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Jazz

Anni & John Lister taught a lesson in cinematic seduction in their jazz score, Man of Mystery

The art of seduction is stitched across the intricate tapestry of the latest cinematic jazz score from multi-instrumentalist and producer John Lister of Fingerman Studios and singer-songwriter, Anni. With Anni’s demurely siren-esque vocal lines narrating a tale of a Man of Mystery over the retro big band spy movie sound and the soft jazz stylings bringing decadence by the smorgasbord, the espionage-centric vignette will leave you hot under the collar and beyond.

If the producers for the next Bond film don’t enlist the superlative talents pertaining to Anni and Lister, who co-wrote the song together, they will have missed a lascivious trick. Heaven knows the franchise needs to redeem itself after Billie Eilish sang the last Bond theme.

The official music video for Man of Mystery premiered on September 8th; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Charlotte Lansman grooved through the last rays of summer while celebrating new love in her jazz-soul single, Stupid Love

Charlotte Lansman delivered the definitive London jazz sound while lyrically moving away from soul cliches in her latest single, Stupid Love. The London-based, Bristol-born singer never fails to hit the sultry with a little bit of grit mark in her singles that bring elements day to day-to-day reality into luxe installations of sonic beguile; Stupid Love is far from the exception.

By evading hallmarked cliches, she was free to focus on the way we wear rose-tinted glasses to cope with the false truths and how wearing your boyfriend’s shirt to the station in the morning cloaks you in impassioned ardour and enables you to fall in love with the world of around you. It’s almost a paradox how her song crafting is completely antithetical to your average love song but reaches the pinnacle of romanticism regardless.

With Joe Rodwell in charge of the production, which sees new romance explored through laid-back grooves, retro synths, rhythmically arrestive Latin jazz beats and guitar riffs that will make the last rays of summer feel even sweeter, Stupid Love became an uplifting triumph.

Stupid Love was officially released on August 24; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Peter Xifaras paid an impassioned ode to an icon with ‘While My Guitar Weeps for Mehdi Rajabian’

While My Guitar Weeps for Mehdi Rajabian, performed by Peter Xifaras and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, pays homage to the bravery and tenacity of an Iranian artist imprisoned for working with female dancers and musicians, something which has been banned since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

After a three-minute trial, he was convicted and tortured during his sentence, but that wasn’t enough to break his indomitable spirit that inspired this jazzy composition, which orchestrally berates the indignity and senseless oppression; it carries the quintessence of the Iranian protesters throwing away their headscarves in a bid to retaliate against regimented oppression.

While Les Pauls don’t often take the lead in orchestral arrangements, on this wild and jazzy contemporary ride, the sonorous sustain lends itself effortlessly to the instrumental piece as Peter Xifaras demonstrates his prowess as a guitarist, composer, and producer.

Stream the official music video for While My Guitar Weeps for Mehdi Rajabian via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jazz meets chiptune in Samuel Weaver’s latest score, Saviour Complex

With touches of House of Fun by the Madness grooving through the polyphonic funk of the jazz & chiptune amalgam, the UK-based artist Samuel Weaver concocted a superfluously ingenuity-driven score for the standout single in his debut album, Telechora!

Hitting play on Saviour Complex may be moderately akin to an acid trip due to the artist’s tendency to delve into sonic novelty despite his discernible composition and instrumental talents, but the euphoria-instilled vibrancy of the soundscape will lift you higher than any tab of acid ever could.

Given that intellectualism oozes from every progression, especially when the dissonance of sufferers with saviour complexes starts to manifest in the funk, at 17 years old, the composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist has the music industry at his prodigal feet.

Saviour Complex charged in on its white knight syndrome on August 19th; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

WTSN took his latest exotic hip-hop track ‘Uptown’

WTSN went beyond delivering the definitive London rap sound with his latest single, Uptown, which smashes through the mono-cultural mould as strikingly as the hits in the Melt Yourself Down discography.

With grimey rap bars pulsating momentum through the jazz-infused exotic instrumentals that allow Uptown to unravel as a stylistic feat of world music, WTSN’s authenticity could never be in question.

The North African funk layers against the lyricality that invites you to walk through the streets of London is a mesmerising juxtaposition that stands as a testament to how much of a visionary WTSN has come to be since he first entered the industry. If you want to hear more revolutionary rap hits, just watch this space.

Uptown will officially drop on August 16; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lara Eidi crafted a jazz-folk remedy for modern malady in her latest single, Breathe Love

Semblances of hope, empowerment, and freedom may be scant in our malady-rich modern era, but the jazz-folk soulstress Lara Eidi more than made up for the shortfall in her latest single, Breathe Love.

By complementing her profoundly powerful with ethereal soul vocals, which become a guiding light towards self-actualisation and acceptance, with orchestrally-layered vibrant jazz-folk motifs, the record comes to life under the duress of her accessibly inviting stylings. At the centre of this sonic universe lies the message that when you embrace your entire being, idiosyncrasies and all, you can freely breathe love into the universe and receive it back tenfold.

Breathe Love is the first single to be released from Lara Eidi’s debut LP, Sun, which will be released via Pastiche Records on the 4th of September. If you found yourself emboldened by the artfully sun-bleached gravitas in Breathe Love, stay tuned for it.

Stream the official music video for Breathe Love by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Embark on an ochre aural adventure with Ross Cantrell’s single, Peach Skies, ft Sam Thompson

After graduating from Bath Spa University with a First-Class Honours Degree in Music and releasing a superlative string of successful singles, the saxophonist and composer, Ross Cantrell has invited his fans to embark on an ochre aural adventure by unveiling his debut album, Golden Hour.

While each of the seven singles serves up a melodic remedy that will indulge your senses in catharsis, the standout jazz-fusion single, Peach Skies, featuring Sam Thompson is the perfect introduction to Cantrell’s arresting ability to bring presence of mind to his listeners.

From an intro of reverberant drenched in 80s nostalgia synths, the downtempo amalgam of smooth jazz and electronic pop gets to work embedding under your skin, implanting ease with each mellifluous progression that exhibits Ross Cantrell’s natural talents when it comes to subduing you into a sonic world of sheer sonic serenity.

The halcyon days may be over in our society, but endless swathes of tranquillity await anyone willing to hit play.

Stream Peach Skies and the LP in full by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The 1930s Hot Club Jazz Scene is in Full Swing Once More in Bowmanville’s Seminal Single, Annie & Me

Almost 100 years stand between today and the Parisian 1930s Hot Club Jazz scene; listening to the raconteurs of sonic nostalgia, Bowmanville, you would be forgiven for thinking that it was only yesterday when beatniks with affinities for wild time signatures, swinging grooves and foot-tapping beats crowded clubs and started a movement that will never be lost to history.

Especially on the basis of the Chicago-hailing outfit’s swinging, smoky rhythmic drive and cinematically vibrant fusion of Jazz and Blues in Annie & Me, taken from their eponymous debut LP, produced by none other than the Grammy-nominated producer Doug Nelson.

Violinist Ethan Adelsman, harmonicist and vocalist Graham Nelson, percussionist Noah Plotkin, bassist Oliver Horton and guitarist Mason Jiller on guitar know just how to synergistically spill baroque alchemy as they blaze through the progressions in the instrumental score, which gives each pays ode to Chicago blues and the unmistakable timbres of Parisian Jazz.

Annie & Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Interview: Amadour melts our hearts on Western Movie Dream

After impressing our team with a glowing review to calm all anxious hearts, the incomparable storyteller Amadour is rather tremendously open and shall warm all cold souls whilst detailing life in Reno, family support, and the vision behind the dreamy new 5-track EP, Western Movie Dream.

Llewelyn: Hello Amadour, We truly appreciate you chatting with us all about your new release. Firstly, do you recall the first time you knew music was what you wanted to do as a living?

Amadour: My goal is to be a great storyteller, travel with my work, and share music with others abroad. As I build my audience, I am considering innovative ways of making a sophisticated show that keeps it simple and stripped down with just the piano and vocals for an intimate venue like a theater. I come from a visual arts background, so I often think about the colors, temperature, and emotions of music while writing.

Llewelyn: Please tell us all about your fantastic new EP, Western Movie Dream. What is the vision behind the project and how was the creative process?

Amadour: The idea behind Western Movie Dream is to share a bit of biographical history from my life growing up in Reno, Nevada, and Sausalito, California, and the angst of young love. I wrote these songs for someone I fell head over heels for, and our story is embedded throughout the lyrics. In “Before Grapes Ripen,” I love the verse “and the shadow of clouds on cursive pages.” It’s so daydreamy, and I wrote it while sitting on the steps of Russian Hill in San Francisco, looking at the Golden Gate Bridge. “Two Hands Holding Me” is a song that describes the unbelievable joy of having someone that’s into you as much as you are into them. I would wander around, imagining falling in love as a teenager, and then one day, it hit me that that was my experience as an adult; that’s where the line, “in my adolescent heart across the bay, the dreamer is fully awake,” comes in. I think “Western Movie Dream” is my Nevada song because my love interest at the time and I met at an art museum, and the line “as we gaze across the Blue” is about Lake Tahoe.

Llewelyn: Who has supported you most during your music career and what do you enjoy most about being on stage?

Amadour: I owe everything to my mother and my family. My vocal coach, Max Lawrence, trains me for future performances and singing live. He’s a musical vocal genius along with his dad, Don Lawrence. I love fashion and use it to make an impactful stage presence. My taste draws from my mentor Gladys Tamez, who designs all the hats I wear; I love hats! I also take a lot of outfit inspiration from Saint Laurent, Schiaparelli, and Tom Ford – I am a black-on-black and gold type of person.

Llewelyn: Bay Area. What was it like growing up here and do you have any memorable memories you’d like to share with us?

Amadour: One of my favorite places is the Marin Headlands and Mount Tamalpais. There are redwood forests, including the famous Muir Woods, and my best memories are of the walking paths where I like to hike. I also love to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge with my mom. Every morning when I lived in Sausalito, I would run back and forth as a workout.

Llewelyn: Reno, Nevada. How is the music scene here and which venues would you recommend to us?

Amadour: Oh, Reno! I love the Holland Project, which is intimate and shows newer acts, and also, the casinos have theaters that host more established acts. Tahoe also had a fantastic festival called SnowGlobe that MTV ran. The impact of Burning Man, a few hours north of Reno in the Blach Rock Desert, brings many musicians and concerts into town. I performed at every open mic in town as a teenager, and I would drive around with my keyboard to jazz clubs and old western saloons in Carson City.

Llewelyn: Please tell us more about the producers you worked with on your new project and how did you link up?

Amadour: A big thank you to Nick Rosen for sound engineering this body of work and being so talented. We used the Electro-Voice RE20 microphone Chet Baker used to record my vocals and an upright in Nick’s studio in Los Feliz. I am also working on new projects with Daniel Cullen at Just For The Record in Los Angeles and Jordan Koop and Terry Ondang at The Noise Floor on Vancouver Island in Canada this summer.

Llewelyn: Lastly, what is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Amadour: My uncle, Domingo Tibaduiza, is a four-time Olympic marathon runner from Colombia, who I look up to. He advised me to follow the “four D’s” of success, desire, dedication, determination, and discipline; this is my mission statement.

Hear this wonderful EP on Spotify.

See more news on the IG.

Interview by Llewelyn Screen

The jazz virtuoso John Sheckler, is back in the New Orleans swing in 50 Ring Gauge

Highway 27 by Jon Sheckler

Taken from his forthcoming LP, HIGHWAY 27, the award-winning composer and percussionist Jon Sheckler’s latest single, 50 Ring Gauge, enriched the New Orleans jazz scene with swinging contemporary flair and nuanced tenacity.

The steady rattle and roll of his drum fills punctuate the rockabilly guitar tones, which meander through the release with an almost Stray Cat Strut while the basslines take a backseat in the rhythmical masterclass of innovation.

HIGHWAY 27 has been five years in the making; in September 2023, the LP will finally follow his critically acclaimed 2018 album, Cityscapes. Between composing the album, Sheckler received a Downbeat Student Music Award for his composition, Medicine Leaves, in 2021, he was also chosen as one of three ASCAP Louis Armstrong Scholars in the States. It is safe to say accolades don’t get more revered than that.

50 Ring Gauge is now available to stream and download on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast