DJ Drist released two of his latest and much-anticipated tracks titled “City Lights” and “Not Enough,” both via the Spanish label United Music Hits. Dropping “City Lights” by the end of September, Drist made a great surprise for his fans by releasing his brand new project “Not Enough” at the beginning of October. “Not Enough” is another one of Drist’s bops with various genres blended into his own signature sound running through. The tune has got hooks in all the right places with infectious lyrics laced up with a feminine touch by the vocalist and needless to say this delivery...
If Richard Dawson’s 2020 attempted to capture Britain today, the new album by the experimental unit Hen Ogledd, of which he is a quarter, has a far broader temporal scope. We hear of a “pre-Cambrian dream”, of a medieval illuminated manuscript held on an Ethiopian island monastery, and of a galactic pleasure cruise far into the future. The quartet even start us at the end with “Farewell”, which seems to hint at humanity’s reluctant retreat from an apocalyptic Earth, but could just as easily refer to their sorrow over Brexit. Hen Ogledd’s history is almost as strange as their...
Wildflowers was not the first Tom Petty album to have had its initial ambitions thwarted somewhat between conception and release. A decade or so earlier, Petty had set about Southern Accents, intended as a double-album state of the nation address surveying the Deep South, commemorating its music and contemplating its contradictions. The finished product was certainly far from bad, but it was nevertheless also a stretch from where Petty had once envisioned it taking him, and his listeners. Wildflowers, similarly, was originally sketched as a 25-song double album, before being trimmed, at the suggestion of a nervous record label,...
The new issue of Uncut – in UK shops now and available to order online by clicking here – includes an in-depth investigation into the making of The Doors’ 1970 classic Morrison Hotel. Burdened by troubles, legal and otherwise, the group were on the brink of implosion – but instead, band members and eyewitnesses tell Peter Watts how The Doors enjoyed an astonishing burst of unrivalled creativity… When The Doors arrived at Elektra Sound Studios in Los Angeles in September 1969, it was a homecoming of sorts. The studio was built in a Mission revival style, with cheerful yellow...
German pop rock act Poppymoon are finally releasing their debut single, “Wanna Play That Game?” a deadly serious yet playful single set to propel them into a league of their own. The masters of sound have crafted something so uniquely relatable, and yet so sophisticated judging by the multitude of layers they have built-up on the sonic design of the song, that we are certain the duo will climb the charts in no time. Sabina’s vocals are perfectly mastered, bringing a dark vibe that still remains catchy and infectious from start to finish. Sabina met a stranger in a...
Summer Watson, the British classical crossover superstar, just released a powerfully beautiful project, “Break the Silence,” filled with unmatchable power-driven soprano performances, ethereal sounds, and symphonic melodies. The visuals of the project are mesmerizing with an intriguing touch of otherworldly beauty. The song is the manifestation of life concurring with death, as Summer herself is a warrior who won her battle against stage 4 breast cancer. The artist revalued her body and life and faced the world stronger than ever. That strength pours out of “Break the Silence” and empowers others to fight for their right to live. Summer...
CLICK HERE TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the responsibilities facing musicians at the moment, in particular how they might address what’s going on in the world right now. Should they offer an escape from reality or should musicians instead hold to account those who seek, in one way or another, to undermine our democracy and broader cultural values? This month’s Uncut offers a couple of different perspectives on this knotty problem. There’s Drive-By Truckers, who return with their second album of the year, The New OK, which...
CLICK HERE TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, Fleet Foxes, Songhoy Blues, Paul Weller, The Doors, Drive-By Truckers, Kim Gordon, Metallica, Grandaddy, Todd Rundgren and Gwenifer Raymond all feature in the new Uncut, dated December 2020 and in UK shops from October 15 or available to buy online now. As always, the issue comes with a free CD, this time comprising 15 tracks of the month’s best new music. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: As Bruce and the E Street Band return with Letter To You, we speak to every E Street member about life inside “a benevolent...
Taken from Uncut’s September 2019 issue It’s been five years since Ride reformed, and according to guitarist and vocalist Mark Gardener, the creative energies sparked by this momentous event are as strong as ever. “When you still have the creative magic, you can just come back and create good music, and I think that’s what’s happened,” he explains. “We could just enjoy the Ride thing again, which is a hell of a thing to be inside.” The quartet have met up to discuss the brand-new This Is Not A Safe Place LP – their very fine follow-up to 2017’s...
When Ali Farka Touré died in 2006, Afel Bocoum seemed perfectly placed to take over the great man’s mantle. Touré’s compelling desert blues had earned him a roster of western admirers ranging from Ry Cooder to Jimmy Page to John Lee Hooker, and a trio of Grammy awards – and Bocoum was his most talented protégé. Hailing from the same town of Niafunké in the Timbuktu region of northern Mali on the River Niger, Bocoum had fallen under Touré’s spell as a boy in the ’60s. He went on to play in Touré’s band for more than 20 years,...
