Q&A: Eddie Gomez – On a constant quest for knowledge and inspiration!

…And then there was fall!
This summer has gone too fast, but we have been happy to fill our ears with both new and old music. One of this years most played artists is a cool dude from Los Angeles. His name is Eddie Gomez. Eddie streams his songs through Soundcloud, and the song “Nothing Like This Love”, released by may 2014. Short time later it was followed by the Eddie Gomez EP “Retro-Fitted”

Check out “Nothing Like This Love” on Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/eddie-gomez/nothing-like-this-love

If one should try to give Eddie Gomez a musical label, it would be singer-songwriter, with a dash of soul, a hint of Motown, mixed with hip hop. It was not to easy to give the artist just one label, so we decided to do a Q&A interview to get to know Eddie Gomez a little better.

When hearing your music, we hear younger soulful singer-songwriters like James Morrison, Jamie Cullum, Bernhoft, James Arthur, Allen Stone in your music. Who is your biggest musical influences?

– Wow…first of all, thank you for the compliment! Those are some really talented musicians. My Influences go back a little further and are all across the board. Bill Withers, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Boys ll Men, Lauren Hill,and John Legend. But that is only one aspect of my music. I truly believe that you can take something positive from all genres of music and use it to create something new and original.

When writing lyrics, are the lyrics inspired by your own experiences or is it just fiction?

– I think a good songwriter can take his/her emotions and turn it into a song, but the great ones can take the stories or emotions of others and create a timeless work of art, and I strive to be one of the greats.

What are your process when writing and recording a song?

– Before I write a song I sit in my studio and listen to old record and artists from previous generations. I’m always on a constant quest for knowledge and inspiration.  From there it really varies on the song, and like they say, ” there’s no right way to eat a Reeses”

When was the first time your really felt like, “Yes this – music – is what I´m going to do for a living!”

– Music never came easy to me.  It was always something I had to work hard at. If it wasn’t for my family’s encouragement I don’t think I would have looked to music as a creative outlet nor career.  It wasn’t until I wrote my first song when I knew that music was going to be a big part of my life.

Are there plans for a full album in the near future? When can we expect it?

– You can expect my next single very soon, along with my next body of work.

Have a listen to “Retro-Fitted EP here https://soundcloud.com/eddie-gomez/sets/eddie-gomez-ep-1

The song «Someday” has a cool ambience that sounds like it was recorded in a café or if someone is speaking while you record the track – what is this sound?

– The whole vibe I wanted to portray in that song and the picture I wanted to paint was a bunch of friends on a front porch jamming out, talking about life, and having a good time. The sound that you hear in the background of that track is me trying to create that with layering my voice in different ways.

Do you do everything by yourself, instruments, productions…everything? What instruments are you playing

– I write and produce my own songs. But I will always ask for help when I need it. I also play a few instruments but my main one is guitar.

Could you (artists) reach their audience without social media today?

– Social media does not make you an artist. You are an artist with or without it. But I do believe that social media allows you to reach further than you ever could in the past.

What do you feel are the advantages and disadvantages of using social media to reach out to your fans; discuss!

– I think the advantages of social media are again, reaching a bigger audience sooner and faster than ever amongst other great advantages, but one of the disadvantages I think, is that it makes artists and celebrities more accessible. I miss the days where celebrities had a sense of mystery, which made them feel like some sort of super hero.

Where do your see yourself in lets say, 5 years time?

– I honestly haven’t thought that far ahead, but I wish to still be creating and writing, but on a much bigger scale.

What is the biggest, as in coolest, thing you have experienced as a musician or with one (or more) of your songs

– Every opportunity that has come my way has been a blessing and equally as important to me and my career.

In all Read+Hear Q&As I do, the last questions always is; what albums /artists are your all time favorites?

– This is a hard question and will always change depending on my mood. But these are the albums I will always go back to.

* Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrel’s “Greatest Hits”
* Laruryn Hill “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”
* Amy Winehouse “Back To Black”
* Adele “21”

Tempted to check out even more music by Eddie Gomez? Make sure you check out his Soundcloud profile; https://soundcloud.com/eddie-gomez

H A P P Y    L I S T E N I N G !

The Q&A; Little Brother Eli “A spectrum of influences!”

One of the new faces of modern blues and rock is called Little Brother Eli. A new duo with Alex Grew on lead vocals and guitarist Joshua Rigal. The band is inspired by modern rock, as well as blues, soul and hip hop – with rock as their main ingredient. The band has played together for a little over 6 months only and have their a self titled debut 3 track EP out now.

The three tracks is quite and eclectic sounding and the EP kicks off with the rock track “Animal Fair”; A raw live-in-the-studio sounding rock song with dirty guitars and a vocal intro – not to far from Elvis “Trouble” – before drums and disco´ish high-hats kick in. The guitars make me think about the dirty sound of Jimi Hendrix´ played with his six string when playing live. The sound is raw and if you draw a line from Jimi to Jack White – you´re not too far from the sound of Little Brother Elis first track.

When questioning the bands guitar player Josh Rigal about what artist they are inspired by
And by asking what are their favorite records are – you´ll get an exiting sneak peek into their eclectic rock sound.

-Both Alex and I draw a great deal of inspiration from the likes of Jack White, Led Zep and The Black Keys, but we each have our own personal musical influences which we bring to the project. For example, I know Alex learnt a great deal about melody by listening to his dad’s Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) records. Equally I’d say Stevie Wonder and Beastie Boys are two influences for me which I hold close to Little Brother Eli.

-Our favourite records? Alex: Consolers Of The Lonely – by The Raconteurs.
Josh: Blood Sugar Sex Magik – Red Hot Chili Peppers

As you can see from Josh answers, Little Brother Elis eclectic style even draws inspiration from hip hop and soul, and on the second track “Awkward Position” you can clearly hear hip hop inspired drum playing. There´s no studio flickering here, just a great slice of their soulful-blues-inspired rock. Real music, real musicians!

Do you both write the songs together? Who comes up with the ideas? And does the songs or melodies come first?

-Our writing process started off fairly unconventionally, separated by 167 miles between London and Sheffield, we we´re emailing bits and pieces of melodies, riffs and beats back and forth. When we properly got together and wrote the material however, it tends to be a similar case. Alex might turn up with a melody, single line of lyrics or occasionally a whole song that just needs piecing together. Or I’ll sit down at the piano and feel something out and we’ll build the song section by section until the day is out or the song is finished. There’s no set formula, it just kind of comes together when we set ourselves to it.

I had to ask the band about if there will be a full album, and when is it planned to be released?
Can we expect to hear more of the same?

-As I alluded to earlier, we do have material. For us though, we’re just starting off. Our fan base is slowly growing, we’re playing more and more live shows and we’re working really hard to build a project which has some legs. So we don’t have the audience or financial capabilities to put together an album quite yet. It’ll get there though. We’d like to hope within a year? maybe? possibly?

-With regards to what can be expected…A carefully arranged selection of songs, put together to create some interesting dynamics. You’ll hear a more full spectrum of our musical preferences. Swing, funk, soul, rock, blues, hip hop – however it comes.

The last track on the EP is my favorite track and the song where the band let their musical influences really shine through. A real show off track, in a positive way; It´s called “When she sings” and is an eclectic song that mixes bluesy soul, with a bit of Jeff Buckley inspired vocals, that suddenly glides into a short raw guitar solo in front of the mix. After the short solo, the song slips into reggae then a bit of do-wop which segues into a sing-a-long la-la bridge before it ends like it starts; as a soul track, with a falsetto vocal. All this is done within 3 minutes. 6 musical genres into one short three-minute song, almost like mini-miniature rock opera. Fantastic and amazing!

I can’t believe you only have played together for a half-year, how did you meet? Have any of you played in bands or had solo earlier? When did you first start to play music ?

-Alex and I have been friends for a long time. We used to play in a band together as teenagers, as you do. We learnt a lot, built on our craft and had great fun for 5 years or so. That group disbanded, but a few years later Josh and I were hanging out and decided to jam out a song together and lay it down on the laptop. We’d always had great results writing together, but It was at this point we decided we should write a whole album’s worth of material, and the project kind of built up from there.

-My first instrument was the trumpet at age 10, but that took a back seat at about 16 yrs, when I discovered my love for bass guitar. Alex tells me that he’s been making noises and dancing about ever since he could stand. Although he’s had no musical training, he’s been performing and singing from a young age, but has really found his voice in the last few years.

Josh Rigal, thanks a lot and it was great chatting with you and I look forward to hearing more from you – and look forward to follow your career.

Do you wanna read or hear more about and from the band? 

• You can buy and download the Little Brother Eli EP here, through their Bandcamp site or  through iTunes here
• Have a preview listen here on Spotify or on SoundCloud.
• If you would like to follow the band Little Brother Eli  check their homepage here
• On social media services on facebook here and twitter
• Little Brother Eli also has a fantastic eclectic playlist of theif favourite tracks on Spotify, check it here!

If I should choose a tagline at the end, why you should love Little Brother Eli, I´d love to quote vocalist Josh Rigals own worlds:

You’ll hear a more full spectrum of Little Brother Elis musical preferences;Swing, funk, soul, rock, blues, hip hop – however it comes!

The Q&A: Kendra Morris´ second coming!

Kendra Morris´ cover of the Chris Isaak classic “Wicked Game” resembles Pink Floyds classic “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” and made me fell instantly in love with her soulful sound. I later learned that she also covered the Pink Floyd classic in her Tuesday Cover Project.

To explain the project: Kendra Morris released a brand new cover version every tuesday prior to the release of her debut album “Banshee”, which was released back in August 2012. http://open.spotify.com/album/3LGCVa8VfjZoFFzFBjtvlu

Kendra is a fantastic interprenter of songs, and her covers versions of artists like the aforementioned plus her ballad edit of Metallicas “Ride The Lightning” and more was a positive show-off of Kendra Morris musical taste.

Photo by Taylor Ballantyne
As featured on Kendra Morris facebookpage

I did a blog post – before the release of her debut album – where I shouted out “I have heard the future” and her name is Kendra Morris – if you haven’t read it – you can check the blog post here.

Since her “Banshee” release Kendras cover of Pink Floyds “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” was included in the trailer of the movie “Dead Man Down” – featuring Colin Farrel and Noomi Rapace. Sadly the song is not included in the final soundtrack – but the song made people even more curious about who the singer performing the song in the preview was.

A few weeks back I later read that Kendra Morris has “rewinded” her career – and is going to release a full covers album called “Mockingbird”. I got instant goosebumps all over and it trigged my curioscity so I decided I had to find out more about her brand new project, a little Facebook chatting and a email later I agreed with Kendra Morris to do a little Q&A about the last half year, her future and the forthcoming album:

The cover of the forthcoming Kendra Morris album “Mockingbird”, due out July ´13
Photo by Marc McAndrews

But first I had to hear how her life has been since the release of “Banshee”;

Now that your album has been out for half a year aprox has you life changed somehow?

-There has been a great overall response to “Banshee” and I think one thing that has changed is my confidence as a singer and a songwriter has grown.
-When I wrote “Banshee” I was going through some major growth spurts and was feeling really vulnerable putting all those buried feelings to paper and melody – as an artist – there is a certain amount of ego involved and what a scary thing to tell a bunch of people your inner most feelings and have them staring at your insides. Its like being at a doctors office when you’re nervous that the doctor isn’t going to like what he finds. But then you realize that it’s you!!! And there is nothing at all wrong with doing you. How can you go wrong if you’re being honest?

Your fab cover of the Pink Floyd classic “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” on the trailer to “Dead Man Down” movie, a movie starring Colin Farrel and Noomi Rapace to name a few – has this been like a door opener for you?

-Having “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” as the song on the trailer for “Dead Man Down” opened a lot of doors. The biggest one being a door to so many new fans. I’ve had countless people send me messages and post on youtube about how they heard the song and then looked up “Banshee” and dug into all of the Kendra Morris catalogue.

I loved the Tuesday Cover Project (see above); And your debut album and you now has a spanking new cover album forthcoming; What songs can we expect this time? Could you tell me more about the album, or do you wish to keep it secret until the final release?

-I want to keep the songs on the album a bit of a mystery but I can tell you that they go all over the place.. a couple old soul classics, a few from some classic rock and roll icons, some 90’s favorites.. thats all i’m gonna tell you 🙂 You can expect another duet with my buddy Godforbid from the band That Handsome Devil as well. We did the J Lo /JaRule cover of I’m Real together during last augusts cover series.
-“Mockingbird” is going to have some nice surprises. I can tell you that much.

From the choice of covers versions you seem to have a eclectic and amazing musical taste, who would you name your major musical influence?

-My influences really do go all over the place. I think one of the major things that have always drawn me into the music I listen to is the backbone of a great song. A great song has no genre at the end of the day – it can be spun into anything. A great song can be sung acapella and have the same effect on a listener as it would have with an entire orchestra behind it.

Excerpts off Kendra Morris coverart and more.
See more of her art on her blog here and in her shop here

You seem to be a multitalent and your homemade album collages and albums coverart is amazing and fits like a hand in a glove to your music, do you always make the album art yourself?

-Thank you! I actually didn’t do the sleeve for “Banshee”. Freddy Anzures did that one but it was so great how he went after my all of my influences and used examples from the collages that I have done to create the poster.
-All of the collages on my website and on most of my show posters though are done by me. I’ve been doing them for a few years now. I feel like it really does go hand in hand with my music because when I create a song or a collage it’s layer upon layer of things that inspire me whether it be melodies, images.Things to create a world and a story whether for the listener or a viiewer. I think art doesn´t have any boundaries. It’s all levels of yourself and self expression that you tap into. When I do a collage I feel like it somehow inspires the next song and when I write a song I feel like it nods to the next collage. I am always my most content when creating.

If you could work with any artist – dead or alive – who would you love to collaborate with?

-Hmmm… I don´t know!!!!! I have so many heroes!!!!
-I’d love to go visit Phil Spector in prison and bring some recording equiptment for him and write a song together… -We’d call it; ‘The Trouble With Guns.’

And my cliché question: What´s your all time favorite album(s)?

-Eeekkkk… I honestly couldn’t tell you my all time favorite album. It changes day to day with my mood. I just bought a new record player the other day and can’t stop buying vinyl and blaring my new finds with the windows open. Today I’m listening to Buddy Holly “Greatest Hits” and Barrington Levy “Bounty Hunter”. But tomorrow might be a Thin Lizzy kind of afternoon.

And with that – I wish to thank Kendra Morris for her great answers and must admit I´m still curious about what cover songs Kendra are gonna surprise us with on “Mockingbird”.

I should guess; With Kendras musical taste – there will be a lot of great surprises!

The Helena Jesele Q&A: It´s the real deal!

As promised on this blogs Facebook– and Twitter account I was doing an interview or Q&A, as I choose to call it here on my blog, as a follow-up to the Helena Jesele blog post!

Now it´s ready – and here it is.  To quote Helen Jesele “It´s the real deal!”

I read somewhere that you said your album “Sweet Sticky Fix” is a concept album – made to listen to in one piece. For new listeners; What´s the concept?

I suppose you could say that it’s a concept album in the sense that it tracks the story of a single relationship from beginning to end.

It’s funny actually as some reviewers have written that it’s an album where each song is about a different relationship! Obviously that’s not the case at all, the songs on this album tell of the developments of a particular relationship that I went through over 2 years which effected me deeply, both emotionally and spiritually. It resulted in heartbreak as you can hear on songs such as Lovesick Avenue and Girl in London. But I learnt a lot about myself as a result, so the final song the album – Sun Is Rising – is about finding the light at the end of the soul-searching tunnel. I like how the album ends on a high!

With this album, I wanted to create something where the listener could sit down and listen to it from start to finish and be taken on a journey of sorts. These days most albums jump all over the place and there is no cohesive pattern. I think that’s a shame, so hopefully I’ve succeeded in creating something that people will be able to listen to again and again.

This is your debut album, and you´ve worked with Paul o´Duffy, who also worked with the late-great Amy Winehouse. How was it to work with a man who worked with an artist that had so much respect – and has now become a legend after her much too soon death?

Well of course it was pretty intimidating to work with Paul!

In truth, I’m a little uncomfortable about the Amy comparisons I’ve been getting in the press, but I understand them too. My music is not a millions miles away from hers…however we are very different artists with very different voices! She was amazing though, and was a legend even before her death I think.

I would be extremely lucky if I could gain even half the respect she commanded with her incredible music. Working with Paul was such a wonderful experience, he taught me a great deal about how to structure my songwriting, but he also encouraged me to write from the heart and be unafraid to bear my soul in my songs. I owe him a lot for that.

Who is your biggest musical inspiration? And what are your all time favourite record(s) – mention several if you like

Ella Fitzgerald was my first musical love! I heard her voice for the first time when I was very young, maybe about 5, and in that instant my life was enriched and jazz became my ‘thing’… I still listen to Ella on a regular basis even now. There’s a special quality to her voice that transports to a happy place!

I have so many favorite records, but off the top of my head, Portishead’s Glory box is definitely a personal favorite.

Julie London’s version of Cry Me A River is certainly in my top 10.

And let’s not forget Ella’s recording of Ray Noble’s The Very Thought Of You, what a beautiful tune. That’s one I will never get bored of hearing.

This is your debut album – but have you released anything before? As a member of a band – or something like that ?

I did some amateur recordings a while back, but this album is my first fully professional effort. It’s the real deal!

I mentioned in my blog post, that I loved the simplicity of your album sleeve. Do you feel like your found inspiration on what people make on services like Instagram and such services?

Actually, no!

The album artwork was inspired by the classic photography and design of the 60’s and 70’s. When people used real cameras and captured moments in time in a unique way. These days we can all capture moments on our phones and make them look old school… but perhaps that waters the mystery down somewhat.

For the album, we wanted imagery that reflected the realness of the music.

Everything was recorded the old-fashioned way, in analogue, and all the musicianship is live and true, not computerized.

So far I have found your record only available on iTunes. Are you supposed to release it on streaming services like Spotify and – my prefered physical media – CD and vinyl?

Actually we cut the first single – Let The Game Begin – as a limited edition vinyl and will hopefully at some point be cutting the whole album to vinyl and CD too. For the time being it is a digital release on iTunes and Amazon.

It’s sad that is the way the music business is going… But we all have to play the game in one way or another I suppose!

The Helena Jesele “Sweet Sticky Fix” album can be bought here on iTunes and Amazon

Helena Jesele is – thank god – no cocky diva, as you can see in this Q&A.

She seems to be well reflected about the (lacking?) future of the music industry – and how hard it is to sell physical albums, but still she choose to record albums the old way – analogue – with real music by real people. For music listeners who enjoys a good album, with a classic love story, that can be played from start to end without getting boring!

To be frank;
Helena Jesele is making real music for real people!

The amazing rise of Rebekka Karijord!

Rebekka Karijords single “Use My Body While It´s Still Young” knocked me off my feet the first time I heard it. The song was her first single from her then forthcoming album “We Become Ourselves” – a two-part concept album about nature, and the relationship between men and women.

The single is huge with it´s mix of massive bass line, hand claps, choir, church organ, and the  almost big beat / drum´n´bass beats. All instruments are performed by live instruments. Rebekka Karijords biggest instrument is without doubt, her strong and amazing voice. Think a mix between Björk, Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush. “Use My Body While It´s Still Young” sounds like her answer to – and an updated version of – Björks “Play Dead” – but still, it´s not a rip-off, because Rebekka Karijord has her very own style and voice!

She has had a music career since 2003, but 2012 seems to be her real big breakthrough. Rebekka Karijord moved from Norway to Sweden almost 10 years ago, and has made Stockholm her home, and her career has been more successful in Sweden then in Norway. The A-listed the “Use My Body…” almost immediately after its release. She has toured the album a lot, which has made her a popular act, slowly but surely – she has taken bigger slices of the world during the late summer of 2012. Before her musical career took off she was starring in movies and TV-series, writing her own stage show for theaters, written an opera, made big success with her own circus show i Sweden, writing soundtracks and the list goes on.

Rebekka Karijord is now concentrating 100% on music which really seems so pay off these days.
She is a woman who follows her dreams and paths to reach her goal!

The album “We Became Ourselves” is a fantastic record, which let Rebekka show what an amazing artist she is. She plays lots of the instruments, keep it organic, her voice is out of this world – and the production is fabulous. You can, as earlier mentioned, hear Joni Michell in the slower songs, Bjørk in the more experimental and the adventurous productions of artists like Kate Bush and Tori Amos. The album is a adwenture out of this world.

The song “Multicoloured Hummingbird” even flirts with melody of Bruce Springsteens “I´m On Fire” – I dare to think it´s unintended

You can listen to the “We Become Ourselves” album on Spotify HERE!

Check her wonderful Homepage and make sure you follow her on Facebook and Twitter, if you´d like to read, hear and follow the rise of Rebekka Karijord.

At the end of 2012, Rebekka Karijords “We Become Ourselves” became “World Album Of The Week” in the influential english magazine MOJO, album of the month (World) back in November, and is on MOJO TOP 10 ALBUMS FOR 2012 (World). I have to admit i would never sort Rebekkas music under the world music genre, because she´s more like an experimental epic singer songwriter.

This year it has been really amazing to follow the rise of Norwegian siren Rebecca Karijord and see and how she´s slowly becoming one of the most exiting artists on the musical map

Back in October, I happened to have my little Q&A session with Rebekka Karijord. And this was before she was being noted on “Best of 2012” lists. It’s really great to see how much her career has grown these last three months, and how influential she has become during 2012!

Q (me): I think I hear traces of both Björk and Kate Bush in you music, what are your biggest inspirations – who influences you most?

A (Rebekka): Björk has always inspired me, but I’m not a big Kate Bush fan I must admit. But in general, strong storytellers have always inspired me. I grew up with Patti Smith, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Neil Young- strong lyrics and loads of musical personality. These days I have a broad music taste, everything from instrumental music, jazz and even a lot of world music inspires me. Some inspiring artist are: Moondog, Robert Wyatt, Feist, Pj Harvey, Elliott Smith, Brian Eno, Radiohead, The National, Mari Boine, Kari Bremnes… I could go on forever. I’m also really influenced by books, poetry, films and articles in the news when I write songs.

Q: You´ve emigrated from Oslo to Stockholm – why did you choose to make Sweden your new home?

A: I studied here, and kind of ended up staying. I have fantastic friends and colleagues here, and my label, publisher etc are all here. Plus it’s a short trip to Norway, which is great!

Q: With your career now being noticed in several countries around the world, how does this feel?

A: Fantastic. I’m super grateful. But you know, when you’re on the inside of something it doesn’t seem as magical as on the outside. I don’t see myself as very successful, I’m still a very small fish in the big pond out there, trying to build something lasting and genuine.

Q: You´ve almost done it all, where to begin; put up your own opera, done theater, starred in movies and tv-series – and now putting all your cards in music – whats your next goal? or to push it even further whats your ultimate goal?

A: I don’t really have goals, or I don’t think of my life and work in those terms. I take one project at the time and try to have fun and keep curious and learn more. I guess that could be a goal; To stay hungry and curious, not get stuck in something I’m not happy in.

Q: Whats your top three favourite records of all time? Which one made you wanna start with music?

A: Ohhh, tricky one. There are so many amazing albums. But I guess I could say these three: Talk Talk’s “East of Eden” , Cat Powers “Moonpix” and Glenn Gould’s recording of the Goldberg Variations by Bach. I think all three of them together expresses a quite good combination of my influences. It’s all about the stories, the sound and the human body and heart, with all its flaws and bruises.

Thank you for this little talk Rebekka and for enriching me with a little insight in your life and influences – and for releasing one of the years greatest albums!

Rebekka Karijord is definitely one of the most exciting artists to follow. She has without doubt made one of the best albums of the year 2012.

“We Become Ourselves” is a classic album that will be discovered in years to come and it will still sound as fresh as it did back in 2012!

The Jem Warren pre- and post album release interviews

My first encounter with the music of singer-songwriter Jem Warren was through Twitter. I checked out his debut EP “Lifeblood To My Soul” and some clips through YouTube and checked out the Jem Warren homepage.

I loved what I heard, took some time to get into him and the EP – but when he hit me he hit hard. References that fell into my mind was R.E.M, Talk Talk´s Mark Hollis, Marillions Steve Hogarth and a bit of James Blunt.

Listen to “Lifeblood To My Soul” by clicking the album cover!

I loved it so much that I decided to send him a request if he´d like to do a Q&A interview with me on my blog. I wrote a blog in my native language, Norwegian – before i started the Read And Hear music blog.

Jem Warren wanted to do this – and since I´ve read on his homepage, i knew that he was working on his debut album. Many of my questions is about the coming album.

The Jem Warren pre-“Heart Knows How” album release Q&A

Q: I saw on YouTube, you played harmonica and guitar on your version og Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice…” Do you play any other instruments?
A: I dabble in keyboards and bass guitar, particularly when I’m writing at home

Q: You also do covers of John Mayer and Jack Johnson, amongst others; Is this like artists you are influenced by? Which other artists would you say you are influenced by?
A: The Police, Tracy Chapman, Fleetwood Mac, Jose Gonzales, Tom Petty

Q: Your coming record vs the EP you’ve already have released; Is the album more of the same or is there any large changes on the album?
A: The new album is very different from the EP. I wrote all the songs for “Lifeblood To My Soul” relatively recent with a very specific sound in mind. The new album, “Heart Knows How” is much different. It’s basically an accumulation of songs I’ve written over many years with no particular vision or theme for an album. I wrote them on the fly and felt the time had come to get them out there. The result is an album that’s somehow more americana rock´n´roll (and maybe a little bit more country too).

Q: After hearing your EP my mind is full of names and references I would like to mention in my upcoming blog post. So if you should say something like “If you like Jem Warren; You should also check out…” the rest is up to you…
A: Sun Kil Moon, Jose Gonzalez

Q: If you’d like to tell; Your homepage mention both your father and mother made music, are you influenced by them? Have they released any albums? Anything I could/or should check out?
A: My parents were both very musical but didn’t really go for it in a formal sense. They were great influences on me since they provided a rich musical environment, but never put out albums themselves…

Q: And the last one; My blog is quite new, with just under 20 posts so far, but so many drafts and thoughts and ideas about what I’d like to write about. I write in Norwegian, but the blog has a translate option. I write about mainly new music, that I like myself and feel most people should listen to. I feel have a fine sense about what become or should become a hit or more people should listen to.
…of all the blogs in the world why would like me to write about you!?
A: You seem pretty cool. Far be it from me to turn down anyone willing to write about my art. The honor is mine

Listen to Jem Warrens debut album by clicking the album cover!

The album that became his debut albums which he released march 2012 was named “Heart Knows How”. The Jem Warren debut was a large leap forward for the sound of Jem Warren i knew through the EP. He sounded more confident, he sings in a deeper tone, not so nasal as he was earlier. The band sounded groovy, more funky. They sounded like they had great fun while recording the album, you´ll also hear pop, americana – and wonderful timeless ballads. Jem is without doubt a singer-songwriter, he writes all his stuff himself, plays on all his songs. On the “Heart Knows How” I´ve heard references like The Black Sorrows, Hal Ketchum, The Waterboys´Mike Scott, Ryan Adams, John Mayer – but still no rip off  – Jem Warren has his own voice, his own sound – and writes songs with a meaning.

Listen to the playlist; “The Roots of Jem Warren” here!

A few months back I decided to hear if Jem Warren would like to do a follow-up Q&A and he liked the idea. Being a hard-working artist – who has spent most of the year on the road – it took some time before he´d answered the questions…but then he did…

The Jem Warren post-“Heart Knows How” album release Q&A

hey man. sorry it took so long. I appreciate the interest in my music and career, man.

Q: Since releasing your debut album “Heart Knows How” do you feel you life has changed?
A: i think when any artists creates and then puts out an album there’s an immediate sense of emotional release. I’m no different in that way. but like any artist you start thinking about the next album and what you want to express.
career wise, the album’s had a great affect. I’ve picked up a lot of new fans. I’m set to release 2 videos from the album in february

Q; I see you play a lot live these days, tell me whats the best things about being on the road?
A: i think the best thing about being on the road and performing live is the people of course. the energy that you get from an audience (cooperative or hostile) is invaluable as a writer. seeing and feeling the reaction of people from all walks of life is both telling and inspiring.

Q: Earlier you covered John Mayer and Bob Dylan and such, are you doing any playing any new covers while touring these days?
A: i actually was doing “teenage dream” by Katy Perry which always went over well because it was unexpected and my band rock the shit out of it! “the weight” by the band has been a staple in the set lately.

Q: Last but not least, have you started thinking or planning a follow-up to your album? Where do you see your self next time? Any plans about how it will sound?
A: yes, I have a couple of ideas for albums. i would like to return to the sound of my first ‘lifeblood to my soul.’ i have a lot songs in the works. i also want put a collection of mostly acoustic songs that i record and produce in my apartment which will be pretty experimental since I’m not a producer. but I’m curious to see how people would react to it.

thanks so much man!!

I have lived with Jem Warrens great debut album for over a half-year – and have to say – Jem Warren is one of the best new singer-songwriter discoveries I´ve found in 2012.
“Heart Knows How” is a timeless album that will still live on years after we´d say goodbye to 2012.

I swear that the career of Jem Warren is being followed by me through social media like his Facebookpage/jemwarren, his Twitter/jemwarrenmusic. – and Jem Warren homepage.

As soon as I know more about his second album – I´d love to do another Q&A!

 

There´s something about Franky!

There really is something about Franky Manzos debut single “MJs Coursing”

Is it the intro to her single – a little AOR inspired – until her voice and the beats kick in?
Is it the dry simple piano line? The slightly auto-tuned vocals?
The cool 70s inspired “Oh, beep-beep, Oh beep-beep” bridge in the middle of the song?
The percussion, and the hand claps, and the dry synthetic sax stabs?
The mix of 70s-80s and 90s disco-club squeezed into 3 minutes?

Is it the story of her past as a dancer behind the likes of Destiny’s Child, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and more. Or maybe her career with former Guns´n´Roses drummer Matt Sorum in Darling Stilettos, a band that looked and sounded like a cross between Pussycat Dolls, The Runaways and 80s Prince protoges Vanity 6 and Appolonia 6 with the motto of Spice Girls; GIRL POWER!

Even if Frances Manzo (her real name) is still young she has had a long career. She has not only been a dancer behind some of the worlds biggest stars, but she has also been doing choreography, commercials, movies, music videos – the most famous being a dancer in Britney Spears “Womanizer” video, been an on stage performer, dance teacher, and being in television productions. Franky is also a music co-writer- and co-producer of Maudlyn Strangers self titled upcoming debut album!

She looks like a rock chick, but also has this late 80s-90s style. And since she is a fan of – and has worked with great rock musicians – there’s no doubt she has her own style!

The MJ in the song “MJs Coursing” is, as you have probably guessed already, the late great Michael Jackson.
Franky Manzo, or if you prefer her real name Frances Manzo, said on her Reverbnation page “This song encompasses everything I wanted in my first song because of my love for Michael Jackson and the era of disco I heard as a child from my mom.”

After reading this quote I had to hear more about the story behind “MJ´s Coursing” and sent Frances Manzo a few questions to her Facebook profile – and she shortly after, she sent me her answers! – here it goes;

5 QUESTIONS: a Q&A with Franky Manzo

You say on your reverbnation profile that “This song encompasses everything I wanted in my first song because of my love for Michael Jackson and the era of disco I heard as a child from my mom.”

Q: Are you inspired by any special MJ songs on the song? Or any special discotunes your mothers liked?
A: Difficult question! It’s hard to choose which MJ songs inspired me, but I can try narrow it down to “They Don’t Care About Us”, “Rock With You”, “Billie Jean”, and “Remember the Time”. As far as disco songs, my mom definitely had “Heart of Glass”, “Harlem Shuffle”, and “Bad Girls” on her favorite cassette tape…which she played all the time! I credit my mom with my rhythmic ability because when I was about 2, she and I used to dance to those songs every morning. So I think those songs will always stick with me, and you can hear their influence in my single.

Q: Is there any plans for a full album – how do think it will sound?
A: Absolutely! I think much of the album will be disco inspired, but I don’t necessarily want to limit myself to just one genre. I am truly inspired by what Blondie did…she was a total punk rocker turned disco diva, and back again! I expect that the album will throw a curveball in there somewhere!

Q: I feel the video to “MJs Coursing” is a bit inspired by Kylie Minogue and especially her “Confide In Me” vid? Am I right?
A: Yes, I love Kylie! I got to meet her about 10 years ago at a show, and she’s an absolute delight! I actually hadn’t seen the “Confide in Me”* video, but I can see the similarity!! The original concept that I had for my video was quite grandiose, but alas, being on an indie artist budget isn’t exactly conducive to being grandiose. So, we came up with an alternative, the video that’s out now, and it came out great!!! I’m so happy with it.
(*Note: I see i refered to the wrong Kylie song and video here – my fault…but it seems like Franky Manzo understood what I meant)

Q: I see you have been dancing onstage behind several big names, like Britney Spears, Destiny’s Child and Miley Cyrus to mention a few. Are you supposed to be working with any big named and well-known producers or writers on your album?
A: I had the opportunity to work with big name producers when I was in Darling Stilettos, and I’ve found that the most important thing is that I trust who I’m working with, especially because I’m barely getting my feet wet as a solo artist. My producer, Michael Binikos, is someone that I trust. He’s worked with Leann Rimes, Brie Larson, and the like. I’m very lucky to have him working on my album.
As far as writers go, I’m not opposed to letting someone write for me in the future, but right now, I have so much I want to convey as an artist. I think that it’s important for me to write my own material. I really want to show the world what I’m capable of…and it’s only the beginning for me.

Q: What other artist are you inspired by?
A: Blondie, Kylie Minogue, and Michael Jackson are some of my favorites. Aside from those artists, I’m totally inspired by Robert Plant! I LOVE Led Zeppelin. I really appreciate his lyrics. Sophie Ellis-Bextor is another artist I love. Her songs are so catchy and they just make you feel good. Gwen Stefani is one of my absolute favorites. I used to wear dickies and cropped wife beaters just like her…still do! Scott Weiland…I know it’s a bit of a stray, but I can’t help but love the grunge era. He’s a dynamic performer with amazing songwriting skills.
It may be hard to tell that I’m inspired by these artists based on my single, but I love writing for other bands…and that’s where you can see a lot of these influences. I co-wrote and co-produced many of the songs on Maudlin Strangers’ upcoming debut album. “Suffer, Kate” and “Long Way Down” were definitely Zeppelin and Stone Temple Pilots inspired!

Franky Manzo ends my Q&A like this Haha, I tend to be wordy sometimes. I really appreciate this!!! Thank you so much!!!”

If someone is going be thankful here it´s gotta be me – for giving me so good answers on my questions. Wordy is no problem as long as the answers good or what?

I must say I love to see her cool genre mix. With Michael Jackson and Kylie Minogue on one side, and her love for Robert Plant and Led Zeppelin and Stone Temple Pilots Scott Weiland on the other. A good lover of music – sees no bonderies and limits, only opportunities! Thank you again Franky Manzo for your great answers!

The single “MJs Coursing” is one piece of perfect radio friendly pop!
I would love to see some great remixes of the track; How about a great classic Masters At Work remix, like they did in the last part of the 90s with loads of live-instruments, like a fat bass line – some guitar and lots of great percussion? Kenny Dope and Little Louie Vega – open your ears!

But as the song “MJs Coursing” is now – it´s a nice piece of great radio disco-pop –  And it gets better and better with each listening!

Look forward to follow the adventurous future of Franky Manzo!