There’s an amazing song on the soundtrack of the HBO series GIRLS: Harper Simon – Wishes and Stars. That song works not just for twenty-somethings in NYC. The feel of the song immediately reminded me of Simon & Garfunkel’s beautiful “The only living boy in New York”. Little did I know Harper is Simon’s offspring!
Read more…
How have four polite Englishmen made their hoedown folk such a hit?, asks The Guardian today. Although Mumford & Sons seems to be a “thoughtful, friendly, uncommonly levelheaded band”, in the UK they get lots of criticism for being inauthentic.
Read more…
These folk-rock songs make you want to be part of the band. You can see yourself in a circle of friends, hanging out and making beautiful music. The album “Here” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is magnificent and low-key at the same time. The Rolling Stone calls it “let’s-be-mellow-around-the-campfire vibe” and that’s about right.
Read more…
This is an interesting and exciting move: Beck is releasing an album that consists purely of sheet music. There will be no CD. Thank God I’ve started to learn reading music last year!
Charlotte O’Connor is young and pretty, and she sings well, too. But it’s only when I stumbled upon her live versions on youtube that I was actually touched by her acoustic folksy/soul music. I even covered her.
Read more…
Charlene Soraia is phenomenal: her voice is unique, playful and like nothing I’ve heard before, her intricate finger picking like a jazz pro who’s been on tour for 20 years, and her arrangements and melodies are sophisticated way beyond a 23-year-old. After three of her songs at the Cambridge Junction a thought crossed my mind that I did not anticipate: she might be a new Joni Mitchell.
Read more…
Unexpectedly I find myself warming to Jessy J. Not the mainstream performer, but the singer-songwriter. In a review of her duet with James Morrison I was underwhelmed, but I like her songwriting and voice in acoustic versions. Read more…
London singer Michael Kiwanuka is the new rising star for this year: He has come top of the “BBC Sound of 2012” and has already toured with Adele. His debut album “Home Again” does sound promising: I love his soulful, warm voice – though I sometimes felt it’s struggling not to drown in the colorful, rich arrangements of his songs.
Read more…
I am now collecting news on singer-songwriters, folk singers and acoustic music on scoop.it! I find stories through reading the Guardian every morning, checking google news, and by occasionally buying music magazines. I hope you like it! You can either click the link Singer-Songwriter News under Blogroll on the right hand side, or go there directly: http://www.scoop.it/t/singer-songwriter.
Santa Claus brought me wonderful Christmas gifts that I can recommend for anyone with an interest in singer-songwriters. Best one is a T-Shirt telling people how not to call me Nicola James, also great a book on songwriting by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers. He writes: “We fall in love with songs; we break up and wonder how we ever could have gotten into that affair. We take everything personally.” Like!
Read more…
notnicolajames 