musomusofm on the radar playlist #53 - My Baby, Michael Wilford, The Heavy North, Fearn, Toothbrush and more....
My mother always used to tell me, as you get older, the time flies by, I think this is true as I looked at the calendar today and it said 2nd May, that’s nearly half of the year gone already, where is it going? I was going to say that it will be festival season soon but as I attended Rattler Fest in Cornwall last weekend, that milestone has been achieved already, tick in the box.
After playlist #50 went live, I had just a few new tracks to showcase for you so decided to take a couple of weeks off, now I’ve had a bit of a rest from doing them every 2-3 days, I will be approaching things a little slower, that’s not to say that if a sudden deluge of new material comes beating down my door that I won’t be uploading it as soon as I can but I don’t anticipate having to do so 3-4 times a week which was really starting to take its toll on me (I’m 50 in a couple of months!)
So, we have another 9 incredible acts and bands for you, there are some real gems in amongst this collection, please make time to listen to them all and explore them further if you can, the second act ‘My Baby’ are an incredible live act and have just dropped a new record, plenty of new material to check out right there!
As usual, the featured acts will be listed below the playlist, read their bios, click on their social links and give them a like if you’re feeling the love.
See you on the other side.
My Baby
Amsterdam’s trailblazing Psych trio MY BABY have collaborated with 5-time Grammy Award-winning Steve Dub (Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Daft Punk) for their new album ‘sake sake sake’ (available NOW).
Transforming MY BABY’s signature raw roots-based psychedelia into a sleek, futuristic vessel of nuanced pop, ‘sake sake sake’ offers wider appeal whilst retaining the inter-galactical magic that gave rise to MY BABY’s critical acclaim and popularity on the worldwide live circuit.
Sounds like: Dreamwave Pop, Goldfrapp, Ninja Tune back catalogue, lost weekends, groove-ridden psychedelia, Prince, The Black Keys, 90’s Trip Hop.
With perpetual innovation at their core, MY BABY’s latest offering is unquestionably refined, yet still bites with darker, jagged edges. An industrial-electronic veneer elevating classic songwriting into all-out bangers.
Their live shows sell-out in every corner of the Globe, they remain in perpetual demand all over.
MY BABY will bring their hypnotic stage presence back to the UK this autumn for a series of shows – dates TBA. In the meantime, stream the album, then buy it and wait for the shows to be announced, more details can be found at the various social sites below.
Socials
Michael Wilford
Michael Wilford has always been inspired by the timeless love held in old songs and romanticized by Hollywood. It’s these ideas that fuelled the story in his new song ‘Esraela’. Playing with a genre idea coined ‘Suit and Tie pop’, ‘Esraela’ takes classic crooner sensibility and gives it a contemporary shine - a timeless love story in a modern setting.
‘Esraela’ pairs swaggering grooves and swanky guitar riffs with a story of love reasserting itself. The story begins when a mysterious woman, sits beside the narrator on a train. Hints of romance commence and we begin to understand that they aren’t strangers: “meet me tonight for the first time again, kiss me as if your lips don’t know mine yet,” but are actually lovers rediscovering one another, strengthening their existing feelings and falling in love over and over again.
Like Frank Sinatra in a leather jacket, the swaying croon of Elijah Quinn over the rock inflected instrumental makes this a song that pairs equally with your favourite cocktail and with the desire to runaway from the world with the person you love.
‘Esraela’ marks the third release for Michael Wilford and the songwriter/drummer has already generated a lot of buzz. He has been described by weareymx.com as a “completely next-level new artist able to blow your mind off,” he is a two time finalist in the International Songwriting Competition (currently a finalist in the Blues Category with his song Scotch), and his music has charted on Canadian Radio Charts and received International radio play.
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The Heavy North
Following a lengthy delay in vinyl manufacturing, Liverpool six-piece garage/blues rock band The Heavy North are pleased to announce their long-awaited debut 10-track album Electric Soul Machine which landed on Saturday 23rd April 2022, coinciding with this year’s Record Store Day.
Electric Soul Machine will be the second physical release from the band after 2020’s debut 4-track vinyl EP ‘Dive Bar Blues’, and follows a succession of single releases over the last 12 months culminating with latest track ‘Satisfy You’ released on New Year’s Day 2022.
In addition to picking up airplay on BBC 6 Music, Radio X and BBC Introducing, The Heavy North have recently been championed by Scottish actor and new music champion Robert Carlyle OBE (Begbie from Trainspotting) who described the garage blues outfit as a "top, top band".
On Christmas Day 2021 the band shared a private preview link to their forthcoming debut album with fans who pre-ordered the album on 12" gatefold vinyl or CD. "We wanted to give everyone who helped us make Electric Soul Machine the opportunity to hear it for 24 hours, and we received some great comments from people who were listening to our album on Christmas Day which was amazing" said The Heavy North frontman Kenny Stuart.
“Electric Soul Machine was actually finished in August 2021, but unfortunately there’s been a global delay in vinyl manufacturing so it’s taken a bit longer than we expected, but hopefully our fans and followers will think it’s well worth the wait”.
“The album is a collection of ten tracks recorded at Jose’s 3rd Planet Recording Studio last year, and as another way to thank those who pre-ordered the album we’ve also added 150 names to the gatefold artwork of the 12” vinyl” added Kenny.
In February this year, The Heavy North played a handful of UK shows in Bristol, London, Birmingham and Blackpool to road-test tracks from the upcoming album, and the band are looking forward to playing Electric Soul Machine in full later this year on their own UK headline tour.
“We’ve got a couple of live shows and festivals over the summer, but we’ll be back on tour in September and look forward to playing some of the Electric Soul Machine tracks live for the first time”.
Laced with quality riffs, blistering solos and with more hooks than a fisherman’s tackle box, Electric Soul Machine should be on your playlist, go check it out right now!
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Fearn
“'Waiting Room' was the first track that I have explored using my own vocals in (previously usually hiding behind a musical instrument).” explains Will Taylor aka Fearn.
'Waiting Room' is about the formative stages of life that you miss if you are to blink too slowly.
It is about the decisions you are supposed to take at a young age about what path you want to take in life.
It is about finding peace in simplicity.
The track features backing vocals from friends Jake Calladine (Bristol), Folarin Akinmade (London), and Lee Stuart (Wellington, New Zealand), and was mixed by producer/mixer Jonathan Hucks.
Talking about the making of the track, Will adds, “The initial stages of the track were formed in Spring 2020, and I thought that it was just going to sit on my desktop, until I released a clip of it onto my social media. An old school friend reached out to me and showed a genuine interest in the track. This inspired me to pursue the track and that's when Fearn was created. I think a solo project has always been lying dormant in me, but this was the push that I needed.”
‘Waiting Room’ features brass from Dave Huntriss and strings from Harry Fausing Smith.
The track was mastered by Two Zero Nine Mastery.
At a fraction over 2 minutes, this is a sublime slice of indie-folk which, combined with the instrumentation (including some wonderfully subtle brass) and tender vocals, deserves a place in your collection. Explore this artist as I am certain that there will be more gems coming your way throughout the remainder of the year.
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Toothbrush
Toothbrush are six big kids from London's belt who get loose with their latest offering ‘Kaleidoscope’.
Recorded at Catherine Songs Studios in the early, pre-pandemic times of 2020, ‘Kaleidoscope’ sees Toothbrush debut as an exciting new voice, merging post-punk influences with an undeniably danceable edge.
Mixed by Tony Burrata at Catherine Songs Studios, mastered by Cicely Balston at AIR Studios Lyndhurst and featuring artwork by Ellie Bingham, ‘Kaleidoscope’ is the complete package, with its deadpan spoken word delivery, it echoes other UK mainstays such as Yard Act and Dry Cleaning.
‘Kaleidoscope’ is something for the band to be proud of and something for the press and fans to get their talons/teeth into, come along and get involved, you can thank me later!
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SO there you have it folks, another 9 awesome tracks for you to get your ears around. If you liked any of them, please hit them up on the socials and tell them, mention that you heard them on the musomusofm on the radar playlist and they might even buy me a cookie if our paths ever cross!
Please take a moment to spread the word on social media, it’s on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, just head to musomusouk on either platform and give it a LIKE, SHARE, THUMBS UP or whatever you can!
Until next time…..