Listened to P3 on swedish radio the other day, and Jasmine Kara was in the studio.
If you have a tendency to stomp your feet to old school blues and R&B-tunes, you will enjoy Kara’s music to the maximum. Her new album ”Blues Aint Nothing But A Good Woman Gone Bad” was released in juli this year by Cosmos Records.
Listen and download (Cosmos is handing out 1000 downloads, thanks)
Let´s face it. We are all dead horses. 4th of January Deadhorse released their new album. The post-rock-gang from Erie, Pennsylvania got something great going here. Love the tunes, love the ambient freakish sound, love the attitude.
The band is Brian Morgante, Seth Young, Rachel Shesman, Michael Messenger, Garrett Janos, and other talented people. Deadhorse often change their starting XI. It´s a rotating circus of deephearted and beautiful stuff.
Next gig, Feb 19, St. Marys, PA
Photo: Henrik Burman
One of the best albums of 2010 was a debut album, an album that is pure magic. Made The Harbour by Mountain Man is a beautiful piece of musical art.
The feeling of beeing right there, just when the music is played for the first time is very present. You can hear the silence in the room, just before the powerful voices of Molly Erin Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, Amelia Randall Meath fills it up with an amazing ambiance. The mighty sound of steelstringed guitars, banjos and the ambiance itself.
The voices of Mountain Man is something you need to experince for yourself. You will fall in love, just as Kentuckyseven did.
We caught up with Amelia just as she was moving, but she took the time to tell us what she listens to:
What are you listening to?
– Right now I can’t stop listening to Dire Straits (s/t). Mark Knopfler has this incredible ability to distill an entire experience into a lyric, but he does not get complicated with what he is trying to convey. He trusts himself. His songs are also honest to the point of cheesiness. My favorite song off the album is Wild West End.
Major Lazer has been listened to a lot recently.
Michael Hurley- first songs is always on heavy rotation
And Wonderwall Music by George Harrison ( the soundtrack to the film that Oasis wrote the song about) is one of my favorite albums.
M. Ward – I’ll be yr bird can make me have an emotional reaction no matter where I am.
Best book read during 2010?
– Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, which is an old one, but it sure is amazing.
Who deserves a breakthrough in 2011?
– Tooth ache, Paleo, Made of Oak, and Dana & Faith
Meet Mountain Man:
Was watching Letterman, couple of days after christmas and had the luck of catching the amazing performance of Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. If you wanna get your rocks on, you better be prepared. This is serious stuff.
The band from Vermont has opened for The Black Crowes, The Avett Brothers and now their third studio recording ”Grace Potter & The Nocturnals” is out.
This is what stoned me this christmas:
Meet Grace and The Nocturnals on:
Goin down that road again. This is blues 2010. Joanne Shaw Taylor has got it all. The voice and (lordy lord) the fingers on that Telecaster. I´m back to the first Jonny Lang record – and diggin away.
When Joanne was a little schoolgirl, she was caught by the rough side of the blues: SRV, Albert Collins, the Paladins, Jimi Hendrix. At Christmas she got her first electric guitar. Good call.
Her new album Diamonds in the Dirt, released on Ruf Records, was recorded in the States. It´s more riff and roll, a bit tougher than her debut White Sugar. She´s playing in Wolverhampton tomorrow, get it while it´s hot.
Check out Joanne Shaw Taylor on spotify, myspace or da homepage.
Kentuckyseven says Merry Frigging X-mas to all you lovely people around.
Let´s celebrate Christmas all summer long.
Photo: Christopher Nelson
We really got into Rocky Votolato during 2007. His album The Brag and Cuss hit Kentuckyseven´s toplist of the year.
Rocky is still very much with us, often late at night when the going gets tough and we need a little te-te-tenderness. There he shows up with his voice and his harmonica. A dear friend.
Votolato´s latest album True Devotion could be his finest work up to date. He was born in rural Texas, lives in rainy Seattle (cheers from rainy Gothenburg), and makes music sweet and rare.
This is a guy to follow to the bitter end, and his concept of Living Room Shows (he gets into your house!) is pure genius. We got hold of Rocky on the road, asked him a couple of questions.
What are you listening to?
”Cat Stevens – Tea for the Tillerman, Kris Kristofferson – Greatest Hits, Sigur Ros – (). Most rotation right now gotta be Me Without You – Brother Sister.”
Best book read during 2010 ?
Who deserves breakthru in 2011?
”A really great band from Springfield, MO called Ha Ha Tonka (Bloodshot Records).”
¤¤¤ Check out Rocky Votolato on twitter, myspace or youtube. He´s on Barsuk Records, just finished a European tour and we hope to see him in Sweden asap.
Kentuckyreaders, meet Bobby Bare Jr. This autumn he released his album A storm, A tree, My mothers head on Thirty Tigers/Albino Recordings.
The southern rocker – born raised and living in Nashville, TN – grew up with George Jones as his next door neighbour. Lucky bastard.
This is sweet altcountry with twisted lyrics. The record was made after a tragic accident (albumtitle) but came out a great piece of music.
Who said that reading a novel should be easy? That you should hit your comfort zone, cozy around the mansion in warm slippers enjoying the ride? Not me, and certainly not Asli Erdogan.
The turkish author, born 1967 and living in Istanbul, has made a great novel – The City in Crimson Cloak. It takes place in underclass Rio de Janeiro, were the young women Özgür walks the streets of the big and voilent sambacity. It´s surreal with the city as a head character and a novel within the novel.
It´s a dark tale, if you´re into the heavy stuff of Kafka and Dostojevskij you´re in for a treat. Her language is beautiful, it´s written with dispair. It´s misery and trouble .
Kirmizi Pelerinli was written twelve years ago and is now translated to swedish by Ulla Lundström. Staden i den röda kappan (The City in Crimson Cloak) is published by Rámus in Sweden and by Soft Skull Press in the States. Give it a read.
