Almost every artist during the course of their career will want to develop their sound, often doing so gradually as they discover new ideas and find out what styles they do well. There are those artists though who, rather than making the gradual change, decide to take a big leap and totally change their sound in one step. It can often be a decision which polarises fans, and for some artists this is a headache that can lead to a regression, or as as it's often put 'going back to their roots'. Bob Dylan might have been the first to cause an existential crisis amongst his fans when when he plugged in his fender strat. In the context of the mid-60s it was a much grander change that it appears in hindsight, and there are more modern examples of bigger stylistic changes that have created uproar from fans. Up until recently, Christopher Dallman had been a minimalist indie-folk singer songwriter, producing the kind of simple but intricate guitar-and-vocals music which can be quite...
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Raymond Revel is an American singer-songwriter who sits mainly within the indie-pop-folk triad that has had shifting periods of popularity since it's emergence as a second wave in the mid-late 2000s. It's also a style I was a big fan of for a couple of years, and my soft spot for it has never truly gone away. Mumford & Sons were the band who really kicked off the resurgence of this sound a little over a decade ago, being the most radio-friendly and commercially successful of all the artists to emerge during this period. They have also kept the sound somewhat in the public consciousness ever since. Many of the others that emerged have had vast critical acclaim, but eschewed the overt commercial success of Mumford & Sons. In the USA there was Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes, both often too experimental and too dedicated to their creativity. In the UK we had Laura Marling and Lucy Rose who both continue to make startlingly beautiful music, but their emotional rawness was often ...
Hip-hop has always been by it's very nature a hot bed of creativity and inventiveness, but in recent years it seems to have accelerated massively. There is established artists like Tyler, The Creator and the unique retro sound he has developed, culminating in last years remarkable Igor; there is newer players in the Trap scene like Lil' Uzi Vert and his recent galactic themed conceptual double album, which by description sounds like a prog rock record from the late 70s; and there is also the punk/metal influence in the underground of Trap, with artists like Scarlxrd and Ghostmane making waves with a sound that is reinventing horror-core for a new era. This is to name but a few of the many creative waves in hip-hop. Increasingly as Trap in the US and Grime in the UK enter the mainstream (in the case of Grime for the second time) they become invariably watered down, and so it is in the underground where things continue to flourish creatively. It is also an underground full or art...
12Signs21Sounds are an interesting duo, whose music is unconventional and genre-bending, yet with a familiar melodic path and an intimate atmosphere that beautifully awakens their themes of love and devotion. The music was written and recorded in New York and Prague, two magnificent cities with very different qualities. The duo also run 12:21 Sounds Production, making beats and supporting other artists, so there is clearly both a selflessness and a quiet confidence to them, and it shows in their music. The two members Sachi & Sarka, whose poetic stories of romance are based on their own relationship, take on different roles of singer and rapper against a backdrop of minimalist hip-hop and r'n'b, the kind that you can imagine being created in the depths of night in a small flat overlooking the city lights. Their three track Soundcloud release 'Us' is an alluring set of songs with a persistent aura; and yet each track manages to produce it's own character too. ...
As far as heavy metal goes, my preference is generally for the more extreme and heavy stuff. I've always had a soft spot for some good classic metal though, and the key thing for artists who continue with this style is that they need to write good songs. In the extreme end of metal you can often get away with just having a great sound and writing a good riff here and there; when there is less chaos in the music though, you have to find that balance of catchy hooks and engaging song structures, otherwise you'll lose those the listener. Bands like Steel Panther might sound no different to Van Halen or Ratt (and their humour might be questionable sometimes), but they write some absolutely amazing tunes. The reason Iron Maiden have kept going for so long, and still sell-out stadiums whilst playing sets full of tracks from their latest albums, is that they are brilliant song-writers who still know how to write a hook you can head-bang to. So Dan Wande is definitely onto something wi...
Swedish musician Dan Wande has a career spanning over 40 years, writing music and playing in multiple rock and metal bands in his home country. Now, aged 57, he is venturing out as a solo artist and creating the best music of his career. His two solo releases so far, Wings and Way Back have had a brilliant response, racking up hundreds of thousands of Spotify streams. I spoke with Dan about his musical journey, his visions for the future, and what inspires him to keep his heavy metal flame alight. Click here to read my review of Dan Wande's latest EP Way Back Hi Dan, thanks so much for letting me interview you. I was really intrigued by you and your lengthy career. What can you tell me about your musical journey so far? Well I started playing guitar at the age of 13 in my room at my parents house, struggled with that for five years and then moved to a city called Haparanda, on the Sweden/Finland border, for college. One of my classmates happened to know some musicians in the town a...
In the lo-fi, acoustic singer-songwriter genre there seems to be a sweet spot where the melody, instrumentation, voice and lyrics all assemble into a perfectly harmonious point, and what appears from this somehow transcends the minimalism of the components. Elliott Smith was the master of this, hitting that sweet spot time and time again throughout his records. He is also the most immediate comparison to Karl McCann, who produces music in a similarly raw, emotional and haunting acoustic style. Whilst I don't think Karl always manages to completely hit that sweet spot across his new album 'Pretty Misery', there are many times when he does, and this record shows some amazing potential from the the Liverpool based artist. One of the things that always stood out to me sonically on Elliott Smith's music was the evocation of a city (in his case Portland) and the strange feelings of isolation and solitude that can occur despite being surrounded by crowds of people and tall, m...
In the video for this track, interspersed with colourful shots of the band performing, there is a character jiving and strutting around. He is in a suit, pointing fingers, tweeting and making private phone calls to the Ukrainian president (one can assume), all while wearing a clown/trump hybrid mask. Rarely has there been a more appropriate metaphor. The Trump administration has gone so far beyond ridiculous that is has pushed political failing in to new realms of horrific corruption, and it would be funny were it not for all the people suffering and dying because of it. That statistic that was revealed recently of how many lies he has told in office was staggering and yet somehow, after nearly four years of it, still quite believable. It was 20,000 by the way. Twenty. Thousand. That is more than 15 lies per day. How can you even comprehend having that much disregard for the American people? In 'Leaving While You Stay' Greg Hoy & The Boys have attempted to write their own...
As someone born and raised in the UK but having an acute interest in politics around the world, I am always pained to see the difficulties in the USA. Any time we have a political failing in this country, whether it be on social violence, election reform or racial injustice, I always look to the USA and realise that the problems there are just as disturbing as they are here, if not more so. I am thankful that we don't have the quite the same amount of damaging systems and establishments that the USA does. I see this reflected in the music of our nations; we continue to see socio-political protest songs fairly prevalent in American music today, whereas in the UK I feel you really have to seek them out. I am writing this a day after Kamala Harris has been announced as the democrat VP nomination, an historic moment in a time when racial injustice has rarely been higher on the agenda. 'An American Lie' is the newest single from USA singer-songwriter Rory D'Lasnow, and it ...
When reading into the background of singer-songwriter Tommy Botz, I was reminded of an old adage that it takes great emotional pain to make truly great music, and for artists this often manifests as some form of addiction. I don't think that is always the case, but I can think of a number of artists whose issues have lead to significant substance abuse, and yet through this or after this have produced some remarkably touching music. There is John Frusciante's heroin addiction fuelled solo albums in the 90s, chaotic and abrasive records that are also gripping and heart breaking at the same time. There is the dark and haunting lyrics found on Manic Street Preacher's 'Holy Bible', the majority of which were written by guitarist Richie Edwards whose genius mind was driven to alcohol abuse, eating disorders and self-harm. There is the sublime discography of Elliott Smith which mostly consists of tales of depression, alcoholism and mental health problems. In country music...
From my earliest days of listening to music in my childhood, I remember the blues. My Dad is a huge fan of blues, roots and americana, so for as long as I can remember blues was something I listened to. When I started playing guitar at about 11 years old he started introducing me to the likes of Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ry Cooder. In my late teens I started collections of some of the old masters: Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lead Belly to name a few. Even today a fair amount of the Heavy music I enjoy has a big influence from blues rock. So I was excited to throw myself into some modern blues with this new record from Mark Newman. I wasn't familiar with Mark's prior work, but it's hard not to be impressed by the list of artists he has worked with: Sam Moore of Sam & Dave fame, Bobby Whitlock of Derek & The Dominos, and even John Oates, whom he covers on this album. It's a strong CV, and working with a number of great songwriters like thi...
My discovery of Wimme Saari, Tappani Rinne and Sami joik music: a beautiful clash of modernism and traditionalism
In the introduction to this blog I mentioned that the name came from a Finnish short film called 'Birds In The Earth'. I saw this film at the Kiasma museum of modern art on a trip to Helsinki. Having read an article some time before about the two stars of the film – Katja and Birit Haarla, two ballet dancing sisters from the Sami community – I was intrigued to view the film. Amongst the mostly dark and quite surrealist works in Kiasma, the film stood out for me as a genuinely moving piece; not just because of the beautiful images on screen which saw the dancers move across the landscapes of Sápmi in ballet costumes and traditional Sami outfits, but the remarkable music which completely transported me to their world. It was a world not far away, but one that felt like a distant land from the capital city. The music and the images felt alien and yet strangely comfortable. After returning from Helsinki, I decided to look up the the soundtrack to 'Birds In The Earth'. It t...
Hello, and welcome to my music blog Words In The Earth. My name is Will, I am a budding writer embarking on a career in creative writing and journalism. This blog will be a space where I write about a whole range of different music. I run a separate blog called Wolves In The Drone Doom, which focuses on Heavy music. Words In The Earth is where I will write about everything else I listen to and enjoy. This can range from punk, blues, rock n roll, ambient, folk, electronic, hip-hop any many others. A little about me... I am from the UK and live, work and study in London. Music has been my biggest passion for as long I can remember. I have been creating music on my own and in bands for almost twenty years; but I am a fan as much as I am a creator, so writing about music is something I enjoy immensely. This blog was named as a variation of a short film entitled 'Birds In The Earth' by Marja Helander, an artistic depiction of the Sami people's fight for land rights in Finland. I...