Anthem Collective Singer-Songwriter Spotlight

Where in the World is Ben Howard?

The British sing-songwriter known for the quality of his lyrics and folk music has taken a nearly three yearlong break since his last album release in 2014. Ben Howard, the 29 year old from Devon, England released his third album on October 26, 2014 where it went straight to number 26 on the UK Official Albums Chart. He did a short tour in the United States the following year with folk band Daughter before he disappeared from the music scene.

While this may seem out of the ordinary, Howard has never been a huge fan of the spotlight. He is known to rarely give interviews, photo-shoots and when he does he admits he can be at times irritable and standoff-ish. In one of those rare interviews given to the Evening Standard magazine, Howard said, “I meet a lot of people who are awkward around me now. I was always embarrassed about that; the more attention I got, the less I wanted it and the more it would manifest in a physical way and I would be hunched over about it.”

However, the length of his break and his lack of social media presence has fans wondering if or when he will be back. His Facebook, which the last post was from June 7, 2016 is flooded with messages from fans asking, “Please release something! We’re missing you!” and fans posting photos and videos of them covering his songs. His Twitter and Instagram share the similar comments.

Howard’s time out of the spotlight has not slowed down the love of his music, for fans are constantly listening to his older albums, adding the song “Only Love” to their playlists and even getting lyrics from his songs tattooed on their bodies.

It seems that if some have forgotten about Ben Howard and his music, his fans are willing to keep the music alive and will hold out hope for the day he releases a song, or single, or just a simple message to the world saying, “I’m back”.

Ben Howard's Official Facebook

Ben Howard's Twitter

Ben Howard Fan Twitter Account

The Best of Ben Howard

A Country Kind of Covenant: Acclaimed Singer Songwriter Michael Colton Promises Enduring Love on Charming “Won’t Fall Away” Ballad

“Similar to Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix, Colton’s guitar work is thoughtful, brazen, and victorious.” (Indiemunity)

       

Singer/ songwriter Michael Colton  has penned the ultimate oath of enduring love with his charming new country -tinged ballad, “Won’t Fall Away.”According to MTM.com, Colton “has depth, warmth, and grit - and he can play the hell out of his guitar.”

Produced by Marty Rifkin (Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty) and Steve Trovato, Colton’s upcoming release, California Blue, displays Colton’s blend of storytelling, straightforward tunefulness, and incendiary guitar work. Colton’s recent live appearances include SXSW, The Sundance Film Festival, and Los Angeles’ House of Blues. More information on Colton is available on his official website.

Diving deep into the explosive traditions of virtuosos Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton, Colton began his musical career as a cocky young guitarist. Exploring that music led him further down that road, all the way to blues legend Robert Johnson. Colton went on to record an EP of Johnson’s songs, the critically acclaimed The Robert Johnson Sessions.

After paying his dues in countless bars and coffee houses, Colton had a career-altering encounter with acclaimed producer Blake English (George Benson, Jennifer Lopez) at an informal studio jam. Impressed by Colton’s chops, English recruited Colton for session work and eventually producedThe Robert Johnson Sessions.

Colton honed his already considerable talent while recovering from an acute head trauma that nearly ended his life: “To keep my brain sharp, I started playing guitar five hours a day like my life depended on it. Somehow, I feel like music healed me better than any medicine I was given.”

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For more information on Michael Colton, visit his social media: FACEBOOK/ TWITTER/ INSTAGRAM

A Country Kind of Covenant: Acclaimed Singer Songwriter Michael Colton Promises Enduring Love on Charming “Won’t Fall Away”Ballad

“Similar to Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix, Colton’s guitar work is thoughtful, brazen, and victorious.” (Indiemunity)

       

Singer/ songwriter Michael Colton  has penned the ultimate oath of enduring love with his charming new country -tinged ballad, “Won’t Fall Away.”According to MTM.com, Colton “has depth, warmth, and grit - and he can play the hell out of his guitar.”

Produced by Marty Rifkin (Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty) and Steve Trovato, Colton’s upcoming release, California Blue, displays Colton’s blend of storytelling, straightforward tunefulness, and incendiary guitar work. Colton’s recent live appearances include SXSW, The Sundance Film Festival, and Los Angeles’ House of Blues. More information on Colton is available on his official website.

Diving deep into the explosive traditions of virtuosos Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton, Colton began his musical career as a cocky young guitarist. Exploring that music led him further down that road, all the way to blues legend Robert Johnson. Colton went on to record an EP of Johnson’s songs, the critically acclaimed The Robert Johnson Sessions.

After paying his dues in countless bars and coffee houses, Colton had a career-altering encounter with acclaimed producer Blake English (George Benson, Jennifer Lopez) at an informal studio jam. Impressed by Colton’s chops, English recruited Colton for session work and eventually producedThe Robert Johnson Sessions.

Colton honed his already considerable talent while recovering from an acute head trauma that nearly ended his life: “To keep my brain sharp, I started playing guitar five hours a day like my life depended on it. Somehow, I feel like music healed me better than any medicine I was given.”

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For more information on Michael Colton, visit his social media: FACEBOOK/ TWITTER/ INSTAGRAM

Nashville's Americana hero Ben de la Cour crowned 2016 Kerrville New Folk Winner

We wanted to let you know about Ben de la Cour's recent achievement in being crowned a 2016 Kerrville New FolkWinner for his album Midnight In Havana. You can listen to Midnight In Havana below.

The 6 winners were chosen over 600 songwriter entries from North America, Europe, Australia and Japan and performed at the New Folk Winners Concert on day 11 of this year's Kerrville Folk Festival, which took place on Sunday June 5th. 

   

Death and Darkness, Discovered: World-Traveling Singer Ben de la Cour Tells Tales of Substance Abuse, Murder, and Mental Illness on Haunting Midnight in Havana LP

“Ben de la Cour is a folk musician with the songwriting acumen of a young Nick Cave and the lyrical wisdom of a vitriolic Leonard Cohen. His songs are stark, melancholic, and packed with emotion.”
(Fresh Deer Meat)

LISTEN TO MIDNIGHT IN HAVANA ON SOUNDCLOUD HERE

Rising singer/songwriter Ben de la Cour has established himself as the face of the Americanoir sound with the official release of his dark and mysterious sophomore LP Midnight in Havana. Credited by Red Line Roots with offering “subtle hints of Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt, and Leonard Cohen,” de la Cour’sextensive travels have taken him to strange and sometimes dark and desperate places, places he documents so eloquently on Midnight in Havana. Midnight in Havana is being released via Nashville’s Flour Sack Cape Records, a label that “aims to document the constantly evolving sound of one city.” More information on de la Cour is available on his official website.

After growing up in Brooklyn, de la Cour set out to see the world as an amateur boxer, bartender, and agricultural worker. He spins world-weary poetry of a road less traveled, and on Midnight in Havana tales of substance abuse, murder, and mental illness sit in perfect juxtaposition with the occasional lighthearted glimmer of hope. In the end though, darkness almost always wins… an unlikely hero, but one that suits de la Cour perfectly.

Case in point is the haunting “Down to the Water’s Edge,” the first single from Midnight in Havana. Described by de la Cour as a “creepshow manifesto” in which the narrator obsesses over his unknowing victim,” “Down to the Water’s Edge” represents de la Cour’s affection for David Lynch and the film-noir genre:

“I'm a big film-noir fan, and I also really enjoy the detective novels of Ross MacDonald and Raymond Chandler. I knew I wanted the album to have something of that feel to it, with the weird lighting and dark spaces. That informed everything from the song "Midnight in Havana" to the album title and the artwork, which I did myself.”

Midnight in Havana was recorded and mixed over the course of a year at Greenland Sound in East Nashville. According to de la Cour, the process was “limited to one session or less a week, so it really felt like a labor of love between engineer/co-producer Joe Lekkas and myself.”

You can purchase the album on iTunes here.

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For more information on Ben de la Cour, visit his social media: FACEBOOK / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM

Death and Darkness, Discovered: World-Traveling Singer Ben de la Cour Tells Tales of Substance Abuse, Murder, and Mental Illness on Haunting Midnight in Havana LP

“Ben de la Cour is a folk musician with the songwriting acumen of a young Nick Cave and the lyrical wisdom of a vitriolic Leonard Cohen. His songs are stark, melancholic, and packed with emotion.”
(Fresh Deer Meat)

Rising singer/songwriter Ben de la Cour has established himself as the face of the Americanoir sound with the official release of his dark and mysterious sophomore LP Midnight in Havana. Credited by Red Line Roots with offering “subtle hints of Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt, and Leonard Cohen,” de la Cour’sextensive travels have taken him to strange and sometimes dark and desperate places, places he documents so eloquently on Midnight in Havana. Midnight in Havana is being released via Nashville’s Flour Sack Cape Records, a label that “aims to document the constantly evolving sound of one city.” More information on de la Cour is available on his official website.

After growing up in Brooklyn, de la Cour set out to see the world as an amateur boxer, bartender, and agricultural worker. He spins world-weary poetry of a road less traveled, and on Midnight in Havana tales of substance abuse, murder, and mental illness sit in perfect juxtaposition with the occasional lighthearted glimmer of hope. In the end though, darkness almost always wins… an unlikely hero, but one that suits de la Cour perfectly.

Case in point is the haunting “Down to the Water’s Edge,” the first single from Midnight in Havana. Described by de la Cour as a “creepshow manifesto” in which the narrator obsesses over his unknowing victim,” “Down to the Water’s Edge” represents de la Cour’s affection for David Lynch and the film-noir genre:

“I'm a big film-noir fan, and I also really enjoy the detective novels of Ross MacDonald and Raymond Chandler. I knew I wanted the album to have something of that feel to it, with the weird lighting and dark spaces. That informed everything from the song "Midnight in Havana" to the album title and the artwork, which I did myself.”

Midnight in Havana was recorded and mixed over the course of a year at Greenland Sound in East Nashville. According to de la Cour, the process was “limited to one session or less a week, so it really felt like a labor of love between engineer/co-producer Joe Lekkas and myself.”

You can purchase the album on iTunes here.

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For more information on Ben de la Cour, visit his social media: FACEBOOK / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM

Fight the Fiction: With Political Lies Running Rampant, Outspoken Psychedelic Folk FunkstersPilgrim SpeakeasyCall Out Dishonest Politicians in “Unbelievable”Single

Europe’s troubadours of truth, the psychedelic folk funk collective known as Pilgrim Speakeasy, are taking on dishonest politicians with their stinging new single “Unbelievable.”Both an expression of incredulity towards current political elites and a statement on their attempt to “pass off fiction for reality,” “Unbelievable” is the first single from Pilgrim Speakeasy’s forthcoming album Freak Deco. According to music blogger Jani Ekblom, Pilgrim Speakeasy present “an irresistible musical visionwhere genres and styles mix and live together in harmony." 

According to Mika Roth of Desebeli.net, Pilgrim Speakeasy excel at mixing and matching a variety of genres:

“Pilgrim Speakeasy make the impossible possible by combining influences adopted from an enormous field and crafting them into a living, breathing entity. They sum up nearly everything ever done in rock into a new collage with mystic-political messages that drill straight into the listener’s brain.”

Pilgrim Speakeasy began as the “freak-powered vehicle” for the expressions of a psychedelic troubadour, Roger Roge, a Scotland-born expatriate currently residing in Finland. Although solely producing albums since 2000, Pilgrim Speakeasy remain an open entity that has welcomed the talents of esteemed contributors from many countries, including Brazil, Senegal, United Kingdom, Columbia, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark.

At present, the Pilgrim Speakeasy collective consists of Roger Roge, Panu Mölsä (bass, ukulele), and Markus Mulkahainen (drums, percussion). The project is currently putting the finishing touches onFreak Deco, the follow-up to the group’s acclaimed Lo-Fi Love at the Park Cafe album.

For more information on Pilgrim Speakeasy, visit their social media: FACEBOOK/ YOUTUBE/ TWITTER