Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
BOY-WE WERE HERE.
BOY-WE WERE HERE. Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass first met in 2005, at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. They were both students on a pop music course. Singer Valeska Steiner had travelled from Zurich in Switzerland, to join the course. Bassist Sonja Glass was local. She had been born in Hamburg, and lived …
RAY STEVENS-FACE THE MUSIC-THE COMPLETE MONUMENT SINGLES 1965-1970.
RAY STEVENS-FACE THE MUSIC-THE COMPLETE MONUMENT SINGLES 1965-1970. In a career that’s lasted the best part of sixty years, Ray Stevens has been a singer, songwriter, session musician, arranger and producer. He’s a member of various Halls Of Fame and has won two Grammy Awards. Ray Stevens is also a truly prolific, and has released …
CHARLEY PRIDE-THE HAPPINESS OF HAVING YOU/SUNDAY MORNING WITH CHARLEY PRIDE/SHE’S JUST AN OLD LOVE TURNED MEMORY/SOMEONE LOVES YOU HONEY.
CHARLEY PRIDE-THE HAPPINESS OF HAVING YOU/SUNDAY MORNING WITH CHARLEY PRIDE/SHE’S JUST AN OLD LOVE TURNED MEMORY/SOMEONE LOVES YOU HONEY. When Charley Pride released his debut album Country in April 1966, it reached number sixteen in the US Billboard Country charts, and was certified gold. This was the start of a six year period when Charley …
QLUSTER-ECHTZEIT.
QLUSTER-ECHTZEIT. Back in 1969, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius and Conrad Schnitzler founded Kluster, which would become one of the most important groups in the nascent Krautrock movement. Kluster went on to release two albums between 1969 and 1971, Zwei-Ostere and Klopfzeichen. However, in 1971 Conrad Schnitzler announced that he was leaving Kluster. So Hans-Joachim Roedelius …
CLEAR LIGHT-CLEAR LIGHT.
CLEAR LIGHT-CLEAR LIGHT. There aren’t many record labels that are founded in a college dorm. However, that’s where the Elektra Records story began in 1950. Jac Holman and Paul Rickol were students at the prestigious and exclusive St. John’s College, in Santa Fe. They decided to form a record label, and agreed to invest $300 …
HARMONY OF THE SOUL: VOCAL GROUPS 1962-1967.
HARMONY OF THE SOUL: VOCAL GROUPS 1962-1967. For many record companies, especially smaller independent labels, a successful compilation can be the answer to a label manager’s prayers. Suddenly, all the small losses that they’ve accumulated over the financial year are wiped out. Even better, there’s some profit left over. So it’s no surprise that the …
HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS- AWARDS, HARMONIA, CLUSTER AND QLUSTER.
HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS- AWARDS, HARMONIA, CLUSTER AND QLUSTER. The words pioneer and innovator are often overused. However, it is a fitting description of Hans-Joachim Roedelius. He is, without doubt, one of the most inventive and influential musicians of the past fifty years. His music has influenced and inspired several generation of musician. That’s why recently, Hans-Joachim Roedelius was awarded a Schallwelle …
EMMA POLLOCK-IN SEARCH OF HARPERFIELD-VINYL EDITION.
EMMA POLLOCK-IN SEARCH OF HARPERFIELD-VINYL EDITION. Most people haven’t heard of Castle Douglas. Why should they? It’s a small market town in Dumfries and Galloway, in south-west Scotland. However, Castle Douglas has been home to some famous faces over the last 224 years. This includes a potter, politician, footballer and two rugby players. However, they’ve …
SENEGAL 70-SONIC GEMS AND PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED GEMS FROM THE 70S VINYL EDITION.
SENEGAL 70-SONIC GEMS AND PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED GEMS FROM THE 70S VINYL EDITION. For their first release of 2016, Senegal 70 Sonic Gems and Previously Unreleased Recordings From The 70s, Analog Africa return to what was the musical capital of West Africa, Senegal. It had one of the most vibrant musical scenes in West Africa. That …
WHERE THE GIRLS ARE VOLUME 9.
WHERE THE GIRLS ARE VOLUME 9. Recently, Ace Records released a new volume in one of their longest running, and most successful compilation series. The compilation series in question, is Where The Girls Are. Its story began back on 27th May 1997. That’s when Ace Records released Where The Girls Are. Back then, hope was …
THINGS GONNA GET BETTER: STREET FUNK AND JAZZ GROOVES 1970-1977.
THINGS GONNA GET BETTER: STREET FUNK AND JAZZ GROOVES 1970-1977. As the seventies dawned, America was still at war in Vietnam, and the struggle for racial equality continued. Things were improving, but still, when it came to racal equality, America’s report card said “could do better.” There was hope though. The civil rights movement hoped …
WHITE LIGHT-PARABLE.
WHITE LIGHT-PARABLE. Glasgow in the early seventies was a very different place to it is today. While it wasn’t the same place as portrayed in No Mean City, Glasgow was still a tough place to grow up. The second was still part of Scotland’s industrial heartland, where people worked hard and played hard. However, Glasgow …
NICKLAS SORENSEN-SOLO.
NICKLAS SORENSEN-SOLO. Back in late 2010, Copenhagen based instrumental rock trio Papir, released their eponymous debut album. Papir was released to critical acclaim, and in the process, launched the career of one of the rising stars of the Nordic music scene. A year later, in 2011, Papir returned with their sophomore album Stundum. It was …
YURI GAGARIN-AT THE CENTER OF ALL INFINITY.
YURI GAGARIN-AT THE CENTER OF ALL INFINITY. Since the dawn of the internet age, the way music has been made, released and consumed has been totally transformed. For unsigned bands this has been a game-changer. Yuri Gagarin are proof of this. Swedish space rockers Yuri Gagarin were formed in Gothenburg, in early 2012. For the …
SULA BASSANA-SHIPWRECKED.
SULA BASSANA-SHIPWRECKED. Nowadays, most musicians are content to release an album every year or two. It’s a far cry from the sixties and seventies when bands would regularly release two albums a year. That most people thought, was a thing of the past. However, it’s not. Dave Schmidt is proof of this. His three groups …
BAUMAN/KOEK-BAUMAN/KOEK-VINYL EDITION.
BAUMAN/KOEK-BAUMAN/KOEK-VINYL EDITION. By 1978, German music was changing. The Krautrock era had ended in 1977, and there was a move towards electronic music. This wasn’t new. The Berlin School had been around since the early seventies. It was also a precursor of ambient music, and went on to influence future generations of ambient musicians. Among the …
THE PARIS SISTERS- ALWAYS HEAVENLY-THE PARIS SISTERS ANTHOLOGY.
THE PARIS SISTERS- ALWAYS HEAVENLY-THE PARIS SISTERS ANTHOLOGY. The Paris Sisters weren’t an overnight success. Far from it. It took nearly a decade of hard work and dedication before they made a commercial breakthrough. Suddenly, all the hard work was worthwhile. Especially when I Love How You Love Me reached five on the US Billboard …
CHARLEY PRIDE-DID YOU THINK TO PRAY/A SUNSHINE LOVE/SONGS OF LOVE/ SWEET COUNTRY.
CHARLEY PRIDE-DID YOU THINK TO PRAY/A SUNSHINE LOVE/SONGS OF LOVE/ SWEET COUNTRY. Growing up, in Sledge, Mississippi, Charley Pride had two loves. The first was baseball, the other was music. Music however, was just a hobby for Charley Pride. His mother bought him a guitar in 1950, when Charley was just fourteen. Soon, he had …
CLARENCE CARTER-THIS IS CLARENCE CARTER & THE DYNAMIC CLARENCE CARTER.
CLARENCE CARTER-THIS IS CLARENCE CARTER & THE DYNAMIC CLARENCE CARTER. The Clarence Carter story is one of triumph over adversity. Clarence Carter was born in Alabama, on January 14 1936. Sadly, shortly after his birth, doctors discovered that Clarence Carter was blind. This was a huge blow for the Carter family. They worried what the …
KRIS DREVER-IF WISHES WERE HORSES.
KRIS DREVER-IF WISHES WERE HORSES. For the last decade, Kris Drever has managed to combine his solo career, with being a member of Lau, who nowadays, are one of the most successful, respected and progressive British folk bands of their generation. However, to reach the heights Lau have, hasn’t been easy. Each of the three …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 