Blaze Project

 

It’s a simple, universal fact that without our health we don’t have anything. The desire and drive to be alive and thrive is at the center of the powerful and purposeful new single by Canadian blues-rock band Blaze Project. “Still Fine” is available now!

A guitar-driven, super funky ride from start to finish, “Still Fine” is a revved-up testament to the indomitable will to live in the face of tough personal challenges. The song takes a triumphant approach in response to a health crisis too many people will face in their lifetimes.

 Try every day to do my best for me

Try every day to do much more for me

Still fine as you see

“‘Still Fine’ deals with cancer, a disease that affects thousands of families,” says the Baie-Comeau, Québec-based group. “Having lived it within the entourage of the band, the song is therapy in itself.”

Rather than focus on the grief and devastation a cancer diagnosis can cause, “Still Fine” underlines the determination, fight and forward thinking of a person who’s ready to tackle this formidable health challenge head on.

“It tells the story of a person affected, who decides to fight and whose great desire to stay alive will lead him back to health and eventually, healing.”

 “Still Fine” is one of several tracks on Blaze Project’s second full length release that embrace the positive aspects of life, even through the lens of hardship. The band took the two years of the deepest part of our global pandemic to consciously ‘enjoy this moment’ as they gathered in their practice space and composed the ten songs that make up the new album released last May. “Enjoy This Moment” follows up Blaze Project’s 2018 debut album “Universe”.

“We took two years to compose and refine ‘Enjoy This Moment’ in a positive and playful climate,” notes the band. “The album conveys positive messages and a beautiful energy.”

Recorded mostly live off the floor on analog equipment at Wild Studio in Saint-Zénon, Québec, “Enjoy This Moment” mixes the band’s diverse influences of blues, rock, funk, and indie rock into a warm, rich and delicious sound concoction. The kinetic energy of the band ripping through their songs in a single take is what fuels this project.

“Music is visceral to us,” they explain. “It’s the need to create and share, touch people and make a difference in their day in order to change the negative into positive!”

Blaze Project is composed of vocalist and acoustic guitarist Pat Trudel, guitarist and vocalist Serge Blais, drummer Danny St-Gelais and bassist Jacques Roy. In recent years, the foursome has seen more than their fair share of bad luck including illnesses, deaths in the family and a serious road accident that almost claimed Trudel’s life. All of that galvanized the band into action with passionate, positive momentum to create “Enjoy This Moment”, which has resulted in airplay on 350 international radio stations and a spate of great reviews.

“Our music has become much more emotional, and our vision has become very clear: to pursue our dream, to touch people and to write the best music possible!”

“Still Fine” and the new album “Enjoy This Moment” are both available now.

 https://blazeproject.ca/

Jon Sudbury

 

After  getting  hooked  on  the  music  of  AC/DC,  Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, The Faces and The
Rolling Stones, Jon Sudbury got  his first guitar aged 13, immediately formed his first  band and  was gigging within 6 months. Having been in many bands over the years and playing all over the world, in 2013 he started as guitarist with Nashville roots rocker Stacie Collins, touring Europe extensively and writing and recording with her. In March 2020, covid struck and stopped all touring so he got stuck into writing more for his own release which has now taken a more prominent role after the sudden tragic death of Al Collins, band leader and husband of Stacie Collins. 

This upcoming album for SWND Records draws heavily on Jon’s early influences of 70’s rock
and also features leanings.

 https://www.facebook.com/JonSudbury/

Alli Bean

 

A lover who withholds is often frustrating, at best. With that, multi-award-winning Victoria, BC-based jazz songstress Alli Bean captures the dynamic’s push-pull perfectly in her new single “Twenty Questions,” from her recently released album, Outside Voice — available now!

 

Framed as a series of increasingly probing questions for her lover, “Twenty Questions” features a funky, head-bopping groove, saucy and soulful vocals, and a chill “Doo doo doo” chorus over rollicking piano. Basically, it asks –  in a detached and curious way – why the guy is such a damn narcissist:

 

What do you dream about while I awake from dreaming of you?

While I try to turn my light out, what is it you do? 

Where do you go when you don't have a plan? 

Who are you when you're not the front man? 

 

The narrator inquires, somewhat sadly, why such a lover won’t let anyone in, but her smarts and self-respect get the better of her over and over again, as she challenges: “Why am I freezing in the heat while you're struttin' around so cold?” The overall message is a tried-and-true “you’re so vain,” so that the woman doing the calling out emerges as the song’s embattled hero.

 

It’s a theme that’s overarching on the album, recorded in its entirety in Bean’s tiny home studio during the pandemic. “Outside Voice is a culmination of works created along a personal growth journey,” Bean divulges. “We go through life making moves, and choices aren't always conscious. By chasing people and seeking external validation, we find ourselves in dicey situations, leading us astray from what matters.

 

“When I realized I had this issue,” she continues, “I turned inward and began really asking myself what I was relentlessly pursuing – what did I need to let go of in order to find it? In that process, I said goodbye to a lot of habits and ideas that got in the way.”

 

Alli Bean is a multi-award-winning Canadian powerhouse blues/jazz/pop-influenced songwriter and vocalist. Drawing influence from a multitude of artists including Wynton Kelly, Horace Silver, Fiona Apple, and Amy Winehouse, her compositional style leans toward the bluesy, funky side of the street, with a twist of jazz and a dash of sass for good measure. 

http://www.allibean.ca/

November 2nd

 

November 2nd was formed in the late 1990s in Hranice and has had successful concerts in Europe and the USA. They jumped ahead of such stars as Alanis Morissette, Suzanne Vega, Spin Doctors, Bryan Adams or David Gahan. They made a great debut with their debut Midnight Desert, for which they were nominated for the APH Anděl award in the "Discovery of the Year" category and won the Report magazine's Ladder Poll. Little Miss Behavin' & the Troublemakers' second album earned nominations at the Óčko TV station's annual awards in the "Best Domestic Singer" and "Best Domestic Pop" categories. So far, the famous singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega helped the band with the last album Night Walk with Me. On her recommendation, Chad Blake was in charge of the final mix. The experienced producer and multiple Grammy award winner is signed to the best albums of Paul McCartney, Black Keys, Peter Gabriel, Sheryl Crow, Pearl Jam and Tom Waits.

 http://www.november2nd.net/

Unsu

 

Unsu is a belgian songwriter (Wim) working together with Ukranian singer (Kate).
We released different singles already.

Song "Hills of Hope" is about a young girl who is rejected by other children and therefor she creates her own fantasty world where she lives in harmony with trees, flowers and animals. But still hopes to be accepted by humans.

"Hills of Hope" is about a young girl who is rejected by other children and therefore she creates her own fantasy world where she lives in harmony with trees, flowers and animals. But still hopes to be accepted by humans.

 https://open.spotify.com/artist/3oUYSXcx82YllWC1WwBLH7

 

Aynsley Lister

 

Aynsley Lister is one of the UK’s hottest contemporary blues guitarists – many consider him to be among the best in the world. His unique brand of blues-based rock delivers contemporary song writing fueled with the kind of heart and soul that’s missing from so much modern music.  Whether passionately writing and recording his own material or mesmerising audiences at his live shows, one thing is abundantly clear: music is hard-wired to his DNA and flows from his fingertips like sonic bolts of lightning. With over 100,000 albums sold, lashings of critical acclaim and years of high profile touring, Lister’s resumé speaks for itself and firmly secures his position as a leading light in the resurgence of British blues-infused music.

In hindsight, it’s clear Aynsley was born to be a musician.  As a child he was hypnotised by his dad’s old guitar and at the age of eight was finally gifted his very own.  The moment he held that first six-string the outcome was inevitable; he was going to be a guitarist.  Blessed with the coolest dad in town, regularly spinning Hendrix, Cream, Fleetwood Mac and a whole host of bewitching blues for his spellbound son, Aynsley taught himself to play with relentless dedication and a precociously attuned ear, spending hours copying his favourite records note for note.  Peter Green, Albert King, Clapton and Kossoff weren’t just his heroes; they became his teachers.

 https://www.aynsleylister.co.uk

Radio Kings

 

Boston-based traditional blues duo almost eerily reminiscent of the like-minded Fabulous Thunderbirds, the Radio Kings primarily comprised vocalist/harpist Brian Templeton and guitarist Michael Dinallo. Formed in 1991, the group debuted in 1994 with the Icehouse label release It Ain't Easy, a showcase for their clear affection for the gritty sound of giants including Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter and Slim Harpo; Live at B.B. King's followed a year later, and in 1998, the Radio Kings returned with Money Road.