Playlists
Soundtrack Of Our Lives: Magna Zero
For many of us who grew up playing in garage bands, we daydream about what life could’ve been like if we continued jamming and made it to the big-time. That very well could’ve been the case for progressive rock outfit Magna Zero, but after a ten year hiatus from growing up playing music together, they …
Soundtrack of Our Lives: Emma Spartz
It’s one thing to admire an artist’s work from afar, behind a screen, or in the crowd of a show. But it is something else entirely to share a personal connection with an inspiring artist — for myself and singer-songwriter Emma Spartz, that personal connection was SPEA-A 236/336: Music Industry I/II at university. In a …
Soundtrack of Our Lives: Who Parked The Car
I was first turned onto the French funk outfit Who Parked The Car when they submitted their second single, “Other Side” to me for review. Their throwback sound, in line with modern sensibilities, inspired me to the extent of reviewing their song on this very blog. Who Parked The Car showcased a seamless blend of …
Playlist: Rising soul singer Mica Millar gives us an exclusive playlist for International Women’s Day.
This being the week of International Women’s Day, we managed to get an exclusive playlist from Manchester singer Mica Millar – formally of Red Sky Noise, who’s picked us a playlist of powerful songs from powerful women to celebrate. Her own single Girl came out on the day, and was inspired by the stories shared …
Soundtrack Of Our Lives: Patrick Pearson of LYR
If you heard last years brilliant Call In The Crash Team, no doubt you’ll be a fan of LYR, the band comprised of poet laureate Simon Armitage alongside producers Richard Walters and Patrick Pearson. It’s slightly amazing and at the same time disconcerting that the band didn’t seem to get the recognition they so richly …
Droppin’ Knowledge: Behind The Boards With Baltimore’s Zen Master Of Sound, Shine
And we back…nah, nah, nah… Veteran Baltimore, Maryland producer Shine recently released his new album, As The Beauty Became, a lovely and luxuriant collection of mostly instrumental hip hop that pulses and hums with an organic vitality. This contemplative set of nine tracks also includes two sterling guest cuts, one with Brooklyn’s Nappy Nina, and …
Soundtrack of Our Lives: Bo Moore of The Peacers brings the groove
SAN FRAN’S Sic Alps, living guitar legends, were one of those bands which, with the amount of the talent in its ranks, could only burn bright and, like an unstable isotope, emit members to spin off into other musical pursuits, eventually to transform itself in a musical half-life. Tim Hellman went into the ranks of …
Soundtrack of Our Lives: Bill MacKay and Nathan Bowles freewheel us through great handpicked tracks
BILL MACKAY, the Chicago-based guitarist, improviser of note and all-round scion of six strings, sure loves to enter into a two-way conversation with other artists with reliably beautiful results; witness the brace of albums he’s recorded with the freewheelin’ Ryley Walker, Land Of Plenty and Spiderbeetlebee. And loving that American instrumental guitar tradition in all its iterations, from …
Soundtrack of Our Lives: breaking psych-folk troubadour E.R. Jurken takes us a for a trip through the music of his life
THEY loved what they heard so much they set up a label just for him. Yep, that’s the tale of E.R. (Ed to his friends) Jurken’s slow peregrination towards a recording contract once he’d landed in Chicago after one of those periods when life gets dismantled, leaves you tumbling in its riptides; criss-crossing the States, …
Playlist: Sarah Records – The Hundred
Here at Backseat Mafia, we’re totally cross genre. It’s how we like it. So you’re just as likely to see Deep House followed by Death Metal followed by neo-jazz or something. BUt we do have our favourites, and over the years, Sarah Records has always found its place on Backseat Mafia. Formed by Clare Wadd …