From The Mersey to The Seine:
Music Flows Through the Cityscapes of Creativity
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Violette
Snowgoose
Anna Sheard and Jim McCulloch return with their third album, 'Descendant', which sees the pair expand their sound and delve deeper into a world of emotion and melody.
Anna and Jim`s songs are delivered with the very highest levels of musicianship, as always joined by the cream of Scottish indie royalty - Raymond McGinley (Teenage Fanclub) on guitar, Chris Geddes (Belle and Sebastian) on keyboards, Stevie Jones (Arab Strap) on Bass, Tim Davidson (Tracyanne & Danny) on pedal steel, Stuart Kidd (BMX Bandits) and Adam Stearns (Trembling Bells) on drums and percussion.
The new songs oooze melodic flair with Anna`s deeply evocative vocals placed front and centre. All of the tracks on 'Descendant', including vocals were recorded at Chem 19 Studio's, Glasgow.
Beauty and Love, Sorrow and Loss are big themes to explore - but in these hands sound effortlessly heart-breaking.
“Descendant” by Snowgoose is released on 18 October 2024.
© Violette Records 2024
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John Canning Yates: after a long break, the former Ella Guru singer and songwriter releases “The Quiet Portraits”
John Canning Yates
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Violette Records
The Reed Conservation Society
Blending profound emotions and diverse musical influences: Stéphane Auzenet and Mathieu Blanc launch their highly anticipated debut Album “La Société de Préservation du Roseau.”
Combining Auzenet’s experience with the duo’s shared indie-pop acumen, they forged a vivacious musical identity, heralding the beginnings of their pop-populist revolution.
The Reed Conservation Society’s work to date is a beautiful odyssey, teetering on the profound and intricate.
Intricately in French, the 11-track album conveys the duo’s emotional range and composing prowess, capturing the chaos and tranquillity of their world.
Rich in narratives and a nature-evoking sound, they present here a very vivid image. Their album dances between upbeat melodies and songs that evoke the sombre realities of our times.
Contributions from Natacha Tertone, Vincent Mougel, Emma Broughton, and long-time sound engineer, Yann Arnaud.
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Snowgoose
Beatowls
From a warehouse by the river, Beatowls’ exquisite, meticulously built and finely fractured sound guides an introspective and thought-provoking sonic journey through ‘Marma’, the Liverpool collective’s captivating debut album.
Beatowls' music melds scratched percussion, dewdrop melodies, and a sense of haunting beauty, caught between dreams and reality, and industry and nature.
Their sound, inspired by the urban-industrial mood of the city, weaves evocative, cinematic tones into their compositions—a meticulous pursuit of fractured perfection.
Beatowls’ music reflects influences from Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland’s DIY ethos, distorts The XX’s millennial longing with Portishead’s sinister vibes, and combines Nancy & Lee’s trippy idealism with the skewed romanticism of Badalamenti and Lynch, and the sounds of Broadcast and Warp Records.
Their album 'Marma' earned accolades for its atmospheric soundscapes and evocative lyricism. Critics commend Beatowls for their unique genre fusion and their capacity to create emotionally charged, resonant sounds.
La Violette Società
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Meaning of Tales
"There is no chance, there are only meetings" - a quote attributed to Paul Éluard and sung by Etienne Daho. This sentiment encapsulates the chance meeting between Carl Egger and Théophile Huau Armani, which led to the formation of the French group Meaning of Tales, signed by Violette Records.
Despite their differing musical backgrounds, Carl and Théo's instant musical connection and shared influences (Beach Boys, Andy Shauf, Nick Drake, etc.) drove them to write and record six songs that quickly caught the attention of the label. These compositions, inspired by the ghosts of Giverny, weave a harmonious tapestry of vocal harmonies and intricate arpeggios, evoking memories of youth and the beauty of nature.
Somewhere between Simon & Garfunkel and the Kings of Convenience, Meaning of Tales' music is benevolent and empathetic, softening our morals and delighting our hearts. The live experience further elevates their sound, with four additional musicians joining the duo to soar to new harmonic heights and captivate the audience with their sincerity, limpid beauty, and irresistible force.
Studio Electrophonique
Songs come to James Leesley in airless attics, dinner time chippies and late afternoon bookies shops; on long walks through town with a sandwich in each pocket, on morning runs through the park in lost-property trainers or on the top deck of the 52A with rain-laced windows and wet toe-ends.
He records on an old four-track machine using deadstock Metal Maxima cassettes sourced from an unnamed charity shop close to Bramall Lane. This machine kills flashiness. There is no room for garnish. Choice is minimised to serve the song, intimacy is maximised to serve the ache.
Studio Electrophonique is a semi-fictional collective of analogue romantics sent to reassure us that art is not some far off place, that sadness can be enjoyed like happiness and that glamour can descend like a minor key melody on the shoulders of anyone willing to pay their subs and the price of a day-return to Ballifield shops.
Tigers & Flies
Raised on the salted air and pebbled beaches amidst the faded seaside opulence of Brighton, Tigers & Flies spent much of their formative years building a friendship forged on a diet of the melodies and rhythms to be found deep within their parents’ wildly eclectic record collections. A worthy and noble pursuit for anyone, from those wonderfully endless hours, those bottomless cups of tea great ideas can flourish. Tigers & Flies are a great and flourishing idea.
Tigers and Flies enjoy a rare sense of musical individuality. And the musicality they bring is something of note. Their sound belies their years and it begs us to continue the search with them. The search for something fresh in pop music. And then it delivers. There’s much to hear. Something rich for us all.
From the bounce and sunny optimism of Orange Juice to the brutalist edge of Gang of Four. From XTC to Bacharach. Each listen offers more. A harmony appears where you’re convinced there wasn’t one before, or a rhythmic change you hadn’t noticed. A lyrical twist. Harmonies that seem to float in through an open window.
Jim McCulloch
Over three decades as the unassuming but pivotal figure behind some of Scotland's most iconic pop, Jim McCulloch releases his debut solo album "When I Mean What I Say" in 2021. Lush and textured, the elp is immersed in the melodic tapestries of Laurel Canyon but rooted in Jim's life in Glasgow.
Written in Donegal and recorded pre-Lockdown in Glasgow, the warmth of the album's classic pop and its lyrical openness transports the listener to an emotional and harmonic timelessness. As a songwriter, Jim is committed to the detailed sculpting of melody and expression, as evident in his work with Isobel Campbell, Mark Lanegan, and the Snowgoose project.
"When I Mean What I Say" is a coherent and concentrated solo work, born from Jim's Master's Degree in Songwriting. The album's nine tracks reflect an unchained musician, confronted with the balance between art and the demands of everyday living. The opener "Blacksticks Boogie" introduces the purity of Jim's voice, while the Byrdsian “Chorus Of Lists" and the duet "Shining Bright" showcase his poignant songwriting.
Violette Records
(pronounced: vee-oh-LET reh-kords) /viˈəˌlɛt ˈrɛkərdz/
Noun
Definition: Violette Records is a Liverpool and Paris-based record label run by Matt Lockett, Pascal Blua, and PJ Smith. Since 2013, the label's ethos is rooted in the belief that music and art generate life-affirming value for the artist and their audience.
How do you follow up a debut album described by the Independent on Sunday as "the best debut album since Marquee Moon"? That' was the challenge facing singer-songwriter John Canning Yates, two decades after the release of 'The First Album' by his band, Ella Guru.
Fans of the melodic soundscapes of Brian Wilson, Burt Bacharach, and Tom Waits will appreciate ‘The Quiet Portraits,’ while Yates's vocals bring to mind the emotional fragility and narrative depth of Neil Young, Paul Buchanan, Mark Linkous, and Elliott Smith.
Mastered by Jason Mitchell (known for his work with PJ Harvey and Robert Forster) and featuring guest performances from pedal steel expert BJ Cole and multi-instrumentalist Andy Frizell, followers of Ella Guru will find their wait richly rewarded. ‘The Quiet Portraits’ stands as a testament to the understated yet immense talent of John Canning Yates.
“The Quiet Portraits” by John Canning Yates released on 19 April 2024.
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