Something For The Weekend?

WELCOME TO LONDONPEAKY’S weekly Friday review. Grab yourselves a drink and put your feet up, there’s something for everyone.

Featured today: Kyoto’s monk-a-tonk, ROBIN GUTHRIE, New York’s BLACK ROSE BURNING and SIMON BROMIDE.

FORMED by Tetsuya Kirihata, oriental soulful pop rock band ‘monk-a-tonk’ began life in October 2019.

Heavily influenced by funk, jazz, Latin and hip-hop, their first single, ‘Soredake’ relied more on the very best authentic Japanese pop sounds but out of the blue, also manages to include a glorious guitar solo straight out of the Prince playbook.

“Soredake (それだけ) means ‘nothing else is needed,’ or ‘that is enough,’ something like that,” said Kirihata. “It’s a song telling you all about a love affair.

“I play bass guitar and piano and we like a lot of music, but often listen to Hall & Oates, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Shirley Horn, ZZ Top and Suga Shikao. The members of the band are not regular and always change, but we are helped by the guitarist, Kaz Akita.

“Here in Kyoto, there are many music cafe and bars with lots of bands or singer-songwriters very active. A few artists move to the biggest city Tokyo dreaming to be big stars, but we have been acting in our local base, Kyoto.

“Before I started the band I was mainly playing live but now due to Covid now I can’t, so we are just looking to create more songs at the moment.”

To learn more about one of Kyoto’s up and coming bands, please visit their Bandcamp page:

monk-a-tonk (bandcamp.com)

T W O

FOLLOWING October’s release of the ‘Mockingbird Love’ EP and November’s issue of his first full-length album in nine ears, ‘Pearldiving,’ Cocteau Twins founder ROBIN GUTHRIE now hands us his four track ‘Riviera’ EP, a collection completed earlier this year.

‘Riviera’ stands on its own as a release, featuring Guthrie’s ever present signature sound and atmosphere, displaying a refinement and maturity only found in the work of an artist working largely unfettered from the constraints of the music industry.

“I made this collection earlier this year while taking a break from recording ‘Pearldiving’” he said. “I found a common thread among several unfinished tunes, that curiously, they had all been written on the southern shore of some landmass or other in the northern hemisphere. I was pleasantly surprised when they all fell into place together and retained this atmosphere in my head.”

40 years on from founding Cocteau Twins, Guthrie has certainly been its most prolific member, offering a steady and stellar stream of material over the years. His film scores include Gregg Araki’s ‘Mysterious Skin’ and ‘White Bird in a Blizzard’, co-written with long-time collaborator Harold Budd. His many other collaborators include John Foxx, Mark Gardener, Telefon Tel-Aviv, Eraldo Bernocchi and Jay Jay Johanson.

‘Riviera’ is now available on CD, as well as digitally on all major platforms, and Bandcamp, where it can already be obtained directly from Guthrie himself.

CREDITS
Written and performed by Robin Guthrie
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Robin Guthrie
Album cover by Robin Guthrie

TRACK LISTING
01 Starfish Prime
02 815
03 Revue
04 The Empress

Connect with Robin Guthrie
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook Instagram | Twitter Spotify | Apple Music

T H R E E

FANS of The Damned may be interested in New York’s BLACK ROSE BURNING who today release their ‘The Wheel’ album, inspired by love lost, love won and outer space.

The group were formed in 2018 by instrumentalist, producer and engineer George Grant, whose soulful vocal delivery, instantly recognisable voice, unique grooves, and solid instrumentation are standout features of the music.

“This release was a labour of love after the success of my first record,” said Grant. “I was working through adjusting to the post Covid landscape and took solace in having the time to make another proper record.

“Over the past four years or so, quite a few relationships I valued were destroyed in an instant — over politics or just basic unacceptable differences. Then came Covid and I lost a few more for reasons beyond their control. There was a lot of anger in my first record. This one is more melancholic than angry. I write about outer space a lot. On both records. I find it inspirational. It’s vastness. It’s the place I’d most like to go. Maybe the place I’d most like to escape to might be a better definition.”

Available on CD and digitally across the internet, including Spotify, and Apple Music and directly from the band via Bandcamp.

Connect with Black Rose Burning
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music

F O U R

Following on from last week’s release of ‘The Skehans Song,’ SIMON BROMIDE’S debut solo album ‘Following The Moon,’ recorded by Brian O’Shaughnessy (Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Beth Orton), is now also available.

Best known as the frontman of South London indie pop/power pop outfit BROMIDE ‘Following The Moon’ is Simon’s first album as a solo artist. Earlier, he released the lead single ‘The Waiting Room, along with an animated video created by Ben Pollard.

The album features drummer Fells Guilherme (Children of The Pope), bassist Ed ‘Cosmo’ Wright, multi-instrumentalists Dave Hale, Dimitri Ntontis and Stephen Elwell, folk-pop chanteuse Katy Carr on piano and Terry Edwards (Nick Cave, Tom Waits, P.J.Harvey) on trumpet. Scottish singer Julie Anne McCambridge joins Simon on the William Blake penned, ‘Earth’s Answer.’

ALBUM CREDITS
All songs written by Simon Berridge except ‘Earth’s Answer’ by William Blake, music by SB
Simon Berridge: vocals, acoustic & electric guitars
Fells Guilherme: drums & percussion
Ed ‘Cosmo’ Wright: bass guitar, acoustic guitar solo on ‘The Argument’
Dave Hale: backing vocals, electric guitar, Hammond organ & Piano
Dimitri Ntontis: Hammond organ & mellotron
Stephen Elwell: sound fx on ‘The Argument’ & ‘Earth’s Answer’
Katy Carr: piano on ‘The Skehans Song’ and ‘Reflections of Seating’
Terry Edwards : trumpet on ‘The Argument’
Julie Anne McCambridge: vocals on ‘Earth’s Answer’

Connect with Simon Bromide
Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music

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