Tag Archives: new music

This week’s featured artist: singer-songwriter Martin Flett – debut album out now

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , ,

Prior to 2020, the sum total of Martin Flett’s songwriting was a solitary song. That’s not to say he’s ever been idle. He’d been a local government officer, gym owner, housing manager, TV quiz show champion and a successful powerlifter, with numerous championship titles under his belt as well as being the main commentator for the World and European Powerlifting Championships. However, as many of us discovered, the Covid lockdown period provided an ideal opportunity for nurturing latent talents and exploring new-found interests. Flett renewed his acquaintance with the guitar and soon turned his hand to crafting his own songs.

Martin Flett: “Sitting indoors day after day, apart from venturing out to exercise my dogs, I picked up a long neglected guitar and started getting to know it again. After a few weeks, song ideas started forming in my head. I likened it to muses planting seeds, and it was my job to grow them.”

He has since written over a hundred songs, eleven of which feature on this debut album, When The Introverts Come Out, recorded at the age of 68.

Flett: “I never intended or wanted to be a performer but I soon realised that if I didn’t ‘take my songs to market’ then no one else was going to and they would wither on the vine. My dream is still that one or more of the songs are taken forward by an established artist, but in the meantime it would be great to bring the songs to a wider audience and use the proceeds from CD sales and downloads to fund a follow up album.  The next set of songs is ready and waiting…”

Based in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland where he was born and brought up and returned to more recently, Flett recorded the album at Wee Studio in Ness, at the northern tip of the Isle of Lewis. A talented bunch of local musicians joined him in the studio, adding piano, accordion, fiddle, mandolin, electric guitar and percussion where it was required.

Combining folk, country and classic-era singer-songwriter influences, the result is this highly-impressive debut. Showcasing poignant, often highly-personal, lyrics and instantly-appealing melodies, When The Introverts Come Out is a thoughtful album with bags of charm and well worth exploring.

When The Introverts Come Out is available via martinflettmusic.co.uk

This week’s featured artist: singer-songwriter, Mark Neal – debut solo album out now

Album reviews, Folk music, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

Cool Waters is the debut solo album from singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Mark Neal. While he’s been playing and recording as part of the Scottish traditional music scene for many years, this is the first time he’s worked solo.

Based in Helensburgh in the west of Scotland, Neal is mainly a guitarist and singer but ever since he started playing music as a young child he’s enjoyed the challenge of picking up and learning new instruments and different musical styles. Having a keen interest in science and technology (having studied a degree in Physics and a PhD in musical acoustics) he has always enjoyed the technical side of music. He’s been heavily involved in sound engineering and recording since his university days and is co-owner of the Edinburgh recording studio ‘The Sonic Lodge’ with fellow musician and producer Phil McBride.

Mark Neal: “I have been writing songs for many years and over 2023 I decided to take a bit more time to do more writing and ended up completing this collection of songs. This album started as a solo songwriting project but as it developed it seemed like a nice idea to make the whole album completely solo with me playing all the instruments, producing, recording and mixing.”

“The songs are mostly all based around my acoustic guitar playing but move away from the trad/folk style that has been a feature of most of my recording and performing and pulling in influences from jazz, pop, rock and classical music which I also love. Much of the songwriting has been inspired by nature and many of these songs come from thoughts that have popped into my head when wandering around the land and seascapes in the West of Scotland.”

Cool Waters is a highly enjoyable album with some lovely guitar, both acoustic and electric. Although Mark Neal’s musical background is very much in Scottish traditional music, this album is much more in the gentle, laid-back singer-songwriter vibe. Think of a Scottish James Taylor and you won’t go far wrong. Beautifully written and performed and well worth checking out.

Photo credits: Gordon Russell

Cool Waters available on CD via Bandcamp and released on all major platforms from 1st November 2024

Visit website here

This week’s featured artist: Church Street Shuffle – debut album ‘The Five Day Weekend’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , , ,

A contemporary Scottish fiddle and guitar duo featuring fiddle player, Neil Ewart, and guitarist, Ali MacQuarrie, the pair came into one another’s orbit through the bustling live music scene in Inverness and the band’s name pays homage to that, where it’s not unknown for in-demand musicians to play up to three venues in one night, shuffling up and down the city’s Church Street as they do so.

Church Street Shuffle: “Recognizing a shared vision, they embarked on a collaborative effort to blend Neil’s multilayered fiddle loops and chops with Ali’s intricate guitar work, bass lines, and beats. Despite their modern approach, they remained steadfast in honouring the timeless traditions of Scottish music, infusing each track with authenticity and reverence.”

The inspiration for the album’s name, meanwhile, harks back to an old expression about a musician’s typical lifestyle during the winter months, where the weekends would extend beyond the conventional working week.

Neil Ewart’s musical journey began at the National Centre for Excellence in Plockton, where he honed his skills before pursuing a degree in Applied Music at Strathclyde University. His innovative and daring compositions are deeply entrenched in the rich heritage of Scotland’s west coast. Echoing the creative spirit of pipers from centuries past who improvised variations on Gaelic airs, Neil breathes new life into the genre by infusing it with contemporary harmonic structures and rhythmic complexities.

Ali MacQuarrie’s masterful guitar playing and infectious grooves, meanwhile, are also a key feature of each track. He continues to refine his craft at the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow, enriching his musical repertoire with classical training. His reputation as a sought-after guitarist in the Highlands continues to soar, which has seen him share stages with acts such as Calum MacPhail and Cala.

Recording the album, the pair joined up with established recording engineer and producer, Barry Reid, who also plays synths and percussion.

A contemporary and fresh-sounding take on Scottish traditional music, the duo have created an instrumental album that’s both fizzing with innovation yet also feels like the warm embrace a familiar old friend. The Five Day Weekend is an impressive debut.

Released: 17 May 2024

https://www.churchstreetshuffle.com/

Singer-songwriter: album review – Steve Knightley ‘The Winter Yards’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , ,

In 2023 Phil Beer and Steve Knightley announced a final tour before putting Show of Hands on indefinite hiatus, pledging to “prioritise their well-being, creativity, and longevity above the demands of the road.” There was no suggestion, thankfully, that either of them would be giving up performing altogether and for those feeling a Show-of-Hands-sized gap in their lives the good news is that Steve Knightley is back with a brand-new solo album – his first in seventeen years.

Steve Knightley: “I’ve spent much of my career weaving the West Country and English landscapes into my music, seeking to capture the essence of rural life and the stories that define it. But with Show of hands now on sabbatical, I’ve found myself at a crossroads – a moment to pause, reflect and consider new directions.”

“This album marks a significant departure for me, both musically and personally. Inspired more by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Peter Gabriel, The Winter yards reflects a fresh journey, venturing more into urban and transatlantic landscapes. But while it explores unchartered territory I believe it stays true to the voice I’ve always had, finding new ways to tell stories that matter.”

The Winter Yards is not simply Show of Hands in exile but without the fiddle and the mandolin. Clearly, however, Knightley’s unmistakeable voice, both as a singer and a lyricist, is very much at the heart of the album and there’s plenty here to appeal to long-term fans of the duo.

Lyrically, the album tackles themes as diverse as the Post Office scandal, immigration, the emotional toil when friendships breakdown and youthful, sun-kissed, summer romance. Knightley also revisits a handful of Show of Hands songs, including ‘Requiem’ and ‘Exile’ but one of the few ‘everyday story of country life’ songs that Show of Hands were best known for is one inspired, not by the tribulations of rural life in Devon or Somerset, but rather an anthemic celebration of the village of Wickham in Hampshire, the county Knightley was born in.

Musically, there’s a lush palette of sounds, incorporating keyboards, guitar, drums, dobro, violin and more, and Knightley has pulled in a wealth of talent to perform alongside him on the album. Phil Beer even gets to guest on a couple of tracks.

Poignant, tender, thought-provoking and rousing, in turn, The Winter Yards marks a triumphant return for Steve Knightley as a solo artist.

Released: 4th October 2024

Visit Steve Knightley’s website here

Related posts:

Folk: album review – Show Of Hands ‘Roots 2: The Best Of Show Of Hands’

Live review: Show Of Hands at St Mary in the Castle 4/5/18

Live review: Hawklords at The Carlisle, Hastings 9/11/24

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , , ,

Hawklords was originally a late 1970s spin-off project from the space rock legends, Hawkwind, during a time the main band was on a brief hiatus. Fast-forward to 2008 and the name was resurrected as the name for a new band featuring a handful (of the many!) former members of Hawkwind. Just like Hawkwind itself, there have been numerous changes in personnel since then but former Hawkwind members have always been a strong presence in each iteration.

Currently, Hawklords is composed of Jerry Richards on guitar and vocals, who was part of Hawkwind in the late 90s-early 00s; Mr Dibs on bass, who did an 11-year stint in Hawkwind until 2018; and Dave Pearce on drums, who was never part of Hawkwind but was a member of psychedelic-rockers, The Bevis Frond.

While most spin-off projects from veteran rock acts tend to make very liberal use of their parent band’s back catalogue, with set-lists composed mostly or entirely of a compendium of classic cuts, this is very much not the case with Hawklords. They certainly capture the sound, spirit and ethos of classic-era Hawkwind but the focus these days is very much on performing new, original material.

The band are currently promoting a brand-new album, Relativity, and there is a heavy focus on material from that on this current tour. But, as the publicity blurb aptly spells out:

“Sounding, at times, as if the music has fallen through a worm-hole from the classic 1970s era of space-rock and psychedelia, the new release explores themes including Artificial Intelligence, ‘machine learning’ and how Humanity can, in part, come to terms with all that entails.”

This is manna from heaven for any space rock devotee and fans of 70s era Hawkwind will find the key ingredients all present and correct at a Hawklords gig: the light show, the sound effects, the spoken word interludes, the hypnotic riffs, the whole shebang – but, crucially, all with captivating new songs, addressing contemporary themes relevant to the modern age.

The vintage material isn’t neglected entirely and the band give us a blast of ‘Brainstorm’ from the Space ritual album. Nick Saloman of The Bevis Frond is also invited up on stage as tonight’s guest to give us an additional blast of guitar, serving to make it an even more memorable evening. I was completely transfixed from start to finish. I also picked up a copy of the new album, Relativity, at the gig. Really well-produced it’s already had repeated plays since the weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/TheHawklords

Related posts:

Book review: ‘On Track: Hawkwind – every album, every song’ by Duncan Harris

Hawkwind at The Old Market, Hove 2014

This week’s featured artist: singer-songwriter Jon Budworth – new album ‘In Sight of Home’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , ,

Born and raised in Leigh in Lancashire and now living in Otley, Yorkshire, Jon Budworth started playing guitar at the age of 11 and has been honing his skills, diversifying his repertoire and experimenting with various genres ever since, with rock, blues, folk, and jazz all featuring on his musical horizons.

Budworth’s  debut EP as a singer-songwriter, Time Machine, was released back in 2013 which was followed up by a second EP, Trees Turn To Fire, in 2014 which I was asked to review for the Bright Young Folk website. I remember being impressed by the release, writing at the time:

“Budworth’s bright, fresh sounding vocals and lovely melancholic guitar work extremely well. Budworth’s music definitely deserves a wider audience.”

What I wrote must have struck a chord because, ten years later, reading the publicity blurb for his latest album, I find that sentence staring back at me. In the intervening years, Budworth released his well-received debut full-length album, We all Share the Same Sky, back in 2020, with the excellent follow-up, In Sight of Home, coming out in June this year.

Jon Budworth: “The seed for In Sight of Home was sewn in 2019 after watching an incredibly moving BBC documentary commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the Iolaire Disaster. I was immediately inspired to write a song and decided there and then it would become the title track on a new album.”

“It wasn’t until a certain pandemic hit that I had the time and space to continue writing. Shadow of the Chevin is a love song to my wonderful home-town of Otley. I’m originally from Leigh in Lancashire, but in 2017 I traded in my Lancashire passport, moved over the border, and became an honorary Yorkshireman! All is Quiet was written after taking a stroll around Otley on a beautiful April evening during the first lockdown – the normally bustling market town was eerily quiet and still. I wrote December on a dark and misty winter’s night as I found myself contemplating growing older and how quickly life passes by.”

“After covid, my normally hectic existence resumed and I wrote several songs dealing with the everyday stresses and strains of real life. In This Moment is about finding those rare moments of peace and tranquillity, a situation very often aided by a glass or two of wine! I Don’t Need Tomorrow is a song dedicated to anyone, who for whatever reason, is not looking forward to what tomorrow might bring. 1000 Faces is a song about fate and not taking anything for granted. Never deals with the thought of being forced to move away from a place you love.”

“Two of the songs are observations on modern life. Flatlining addresses first world problems  and many peoples need to live their lives through social media. I wrote Holyhead after visiting the town and seeing a homeless girl set against a backdrop of opulent cruise ships in the harbour. Ghost of a Girl was written after discovering a ghostly statue of Alice in Wonderland in a garden behind York Minster. She looked lost, alone and frozen in time on that grey and damp February afternoon.”

Most of the instruments on the album are played by Budworth himself, including drums, bass and guitar, but he’s also enlisted the assistance of several highly talented local musicians, as well as the as well as the highly acclaimed singer-songwriter, Edwina Hayes, who shares lead vocals on the title track.

With thought-provoking yet easily relatable lyrics, appealing melodies, impressive guitar-work and vocals that are still as fresh-sounding as ever, Budworth has come up with an extremely likeable album here which is well worth checking out, as is the rest of his back catalogue.

In Sight of Home was released by Flying Folkie Recording Co. on 7th June 2024

For Jon Budworth’s website visit here

Closer To My Home – new album from Grand Funk founding legend, Mark Farner

Music news, Rock music, , , , ,

Closer to My Home is the long-awaited new album from the legendary guitarist/singer-songwriter and founding member of Grand Funk Railroad, Mark Farner.

Celebrating the 55th anniversary of the iconic hit ‘(I’m Your Captain) Closer To My Home’, Farner revisits the song with a brand-new recording for the the album.

Mark Farner: “These songs are honest and from my heart,” Farner said. “The collaboration with Jim (Peterik) and Mark (Slaughter) came from a place of trust and that makes the whole experience so much more rewarding as songwriters. The audience can feel that, and these songs reflect those very human moments that you can’t find creating a song from a computer. Closer to My Home comes from the idea that love is at the heart of all that I do, and music is my home.”

As one of the founding members, lead singer and lead guitarist, Farner wrote the vast majority of Grand Funk Railroad’s back-catalogue and his soulful voice,  powerful riffs, great songwriting and energetic stage presence, combined to ensure Grand Funk Railroad were a great American success story.

Farner remains proud of his humble beginnings and a blue-collar outlook and this has been a defining element in his music. Over five decades later Farner commands the stage with the same intensity performing epic hits that defined a generation – ‘I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home)’, ‘Bad Time’, ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’, ‘Foot Stompin’ Music’, ‘Heartbreaker’, “Rock & Roll Soul’, ‘Locomotion’, ‘Mean Mistreater’ and ‘We’re An American Band’.

Performing with Mark Farner’s American Band, Farner’s songs continue to resonate with audiences. When I interviewed Farner back in 2021 he emphasised the importance of that connection with audiences through his music, which was there from the very start:

“I think people appreciated the heart behind it. There was always a sincerity because I meant what I said. And when I… walk on that stage, I am who my songs say I am.”

Closer to My Home is released on November 8th on Righteous Rock Records and is available via vinyl and CD.

Interview:

You can read my full-length interview with Mark Farner here