Music
Album Review: Bunny Wailer – The Solomonic Singles Pt.1 (Tread Along 1969-1976) & Pt.2 (Rise and Shine)
In the reggae pantheon, no one stands taller than the original Wailing Wailers, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. These three men, as members of that seminal group, ushered in the roots reggae revolution of the 1970s and still exert a profound influence on the genre and, music in general, today. They were artists …
Not Forgotten: Vernon Elliott – Clangers: Original Television Music
Do you remember when a group of knitted pink miniature aardvarks to rocked your world? More action-packed than Bagpuss, cooler than Chorlton and the Wheelies, more psychedelic than Jamie and The Magic Torch and less mainstream than The Wombles, when it came to kids TV in my early youth, only the incomparable Danger Mouse rocked …
Album Review: Peter Nordberg, Om man inte är här
Peter Nordberg puts his acoustic guitar to one side and fills your mind with detailed electronic soundscapes you can’t help but explore. It is not easy reviewing music when the lyrics aren’t in your native language. But music transcends the spoken languages communicating with you through tonal variations of vocals and instruments, timbre (musical texture), …
Preview: Strange Waves, Manchester 09.09.2016
A meeting of minds in Manchester has set wheels in motion for something rather special that is to come on 9th September 2016. Promoters Strange Days and Now Wave have joined forces to offer an exclusive event being held at The O2 Ritz over two stages, with proceedings continuing through to 1am. Headlining the event …
See: Scandroid releases lyric video for Empty Streets
Scandroid, aka Detroit based artist/producer Klayton, best know for his project Celldweller, has released a lyric video for Empty Streets, taken from his as yet untitled album, due out in mid-November. Described as a 80s/NewRetroWave/Synthwave/Cyberpunk inspired project set 500 years in the future in Neo Tokyo, Scandroid deals in Industrial sounds, with propelling beats and …
See: Hannah Peel releases new video for All That Matters
Here at backseat mafia towers, we’re eagerly anticipating the arrival of Magnetic North frontwoman Hannah Peel’s second solo record, Awake But Always Dreaming, which drops on 9th September. Ahead of the release Peel has released a new video for the lead single, All that Matters. Talking of the track, Peel says “I wrote this song …
Preview: Reading And Leeds Festival 2016
Reading and Leeds Festival is now only TWO WEEKS away! The bank-holiday is fast approaching and with Reading already selling out of weekend tickets, you’d better move fast if you want to head to the Northern date of the festival. Here at Backseat Mafia, we’ve picked out our 10 artists you should check out if …
Album Review: Ezra Furman – Big Fugitive Life
It was the eighties that made androgyny so popular. Huge stars like Prince, Boy George and Adam Ant showed that it was just as cool for a man to rock lipstick and eyeliner as it was the girls. That flamboyancy has gone hand in hand with the music world ever since. Ezra Furman arrived on …
Buyers’ Guide: Slade – Live
Perhaps more than at any other point in the history of popular song, the early 70s were a schizophrenic time for rock music, particularly here in the UK, with a sharp contrast between the singles and albums charts. In the album charts, heavyweights like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and a whole host of other hairy …
Feature: Kevin Barnes : Of Montreal’s Svengali
I’m sitting in my living room after a couple beers and maybe a shot or two of Johnnie Walker Red and I’m on my second spin of the new Of Montreal long player Innocence Reaches. I’m once again in awe of the mighty and ADD-afflicted Kevin Barnes. This album seems to encapsulate all that is Kevin …