Back in 1986, Frank Zappa spoke out against censorship on CNN’s “Crossfire” and said: “The biggest threat to America today is not communism. It’s moving America toward a fascist theocracy.”
Arctic Music Conference and Arctic Music Awards Lineup Released: Susan Aglukark, Twin Flames and More!
Only a few more days until the first-ever Arctic Music Conference and Arctic Music Awards! These online events are created to celebrate and support artists, music industry professionals, and other participants from the Arctic region.
The Keynote Speaker for the 2023 Arctic Music Conference and Arctic Music Awards will be multi-award winner Susan Aglukark. There will be virtual performances from Twin Flames, Beatrice Deer, Uyarakq, Tarrak x Peand-eL, Aasiva, and Jacob Okatsiak. Learn more at www.hitmakerz.com/blog/lineuppart1
Workshops for the 2023 Arctic Music Conference & Arctic Music Awards include: 60 Things to Post on Social Media in 60 minutes – Eric Alper, Performance and Stage Presence – K.ÓLA, Songwriting – Anna Fauske, Fundraising for Music Projects – Nunavut Music (Thor Simonsen), Entertainment Law for Artists – Edwards Creative Law (Byron Pascoe), and Music Distribution and Marketing with CD Baby – CD Baby (Darryl Hurs & Kevin Breuner). Learn more at www.hitmakerz.com/blog/lineuppart2
There will be three panels with industry professionals on the following topics: Language, Culture, and Global Export, Overcoming the Arctic’s Barriers to Entry, and Impact of Climate Change on Northern and Remote Artists. Lean more at https://www.hitmakerz.com/blog/lineuppart3
The program will bring together people from across Arctic nations, and events will include award presentations, workshops, performances, and panel discussions about how music can improve the quality of life in the north.
The conference will take place virtually on Zoom, March 24-25, 2023, and tickets are now available at ArcticMusicConference.com
The award categories are:
- Artist of the Year
- Group of the Year
- Indigenous Artist/Group of the Year
- Single of the Year
- Album of the Year
- Music Video of the Year
The events are organized by Hitmakerz, an Iqaluit-based record label, and Nunavut Music, the territorial music industry association. The project was made possible with support from the Government Nunavut, FACTOR, and Canada’s private radio broadcasters.
Due to having international participants from multiple Arctic nations, events will be held primarily in English, and the organizers hope to make the events annual, rotating the country of focus each year.
The Arctic is a stunningly musical region, but it faces various challenges. The Arctic Music Conference and Arctic Music Awards aim to bring people together, share knowledge, and provide opportunities for economic and cultural growth.
ABBA “Ring Ring” 50th Anniversary With New Re-Issues
The year of 2023 sees the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s debut album, Ring Ring. It is an important album in the amazing history of the group, as it shows us their birth: the fascinating start of their journey, finding out who they are and where their strengths lie.
Reaching record shops in Sweden on 26 March 1973, Ring Ring offered a wealth of great pop tunes. There was, for instance, “People Need Love”, the very first ABBA single, and “He Is Your Brother”, a popular number on ABBA’s 1977 tour of Europe and Australia. Crucially, on the title track the ABBA sound was born, as the group discovered how attractive the sound of multi-layered vocals was, and how exciting a song could be if you made use of all the possibilities of the recording studio.
The public responded well to “Ring Ring” – the song and the album. Famously, for two consecutive weeks in April 1973, the Swedish “Ring Ring” single was at number one, the English-language version at number two, and the Ring Ring album at number three on the combined singles-and-albums chart used in Sweden at the time. Record-buyers had fallen head over heels in love with this brand new group. And ABBA’s sense of joy in trying different song styles and thrilling studio trickery can still be felt today, half a century later.
The Ring Ring album was originally credited to Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida – the name ABBA didn’t quite exist yet. The group itself almost didn’t exist, as the two ladies were still pursuing solo careers, and the two men were busy with many different projects when the album was recorded. But its huge success sealed the deal: from now on they would be ABBA.
To celebrate this milestone, the LP Ring Ring and its singles will be available for pre-order on the following formats on March 23.
To celebrate this milestone, the LP Ring Ring and its singles will be available for pre-order on the following formats on March 23.
- 2LP 45 RPM remastered at Abbey Road Studios in a gatefold sleeve featuring obi-strip and certificate of authenticity.
- 5×7″ Colour Singles Box Set (D2C Exclusive)
- Individual 7″ Picture Discs:
- He Is Your Brother / Santa Rosa
- People Need Love / Merry-Go-Round
- Ring Ring (English) / She’s My Kind of Girl
- Ring Ring (Swedish), Åh, vilka tider
- Love Isn’t Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough / I Am Just A Girl
Ellie Goulding Releases New Single “By The End Of The Night”
Today sees pop superstar Ellie Goulding release her new single “By the End of the Night”. Ellie’s hotly anticipated fifth studio album Higher Than Heaven is due for release this April 7th. “By the End of the Night” follows the recent release of trance banger “Miracle” with Calvin Harris – Miracle, which entered the UK Official Chart at #3 and has been met with a huge response from fans and critics alike.
Speaking of the track, Ellie says: “I feel like we’ve all been through such a lot over the last few years, we’re still processing everything. I don’t know if it’s just me but I feel like we need music that uplifts us and makes us feel good and that’s exactly how I feel about By The End Of The Night. It gives me a sense of euphoric, sensual escape , like being on a dancefloor on another planet… something that was definitely appealing back in the late 80’s… where this track could have easily come from!”
The forthcoming album has seen Ellie enlist some of pop music’s finest to craft the album with her, Greg Kurstin (Sia, Maggie Rogers, Elton John), Jessie Shatkin (Charli XCX, Years & Years), Koz (Sam Ryder, Madonna, Dua Lipa) and Andrew Wells (Halsey, Yungblud), with the finished record seeing Ellie put her own spin on modern pop music. Higher Than Heaven is jam packed with infectious hits that see Ellie’s signature vocals take centre stage whilst the production is pop music at its finest with stomping basslines, soaring synths and euphoric melodies.
Speaking about the new album Ellie explains “There was definitely a darkness about [the past two years] that was palpable in the studio, with everyone having gone through it differently. I think for that reason, nobody wanted to sit and agonise over some relationship or some drama. So that’s how this album came together. [Higher Than Heaven is] about being passionately in love. But it’s a hyper form of love, almost like a drug induced feeling. It feels almost artificial and there’s the potential for a crash.”
Last month saw Ellie return to the stage for two sold out intimate shows at London’s iconic KOKO in Camden where she captivated audiences with a set consisting of her previous hits alongside recent singles and some exclusive new music from the forthcoming album. The Evening Standard heralded the show as “a glorious display” and awarded her five stars.
To date Ellie has celebrated 10 platinum singles, three #1 albums, two BRIT Awards, a GRAMMY Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination. She has sold over 27 million albums and 218 million singles, amass 43 billion streams worldwide. Ellie is also one of the most streamed female artists on Spotify with over 8 billion streams. With over 50 million followers combined on her social platforms, she also earned YouTube’s Diamond Award with 10 million subscribers on her YouTube channel and over 6.8 billion views globally.
Alongside her incredible music career, Ellie is a long-standing activist and philanthropist who uses her platform to engage young people with global issues. In 2017, Goulding was awarded the UN’s New Voices Award, and in recognition of her wider activism became a goodwill ambassador for UN Environment. Earlier this year, Goulding also became a TIME100 Impact Award winner and shortly after, announced her ambassadorship with the WWF.
The Moody Blues Announce Deluxe Editions Of ‘To Our Children’s Children’s Children’ / ‘The Royal Albert Hall Concert December 1969’
The Moody Blues have announced the release on 12 May 2023 of the deluxe edition of To Our Children’s Children’s Children / The Royal Albert Hall Concert December 1969. This 4CD/1Blu-Ray boxset features the remastered original stereo mix, along with new stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes by Stephen W. Tayler.
Tayler has also remixed a legendary performance recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in December 1969, in both stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound. The concert features in this set on both CD and on Blu Ray disc. There will also be a special version of this live performance made available on LP plus 12” vinyl – featuring 3 brand new remixes – which was cut at Abbey Road Studios. Additionally included in the Boxset collection are various B-sides / alternate versions, and also a rare BBC Radio Concert from December 1969.
Issued in November 1969, To Our Children’s Children’s Children was the first album release by the Moody Blues on their own label, Threshold Records. Regarded as one of the finest of their so-called “classic seven” albums, the record covered conceptual themes such as space exploration (as the sessions took place as the Apollo 11 moon landing occurred). With such classic tracks as “Watching and Waiting”, “Gypsy” “Beyond” and “Eternity Road”, the album was a number 2 hit in the UK and reached Gold status in the USA.
The Royal Albert Hall Concert 1969 took place in December and was recorded by Decca Records. This legendary concert was the highlight of the Moody Blues Threshold Roadshow UK Tour of that year, promoting both the band’s latest album, To Our Children’s Children’s Children and other acts on the Moody Blues’ recently established label, Threshold. The original concert recordings have been newly mixed by Stephen W. Tayler and shed a wonderful new light on this powerful performance
To Our Children’s Children’s Children/ The Royal Albert Hall Concert December 1969 is must for all fans of The Moody Blues: a seminal, pioneering and ground-breaking band who changed their world.
TRACKLISTINGS
4CD/1Blu-Ray
CD One:
To Our Children’s Children’s Children – The original album re-mastered
Higher and Higher
The Eyes of a Child – Part One
Floating
The Eyes of a Child – Part Two
I Never Thought I’d live to be a Hundred
Beyond
Out and In
Gypsy
Eternity Road
Candle of Life
Sun is Still Shining
I Never Thought I’d Live to be a Million
Watching and Waiting
CD Two:
B-sides / Alternative Versions
Candle of Life (single version) – B-side of single – Released as Threshold TH4 in April 1970
Gypsy (alternate version)
Sun is Still Shining (extended version)
Candle of Life (alternate version)
Gypsy (BBC Radio One – David Symonds’ Sunday Concert 17th December 1969)
The Sunset (BBC Radio One – David Symonds’ Sunday Concert 17th December 1969)
Never Comes the Day (BBC Radio One – David Symonds’ Sunday Concert 17th December 1969)
Are You Sitting Comfortably (BBC Radio One – David Symonds’ Sunday Concert 17th December 1969)
The Dream (BBC Radio One – David Symonds’ Sunday Concert 17th December 1969)
Have You Heard / The Voyage / Have you Heard (BBC Radio One – David Symonds’ Sunday Concert 17th December 1969)
Nights in White Satin (BBC Radio One – David Symonds’ Sunday Concert 17th December 1969)
Legend of a Mind (BBC Radio One – David Symonds’ Sunday Concert 17th December 1969)
CD Three:
Live at the Royal Albert Hall, 12th December 1969 – The new stereo mix
Gypsy
The Sunset
Dr. Livingstone I Presume
Never Comes the Day
Peak Hour
Tuesday Afternoon
Are You Sitting Comfortably
The Dream
Have You Heard / The Voyage / Have you Heard
Nights in White Satin
Legend of a Mind
Ride My See Saw
CD Four:
To Our Children’s Children’s Children – The new stereo mix
Higher and Higher
The Eyes of a Child – Part One
Floating
The Eyes of a Child – Part Two
I Never Thought I’d live to be a Hundred
Beyond
Out and In
Gypsy
Eternity Road
Candle of Life
Sun is Still Shining
I Never Thought I’d Live to be a Million
Watching and Waiting
Blu-ray Disc:
To Our Children’s Children’s Children – *New 5.1 Surround Sound mix, 96 kHz / 24-bit new stereo mix, 96 kHz / 24-bit original stereo mix*
Higher and Higher
The Eyes of a Child – Part One
Floating
The Eyes of a Child – Part Two
I Never Thought I’d live to be a Hundred
Beyond
Out and In
Gypsy
Eternity Road
Candle of Life
Sun is Still Shining
I Never Thought I’d Live to be a Million
Watching and Waiting
The new 5.1 Surround Sound mix – Live at the Royal Albert Hall, 12th December 1969
Gypsy
The Sunset
Dr. Livingstone I Presume
Never Comes the Day
Peak Hour
Tuesday Afternoon
Are You Sitting Comfortably
The Dream
Have You Heard / The Voyage / Have you Heard
Nights in White Satin
Legend of a Mind
Ride My See Saw
1LP+12”
1LP / 12” Vinyl
1LP:
Side 1
Gypsy – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 12th December 1969 new stereo mix
The Sunset – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 12th December 1969 new stereo mix
Dr. Livingstone I Presume – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 12th December 1969 new stereo mix
Never Comes the Day – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 12th December 1969 new stereo mix
Are You Sitting Comfortably – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 12th December 1969 new stereo mix
1LP:
Side 2
The Dream – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 12th December 1969 new stereo mix
Have You Heard The Voyage -Live at the Royal Albert Hall 12th December 1969 new stereo mix
Nights in White Satin – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 12th December 1969 new stereo mix
Legend of a Mind – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 12th December 1969 new stereo mix
Ride My See Saw – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 12th December 1969 new stereo mix
12”
Nights In White Satin – Live At The Royal Albert Hall, UK / 1969 / 2022 Remix
Legend Of A Mind – Live At The Royal Albert Hall, UK / 1969 / 2022 Remix
Ride My See Saw – Live At The Royal Albert Hall, UK / 1969 / 2022 Remix
Meshell Ndegeocello Makes Her Blue Note Debut With June 16 Release Of Visionary New Album ‘The Omnichord Real Book’
Acclaimed GRAMMY-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello makes her Blue Note Records debut with the June 16 release of The Omnichord Real Book, a visionary and deeply jazz-influenced album that marks the start of a new chapter in her trailblazing career. Following her 2018 covers album Ventriloquism, Meshell returns with an album of new original material that taps into a broad spectrum of her musical roots. The Omnichord Real Book was produced by Josh Johnson and features a wide range of guest artists including Jason Moran, Ambrose Akinmusire, Joel Ross, Jeff Parker, Brandee Younger, Julius Rodriguez, Mark Guiliana, Cory Henry, Joan As Police Woman, Thandiswa, and others.
The Omnichord Real Book is introduced today by the expansive lead single “Virgo,” the mind-altering 8-minute centerpiece of the album which features Meshell on vocals, key bass, and keyboards, Younger on harp, Rodriguez on Farfisa organ, Chris Bruce on guitar, Jebin Bruni on keyboards, drums by Abe Rounds, Deantoni Parks, and Andrya Ambro, and additional vocals by Kenita Miller and Marsha DeBoe. The Omnichord Real Book is available for pre-order now on Blue Note Store exclusive color vinyl, black vinyl, CD, and digital.
“It’s a little bit of all of me, my travels, my life,” says Meshell. “My first record I made at 22, and it’s over 30 years from then, so I have a lot of stored information to share.” Reflecting on the impact that the forced stillness of the pandemic lockdown had on her, she says “I must admit it was a beautiful time for me. I got to really sit and reacquaint myself with music. Music is a gift.”
“This album is about the way we see old things in new ways,” Meshell explains. “Everything moved so quickly when my parents died. Changed my view of everything and myself in the blink of an eye. As I sifted through the remains of their life together, I found my first Real Book, the one my father gave me. I took their records, the ones I grew up hearing, learning, remembering. My mother gifted me with her ache, I carry the melancholy that defined her experience and, in turn, my experience of this thing called life calls me to disappear into my imagination and to hear the music.”
Meshell first appeared on a Blue Note record a decade ago with her stunning feature on “The Consequences of Jealousy” from Robert Glasper’s GRAMMY-winning 2012 album Black Radio. Two years later she collaborated with Jason Moran on ALL RISE, a vibrant reimagination of Fats Waller’s music where Meshell was both featured vocalist and producer. Reflecting upon time spent with her parents’ record collection during her childhood, Meshell recalls “I loved going through the records and seeing the Blue Note insignia. I stay away from the word ‘Jazz,’ it’s a really heavy word, but I am so moved to be on a label that is about self-expression.”
The track listing for The Omnichord Real Book is as follows:
Georgia Ave (feat. Josh Johnson)
An Invitation
Call The Tune
Good Good (feat. Jade Hicks, Josh Johnson)
Omnipuss
Clear Water (feat. Deantoni Parks, Jeff Parker, Sanford Biggers)
ASR (feat. Jeff Parker)
Gatsby (feat. Cory Henry, Joan As Police Woman)
Towers (feat. Joel Ross)
Perceptions (feat. Jason Moran)
THA KING (feat. Thandiswa)
Virgo (feat. Brandee Younger, Julius Rodriguez)
Burn Progression (feat. Hanna Benn, Ambrose Akinmusire)
oneelevensixteen
Vuma (feat. Thandiswa, Joel Ross)
The 5th Dimension (feat. The Hawtplates)
Hole In The Bucket (feat. The Hawtplates)
Virgo 3 (feat. Oliver Lake (Arr.), Mark Guiliana, Brandee Younger, Josh Johnson)
The American Way: A true story of Nazi escape, Superman and Marilyn Monroe
Join Forward Magazine for a conversation with authors Helene Stapinski and Bonnie Siegler, whose new book tells the fascinating story of how the publisher of Superman saved a Jewish family during WWII.
https://www.youtube.com/live/TOa7oXfJcOw
My Next Read: “Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones” by Dolly Parton
In Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, global superstar Dolly Parton shares, for the first time, the full story behind her lifelong passion for fashion, including how she developed her own, distinctly Dolly style, which has defied convention and endeared her to fans around the world.
Featuring behind-the-scenes stories from Dolly Parton’s life and career, and the largest reveal of her private costume archive, this gorgeously photographed book spotlights her most unforgettable looks from the 1960s to now. The sky-high heels, famous wigs, bold makeup, eye-catching stage clothes—she shares them all. Along the way, Parton discusses memorable outfits from her past, from the clothes her mother would sew out of feed sacks (including her “Coat of Many Colors”) and the bold dresses and hairdos that shook up Nashville, to the bunny suit on the cover of Playboy, evening wear at Studio 54, costumes from her most famous film and TV roles, and the daring styles that continue to entertain and inspire today.
Filled with candor, humor, and lots and lots of rhinestones, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones is a shining tribute to one of the most beloved musicians in history, a treasured keepsake for anyone who loves Dolly Parton, and an indispensable guide to forging your own path to beauty and confidence.
“Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed” Official Trailer Is Here
“I won’t be satisfied unless this album is an accurate representation of where I am as a person.” Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed, the newest film in the #MusicBoxHBO series and an intimate look at life, love, and perseverance, premieres April 7 on HBO Max.
Depeche Mode Performs “Ghosts Again” on Jimmy Kimmel Live
Depeche Mode performs the song Ghosts Again on Jimmy Kimmel Live.