Hello folks! It’s a soothing weekend and I am bringing to you updates on cool music around the web. It’s amazing to know that 2015 is anther great year of music. We have electronic,acoustic and other types of music that’s ‘not radio.’
I discovered Alex Pardini more than a year ago when I stumbled upon his music on the web. Since thn we have kept a tight correspondent covering many topics including photography( he’s a pro). He gets better each year as he creates fantastic and elegant tunes. His music speaks to the side of me who likes finer, better and beautiful things in life. This is the first playlist I listened upon waking up. These are evening tunes but then again, beautiful music is always enriching any time of the day. So good, so rich!
***
If you like something acoustic and soothing then check this song by singer/songwriter J.P. Kallio. What I like about his songs is that, you can appreciate his songs even if you are not a fan of folk music. His recordings are always excellent in terms of clarity and balance. This is the kind of quality that I look for in any stripped down tune.
***
Whenever I listen to any Michael Stovall song, I get carried away. His emotional pieces always have a room for the ‘soundtrack of your life’ kind of moment. The depth of lyrics and beautiful singing are his strong points. The melodies are his gold.
***
Talents between New Zealand and Ireland have created Altocirrus. I feel so fortunate to listen to their latest album plus review it for this site!
***
This musical asset of Romania by the name of LeVantcontinues to dazzle me with his unique ideas. His tunes are somewhat in the pop-but not so pop, category. His deep understanding of Classical, Medieval,Jazz,Electronic is astounding. Unjaded is his latest release.
***
Pierre Masse continues to dabble with different styles of music. From acoustic to electronic, his versatility is excellent. I don’t think any artist who started a career doing acoustic rock could pull that off elegantly. And he did. Amazing!
***
I am enjoying this new upload from Norwegian artist Kjell Roll Elgsaas. Very energetic and complex. Beautiful beats.
***
And last but not the least, I need you to listen to this beautiful song from Cornish singer/songwriter Dan Aston.Lemonade Sea is the title. This is recorded at The VIP Lounge in Penzance and featuring Sue Aston on violin and members from Cornish jazz band, Endangered Species.
Another great month is here. The autumn leaves are falling and there are reflective songs that play in our heads as we move to darker and colder months. But that doesn’t mean that we will let summer go so easily. The new single by Dan Aston has that summery melody with lyrics that are really suited to the season.
” I haven’t felt this alive in so long…
My wheels will keep turning strong”
This brings a smile on my face as this is an unabashed tribute to young love. This reminds me of The Beatles before they got so big. Perhaps the world can be chaotic and grim outside but this doesn’t mean we cannot fall inside and look into our endless summer. As I grow older as a listener, I start to appreciate the beauty of life’s simplicity and all that surround us, be it people, places or things.
I’ve always found Dan Aston’s singing as honest and beautiful. He has a good vocal range which continues to improve with age. He is backed by amazing musicians. Everything about the recording is clean, tight and well executed. And oh, this lyric video is amazing!
Thoughts behind the song from the artist:
Dan Aston: Recorded at VIP Lounge earlier in September, it has been recorded and produced by Dare Mason (Placebo, The Church, The Blow Monkeys). I previously worked with Dare on my EP ‘The Way Home’.
The single features some stellar performances by musicians that have really brought this new arrangement of the song to life.
Instead of remaining in the traditional ways of playing live, Dan Aston has a new way of performing his music. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that this is a resource that many artist are yet to tap their skills into. I am talking about Google plus concerts. Performing live has been part of his upbringing, as music is a family affair for the Astons. The internet proved to be another effective way of reaching potential fans all over the world.
This interview also talks about his goals and upcoming projects this year.
1. You are going to conduct your second Google hangout this march 30th. What’s good about this medium?
It’s a brand new way of performing music, a platform that is still in its early stages and one that hasn’t been discovered by many especially here in the UK. It enables musicians to perform sets to a global audience from their own home and the possibilities are endless! Some artists have had tremendous success through it as their shows get shared around the world and people tune in on their devices wherever they are. Initially, getting the technicalities right was a challenge, but my dad, Phil Aston, is an expert on Google Plus and thanks to his hard work and knowledge the set up I now have is great.
2. Can you tell us more about your current project(s)?
I’ve been busy writing pages of songs since the release of ‘The Way Home’. A few of them were played live during shows last year, some were dropped and some never left the notebook. I wrote a mini sequence of songs in DADGAD tuning not long ago that formed a short conceptual piece, and I don’t know what to really do with those. More recently I have been writing heavily with the idea of a new album in mind. I hope to return to the studio this year, although I think it will be a bit different this time around. The songs I have written for the next release sound great so far but I think they would sound even better with other musicians on them. I’m trying out some ideas with a pianist and percussion player and I may well have a three piece for the new album. It’s still early days though!
3. I played one of (off your EP The Way Home) last week on my radio show. Can you tell us more about the experience recording this live version for the camera as opposed to the one you recorded for the EP?
To be honest I wasn’t sure if it would work the way I wanted it to at first and I’d never recorded like that before. However, I wanted to give fans some regular output and I think having a video adds a lot to just an audio file. After getting into recording videos regularly for my Youtube channel, it was from there that I took the big leap into the world of Google Plus Hangouts. In the hangouts it really is live! Quite a surreal experience, too. There I am playing to a computer and apparently forty people around the world are watching! It’s exciting and I’m looking forward to the next show.
4. You’ve been doing covers lately. One of them is Mansion on the Hill originally done by Bruce Springsteen. How huge is his influence in your music?
That’s my favourite song from Bruce Springsteen’s album ‘Nebraska’. When I first heard that album, it resonated with me immediately. It was playing in the background whilst I was washing the dishes and I stopped immediately to find out what the music was. The music on that album is so sparse, so raw and bleak yet beautiful and honest at the same time. Yes, it’s a depressing album, but let’s face it depressing music is often the best. I loved the intimacy of the stripped down production and instrumentation. Just one man, his guitar and his feelings. It was this album that introduced me to the harmonica too. Without hearing this album I wouldn’t have picked up the harmonica and wouldn’t be playing music the way I am now. I wasn’t a singer back then either. I was really shy and had never sung a note to anybody. Hearing that album and others by the likes of John Martyn and Nick Drake really inspired me to express myself through singing.
5. Harmonica and guitars…what other instruments do you play?
I can play a bit of piano and very basic violin and drums. I’ve used the piano to write songs in the past and I’d really like to learn to play it properly at some stage.
6. It must be a great experience hearing your song played on The David White Show on BBC Radio Cornwall.
Yeah it was nice, I was played on BBC Radio Cornwall prior to that too on another show. A lot of people still listen to the radio.
7. What are your live stage/recording plans this 2014?
I may be playing some festivals and a few stage gigs later in the year, but nothing is set in stone yet. I’ve primarily been focusing on getting to grips with Google Plus concerts and writing new material. I have some songs that I definitely want to be on the next release, some that I’m not sure about and some that I’m sure are yet to be written. Having the idea of a pianist on board is very interesting. Some songs I’ve been thinking about arranging for solo piano and voice, stripping the guitar out entirely. I hope to enter the studio later this year.
8. Where can listeners buy and download your recordings?
Pretty much anywhere! ‘The Way Home’ EP can be found digitally on Amazon, itunes, Google Music, Spotify, Bandcamp and more. Head to my website for further details http://danaston.com/
9. Message to our readers?
Keep supporting new music and check out one of my online concerts, they’re quite unusual and a lot of fun. People can interact during the show too and I’m going to be inviting some guests on during the next few shows, so if you have a webcam and a good internet connection you could join me! Thanks.
His style of music is filed under: Acoustic Folk, Jazz and Blues.
He listens to:John Martyn, Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Gary Moore, Pink Floyd, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Queensryche, Porcupine Tree, Anathema and Black Sabbath.
The indie music blog 