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Blues Music Blog & Promotion

The 1930s Hot Club Jazz Scene is in Full Swing Once More in Bowmanville’s Seminal Single, Annie & Me

Posted on 3 August 2023

Almost 100 years stand between today and the Parisian 1930s Hot Club Jazz scene; listening to the raconteurs of sonic nostalgia, Bowmanville, you would be forgiven for thinking that it was only yesterday when beatniks with affinities for wild time signatures, swinging grooves and foot-tapping beats crowded clubs and started a movement that will never be lost to history.

Especially on the basis of the Chicago-hailing outfit’s swinging, smoky rhythmic drive and cinematically vibrant fusion of Jazz and Blues in Annie & Me, taken from their eponymous debut LP, produced by none other than the Grammy-nominated producer Doug Nelson.

Violinist Ethan Adelsman, harmonicist and vocalist Graham Nelson, percussionist Noah Plotkin, bassist Oliver Horton and guitarist Mason Jiller on guitar know just how to synergistically spill baroque alchemy as they blaze through the progressions in the instrumental score, which gives each pays ode to Chicago blues and the unmistakable timbres of Parisian Jazz.

Annie & Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Cornish brother duo, Roguey Roads, served a fresh slice of Americana indie pop with Westwood Sands

Posted on 29 June 2023

Roguey Roads carved a fresh slice of Americana indie pop for their latest single, Westwood Sands, which fuses country vox with an angular melodicism that will make any indie fan nostalgic for the 90s and 00s.

Following their debut album, Something to Prove, in 2021, Westwood Sands is a testament to how honed the Cornish indie pop duo’s sound has become. The songwriting, in particular, has been elevated to the nth degree.

After the winding bluesy guitars in the intro, momentum progressively builds in the immersive vignette of a wanderlust-driven protagonist who embarks on a journey of the soul and finds it filled by another. Hollywood directors would be hard-pressed to achieve the same panoramic picture in their feature films as Roguey Roads did in Westwood Sands.

It’s a heart-rendering indie pop anthem which goes a long way in proving why the brother duo can’t seem to create much distance between the ‘loveable’ adjective that is always affixed to them.

Westwood Sands is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Palace became heirs to the rock n roll dynasty in ‘Looking at You’

Posted on 24 June 2023

Just as royal blood ran in the veins of Prince and Queen, The Palace is just as imposingly majestic in their debut album, Rainbow Shades, which hit all major streaming platforms on June 9th.

The standout single, Looking at You, is a rapturous riot of Broadway-esque blues rock, with the shimmering Organ keys aiding the transcendence of the experience around the bluesy piano glissandos and the reverent rock electric guitar solos.

Star quality emanates from the natural charisma of the frontman, who utilises his soulfully profound dynamic vocal range to bring this stellar slice of rock n roll to visceral life. If your rock playlists are lacking serotonin, give them a potent fix by making Looking at You a staple.

To launch their debut LP, The Palace performed on the main stage at Indy Pride Festival, following a series of performances to capacity crowds throughout independent venues in Indianapolis.

Stream Looking at You on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Freaky Friday Jailhouse Gang filled groove pockets with raucous rock licks in ‘Benign Lion’

Posted on 23 May 2023

As you can probably gather from their moniker, The Freaky Friday Jailhouse Gang is far from your average RnB ensemble. Their seminal single, Benign Lion, is a riot of funk and foot-stompin flavour, driven by the fiery vocal lines of Lorena Valta.

Valta knows just how to instil raucous rock elements into the groove pockets that are deep enough to leave the Grand Canyon green with cavernous envy. Adding to the eccentricity of the Austrian outfit are the layers of blues, which pay homage to the roots before embedding them in an amalgam that could only have been alchemised by The Freaky Friday Jailhouse Gang.

The serious superlative talent is one thing, but the evident fact that the powerhouse, which has kept the cogs turning since the early 2010s, doesn’t take themselves too seriously is quite another. There’s an undeniable sense that the Gang benefit from their feel-good euphonics as much as their fans.

Benign Lion is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Fretbenders – Wandering Soul: An Americana Beacon for Wanderlust Dreamers to Follow Home

Posted on 11 May 2023

Taking you simultaneously to a veranda in Sicily and a back porch in Louisiana, the soundscape in the standout single, Wandering Soul, from the singer-songwriter duo The Fretbender’s seminal album, Long Overdue, is a beacon for the wanderlust dreamers to follow home.

Between the harmonicas, slide guitars and folksy vocal lines which sugar the atmosphere with compassion for the world-weary to savour, Wandering Soul is a timeless rootsy Americana offering which will nestle you within its euphonic comfort.

The husband-and-wife duo, Diane and Bob Kordas are known for their homely senses of soul and their unique roots infusions, which allow heritage sounds to resound on contemporary airwaves. Following their hotly anticipated LP, we hope there’s plenty more in the pipeline.

Wandering Soul is available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Just Like Honey: Maya’s Radio Orchestra Let the Light in with her jazz blues rendezvous, Suntrap

Posted on 3 May 2023
https://soundcloud.com/mayasradioorchestra/suntrap/s-SzD5YkM1Cav?si=bb9f31ab5e3446218e53aa0d7eb231ce&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Maya’s Radio Orchestra brought sun-bleached luminosity by the smorgasbord with her latest baroquely beguiling single, Suntrap. Just as the sun illuminates dust when it hits a room, the radiance in Suntrap through the honeyed vocals and swirling harps suspend the dusty underground jazz bars while the piano arrangement underpins the warm arrangement; contributed to by producer Lauren Gilmour’s scintillating synth lines. With the dreamy and lofty drum fills bringing a lemon slice of Portishead-reminiscent glamour, Suntrap becomes a sonic plateau that you will want to visit time and time again.

Maya says: “When I wrote this song, it was the end of February, and the midst of a very long dark, damp, Glasgow winter, and I was feeling very down. We underestimate how difficult the winter in Scotland can be, all whilst having to continue with our day-to-day lives as if we’re not affected by nature and the lack of sunlight.

Writing this song was my way of processing this uncomfortable realisation that capitalism and the need for productivity are incompatible with our human nature and that it’s having a detrimental effect on our communal mental health.”

Maya is a Glasgow-based British-Nepali singer-songwriter, harpist, pianist and vocalist. She is highly revered for her texturally intricate harmonies, which cathartically coalesce with her classy instrumentation and lyricality that unravels as conceptually philosophical poetry.

The sun will hit the airwaves on May 3rd. Stream Suntrap on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Interview: Arizona’s Brian Berggoetz Band tells us all about Wildflower and more

Posted on 2 May 2023
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2yHZduccKYA04PRo6Rb32I

We had a chat with the massively experienced Arizona-based artist Brian Berggoetz Band recently. Showing us the realness of the music industry for the 99.9%, telling us more about the new release Wildflower and fusing through the Dave Matthews inspiration, this is a gem of an interview. Ready?

Thank you for joining us, Brian. How are you doing today and what did you have for breakfast today?
I’m great and thanks for inviting me. Being a starving artist, I had my Costco breakfast sandwich and coffee for breakfast. I try to make my money stretch to pay for the art.

Firstly, where in the world are you based and where was the last show you did live?
My band is based in Tucson, AZ in the Sonoran Desert. We played a show this past Friday at a local bar and it was a great time. The place was packed and the dance floor was too. That’s what it’s all about, connecting with the people and feeling the vibe.

How would you describe your sound to someone you just met?
My sound is a combination of Dave Matthews and Bruce Springsteen. On the new EP, Familiar Sounds there is a touch of the Moody Blues as well. Recently I have been playing with a cello and violin players and that project found it’s way on to the album. There’s an orchestral rock song as well as a straight orchestral piece I did with some help from the Tucson Symphony. I’m very happy with those two pieces.

Please chat with us about your last release Wildflower.
Wildflower is a completely different music genre. It’s Americana and sentimental. Harmonies, violin, acoustic guitar and bass. It did very well. We received so much fabulous press. We made the cover of Lifoti music magazine and a nice feature in ION Indie Magazine, as well as a bunch of blogs, online magazines and Spotify playlists. Because of the album, agent Gene Foley reached out to me and is now working on my behalf. He is one of the top talent agents in the country and a real pleasure to work with.

We’d love to know about your brand new release called Familiar Sounds. Please tell us about the change in the sound and the creative process.
I worked with Jason Damico on this album. He played bass and guitars as well as production. He’s a fabulous player and it’s very special to work with him. My drummer Jeff Browning also worked on the production. It was very easy to do this one. I always start with my guitar and vocals, then drums. Jason adds guitars and then the strings and background vocals. Because of the Wildflower album, I have met some amazing players that were happy to play on this album as well. You know, everyone just took turns being awesome. As far as the sound, three songs are just straight-up rock songs. Familiar Sounds was clear that it should have a string section while still being a rock song. Pieces of Silver was written to be an orchestral song. I love orchestral rock and I really wanted to do this kind of song and it came out so great. It was such a thrill to have some of the Tucson Symphony play on this one.

What is the best perk of being a well-known musician?
I would say just getting to meet some of the most amazing people I would not have met otherwise. Music professionals, celebrities and just all-around excellent company. When I think about coming from a small town in Indiana to meeting and playing with some of the most fabulous people anywhere, I am humbled and inspired to see what happens next.

Lastly, what are your personal goals for the rest of 2023?
I’ve been working on the next album. I hope to work with Jeff Browning and Jason Damico again. I’m choosing the material and concepts now and hope to be in the studio in the summer for a fall release.

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Hear more from this quality band on Spotify.

Interview by Llewelyn Screen

THE PALE HORSES rolled with the punches in their soulfully heavy progressive blues single, Shallow Dive

Posted on 28 April 2023

THE PALE HORSES raucously reimagined blues with their latest feat of heavy progressive blues, Shallow Dive. The shimmering tones spilling from the Hammond organ remain definitively bluesy, as do the harmonised backing vocals, but everything else in the innovated hit came straight from the Toronto-hailing artist’s very own heavy rock n roll drawing board.

Even if you can take or leave blues and heavy progressive rock, there’s enough exhilarant substance in the release to affirm THE PALE HORSES are one of the most original acts on any scene. The jazz-inspired drums and vocal lines from Dane Hartsell transform this ode to 70s vintage tones into a riot of rock renovation, which may make traditionalists itch, but anyone who appreciates experimentalism will want to bask in the heat of this scorching sonically salacious release.

Shallow Dive is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Your Words: Jon Kenzie avoids the weaving observations on Two Plus Two Is Five

Posted on 22 April 2023

Sung with a calm intensity and reminding us of that soulful blues to sip on all night long, Jon Kenzie looks for the all-important truth inside a lie-filled world on the catchy new track to meditate with, Two Plus Two Is Five.

Jon Kenzie is an experienced Manchester, UK-based indie blues solo singer-songwriter and music producer who loves to fuse folk and soul into his wholehearted compositions.

”He has truly worked his way up from the grassroots, first playing on the streets and in the clubs of Manchester and then travelling Europe and the States, performing in every town that he comes to.” ~ Jon Kenzie

Taking our minds into a truly introspective soundtrack which has been made with so much poise and ingrained brilliance, Jon Kenzie sizzles our earlobes in the best possible way. This is quality stuff from an honest poet who sings with so much glorious class and love for his craft.

Two Plus Two Is Five from Manchester, UK-based indie blues solo singer-songwriter Jon Kenzie is a rather intriguing single for anyone who believes that humanity is actually going backwards. Thinking about the past and sending us a quality track to learn from, this is a must-listen single if you like things super bluesy and real.

Turn this up on Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Jazz Blues songstress Senobia is demurely pure in her single, Time to Breathe

Posted on 7 April 2023

Jazz, RnB, and blues fusionist, Senobia has declared it Time to Breathe in her new four-track EP, which soaked the airwaves in organically absolving soul on March 31. The standout title single is a sublime reminder of how sweet music used to be when it came straight from the soul, away from the strain of chart success.

The smoky blues layers enmeshed with the swaying jazz breeze and the ardent RnB piano keys pull together to create a superlatively impassioned platform for Senobia’s celestial vocal lines that are enough to compel you to take time in our fast-paced era, which forces you to feel that we should keep on moving, especially when it comes to moving on.

Before Senobia turned her talents to jazz, she projected her voice in the realm of gospel, doo-wop and pop; evidently, she hasn’t left her roots far behind her. Her demurely pure vocals will leave evocative surges ricocheting between your synapses, even when she’s harmonising her non-lexical vocal lines that will subdue you to her mesmerising grace.

Stream the Time to Breathe EP on SoundCloud and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast