Girls That Own The Blues

This follows on from my previous post about Rebecca Downes. It is easy to underestimate what is going on here and the title of this post is adapted from the title of one of the songs on this next EP. 

Quite possibly you have seen me reference Joanne Shaw Taylor in the past and both are, coincidentally, from the West Midlands. The thread of live music, including recorded releases thereof, continues here.

Elles Bailey is from Bristol and her second EP, 'The Elberton Sessions', was recorded  live (self-released, 2016).

I very rarely post links like this but listen and then buy it and maybe her previous EP 'Who Am I To Me' (2015) too.  She is right near the top of must-see live artists in 2017.

Note added 7 March 2017:
Elles Bailey's full length is due in June, title t.b.a.

This next artist is one I have seen live several times before and would quite happily see once again. This is her latest LP, and the follow up to 'Dirt On My Tongue' (2013). This picture harks back to the days of that self-released début album, the interest it garnered and the touring that ensued.

Jo Harman, Cheese & Grain, Frome. 27 October 2013.

Jo Harman - People We Become (Total Creative Freedom, 3 February 2017).

She has released a live album too, for live is the theme here, and it was recorded in 2014 for the BBC, no less, and the venue was hardly shabby either.

Jo Harman and Company - Live at The Royal Albert Hall (Total Creative Freedom, 27 October 2014).

New Music 2016 - Part 57 - Frida Hyvönen - Kvinnor och barn

I have posted about my forays into listening to music sung in foreign languages a few times in the past. On the other hand I don't think that Swedish (a language that I don't understand a word of) has ever before been one of them.
Frida Hyvönen the artist I was well aware of through her three English language LPs:

• Until Death Comes (2006)
• Silence Is Wild (2008)
• To The Soul (2012)

In addition to songwriting and singing her principal instrument is piano and this album is no exception. One thing I have discovered is that its title 'Kvinnor och barn' translates as 'Women and children'.

Frida Hyvönen - Kvinnor och barn (4 November 2016).

 The twelve tracks are as follows:

• Sjön
• Imponera på mig
• Balkongmannen
• Förlotat dig
• Alla vet att det är vakert i Paris
• Vänner i vardagen
• Kommer du?
• Drömmer om dig
• Min stad
• Kvinnor och barn
• Fredag morgon
• Amors förkastliga pilar

I have as yet been unable to divine the label by which it is released (on vinyl, CD and d/l) but it is available to stream on Spotify (here in the UK, at least at the time of writing).
Sometimes not understanding the lyrics allows one to appreciate the melody and structure of the music more easily. This was one of those times for me and I very much enjoyed it. It has also reminded me that I really must revisit all the earlier albums. 'Silence Is Wild' tackles some rather unusual subjects in popular music, if I remember correctly.

New Music 2015 - Part 75 - Bella Spinks - Debut EP

It was a journey without any destination. One thing that I most certainly did not expect when I started this little project in September 2006 was ever to be able to review releases that few have yet had the chance to hear.  This is the latest stop on the way.

Bella Spinks is a 22 year-old and from Brighton. She writes songs with a notable literary bent. This is music that simply won't stay in the background. It will ensnare you - the piano might catch you first but it is the words around which it ebbs and flows that soon become the challenge and thus reveal the true worth in this. I could make comparisons with other artists but I don't feel the need to do that. I think that spoon-feeding would be unhelpful and possibly even insulting, both to the artist and to readers who I hope will also become fans and listeners.

Debut EP - Bella Spinks. Released 27 November 2015 by Sublime Music.

I can suggest music that you might like, the choice is entirely yours, rather than try to tell you what music you should like. I will also mention, as a champion of the revival of the EP format, that less is so often more. The early release of a small collection of well chosen, carefully honed tracks is the way to go. It focuses attention and allows the music to speak for itself.

This is the track list:

• Call You Home
• Regenerate
• George Of The 5th Of September
• Laura Save Yourself

You can't be expected to make a judgement for yourself without anything to listen to. 

A live version of  'Call You Home' recorded in a church in Brighton. December 2014.

Hello, weekend.

Blogger seems to have fixed the recent issues with, in particular, side-bar lists. This is, of course, good news.
Better still is that it was also sunny and less cold here today: indeed, so my car told me, it was 10ºC when I was on my way home from work at about 5pm this afternoon. That would be the first time in double figures for three weeks. I have loads of live, and local, music coming up but I'm particularly put in mind of this artist that I saw for the third time, live at The Cheese and Grain three weeks ago.
  
This album is astonishing.

Piano-led music didn't start or end with Adele.