I don't often get excited about new bands. I've been around too long and heard too much music but..... ... then I heard All The Beautiful Skies
All The Beautiful Skies formed in 2017. This as a result of a chance encounter on Twitter between singer Suzie Potts and songwriter/guitarist Craig Gibson, who at the time was a member of Manchester Indie band Puppet Rebellion. The pair began writing and recording songs together, finding common ground in an atmospheric folk sound that characterised their early collaborations.
Their haunting debut single Apart Alone was released in 2018 and was picked up straight away by BBC Introducing and a number of Indie Blogs. Having found a renewed sense of purpose after years of setbacks and frustrations with Puppet Rebellion, Craig decided to leave the band last year to focus solely on All The Beautiful Skies. And judging by the latest release, Bridges, I think he might have made the correct decision and I look forward to seeing where the band decide to take their sound next. And hopefully an album in 2019.
Sananda Maitreya. It's not a name that slips neatly off the tongue. But you've seen the picture and thought to yourself - I know that face from somewhere. Well, if you around in the mid to late 1980s you would have heard several of this musician's hits as they flew across the airwaves, one after another as his debut album went on to shift enough units to certify it 5 x Platinum. He was nominated for 3 Grammys in 1988 and went on to win one for his debut album.
The name of the album gives the game away - it was The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby. The album was a potent mix of Soul, Funk R&B and Rock and was the toast of 1988 and announced TTD as a star in the making. But, after that sensational debut he fell to the allure of artisitic freedom and his sophomore album, Neither Fish Nor Flesh sent the buying public running to the hills. Reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac and their singularly visioned follow up to Rumours, the sprawling Tusk, it's as if TTD put two fingers up to the record company and insisted on following his muse into territory unwanted by the general public. Although a few people, including myself, still bought it and were behind the man whose vision was to move beyond mere Top 40 action. Read this reappraisal from The Guardian from 2008 to get a taste.
Sananda has his own reasons as to what happened, and why. You can read a very good interview which explains a lot in this Guardian interview and I advise you to read it before carrying on.
OK - I'll assume you've read the interview. It tells his story so much better than I could. You can now see that Sananda has been somewhat prolific and NOT dropped off the face of the earth.
oh divina - wildcard
Since his last TTD album, Wildcard, during which he decided to change his identity, Sananda has released 6 albums - some doubles and even a triple. Songs and ideas galore.
bella - angels & Vampires
He has not lost any of his self confidence or his ability to pen a cracking tune. He's playing the music industry with his own rules. We should be supporting artists with such creativity. Especially when they are this good.
because you've changed - Nigor Mortis
I've picked a song from every album - just to show the breadth of his talent and the fact that he has not faded into the distance. It was just that the public stopped listening. Be that his own fault, he shouldn't be ignored.
Never know - the sphinx
Kangaroo - return to zooathlon
blanket on the ground - the rise of the zugebrian timelords
It's time to catch up with this man's career and give him a second chance. You may be surprised.
