Spotlight On: Sananda Maitreya

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.

 https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/oct/05/why-terence-trent-darby-became-sananda-maitreya-it-was-that-or-death

if you let me me stay

this side of love

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.

Click here for The Guardian review with Sananda Maitreya

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.

the birds are singing - prometheus & pandora

Twitter - @SANANDAMAITREYA

click for the Sananda Maitreya Website

Albums of 2019: David Banks - Until The End

OK, first up, the album that I've been rocking to since it's release last week. David, or Dave Banks has released an absolute cracker as he lets his debut solo release, Until The End, loose on the world. Previously a member of the now on extended hiatus, The Whybirds,

The Whybirds

 Dave released his debut, via Pledgemusic, just before they started having issues, so the cd and download are now available via his Bandcamp page - link at the bottom of this piece.

Like his previous band, it's Americana/Alt-Country of the highest order and is well worthy of your attention.

The Whybirds

The first release from the album in January was Waiting In The Rain and is indicative of the tuneful upbeat songs from the album.

Click to hear Waiting In The Rain

You can hear just how good Until The End is by accessing the album tracks via Youtube on the link below - but please buy the album - great music needs supporting and the sound quality is far better on the cd.

click to access the Until The End youtube videos

Twitter - @TheDave2000

David Banks Bandcamp Page


click for The David Banks Website

Gypsyfingers : Live at Acapela Studios, Pentyrch Cardiff on Saturday 17th November, 2018

Tonight was another glorious evening of music at Acapela Studio as Gypsyfingers brought the full band to the best chapel in Wales.

Gypsyfingers aka Luke Oldfield (Vocals, Elelectric & Acoustic Guitars) and his wife Victoria (Vocals, Piano, Acoustic Guitar & French Horn) are augmented tonight by Pat Kenneally (Drums & Keyboard), Simon Hedges (Bass) and Tali Trow (Acoustic Guitar), 6 String Bass, Upright Bass & Piano) for their first ever Welsh gig. And there can be no better venue than the acoustically brilliant Acapela Studio.

The Duo have just released their new album, Stranger Things, the follow up to 2014's Circus Life, which came like a Pandora's Box of delights are they experimented with a multitude of styles and sound to produce an eclectic , heady mix. Featuring Victoria's classical influences, Luke's folk and rock background, add in a dash of hip hop and electronica and you still won't come close to the delights that album holds.

As is regular at Acapela, tonight the band had two 45 minute sets to delve into their two albums and pluck out the jewels. 

The band take to the stage and Luke & Victoria put on their horse and rabbit masks as featured on the cover artwork of Stranger Things. First two songs up are from the new album, opening with the instrumental Sophie's Dream and Half World.

Click here to play Sophie's Dream

Half World

As a template, the gig worked out peerfectly with enough time to showcase the band's two albums in a running order that kept the audience interested and teased. Slower songs were followed by quicker songs.

Eating Me

First half highlights included Eating Me, Get Yourself Out Of Town and The Island from Circus Life and Half World, The Bay and The Waves from Stranger things.

The Waves

Most of the lead vocals are taken by Victoria whose delicate hushed tones are counterpointed by Luke's beautifully fluid guitar phrases throughout the whole evening. And part one went by like a shot. It was one of those gigs where you could hear a pin drop during the performances and is a feature of the Acapela audiences who come to hear the music for bands like Gypsyfinger and give them the respect they deserve which is not often the case in larger more uncontrolled venues. I have never had to ask someone to stop talking during performances in Acapela and hopefully it'll stay that way.

Set 2 kicks off with Still In It from Stranger Things and set 2 has more songs from the newer album. As Victoria switches from Piano to Acoustic Guitar to French Horn it's obvious the lady has talent to spare.

Stranger Things is a definite step forward for the band and the inclusion of the three extra musicians tonight help to bring the fuller sound of the sophomore album to life in the live context without ever compromising on the delicacy of the music and the vocals.

Steel Bones

Hey Maria

Part 2 has some beautiful highlights including Steel Bones from Circus Life and Hey Maria from Stranger Things.

During set 2 we are treated to performances of Still In It, You, Bruised, Lump & Quit The Game.

Stranger Things

With the music being eclectic throughout the evening it had the effect of making the show absolutely fly by.

One thing I was really impressed with though was the fact that even with the added musicians on hand, Luke & Victoria managed to keep the arrangements simple and sympathetic to the songs. It must have been a temptation of expand the sound with he quality of musicianship available but they kept it relatively tight and focused. Not trying to recreate the album sounds and leaving the chapel to produce that fabulous sound it always manages to create for the musicians.

The nine songs of set two just flew by before the closer - the fabulous title track of Stranger Things.

However, we weren't letting the band go before at least one encore and they oblidged with a stunning version of Blue Sky with just Luke on acoustic guitar and Victoria playing French Horn. It really was the perfect ending to a perfect evening of music. 

Blue Sky

It really was a superb evening of Music and the duo are certainly well worth keeping an eye on in the future. With music hard to catagorise, which is a good thing, they have two excellent albums to build on and even though album two has just been released, I'm already looking forward to seeing where they decide to go on album 3. And that's how it should be.

Twitter - @Gypsyfingers

Click for GYPSYFINGERS OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Live In 2018: The John Hackett Band live at Acapela Studios, Pentrych on Sunday 30th September 2018

Acapela Studios added yet another top quality Prog Band to it's roster as John Hackett brought his band to South Wales to play the Chapel.

In an altruistic move, John handed over part of his set time to new band The Kentish Spires to play their first gig in Wales and only their second gig as a band. Featuring some Welsh talent, the band consisting of

Lucie V - Vocals

Paul Hornsby - Woodwind

Danny Chang - Guitar

Rik Loveridge - Keyboards

Phil Warren - Bass

Tim Robinson - Drums

They have just released their first album - The Last Harvest. Very much in the vein of The Canterbury Scene of Prog, the band warmed the audience up nicely and were self assured as they worked their way through several tracks from The Last Harvest.

 

                                                                       

It was great to hear some of those special Canterbury phrasings and instrumental sections, bringing to mind those classic bands such as Caravan, Matching Mole and Hatfield & The North.

And being only their second gig - they were pretty darned impressive. Keep your eyes and ears open for more gigs and you could do a lot worse than investigating The Last Harvest.

John Hackett, yes he IS the brother of Steve (of Genesis fame), has been following his own path for several years now. 

John has been releasing albums under his own name since Velvet Afternoon was released in 2004 although he had appeared on many albums as a flautist since appearing on the album The Road (1970) by  Quiet World - a band he was in with his brother Steve. Last year he released We Are Not Alone - the first album with his band.

John's Band consists of

John Hackett - Keyboards, Flute, Guitar and Vocals

Jeremy Richardson - Bass, Guitar and Lead Vocals

Nick Fletcher - Guitar

Duncan Parsons - Drums, Percussion & Vocals

I would describe the Band's music as Rock with a Prog and slightly Jazz feel. Not really like brother Steve's but just as interesting and eclectic.

The songs tonight came from the following albums

Checking Out London (2005)  Another Life (2015) and the latest We Are Not Alone (2017)

The set opens with Whispers from Checking Out Of London before two songs from We Are Not Alone - Look Up and Life In Reverse

Promo Video for Another Life

Don't expect major Prog epics from John - that's not the band's style. Many of the songs come in at the usual 5 minutes or under. Some tracks are purely instrumental, while others are almost commercial in tone - reminiscent of Chris Rea or even Dire Straits to my ears such as Never Gonna Make A Dime.

The quality of musicianship on show tonight is second to none and the intricate arrangements are suitably executed with a dash of panache and humour. All of the band members get their time in the sun and it also highlights just how good a musician John is in his own right - and not just his flute playing, which is always a joy to hear.

Promo Video for We Are Not Alone

The band also have a lovely jazz tinged flavour - reminiscent of the band Caravan - especially in the flute wanderings - highlighted beautifully on Queenie & Elmo's Perfect Day

Video for Queenie & Elmo's Perfect Day

Jeremy Richardson as lead vocalist is in fine voice throughout the evening and with Duncan Parsons on drums grounds the band solidly leaving John and especially Nick Fletcher on guitar to carry the instrumental colours on tracks such as Jericho.

The band do get a chance to Prog Out with the longer track Winds Of Change.

Magazine brings back memories of Greg Lake in King Crimson before the inevitable encore of Red Hair - another instrumental track which enables the band to show their considerable skills.

Video For Dreamtown

Video for Red Hair

Another fine evening of Musicianship at Acapela Studios - and I even got the chance to thank John for his work on Anthony Phillips album The Geese & The Ghost. He laughed at that.

 Official John Hackett Website

Twitter - @johnhackettband

click for The Kentish Spires Bandcamp Site

Live in 2018: Logicaltramp at Acapela Studios, Pentyrch, Cardiff on Saturday 13th October 2018

There is a lot of snobbery surrounding 'Tribute' Bands. I'll set my stall out straight away and state that I have no problem whatsoever with Tribute Bands. In many cases, these bands provide the only outlet of hearing great songs live once again in a 'Live' context. 

I've seen several tribute bands over the years. Some good, some bad. But when they do it well, a Tribute Band can give a great night of entertainment.

I've never seen a tribute band for Supertramp before so I have no benchmark for comparison. However, I doubt I'm going to see a better Supertramp Tribute Band than Logicaltramp.

They needed some serious instrumentation to bring those classic songs to life and they did so with plenty of elan and style.

Consisting of

Gary Hopkins - Lead Vocals (Rick Davies Songs) - Keyboards & 12 String Guitar

Tamas Csemez - Lead Vocals (Roger Hodgson Songs)

Anthony Clayton - Guitar

Serge Sainte-Rose - Piano/Keyboards

Laurent Hunziker - Saxophones/Harmonica/Backing Vocals

Alex Kundig - Bass/Backing Vocals

Grant Wildy - Drums

the band delivered an evening of top quality performances which did justice to the original recordings.

Concentrating on the classic albums Crime Of The Century & Breakfast In America, the band gave us two hours of classic Supertramp - with additional tracks from most of the Supertramp catalogue of albums.

The one major mistake, as far as I'm concerned, that Tribute Bands often make is that they try to imitate the vocal performances. I'm glad to say that tonight both Gary & Tamas do not try and imitate Rick & Roger but sung in their own distinctive voices and left the instrumentation to carry the vibe of the original recordings. 

From that first eerie string note and the harmonica solo of Take The Long Way Home we were off and running. I cannot compliment the band enough on the arrangements of the songs for the whole of the evening as they played hit after hit to such as consummate standard.

Ain't Nobody But Me came up next and showed we weren't just in for a Greatest Hits Show, the band were going to throw in some album tracks and lesser known songs. And they did it with seamless authority.

The crowd pleasing Breakfast In America got the crowd singing and I must say I was SO pleased that the Acapela audience turned out for these guys with an almost full house.

Bloody Well Right is always a crowd pleaser and back in 1974/75 could be heard blasting out of more than one bedroom window as a sign of teenage disobedience. Tonight it was just another excuse for a great singalong. It really brought it home tonight with so many of its tracks getting an airing what a great album Crime actually is - All Killer, No Filler as the saying goes.

I had a shiver of excitement as I saw Gary Hopkins unbox his 12 string acoustic. I knew immediately of two songs which this would lead into. But......

Now, if I have one bone to pick with the Band tonight it was the next section. They played Easy Does It - the opening track from Crisis, What Crisis? but unlike the album and subsequent live shows they did not follow it with Sister Moonshine - which happens to be MY favourite Supertamp song. But I hid my disappointment and whistled along anyway. And they followed this with another Crisis crowd pleaser, Lady.

Another lesser known track came next with Rick's song, Waiting So Long from Famous Last Words. And to balance the set up - the next track was also from the same album but was a little bit better known as they played a terrific version of the huge hit, It's Raining Again.

As is so gratefully accepted in Acapela performances, the Band have split the show into two halves and Part One is joyfully brought to a close with a blistering version of Goodbye Stranger. A special mention here for Anthony Clayton who provides several excellent electric guitar solos over the evening including a classic solo in Goodbye Stranger which he hits note for note while inserting some lovely flourishes of his own.

Well, we thought Part One was good - Part Two was even better when that harmonica solo begins and School emanates through the Acapela sound system. With another cracking guitar solo from Anthony Clayton the band are soon back into their stride.

Another track for the true fans came next with the song - You Started Laughing which was on the live album, Paris. Crime Of The Century once again provides the next track as the gorgeous Hide In Your Shell shows just how good a vocalist Tamas actually is. 

And not to be outdone - Gary Hopkins puts in a stellar vocal performance for the following track, Just Another Nervous Wreck from Breakfast In America in which all of the band get a chance to really rock out and brought all of the Acapela audience straight to their feet.

It was another singalong moment next as the band performed Dreamer and raised the roof on Acapela.

Just as I thought Even In The Quietest Moments deserved a mention - Gary Hopkins took to the mic and launched into an excellent version of From Now On. He then stayed at the mic to follow this with another killer album track - Rudy from Crime.

The 12 string was unboxed yet again for that other 12 string Supertamp hit from the Quietest Moments album - Give A Little Bit. Once again with 100% audience participation. 

It was another 'shiver down the spine' moment next as that lovely piano phrase opens the epic track Fools Overture - the killer closing track of Even In The Quietest Moments. At over 11 minutes long, I didn't think they'd include it in the set - but by Jove, they did and it was absolutely brilliant as they included all of the sound effects included in the track. What a way to end a show and gave the band a well deserved standing ovation. 

There was no way that the Acapela audience were letting these guys go without an encore and sure enough they came back with other huge Supertamp hit - The Logical Song. That would have been enough but they stayed on for one more track - and what a track to end with, the title track from Crime Of The Century which they played beautifully, leading to another well deserved standing ovation.

So the end to a fabulous night of music. So many smiling faces as the Acapela Audience got a chance to sing along with these fantastic songs. And so may great ones they could have played from that fabulous Supertramp back catalogue of music. 

With Supertramp no longer around and Roger Hodgson playing only the larger venues - it's up to the passionate tribute bands such as Logicaltramp to keep these songs alive in a live context. And I have to say they did a superb job and I'd go and see them again tomorrow if I could. If they come near you, and you like the Supertramp catalogue then go and see them. You'll be surprised.

The Official Logicaltramp Website

Twitter - @logicaltramp