Curlicues is the musical project of Bristol-based artist L.A. Foster. Long in gestation, his first EP, “Orchids”, sprang forth in 2013, its songs the sole remnants of a catalogue of private home recordings, made as The Plums in rural Warwickshire, yet returned to and heavily edited some time later whilst living in Saigon, Vietnam. “The…
Tag: songwriter
[streaming] Claudio Cataldi – Here She Comes Now
Claudio Cataldi comes from Palermo in Sicily, creates warm, deep electronic and acoustic sounds, and this EP features three of his own compositions as well as a stunning cover of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Here She Comes Now’. Claudio describes his work as, “music from different times and places, but with the same inner mood, and captured…
[streaming] Dylan Mondegreen – Every Little Step
Dylan Mondegreen is a pseudonym for Norwegian recording artist Børge Sildnes. He has been releasing quality pop music since the mid-2000s and has acquired a very dedicated fan-base worldwide. His previous S/T album, released on Shelflife in 2012, was met with critical aclaim. Pitchfork has said “Indie-pop has entered its soft-rock phase and it sound…
[streaming] Allysen Callery – Crabapple
Track taken from the forthcoming album by Allysen Callery, “The Song The Songbird Sings”, out May 2016. Allysen Callery is self taught folk artist from Rhode Island, USA , her vocal delivery recalls the haunting style of the late 60′s early 70′s British Folk Revival. Her first two albums “Hopey” (2007) & “Hobgoblin’s Hat” (2010)…
[video of the week] Anoushka Shankar – Land Of Gold ft. Alev Lenz
Music video by Anoushka Shankar performing “Land Of Gold”. (C) 2016 Deutsche Grammophon. Sitar master Anoushka Shankar, who was trained on the instrument from an early age by her father Ravi Shankar, has created a protest album of sorts with her latest release, Land of Gold. Deeply concerned about the plight of the world’s refugees,…
[streaming] Jake Houlsby – Carousel
Newcastle-based singer songwriter Jake Houlsby is very pleased to announce the release of his folk-infused single “Carousel”. The follow-up to his debut EP, “Yannina“, “Carousel” sees the troubadour subtly exploring new territory with Ajimal and Bridie Jackson and the Arbour producer Mick Ross. Having steadily honed his craft since becoming the proud recipient of the…
[streaming] Mike Benecke – Astral Line
Taken from “Call The Waves”, debut album by Mike Benecke, slow, intimate and rich dream-folk songwriter from Los Angeles. From adolescence, mike wrote music, produced records, and toured with beloved “punk” and “indie” bands. Modern, melodic, heavy music. But must sounds rely on layers of distortion to make an impact? Can stompboxes and studio gimmicks disappear,…
DITTE ELLY – Songs (Self Released, 2016) Una raccolta di “canzoni”, che per potersi presentare come tale ha richiesto ben cinque anni di elaborazione e una campagna di finanziamento in rete; nulla di più semplice e al contempo complesso corrisponde alla natura di “Songs”, debutto autoprodotto di una giovane cantautrice che va a infoltire la…
WE/OR/ME – Everything Behind Us Is A Dream (Self Released, 2016) Non senza una buona dose di ironia, Bahhaj Taherzadeh si definisce un esempio pressoché unico di cantautore per metà irlandese e per metà iraniano. Ben probabilmente è così, ma non è solo questo dato anagrafico a caratterizzare le canzoni che da qualche anno a…
LONTALIUS – I’ll Forget 17 (Partisan, 2016) Un teenager nato alla fine del mondo, nell’era digitale: non potrebbe caratterizzarsi diversamente, in sintesi, il profilo del neozelandese Eddie Johnston, archetipo dell’artista “da cameretta” del ventunesimo secolo che, a diciannove anni, è per la prima volta uscito dai confini nazionali per la registrazione del suo album di…
CURLICUES – The Long Transition (Self Released, 2015) In uno spazio indefinito, sospeso tra passato e presente, tra musica e arti visive, sul finire dello scorso anno si è manifestata dalla campagna inglese la prima testimonianza concreta – una limitata edizione su cassetta associata formato digitale – della composita poetica di L.A. Foster, condensata nel…
TALONS’ – Work Stories (Self Released, 2016) Nel percorso di avvicinamento di Mike Tolan a un prossimo lavoro intitolato “After Talons’”, già annunciato entro la fine di quest’anno, il mini album “Work Stories” segna una tappa aspra e decisa, corrispettivo dalla più evidente grana elettrica rispetto alle narcolessie atmosferiche del recente “Growing Up”. Benché anche…
ASTRONAUTE – Petrichor (Zeal, 2016) La vibrante delicatezza e le cadenze compassate del loro Ep di debutto “Myriad” (2013) non aveva lasciato passare sotto silenzio la poetica umbratile dei belgi Astronaute. Adesso, seguendo tempi dilatati come quelli delle loro canzoni, il quartetto guidato dalla cantautrice Myrthe Luyten perviene al proprio primo lavoro sulla lunga distanza…
[streaming] David Åhlén – Hidden Light
It’s 2016 and the world is (still) in darkness. Big or small, the hurt is hurting everyone and this does not simply pass by David Åhlén just because he lives on a remote island in the Baltic sea. Together with his wife and five children, David is part of ‘Stenkumla parsonage’, a Monastic community and…
[video of the week] Sara Forslund – Did You Ever
Taken from Sara Forslund’s debut album “Water Became Wild” (2015). Written / Directed by Elin Wramneby With Isabel Lanzarotti Sara Forslund (1981) was born in a small village called Borgvattnet in the northern part of Sweden. Borgvattnet is known for its haunted vicarage. At that time, Sara’s father Tore Forslund was the local priest and was nicknamed `The…
[streaming] Benedict Benjamin – Thin Skin
Benedict Benjamin is Ben Rubinstein, formerly of The Mariner’s Children and Peggy Sue. His debut album “Night Songs” is a collection of timeless compositions recorded in a series of churches, bedrooms and kitchens across London and Kent with producer Dan Blackett (Landshapes, Bella Union). Ben is first and foremost a songwriter versed in the classical…
RADICAL FACE – The Family Tree: The Leaves (Nettwerk, 2016) Dalle radici ai rami, dai rami alle foglie; il terzo passaggio logico conclude, anche da un punto di vista metaforico, la trilogia “The Family Tree”, che ha impegnato Ben Cooper negli ultimi cinque anni, sulle orme di una numerosa famiglia americana del diciannovesimo secolo, le…
[streaming] Trotting Bear – Peace In The Still
Taken from the new album by Trotting Bear, “Places”, available everywhere April 22, 2016. “We will go to places we have never been,” sings Andy Berkhout on the title track from Trotting Bear’s new album Places. Against the backdrop of a dynamic rhythm section, electric guitars, and vintage synthesizers, Berkhout and his bandmates explore the…
ROBIN PAHLMAN – Temporary Everything (Monkey, 2016) Conclusa in patria l’esperienza della band Agent Kooper, il finlandese Robin Pahlman ha trovato negli Stati Uniti la propria nuova patria artistica, nonché la dimensione più adeguata per dispiegare la propria personalità da “cowboy nordico”, per molti versi accomunabile a quelle dei vari Christian Kjellvander, Nicolai Dunger e…
music won't save you 