Monday, July 23, 2007

More fall CDs from great artists!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2007
Pieta Brown Combines Southern Gothic And Heartland Hip On ‘Remember The Sun,’ Set For Sept 25 Release On One Little Indian Records

Album Already Generating Raves In The UK

“[‘Remember The Sun’] could have been recorded any time in the last 30 years and still stand out .... gentle swing mixing with swagger as perfectly as beer and chasers.” - Q MAGAZINE


On September 25, One Little Indian Records will release Pieta Brown’s ‘Remember The Sun,’ a new album steeped in the rising songwriter’s unique personal history. By turns hypnotic and driving, the eleven new, original songs on ‘Sun’ - all penned by Brown and delivered in her distinctive, throaty drawl - combine alluring poetry with a reporter’s eye for detail. Produced by Brown, Bo Ramsey (Lucinda Williams), and Chris Goldsmith (Blind Boys of Alabama, Ben Harper), ‘Sun’ has already earned strong notices in the UK, where it was released earlier this year. After making her debut at Bonnaroo last month, Brown is now poised to break through in the US.

The daughter of two preacher's kids, Brown spent her childhood in Iowa and Alabama amidst a broken yet musical family. In her bare-bones Iowa upbringing Pieta was exposed to traditional and rural folk music through her father, Grammy nominated folk singer, Greg Brown. Later, while growing up in the deep south of Birmingham, Alabama with her mother - who worked and attended medical school - Pieta drew on and expanded these musical influences and began writing poetry and composing music for piano. But it wasn’t until her 20s that she picked up a guitar. Her songs, like her poetry, convey a strong sense of place - equal parts southern gothic and heartland hip.

‘Sun’ features Brown’s strongest writing to date. Songs like “Sonic Boom” and “Not Scared” roar out of the gate and never let up, while others unfold like an unhurried dream. A childhood memory of her father taking her to see ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ forms the premise for “In My Mind I Was Talkin’ To Loretta,” while one can feel the walls closing in on “West Monroe”’s tale of small town claustrophobia.

Brown plays guitar, piano and Wurlitzer on the album, accompanied by a crack backing band including Ramsey on guitar, ace sessioneer Chad Cromwell (Neil Young, Mark Knopfler) on drums, Jon Penner (Junior Brown, Sue Foley) on bass, Ricky Peterson (Prince, John Mayer) on B-3 organ and keyboards, and David Mansfield (Alpha Band, Rolling Thunder Review) on violin and viola. 'Sun' was recorded and mixed in Minneapolis by Tom Tucker (Prince, Johnny Lang).

‘Remember the Sun’ follows Brown’s acclaimed 2005 release ‘In The Cool.’ Produced by Ramsey, it was named one of the year's best by Amazon.com and
several daily papers nationwide. It also broke the Top 20 of the Americana
Music Association radio chart and the Top 30 on the AAA radio chart. The success of ‘In The Cool’ led to tour dates with Neko Case, Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and others, plus a recording collaboration with Calexico.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2007
Chuck Prophet Cleans Up

Rock & Roll Renaissance Man Delivers 'Soap And Water,' His Debut For Yep Roc Records, On Oct 2

“Chuck Prophet is a real find, an innovative genre-fusing talent with a wry sense of humor and fearless approach to musical alchemy.” - USA TODAY

When he performed on Austin City Limits, Chuck Prophet was introduced as a singer who “defies categorization,” and he sounds more artistically restless than ever on ‘Soap and Water’, his first album in over three years, and his debut for Yep Roc Records. Set for October 2 release, the album features twelve new songs all written or co-written by Prophet. It was recorded in his hometown of San Francisco, and Nashville, and co-produced by Prophet and Brad Jones (Dolly Parton, Yo La Tengo, Josh Rouse).

Jesus, Elvis, and Anna Nicole Smith all turn up on ‘Soap and Water’ and that’s just in one song. Elsewhere, Prophet conjures stories of small town girls and damaged goods, missed opportunities and happy endings.

Mojo Magazine once wrote, “Forget water into wine; [Chuck Prophet] turns Americana into rock, pop, rap and R&B.” To wit, “Freckle Song,” the opening track on ‘Soap and Water’ is a one-chord stomper that finds Prophet playing the cad. But it’s followed by ‘Would You Love Me,’ a soulful ballad of genuine regret about the afore mentioned Christ/Presley/Smith triumvirate, featuring a haunting melodica and children’s church choir. Then there’s “Doubter Out of Jesus (All Over You),” a serious spooker that channels Alex Chilton and Alan Vega in equal measure. The children’s choir returns, this time manifesting something more akin to menace than innocence. A cold drum machine pattern and shimmering keyboards complete the scene, descending like a first frost.

It’s the moody brilliance of songs like these that have earned Prophet the respect of his peers. In addition to his own catalog, which spans 20-odd years, he has collaborated with Warren Zevon, Dan Penn and Alejandro Escovedo among many others, and his songs have been recorded by everyone from Solomon Burke to Heart. He also produced the new Kelly Willis album "Translated From Love," released last month on Rykodisc. In 2006, Prophet launched his own record label, (((belle sound))) releasing archival recordings by his seminal 1980s band Green on Red (“By far one of the best bands in the United States for almost an entire decade,” according to the New York Times), and a new album by Sonny Smith. Prophet is also currently at work on a spoken word project for Chronicle Books about the artist’s life on the road.