Sights and Sounds: Florence + the Machine, Sass Jordan, Raveena, Mama’s Broke

Here is a timely roundup of music news from a number of strong female artists...Robert Kinsler

Florence + the Machine unveil "Free" with music video; 'Dance Fever' set for release on Friday, May 13, 2022

Florence + the Machine unveil a new single, “Free,” today with a video starring acclaimed actor Bill Nighy as Florence’s anxiety and directed by Autumn de Wilde—listen and watch here. The track is the latest from Florence’s forthcoming fifth LP Dance Fever, out May 13.

Florence has shared three songs from Dance Fever thus far—“My Love” (plus remixes from co-producer Dave Bayley of Glass Animals and Meduza), “King” and “Heaven is Here”—all of which arrived alongside videos by the acclaimed director de Wilde featuring choreography by Ryan Heffington.

Tickets for Florence’s North American headline dates this year are on sale now. The tour kicks off September 2 in Montreal with further stops at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl and many more. Arlo Parks, Sam Fender, King Princess, Yves Tumor, Japanese Breakfast and Wet Leg will join as support on select dates. One dollar from every ticket sold will benefit Choose Love to aid refugees worldwide. See full routing below and visit florenceandthemachine.net for more information.

Additionally, Florence will play two very special, intimate shows this spring: April 29 in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Theatre and May 6 at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in New York—both shows sold out in seconds.

Dance Fever was recorded in London over the course of the pandemic in anticipation of the world’s reopening. It conjures up what Florence missed most in the midst of lockdown—clubs, dancing at festivals, being in the whirl of movement and togetherness—and the hope of reunions to come.

The image and concept of choreomania—a Renaissance phenomenon in which groups of people danced wildly to the point of exhaustion, collapse and death—became a focal point of inspiration. Forced off the road for the first time in more than a decade, dance offered Florence propulsion, energy and a way of looking at music more choreographically.

Starting, as ever, armed with a notebook of poems and ideas, Florence had just arrived to New York in March 2020 to begin recording when Covid-19 forced a retreat to London. Holed up at home, the songs she had begun started to transform, ultimately arriving somewhere that Florence describes as “Nick Cave at the club.”

Dance Fever is an album that sees Florence at the peak of her powers, coming into a fully realized self-knowledge, poking sly fun at her own self-created persona, playing with ideas of identity, masculinity and femininity, redemption and celebration.

Dance Fever was produced by Florence, Jack Antonoff and Dave Bayley of Glass Animals.
 

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE—DANCE FEVER

1. King
2. Free
3. Choreomania
4. Back in Town
5. Girls Against God
6. Dream Girl Evil
7. Prayer Factory
8. Cassandra
9. Heaven is Here
10. Daffodil
11. My Love
12. Restraint
13. The Bomb
14. Morning Elvis

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE LIVE

April 29                                           Los Angeles Theatre                                  Los Angeles, CA
May 6                                       Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center                          New York, NY
September 2                                             Place Bell                                             Montreal, QC*
September 3                                       Budweiser Stage                                          Toronto, ON*
September 7                  Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island                    Chicago, IL†
September 8                                    Xcel Energy Center                                       St. Paul, MN†
September 10                              Pine Knob Music Theatre                                  Clarkson, MI†
September 12                                    Capital One Area                                 Washington, D.C.†
September 14                                         TD Garden                                               Boston, MA†
September 16                               Madison Square Garden                                New York, NY†
September 20                                 Ascend Amphitheater                                    Nashville, TN‡
September 21                              Ameris Bank Amphitheatre                             Alpharetta, GA‡
September 23                                      Amway Center                                            Orlando, FL‡
September 24                                           FTX Arena                                                 Miami, FL‡
September 27                                        Moody Center                                              Austin, TX§
September 28                       The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory                            Irving, TX§
October 1                                                 Ball Arena                                                  Denver, CO
October 4                                                Rogers Arena                                      Vancouver, BC**
October 6                                        Climate Pledge Arena                                     Seattle, WA††
October 7                                        Theater of the Clouds                                    Portland, OR**
October 9                                        Shoreline Amphitheatre                      Mountain View, CA††
October 12                       Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre                San Diego, CA††
October 14                                            Hollywood Bowl                                    Los Angeles, CA
*with Arlo Parks
†with Sam Fender
‡with King Princess
§with Yves Tumor
**with Japanese Breakfast
††with Wet Leg

Platinum-selling powerful vocalist Sass Jordan sets June 3^rd release date for her new album, Bitches Blues

Previews release with new single “Still Alive and Well”  

Listen &  Pre-Order Album Here

 

April 20, 2022, Waterdown, ON - Examining the visceral emotional territory of a pandemic and the world’s reeling in its rolling aftermath, multi-Platinum-selling and award-winning artist Sass Jordan readies herself to rock the blues once again with the announcement of her new album, Bitches Blues — available June 3rd via Stony Plain Records.

 

Following rave reviews of her 2020 all-blues offering, Rebel Moon Blues, the Billboard Best Female Rock Vocalist winner mines even more of her expansive talent in the genre to deliver eight new tracks — including originals “Change Is Coming,” “Still The World Goes Round” and more.

 

A pioneer of powerful, gritty female-fronted rock, Sass Jordan has worked alongside fellow greats like Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, and Van Halen, among many more.  Born in Britain and raised in Montreal, she launched her solo career with the single, “Tell Somebody,” from her 1988 debut of the same name, garnering national acclaim and Canada’s JUNO Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist. Throughout her career, she’s earned three more nominations for Best Female Vocalist thanks to albums like Racine (1992), Rats (1994), Present (1997), Hot Gossip (2000), Get What You Give (2006), From Dusk Til Dawn (2009) and her side project S.U.N.’;s album, Something Unto Nothing (2011) — along with singles like “Make You A Believer,” “You Don’t Have to Remind Me,” “Sun’s Gonna Rise” and 1992’s “Trust in Me,” a duet with Joe Cocker from the record-selling Bodyguard soundtrack.

 

Jordan starred in the off-Broadway Janis Joplin show, “Love Janis,” performed “The Vagina Monologues” in Winnipeg and Toronto, toured the world with “A Bowie Celebration,” guest-starred on NBC-TV’s “Sisters,” weighed in as the only female judge on “Canadian Idol” for all six seasons beginning in 2003, and branded her own line of wine, Kick Ass Sass Wine.

 

In 2017, she released Racine Revisited, recreating her sophomore album with an all-star cast for its 25th anniversary, and celebrated the same milestone for Rats in 2020 with a colored-vinyl reissue. With Bitches Blues, Sass returns to a genre that’s long been ingrained in her grasp since the start. “There’s been an undercurrent of blues throughout my whole career - the music that I have mostly been drawn to has always had that gritty, rootsy vein running through it, and that’s why I’m enjoying making these records so much.”

 

As such, anticipate piercingly fierce guitar licks and defiantly driving tempos alongside Sass’  soulful signature rasp and the full backing of a glorious assortment of rambling road dogs, the Champagne Hookers — guitarists Chris Caddell and Jimmy Reid, drummer Cass Pereira, keyboardist Jesse O'Brien and Steve Marriner on bass and harmonica.

Bitches Blues is available June 3 via Stony Plain Records.

 

Bitches Blues -Tracklisting

“Still Alive and Well”

“Chevrolet”

“Even”

“Still The World Goes Round”

“You Gotta Move”

“Sailin’ Shoes”

“Ain’t No Big Deal On You”

“Change Is Coming”

 

TOUR DATES
04 JUN 2022   WEERT, NDL             BOSUIL

06 JUN 2022   RAALTE, NDL            RIBS & BLUES FEST           

08 JUN 2022   HOORN, NDL            MANIFESTO 

09 JUN 2022   BREDA, NDL              MEZZ 

10 JUN 2022   AMSTELVEEN, NDL P60

11 JUN 2022   DRACHTEN, NDL      IDUNA           

12 JUN 2022   ARNHEM, NDL          LUXOR LIVE 

22 JUN 2022   ST. JOHN'S, NF         ICEBERG ALLEY 

21 OCT 2022  ANCASTER, ON        ANCASTER MEMORIAL ARTS CENTRE              

22 OCT 2022  BUFFALO, NY            SHOWPLACE THEATRE

 

RAVEENA SHARES NEW VISUALS FOR "LOVE OVERGROWN" ASHA'S AWAKENING OUT NOW VIA WARNER RECORDS KICKS OFF NORTH AMERICAN TOUR THIS WEEK

"Love Overgrown" video still "Love Overgrown" WATCH: https://raveena.lnk.to/loveovergrownvideo Asha's Awakening https://raveena.lnk.to/ashasawakening What the press is saying about Raveena: "gauzy R&B drawn out with her air-light voice" Rolling Stone "Raveena’s music unfurls slowly, dwelling in wistfully recounted dreams and a rich vein of feminine energy" Pitchfork "hypnotizing" V Magazine "a storyteller who weaves healing and spirituality through western pop culture and her Punjabi upbringing" NPR (April 20, 2022) - After performing at the first weekend of Coachella this past Friday, Raveena shares the self-directed video for her song "Love Overgrown." Somewhere between animation and live-action, the visuals for "Love Overgrown" meet in a vibrant and prismatic alternate-world to show Raveena and her love interest, played by Salem Mitchell, move through the emotions of falling in and out of love. "Love Overgrown" is a track from Raveena's recently released sophomore album Asha's Awakening out now via Warner Records. Raveena kicks off her North American headline tour dates this Sunday in Oakland. Supported by Fana Hues, the 19-date tour includes stops in Seattle, Denver, Toronto, New York City and Dallas before wrapping up in Los Angeles on May 29. Tickets on sale HERE. Full tour routing below. Asha's Awakening is a 15-track concept album that tells the riveting tale of a space princess from ancient Punjab who, through a fantastic journey across the centuries, learns about love and loss, healing and destruction. Asha's Awakening cascades through various musical eras for inspiration, melding the genre-defying influences of Alice Coltrane and Asha Puthli from the 60s and 70s with those of Timbaland, Missy Elliott and M.I.A from the early 2000s. Album contributors include Grammy-nominated producer, Rostam, as well as Vince Staples and the legendary Indian singer-songwriter herself, Asha Puthli. Asha's Awakening features the previously released tracks "Mystery" which arrived with a performance video filmed as a part of Raveena's collaboration with Billboard for their Honda Stage series, "Secret" featuring Vince Staples and "Rush," about which Pitchfork stated, "Raveena brings a joyous curiosity to the forefront of her music and gives her imagination room to grow." Asha's Awakening marks the first full-length offering from Raveena since her 2019 debut album Lucid, which them. said, "established Raveena as an emerging star" and thrust Raveena further into the conversation, showcasing her undeniable talent and multi-dimensionality as an artist by blending contemporary R&B with elements from the South Asian diaspora. Asha's Awakening also follows 2020's Moonstone EP and Raveena's single "Tweety" released last year. Watch "Love Overgrown" and listen to Asha's Awakening above and check out full tour routing and album details below.

tour poster Upcoming Live Dates * = w/ Fana Hues 4/22 - Indio, CA @ Coachella 4/24 - Oakland, CA @ The New Parish* 4/25 - Oakland, CA @ The New Parish* 4/28 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre* 4/29 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos* 4/30 - Vancouver, BC @ Imperial Vancouver* 5/4 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge* 5/7 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall* 5/8 - Detroit, MI @ El Club* 5/9 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House* 5/12 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry at The Fillmore* 5/13 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club* 5/15 - Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall* 5/16 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza* 5/18 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West* 5/21 - Austin, TX @ The Parish* 5/22 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues - Cambridge Room* 5/24 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom* 5/28 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre* 5/29 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre*

Raveena Asha's Awakening February 11, 2022 Warner Records 1. Rush 2. Secret (feat. Vince Staples) 3. Magic 4. Kismet 5. Kathy Left 4 Kathmandu 6. Mystery 7. Circuit Board 8. The Internet Is Like Eating Plastic 9. Arrival to the Garden of Cosmic Speculation 10. Asha's Kiss (feat. Asha Puthli) 11. Time Flies 12. Love Overgrown 13. Endless Summer 14. New Drugs (feat. TWEAKS) 15. Let Your Breath Become a Flower (Guided Meditation)

About Raveena: For Raveena, music is meant to be a “complete expression of the self.” It’s a truth she’s leaned on through a whirlwind couple of years, which saw a potent flurry of output and a pointed ascent into the conversation with her critically-acclaimed 2019 debut full-length, Lucid, and 2020 follow-up, Moonstone EP. Inspired by artists like Sade, Corinne Bailey Rae, Minnie Riperton, and Indian singer Asha Puthli, Raveena is a highly creative, dynamic, and spiritual artist who aims to build fully-realized worlds within each of her projects: conceptual experimentations in sound, threaded together by stories of healing and self-realization meant to experience from start to finish. Her latest offering, Asha's Awakening, takes listeners on an epic deep dive into Indian culture—an endeavor that has been in the works for three years. An homage to her heritage as a first-generation descendant of genocide survivors and Reiki healers, the album incorporates influences from Bollywood and celebrated Indian artists like R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle, as well as Western music—specifically R&B, rock and soul— and melds the genres prevalent throughout Raveena’s catalog into one cohesive body of work. The album also marries eras in time, fusing together a contemporary take on sounds influenced by Alice Coltrane and Asha Puthli from the 60s and 70s with those of Timbaland, Missy Elliott, M.I.A. and Jai Paul from the early 2000s. It is a labor of love that represents her evolution as an artist. Raveena remarks, “I think it's really fun putting people in uncomfortable positions to receive new sides of you. The human experience is so vast.”

Connect with Raveena Instagram | Twitter New Single from Canadian Indie Roots Duo Mama’s Broke - “How It Ends” Today, Canadian indie roots duo Mama’s Broke released a new single from their upcoming album, Narrow Line, coming May 13 on Free Dirt Records. “How It Ends” is a post-folk breakup song conceived in rural cabins over the pandemic. With swirling fiddle and banjo, the two sing of heartbreak amidst a pandemic. Folk Alley Premieres “How It Ends” On April 19, 2022, Folk Alley premiered the new single, saying “‘How It Ends’ ruminates on the universal feeling that, no matter how hurt you are, when a relationship ends, it’s hard to believe anyone will ever live up to your former lover.” MAMA'S BROKE - Narrow Line - May 13, 2022 on Free Dirt Records Canadian folk duo Mama’s Broke have spent the past eight years in a near-constant state of transience, pounding the transatlantic tour trail. They've brought their dark, fiery folk-without-borders sound to major festivals and DIY punk houses alike, absorbing traditions from their maritime home in Eastern Canada all the way to Ireland and Indonesia. Nowhere is the duo's art-in-motion approach more apparent than on their long-awaited sophomore record Narrow Line (coming May 13, 2022 on Free Dirt Records); it's the sound of nowhere in particular, yet woven with a rich synthesis of influences that knows no borders. The eleven songs on Narrow Line burrow deeply, with close harmony duets, commanding vocals, and poignant contemplations on cycles of life, including birth and death. Tinges of Americana stand side-by-side with the ghosts of Eastern European fiddle tunes and ancient a cappella ballad singing, melding into an unusually accessible dark-folk sound. A careful listen of Narrow Line invokes an ephemeral sense of place—whether real or imagined—inviting us to take comfort in the infinite possibilities of life, whether or not we ever choose to settle down.