Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Seven Years Ago Today: A Look Back at Walter Trout's amazing journey

Blues great Walter Trout performing
at the Doheny Blues Festival in May 2011.
Photo: Bob Steshetz

Seven years ago singer-songwriter/guitar great Walter Trout received a new liver. Go back in time and read my July 2014 article on Trout where I interviewed the famed bluesman HERE. What follows is Walter's post on Facebook this morning...
Robert Kinsler


Walter Trout, the day before his transplant.

7 years ago today (May 26, 2014) I received a brand new liver that saved my life. This is a very emotional and poignant day for me , my wife and my family. So much changed for me when my life was saved. My outlook ,my priorities. My joy in being alive. My involvement in every moment. My determination. My awareness of the beauty that can be found all around us if we just look. Gratitude, Humility , love and my family are Paramount to me now. Above all I wish to thank my dear wife and partner of over 30 years Marie Trout . Without her I would not be here. In the hospital there were moments I wanted to give up and she would not let me. She was there everyday and every step of the way.
Walter and his wife Marie with their
children.

I wish to thank our 3 children, Jon Trout, Biskit Braendgard, Dylan Trout. I understand how incredibly difficult It must have been for them to watch their parents go through this, and I want them to know I love them completely. I want to thank my dear and sweet mother in law Anne Grethe Brændgaard for her constant love and support. I wish to thank my dear friend Del Black For helping Marie get me to Omaha. I wish to thank the amazing medical team in Omaha who saved me. Lead by the miracle worker doctor of Omaha - Doctor Dan Shafer. I wish to thank our Omaha angels, Vanessa Marie and Jeff Davis. I wish to think Tony Braunagel and Curtis Salgado for facilitating Marie's contact with doctor Dan. And- I wish to thank all the fans and friends and the blues community for rallying around us so wonderfully and completely. I felt the love and it gave me strength to hold on. Finally --I wish to thank my donor. Sign up and be a donor please ! In these past 6 years I've managed to release 5 albums and I'm currently recording my 6th album since my transplant. I want to continue to play music. It has been my Passion since I was a small boy and I still love it deeply. Today
I am moved and humbled and emotional beyond words. I was given a second chance and I won't take it lightly and as long as I am able I will continue to try to give you all my best .Much love and God-bless.

Walter has returned to performing and releasing new 
music. An amazing story!



Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Danny Elfman releases new single, "Insects," from forthcoming album, 'Big Mess,' out June 11

Another cutting edge music video with an advance track from Danny Elfman's upcoming album...Robert Kinsler


DANNY ELFMAN SHARES 3D VIDEO FOR NEW SONG 
“INSECTS, ”WATCH IT HERE

DOUBLE ALBUM ‘BIG MESS’ OUT ON JUNE 11


Photo Credit: Jacob Boll

Los Angeles, CA 
(May 25, 2021) - Danny Elfman has shared “Insects” today – a reworked version of an Oingo Boingo song, which is the final track to come out prior to the release of his new double album ‘Big Mess,’ out on June 11. Listen to the track HERE.

“In the beginning of 2020 I was preparing a live show for Coachella. I’d been looking for old Boingo songs that connected to the dystopian nightmare I found myself immersed in at that moment in time living in America,” Elfman explains. “As I played around with different songs it occurred to me that ‘Insects’ made sense. Who were the ‘Insects,’ the blood suckers of today? It was obvious to me - they all hived together in Washington and seemed to thrive on sucking the rational sense of reality out of our brains.”

Directed by Sam and Andy Rolfes, the “Insects” video was created by puppeting over 80 contorted creatures in VR in which we follow Danny’s character inside a brightly colored game engine and digital world. Watch it HERE.

“Every microsecond of waking life, a relentless digital swarm of information and virtual noise slowly consumes our minds, rendering us like insects being driven by manic buzzing stimuli,” said Sam Rolfes. “That said, more legs means better dancing. The video for “Insects” starts off very ordinarily, following Danny Elfman as he gets ready for the day, meets some friends for lunch, but then is slowly consumed by a ravenous swarm of online static.”

Clocking in at 18 tracks, ‘Big Mess’ finds the Grammy and Emmy Award-winning composer breaking bold new ground as both a writer and a performer, drawing on a dystopian palette of distorted electric guitars, industrial synthesizers and orchestra in an effort to exorcise the demons brought about by four years of creeping fascism and civil rot. He is joined on the album by drummer Josh Freese (Devo, Wheezer, The Vandals), bassist Stu Brooks (Dub Trio, Lady Gaga, Lauryn Hill), and guitarists Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails, Guns N’ Roses) and Nili Brosh (Tony MacAlpine, Paul Gilbert).

The songs on ‘Big Mess’ combine both harmonically complex arrangements and simple high energy driving music with biting, acerbic wit as they reckon with the chaos and confusion of the modern world. “2020 was an intense year, to say the very least,” Elfman says. And while the anger, frustration, and isolation of it all is palpable in his delivery, ‘Big Mess’ is about more than simply blowing off steam. In making the space to truly sit with his emotions and write without limitations, Elfman achieved a kind of artistic liberation on the record that had been eluding him for decades, rediscovering his voice and reinventing himself all at once in the process.

The feelings of anger, angst and frustration that permeate ‘Big Mess’ are explored in the album’s artwork and music videos as well, which push the boundaries between art and technology and each feature Danny in distinct ways. For the cover artwork Elfman was 3D scanned and transformed into a grotesque looking digital sculpture by Sarah Sitkin. Using CGI, 3D technology and artificial intelligence, each music video was uniquely made and are inextricable from the songs that inspired them. Led overall by Elfman’s creative director Berit Gwendolyn Gilma, each of the video’s directors - Aron Johnson, Jesse Kanda, Sven Gutjahr, Petros Papahadjopoulos, Sarah Sitkin, Sam & Andy Rolfes and Zev Deans – have created individual statements that shape a diverse but cohesive whole.
Pre-Order ‘Big Mess’

3. In Time
4. Everybody Loves You
5. Dance With The Lemurs
6. Serious Ground
7. Choose Your Side
8. We Belong
10. Just A Human
11. Devil Take Away
13. Native Intelligence
14. Better Times
15. Cruel Compensation
17. Get Over It

Monday, May 24, 2021

STYX 'Crash of the Crown' album set for release on June 18, 2021

Celebrated rock band STYX is set to release a new studio album, "Crash of the Crown," on Friday, June 18. I have been fortunate to get an early listen of the ambitious album and it fully delivers on the troupe's talents as one of classic rock's most enduring artists. I will have a full-length review of the album closer to its release date next month. Read on to get details about the highly-anticipated release...Robert Kinsler



A new era of hope, survival, and prosperity comes calling with the release of Crash of the Crown, STYX's new studio album, which was written pre-pandemic and recorded during the trying times of the pandemic.
 
The legendary rockers--James "JY" Young (lead vocals, guitars), Tommy Shaw (lead vocals, guitars), Chuck Panozzo (bass, vocals), Todd Sucherman (drums, percussion), Lawrence Gowan (lead vocals, keyboards) and Ricky Phillips (bass, guitar, vocals)--will release their 17th album June 18 on the band's label, Alpha Dog 2T/UMe, which will be sold as clear vinyl, black vinyl, CD, and on digital platforms. Fans can listen to the title track here, and pre-order the album here and at Styxworld.com. (Read my review of STYX's incredible July 15, 2016 performance at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, CA HERE).
 
 
Styx performing at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, CA on July 15, 2016. From left: James "J.Y." Young, Tommy Shaw, Chuck Panozzo and Ricky Phillips.
Photo: Kelly A. Swift

Additionally, for Record Store Day on Saturday, June 12, STYX will also release "The Same Stardust" 
EP on blue 180-gram 12-inch vinyl only, which will feature two brand-new songs on side one ("The Same Stardust" and "Age of Entropia"), as well as five live performances on side two of some of STYX's classic hits previously heard during their "STYX Fix" livestreams that have been keeping fans company during the pandemic on their official YouTube page, including "Mr. Roboto," "Man In The Wilderness," "Miss America," "Radio Silence," and "Renegade."
 
In touring news, STYX and Collective Soul are rested, healthy, and ready to hit the road for their first-ever multiple city tour together. STYX had previously announced their return to Las Vegas with a three-night sold-out engagement at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian® Resort Las Vegas on September 24, 25, and 26, which will include an exclusive set list and brand-new stage production. Tickets for various cities, as well as exclusive VIP packages from each band, are available now at StyxWorld.com and CollectiveSoul.com.
 
Tommy Shaw at Pacific Amphitheatre on July 15, 2016.
Photo: Kelly A. Swift



Check out the cool "Crash of the Crown" pseudo video HERE.


Crash of the Crown 
is the follow-up to STYX's 16
th studio album, The Mission, (their first in 14 years at the time, which critics called "a masterpiece") which was released June 16, 2017 on the band's label, Alpha Dog 2T/UMe. The highly anticipated two-disc reissue of The Mission was released on July 27, 2018 via Alpha Dog 2T/UMe, which includes a CD of the original album, as well as a Blu-ray of the album mixed in 5.1 surround sound accompanied by stunning visualizations for each of the album's 14 songs based on the album artwork. It originally debuted on various Billboard charts, including: #6 Top Rock Albums, #11 Physical Albums, #11 Vinyl Albums, #13 Current Albums, #14 Billboard Top Albums, #16 Retail, #17 Mass Merch/Non-Traditional, #29 Digital Albums, and #45 Billboard 200 (includes catalog and streaming).

New Music: Micky Dolenz, Chrissie Hynde, Tribute to Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here', The Daybreaks, Thundermother

A trio of highly-anticipated full-length tributes take center stage in my latest column, while a wonderful reissue of Heart singer Ann Wilson's earliest band The Daybreaks and a deluxe edition of a relatively-recent album from a rising Swedish hard rock band are also definitely worth discovering.


Artist: 
Micky Dolenz
Title: Dolenz Sings Nesmith (7a Records)
You might like if you enjoy: The Monkees, Traffic, The Zombies
Tell me more: The Monkees' amazing 55-year story continues with the long-awaited release of Dolenz Sings Nesmith, a 14-song set where lead vocalist Micky Dolenz covers top-tier material penned by Michael Nesmith. Dolenz  who sang many of the Monkees' most beloved hits (including "Last Train to Clarksville," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Mary, Mary" and "Randy Scouse Git")  revisits a slew of great songs from his good friend and the band's most notable songwriter; these are songs that were previously sung by Nesmith with the Monkees or via his subsequent solo career, and all receive decidedly different arrangements courtesy of Michael Nesmith's son Christian Nesmith (who produced the essential set recorded between September 2020 and February 2021). "Different Drum" (a hit for Linda Ronstadt and The Stone Poneys in 1967) receives an upbeat, harmonica-adorned romp. The explosive Americana-styled "Propinquity (I've Just Begun to Care)" is an exuberant celebration of love that showcases Dolenz's signature vocals (which sound as great as ever). Equally powerful but tapping into '60s garage rock stylings is the driving "Little Red Rider." Other standouts abound on "Dolenz Sings Nesmith"; the beautiful acoustic gem "Only Bound," joyful Indian classical-flavored "Circle Sky," shimmering "Marie's Theme" and countrified "Don't Wait for Me." The audio CD version comes with a bonus track and includes a 36-page color booklet. Information: 7arecords.com.


Artist: 
Chrissie Hynde
Title: Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan (BMG)
You might like if you enjoy: Chrissie Hynde, Bob Dylan, The Pretenders
Tell me more: There is a reason that Bob Dylan – who celebrates his 80th birthday on May 24, 2021 – is one of the most celebrated and covered songwriters in the history of modern music; his songs have a poetry, timelessness and literate power that is instantly palpable. Listening to the majestic Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan is to celebrate the art of Robert Zimmerman's brilliance with the added bonus of singer-guitarist Chrissie Hynde bringing her own signature vocal style and interpretive firepower to the nine-track collection. Assisted by Pretenders lead guitarist James Walbourne, this is an acoustic-styled project that allows the power of the songs to breathe and reveal increasingly-profound layers with each listen. Hynde's album veers away from Dylan's best known material and instead explores favorite, mostly lesser-known songs that have connected with her more deeply. The gorgeous "Love Minus Zero / No Limit," inspired blues-heavy "Don't Fall Apart on Me Tonight," haunting "Blind Willie McTell," poignant "Sweetheart Like You" and reflective title track shine on one of the most distinguished titles of the first half of 2021. Information: ChrissieHynde.com.


Artists: 
Todd Rundgren, Geoff Tate, Rod Argent, Steve Hackett, Bootsy Collins, Carmine Appice, Ian Paice, more
Title: Still Wish You Were Here (Purple Pyramid Records / Cleopatra Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Pink Floyd, Yes, Rick Wakeman, King Crimson, progressive rock, classic rock
Tell me more: Pink Floyd's 1975 studio album Wish You Were Here obviously has its musical admirers. On the new full-length tribute to the album ("Still Wish You Were Here"), a who's who of rock greats contribute to revisiting the masterwork in its entirety. On the expansive opener "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5)," singer Geoff Tate (QueensrĂżche), guitarist Steve Hackett (Genesis), keyboardist Geoff Downes (Yes, ASIA), drummer Ian Paice (Deep Purple), flautist-saxophonist Mel Collins (King Crimson) and bassist Billy Sheehan join forces to bring the dreamy selection fully to life. On the forceful "Welcome to the Machine," singer-guitarist Todd Rundgren, keyboardist Rick Wakeman and bassist Tony Levin elevate the atmospheric favorite. The genre-blending rock track "Have a Cigar" spotlights the talents of Dream Theater singer James LaBrie, guitar great Steve Stevens, former Moody Blues keyboardist Patrick Moraz, drummer Rat Scabies (of The Damned) and bassist Jah Wobble (Public Image Ltd). Singer-guitarist Rik Emmett (of Triumph), guitar hero Joe Satriani, former Megadeath bassist David Ellefson, drummer Carmine Appice and the late multi-instrumentalist Edgar Froese (of Tangerine Dream fame) conjure up the magic of the beloved title track. The ambitious "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9)" closes out the ambitious tribute, with keyboardist-vocalist Rod Argent (of The Zombies), groundbreaking guitarist Steve Hillage, dummer Ian Paice (Deep Purple) and bassist Bootsy Collins (Parliament-Funkadelic) adding a fiery approach to the track.  Despite the army of diverse talents who share the spotlight across Still Wish You Were Here, there is a cohesive and artful flow that makes for a special listen. Still Wish You Were Here is available on audio CD in a beautiful six-panel deluxe digipak as well as a gorgeous gatefold vinyl in a variety of colors. Information: CleopatraRecords.com.


Artist: 
The Daybreaks
Title: The Daybreaks (TAWT)
You might like if you enjoy: Ann Wilson, Heart, Linda Ronstadt
Tell me more: Before Ann Wilson formed the band Heart with her sister (guitarist Nancy Wilson), the singer got her start in the late '60s with The Daybreaks. Now an EP of previously-unheard recordings from The Daybreaks has been released by Wilson . A fascinating and enjoyable listen, the EP includes the uptempo '60s-mining "Through Eyes and Glass," evocative chamber pop ballad "Standing Watching You," the bluesy "I'm Gonna Drink My Hurt Away" and Americana "Wonder How I Managed." Wilson's signature soprano carries the day across the four-song set. The four tracks are available digitally now; a limited edition 10-inch vinyl with a digital redemption code is available for pre-orderInformation: AnnWilson.com.


Artist: 
Thundermother
Title: Heat Wave / Deluxe Edition (AFM Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Heart, Scorpions, Lita Ford, AC/DC, The Pretty Reckless
Tell me more: When it comes to the sound of '70s and '80s hard rock, things have come full circle in 2021 resulting in the explosion of interest in young bands including American outfits Dirty Honey, The Record Company, the Pretty Reckless and Greta Van Fleet. Add to that list growing acclaim for an all-female rock quartet from Sweden, Thundermother. The band's most recent album, Heat Wave, was released in July 2020 and did so well around the world that AFM Records released an expanded edition of the album that includes 10 previously-unreleased tracks along with the original track listing. This is a band whose ferocious sound and tight musical chops recall a cross between Back in Black-era AC/DC and early Scorpions (just listen to lead singer Guernica Mancini whose vocals are the equal of a young Klaus Meine). The material here is not always aimed at exploring new ground but Thundermother's hard-edged rock attack is so infectious the band's sound can't be denied. Highlights include the AC/DC-styled "Dog From Hell" and "Ghosts" (guitarist Filippa Nässil's fret work often recalls Angus Young), head-banging "Back in '76," rapid-fire heavy metal charge "Into The Mud" (showcasing the rhythm section of drummer Emlee Johansson and bassist Majsan Lindberg), the textured rock ballad "Sleep," and scorching "Driving In Style." The blues-rock original "Purple Sky" and meteoric melodic rocker "The Road Is Ours" are noteworthy for pushing the band's sound forward. The bonus tracks (a mix of live cuts, acoustic demos and studio recordings) are all essential. Information: Thundermother.com.


Robert Kinsler


Saturday, May 22, 2021

Sights and Sounds: Hoodoo Gurus, The Head and the Heart, Jackson Browne, Jade Bird, 2CELLOS

 Plenty of good news from across the sonic universe for music fans...Robert Kinsler


After 10 Years, Hoodoo Gurus ready new album
LP preceded by new single "World of Pain"

Check out the video HERE


Hoodoo Gurus
take the reins of year 2021 — their 40th year as a band — to embark upon one of their most eventful years to date. 
Their new album (as yet untitled), due in the final quarter of the year, is the first full-length recording with relative new recruit to the band’s lineup. 
 
This year also marks the release a new Hoodoo Gurus single, the explosive glam stomper “World of Pain,” available now.
 
Hoodoo Gurus founder, singer and chief songwriter Dave Faulkner explains that the song “details the misadventures of a night on the town, beginning with a drunken altercation with another punter (‘Your fist smashes my face/Chairs fly all over the place/What a sorry sight’) and concludes with our hapless narrator waking up in bed fully dressed, in the throes of a hangover, all the while trying to remember where he last saw his cell phone.” 
 
That’s a world of pain indeed. Mind you, this is a fictional story. Faulkner is not necessarily saying these things happened to him but, cumulatively, he may have learned a thing or two about coming off the worse for wear after a big night.
 
Musically, “World of Pain” marries a stomping glam-rock verse to a boozy barroom-blues chorus, proving the Hoodoo Gurus have lost none of their edge. The Gurus give listeners all of the thrills of a night on the town with none of the unwelcome aftereffects. Cheers to that!
 
The long-awaited album, their first in more than a decade (the longest interval between Hoodoo Gurus albums in their history), alongside their return to the stage, makes for a year for which the band is full of a palpable and infectious level of determination, drive and spirit, evident in their current state of mind.
 
As Faulkner explains: “The last 12 months have been frustrating and nerve-racking for everyone, but for the Hoodoo Gurus this dark cloud has had a silver lining. Forced to rely on ourselves instead of the outside world for validation, there has been a creative rebirth within the band that has resulted in a string of singles and a new album. Most important of all, the musical bonds between the four of us have never been stronger. When the discussions are all about which songs we’re sad about having to leave off the record, that’s a damn good sign. I’m tellin’ ya, folks, we’ve got a real spring in our step right now.”
 
The event-filled calendar for Hoodoo Gurus in 2021 comes after the release of three tracks in the last 18 months. The punk-snarl of “Answered Prayers” emerged in late 2019, followed by the politically charged “Hung Out to Dry” in July 2020 and a slice of soaring power pop in the form of “Get Out of Dodge” in October of last year. 
 
Since their formation in 1981, Hoodoo Gurus earned nine ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Top 20 albums, nine ARIA Top 40 singles, and a host of multi-platinum albums. The band’s evocative and relatable lyricism, peerless song writing — with a hint of punk attitude — placed in a distinctively Australian context have resulted in a balance of critical success and enduring mainstream appeal for 40 years. Among the many artists who have publicly namechecked Hoodoo Gurus are Steve Van Zandt, Manic Street Preachers and Courtney Love, and they’ve been perpetually influential to generations of artists who’ve arrived after them.

Few other groups have toured as comprehensively, achieved such an enduring reputation over successive generations, enjoyed such loyalty from fans and maintained such high currency for their work, both within Australia and abroad.
 
The enduring legacy of Hoodoo Gurus is reflected in sell-out tours, the numerous tracks that are indisputable staples of radio, inclusion in “best album” countdowns, even having songs played at weddings and funerals — these are just some of the barometers of the strong legacy the band enjoys. 

As elder statesmen of Australian rock ’n' roll, the Hoodoo Gurus are held in the same high esteem by their peers as they are by their fans. In 2007, the group was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Two years earlier, a cross-section of the Australian music community paid the band the ultimate homage by lovingly producing a tribute album of Gurus covers entitled Stoneage Cameos

Through their chart-topping successes throughout the ’80s and ’90s, their international triumphs and countless sold-out Australian tours, from their 1998-2003 break-up through to their comeback, Hoodoo Gurus have been — and remain — one of the most popular and successful musical acts Australia has ever produced.


THE HEAD AND THE HEART 
RELEASE COVER OF 
CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG’S “OUR HOUSE” 

Transcendent Cover Is Available Today Digitally, 
In Celebration Of New Reissue Of CSNY’s DĂ©jĂ  Vu



Featuring The Original Album Remastered,
Plus Over Two Hours Of Rare And Unreleased Music

“When we first started as a band, we shared a two bedroom apartment where ‘Our House’ was played so much it became like a mantra of unity and connection to each other, as we discovered what we wanted to do within our music. To say it’s an honor to now be asked to cover that very same song is an understatement. Happy 50th anniversary you legends! DĂ©jĂ  Vu Forever!” – The Head and The Heart

LOS ANGELES – The Head and The Heart, coming off their acclaimed fourth album Living Mirage, have released a transcendent new cover version of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Our House,” available today digitally. The original version, written by Graham Nash, has been a longtime inspiration to the band and was originally released on the landmark Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album, DĂ©jĂ  Vu, which is available now as an expansive 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition with over two hours of rare and unreleased audio.

The single cover art designed for The Head and The Heart’s version of “Our House” serves as an homage to the original CSNY DĂ©jĂ  vu cover and features an image of the actual house in Seattle that was an early home to the band.
DĂ©jĂ  Vu: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition is an expansive collection that includes a newly remastered version of the original 8x platinum album on both 180-gram vinyl and CD along with nearly two-and-a-half hours or rare and unreleased demos, outtakes, and alternate takes. In addition to topping the pop charts, the album also featured three Top 40 singles, “Woodstock,” “Teach Your Children,” and “Our House.” 

Presented in a 12 x 12 hardcover book, the collection comes illustrated with rarely seen photos from the era and annotated by writer/filmmaker Cameron Crowe, whose revealing liner notes recount the making of the album through stories told by the people who were there, including David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young. A deluxe vinyl version is also available with the full content across 5 LPs of 180-gram vinyl. The deluxe vinyl version is available for pre-order exclusively at CSNY.com and Rhino.com for $249.98. The music is also available now on digital download and streaming services and in high-resolution audio at www.neilyoungarchives.com.


Jackson Browne's new single
“My Cleveland Heart” out now
 
New Album Downhill From Everywhere out July 23, 2021


Jackson Browne has released his new single "My Cleveland Heart," available to stream/purchase worldwide. The single, co-written with his longtime guitarist Val McCallum, comes from Browne’s forthcoming album Downhill From Everywhere due out on July 23, through his label Inside Recordings. The album is also now available to preorder through Browne's website.
 
Stream/purchase "My Cleveland Heart" HERE
 
Preorder Downhill From Everywhere HERE
 
This week, Browne shared the music video for "My Cleveland Heart," directed by
Alissa Torvinen featuring a cameo by Phoebe Bridgers, with Rolling Stone saying, "It’s fitting for Bridgers — who has cited Browne as an influence and recently enlisted him to duet on 'Kyoto' — to receive his heart, almost like Browne is passing down the singer-songwriter torch."
 

Follow Jackson Browne:



Jade Bird

Announces her new album: 

Different Kinds of Light

Due for release on August 13th via Glassnote Records

(pre-order HERE)

+

Releases Title Track

(Listen HERE)

The video for title track can be viewed HERE

Having teased her new album with a series of taster singles and live performances, acclaimed young British singer-songwriter Jade Bird has today confirmed details of the release. Different Kinds of Light is Jade’s sophomore record and will be released via Glassnote Records on August 13th, 2021. 


 

In advance of confirming details of the new album, Jade released  "Headstart" and  "Houdini" at the back end of 2020, followed more recently by the BBC Radio 1 play-listed single "Open up the heavens" and the live EP RCA Studio A Sessions, taken from her live stream show from the iconic studios earlier this year which once again showcased her natural talent, uncompromising sense of self and enviable musicianship to the world. Jade also recently played a sold out, socially-distanced US tour and turned in a brilliant performance of "Headstart" for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (HERE).

 

The RCA studios in Nashville and the americana/alt-rock music scene feature heavily in the life cycle of this new album as that’s where Jade majoritively recorded ‘Different Kinds of Light’ with powerhouse producer Dave Cobb (John Prine, Lady Gaga). Over the last 2 years, Jade has organically become part of a community of American songwriters and artists, and the likes of Jason Isbell, Sheryl Crow and Jade’s friend and collaborator, Brandi Carlile have all taken the British voice firmly under their wing.

 

Jade Bird’s self-titled debut album was received with much critical acclaim when it was released in 2019. Even as a first offering from the then 21 year old, the album helped set the bar for female musicianship in the current age, carried along by Jades mature and sharply observed narrative vignettes of relationships, divorce and everything in between. With this new album, Jade has grown, she’s travelled the world, collected stories, met fascinating new people, fathomed her own emotions and settled in Austin amongst a new and empowering musical family who showed her that a happier, more holistic and sustainable way of working was possible. This journey has helped her see love and relationships in a new light from her teenage self growing up in the UK. It’s been a gateway to self-discovery and an untangling of held onto experience. 

 

On the record Jade says "Different Kinds of Light at its most basic is about falling in love and at its most complex, the chaos of trying to get away from your past. I’ve written about fictional characters, about myself and people who don’t exist, or at least only exist in my mind, memory and imagination.

 

This record started in Japan, a small getaway from a busy year. We took it to Mexico, to Nashville and to upstate New York adding pieces of songs along the way until it became the different phases of who I am, what my relationship is and what my relationship to other people has become.

 

It’s been a big exploration through evenings and mornings spent under strange skies. With Different Kinds of Light came different kinds of clarity in my life."

 

For Jade, it’s always been important to stay connected to the music that she had written (as always), not capitalising on momentum or anyone else’s idea of a career plan. She had a taste of the hype cycle, making the BBC’s 2018 Sound Of… poll and being tipped everywhere from Vogue to Rolling Stone. Her debut album arrived a year later. Despite those early garlands, she didn’t become an overnight success. “I was really glad,” she says. “Musically I was not ready. Lyrically I was not ready. And mentally I was not ready.” Nevertheless, ‘Jade Bird’ received plaudits from the likes of Pitchfork and NPR. And it showed Jade, an obsessive at bettering her craft, how she wanted to build on the foundations she had laid.

 

If her debut reflected on “literally every male family member being absent, present, absent, present”, she says, ‘Different Kinds of Light’ reflects on what it means to stay, to love, to allow yourself to be loved. It’s about “being with somebody who you adore more than the whole world that hasn’t got the foundations to believe in themselves,” she says. “Hasn’t had people supporting them in a way that their potential can be realised, ‘cause they’ve been crippled by the people or environments that surround them.”

 

Jade translated these conflicted emotional states into sharply observed narrative vignettes that show her flair as a storyteller: the guy oblivious to what’s in front of him, the escape artist who confesses to being “asleep at the wheel my whole damn life”; the wastrel burning through their promise. “If I had a penny for all your potential, I’d be left drowning in my mouthful of metal,” Jade sings on Now Is the Time. It speaks to how quickly her writing has matured from the more polemical storytelling of her debut. “When you’re young, you sit in a chaos of emotions and desperately try to write out of it,” says Jade, who’s still only 23. “But when you’re older, you work out what’s affected you and why more clearly. It’s amazing what two years can do: it’s like you’re writing as you’re watching instead of writing to see.” 

 

In the studio with Dave Cobb, the two let Jade’s sound find its groove, joining tough 90s alt-rock and the melodicism of Blur and Oasis at their sweetest to the taut rattle of Iggy Pop’s The Passenger. “That rock element that I’ve been missing and deeply love,” is how Jade describes it. “If I’m in the car, that’s what I put on.” There’s also the spirit of Fleetwood Mac’s pop epics. Stevie Nicks’ Storms inspired Different Kinds of Light’s title track, written in summer 2019 while Jade toured the US with Jason Isbell and Father John Misty. “It says so much: ‘did not deal with the road’, ‘I have always been a storm’. There's so much in that record that breaks my whole being,” she says, melting. 

 

Any trepidation Jade might have felt about her profession on her debut album has now dissipated. “I never felt like I could call myself an artist – like, we’ll see. Whereas I know that’s my occupation now. That’s who I am, and that’s incredibly reassuring.” 

 

Jade Bird remains one of the most individual and exciting female voices out there. With Different Kinds of Light we find her cool, calm and collected - confidently striding ahead into her sure-to-be enthralling next chapter of her life and music. 

 

Different Kinds of Light - out August 13th on Glassnote Records -  Pre-order HERE

 

Tracklisting:

  1. DKOL

  2. Open up the heavens

  3. Honeymoon

  4. Punchline

  5. Different Kinds Of Light

  6. Trick Mirror

  7. I’m Getting Lost

  8. Houdini

  9. 1994

  10. Now is the Time

  11. Candidate

  12. Red White and Blue

  13. Rely On

  14. Prototype
     

Follow Jade Bird:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify  


2CELLOS RELEASE HAUNTING RENDITION OF

IMAGINE DRAGONS’ “DEMONS”

 

MARKS THE SECOND SINGLE & VIDEO RELEASE

FROM THE DUO IN 2021

 

GET THE SINGLE HERE; WATCH THE VIDEO HERE



New York, NY (May 21, 2021) 
– Croatian duo Luka Ĺ ulić and HAUSER of 2CELLOS are back with a new single and video, a beguiling cover ofImagine Dragons’ hit song, “Demons,” available today via Sony Music Masterworks. This rendition is the second release from the pair in 2021 to celebrate their 10-year-anniversary.

 

Filmed in a mysterious bunker in Istria, Croatia, the video for “Demons” begins with an ominous door in the middle of a forest. As the strings on the track continue to build in a hauntingly beautiful way, Hauser enters the frame, and takes viewers on a journey into the unknown. Luka and HAUSER see themselves on their cellos as they burst through each verse, the chorus, and the bridge. The combination of the visuals and the track is a cinematic, suspenseful, and soul-stirring experience.  

 

Purchase and stream “Demons” here.

Watch the music video here.

 

“We tried to simplify the arrangement without losing the power of the song,” said 2CELLOS. “We wanted to make sure it was a 2CELLOS arrangement without adding too much. It’s the perfect example of a combination of the emotional, beautiful, and powerful at the same time. It’s the nature of what we do.”

 

2CELLOS is the eclectic, international sensation comprised of two classically trained cellists who reached video viral fame on YouTube from their 2011 rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal.” The pair, Luka Ĺ ulić and HAUSER, have since created a name for themselves with their electric and dynamic playing style. Together, 2CELLOS have amassed a staggering 1.3 billion YouTube views, 5.5 million YouTube subscribers, 1 billion streams, and have sold nearly 1 million tickets. 2CELLOS have taken the cello to unimagined heights as their signature style breaks down the boundaries between genres of music, from classical and film music, to pop and rock. Known for their electric live performances, 2CELLOS have sold out shows across the globe at historic venues including New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, London’s Royal Albert Hall and the Sydney Opera House. The duo has performed alongside musical greats Steven Tyler, Andrea Bocelli, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Queens of the Stone Age and George Michael, to name a few, and was hand-picked by Sir Elton John to perform both as an opener as well as part of the iconic singer’s live band. 2CELLOS are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, and are working hard to continue reaching new stratospheres.

 

CONNECT WITH 2CELLOS

2CELLOS.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok

 

Sony Music Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, Milan Records, XXIM Records and Masterworks Broadway imprints. For email updates and information please visit www.sonymusicmasterworks.com/.