Crystal Beth is what happens if you cross Frank Zappa, Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, and Janice Joplin
Crystal Beth unleashes her first full-length studio record, PUSH THRU, a solo incarnation using wailing vocals, amplified clarinet, beat-boxing and electronics to weave a sonic universe all her own. The album will be released on Trey Gunn’s 7D Media on October 18, 2019. Beth has been described as “world music from an imaginary planet..quite compelling & magical” (Seattle Times), “a supremely versatile and virtuosic maverick” (The Stranger), and “one of the most fearless and innovative musicians in the city…” (Earshot Jazz). Known for crafting aural rituals that encompass industrial chants, alien disco breaks, heart gushings, and robot love songs, Crystal Beth redefines the possibilities of the voice and clarinet in tight experimental pop songs and undulating, cathartic noise cries. Crafting moments that ricochet between meditation and a full body purge, she is an electric, adrenaline inducing performer voted Seattle’s Best Classical Musician and nominated for NW Vocalist of the Year.
Rooted and defined by singing in her own syllabic language, Crystal Beth began in 2010 and she performs solo using loop pedals and delays, and a five-piece rock outfit (the Boom Boom Band) to craft and explore her idiosyncratic and distinctive original music. Seattle’s The Stranger magazine writes “You can find {Crystal Beth} fearlessly indulging her wildest creative inklings whenever she materializes in a musical forum…Crystal Beth & the Boom Boom Band falls somewhere between the grisly skronk-punk of Stickers and earthy freak-indie of tUnE-yArDs, but even fans of those left-of-center acts will be thrown for a loop. Wailing vocals not bound to any conventions but {her} own, paired with percussive ‘Bethnic chants,’ are set over freely drawn jazz figures and world-y rhythms.”
The music on this record is primal and visceral, sweet and expansive. It’s a completely solo work- recorded in 2 days of full live takes at Studio Litho with engineer Floyd Reitsma (Pearl Jam, Audioslave, Dave Matthews Band), mixed by Marcel Fernandez (Foo Fighters, ZZ Top, Molotov), and mastered by Michael Cozzi (Sky Cries Mary, Security Project, Bill Rieflin). With artwork by Mexican artist Ale De la Torre, Crystal Beth’s PUSH THRU is available on vinyl, CD, and digitally.
With the reflexes of a mongoose, Crystal Beth spins cathartic hardcore purge pop art punk – sweaty, trance inducing, heart-pouring – these are sonic cupcakes for your soul.
Crystal Beth has 20 years of professional international performances under her full name, Beth Fleenor, where she has been featured on recordings with polymaths including Wayne Horvitz, Jherek Bischoff, and Julie Slick, and includes performances with David Byrne, Terry Riley, Butch Morris, Bobby Previte, Trey Gunn, Robin Holcomb, Joshual Kohl/Degenerate Art Ensemble, Matana Roberts, Skerik, Tamar Kali, LaFrae Sci, Seattle Symphony, Wordless Music Orchestra, Samantha Boshnack, Led To Sea, Mirah, Soko, William O. Smith, Eyvind Kang, Malcom Goldstein, Jessika Kenney, Paris Hurley / Object As Subject, Timothy Young, John Tchicai, Gretta Harley, Mike Dillon, Briggan Krauss, Parenthetical Girls, Gino Yevdjevich/Kultur Shock, Amy Denio, and Shane Parish & Ryan Oslance / Ahleuchatistas – often doing upward of 170 shows a year in different genres.
Her work has been heard in 100,000 seat rock festivals, maximum-security prisons, and some of the most prestigious concert halls, museums, clubs and theaters in the world. Believing that “art is the discipline of being,” Fleenor uses sound to open the channels of communication between and within individuals and environments. Her work as been heard in live music, recordings, theater, performance art, installation, modern dance, and film. She believes that “an emphasis on creativity in a culture gives rise to creative solutions to social problems.”
Along with the straight-forward stamp of “excellent” from the New York Times, Fleenor has been called an “exceptional clarinetist” by the Seattle Times, and The Seattle Weekly writes, “If you’re getting tired of music that’s even remotely formulaic, Beth Fleenor is for you. Her experimental mixing of genres is powerful and refreshing.” Earshot Jazz has described her as “one of the most fearless and innovative musicians in the city…” and City Arts Magazine remarks “Beth Fleenor transcends labels – a multi-talented, creative force in Seattle.”
Crystal Beth began after Fleenor spent years collaborating with other musicians and artists, when she starting bursting at the seams with her own compositions. After years as a free improviser, Crystal Beth is Fleenor’s first project that focuses entirely on her original songs.
She speaks personally about the project, “I believe in the power of sound to clear the body and cleanse the soul. Music is a powerful tool as a listener and as a maker. It changes the state of things internally. I think we need a way to deal with ourselves so that we can better deal with each other….and when we have that, it leads us to a different way of conducting ourselves – a way of empathy, compassion, awareness, consideration, communication – a mutual respect of shared experience. We need focusing agents that help us process experiences – a way to make sense of it all – a way to get it to move through our bodies. Transcendent happiness, and deep tragedy, and everything in between, we need some kind of a ritual to catch up with ourselves in the present moment, to be able to move forward in a state of personal alignment. Crystal Beth is how I deal with myself, how I heal myself, how I Push Thru to the deepest parts of myself, and begin again every single day. My hope is that by sharing my most vulnerable self, perhaps it will offer a moment of the same catharsis and solace to others.”
RECORD RELEASE PARTY Thursday, October 24 at Substation (Seattle) Crystal Beth with special guest Alex Faide, Trey Gunn, RGK + the Alternative Facts, and Devils in Skirts
Fleenor holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz and Classical Clarinet Performance from Cornish College of the Arts. Her work has been supported by Jack Straw Productions, 4Culture, Allied Arts, Artist Trust, the Millay Colony for the Arts, and the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs. Crystal Beth’s solo record PUSH THRU was brought to life through patrons on the Indiegogo platform. Born in Bristol TN/VA, she has been based in Seattle since 1998.
Here’s what the press have said about Beth Fleenor:
“Beth Fleenor transcends labels – a multi-talented, creative force in Seattle.” (City Arts Magazine)
“Crystal Beth creates her own sonic cult through stage thrashing her way through ‘cathartic hardcore purge pop,’ and wielding psychedelic clarinet melodies and bethnic chants.” (The Stranger )
“Crystal Beth – is an undeniable, unstoppable musical force, and one of Seattle’s treasures. She uses her voice and clarinet to channel strange, disturbing, and beautiful sounds into existence from beyond most of our imaginings. ….Beth’s chants and shrieks bypass the language centers of the brain and drill directly into the deepest, primal folds, beckoning you to surrender to sound, to find peace and clarity through a modicum of musical insanity.” (Ball of Wax)
“If you’re getting tired of music that’s even remotely formulaic, {Crystal Beth} is for you. Her experimental mixing of genres is powerful and refreshing.” (Seattle Weekly)
“…a supremely versatile and virtuosic maverick” (The Stranger)
“exceptional clarinetist” (Seattle Times)
“Crystal Beth & the Boom Boom Band are what happens when accomplished jazz musicians decide to take a reckless holiday in the rock realm…. a kind of artful, deranged rock that recalls the Dirty Three and the Geraldine Fibbers at their most agitated and, alternately, at their most lugubrious.” (The Stranger)
“one of the most fearless and innovative musicians in the city…” (Seattle’s Earshot Jazz)
“alternately buoyant and ponderous, transfixing and exceptional” (City Arts Magazine)
“….fare perhaps best described as world music from an imaginary planet….quite compelling and magical….” (Seattle Times)
AUDIENCE REFLECTIONS
“Some crazy combination of Bjork & Mike Patton, but with a voice truly her own.”
“Brian Eno meets the Beastie Boys in Mumbai and they have a spirited discussion about Alice Coltrane”
“Crystal Beth is what happens if you cross Frank Zappa, Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, and Janice Joplin”
“Experimental primal scream punk meets world meets prog meets jazz meets the Dali Lama…and I’m not exaggerating…”.
Here’s the world premiere video for “The Loss Inside” from the brand new Flying Colors album, Third Degree, out THIS FRIDAY!Third Degree will be available as a CD Digipak, limited edition 2LP 180 gram blue vinyl in a gatefold sleeve (w/ download card), a 2LP 180 gram black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve (w/ download card), and a limited edition CD box set featuring CD, 40 page photobook, two coasters, and a bonus disc with six tracks. PRE-ORDER HERE!
EXCLUSIVE PRE-ORDER OFFER ONLY FROM RADIANT:The first 100 orders of any version will receive a small graphic signed by ALL BAND MEMBERS!
British Author/Musician MICHAEL MOORCOCK releases Live At The Terminal Café
Los Angeles, CA – As a novelist and short-story writer, Michael Moorcock stands with one foot planted firmly in reality and the other in fantasy. He has won and been short-listed for almost every award in the sf/fantasy world as well as in the wider literary world. The London Times named him one of the fifty best British writers since 1945. He scripted ‘The Land That Time Forgot’ film and his Jerry Cornelius novel ‘The Final Programme’ was filmed with Jon Finch. His much-imitated and most famous character, Elric, is currently optioned for TV/movies and the BBC have his Hawkmoon series under option. As a journalist, he has written for The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New Statesman, and The Spectator.
His music career has been no less laudatory. When performing with Hawkwind, Moorcock won a gold disc for Warrior on the Edge of Time. He has also worked with Blue Öyster Cult, Robert Calvert, Spirits Burning, and developed his own music project dubbed The Deep Fix. Moorcock’s long friendship with the legendary guitarist-bookscout Martin Stone (The Action/Mighty Baby, Savoy Brown, Chilli Willie) culminated in their decision to do an album together. They had grown up in the same town and had similar influences as musicians and readers. Both lived in Paris. The result is the new studio album Live At The Terminal Café.
Moorcock explains the genesis of the album: “Martin contacted Denis Baudrillart, the outstanding French drummer, and bassist/all-rounder Brad Scott and we rented a rehearsal studio. Eventually, the basic tracks were recorded in Montmartre and after that it was up to my friend Sean Orr in Texas to add fiddle and friend Don Falcone in California to perform his magic, adding Catherine Foreman and Jonathan Segel (Camper Van Beethoven), and our first psychedelic Country & Cajun record was ready to go. Like a lot of my music, it’s intended to complement certain books of mine, in this case, the ‘Blood’ trilogy set in Texas and Louisiana where the Earth’s polarities are reversed, with bizarre consequences.”
Moorcock wrote or co-wrote the 11 songs, sings lead vocals on all tracks, and also performed harmonica on two songs on Live At The Terminal Café. The album was mixed and produced by Don Falcone, who runs the music collective Spirits Burning.
Both the CD package and vinyl version include full lyrics, plus artwork by Walter Simonson (best known for Marvel Comics’ Thor), who drew Moorcock’s DC series ‘Michael Moorcock’s Multiverse’.
Track List: 1. The Effects Of Entropy 2. Terminal Café 3. The Dream Of Eden 4. Sam Oakenhurst’s Story 5. St. James Infirmary 6. The Heat Of The New Orleans Night 7. Lou 8. A Man Like Me 9. Mississippi Turn Round 10. Blood 11. Eden Revisited
The upcoming first solo album by Fates Warning vocalist Ray Alder “What The Water Wants” will be released worldwide on October 18th, 2019.via InsideOutMusic.
Today marks the release of the album’s second single “Crown Of Thorns”. You can check it out in a video clip directed by Manuel Giménez / MG Media Productions here:
Ray Alder checked in with the following comment about the song; “In doing a solo album I wanted to try and write songs that I wouldn’t normally do with Fates Warning. I wanted to show a different side of what I’m about vocally. This song “Crown Of Thorns” to me is sort of an homage to the 70’s singers and bands I Iistened to while growing up, where a lot of the focus was on the melody. From the very beginning I found this song super interesting because of the bass line that repeats throughout the entire song. Everything is written around it, so that the melody of the vocals has to flow around it as well. This is one of my favorite tracks from the solo album, and not just because it is so different.”
Ray Alder’s “What The Water Wants” album includes 10 melodic and versatile songs created with assistance from guitarists Mike Abdow (Fates Warning touring member) and Tony Hernando (Lords Of Black) as well as drummer Craig Anderson (Ignite, Crescent Shield). The album was mixed by Simone Mularoni (Rhapsody, Michael Romeo, DGM).
RAY ALDER – “What The Water Wants” 1. Lost 2. Crown Of Thorns 3. Some Days 4. Shine 5. Under Dark Skies 6. A Beautiful Lie 7. The Road 8. Wait 9. What The Water Wanted 10. The Killing Floor 11. The Road (Acoustic Version) * Bonus Track
Ray Alder’s “What The Water Wants” will be available as limited first-pressing Digipak CD with a bonus track (An acoustic version of “The Road”) and as LP on 180gr. vinyl with the full album on CD as bonus.
Understated is definitely not an adjective that can be applied to Norwegian Prog Folk Rockers TUSMØRKE whose latest album “Leker for barn, ritualer for voksne” is set for release on Karisma Records on the 29th November.
Based on two musicals for children, “The Bridge to the Other Side” and “The Root of All Evil”, “Leker for barn, ritualer for voksne”, which translated means “Games for children, rituals for adults”, consists partly of Tusmørke’s take on traditional Norwegian children’s songs, and partly on new material by the band. And, whilst waiting for its release, Karisma Records have lifted the veil on what we can expect, by releasing a single from the album.
The album itself will be available in CD, Digital, Black Vinyl and Limited Edition White Vinyl formats, all of which include a 16 page lyric booklet, which, according to the band, “May, or may not, explain the plot”.
With artwork by Thore Hansen, track listing for “Leker for barn, ritualer for voksne” is as follows:
Bro bro brille 9. Velkommen til Hades
Per Sjuspring 10. Kharons vise
Kjerringa med staven 11. På den ytterste nakne øya
Ta den ring 12. Jeg gikk meg over sjø og land
Tornerose 13. Den tolvte Baal
Bjørnen sover 14. Gamlas seierssang
På Torneroses slot 15. Eventyret er ute
Sjubidubidu Sju 16. Du og jeg og vi to
TUSMØRKE’s lineup is drawn from bands like WOBBLER, JORDSJØ and ALWANZATAR, and, in keeping with the band’s innate eccentricity, the variety of instruments they have at their command is staggering, with Benediktator on Bass, vocals, Glockenspiel and percussion, Krizla on Flute, vocals, electronics and percussion, The Phenomenon Marxo Solinas on Minimoog Model D, Korg CX3, William de Blaise on harpsichord, Steinway & Sons Grand Piano, Hohner Clavinet D6, Mellotron M400, Hammond C3, Wurlitzer 200 and Solina String Ensemble, and HlewagastiR on Drums and percussion.
The band happily admit that:
Not everyone who took part in the plays completely understood what they were doing. Neither did everyone in the audience. But here it is, in all its gory glory as the collegium of dashing adventurers and explorers of the unknown reaches of history, known to the unwashed masses under the pseudonym TUSMØRKE, have yet again brought fresh fever from the stars.
With no small risk to their very lives, they have investigated the Mesopotamian idolatry that hid beneath what we, in our innocence, thought were simple songs and verses concerned with harmless folklore and creatures of fantasy. Concealed by a veil of ignorance, these ritualistic rhymes and summoning songs reveal themselves as portals to blissful and terrible realms. Astral worlds and delirious peaks tread forth from the inner places of mankind, and thus exert their power over the reality we share in our waking hours.
Our rhymes, riddles and games for children contain ancient elements. Could one find traces of past religious rituals in them? Seemingly innocent texts gain a more foreboding aspect when viewed in light of the human sacrifices, spiritual journeys and ecstatic trance rituals of Europe in times past. Cultural traits that are today associated with exotic voodoo rituals, Buddhism or cannibalistic head hunters of New Guinea were once widespread among our Celtic and Germanic tribes.
“Leker for barn, ritualer for voksne” is now available to pre-order from:
District 97 is undoubtedly the most musically adventurous rock band in the world to feature an American Idol Top 10 Female Finalist. For over a decade, this quintet from Chicago has melded an adventurous instrumental prowess with the look, sound, and stage presence of Leslie Hunt. Through world tours and a stream of studio and live releases, the band has garnered a worldwide fanbase; collaborating with John Wetton and drawing praise from Bill Bruford, Mike Portnoy and other rock luminaries along the way. Their forthcoming album “Screens” and its accompanying live show promises to be their most ambitious effort to date.
“We had a blast playing ‘Screens’ live earlier this year in North America, and we can’t wait to bring that and some of our older material across the pond for the very first time. To do so whilst teaming up with incredible bands like Flyiing Colors, Goblin, and Maschine make this tour an absolute must see.”
Tour dates: 9/30/19, Burg Schnabel Berlin, DE 10/02/19, Das Rind Rüsselsheim, DE 10/03/19, De Boerderij Zoetermeer, NL 10/05/19, Spirit of 66 Verviers, BE 10/06/19, Summer’s End Prog Festival, Chepstow, UK 10/07/2019, The Robin 2 w/Maschine, Bilston, UK 10/08/19, The Musician w/Maschine, Leicester, UK 10/09/19, 229 w/Maschine, London, UK 10/10/19, Trading Boundaries w/Maschine, East Sussex, UK 10/13/19, Progtoberfest V @ Reggies, Chicago, IL 10/17/19, Arcada Theater w/Flying Colors, St. Charles, IL
Recent Comments