music

Merle Haggard passes away

/ James Fenney

merle haggard

Country legend Merle Haggard has passed away on his 79th birthday due to complications of pneumonia. After a misspent youth landed him in prison, one of Johnny Cash’s famous sets for inmates inspired him to take up country music and turn his life around. His troubled past became an inspiration for his music and his image and he went on to pioneer the “Bakersfield Sound” whose rough around the edges approach was a big contrast to most country music at the time. His big hits such as ‘Okie from Muskogee’ and ‘The Fightin’ Side of Me’ contrasted the popular anti-Vietnam sentiments of the time and made him a household name. He had a massive impact on Country music and the whole genre is reeling from his sad loss.

Live Review: Rationale, The Bodega Nottingham, 31st March 2016

/ James Fenney

rationale2

It feels like far too long since I’ve been to a concert, so it felt important that my first live music of the year should be something special. Having emerged out of anonymity, London based singer Rationale has already had his hit single ‘Something For Nothing’ playlisted on Radio 1 and has delivered the most acclaimed set at this year’s Future Festival at the legendary Maida Vale studios. It’s artists like him that are the ones making waves in British music, so I joined him in Nottingham to witness the latest step of his meteoric rise. Continue reading →

Top Tracks: Tina Refsnes – Alaska

/ James Fenney

This latest single from one of Belwood’s Spotlight artists is  a tranquil tune brimming with love and longing. All about trying to find somewhere with the solitude and landscape akin to her native Norway, ‘Alaska’ is the kind of song that leaves you wanting to bask in it’s warm glow and forget all the troubles in the world. The childlike doodles of the animated music video somehow match perfectly with the poignant Americana, like a bittersweet yearning for an innocence lost. The latest single from her debut album No One Knows That You’re Lost, ‘Alaska’ is the latest step towards Tina Refsnes becoming one of the most profound and moving singer-songwriters of recent years.

Spotlight!: Raven Love & the 27s

/ James Fenney

raven love

Sometimes it’s better just to keep things simple. This up and coming Detroit band operate with just the bare bones of heavy blues. Raven’s vocals have a great tone, I’m sure she could belt it out with the best of them but she knows when to hold back. Tracks like ‘Venice Beach’ and ‘John R’ have some great psychedelic guitar, the slow and simple riffs are more than enough to add a world of colour. Everything is built around the driving bass line, a steady rumble that you can feel down to your very core. The overall effect is to take you back to the kaleidoscopic sixties and evoke acts such as Iron Butterfly and Jefferson Airplane. Just sit back, relax, let the music wash over you and you’re bound to be hit by the Wow factor.

The Intro EP is out now and is available on their bandcamp page for anyone that wants to join the trip.

SoundCloud launch streaming service

/ James Fenney

soundcloud

Music sharing site SoundCloud has announced that it will be entering the already overcrowded world of music streaming. SoundCloud Go will allow users to listen to the back catalogue of streamable songs alongside the millions of pre-existing SoundCloud exclusive songs. The fee is currently set at the industry standard of £9.99 per month, although their back catalogue will be far smaller than those of industry leaders Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music and the exclusive tracks will still be freely available to the public.