lot of comparisons to Jason Molina, and you can hear why.  These are capital “G” guitar songs that share Molina’s reverence for Neil Young and Dinosaur Jr., but whereas Songs:Ohia tracks usually collapsed back into themselves, Lenderman’s tend to burst outward from the speakers, taking the listener along for a ride through his twangy tales of Dan Marino and actual Dolphins.  

16.  Beach House – Once Twice Melody

Beach House have no business being relevant in 2022.  Perhaps it’s just because I’m old and they’re not actually relevant, but I’m still seeing lots of love for Once Twice Melody on the year end lists (though again I could just be reading the lame lists).  Except for the brief period when the band employed an actual human drummer, the band has spun gold from nothing more than Victoria Legrand’s narrow vocals & lush synths, stuttering drum machines, and Alex Scally’s slide guitar.  As all of the great bands of their (read: my) generation have slowly faded away into irrelevance (Deerhunter, Animal Collective) or broke up (the Walkmen) somehow Beach House remain at the same level they were at when their self titled debut first made me swoon way back in 2006. I’m not going to go so far as to say Once Twice Melody is their best album (Teen Dream still holds a special place in my broken heart), but the fact that its in the conversation is a testament to their unparalleled abilities.  “Another Go Around” is not only one of the best songs of their career, but a perfect encapsulation of this record’s place in 2022.  

15.  The Soft Pink Truth – Is it Going to Get Any Deeper?

The Drew Daniel half of Matmos continues his excellent recent run of form with the cheekily titled Is it Going to Get Any Deeper?  Whereas his last full length, the stellar Shall we Go Sinning so that Grace May Increase?, was devotional music disguised as house music, the equally questioning Is it Going to Get Any Deeper? worships at the altar of the dancefloor.  While I can’t imagine actually dancing for the entire 11 minutes of opener “Deeper,” this is house music in the sense of envelopment, of losing one’s self, if not always in the sea of the dancefloor, then at least in the gently undulating currents of the throb of the music itself.

14.  Pusha T – It’s Almost Dry

King Push is back.  Splitting production between Pharrell (😍) and Kanye (☠️) It’s Almost Dry is fascinating as it shifts back and forth between Neptunes-style slinky bangers (“Let the Smokers Shine the Coupes”) and vintage Kanye’s trademark chipmunk soul (“Rock n Roll”).  It’s Almost Dry is Pusha’s strongest release since 2013’s My Name is My Name, if not his Clipse days.  From top to bottom, this album is filled with songs that live up to the strength of the production.  While many knock his continued lyrical fixation on coke dealing, “Diet Coke” was probably one of the biggest songs of the year.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  Beyond merely continuing a proven recipe, on It’s Almost Dry Pusha elevated his craft to its highest levels, constantly pushed there by Pharrell and Kanye’s first rate production.  

13.  Palm – Nicks and Grazes

These days it seems like the most interesting ideas in what used to be called good old fashioned indie rock are coming out of Philadelphia, but on seeing Palm live this year I realized the Philly band have more in common with Baltimore’s Animal Collective.  It isn’t necessarily that Palm sound like Animal Collective (they don’t really), but Palm meld ecstatic exuberance with odd time signatures and vocals that are more tonal layers than sense conveyors that is spiritually, if not sonically, akin Animal Collective in their heyday.  What was so cool about that Palm show was that it was readily apparent that this was a bunch of kids who grew up post Animal Collective and managed to import their spirit without aping their sound.  Sometimes seeing the torch passed from generation to generation can you make you feel ancient, but other times it makes you thrilled to see the youth pick up the spirit of something you once cherished and make of it their own.  So long as there are weirdos making fun music who barely seem to know how to play their instruments, there’ll be bands like Palm.

12.  JID – The Forever Story

In a year where Kendrick Lamar put out a (bad) record, it was JID who to my uneducated ear put out the most technically interesting flows.  While speed is impressive (see: Twista), and JID can unfurl 20 words in the time it takes zanax rappers to get out a single syllable, these aren’t speed trials devoid of rhythm or sense.  While a bit overstuffed at 15 songs with an hour runtime, on The Forever Story JID continues to match top notch chops with first rate story telling.  In a year in which Kendrick put his first foot wrong, give JID a chance instead.

11.  Panda Bear & Sonic Boom – Reset

Speaking of Animal Collective, even though Time Skiffs was well-reviewed, I had long ago given up on them doing anything of interest, which is totally fine seeing as they put out five consecutive albums that completely rewrote the possibilities of “folk” music.  (2003’s Here Comes the Indian through 2009’s Merriweather Post Pavilion).  It’s arguable that the most important album of that run wasn’t even put out by Animal Collective proper, but was Panda Bear’s seismic Person Pitch (2007).  While he continued to release great solo albums, often produced by Sonic Boom, like his main act, Noah Lennox seemed to be gradually receding from the center of cultural relevance.  While Reset doesn’t rewrite the fabric of pop music like his previous towering achievements, it does make you remember why we all fell in love with Panda Bear in the first place.  Pared down to pop perfection, songs like “Getting’ to the Point” and “Edge of the Edge” remind you that when Panda Bear gets his Brian Wilson on, there is almost no one who can write a better pop song.

10.  They are Gutting a Body of Water – S

Despite possessing the worst band name of 2022, They are Gutting a Body of Water put one of the year’s most interesting albums.  If you liked last year’s release from Spirit of the Beehive (a very narrow group of people) then S is precisely for you.  Without sounding much like them, They are Gutting a Body of Water remind me a lot of the Unicorns, but maybe that’s just because their lead singer also put out a hip-hop album this year. (Th’ Corn Gangg Anyone??? [This is a joke just for Brad Romsa if he is reading this]).  On S, They are Gutting a Body of Water (I can’t believe I have to keep typing that out, but I hate acronyms so here we are) are constantly shifting shapes, but most of the songs are sonically tied together by shimmering processed guitars that sound like they came from Broken Social Scene’s early records.  The songs that aren’t outright instrumentals often featured chipmunked vocals, or shoegazy coos that barely constitute “vocals” proper.  If you’re looking for 2022’s most sonically adventurous rock record, look no further than S.  

9.  Axel Boman – Luz

Along with Kornel Kovacs (whom I love) and Petter Nordkvist (not familiar), Boman founded the influential Swedish label Studio Barnhus. With Luz, Boman put out my favorite electronic album of the year.  Like the aforementioned Kovacs, and DJ Koze, Boman traffics in house music shot through with psychedelia.  The normally steady rhythms of house tend to bend and shift across the course of his tracks, as the music takes you more on a voyage of the mind rather than getting your hips moving.  Take, for example, penultimate track “Grape.” What starts out as a bouncy Herbert homage, gradually picks up cascading vocals, and then stuttering jungle, until finally dissolving as the sea of rhythms it had gradually built up begin to recede like the tide.  Each track on Luz is a journey,  so why not see where it takes you.

8. Anteloper - Pink Dolphins

2022 not only was a big year for jazz, it was a big year for Jeff Parker (see below).  On Pink Dolphins, the sadly dearly departed trumpeter Jaimie Branch and percussionist / electronics guy Jason Nazary (who combined constitute Anteloper) paired with Parker in the role of producer, to stunning effect.  If not for They are Gutting a Body of Water, Pink Dolphins would probably be the strangest record I’ve heard this year. The review I read compared the album to Live-Evil era Miles Davis, and that was basically all I needed to know.  Pink Dolphins is like a new age version of that Miles, and I’ve also read the album’s sound described as aquadelica (aquatic psychedelica).  The pairing of Anteloper and Jeff Parker is a match made in heaven, as he helps the duo push their sound out to the moon, where Branch’s trumpet functions more like a stab of noise rather than a source of melody.  On “Earthlings” the driving force of the song is Nazary’s scattershot drum beat paired with a haunting bass line, as a series of electronic effects and Branch’s understated but effective vocals swirl around like a whirlpool. Her trumpet doesn’t cut through the swirl of noise until about 4 and ½ minutes into the song.  It is terrible to comprehend that Pink Dolphins is the last thing we will ever get from Branch, but at least it’s a hell of a way to go out.

7.  Beyonce – Renaissance

We can keep this one short. You don’t need me to tell you anything about Beyonce. All I need to say is someone derisively said of lead single “Break My Soul” that “it sounds like C+C Music Factory.”  My only complaint with Renaissance is that I wish it sounded more like C+C Music Factory.  

6.  Yard Act –

The Overloard

Yard Act are the most british band on this list, by a mile.  There is just some sort of bratty nonchalance that only the Britsh can pull off, and The Overloard is soaked in it.  While most post punk—especially the vein currently back in vogue—is defined by dark brooding, Yard Act practice a different type of post punk always very close to my heart, the minimalist, strutting, arty variety perfected by The Fall, Wire, and Buzzcocks several decades ago.  So long as there is someone somewhere sipping a coffee, smoking a cigarette, reading a book (Kafka?) over the top of wayfarers perched archly at the end of their nose, but more importantly, always aware of the ludicrousness of such a pose, there will be bands like Yard Act.  According to internet-based statistics, “Dead Horse” was my most played song of the year, and there is no surprise there. It’s everything I love in a song and nothing else.  

5.  Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You

For a folk-rock outfit that doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, Big Thief’s permanent position towards the top of this and most other lists year after year is fairly outstanding.  It’s not that their sound has changed from Masterpiece to Capacity to U.F.O.F./Two Hands to Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, but their sound has somehow gotten better with each successive release.  A sprawling double album in the truest sense of the word, Dragon New Warm Mountain is where it all should have gone wrong.  Their familiarity should have grown a little tiresome as they drowned in the sea of their self indulgence.  Instead, the name of their first album notwithstanding, Dragon New Warm Mountain stands as their clear masterpiece.  Like the Beatles on the White Album (which has become my favorite Beatles’ record as I’ve aged), here the double album format allows Big Thief to focus a little less on perfecting their folk gems and allows them to spread their wings a bit.  Like the Beatles, rather than resulting in a slip-shod series of half baked results, the looseness of the double album allows their genius to shine through all the brighter.  Top to bottom, start to finish, this thing is absolutely stuffed with perfect little songs.  For my money (which is none, because this is free) of all their small gems, “Certainty” is the best they’ve ever penned.  

4. Destroyer - Labryinthitis

Well Dan Bejar, you’ve done it again.  I have no idea what number Destroyer release this is (I just checked, it’s the project’s 13th!) but with Labryinthitis Bejar continues his recent run of excellent form.  Destroyer never really puts out bad records, but his sea of releases has crests and troughs just like any body of water controlled by the moon.  To my ear, those peaks occur every three or four albums or so (Streethawk, Rubies, Kaputt), and while I really enjoyed Have we Met, I think Labryinthitis is his best release since Kaputt.  Mixing the electronic textures of Ken and Have we Met with Kaputt and Poison Season’s chill, Labryinthitis is a culmination of all of Bejar’s recent preoccupations (see “June.”) If “The Last Song” were not only the cap to this excellent album, but to an outstanding career, it would be a fitting testament.  And as someone who once thought “I used to live in New York” constituted a personality, there is no biting line than “you wake up / you stand up / you move to LA / you’re just another person that moves to LA.”

3.  Cola – Deep in View

There’s a pretty easy test for whether or not you’ll love Cola as much as I do: does the phrase “the slow Strokes” appeal to you? If so, this is your band.  Formed out of the ashes of the occasionally great Ought, Cola take Ought’s nervous, angular guitar rock, give it a nice glass of white wine on a balmy day, and unwind that pent up energy into the best chilled out strummers this side of Julian Casablancas and Albert Hammond Jr.  At one point I declared Deep in View to be the “album of the summer,” and now with a little perspective I stand by my own dashed off opinion.  This is music for driving around with the windows down and nowhere in particular to go.

2.  Jeff Parker – Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy / Forfolks

If Alex G had the best album of the year (spoiler alert!), no one had a better year than Jeff Parker.  In addition to producing Anteloper’s Pink Dolphins as discussed above, he also put out two outstanding, and completely different, albums under his own name.  While I enjoyed Suite for Max Brown, Forfolks is the record that really got me into Jeff Parker (not counting all his excellent records with Tortoise of course).  Comprised almost entirely of looped acoustic guitars, it somehow sounds the most like Django Reinhardt of anything put out since the days of that unequaled gypsy.  While Forfolks is excellent, and would have made this list somewhere in here, Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy is Parker’s best achievement in a year filled with his excellent music.  Comprised of recordings from a two year period (presumably on Monday nights) at the LA cocktail bar (to which I have never been, but now hold in almost religious esteem based on my time listening to this record), Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy is one of the most hypnotic jazz albums I’ve ever heard.  Fitting in perfectly with Nala Sinephro’s excellent album from last year, this is ambient jazz of an entirely different variety.  The product of a quartet—Jay Bellerose on drums, Anna Butterss on bass, Josh Johnson on saxophone, and Parker of course on guitar—locked in to one another with laser-like focus, on these four recordings you can hear the air in the bar hum with the energy of their playing, and also the tinkling of the bar patrons’ glasses from time to time, which gives the album a lived in energy.   These songs are somehow simultaneously taught and languid, electric and unplugged, looping and driving.  Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy is the product of four players at the absolute heights of their powers, and probably the best “modern” (i.e. post 70s Miles) jazz record I’ve ever heard.  

1.  Alex G – God Save the Animals

Without having gone back through my records, I’m not sure a single artist has ever topped these lists more than once, but with God Save the Animals, Alex G has once again proven himself to be the best around (and lets be fair, if I was publishing these lists in the mid Aughts, I would have put every Sunset Rubdown release at number one).  It isn’t that God Save the Animals is somehow different from, or better than, House of Sugar, but instead it feels like a continuation of the slight turn Alex G took on that exceptional record.  While all his albums have trafficked in the same basic building blocks (pitch shifted vocals, acoustic guitars, little pieces of Elliott Smith without ever really sounding like Elliott Smith) on House of Sugar things got just a little bit weirder, and the results were absolutely stunning.  With God Save the Animals, I continue to be stunned.  While these songs seem fixated on God / the divine, Alex G never loses his connection to the here and now.  Before the album even came out my friend John sent me a live version of “Miracles” and told me it brings him to tears, which is perfectly understandable.  What is strange is that another song on the same album, “After All,” has the same effect on me.  To my ear, it’s not only the most beautiful song on the record, but one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.  In an album filled with God, blessings, and miracles, the truly divine thing is we continue to get more albums like this from Alex G.

[1962dude420-blog]

Today we remember the passing of Toots Hibbert who Died: September 11, 2020 in Kingston, Jamaica

Frederick Nathaniel "Toots" Hibbert, OJ (8 December 1942 – 11 September 2020) was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he performed for six decades and helped establish some of the fundamentals of reggae music. Hibbert's 1968 song "Do the Reggay" is widely credited as the genesis of the genre name reggae. His band's album True Love won a Grammy Award in 2005.

Hibbert was born on 8 December 1942 in May Pen, Jamaica, the youngest of his siblings. Hibbert's parents were both strict Seventh-day Adventist preachers so he grew up singing gospel music in a church choir. Both parents died young and, by the age of 11, Hibbert was an orphan who went to live with his brother John in the Trenchtown neighborhood of Kingston. While working at a local barbershop, he met his future bandmates Raleigh Gordon and Jerry Matthias.

Hibbert, a multi-instrumentalist, formed Toots and the Maytals in 1961. He could play every instrument used in his band and would later cite Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, and James Brown as key influences. According to Hibbert, Maytals is a reference to the Rastafari term for "do the right thing". There are also statements attributing the source of the name to Hibbert's hometown of May Pen. The band was originally a trio with Gordon and Mathias, and later added Jackie Jackson and Paul Douglas.

Much of Hibbert's early recorded output, such as "Hallelujah" (1963), reflects his Christian upbringing. He was also known to write about Rastafarian religious themes, and in an early Maytals song, "Six And Seven Books of Moses" (1963), he addressed the folk magic of obeah and its use of the occult literature of Biblical grimoires, such as the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses.

The Maytals became one of the more popular vocal groups in Jamaica in the mid-1960s, recording with producers Coxsone Dodd, Prince Buster, Byron Lee, Ronnie Nasralla, and Leslie Kong. This success included winning Jamaica's National Popular Song Contest three times with songs Hibbert wrote: in 1966 with "Bam Bam", which won a national song competition, 1969 with "Sweet and Dandy" and 1972 with "Pomps & Pride"

The first Toots and the Maytals album released and distributed by Chris Blackwell's Island Records was Funky Kingston. Music critic Lester Bangs described the album in Stereo Review as "perfection, the most exciting and diversified set of reggae tunes by a single artist yet released." Chris Blackwell had a strong commitment to Toots and the Maytals, saying "I've known Toots longer than anybody – much longer than Bob Marley. Toots is one of the purest human beings I've met in my life, pure almost to a fault."

Hibbert also appeared in the groundbreaking Jamaican film The Harder They Come, in which his band sings "Sweet and Dandy". The film's soundtrack included the Maytals' 1969 hit song "Pressure Drop". The Harder They Come features fellow musician and actor Jimmy Cliff in the leading role as Ivan, a character whose story resembles Hibbert's.

On 1 October 1975, Toots and the Maytals were broadcast live on KMET-FM as they performed at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles. This broadcast was re-mastered and released as an album entitled Sailin' On via Klondike Records.

In 2004, Hibbert was featured in Willie Nelson's Outlaws and Angels. Hibbert carried on touring the world, and his band's True Love won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2005. Nelson released a reggae album entitled Countryman (2005) which featured Hibbert on the song "I'm a Worried Man". Hibbert was also featured in the music video for the song, which was filmed in Jamaica.

In 2006, Toots and the Maytals covered Radiohead's "Let Down" for the Easy Star All-Stars album Radiodread, a reggae version of the English rock band's OK Computer. At the end of the year, Hibbert joined Gov't Mule for their New Year's Eve concert, documented in their Dub Side of the Mule release.

In 2009, Hibbert collaborated with MCPR Music and Steel Pulse's Sidney Mills, who produced Jamaican percussionist Larry McDonald's album Drumquestra. His track is called "What about the Children?" The same year he also performed vocals with Iowa reggae band Public Property on their album Work to Do.

In 2011, Hibbert was featured in the documentary Reggae Got Soul: The Story of Toots and the Maytals which was airred on BBC. Described as "The untold story of one of the most influential artists ever to come out of Jamaica", it features appearances by Marcia Griffiths, Jimmy Cliff, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Willie Nelson, Anthony DeCurtis, Ziggy Marley, Chris Blackwell, Paolo Nutini, Paul Douglas, Sly Dunbar, and Robbie Shakespeare.

In May 2013, Hibbert received a head injury after being hit by a thrown bottle during a performance at the River Rock Festival in Richmond, Virginia, U.S. forcing him to cancel several months of live shows. The bottle was thrown by William C Lewis. Lewis was facing a charge of malicious wounding, but he pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Despite Hibbert pleading in a letter to the judge, "He is a young man, and I have heard what happens to young men in jail. My own pain and suffering would be increased substantially knowing that this young man would face that prospect," the judge gave Lewis a six-month sentence.

After a three-year hiatus following the incident at the River Rock Festival, in 2016 Toots and the Maytals returned to the stage and began touring again. Hibbert's vocals appear in the Major Lazer and Bad Royale 2016 collaboration, "My Number", which samples his band's earlier song "54-46 That's My Number".

On 25 July 2018, Hibbert performed on the U.S. television show  The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with Toots and the Maytals where they debuted an original song entitled "Marley" as well as performing their classic hit song "Funky Kingston" in a live performance.

Toots and the Maytals have been cited as inspiration for other music artists as per career longevity. Jamaican artist Sean Paul explained this in saying, "I've seen some great people in my industry, you know, people like Toots…Toots and the Maytals. Toots, he's a great reggae artist and he's still doing it…He's up there in years and he's doing it. Those kind of artists inspire me. I know I'm just going to keep on doing music as long as I can."

In 2010, Hibbert ranked No. 71 in Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In August 2012, it was announced that he would receive the Order of Jamaica, the country's fifth highest honour

In August 2020, it was reported that Hibbert was in hospital "fighting for his life" in a medically induced coma. On September 12, 2020, a statement on the band's Facebook page announced that he had died, at the age of 77. The Gleaner and Rolling Stone later confirmed the announcement, reporting that Hibbert had died at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, in a medically induced coma. It was later confirmed that COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Jamaica was the underlying cause of his death.

[tombugg92]

Wiley - Godfather III

I thought I should start this by giving a short intro to Wiley. Widely accredited by fans and artists as a pioneer of the Grime scene, it would be impossible to overstate the impact he’s made in Grime, in fact it would be impossible to overstate the importance that he’s made to UK music in general. Starting off as a member of Pay As U Go Wiley first began his life in UK Garage, eventually as Pay As U Go disbanded Wiley went on to form Roll Deep, containing Dizzee Rascal, Tinchy Stryder and many more. This was where we really started to hear an evolution of the UK Garage sound and things started to sound more like the Grime that we came to know and love. It’s certainly not just Wiley who thinks he’s the “Godfather,” not many in the scene would argue that, but he’s certainly not going to let you forget it. 

A lot of newer fans were put off with last years altercations with just about anyone who makes any music, after Wiley was widely publicised to have labelled Drake as a “pagan,” and Ed Sheeran as a “culture vulture,” before taking a much more direct approach with Stormzy, firstly sending very direct tweets on Twitter before the pair released a few tracks which must have been absolutely shocking if you hadn’t grown up watching Lord of the Mics. I think people who have been listening to the scene since the Rinse FM days will have attributed this behaviour as just clever marketing, I know I was expecting this album long before it came. This marketing is tried and tested and it works, it was certainly successful for Wiley, exposing himself to a whole host of people who’s entry point to this whole genre was Stormzy. I heard people talking about the tracks everywhere, at work, in bars, in fact I even got into an argument with my barber over who we thought took each round (word of warning kids, don’t start an argument with your barber). 

Then the dust seemed to settle slowly, I wasn’t hearing the arguments anymore and Stormzy had disappeared from Social Media altogether, but there was still no album from Wiley? I was hearing that Wiley was all over the capital, recording verses with MC’s from just about everyone involved in the scene, but there was nothing solid as to why. I’ve heard that it was something to do with labels telling Wiley he had to wait before releasing the record on his own label, but again nothing concrete. I saw something on Instagram that it was going to come out 1st of January, but at this point Wiley was posting a story or a tweet once a minute so I was hardly surprised when this date came and went. Finally in June, nearly 5 months had passed since Wiley’s last send for Stormzy, we had an album. Even then it wasn’t easy! It dropped first on Apple Music before making everyone on Spotify wait a little longer. I actually signed up for Apple Music when I already had Spotify because I couldn’t wait one extra day for it to come out, so if anyone knows how to contact Wiley I’d like to invoice him for that pointless subscription fee.

So finally it was here! I was really busy at the time and I don’t like to listen to a record before I can give it my full attention so I actually saw the track-list before I even had a listen, and at first was amazed by the lack of features, where had all those verses that Wiley had been collecting suddenly gone?! Then I saw a tweet from Big Zuu saying that he’d featured on on a track but had not been credited (Track 20 - West London, if you’re wondering) and I thought “Wow, that’s just so Wiley.” A couple of days later though Wiley himself released a list of all the features on the album, and when I saw that I had to listen straight away. There’s some huge huge names on that list, both established legends in the scene like D Double, Jammer and Footsie, to what I think of as the new breed of people that will carry the genre even further like Big Zuu and Capo Lee, and some people who I won’t lie I’ve never heard of. It seems like Wiley is determined to use his last record to make sure that the wheels of this genre are still spinning.

So onto how the record sounds. Normally I like to do a bit of a breakdown of every track, it allows me to really work out any tracks I really enjoy or any that I think could be left out, but I’m not going to be doing that right here. Purely because this record is incredibly long and I really didn’t fancy writing my thoughts when it comes to 22 separate tracks, I’m not exaggerating either it really is 22 tracks long! Obviously the whole thing does have a very Grime feel to it. Just the lengths of the tracks themselves make me think of the old days of Grime. With an average track length of less than 3 minutes it gives the whole thing a really fast paced feeling, comparable to the way that Wiley has always flung bars at us at a million miles an hour, his final album flings tracks at us with comparable speed. 

The first listen I felt almost overloaded. With so many features that I did find myself thinking “Was that so and so?” so much that I missed just about every punchline and barely even recognised the productions. So I had to go back a few times and listen all over again, although that’s definitely not a chore! Production wise it’s much as you’d expect, very Grimey and very heavy in the early tracks which leaves me feeling that Wiley really is cementing that flag in the scene before he departs. Don’t make any mistakes at all though because this is not a record in which all tracks sound the same, Wiley keeps even the Grimiest tracks sounding varied by switching up his rhyme flows often and the hooks change between each track. Production wise my favourite track would have to be family which features Flirta D, Footsie and Goldie1. I think the track is produced by Mr Virgo and for me it brings a really fresh sound which can often be quite difficult when producing a genre which is nearly 18 years old now. 

Lyrically Wiley comes just as hard as he always has. He comes out swinging on Intro letting us know exactly what he thinks of his role in the scene saying “I’ll be the father bro, you can be the son of it.” As a huge fan of wordplay I also feel like I’ve got to shout out the London scheme in Intro also, which end with a punchline saying “They’ll pull up to the junction, jump out and Clapham.” Had me screwing up my face like I was in 2004 all over again. The bars continue from Wiley as the record goes on, always following the similar theme with Wiley reminding us exactly who we should thank for this whole genre. In terms of features for me it’s Tempa T that absolutely steals the show, probably because I don’t think I’ve heard from him for so long. But having just written that I’m having so many more ideas, J2K is absolutely incredible on Double Dragon and Manga Saint Hilare shines on Amsterdam alongside Breeze, Scratchy and Wiley. Yes you did read that last sentence correctly, it’s basically a Roll Deep reunion on that track.

My only concern with the new album coming out would be that it wouldn’t have any flow. Lately Wiley seems to struggle to focus on one topic, in his interviews with Zeze Millz and Poet for Filthy Fellas I didn’t really know what he was talking about more often than not and I was concerned that lack of cohesiveness would translate into the record. My concerns were unfounded though and, like I’ve said earlier it’s very much a Grime showcase in the early tracks. This does get mixed up as we go continue through though, Rinse for example uses a production that Donae’o once released to give a more UK Funky feel. I also love the final track Press Record, which slows everything right down and moves as far away from Grime as it’s possible to go, but lets us really feel like Wiley is talking to us. I also find it quite emotional because it makes me feel like Wiley is actually serious that this is going to be his last album, and I just don’t even want to begin to imagine this scene without him.

Think what you like of him, and he’s certainly split opinions over the past few months, you simply cannot overstate the impact he’s made. And if you were doubting this statement, this final effort will make sure you rethink that. It’s quite amazing that there are 22 tracks and I genuinely cannot think of a single one that could be taken off this record, a truly sublime effort from the true Godfather. Thank-you Wiley. 

[interesting-blog-name]

SLIGHTLY NEW ALBUMS I LIKED (Little Simz - GREY Area; Monsune - Tradition; Backxwash - God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It)

More loose reviews that I write and instantly want to get out of my Word document and into Tumblr without much of an overlaying theme between the albums or any planning as to which ones I’ll be releasing at which point, but it is what it is. This time I’ll be compiling some recent-ish albums I’ve enjoyed, two of which I’ve come to know from TheNeedleDrop (I try not to watch reviews before writing down my opinion btw), and one EP from an artist I like. Here it is.

Little Simz – GREY Area

Little Simz, the 26-year-old British rapper, is an artist I’ve loved the first time I heard her, when I listened to Selfish for the first time and saw her cover of Feel Good Inc. in triple-j’s Like A Version. Today, May 30th, I was planning on listening to White Chalk by PJ Harvey, but from what I read, it’s a pretty depressing album, and I’m not in the mood for that right now, so I picked GREY Area from my future listening list.

It’s really nice to hear a rap album like this once in a while. The instrumentation is organic and well thought out, her flow is amazing, and her lyrics have so much substance and personality to them, ranging from the happier, more reminiscent tone in 101 FM to the much more aggressive tracks Offence, Boss, Venom and Pressure, she’s always giving her take on life, telling the experience of what it’s like being a black person with big dreams in England, seeing friends die while she tries to go somewhere in life through music.

The main tone she picks for her self-narrative is an unapologetic view of the world around her; she tells the listener: “’til now I ain’t ever been the selfish type, ‘till now I ain’t ever told nobody no, don’t get it twisted. This shit ain’t happen overnight” in the biggest song off here, Selfish, featuring the most calming and lavish pianos and violins in this album, and an amazing feature by Cleo Sol on the hook. Pressure features an amazing batch of verses all about. Same thing with the intro, Offence, with its bold, empowering chorus; although the track comes off more playful with its cartoonish sound effects nearing the end than the raw message of the track mentioned previously. A great, high-spirited track to start off the album.

What isn’t as high-spirited is the next track, Boss, or, to be fair, almost all the other tracks in the album. Boss is a big fuck you to anyone you might dedicate the song to: the hook has Simz’s most aggressive delivery in the whole record, and the entire message is about getting over those who hurt you and coming up.  The second verse is something else.

Wounds, featuring Jamaican singer Chronixx, deals mostly with the gun/crime problem ever-so-present in marginalized communities all around the world, and she tells the story from the perspective of both herself and as a companion of the “gun man”, repeatedly mentioned in the song (“When a gun man only knows self-hate, them bullets show no love”). I’m not super crazy for Chronixx’s hook, or the much slower tempo of the track, but it fits well with the groovy instrumental. Venom, on the other hand, is a super exciting, menacing song. She goes all out over the violins playing in the background, but unfortunately, the track burns twice as bright to last half as long.

To lighten the mood a bit, 101 FM brings the most electronic instrumental, with cheerful, banging 808s and synths, and lyrics about her come up as a rapper, probably the verses where her British accent and slang dominate the most, giving them a more personal feel somewhat. Pressure doesn’t feature the most compelling instrumental or hooks in here – the Little Dragon refrain is mixed very poorly and the vocalist just doesn’t do a great job -, but the verses compensate for that, especially the first one, probably one of the most heartfelt and important ones in this album. Therapy talks about Simz’s struggles with finding comfort in therapy. The instrumental is average for the project, but still slaps, so that’s nice.

Sherbet Sunset is an ode to a broken relationship, and a theme that could be handled so poorly by other artists is handled masterfully by Little Simz. In three verses, she displays so many sides to what I assume is one relationship, so many emotions and thoughts that she shares, it really feels like she’s transcribing something of a focused, bright mind rush over the track, and it amazes me how she can reveal her feelings so well on a track like this, progressing from the regret of not seeing how it’d go wrong, to the anxiety that comes from spending all that time for seemingly nothing, to coming to terms with it in the last verse (although not quite). It’s a stunning song now that I listen to it again.

To close it all off, we have Flowers, mainly a tribute to various artists from the 27 club, with mentions of Jimi Hendrix and Amy Winehouse in the verses, trying to relate to their struggles with drug addiction and quick fame. It’s incredibly powerful and a great finisher.

I don’t dislike one track in GREY Area. It’s well conceived, a great statement, it really feels like she gives her all to make every track memorable, and even though her delivery is mostly monotone throughout the whole album, that also works to her favor, as she has a very unique and recognizable voice. So the lyrics are extremely well written, and the only reason I don’t give more examples of that is because I got a whole lot of school shit to do, the instrumental work is clean and precise, and I don’t have a whole lot to complain about. Check this shit out if you haven’t.

 FAVORITE TRACKS: 101 FM, Venom, Selfish, Offence, Boss, Pressure

LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: lol nah

 8.7/10

“Why you wanna all dress lies as truth? Have you ever seen what silence do? I don’t wanna see no violent troops putting out fires that haven’t been started”

 Monsune – Tradition

Damn I did not expect to like this as much as I did.

Monsune is a Chinese-Canadian singer who has recently been gaining some popularity from his amazing song OUTTA MY MIND, which features a funky bassline and high-pitched guitar playing that some have compared to Childish Gambino, specifically his album “Awaken, My Love!”. I decided to check out this short EP by him to see if he had anything more to offer, and it’s safe to say, he does.

The first track off Tradition already shows what this guy can do with his production. It starts off with the same vibe off of his previously mentioned biggest track, but on steroids: a prominent bassline, pitch-altered backing vocals, sunny guitars, and drowned out drums. His voice is also reaching higher notes in this song than in OUTTA MY MIND, but then in the middle of the song it all slows down for a very welcome beat change that shifts the song from this summer anthem to a very chill R&B tune. It’s amazing stuff, although I don’t understand why he chose to put some very noticeable autotune in this part.

CLOUD is my least favorite from the EP, but it’s still a very solid song, it’s just not amazing. The bass is still very strong, and the bridge later on in the song is addictive as shit. After that track comes OUTTA MY MIND, and then his style completely switches in MOUNTAIN, which starts off with some solo guitar and his low, beautiful singing. It’s actually really moving for some reason lol. It then picks up in the hook, the drums kick in along with what I assume is a keyboard, and his voice reaches the top of his range for the backing vocals, it’s a very well-made song.

JADE finishes Tradition off extremely beautifully, with a smooth acoustic guitar intro over a nice-ass bass, some ethereal, trippy scenes of Monsune floating over the ocean and appearing out of thin air in front of you (probably not you, the listener). And then all of a sudden this madman screams off the top of his lungs in the middle of the track and I fucking love it.

The flaws this EP has are mostly related to the mixing, which I think can be a little too harsh in some sections such as the big breakdowns in JADE and MOUNTAIN. Plus, I know lyrics aren’t a focus on a project like this, but it would be nice to get something more than love songs in the future perhaps. Still, loving this EP, so glad I checked Monsune out. You should too.

 WORST TO BEST: CLOUDS, 1998, JADE, OUTTA MY MIND, MOUNTAIN

 8/10

“Don’t you wanna come down? Cause I’m so bored of walking on the same old sky”

 Backxwash – God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It

God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It is an album by American rapper Backxwash, who received a new wave of attention after Anthony Fantano reviewed this album in his channel and gave it a decent 8. I haven’t watched the review yet, but I was interested in checking it out because of the high score, and especially since when I looked it up on Spotify, the songs only had around 8000 views.

Dark subject themes and the whole dark trap aesthetic are the core of this album. I, personally, have always been a fan of aggressive, heavy rap music, from more underground names like gizmo and Fukkit, to the more mainstream variant of these sounds, like XXXTENTACION. This album, however, operates in somewhat of a separate lane.

Many of the dark, edgy rap I used to listen to religiously back in the day was borderline mindless. Shit about ripping someone open, hollow flexing, except separated from mainstream rap only because the rapper in question is screaming their brains out when talking about designer clothes, instead of mumbling like your average Lil Baby, and, of course, personal problems, depression, being mad about whatever it was. Unlike its other contemporaries, however, it seems Backxwash has much more thought and elaboration into what she wants to yell about. Instead of hiding behind bass-boosted rather formulaic instrumentals, she takes the more scenic route, with still very dark, but more intricate gothic beats, sampling various religious speeches and implementing them into songs about black magic and overall unhappiness. The Black Sabbath sample that opens up this album should be enough for any listener to immediately understand what they’re about to get into, as the title track brings heavy percussion and some of the most graphic lyrics in the album, which it already doesn’t lack. Lines about downing pills and vodka, contemplating suicide, and blank vocalizations of anger (“I want war with these bitches, I want corpses and weapons”).

The track that resembles an average edgy Soundcloud rap song the most is Black Magic right after, with its own interpretation of the “ay” flow, shouted with a tone reminiscent of someone like Craig Xen. The big difference comes with the much grander production, especially the growling guitars that get introduced halfway, reminding the listener of Backxwash’s skill as a producer. From what I could tell, she was responsible for the production of the tracks in here, and considering there are no vocal guests except for Malldate’s quick appearance in Into The Void, I’m assuming the features listed in the tracklist are all producer credits as well, the feature in this track being Ada Rook, providing the amazing guitar work for this song.

Spells is mixed for me. I don’t enjoy the attempted singing in the chorus, and it falls completely flat to my ears; the beat is hard as ever, but the lyrics feel slightly disconnected with each other. At one point, she’s talking about going to Hell to her mom, at the other she mentions doors opening and closing in an office and how there’s no one in some corridor, and it doesn’t go anywhere from that, with lines such as “heart is so dead with tissue” not exactly evoking any sort of emotion or imagery.

Black Sheep is the most effective song out of the first four; it seems to filter all the positive aspects of the other tracks and package them into one quick serving. The beat is chaotic and in a constant state of unrest, the lyrics are centered and aimed at various of Backxwash’s problems in life, such as her father, people who want to bring her down and put her “in line on the X and O’s”, and overall venting. After that comes a brief interlude, the first of two that don’t have much use in the album except as pallet cleansers. It’s followed by Into The Void, a track that mentions her paranoia of being harassed and possibly killed when walking around in the streets and the deli. It’s haunting, and definitely the best song in here; it is laser-focused in the exact way I wished the previous tracks would be. Her vocal delivery is extremely expressive, and she tells the story in a way that gives the listener a brief, but at the same time immense glimpse of the reality that trans people face and have to go through, in a morbid fashion.

Adolescence is very short and eases the pace a bit after the intense emotions of the last. It’s a message to her younger brother that quickly descents into a confession of her inner struggle, mentioning possible overdoses and being too old for the 27 Club and fearing going to therapy. What’s great about this song is the fact that, even in such a short amount of time and with a less explosive instrumental, Backxwash manages to evoke her emotions so well; this is definitely what she does best in this record, and it overcomes the times where her delivery is flawed and her words are slurred and hard to understand. After this comes Amen, and holy fuck is this an angry song. Criticizing the hell out of the church, Backxwash comes at greedy pastors and their irresponsible spending when the churchgoers who support him are in need. My big problem with this song is the fact that the hook, as impassionate as it is, doesn’t do much for the subject, and the verse is way too short to have any impact with its theme. Lines like “these politicians politicking” don’t help much either.

The very distorted second interlude, Heaven’s Interlude, takes us to the last track, Redemption, the least intense song in here, which is appropriate as a sendoff. She expresses her frustrations towards her dad’s frustrations towards her being trans, and while the entire sentiment of the song is great and well formulated, I can’t find a way around the lines “Fuck these fucking boomers, fuck these fucking losers. Fuck theses motherfucking fuckers in their fucking two truck. Fuck these fuck(sic)abusers, and fuck these fucking rumors.”, they just emanate Limp Bizkit energy.

God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It is a very passionate, real, well produced and well-conceived album; it bears themes that are immensely important to be brought to the music scene, and by mixing that message with its explosive and polished production, it amplifies it a ton. However, as powerful as her deliveries are, I believe Backxwash can go much further with her songwriting and song structuring in the future, as well as her intonation, because that was really all that was keeping this album from being legendary. If she can do more of this in songs that are longer and super focused around whichever topic she decides, she can make something legendary. And thank God she got reviewed by Fantano, I hope she can take this opportunity and make something huge out of this.

 FAVORITE TRACKS: Into The Void, Black Sheep, God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It, Adolescence, Black Magic

LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Spells

 7.7/10

“Chosen one, sad bitch, lowest scum. Coldest, huh, black sheep talk to ‘em. If the situation changed I would have said the same shit, exactly the same.”

[audiot909]

UK Amapiano and Funkyama,and the influence of South Africa on UK dance music

I remember what it was that first made me aware of their existence, it must have been the release of Scratcha DVA.

'& BAGA MAN EP', released in February 2021 on Hyperdub, came as a shock to me, as I had been studying Amapiano throughout the year 2020.

It was an unknown sound, clearly influenced by Amapiano but with a distinctly UK essence.

https://scratchadva.bandcamp.com/track/scratchclart-razzler-man-razzclart

The influence of Amapiano is felt most strongly in the first track, which is surprisingly fast at 124 BPM.

It is very fast.

Considering that most of the South African Amapianos are made at around 113 BPM, this is an exceptionally fast speed.

From 0:15 onwards, a bass called "log drum" comes in, and from 0:30 onwards, a UK style bass line comes in.

I was presented with the moment when South African dance music was sublimated into UK style, and I was turned over like "How is that possible?

I was overturned.

Since this release I've started to check out releases from producers such as Razzler Man, DJ Polo, LR Groove and Karen Nyame KG who were featured on the & BAGA MAN EP. I've noticed that in the UK there are now more and more producers like Amapiano and Gqom who are taking influence from South African dance music.

The next thing I noticed was that in the UK Amapiano was being played alongside more familiar genres such as UK Funky. I was very surprised and excited to hear a new interpretation of Amapiano, a genre that is very familiar to me. Next up is a mix that DJ Polo and European305 did for Rinse FM.

https://soundcloud.com/rinsefm/djpolo160321

It's still fast. It starts with Amapiano, but the BPM is over 120 at this point. I remember being very impressed with the smoothness of the music, which led straight into UK funky and tribal house. After a year of chasing the South African style of Amapiano, I had a fixed idea of what to expect, and I was thinking that there might be a connection with other genres sooner or later, but the fusion was so brilliant that I took my hat off to him. And the fact that it was played on Rinse FM suggests that this movement is already quite big.

When it was posted on Twitter, it was titled "Funkyama vs Amapiano guest mix" and I was so curious that I asked the UK producer this question.

Then I got this response from a UK producer.

Again, the name European305 comes up. Apparently they are the proponents of Funkyama, a genre created in March last year and influenced by Amapiano and Funky House.

It was here that I became convinced that Amapiano was starting to catch on in the UK, and that it was on the verge of its own evolution. So I started to look into when Amapiano first became known in the UK and came across this article.

https://www.9bills.co.uk/amapiano/

The title is "The Face Of UK Amapiano". It's just perfect. Here are some of the things that caught my eye.

The southern African diaspora community within the UK has also embraced the sound, headline shows courtesy of GrillyardUk featuring Prince Kaybee, Kabza De Small and Vigro Deep have sold out in the UK.

Award winning DJ, Fistoz is arguably the most well-known DJ specialising in the Amapiano genre. He has DJ’d alongside south African powerhouses Vigro Deep and Kabza de Small all across the UK, Ireland and Scotland. Fistoz is currently crowdfunding for an Ampiano festival which will be free entry for all to enjoy.

It's a culture that is already taking root. The article itself was written in August 2020, so perhaps it's a little more well known now.

Reading the article reminded me of a story I once heard about the cultural influence of the South African diaspora in the UK. In Japan, it is often said that the UK has been greatly influenced by dub and sound system culture imported from Jamaica, but the relationship between South Africa and the UK is not so well known, and it was a fresh surprise when I first heard about it. If there are any problems with this description, it is partly due to my lack of study, but also to the fact that there is information that has not made it to Japan.

Back to the topic at hand, this statement from ScratchaDVA has impressed me greatly.

Yes, he has managed to take South African dance music and create his own style quite early on. You can read more about this in Japan here, and if you're interested, you can use a translation site to read about it.

https://www.jfmusicwritterclass.com/entry/lady-lykez-buzz-lightyear

Juls has also released a number of important releases that we haven't had a chance to mention so far, so be sure to check them out. The UK's Amapiano, featuring South African queens Busiswa and Jaz Karis, is a fine example of what can be achieved.

https://julsbaby.bandcamp.com/track/soweto-blues-featuring-busiswa-and-jaz-karis

I have to confess, living in Japan, I'm not sure exactly how big this UK Amapiano culture is. I don't know if it's just a reaction from a few music freaks, or if it's a new wave of UK dance music. But with Donae'O making playlists like this one, I'd imagine it's about as 'Next Coming' as it gets.

Donae’O Spotify Playlist

https://t.co/Y2FOhYbTSP?amp=1

Last but not least I'd like to introduce you to a great DJ mix by Ikonika and Scratcha DVA. Ikonika's latest mix has some great Amapiano from start to finish. It's one of my favourite mix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdib1lQixaI

The mix and interview that Scratcha DVA gave to Resident Advisor is almost the answer for this article. Here's how they describe themselves in the introduction

This RA Podcast is a tribute of sorts to that South African sound, what Scratcha describes as the influence that dance music from that country has had on all kinds of UK dance music. You'll hear plenty of the heaving rhythms of gqom, and plenty of the UK funky-rooted stuff Scratcha makes under his many different aliases. With tracks from Ikonika, KG and Hagan, it's a snapshot of UK dance music as seen through the lens of South African pioneers like Citizen Boy and DJ Lag, a truly international sound put together under the one-of-a-kind vision of Scratcha DVA.

And to my surprise my track "audiot909 - Rasen (KΣITO Gqom Remix)" is used in this mix. I've been following the UK interpretation of South African music for a while now, and I never dreamed it would be included in a mix on this theme. Once again I would like to thank Scratcha DVA and KΣITO for their support. I don't think I could be more honoured.

https://jp.ra.co/podcast/779

I've put together my own playlist of the main tracks from UK Amapiano and Funkyama for those who are interested. I hope that this article will bring you the same surprise and excitement that I got when I discovered UK Amapiano.

Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ESwSGND46xhdgS7QVyiDI?utm_source=embed_v2&go=1&play=1&nd=1

Apple Music

https://music.apple.com/jp/playlist/uk-amapiano-funkyama/pl.u-J97JTRWVjxW

Finally

Thank you for reading this far!

To introduce myself, I'm a Japanese Amapiano producer and DJ who goes by the name audiot909.

Some of you may find my language a bit confusing, it's a translation of my own words, I don't speak English very well and I don't live in the UK so I don't really have a good understanding of the culture and diaspora.

I hope you can understand these two points.

I just wanted to let people know about the endless possibilities of UK Amapiano and Funkyama, and the influence South Africa has had on UK dance music.

If there are any major mistakes, or if you want to give me any feedback, I've included  Twitter and Instagram accounts so that you can contact me if you have any questions.

Twitter

https://twitter.com/lowtech808

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/audiot909/

audiot909 - ‘‘This is Japanese Amapiano’‘EP

Streaming

https://artist.landr.com/music/672985655744

Bandcamp

https://usikuvo.bandcamp.com/album/this-is-japanese-amapiano-ep

My Amapiano DJ Mix with Amazing Video Effect  In Japan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDybg6mXz20&t=1885s

[doomedandstoned]

Papa Paul’s Groovy Reviews!

Our resident retroist is back to finish the year with a hot handful of hits for the tune toking delight of Doomers and Stoners alike!   Give ear...

PAGAN ALTAR

The Room of Shadows by Pagan Altar (Official)

One of the many surprises wrought by the year 2017 was a new album from legendary English doomers PAGAN ALTAR, who fittingly saved their best for last. You may ask why I say "their last"? Well, sadly, their vocalist Terry Jones has passed away since recording this album. I say "fittingly," because everything the band had done to this day has been outstanding. The abstruse history of the band is a story in and of itself. I don't fully understand it, so I won't go too far down that rabbit trail. Suffice it to say, I've been following Pagan Altar from the moment their first album was pirated by an infamous bootlegger. I heard it was from the '70s, I heard it was from 1982. I always struggled with what to believe. One thing for sure, their official releases on shadow Kingdom Records are top notch and I recommend them to you highly, along with the rest of their catalog, which has (as the band's clippings rightly proclaim) influenced "a whole generation of doom-obsessed fanatics."

Pagan Altar are considered both a doom and NWOBHM band. I won't argue with either, as elements of both are surely alive in their music. What interests me most are the ever present elements of progressive hard rock strongly rooted in the band's genesis, circa 1978. Pagan Altar is often compared to Jethro Tull, owing to Terry's vocals sounding eerily similar at times to Ian Anderson and also to the boundary-pushing complexity of their songs. It is here, in 'The Room of Shadows' (2017 - Temple of Mystery Records), that those seeds of Jethro Tull sprout to life in a series of seven weird and wonderful creations. Truth be told, this is the kind of album I wished Jethro Tull recorded. I always wanted the band to be a mite heavier, overall (don't get me wrong, I loved them as they were). As I listen to The Room of Shadows, I can almost see Ian Anderson dancing around, flute in hand and posing on one leg, his knee held high. The only thing lacking is the flute! Pagan Altar achieve their progressive majesty with a happy marriage of guitar, bass, and drum.

Photo by Temple of Mystery

Apart from Jethro Tull, it's hard to find an apt comparison. At times, I hear hints of Tales of Creation era Candlemass, elements of Cirith Ungol in some of the heavier riffs, and plenty of Celtic folk music and poetry throughout, transporting the listener clear back to the early Renaissance. Such is the depth of writing and musicianship on display. If you only give this a casual listen, you will miss most of the album. The Room of Shadows should be -- nay, must be -- savored like a fine wine or, in my case, a deftly crafted beer. Let me tell you, friends, there are some meaty rifts just waiting for you to sink your teeth into (or your ears, as it were), but the riffs rightfully serve as foundation for the band's tell-tale melodies and harmonies, which are, as always, haunting.

Fans of newer bands like Beelzefuzz and Blues Funeral need to give Pagan Altar a spin. Maybe it's because the new Blues Funeral album was released just a day before this that I'm thinking of them. Though the two albums are separated by a span of 13 years, both conjure a similar vibe. You might say that Blues Funeral is America's belated answer to Britain's Pagan Altar. All comparisons aside, Pagan Altar's last record is a masterpiece, crowned with cover art that in a single frame so aptly pictures the artistic mood of the album and the band. I thought it might have been a repurposed painting from some classic English painting. No, this, as it so happens, is another stunning masterwork by Portland artist and doom metal musician Adam Burke.

One last note: the album was once slated for release under the title Never Quite Dead. Indeed, Pagan Altar's sound and legacy lives on, loud and proud, in The Room Full of Shadows.

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PANTANUM

Purple Blaze by Pantanum

Anyone in the mood for some Italian doom by way of South America? That's what we have with 'Purple Blaze' (2017), the latest EP from Curitiba, Brazil trio PANTANUM. Old farts like me will recognize this right away. The artwork confirms that this is, indeed, a tribute to legendary Italian doomer Paul Chain -- more specifically, a nod to his great album, 'Violet Art of Improvisation' (1989). Pantanum make a play on "violet" with the word "purple" and use a similar layout for the album art. It's a great to see a young band paying tribute to an old school legend, one that I'm sure is a new name for fans of doom who came here by way of bands like Sleep or Electric Wizard.

The two songs on the 7" are from the horror-style doom playbook the Italians were so famous for in the ‘80s and ‘90s. In fact, the 8-minute bonus track sounds like something you’d hear on a horror movie soundtrack, which is also the mood lit by Violet Art of Improvisation. If Pantanum got my attention with their first album, ‘Volume 1’ (2015), their follow-up EP has me all ears!

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THE SHELTER PEOPLE

The Shelter People -EP by The Shelter People

Fans of '70s acid rock are in for a real treat with this release. I give this a confidence rating of 100% on the authenticity scale for sounding like something from a lost FM radio transmission. THE SHELTER PEOPLE are from Tulsa, Oklahoma, but do a fine job of channeling the vibe of legendary blues-soaked acid rock bands from Japan, like Flower Travellin' Band, Blues Creation, Chinki Chen, Too Much, etc. I'm sure a good number of our readers don't know these bands I've mentioned, so a more accessible description of The Shelter People would be Black Sabbath meets Jimi Hendrix, heavy on the Jimi. This band is, in a word, tight -- excellent guitar work, riffs that are downright funky, and passionate vocals. This is the trip you're searching for.

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THE SONIC DAWN

Into the Long Night by The Sonic Dawn

I have to thank Billy for his allowing me to stretch what used to be normal strictly a stoner-doom webzine. I appreciate his wisdom and ability to see the correlation between the retro scene that was emerging a few years ago and that of the still evolving stoner-doom scene. I recognized this movement early on and have been feverishly documenting this return to roots movement ever since.

Fast-forward to present day and the retro sound is as fresh and vibrant as ever, with bands like Denmark's SONIC DAWN now carrying the baton. Their beauty of a record, 'Into The Long Night' (2017), landed #16 on the Doom Charts in April. I can't tell you how happy this made me. In all actuality, this isn't doom at all. No resemblance to Black Sabbath, no downtuned guitars, no thundering pounding of the drums. No, this is laid back, seventies-style psychedelic rock. The look, the feel, the attitude -- it's all there. Make no mistake, Sonic Dawn have captured something very special here, capturing the essence of the scene in psychedelic rhythms, swirling leads, and ethereal vocals. I personally find this music enjoyable in the early morning or late at night. If laid back psychedelia is normally your thing, consider that. This has probably been my most played album since its release.

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WATCHER'S GUARD

Watcher's Guard by Watcher's Guard

Riding over the hills of Glasgow, comes WATCHER'S GUARD armed with a doom-laden three song battering ram of a debut. I was blown away at first listen, so you can imagine there's some retro, old school, traditional doom action to be had here, with a slight touch of NWOBHM for good measure. Watcher's Guard are the doom masters. This EP covers just about every early subgenre of doom you can think of: biker doom, epic doom, slow doom, you name it. If you pinned me down to one band it most sounds like, I would have to say Revelation from Baltimore. But Watcher's guard is a bit more uptempo over all. The clear standout for me is track two, "The Ruiner." An epic just shy of 12 minutes long, this one is destined to be crowned a classic. It's easy to make the Candlemass comparison, but Watcher's Guard bring so much more to the table. The complexity of their songcraft, with psychedelic twists and turns, take you along for an heroic journey that runs you through the gauntlet of emotions. What will these four dark knights have instore for us in the future? Time and fate will tell. For now, the path to oblivion has been lit. Let's follow and enjoy the apocalyptic fireworks.

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WITCHERS CREED

Depths of the black void... by Witchers Creed

Earlier in the year, I introduced you to WITCHERS CREED, a doom-touched acid rock band from Katrineholm. We've been audience to the band's creative output with a pair two-trackers released months apart. With four superbly recorded songs to their name, I think have a pretty good read on the band now and have this suspicious feeling that they are trying to become my favorite band! That's no small statement, as you know how many killer bands I've reviewed and raved about in these pages over the years. Regulars know I am vigilantly scouring the globe in search of that authentic psychedelic sound that stole away my heart as a teenager and reporting on the unfolding saga of the retro revival in these pages. Witchers Creed are have been apparently drinking freely of the magical stream flowing through Sweden, from which springs one magical musical act after another. Nay, they are baptizing themselves in it. Even their instruments and gear bear the vintage stamp of the glory days.

I have been told I nailed down the Witchers Creed sound my review of their March release when I said they sounded like Mountain meets Sabbath meets your favorite underground seventies band. You can pick the loudest and heaviest of them, Witchers Creed is right up there with the best. They have perfected their craft with a powerful rhythm section, notable for its thundering basslines. The guitar leads are no less mind-blowing -- more than just short bursts, this soloing goes on and on, soaked with fuzz and venturing into Dave Chandler territory. You know, the master of feedback from Saint Vitus. These demented leads are brought sailing over the top by one groovy rhythm machine, accompanied by dual harmonized vocals. Imagine Leslie West of Mountain harmonizing with Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers with wild occult lyrics, when suddenly the music stops and you hear the words: "You're all doomed!" Now that you have a visual idea of this band's irresistible charm, it's time for you to get plugged in yourself and give it a listen.

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ZEREMONY

Soul of the Zeremony by Zeremony

We're down to the last lap of 2017 and, suitably, also at the last letter of the alphabet. I think I can count just about all the "Z" bands I know on two hands. To call ZEREMONY a grower is not quite adequate, more like instantly addictive. 'Soul of the Zeremony' (2017) blew me away first listen. Yet it keeps growing on me every listen .

Photo Credit: Umsonst-und-Draussen Festival/Würzburg

You may remember hearing them as the captsone to That Seventies Compilation, which I organized last year. I heaped high praise on the the authenticity of their sound when they released that wonderful organ-driven demo that same year. Two of those three songs were deemed worthy of joining the fold of seven in this album of obscure, dark, and heavy organ-driven rock. Zeremony fit right in with my treasured favs.

Hailing from Würzburg, Zeremony seem to bear the influence of the Krautrock scene, which was erupted in the late '60s and early '70s and remains a stylistic pillar to this day. One band I hear as I listen to Zeremony is a band called Irish Coffee, just a few doors down from Germany in Belgium. They are similar in the heavy use of organ and gruff vocals. For modern comparison, try Golden Grass or Siena Root.

Listen for "She Sang a Song To Me." It is gloomy, yet earnest number with a sing-along chorus that would have all the makings of a hit single in the seventies. I've been raving about authenticity a lot in this piece and bands like Zeremony are setting a very high bar.

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[avaliveradio]

9.2 New Music Monday Release Radar with Jacqueline Jax Mixed Genre Playlist

Explore some exciting new music from creators all over the world recently discovered by our host Jacqueline Jax as she searches the far corners of the globe for talented songwriters and music creators who are telling their truth to bring the listener a unique experience. This show offers everything for fans of New Music from Classical Composers, Rock, Synth to Acoustic Folk Songwriter styles that speak volumes through great song writing. You’ll love the lyrics and unique music we have just discovered for this segment.  

Listen to the show across all broadcasts:

SUBSCRIBE to our broadcast here: www.wavve.link/avaliveradio

The Anchor Fm page : https://anchor.fm/ava-live-radio/episodes/8-12-New-Music-Monday-Release-Radar-with-Jacqueline-Jax-e4u5os

iHeartRadio station page : https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-AVA-Live-Radio-Musi-29336730/

The Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/66mt0DJmsJXtOgZbuoMTRx?si=LYnez8dUTzi7mjM8FJIKEw

FEATURING:

Artist: Labán

New Release: Acércate

Genre: Pop, singer-songwriter

Located in: : Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

Acércate is a song about an intense but short relationship that left the artist asking for more. It is the sweetness of pain. It is part of the upcoming album Todos Somos Dueños de Aquí.

The principle of respect for human life is part of the album’s concept and a central idea. Therefore, each of the songs is associated with a vital part of the human body. The function of each part is related to the song’s intention. This is the fourth single from the album.

Musically, it leans towards Jazz, Pop, RnB, Funk, and Rock. The lyrical content goes from protest against corruption, impunity, extreme income inequality and violence to frustration and existential crisis to love relationships and friendship.

A new trumpet funky tune, "Feel the Distance" will be the fifth single and it will come shortly after this one. We have a short but amazingly cool tour in certain cities of Mexico and the US will be announced after the release of the album, soon.

LINKS:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/1iSJ17cAQFOlXvFimf3PEb?si=vDfQBlOFQHeKwPCmn1VeSg https://www.reverbnation.com/labán/song/31066116-acrcate https://www.instagram.com/elbuenlaban https://twitter.com/elbuenlaban https://www.facebook.com/elbuenlaban

Artist: Chris Barclay

New Release: New York (I'm On Fire)

Genre: Rock, Metal, Guitar Shred

Located in: : Auckland, New Zealand ”I would love to be a solo artist traveling the world and also be available to be a session guitar player for anyone who wants me to bring some zing in the studio or on stage. Both are my dreams. I carry a card in my pocket with a statement written on it to remind me of my dream. "I am so happy and grateful that I am a professional guitarist performing around the world making a million dollars every year." Pretty big dream.” Technique wise I am influenced mostly by alternate pickers like Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Morse, and John Petrucci. Style wise today I enjoy the use of Modal approaches like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani with Neo-Classical touches here and there.

www.chrisbarclay.net

I am a guitarist in the vein of Steve Van, Joe Satriani, Richie Kotzen, and Yngwie Malmsteen. My heroes are all highly skilled on their instruments. My music is made up of both song and instrumental music-based Progressive, Rock, Metal, NeoClassical Country Rock and Pop.

I have immersed myself in the guitar technique and I strive to cater to audiences who appreciate that same world. We are the guitar players, the musicians, the rockers and rock anthem lovers.

New York (I'm On Fire) is a little departure from my other releases. It is a song written when I first visited New York City. I was blown away by the energy of the city and it seemed that it was indeed the center of the universe. NYC seemed to me to be the ultimate metaphor for success, chasing dreams and where anything seems possible. This is what the song is about.

Chasing dreams, getting noticed, and the fire inside to be part of all the energy in the USA which has fuelled my obsession with this country in my previous work. LA and NYC in particular. I have crammed into ‘New York (I’m On Fire)’ power chord melodic anthem choruses, Vai and Malmsteen inspired guitar solos, and the major hook arpeggio came to me when walking around Times Square, staring up into the sunshine in a hot June sky, it arrived in my consciousness.

I rushed back to my hotel then recorded it on my Mac Book and my Fender Stratocaster. I knew there was a song in this when I got back home to New Zealand. There is certainly a little tip of the hat to Slash and Guns and Roses Sweet Child of Mine in the guitar hook. I wrote two pieces of music from this visit, the other that became a neo-classical Instrumental ‘The Freedom Fire and Love Of America’

LINKS:  https://www.reverbnation.com/chrisbarclay/song/29943877-new-york-im-on-firehttps://open.spotify.com/album/6FCkjAKZZjOw2OZPhi0TKW https://twitter.com/chrisbarclaynet https://www.facebook.com/chrisbarclaymusic https://www.instagram.com/chrisbarclaynet http://chrisbarclay.net https://www.youtube.com/user/chrisbarclay1

Artist: A Permanent Shadow

New Release: Fool

Genre: Indie, electronic, rock, synth pop, eighties

Located in: : Barcelona, Spain

A Permanent Shadow Releases 80's Synth Rock Single 'Fool' ahead of their New Album Launch coming up this year. ‘Fool’ was written after the terrorist attacks in our chosen hometown of Barcelona in Summer 2017.

We wrote this song after the terrorist attacks in our chosen hometown of Barcelona in Summer 2017. Lyrically, Fool is a plea for tolerance, open-mindedness and freedom of mind. We are nobody's 'Fool' and nobody ever should be. 'Fool' is the second single by A Permanent Shadow and will be released on August 30. Our first single ‘Empty’ got great feedback, and we are looking forward to 'Fool' getting some reaction. Both singles serve to herald the arrival of our debut album Songs of Loss which will be out on September 20.

The claim for this record is "45 years in 45 minutes" as we pack all our experience as people and as musicians in this record. It is music made from the heart but with a bit of brain as our lyrics are not the usual pop-rock stuff. We sing about losing your dignity, drifting through life without direction, getting rid of your former self, struggling with the passing of time or seeing your life fade away due to illness.

Happy-go-lucky it ain't, but people of a certain age and experience will understand.

LINKS:  www.facebook.com/apermanentshadow www.twitter.com/apermanentshad1 www.instagram.com/apermanentshadow

Artist: Henderson & Hemmerling

New Release: Follow The Light

Genre: Folk

Located in: Oshawa ON, Canada

This is a retro-sounding folk song in the style of Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez, Judy Collins about reuniting with a loved one after a long separation. It is about the journey homeward and the spiritual connection of two souls. Intricate acoustic guitar work, piano, bass, and beautiful 5 part vocal harmonies.

This release highlights our use of real instruments as opposed to synthesized sounds, a direction we have followed from the beginning. The pure, natural sound of early folk with a strong emphasis on melody, harmony, and lyrics. Our songs tell stories and incorporate symbolism and meaning.

We are currently recording a new album, keep an eye out for it.

LINKS:  https://soundcloud.com/user-641177893/follow-the-light https://hendersonhemmerling.bandcamp.com https://lornehemmerling.wixsite.com/henderson-hemmerling https://twitter.com/HendersonHemmer https://www.facebook.com/HendersonHemmerling

Artist: Humberto Castellano

New Release: Hall Of Heroes (Album)

Genre: Classical - Contemporary

Located in: Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The debut album, "Hall of Heroes" contains six different stories expressed in music. Every song represents a very specific story, not a situation, but a sequence of scenes.

As you close your eyes and listen to the music, every turn in the melody represents a turn in that sequence. These are epic orchestral songs.

I'm creating pieces that sound powerfully emotional, like those of Hans Zimmer, but also, at the same time keeping the classical touch, like John Williams does. This album is, as you might guess, about stories in which the characters struggle to do which is correct. But there's also romanticism, pain, desolation, fear... hope. All those elements make a story complete.

Before the love for music arrived in my life, since I was a kid I already enjoyed telling stories, of any kind and to everybody. Later, I got into the musical world and crossed through different genres. But I always felt music as a world isolated from all of the rest of the things I loved... until, by coincidence (or not), I came across with three instrumental songs that changed my world entirely: 'Pirates of The Caribbean', by Hans Zimmer; 'Heart of Courage', by Thomas Bergersen; and 'Arrival', by Steve Jablonsky.

LINKS:  https://www.reverbnation.com/humbertocastellano https://twitter.com/HJCastellano https://www.facebook.com/HJCastellano https://instagram.com/hjcastellano

Artist: John O'Brien

New Release: Happy To Love

Genre: Pop

Located in: St Augustine Beach, Florida

This was a song that came about rather purposefully. I was scheduled to go to a recording session to record a couple of demos and I had written a fairly sad song that I was going to record.

I decided that I had to write a really happy song and spent time trying to figure out what happiness actually is to me.

LINKS: See video: https://youtu.be/_R0h2KB89B8 Website: https://johnobriensmusic.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/65h0Nqw8jzL435OpjvJYuB?si=uNYdmgMVQAORlrcZymQHfQ Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/track/108168354 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/john-obrien/06-john-obrien-happy-to-love?in=john-obrien/sets/the-love-you-need-album EPK: http://johnobriensmusic.com/gallery YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwzP4-jgRZ1ofrEaKgQWX4w

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnobriensmusic Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnobriensmusic

Artist: Cabela and Schmitt

New Release: The Dreamer

Genre: Soul

Located in: Colorado and Nebraska USA

Dreams and procrastination. Funny how we would like to do certain things, but not bad enough to put the work into them to make them happen. Taking the easier softer road always leads to nothing getting done. And doing nothing is... just a dream.

We have so much music we want to share with everyone willing to listen. Decades in the making we are now dedicated to fulfilling our mission.

Our newest single Dancing Shoes is officially dropped 8/23/2019. Our next single Thankful will be out 8/20/2019. The 'Dancing Shoes' album will go out on 10-1-2019 with a few more singles in between. We are so grateful for all those involved in helping us get the music out there and to all the people who listen and enjoy it.

LINKS:  www.cabelaandschmitt.com https://open.spotify.com/track/1H9INRRrv17Po7xL8EiCuV?si=AAz9gCzpRy-u1xOFZEZq_g @CabelaSchmitt https://www.facebook.com/cabelaschmittmusic https://www.instagram.com/cabelaandschmitt https://soundcloud.com/user-473833568