Arriving just in time for long summer drives with the windows down or lazy weekends lounging with friends in the sun, the infectious new track merges steady drum beats with exhilarating guitar riffs and a catchy chorus.
Evoking the intoxication of a light summer breeze whipping through your hair, or the prickling feeling of blazing rays on sun-tanned skin, the optimistic new anthem marks an assured step forward for Tom Jenkins, whilst nodding subtly to his folk-tinted roots.
Of the cheery new track, Tom explains:
“‘Under The Sun’ is probably the most upbeat song off my new album. I really wanted to write more uplifting music this time round. The sound is inspired mainly by American alt/indie bands like Band of Horses and The Shins. Lyrically the song focuses on unity in a world that always seems to be trying to divide us by the ways of the media or manipulating higher powers.”
The new single also comes with Tom offering his own spin on the Band of Horses classic ‘Blue Beard’ as its B-side – check it out here.
Alongside softer older sibling “Back Roads” and the rugged rock cut ‘Magic Mushroom Island’, ‘Under The Sun’ comes as another fully fleshed out glimpse into the new album the singer-songwriter has been working on, which is set for release on Xtra Mile Recordings later this year. Tom began writing, producing and recording a second solo album during lockdown: working with lifelong friend and producer Todd Campbell, the pair began to lay down foundations between an old barn on Tom’s farm and Todd’s local studio. Gathering together old pals that he has shared the road with over the years, the project will feature guest appearances from Phil Campbell (Motorhead), Marc Ford (The Black Crowes) and Paul Mullen (YOURCODENAMEIS:MILO, The Automatic).
With the album expected for release much later in the year, fans can catch Tom Jenkins performing tracks ahead of time at a number of confirmed festival appearances this summer. Dates and details are as follows:
TOM JENKINS – UK DATES
08/07 – Two Thousand Trees Festival
31/08 – Kendal Calling
Tickets on sale now.
“Stand in Your Light” is a work of love. Passion drips out of every note from the bitter-sweet honeycomb of solemn melodies that VENUS PRINCIPLE have created for their debut album. Although this is the first record from the British-Swedish collective, these hymns for the burdened and broken come audibly with the profound maturity of hard earned experience from all the veteran musicians involved.
VENUS PRINCIPLE comment: "Our debut album 'Stand in Your Light' is finally out and we could not be more proud of this album and what we have achieved", guitarist Jonas Stålhammar writes on behalf of the band. "This album and its creation prove that music transcends borders even in the darkest of times. Huge thanks go out to Prophecy Productions, Ula, and Zoltan for their unwavering support in getting us out there. And most of all thank you, dear listeners and everybody who has made the effort to write about it. Now the time has come to let the album fly. Enjoy and see you all on the road!"
Classic rock is at the heart of “Stand in Your Light”. Whether the resulting music is dubbed art rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, or anything else, VENUS PRINCIPLE are openly showing their roots with obvious pride: KING CRIMSON, PINK FLOYD, BLACK MOUNTAIN, GENESIS, Bob Welch era FLEETWOOD MAC, and many others of the giants that shaped modern guitar based music into the towering and persistent heritage have left their marks on “Stand in Your Light”. Yet the 6-piece is anything but a simple carbon copy.
Expertly, VENUS PRINCIPLE add their own ingredients to the canonical rock elements. Foremost pain and darkness permeate each track, spawning a terrible beauty ruling in triumphant glory. Yet shadow cannot exist without light, which the British-Swedish musicians provide in delicate moments of hope, tenderness, and warmth. In these aspects of “Stand in Your Light”, the metal spirit of some of the protagonists on the album reveals itself. Particularly tasteful British influences such as musically a dose from the legacy of sadly split-up ANATHEMA, and on a more emotional level a pinch of MY DYING BRIDE and PARADISE LOST but without their metallic harshness have added to the collective’s recipe.
Line-up
Daniel Änghede – vocals, guitars
Daisy Chapman – vocals, piano
Jonas Stålhammar – guitars, keyboards
Mark Furnevall – keyboards, backing vocals
Ben Wilsker – drums
Pontus Blom – bass
Guest musicians
August Eriksson – saxophone
Johan Weber – pedal steel guitar
Kalle Widén – pedal steel guitar
Produced by Venus Principle
Recording by Jamie McKivitt at Shaken Oak Farm, Witney, UK
Recording by Kalle Widén at Studio Enheten, Uddevalla, Sweden
Additional tracking by Scot Mckenzie at New Cut Studios
Additional tracking by Jonas Stålhammar and Daniel Änghede at Moondawn and Observatoriet Studios
Logo design by Jonathan Hultén
Artwork & layout by Roger Iderman
VENUS PRINCIPLE were formed in autumn 2019 after several of its members decided to part ways with CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX. Still fully in love with dark, melodic art rock and psychedelic music, this group of close-knit friends was not content to just sit at home and twiddle thumbs. Inviting more familiar associates into their fold that included active and former members of AT THE GATES, ISON, TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE DISASTER, and LOUISE LEMÓN this new rock band was born. To join the collective took more than just being friends. Each member is expected to share the passion and musical vision for this modern take on a vintage sound, which this new band derives from both the styles of Sweden and the UK that is crafted into a fresh and eclectic aural experience.
Although they are just at the starting point of an intended long career, VENUS PRINCIPLE emerge with the fully-fledged masterpiece “Stand in Your Light”. This album is bound to accomplish a most difficult feat by delighting adherents of both rock and metal.
The London-based artist heads out on a huge UK tour this April, as special guest to Ocean Colour Scene, and is also supporting Dexys Midnight Runners in May.
The monthly EP’s, Produced by Brit-Award winner Adrian Hall (Black Eyed Peas, Tori Amos), follow-up Si’s debut album. Written and recorded whilst living out of his car, Si managed to impress, Brit-Award-winning Producer Chris Potter (The Verve, Blur, The Rolling Stones) and Grammy-Award winning Producer Dom Morley (Adele, Amy Winehouse) to help create his debut album for free.
The albums lead track ‘Hurt You’ featured on hit ITV drama Monroe, and was also picked up by Coldplay, who backed Si’s vocal performance. Hurt You peaked at 19 on the UK iTunes chart, and the album went on to receive radio and television placement in many territories, including Radio 2 airplay and encouragement from Jonathon Ross in the UK.
Speaking to 6 Music, Grammy Producer Dom Morley stated: “I’ve worked with the best. The best singers I’ve worked with? Mick Jagger, Amy Winehouse and Si Connelly. You won’t have heard of him yet”.
Spending his childhood years travelling under his Dad’s DJ booth, in the spit and sawdust nightclubs of England, Si emerged, with a vast pallet of influences and a suitcase of emotionally cracked songs.
Si Connelly’s already long and eclectic career, has seen him navigate many ups and downs, but he never ceases to capture his raw, honest and emotive music, whilst connecting with new audiences. Si is sponsored and endorsed by Gibson Guitars.
EP Listing: MAY EP
1. Chasing Jupiter
2.Circles
3. Show Me The Way Back To You
Arriving as the London five-piece’s second single with the tastemaker label, “King of the Disco” is a bubbling petri-dish of rock, pop and disco influences that pulsates with a raucous, live-ready energy and an all-out party atmosphere.
With its beats and grooves overseen by the legendary Danny Saber (Black Grape) on mastering, the resultant track is a swirling indie-disco earworm landing just in time for manic summer nights under flashing lights and Dyonisian blow-outs on sticky dancefloors.
THE GULPS – NEW SINGLE: “KING OF THE DISCO” – OUT NOW, VIA IT’S CREATION BABY
STREAM ON ALL SERVICES HERE
Inspired by post-Covid craziness and the exhilaration of being set free from lockdown, frontman Javier Sola says of the single:
“King of the Disco” is about instigating partying, hedonism and chaos and losing control. Everyone was sporadically locked up over the last two years, so this track is about celebrating the moment you were allowed onto the dancefloor again; dictating craziness, and spitting euphoria and absolute mania.”
Confident and heady with an infectious dance undercurrent enough to tip any room on its head, the single arrives in the wake of the quintet’s recently signed publishing deal with Mike Smith and Downtown Music.
Ready to take the summer airwaves by storm, “King of the Disco” arrives as the thrilling follow-up to ‘“Stuck In The City”, a single which has already seen The Gulps earn key support from the likes of BBC Radio 6 and Radio X and many more.
THE GULPS UK TOUR 2022
JUNE
02 – GLASGOW – The Hug & Pint
03 – CARDIFF – Tramshed (supporting Cast)
04 – BIRMINGHAM – Dead Wax (Sonic Wave Festival)
06 – BRISTOL – Louisiana
07 – LONDON – Camden Assembly
08 – MANCHESTER – The Castle Hotel
Biting through a massive mix of aggressive guitars, thunderous reverb and vociferous vocals, GRAMMS aren’t ones for a polite introduction.
Flecked with classic alt-rock stylings but taking an innovative approach to production, their debut single “Shut Up A Second” calls to mind a blustering row between Royal Blood and The Black Keys. Touching on decaying empathy and the power divide between ruler and ruled, the track is an immense anthem with a sting.
Of the story behind the song, GRAMMS explain:
“The song explores what partisanship is doing to our ability to empathise. We used the trope of ‘Rich man / Poor man’ to explore the issue in the verses: the first verse depicts a disgruntled underclass, while the second focuses on a nervous ruling elite. The chorus is about how incessant partisan noise from the media ultimately erodes our natural empathy.”
Blending barbed riffs with catchy melodies the result is eye-wateringly massive and “Shut Up A Second” serves as an incisive inauguration for a brand-new band with an already-enormous sound and a lot to say.
GRAMMS is Sam Jenkins and Paul Bowe — a brand new alternative rock duo with notable previous history. Well-versed in the mechanics of making music — Sam with Glass Tides and Paul as a founding member of Federal Charm — the two-piece have toured extensively both nationally and internationally, and graced stages at many of the world’s largest festivals including Glastonbury and Download. Their music has also scored airplay across national radio, including BBC Radio 1, Planet Rock and Capital FM.
Having wracked up an impressive resume between them and each earning their own die-hard following along the way, the two-piece are now ready to cause a stir with their rip-roaring new venture.
Her love for music began at just eight years old, when her dad built a stage in the basement for Juls and her sister. Instantly recognizing that performing and singing was her calling.
Juls shares, “My sister Jacqs was my presenter, and I was the star of the show, prancing onto the stage in my sparkly bodysuits and 6-inch heels (Jacqs was my stylist and makeup artist too, of course). Quite a bit has changed since then, but one thing has remained the same: our shared love for music. Well, two things actually…Jacqs still does my performance makeup lol.”
With a burning desire to pursue her musical career, and with her sister at her side as her manager, best friend and “sisager”, Juls has quickly become a force to be reckoned with. She reveals, “We once believed that the dream worlds we were creating for fun would only ever exist within the confines of our basement. However, we are now turning these dreams into our reality, and we could not be more excited to share them with you all on a bigger platform.”
Her latest single “Summer Thing” touches on themes of young love, summer blues and faded youth, with the songwriter speaking of her own experiences of love and navigating the changes associated with young adulthood.
Taking inspiration from the likes of Taylor Swift and Lana del Rey, “Summer Thing” sparkles with Juls’ soulful, buttery vocals which glide atop warm, shimmering instrumentation. Creating an ethereal and magical soundscape, the music washes your worries away, mirroring the natural ebb and flow of the ocean. The artist explains, “I think that my music is most inspired by the ocean. I feel like life is a lot like swimming in the ocean: scary, exhilarating, dangerous, beautiful, and breathtaking at the same time. I often found myself driving to the water in Connecticut in high school and writing for hours in front of the ocean; the highs and lows of the ocean reflect the highs and lows of young adulthood, and nothing inspires me more creatively. For this reason, I do believe that my sound reflects the feeling of the ocean, and a shared thread of ambiguity and ethereality runs through both.”
Delivering your summer anthem for 2022, Juls is rapidly becoming an artist to watch for this year and beyond.
A collaboration featuring label mate and 15x CCMA Awards nominee Mackenzie Porter. The Big Loud Records international country star shares the track on the heels of his 12th chart topping hit “Hide From A Broken Heart” and recent Music Canada certifications for the Platinum certified #1 singles “Like A Man,” “Cheap Seats,” and “Side Effects,” in addition to the #1 track “Some Things Never Change” feat. HARDY and Smith’s most recent JUNO and CCMA Award nominated album Timeless which both earned Gold certifications.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to collaborate with MacKenzie on this song,” shares Smith. “This song is a gift written by Tom Jordan, Mitchell Thompson [Seaforth], Alysa Vanderheym, and Rocky Block and I’m so excited for everyone to hear it. It’s literally a ‘One Too’ hit that strikes every chord both personally and musically and I can’t think of a better duet partner to share this song with.”
Stream/download “One Too” HERE
“Dallas Smith and I played a show back in 2015 together,” shared MacKenzie. “In 2016 he introduced me to my now label, producer, and manager. In 2019 he took me out on tour with him for 2 months. Many of us know Dallas as an incredible artist, but what you might not know is how much he helps other artists around him. He shares his team, his band, his knowledge and connects the dots for artists he believes in. In 2022 I somehow convinced him to sing a song with me. It’s called “ONE TOO” and I can’t wait for you to hear it.”
Last month, Smith, marked his return to Music City with a performance at the iconic Ryman Auditorium. Smith who has previously performed on the Grand Ole Opry stage, made his much-anticipated debut at the Ryman, opening for country superstar Trace Adkins.
Earlier this week, the multi-platinum JUNO Award winner kicked off the national headlining Some Things Never Change Tour with James Barker Band and special guest Meghan Patrick plus emerging country artists Shawn Austin, JoJo Mason, Kelly Prescott, and Manny Blu.
Tickets for all shows in Canada are available at www.livenation.com or www.DallasSmithmusic.com. $2.50 will be added to the cost of each ticket to go towards Canadian mental health charities and services, on behalf of the Lifted Dallas Smith Charitable Foundation – a non-profit organisation committed to ensuring that mental health services are accessible to anyone and everyone in need.
With their second single, the Middle-Irish “Na láma-sa” Corvus Corax show another fascinating facet of their metal project Corvus Corax “Era Metallum” and another exciting collaboration with guests from the metal scene.
The epic bagpipe melody is carried by slow, almost doomy guitar riffs from the fingers of Sami Yli-Sirniö (Kreator, Waltari) over the endless, moving landscape of Ireland and at the end, everything goes up in a goosebump causing a thunderstorm. The Middle-Irish lyrics, a requiem from the 10th century, could not be interpreted more fittingly by any guest than Alan Nemtheanga A., who with his band Primordial is widely acclaimed as an icon of “Celtic Metal”. The Irish metal singer gladly accepted the challenge to interpret the song in the language of his ancestors. In doing so, he draws an ingenious bow between the music’s inherent epicness and a skillfully applied vocal rawness, which gives the work a new and even more deeply digging into the listener’s stomach.
Alan sums up the successful collaboration, “It was a really interesting thing to do. Putting my voice over the music of Corvus Corax felt like a pretty good bond!” From Corvus Corax‘s perspective, too, the fusion of Alan’s vocals and his musical background with what is probably the most atmospherically dense “Era Metallum” piece fits like a glove. Sláinte, Alan!
The album “Corvus Corax Era Metallum” will be released on June 24, 2022, as a Limited Edition Double CD and digitally. The vinyl version will be available in stores from September 21, 2022. You can pre-save, and get the album at your favorite platform https://EraMetallum.lnk.to/Album
“Corvus Corax Era Metallum” Tracklist
Disc 1
01 Intro Gjallarhorni
02 Gjallarhorni
03 Sverker
04 Béowulf is mín nama
05 Lá í mbealtaine
06 Ragnarök
07 Hugin & Munin
08 Havfru
09 Víkingar
10 Yggdrasill
11 Gimlie
12 Na láma-sa
Disc 2
01 Lá í mbealtaine ft. Hansi Kürsch, Bill Gould & Sonia Anubis
02 Ragnarök ft. Sabina Classen
03 Béowulf is mín nama ft. Doro Pesch
04 Víkingar ft. Arndis Halla
05 Gimlie ft. Kärtsy Hatakka
06 Yggdrasill ft. Philipp Bischoff (Damnation Defaced)
07 Na láma-sa ft. Alan Nemtheanga A.
The joint was rocking from the moment you walked in. On the stage, female fronted rockabilly band, Lady Luck Lexy and the Riverside Boys made a welcome return, having played at the previous show in October 2021.
They played four sets over the weekend, including covers of classic artists such as Wanda Jackson and Johnny Burnette with their self-penned numbers, including lockdown inspired toe-tapper, Isolation Blues. If it’s faultless rockabilly you want, these are the cats to book.
Additionally, there was a fabulous fashion show of extreme clothing that was pretty impractical but stunning to look at by Liam Brandon Murray. Although the event as a whole was family friendly, parents hurried their children away from the rather saucy but fascinating girl-on-girl Japanese rope bondage display by Figure of A (SHIBARI) before they had to answer any awkward questions. And speaking of saucy displays, let’s not forget PVC clad The Fuel Girls, who were sending sparks flying and getting arteries pulsating.
But what’s it all about now, eh? A middle class perversity? Or the ultimately personal means of expression? Although this contributor has virgin skin, it does not lessen the appreciation for the art, the people who wear the art or their reasons for doing so. It is quite possible these tattooed masses are simply much braver than us.
“You can cover them with a shirt and suit – and become someone else or another you. Then when you take your clothes off, at the end of the day, you can be who you really are again… the real you.”
In our pre-mobile phone generation, almost all tattoos were seen as job stoppers, things to hide away lest they be judged and we be sacked.
Now, in the main, people wear their art with pride, on display in all walks of life for all and any to see, and why not? Tattoos are nothing new after all, peoples of the South Pacific have tattooed themselves for Millennia.
The oldest known human to have tattoos preserved upon his mummified skin is a Bronze-Age man from around 3300 BCE. Found in a glacier of the Otztal Alps, near the border between Austria and Italy, ‘Otzi the Iceman’ had 57 tattoos.
Charles Darwin wrote that there was no country in the world that did not practice tattooing or some other form of permanent body decoration.
“ I see it as an element of self-harm. As socially acceptable cutting and marking. People who decide to do it have to have a confidence that it won’t impede them or what they want to do, how they’re going to earn a living, in the future.”
But on with the show. While for some tattoo artists, TGBTS is a staple diary item, there were plenty of first time attendees. Sammie from Stigma Tattoos told us that she’d only started her apprenticeship three months ago due to it being postponed by the pandemic. She described her style as ‘sketchy, illustrative, and playing with what tattooing is capable of’. Out of her own collection of inkwork, her favourite is her Pokemon dragon. She said that people had told her that it would fade but she had put the effort into aftercare and three years down the line, it is as vibrant as ever. So there’s a moral there kids, look after your dragons.
Although the focus was on tattoo artists, there were a few eye catching merch displays amongst the stalls. Black Heart Prophets Co from Cambridge had a range of skateboard worthy t-shirts designed by tattooist, Dan. Dana Depta’s permanent make-up stall also had a range of cruelty-free horror soaps and sweary socks. Bognor CBD had an array of legal cannabis products to take the edge off the pain of the tattoo needle, including tea bags, vegan gummy sweets and even something for pets.
“There is a sentiment attached to each one of my tattoos. I can go through each of them and think, I got this when I was going through this…etc. All have been within the past 18 months and each time I get one done, I feel the need to fill another space on my body. At the moment it’s my hands- I almost feel a tingle, an uncomfortable buzzing, a compulsion to cover with ink,”
Speaking of animals although not veganism, the taxidermy stall was back. Who knows what the Wildlife Trust people two stalls away thought of the stuffed hedgehog. Fortunately, we discovered that taxidermy isn’t one of the three main enemies of hedgehogs. Their decline is down to loss of habitat, traffic, and garden fences which stop males from roaming around procreating, so be sure to leave a gap for hedgehogs so they can continue their womanizing ways.
“There’s a type of person who gets a tattoo- an adrenaline seeker,”
One new feature this year was an axe throwing challenge by TimberJacks. Hitting the target turned out to be more difficult than some punters anticipated, but was certainly one form of therapy.
While last year, blackout tattoos seemed to be the growing area, this year there didn’t appear to be any significant trends or new styles as such, with all kinds of tattooing art represented.
“I liked myself, my body- before I had any tattoos at all. But I learned I can express myself, who I am, all the different ‘mes’-through tattoos and piercings. I have divided my body into 2 sides- a good side and an evil side. My sister’s face is tattooed on the good side of my face and a devil is on the bad side. I was 19 when I got my first tattoo- it says “Love Music”- and 21 when I started tattooing my face and head. My most painful tattoo? Definitely my feet!”
However, we did notice that artists are increasingly pushing the boundaries and blending styles, such as neo-traditional takes on oriental themes. Mandala designs seem to be holding their popularity, particularly with female punters, while characters from popular culture are taking precedence over portraits of relatives. The predicted surge in post-pandemic memorial tattoos didn’t appear to have materialised. When it comes to colour, there seemed an increasingly divide between a more diverse palette for coloured tattoos and a corresponding rise in black and grey styles.
As Lux Interior once said, ‘The rules are – there are no rules, everything goes’. So, whether you want to blend Einstein with a cartoon character or graffiti art with realism, or a donkey with two old crows, tattooing has become a celebration of our mix and match culture where image overrides meaning. Embrace the chaos.
And the winners were:
Best oriental and overall winner – Kustom Creations Tattoos
Best realism – Zen Body Ink
Best traditional – Nick Brace, White Heart Tattoo
Best neo-traditional – Lyndon Minor
Best black and grey – Chay Watts
Best blackwork – Erin, Marlow Tattoo Lounge
Best avant garde – James T. Man
Best colour – Koh Style, Ushuaia Tattoo
FULL PHOTO REVIEW TO FOLLOW
Copyright – 1st 3 Magazine
Please do not reproduce article or images without permission
Alan had been looking forward to the forthcoming UK Tour, to celebrating his 50th Anniversary with YES and their iconic Close To The Edge album, where Alan’s journey with YES began in July 1972.
He recently celebrated the 40th Anniversary of his marriage to his loving wife Gigi. Alan passed away peacefully at home.
Alan was born in 1949 in County Durham. A number of health setbacks, since 2016, had restricted Alan’s time on stage with YES on recent tours with Jay Schellen filling in and Alan joining the band, to great applause, towards the end of each set.
Alan was considered to be one of the greatest rock drummers of all time and joined YES in 1972 for the Close to the Edge Tour. He had previously worked with John Lennon’s Plastic Ono band after a call, in 1969, to play at the Toronto Rock Festival. Alan continued working with Lennon including on the Imagine album and with George Harrison on All Things Must Pass. He also worked with several other musicians, over the years, including Ginger Baker’s Air Force, Joe Cocker, Gary Wright, Doris Troy and Billy Preston to name but a few. Alan White was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of YES in 2017.
YES will dedicate their 50th Anniversary Close to the Edge UK Tour in June to White.