Artist: Buena Vista Social Club
Release: Lost and Found
Label: World Circuit
Genre: World
“both timeless and thoroughly contemporary..” – fROOTSAlmost two decades after the release of the original, Grammy winning album, the romance of the Buena Vista Social Club continues with Lost and Found, a collection of previously unreleased tracks, some recorded at the first legendary sessions in Havana with producer Ry Cooder and others during the extraordinarily rich outpouring of music that followed.
The original Buena Vista Social Club album was recorded for World Circuit Records by Ry Cooder and Nick Gold over seven days in Havana in 1996, bringing together many of the great names of the golden age of Cuban music in the 1950s, several of whom were coaxed out of retirement for the sessions. The album became a surprise international best-seller and the most successful album in the history of Cuban music.
At the time, nobody had any idea that the record was merely the start of a musical phenomenon. In the years that followed the Buena Vista veterans toured the world to ecstatic audiences and were the subject of a celebrated feature film directed by Wim Wenders. Further acclaimed recordings followed, including solo releases by the singers Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo, virtuoso pianist Rubén González and bassist Cachaíto López and a celebratory live album recorded at a triumphant concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Buena Vista Social Club had become a household name. A core band featuring several of the original musicians continue to sell out shows world-wide as Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club. They embark on their farewell ‘Adios’ tour in 2015.
“Over the years we were often asked what unreleased material was left in the vaults,” says World Circuit’s Nick Gold. “We knew of some gems, favourites amongst the musicians, but we were always too busy working on the next project to go back and see what else we had. When we eventually found the time, we were astonished at how much wonderful music there was.”
All the studio tracks were recorded for World Circuit at the Egrem studio in Havana during the rich and prolific period of creativity that followed the recording of the original album and stretched into the early 2000s. Spiced with live recordings from the same fertile period, there’s a tremendous and sometimes surprising variety to the material heard on Lost and Found. But there is a unifying thread built around a core collective of legendary musicians expressing an esprit de corps which everyone who was ever enchanted by Buena Vista Social Club will recognise and enjoy.
Artist: Gavin James
Release: The Book of Love
Label: GS Believe
Genre: Pop
“If you ignore Gavin James, you are losing out” Ed Sheeran
Having gone to number 1 in Ireland and racked up over 2.5 million plays online and spending 4 weeks in the Netherlands Top 40 chart on the live version of his Magnetic Fields’ Book of Love cover, new Irish superstar Gavin James releases the stunning tender studio version.
Inspired by a variety of influences, namely Damien Rice, Ray Lamontagne and Ray Charles, it is the young Irishman’s flair for songwriting, paired with his unparalleled vocal ability, that has marked James out as a star on the continual rise since releasing debut EP, “Say Hello”, stayed in the Irish chart for 6 months.
Freshly signed to Capitol Records (North America), Sony (Europe), Believe (France), Believe / Good Soldier (UK), Warner (Ireland), Gavin James is one of the hottest new talents in the world and bound for stardom in 2015.
Artist: Rewd Adams
Release: Hunger Pains 2
Label: RoadSound Music
Genre: Hip Hop
REWD ADAMS returns with a brand new mixtape – HUNGER PAINS 2, the fourth chapter in the Rewd Adams story, following a brief hiatus on from the previous chapters in the saga.
It has been a while since REWD touched down on the previous instalment, but there’s no time like the present and that’s exactly where REWD is at his sharpest, and trust me he’s never been more switched on than this latest offering.
HUNGER PAINS 2 still delivers REWD ADAMS’ lighting fast, dextrous wit and charm, but this time he’s hungry for more: REWD is on form, sat down; elbows firmly perched on the table, knife and fork in hand ready to eat what life has to offer. Not only have the ingredients matured but also the level of preparation has gone up a notch too. REWD ADAMS isn’t just solely about spraying bars or dropping a hot sixteen anymore, this guy can cook up songs and serve hooks that would sit on many a platter.
This new project picks up where the previous volume left off: those unbearable, stabbing, migraine inducing pains of hunger and raw talent that drove the first version have now evolved, especially after vital lessons learned on REWD AWAKENING and HOW NOT TO MAKE A LIVING, Rewd Adams is rejuvenated and ready for the world with a fresh outlook
HUNGER PAINS 2 sits ambiguously between hip hop and the ‘grey area’ in a way that’s distinctly unique without sounding tacky, or trying to be placed where most would consider urban as the genre of choice. Beat selection plays a big part too with REWD ADAMS rolling with two top chefs in TEEZA and BEAT BUTCHA guys at the top of their game who have each produced genre defining records with the biggest names in their respective scenes. Further collaborations come in the form of JETSUN, CARDIAK, LA based SINITUS TEMPO, LDN PRODUCTIONS, with the sole collaboration on the tape coming from RINSE MC.
At twelve condense tracks deep ‘HUNGER PAINS 2’ is easier to swallow than most… REWD ADAMS is still warming up but this serving will leave you more than fulfilled.
The album will be delivered in two formats: the first being a mixed version, stitched together by mix tape icon, KISS FM Hip Hop show hosting and DIZZEE RASCAL tour supporting DJ MK.
Artist: Grum
Release: Sunday Blue Sky
Label: Glasgow Underground
Genre: Dance
‘Sunday Blue Sky’ is a classic from Scottish house producer Grum. It boasts effortless, elastic rhythm and striking Orbital-influenced chords all topped with a wistful, dreamy vocal. An unusual mix that Grum contorts into a killer piece of electronic pop.
Remixes come from Petar Dundov and King Unique. Dundov turns in an absolute gem of a remix with the Croatian delivering the kind of elongated, pulsing masterpiece that will – like his classic “Oasis” – be perfect for DJs as varied as John Digweed and Prins Thomas. Matt Thomas aka King Unique adds a rough, bass-driven house workout with its roots firmly in the today’s electronic scene, yet fondly reminiscent of early Junior Boys Own.