News, Playlist

OCTA Weekly Playlist – Episode #12

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Another week and another weekly playlist.

What an amazing week of new music week once again. I could make a pretty damn good year-end top 10 just by using the albums that came out this week. Vanessa Peters (not on Finnish spotify, so not on the playlist), Philippe Bronchtein, Adrianne Lenker, The Other Years, JP Harris, Cat Power, Nathan Bowles, Will Hoge, Swearin’, Ancient Shapes, Sylvia Rose Novak, Sharesprings, Martha L. Healy etc. Pretty insane stuff. And I haven’t even touched the surface of some bigger album releases like Phosphorescent, Gregory Alan Isakov and Jim James. Plus all the stuff that I’m not even aware of at all.

Among Horses III EP by Haley Heynderickx and Max Garcia Conover is incredible. The biggest and most powerful single for me was the new Julia Jacklin song that starts the playlist. Lots of other magnificent ones from the likes of Mandolin Orange, Comet Gain, Laura Gibson and Bedouine.

Some Finnish stuff too. A new solo album from Jussi Petäjä and new singles from Klasu and Liljankukka. Also another song from Lac Belot, the writer of the finest Finnish album of the year so far.

Again some of last week’s finest albums appear with another should be hit on the last third of the list: St. Lenox, Jerry David DeCicca, The Pollies, William Matheny, Ural Thomas & The Pain, The Herbert Bail Orchestra.

Ok, I think that’s all for now. I’m sure I forgot something, because this was a bit more rushed effort than normally. I’ve had a minor hockey overdose going on, because the NHL season began and I’ve spent most of my spare time watching hockey. However, I still think this list turned out great and contains magical and endearingly beautiful music. Of course that has absolutely nothing to do with your ”curator” and everything to do with the extraordinary music that came out this week. Just the first five songs for example. Oh my. Perfect on all accounts.

OCTA Weekly Playlist – Episode #12

1. Julia Jacklin – Body (single, Transgressive Records / Polyvinyl Records, 2018)
2. Adrianne Lenker – what can you say (abysskiss, Saddle Creek, 2018)
3. Philippe Bronchtein – I’m a Runner (Me and the Moon, 2018)
4. Haley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover – The Park (Among Horses III, Son Canciones, 2018)
5. The Other Years – Talkeetna (The Other Years, No Quarter, 2018)
6. Adeline Hotel – Lightning (single, Ruination Record Co, 2018)
7. Laura Gibson – Domestication (single, City Slang, 2018)
8. Cat Power – In Your Face (Wanderer, Domino Recording Co, 2018)
9. JP Harris – Long Ways Back (Sometimes Dogs Bark at Nothing, Free Dirt Records, 2018)
10. Will Hoge – Still a Southern Man (My American Dream, EDLO Records, 2018)
11. Nathan Bowles – Fresh & Fairly So (Plainly Mistaken, Paradise of Bachelors, 2018)
12. Petäjä – Fading (40950, Pinetree Music, 2018)
13. Klasu – Kultaakin kalliimpaa (single, Soit se silti, 2018)
14. Liljankukka – 22 vuotta sitten (single, Karhuvaltion Records, 2018)
15. Swearin’ – Big Change (Fall Into Sun, Merge Records, 2018)
16. Ancient Shapes – Wabash Wrecking Ball (Silent Rave, You’ve Changed Records, 2018)
17. Comet Gain – I Was More of a Mess Then (single, Tapete Records, 2018)
18. Sharesprings – Pocketguides (Paraparlor, Jigsaw Records, 2018)
19. Mandolin Orange – Time We Made Time (single, Yep Roc, 2018)
20. Bob Collum & The Welfare Mothers – Across a Crowded Room (Pay Pack and Carry, 2018)
21. Martha L. Healy – No Place Like A Home (Keep the Flame Alight, 2018)
22. Sylvia Rose Novak – Devil’s in the Details (Someone Else’s War, Due South Records, 2018)
23. William Matheny – Flashes and Cables (single, Misra Records, 2018)
24. The Pollies – Love’s to Fault (Transmissions, This Is American Music, 2018)
25. Jerry David DeCicca – Burning Daylight (Burning Daylight, Super Secret Records, 2018)
26. The Herbert Bail Orchestra – Headed North Again (History’s Made At Night, 2018)
27. St. Lenox – Apparently (Ten Fables of Young Ambition and Passionate Love, Anyway Records, 2018)
28. Ural Thomas & The Pain – Vibrations (The Right Time, Tender Loving Empire, 2018)
29. Bedouine – Come Down In Time (single, Spacebomb Records, 2018)
30. Lac Belot – Abracadabra (ABRACADABRA! Solina Records, 2018)

if you are looking this after a week has gone, the embedded Spotify will show the latest playlist. I’ll just update the same playlist because a) if someone wants to follow it, they can just follow that one list and will get a new set of songs each Sunday b) so that I don’t have a trillion of different playlists on my Spotify account.

Oh and do buy the vinyl/cd/download. Spotify and other streaming services are perfect for these introductory purposes, but try to buy at least the music that matter the most to you.

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International music, News

Ural Thomas & The Pain, Ben Pirani, The Sha La Das & Black Pumas

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A small soulful blog entry inspired by Ural Thomas and The Pain. I have lot of interest in soul music even though I rarely feature it on these pages, because I don’t have the time or the knowledge to dig deeper into it. My knowledge of new soul music is pretty much just checking every week that whether my trusted go-to labels Colemine Records and Daptone Records have released something new.

Ural Thomas & The Pain is on neither of those labels, but the making of those weekly playlist led me into the comforting arms of their album The Right Time that came out on Tender Loving Empire on the 28th of September. Ural Thomas is a Portland soul legend that has performed with James Brown, Otis Redding, and Stevie Wonder. Ural released a live album and some singles in the sixties and seventies, but this new album is still, in many respects, his debut full-length. What a remarkable album it is. It’s beautiful, smooth and moves your body and your soul. Here’s a couple of great ones for a taste, but you should listen/buy whole lovely album.

Ural Thomas & The Pain

Next up is the latest from the vaults of Colemine Records. Ben Pirani’s album How Do I Talk To My Brother? came out on the 21st of September and it’s another magical soul gem. Ben Pirani has created some deep, beautiful and captivating soul songs. Absolutely love the vocals and the harmonies on this one and it’s so easy to get lost in these warm and mesmerizing sounds. Maybe even so that a song like Dreamin’s For Free hit me extra hard when I started paying attention to the words. The contrast between the sweetest of sounds and the heaviest of thoughts. It’s a good way to get the message through.

Ben Pirani Website

One from the Daptone family as well. This album Love In The Wind by The Sha La Das is a real family effort too. Bill Schalda and his three sons singing together in perfect harmony. This sweet soul and doo wop combination will keep the summer in your heart even during these dark fall nights. This is my early favorite Just For A Minute.

The Sha La Das Website

Last but definitely not least, one slightly older song from Black Pumas. This song Black Moon Rising has been on that best of 2018 playlist since its release in March 2018, but I don’t think I have shared it on the blog. Black Pumas are a psychedelic soul group formed by Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada and this is debut single is out on Karma Chief/Colemine Records. I can’t wait to hear the full-length album.

Black Pumas Website

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International music, News

Gladie – 20/20 (song)

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20/20 by Gladie is one of my absolute favorite songs of the year. I found it a couple of months ago thanks to the great The Grey Estates blog, bought a download and I’ve been spinning it frequently ever since. Gladie is a Philadephia-based indie rock band/duo formed by Augusta Koch and Matt Schimelfenig and 20/20 is the opening track of their Everyone Is Talking But You EP that came out 16th of May. The whole EP is really good, but this particular song is just insanely powerful and listening to it gives me energy and encouragement. It’s a good partner to have, if the everyday life starts to resemble an overwhelming chaos. Everything feels somehow manageable with this song on my side.

Gladie at Facebook

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Playlist

OCTA Weekly Playlist – Episode #11

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Another week, another weekly playlist.

This was a special week. Wonderful Finnish artist Lac Belot released his debut full-length ABRACADABRA!. If you listen to one Finnish album this year, make it this one. On global spectrum, the St. Lenox album that I’ve been raving about for the past month is now out and available. Ten Fables of Young Ambition and Passionate Love is an exceptional and inspiring album. I’m also thrilled about the new Marissa Nadler, Jerry David DeCicca and The Pollies. albums. There’s a lot more though and I haven’t even had the time to listen to enough of all these beauties. There’s new ones from Amy Ray, The Herbert Bail Orchestra, Lala Lala, Doe, Ural Thomas and The Pain and Hello June. The wonderful albums from Guy Capecelatro III and He Arrived By Helicopter also make a debut on this weekly playlist, because they weren’t available or I thought they weren’t available on Spotify when they came out a few weeks ago. Obviously some great ones from previous week remains on the list with another song. These are Kristina Murray, Mahonies, Frontperson, Ben Pirani, The Sha La Das,

A couple of new EPs too from Edward & Jane, Katy Kirby (I think digitally this was already available, but now on cassette as well) and Finnish band The Handkerchiefs. Oh and the Little Star EP is all the way from February, but I just bought it on Friday and I had to include it, because I’ve been really badly addicted to the first two songs on it.

The single list is always so impressive. That Jamie Lin Wilson album is going to be so good, because especially these last two singles Oklahoma Stars and this one Death & Life are so damn good. Both new William Matheny songs are winners and it was difficult to decide which one to include. Some of the best news of the week was that Pony Bradshaw will have an album coming out on Rounder Records in early 2019. I’ve been waiting to praise this guy. Bad Teeth album and Josephine single were so spectacular a couple of years ago and then they just vanished. Looks like the reason is that at least some of those new songs will get a new life on that forthcoming album and I really love that. The first single 10×10 is now out and available. A new Daniel Romano is always a parade-worthy situation and we also got awesome new singles from Anna St.Louis, Timber, Jake Paleschic, Valley Maker, Sloucher, Pottonen Band, Anthonie Tonnon, Martha L. Healy and Yowler (this was last week though, but I missed it then).

OCTA Weekly Playlist – Episode #11

1. Lac Belot – D’n’A (ABRACADABRA!, Solina Records, 2018)
2. St. Lenox – Vincent Van Gogh (Ten Fablea of Young Ambition and Passionate Love, Anyway Records, 2018)
3. Marissa Nadler – Lover Release Me (For My Crimes, Bella Union, 2018)
4. William Matheny – Christian Name (single, Misra Records, 2018)
5. Jerry David DeCicca – Dead Man’s Shoes (Burning Daylight, Super Secret Records, 2018)
6. Jamie Lin Wilson – Death & Life (single, 2018)
7. Pony Bradshaw – 10×10 (single, Rounder Records, 2018)
8. Jake Paleschic – Some Days (single, 2018)
9. Amy Ray – Fine With The Dark (Holler, Daemon Records, 2018)
10. Timber – Sunstroke (single, Cornelius Chapel Records, 2018)
11. The Herbert Bail Orchestra – Chains (History’s Made at Night, 2018)
12. The Pollies – Note He Wrote (Transmissions, This Is American Music, 2018)
13. Anna St. Louis – Desert (single, Woodsist/Mare, 2018)
14. Daniel Romano – Empty Husk (single, New West Records / You’ve Changed Records, 2018)
15. Guy Capecelatro III – I Could Write You (Splintering, Burst & Bloom Records, 2018)
16. Valley Maker – Beautiful Birds Flying (single, Frenchkiss Records, 2018)
17. He Arrived By Helicopter – Gold Damn Truth (The Shiny Hostel, 2018)
18. Katy Kirby – Tap Twice (Juniper EP, Keeled Scales, 2018)
19. Lala Lala – Destroyer (The Lamb, Hardly Art, 2018)
20. Doe – Labour Like I Do (Grow Into It, Big Scary Monsters / Topshelf Records, 2018)
21. Sloucher – Be True (single, Swoon Records, 2018)
22. The Handkerchiefs – The Law (American Brainwash EP, 2018)
23. Mahonies – Bruises (Pouring From an Empty Cup, Iso Pinkki, 2018)
24. Pottonen Band – Juggling Eggs (single, NXVX, 2018)
25. Anthonie Tonnon – Old Images (single, Misra Records, 2018)
26. Frontperson – Postcards From a Posh Man (Frontrunner, St. Oscar Records, 2018)
27. Ural Thomas and the Pain – You Care Very Little (The Right Time, Tender Loving Empire, 2018)
28. Ben Pirani – You Brought the Rain (How Do I Talk to My Brother?, Colemine Records, 2018)
29. The Sha La Das – Just For A Minute (Love in the Wind, Daptone, 2018)
30. Edward & Jane – Hold Your Own (Too Early To Tell EP, 2018)
31. Kristina Murray – The Ballad Of Angel & Donnie (Southern Ambrosia, Loud Magnolia Records, 2018)
32. Martha L. Healy – Fall in Love Again (single, 2018)
33. Hello June – Handshakes (Hello June, 2018)
34. Little Star – Willows (Waltzing With Tears in My Eyes EP, Good Cheer Records, 2018)
35. Yowler – Where Is My Light? (single, Double Double Whammy, 2018)

if you are looking this after a week has gone, the embedded Spotify will show the latest playlist. I’ll just update the same playlist because a) if someone wants to follow it, they can just follow that one list and will get a new set of songs each Sunday b) so that I don’t have a trillion of different playlists on my Spotify account.

Oh and do buy the vinyl/cd/download. Spotify and other streaming services are perfect for these introductory purposes, but try to buy at least the music that matter the most to you

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