Basia Bulat ARE YOU IN LOVE?
Basia Bulat ARE YOU IN LOVE? Secret City Records
Hi dear friends,
It’s with a lot of heartbreak that I’m rescheduling my US and Canadian spring tours.
I’m still really looking forward to playing my new songs for you with my band when we’re all on the other side of this moment together. We plan to honour all tickets at the rescheduled shows - please hold on to your tickets for now and I’ll be sharing those new dates as soon as possible.
I’m sending all my gratitude to the people on the front lines of this crisis- the hard working doctors, nurses, and caregivers doing everything they can to keep us all safe.
I’ve had mixed feelings about having an album come out next week as there’s no way to postpone it… but I’m also hoping that these new songs will give some positive energy to people who are at home for an extended period of time. I’m always moved when someone talks to me after a show to tell me it’s the 2nd, or 3rd, or 4th (or more!) time they’ve seen me in concert, and I’m so grateful to play that part in people’s lives - as a way to send more positive energy around and to honour some of my favourite music that helps me feel less lonely in unsteady times I’ll be playing some of my favourite love songs online this next little while. So my first little live-stream-show is on Instagram live tomorrow, March 19 at 2 pm EST… You could also send me your requests of love songs I should cover and I’ll try to play some of those, too
With so much love from here, and see you soon
Basia
Bulat is a three-time Polaris Music Prize finalist and has been nominated for three JUNO Awards. Since the release of her debut album, Oh, My Darling, Bulat has toured extensively. She has performed at such prestigious festivals as Montreux Jazz Festival, Austin City Limits and Newport Folk Festival. She has taken the stage at landmark venues like Carnegie Hall, Royal Theater Carré and headlined at Massey Hall. She has shared the stage with acts including Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, St Vincent, Daniel Lanois, Arcade Fire, Neko Case, Beirut, Tune-yards, Lord Huron and Sufjan Stevens.
Due to the pandemic striking the world right now, Bulat’s U.S. and Canadian spring tours will be rescheduled at a later date. “I’m still really looking forward to playing my new songs for you with my band when we’re all on the other side of this moment together,” says Bulat. “We plan to honour all tickets at the rescheduled shows – please hold on to your tickets for now and I’ll be sharing those new dates as soon as possible.”
Somewhere in the middle of making Are You In Love?, Bulat took almost a whole year off. Because she had fallen in love, because her father died, because she had lost her sense of beauty and where it might be hidden. The recording began at Hi-Dez Studios in Joshua Tree but the album was not complete when Bulat returned home to Montreal. It would be nine more months before she would return to it. “Throughout this whole record, I was struggling between keeping it together and letting go,” Bulat explains, “between holding onto old narratives or accepting what’s before me.” The new record represents this time of death and grief, but also forgiveness, reinvention and love. “I want to make a really beautiful record about compassion,” she wrote to producer Jim James. The resulting album is gorgeous and startling, the sound of a singer who’s refusing to hide.
“Your Girl,”, first single and video was filmed in northern Quebec and directed by Brian Sokolowski and second single and video “Already Forgiven,” was shot on Kodak film and directed by Nora Rosenthal and Brian Sokolowsk.
Review
“Bulat’s smoky voice, with it’s trembling vibrato, is nimble, expressive, and an asset to any song… A graceful inventiveness characterises the album.”
Not my description but absolutely right. ‘Are You In Love’ opens the album with an epic ballad and a prime example of this distinctive and compelling voice. It’s also a voice which covers a wide range and in a song that squeezes every ounce of emotion and expression from Bulkat’s performance. The song covers all the bases including dam-busting melody, explosive choruses and lyrics which are powerful and moving. It’s the perfect song and a grand opener to this wonderful album.
‘Electric Roses’ is next and offers a completely different sound with its extensive electronic introduction, before Bulat sings at talking pace in highly contemplative style. It’s a distinctive and original song with keyboards featuring in the middle eight, and subtle changes of pace throughout. Bulat is hyper-sensitive to melody and this is another example how it anchors a song of substance and emotion.
‘Your Girl’ ups the mood and pace with a song that seems to have been designed for radio. ‘Light Years’ gets back on point with another reflective, romantic and moving song. There are magical instrumental moments and anotehr example of Bulat’s supremely expressive voice.
A strummed guitar opens ‘Homesick’ before Bukat’s voice travels the scale from pleadingly high to secretively low. The song offers a rockier sound and more diversity which for me is more than welcome. Almost every track here exemplifies great song-writing, compelling vocals and produced with great verve by Jim James (My Morning Jacket). It also offers diversity of pace and mood aplenty. Check out the opening slow and thoughtful ‘I Believe It Or Not’ which builds with orchestrations and voice to an epic and beautiful ballad. Bulat has produced something very special here which is both highly accessible but of the highest quality. Vocally she is very special and if I were to compare her with another great it would be Stevie Nicks. This is one of the year’s finest albums.
4.5/5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8kcTp-dkFo&feature=youtu.be
https://www.instagram.com/basiabulat/
Montreux Jazz Fest at Home!
EXPLORE THE MAGIC OF MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL AT HOME
MONTREUX TO RELEASE 50+ LEGENDARY CONCERTS TO STREAM FOR FREE
FEATURING RARE LIVE PERFORMANCES BY JOHNNY CASH, NINA SIMONE, MARVIN GAYE AND JAMES BROWN
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: CARLOS SANTANA | PHIL COLLINS | QUINCY JONES | ALANIS MORISSETTE | RUN DMC | WU-TANG CLAN | THE RACONTEURS | NILE RODGERS & CHIC | PAUL RODGERS & MANY MORE
PLUS…
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE FROM MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL
https://www.montreuxjazzfestival.com/en/50-concerts-to-stream
Montreux Jazz Festival today announces the exclusive digital release of more than 50 legendary concerts from its 54-year history. Available to stream in full free of charge, 35 performances are available now with Stingray Qello, bringing the spirit of the festival directly into the homes of music lovers across the globe.
During this unprecedented time, fans will have the chance to experience iconic performances by some of their favourite artists from their living rooms, including rare concerts from ‘The Godfather of Soul’ James Brown, who played Montreux Jazz Festival in 1981 and the legendary Nina Simone in 1976. Fans will also be able to enjoy Johnny Cash’s 1994 Live at Montreux performance, as well as the ground-breaking hip hop group RUN DMC’s electrifying show in 2001.
The concerts, available via Stingray Qello, encompass some of the highlights of one of Europe’s most loved and legendary festival and other artists available to stream for free include Marvin Gaye, Carlos Santana, Alanis Morissette, Simply Red, Phil Collins, Wu-Tang Clan, Korn, The Raconteurs and many more.
VIEW THE LEGENDARY CONCERTS HERE: https://www.montreuxjazzfestival.com/en/50-concerts-to-stream
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE FROM THE FESTIVAL TEAM
The Festival team was looking forward to unveiling today the line-up of its 54th edition. But given the exceptional circumstances all are currently facing, this announcement is postponed, and a new date will be communicated as soon as possible. Concerned by the seriousness of the situation and mindful of its evolution, the Festival management is closely assessing developments in conjunction with both the authorities and those involved in the organisation of the event. To date, the holding of the Festival, from 3 to 18 July 2020, is not compromised. The Festival team is therefore continuing its work, in hope and humility, to enable this year’s Festival to happen under the best possible conditions.
The entire Festival team would like to thank everyone who is contributing, be it directly or indirectly, to the collective effort to combat the pandemic. It also expresses its support and solidarity with those in the cultural sector who are experiencing difficulties during this time.
Facebook @montreuxjazzfestival
Twitter @MontreuxJazz
Instagram @montreuxjazzfestival
ABOUT MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL
Montreux Jazz Festival is a renowned music festival founded by Claude Nobs and held annually in Montreux, Switzerland across two weeks in July. Now in its 54th year, the festival draws 250,000 music lovers from all across the world to the Lake Geneva shoreline. Montreux Jazz Festival celebrates the industry’s emerging and contemporary acts, whilst paying homage to music’s legendary acts. Originally a pure jazz festival since inception in 1967, Montreux began showcasing other styles of music throughout the decades and today presents artists from across every genre imaginable. Artists that have graced the stage of Montreux include Etta James, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Ms Lauren Hill, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, James Brown, Kendrick Lamar, Leonard Cohen, Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis, Nina Simone and many more. Mathieu Jaton serves as CEO of Montreux Jazz Festival after taking over the festival in 2013.
Photojournalism Hero
As a photographer, there are other few other photographers that provide both inspiration and aspiration. Don McCullin is one of the few. I have followed his work for many years and recently acquired his more recent IN ENGLAND book which illustrates so well his ability to photograph anything to the highest, most creative and emotional level. So I felt it was time to celebrate this great photographer by featuring this piece by Lucy Fulford, together with details of his latest collection, DON McCULLIN IRRECONCILABLE TRUTHS.
With a career that spans over 60 years, Sir Don McCullin is one of the most respected documentary photographers of all time. Here we look at his catalogue of the brutal and the beautiful, speak to the people who know him best, and hear from the man himself.
In the same conflict that gave the world Don’s striking portrait of a shell-shocked American soldier, he also came across a man dying from catastrophic head wounds. “One day in Vietnam, I saw a soldier with two bullets in his face,” he says. “I probably could have got one of the most extraordinary portraits ever seen, but I felt it wasn’t the right thing to do. When I look at someone dying, I must trust that person. This man, with his agony, with his eyes – he couldn’t use his mouth or anything – was saying, ‘Don’t do it,’ and I didn’t. Who cares about one of the best portraits in the world? Photography doesn’t belong to you. Whatever opportunities come along, you’ve got to make sure that you can take them with conscience.”
“I probably could have got one of the most extraordinary portraits ever seen, but it wasn’t the right thing to do.”
For Don, who has travelled the globe creating everything from social documentary and war reportage through to portraiture and landscape, all photography comes down to something simple: “Integrity and honesty are the most important things that I think a photographer must maintain.”
Don’s conflict and catastrophe reporting has seen him covering the Vietnam War, the troubles in Northern Ireland and Cambodia, the Israel-Palestine conflict and the AIDS epidemic across Africa – capturing moments of untold suffering. Preserving an honest, sensitive approach is of even greater importance when photographing people at their lowest moments.
For Don, creating photojournalism under such circumstances requires an emotional commitment. He believes it’s up to each photographer to set their own parameters of acceptability amid the trauma, so that they are able to stand by their actions in retrospect. Throughout his years shooting in often devastating surroundings, Don has been “careful, even slightly evangelistic” about ensuring he captures suffering both sensitively and with a view to raising awareness of its existence – never with a view to sensationalise or profit from it.
“The most important thing in the world is to have sensitivity,” he says. “If you don’t have it, you shouldn’t pick the camera up, you shouldn’t get on the airplane, and you shouldn’t stand in front of dying and injured people.” Such a sense of responsibility is reflected in the slow approach the photojournalist has taken in getting to know subjects – when time allows. “Years ago, I shot a set of pictures of homeless people in England,” says Don. “But the first week I went and got near them, I didn’t take my camera. And then a week later I took my camera, and I brought it out from under my overcoat and started gently taking pictures, and the people all started twitching and jerking. I thought any minute there was going to be some violence coming, but there wasn’t.”
It is his belief that photography is a form of theft: “You must persuade yourself that you are stealing something that doesn’t rightfully belong to you. You’re stealing other people’s images.” Such ideology has informed his craft throughout the years, ensuring he takes nothing for granted – he understands where his personal line in the sand lies, and respecting the dying man’s final wish in Vietnam is an example of it.
“Photography has been an amazing love affair – but at the same time it has also tormented me.”
Looking back over his 60-year career and “love affair” with photography, Don says he felt the craft chose him – creating a powerful and sometimes challenging force in his life. “Photography has been an amazing love affair,” he says. “I fell in love with photography accidentally – it chose me, I didn’t choose it. But, at the same time, photography has tormented me.” And, given the high moral standards Britain’s most respected photojournalist holds himself to, this comes as no surprise.
Written by Lucy Fulford
To find out more about the latest EOS 5D camera, the EOS 5D Mark IV, which Sir Don shot with during his recent shoot in Kolkata, visit the product page. And to see the documentary Canon Ambassador Clive Booth made about Don’s trip, click here: https://www.canon.co.uk/pro/stories/don-mccullin-kolkata-film/
https://www.canon.co.uk/cameras/eos-5d-mark-iv/
https://donmccullin.com/don-mccullin/
Shelby Lynne New LP
SHELBY LYNNE LP By Shelby Lynne
It’s been 20 years since I AM SHELBY LYNNE, the album which earned her a Best New Artist Grammy nod. This time, Shelby Lynne, her debut Thirty Tigers release, removes the “I AM” and gets direct to the heart of the singer-songwriter-instrumentalist who gives it her name. This is an album of mostly solo, spare but emotionally rich, original torch songs done the only way this idiosyncratic artist knows how – at once tortured and vulnerable, with intimate feelings laid bare, but ultimately offering hope that there’s a light in the darkness. Recalling her 2008 Dusty Springfield tribute, Just a Little Lovin’, recorded with the late Grammy-winning producer Phil Ramone at the same Capitol Studios where the new album was mixed, the soulful Shelby Lynne is her most personal, autobiographical statement yet on the dual, push-pull nature of love: at once close enough to touch, but also a frustrating tease that can both seduce and abandon.
SHELBY LYNNE SHARES ‘DON’T EVEN BELIEVE IN LOVE’ AHEAD OF DEFINING ALBUM SHELBY LYNNE OUT APRIL 17TH
LANDMARK ALBUM RECORDED DURING FILMING OF UNRELEASED INDEPENDENT MOVIE WHEN WE KILL THE CREATORS
Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Shelby Lynne shared ‘Don’t Even Believe in Love’ ahead of her highly-anticipated album Shelby Lynne, out April 17 on Thirty Tigers. Listen to ‘Don’t Even Believe in Love’ HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aBm3qp7V00&feature=youtu.be
Shelby Lynne comes twenty years after her groundbreaking album I AM SHELBY LYNNE, for which she earned the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Pre-order Shelby Lynne HERE: https://orcd.co/shelbylynne
About the track, Lynne notes, “When love walks in, there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. You can’t fight it, defy it, or deny it. Love decides.” The song reflects Lynne’s raw honesty that is omnipresent throughout the album, with intimate feelings laid bare but ultimately offering hope that there’s a light in the darkness.
Last month, Lynne announced Shelby Lynne with the lead track ‘Here I Am’ which Rolling Stone called “a stark but hopeful piano ballad accentuated by Lynne’s achingly intense, vulnerable delivery.” The track was recorded with a single microphone and piano during the filming of the unreleased independent film When We Kill The Creators, Lynne’s collaboration with lyricist/director/screenwriter Cynthia Mort. The film stars Lynne as a deeply conflicted artist struggling at the intersection of art and commerce. Songs ‘Here I Am’, ‘Strange Things’ and ‘Weather’ were recorded during the filming, while ‘Revolving Broken Heart’ and ‘Love is Coming’ are featured in both the film and on the album. All of these tracks capture the raw intimacy of Lynne’s performances.
Born in Virginia and raised in Frankville, Alabama, Shelby Lynne recorded her debut album SUNRISE in 1989. She continued releasing celebrated albums and gaining a devoted fanbase. I AM SHELBY LYNNE was released in 2000 to wide critical acclaim and earned her Best New Artist at the 43rd Grammy Awards. Her last solo recording was I CAN’T IMAGINE in 2015, and in 2017 Lynne teamed up with sister Allison Moorer for NOT DARK YET.
RECORDED WITH A LONE MIC AND PIANO ON SET WHILE FILMING THE UNRELEASED INDEPENDENT FILM WHEN WE KILL THE CREATORS, LYNNE GIVES A BARE, GRIPPING AND ENCHANTING PERFORMANCE ON ALBUM CENTERPIECE ‘HERE I AM’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktHj44NScls
Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Shelby Lynne returns with Shelby Lynne, her first solo album since 2015, out April 17 on Thirty Tigers. Listen to the tour de force that is ‘Here I Am’, the debut single which finds Lynne as her most vulnerable self, stripped down and uncovered, as you can see and feel from the performance in the currently unreleased independent film When We Kill The Creators - https://vimeo.com/381039921
The sparse, deep album highlights the push and pull nature of love, with Lynne challenging and ultimately succumbing to it. Lynne claims, “As an artist, I don’t mind being naked. Everything is so fake, so manufactured these days, I want to get real. It’s the only way to communicate these days.”
Shelby Lynne features a range of human emotions. Throughout the album, Lynne is both tormented and exposed, but still giving in to the power of love. The soulful and aching ‘Don’t Even Believe in Love’ captures the helplessness felt when love walks in. Other highlights include the smoky torch song ‘Strange Things’ and the sweet, soulful sound of ‘I Got You’. Listeners can feel her dark anticipation on ‘Love is Coming’ and her unbridled passion on ‘My Mind’s Riot’. Lynne notes, “These are eleven songs I love and want to share with the world. They were recorded in very different circumstances at various times but I think they go together. It’s time to not hide behind the game but put your work out as it is.”
Twisted Wheel New LP
TWISTED WHEEL - SATISFYING THE RITUAL OUT 20 MARCH 2020 (SELF RELEASE VIA TWISTED WHEEL)
The third album from Twisted Wheel represents the evolution of a band that have well and truly taken the shackles off and headed into an uncompromising wave of style matched with eclectic substance. It’s a record that separates itself from the safe and obvious tirade of modern guitar pop, instead drawing upon a wide influence from 60’s Psychedelia, Punk, Trip Hop and New Wave.
Satisfying The Ritual follows the number one EP Jonny Guitar in cementing Wheel as one of the most vital groups of our times. Riding on the crest of a wave with three sold out UK tours, major festival appearances and support slots with Liam Gallagher, this album displays the band at their best and most inspired.
Singles penned by the evergreen frontman Jonny Brown: ‘Nomad Hat’ and ‘DNA’ have already proved strong live favourites amongst fans old and new; who have embraced the shift to a bigger and more expansive sound. Whilst other new tracks penned by bass player Harry Lavin including ‘Black and Blue’ have opened up new doors for the group creatively.
“All in all, this is by far some of the most entertaining, pure guitar rock that you will ever hear” (Northern Exposure)
Available on 12-inch vinyl and CD. The album includes the singles: Nomad Hat, D.N.A and Black And Blue.
Album By Track
Nomad Hat
Harry: “The lyrics Jon has written for this strike a call for freedom against the digital hysteria which now dominates every corner of our lives. There is nothing purer than the simplicities of breathing in the fresh air, taking in the landscape and feeling alive with the world at your feet. It has a northern grit and sharp poetic aura that trickles throughout this stylish, widescreen, new wave sound which the band have worked very hard to craft in the studio.”
I Am Immune
Jonny: “I Am Immune’ stands for immunity from the bad mouths, trolls and negative comments endured in the music industry. Packing a punch this song keeps you updated with what the band are and have always been, a high energy heavily punk inspired group. Taking a no shit from nobody approach works well in a world where jealousy is rife, and people can try to bring you down masked in their own homes using the internet as a way of abusing artists in public without them being able to do much about it.”
Black and Blue
Harry: “As young people go through the biggest mental health crisis of modern times, it seemed fitting to reflect this through the medium of popular song. “I don’t believe in anyone and I barely trust myself” is a powerful and universal lyric which mirrors a lot of insecurity in a society in which so many of the people who are perceived to do good in the world, eventually turn out corrupt and deceitful. The added touches of slide guitar and distant backing vocals really give that sense of melancholy that we wanted to put across with this track.”
DNA
“DNA shows a side of Wheel which has never been seen before, and brings about the most beautiful and poignant moment on the new album. The story of lead singer Jonny Brown’s mother passing away from alcoholism brings forth a whole universe of ups and downs. After several years of battling his own demons, conquering and getting his life back on track Brown wrote the track as a tribute to his late mother. The song captures everything he could have hoped for with an abundance of love, passion and emotion that builds towards a thrilling crescendo of true rock ’n’ roll firepower.”
Ghost Man
Harry: “This is what you get when you fuse the sound of ‘Johnny Kidd & The Pirates’ with ‘Pixies’ to tell the story of a mentally unhinged criminal mastermind. It’s often the tracks like this that was written and recorded in a very short space of time that produce the most compelling and fascinating results in the studio. If anything, this is a track that truly shows that the barriers of what was expected of Twisted Wheel have been well and truly knocked down.”
Wheels of Love
Jonny: “Meaning the band are firmly back on track and moving forward. With a misconceived perception of what people think a job in a working band trying to make it bigger consists of. The ‘Wheels Of Love’ lyric ‘Well you’re sleeping on floors, whilst living the dream’ states that although some people look up to certain bands in awe and strive to achieve what they have the reality is somewhat very different.”
Wrong Side of The Road
Harry: “To try and articulate the very basic life principle of “learn your lessons” through imagery such as the wicker man, poet and town crier is not conventional in any sense, but it does ring true in a backwards kind of way. ‘Wrong Side of The Road’ is a track that really came to life in the studio with sonically wide and open production, projecting that beautiful and anthemic sound that we seem to have captured brilliantly on this album.”
20-20 Vision
Jonny: “The year is 2020 and although we’re breaking down scientific boundaries and getting more knowledgeable on climate change and space travel by the second there’s still many feats to climb, but to achieve anything, we much persist to stay positive and look to a brighter future. With the blues still coursing through our veins as true rock ’n’ rollers ‘2020’ pimps up the blues as most great rock ’n’ roll does with elements of The Beatles, The La’s and Led Zeppelin this makes for a raucous energetic album track with a poem screamed out in a disorientated manner.”
Rebel
Jonny: “We didn’t want to let this song go without the attention it deserved. So, we did a slight rework of the version that featured on the ‘Jonny Guitar EP’. The song arouses suspicion of a dubious past, epitomized especially by the lyrics: ‘with devils’ brass’ and ‘she’s my only friend’. It’s a story of loneliness, isolation and a seedy existence.”
Satisfying the Ritual
Jonny: “The title track on the album shows yet again another side of the band’s varied box of tricks. With a whirlwind of lyrics covering all subjects from destiny, psychology, fear, to missing planes and doomed adventures, the lyrics capitulate the need we all have to discover, experiment, explore, take risks, succeed, fail and therefore satisfy our own rituals. With a hedonistic chorus to accompany the rap/hip hop inspired delivery of the verses the music holds a constant groove throughout the song with an assortment of effects this track leaves the door wide open for more interesting experimentation in the future.”
Show Me
Jonny: ‘Show me’ is a reminder to one’s self about the dark times endured by the band and myself but always optimistic that the light would someday be found and things would get better. It shows a true love for the beautiful things in life but not forgetting what it’s taken to actually be able to fully appreciate the goodness. Piano and nothing more than a classical guitar end the record with a kind of back to basics approach. Simplicity is key after all.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBhVcu5PxvI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODeLwJ90fyk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlpb9k2BIM0
All songs by Brown except 3 & 7 by Lavin. 5 Lyrics Brown - Music Brown/Lavin
Available on iTunes, Spotify & all other streaming services. Available on CD and 12 inch Vinyl from https://twistedwheel.tmstor.es
Recorded and produced by Dean Glover at Vibe Studios, Manchester. Mastered by Katie Tavini
Samantha Fish Live
Gorilla Manchester, 3 March 2020
“You should always get outside of the box,” Samantha Fish says while discussing her boundary-breaking album BELLE OF THE WEST. “Challenging yourself is how you grow.”
After launching her recording career in 2009, Samantha Fish quickly established herself as a rising star in the contemporary blues world. Since then, the charismatic young singer-guitarist-songwriter has earned a reputation as a rising guitar hero and powerful live performer, while releasing a series of acclaimed albums that have shown her restless creative spirit consistently taking her in new and exciting musical directions.
The New York Times called Fish “an impressive blues guitarist who sings with sweet power” and “one of the genre’s most promising young talents.” Her hometown paper The Kansas City Star noted, “Samantha Fish has kicked down the door of the patriarchal blues club” and observed that the young artist “displays more imagination and creativity than some blues veterans exhibit over the course of their careers.”
It is perhaps easy to think that with the paucity of female blues rockers, and especially top quality ones, that anyone with a hint of talent will be hailed from the rooftops - rightly or wrongly. Samantha Fish is admired by many including top musicians and critics. But the pudding-proof comes with live performance of excellent recorded material. Fish acknowledges that she is still developing and so tonight’s show is fascinating for me, having heard some of her newest songs.
In front of a sellout audience her band (drummer, two keyboard players, bass) arrive on stage and open the show without their boss. When Fish eventually arrives the roof of the venue is lifted with the warmest and loudest of welcomes. Fish looks the business both in wardrobe terms and physiology - she screams life experiences (good and bad). Her opening guitar choice looks like a large cigar box with a fret attached. Immediately I’m struck with her guitar-playing and the latent passion in her delivery with instrument and voice. I am also impressed by her band who deliver the ideal backdrop.
While the sound quality at this venue is always a challenge, the performance wins through big-time. The setlist is made up by almost the whole of her newest album which in itself is interesting to me. It’s always tempting for artists to tread carefully around new songs and rely more heavily on historic fan favourites. Tonight Fish confirmed that her latest is probably her best and most accessible through its melodic strength, with no shortage of hooks and lyrics which connect with lovers and losers. I’ve witnessed performances by some of the best female blues rockers in recent years and tonight Fish proved to be at the top of her profession and chosen genre.
Fish convinces with her ability to move from out-and-out rockers to slower soulful ballads - the diversity in pace and mood of her setlist is more than welcome. This is a masterclass by an artist that is improving like the finest wine. Superb and inspiring.
Setlist
Hole In The Bottom
Love Your Lies (intro)*
Bulletproof*
Kill Or Be Kind*
Watch It Die*
Love Letters*
She Don’t Live Around Here Anymore*
You Got It Bad*
Try Not To Fall In Love With You*
Say Goodbye
Little Baby
Dream Girl*
No Angels
Fair-Weather*
Bitch On The Run
Encore:
I’m Interested
Shake ‘Em On Down
* From Latest LP, KILL OR BE KIND
Biography
Samantha Fish grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. Fish started out playing drums, but when she was 15 she switched to the guitar. Fish frequently went to the Knuckleheads Saloon to hear touring Blues artists. After turning 18, she often joined in with the singers and bands who were performing at Knuckleheads.
In 2009, Fish recorded and produced Live Bait. The live album attracted the attention of a talent company, who recommended her to Ruf Records. Ruf Records put together a record with Fish and two other female blues artists, Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde, titled GIRLS WITH GUITARS. The three guitarists then toured on the Ruf Records 2011 Blues Caravan in the U.S. and Europe.
Fish continued touring with the Samantha Fish Band, featuring “Go-Go Ray” Pollard on drums and Chris Alexander on bass, playing in Europe and the United States. In 2011, Fish recorded RUNAWAY with the help of her mentor Mike Zito. The album won the 2012 Blues Music Award for Best New Artist. Fish appeared on Devon Allman’s 2013 album TURQUOISE in a duet covering the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks’ song ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’. During the summer of 2013, Fish was called up on stage to play with a sceptical Buddy Guy who was so impressed with her playing on the guitar, he declared with a beaming smile to his audience, “When this kind of shit happens, I’ll play all night!”
In 2013, Fish released her second major studio album, BLACK WIND HOWLIN’, featuring Mike Zito on guitar, Yonrico Scott on drums, Johnny Sansone on harmonica, and Paul Thorn, vocal duet on one track. The album was recorded in Dockside Studios, in Maurice, Louisiana. Mike Zito’s bandmates from his group Royal Southern Brotherhood, Yonrico Scott and Charlie Wooton, were brought in to assist in the session recordings. Also in 2013, Fish appeared on The Healers Live at Knuckleheads Saloon, producing a CD/DVD collaboration with Jimmy Hall, Reese Wynans, Kate Moss, and Danielle and Kris Schnebelen (sister and brother, formerly of the band Trampled Under Foot). Proceeds benefit the Blue Star Connection. The Healers occasionally perform together as their schedule permits.
Fish’s third studio album, WILD HEART was released on July 10, 2015. The new album is more roots rock than her earlier blues rock. Fish wrote five songs on the record. She co-wrote five other songs with Jim McCormick in Nashville, Tennessee. Luther Dickinson produced the album, as well as played various stringed instruments (guitar, bass, mandolin, lap steel) to flesh out the sound. The album was recorded in four studios, Royal Studios and Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, Zebra Ranch in Coldwater, Mississippi, and Blade Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana. Other musicians on the record are Brady Blade (drums), Lightnin’ Malcolm (guitar), Shardé Thomas (drums), Dominic Davis (bass), Shontelle Norman-Beatty (background vocals), and Risse Norman (background vocals). Fish released her fourth solo album, CHILLS & FEVER on March 17, 2017. The album was recorded in Detroit and was recorded with members of the band The Detroit Cobras. Bobby Harlow produced the album. Belle of the West followed in December 2017.
Fish released her sixth solo album, KILL OR BE KIND, on September 20, 2019, on her new label, Rounder Records. It was chosen as a ‘Favorite Blues Album’ by AllMusic.
“That was my mission on this album: To really set these songs up so that they have a life of their own,” says Samantha Fish about Kill or Be Kind, her sixth solo album and her debut on Rounder Records. “Strong messages from the heart – that’s what I really set out for.”
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