Nick Katona, head honcho of one of the finest music labels around, is back with this year’s charity offering. Seven songs by different artists who have all contributed the music so you have the opportunity to hear something very special indeed while also giving back. You see, you cannot buy this EP or download it without contacting the label, who will then send it to you free of charge (this is a digital-only release). All you have to do to get this is to provide proof of helping others. As Nick says, “To receive your copy as a gift from MRR and with the kind permission of all of our contributing artists we ask you to commit a great act of kindness. Send us proof of you donating to your local charity of choice, it can be your time, or tangible goods such as blankets, food or clothing even pet food. Think outside of the box; donate your time at the local food bank, soup kitchen or shelter. Certainly, the hospitals would be grateful for volunteers or donate blood today and save a life.”
I know that most people who think of others do so with no thought of reward or recognition, it is just because it is the right thing to do. Others aren’t aware of how much pressure this time of year can bring to those who are less fortunate, yet whatever society or country you live in there will always be some who are struggling. Not everyone has access to a computer to read this review, not everyone has access to clean water, food, clothing or a place to stay.
Each year at this time Melodic Revolution makes available a release like this, hoping it is a spur for those who are caught up in their own festivities to remind them of those less fortunate. If this release makes you think of that person who has no-one at Christmas or spurs you into buying a few extra bits and pieces at the supermarket to donate, or for you to find where you can volunteer for a few hours, then it has more than accomplished its goal.
It is almost an aside to say this seven-track release featuring Potter’s Daughter, Andrew Colyer, Harlequin Reborn, Don Schiff, Babal and Murky Red and Franck Carducci are an absolute delight. It is a winter album, not a Christmas album, and is a great way to discover “new” bands: a few here are new to me, while others are old friends. Potter’s Daughter even wrote the sublime “This Winter Child” just for this. Christmas is not about eating too much food or drinking too much wine, it is actually about people. Nick said to me “It’s more than just holiday music; it’s about love and hope”. Get out there, make a difference, and then contact the label with proof and in the subject matter put ‘Pay it Forward’, sending it to [email protected]
You will be making a real difference in people’s lives, and while that will always be reward enough, now you can also get to hear wonderful music by amazing people as well.
12/5/2019 (Los Angeles, California)- Indie progressive-rock band Lobate Scarp is now in the final days of their Kickstarter campaign to help them make an epic full-length follow up to their 2019 EP Spirals and Portals, entitled You Have It All. According to their Kickstarter page, the new studio album will serve as an expansion to Spirals and Portals, interweaving the tracks within the album to tell a more cohesive story.
Rich Mouser, whose mixing repertoire includes Spock’s Beard, Transatlantic, Neal Morse, will not only once again mix the album but also produce. Current members of Yes, Billy Sherwood and Jon Davison, as well as Spock’s Beard Keyboardist Ryo Okumoto, will appear as guest musicians. Steve Leavitt, producer of Time and Space, will also return to co-produce. David A. Hardy, the world’s oldest living space artist, has once again created the album cover art, which has been revealed on the Kickstarter site. Prog rock fans will especially appreciate the two 15-minutes tracks they have planned including the album title track, a strong edgy piece made up of several parts.
You Have It All’s Kickstarter campaign, features a variety of great pledge rewards such as a special edition 2-CD booklet containing lyrics, credits, art, and a bonus disc containing an entirely instrumental version of the album. Some of the higher-level pledge rewards include T-shirts, a visit to a recording session at The Mouse House, house concerts, and very limited hand-knit “got prog?” drink cozies and Lobate scarves.
Lobate Scarp is a progressive opera-rock band located in Los Angeles. Their influences are far and wide and range from classic prog-rock of the 70’s such as Genesis and Yes, to 80’s pop to modern music as well as musical theater. Their debut Time and Space was made possible in 2012 by a successful Kickstarter campaign and has since received accolades from all over the world, played on radio shows, podcasts, and had reviews published in numerous music publications. The band is making their RoSfest debut next year in Sarasota, Florida and if their Kickstarter campaign is successful, they plan on having the new album ready for the festival weekend. “Spotlessly produced and skillfully performed, the music is large and panoramic in scope. Highly recommended for fans of symphonic prog”. – Jerry Lucky (The Progressive Rock Files)
UK PSYCH-ROOTS FOLK POP ARTIST ELFIN BOW TO RELEASE HER 3-TRACK EP ‘RAINBOWS & GALLOWS
Artist: Elfin Bow Date of Release: 1st December 2019 (Digital Release) Release Title: Rainbows & Gallows Digital Details: Available as a digital bundle with artwork, booklet, and posters. Available from www.elfinbow.com
Rainbows & GallowsTrack Listing: 1. Take Me Out in Your Old Bread Van 2. Miles Away 3. Mother Said
Watch Take Me Out in Your Old Bread Van now!
About: For her first release with PSR, Elfin Bow (Elizabeth Anne Jones) is unapologetically celebrating the strange bedfellows that are Joy and Tragedy, with three original songs that tell of great love, and the cracks that both promise, and threaten, to break that love wide open.
Take Me Out in Your Old Bread Van (Time) With an accompanying video, reminiscent of full technicolor, DIY 1970’s children’s TV shows, Elfin Bow joyfully reminisces about the days when her parents used to date in an old bread van, dreaming of a large family and a rosy future. A timely launch to mark her parent’s 50th wedding anniversary, this up-beat, banjo-driven song is sure to bring a wide smile with every listen.
Miles Away (Time) That moment when you are right next to someone but may as well be a million miles away. Elfin Bow’s desolate piano and haunting harmonies wash wave after wave of tragical lyrics over a waltz that threatens to break your heart, unless…
Mother Said (Time) Described as ‘lyrically astute’ by Shindig Magazine, wordsmith Elfin Bow, takes us on a journey from the knowing look of a newborn to the aging lines of life, long-lived, in this tale of a mother’s deep intuitive wisdom gifted to her daughter.
Recorded at The Music Mine Studios by Peter Footitt, with production mix and mastering by Gary Lloyd, this release was produced by Gary Edward Jones and Elfin Bow. Featuring on the EP are Daniel J. Logan (percussion), Jon Fellowes (bass), Tom Kitching (fiddle, mandolin), Terry Clarke-Coyne (flute, vocals), Tracey Green (vocals) and Elfin Bow (guitar, piano, banjo, and vocals.) Cover artwork by Elfin Bow, photography by Victor Pennington and design by Tom Woollam.
“Elfin Bow has been making waves within the modern folk scene over the last year and is now releasing her debut three-track EP for PeacockSunrise Records. With songs showing her diverse musical style and wonderful storytelling ability. Her songs are wonderfully inclusive, dynamic, folky, poptastic and basically a load of fun. Just hearing her music always makes me smile, makes me feel warm inside, and somehow always makes me feel loved. No-one else exists, Elfin Bow is talking just to me, telling her stories in her own intimate way, making for a very special listening experience indeed.” Kev Rowland, music reviewer and author of The Progressive Underground.
Stephin Merritt will either love it or hate it – quite a gamble to play with one of your heroes. Either way, Sydney rockers Circle has presented the world with what they’re calling “one-third of a respectful nod to the most important record that came out during our career”.
The one-third remark refers to the fact that despite the album being called ‘Another 69 Love Songs’ – we’re only presented with 23 of them. The nod, of course, refers to the seminal Magnetic Fields record of the same name (minus ‘Another’). The album is the band’s most collaborative so far and if you listen closely you’ll find quite a few unnamed local stars peppered throughout.
Recorded over 12 months in Enmore Audio, produced by the band and mixed by Mike Stavrou, Another 69 Love Songs is Circle’s most ambitious work to date!
Recorded live at Frontiers Rock Festival V in Milan, on April 28, 2018 this brand new live cd / DVD shows PRAYING MANTIS presenting their then new album “Gravity” in front of the Italian audience. This is a superb performance which presents the band in its absolute top form, offering the crowd new songs and several classic tracks. An awesome release showcasing the repertoire of one of the most consistent British hard rock bands around.
Originally formed in 1973 by the Troy brothers, Tino and Chris, Praying Mantis became one of the most influential bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). The band is also one of a very small number of bands from that era to have remained a going concern over the intervening years, and to still record and appear live regularly. The debut Praying Mantis album, “Time Tells No Lies” (Arista) was released in 1981 to critical acclaim, and it remains a significant NWOBHM recording. Following a short-lived reformation of most of the original line-up of Praying Mantis in 1987, the band went back on hiatus until offered the chance to play in Japan with ex-Iron Maiden members Paul Di’Anno and Dennis Stratton in 1990. This experience injected new life into the band, and also marked the beginning of a productive 15 year partnership with Dennis Stratton. The band’s second official studio album, “Predator in Disguise” was released in 1991, and the band have continued to write and release new material every two to three years ever since, with a shifting line-up which has featured the likes of Doogie White, Gary Barden, Bernie Shaw, Bruce Bisland, Mike Freeland, Gary Mackenzie and many other figures from the cream of Britain’s rock fraternity. Following another major change in line-up (including the departure of Dennis Stratton), Praying Mantis signed with rock speciality label Frontiers in 2007 and recorded the album “Sanctuary”, which was released in 2009. The album, considered to be one of the finest of their career, has received consistently positive reviews from around the world and sets a very high standard for all future Mantis recordings.
Whether gigging in support of their latest releases, writing new material for the follow-up to “Sanctuary”, or re-visiting other songs from their extensive back-catalogue, the Troy brothers, along with guitarist Andy Burgess and newest recruits, John ‘Jaycee’ Cuijpers on vocals and Hans In T’ Zandt on drums & vocals, remain committed to the blend of melody and power in their music that has become a trademark of the Praying Mantis sound, and, some three decades after forming, the band is still completely dedicated to entertaining a seemingly ever-growing army of fans across the globe.
Formed during 2009 in London by vocalist/guitarist Alessio Garavello (Ex Powerquest/Arthemis) and bassist Andrea Lonardi, the two were later joined by Tim Hall on drums and Michael Kew on guitars. A New Tomorrow has honed their sound into a potent force of uplifting, hard-hitting, melodic hard rock that you hear today!
The sheer rocking power of musical giants, like Alter Bridge and Foo Fighters to Metallica and Green Day, became influential to A New Tomorrow’s musical roots. This rock-solid foundation is the road map conveying A New Tomorrow’s love for life and go-getter attitude both on and off stage. Now, the band gets to share the next chapter worldwide and with their fans through their debut full-length album Universe!
Drummer Tim Hall comments – “Several years of amazing times, full of both ups and downs, not just as a band but as great friends, gave us the foundation to write something special for this record. Universe became the only title to encompass all our experiences as individuals and as a band, with themes – from fear and doubt to taking back the pursuit of our hopes and dreams – that I think all of us can identify with. The time we took gaining experience as a band, before writing Universe, has really allowed us to find our own space within the music allowing our own individual influences to come across a lot more than in our previous releases. Expect our heaviest, yet most dynamic range of songs to date! With intricate, interwoven grooves, alongside blankets of melodic guitars and powerful vocals. We feel invigorated playing this music and can’t wait to unleash that energy with you live in 2019!”
Tracklist:
I Wanna Live
A Million Stars
Golden Sands
Ignition
Mother Earth Is Calling
Mountains
Step Into The Wild…
…Home
Multitude Of Nothing
Universe
Abrasive (Bonus Track Cd Only)
Line-up:
Alessio Garavello – Lead vocals, backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars Michael Kew – Electric guitars Andrea Lonardi – Bass guitar Tim Hall – Drums & Percussion
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