by The James Hunter Six
The James Hunter SixHold On (PBS feature record)
Daptone Records is proud to welcome James Hunter to the Daptone Family of artists. James is an accomplished rhythm and blues singer and songwriter who has earned an international following with a career built on solid, soulful live and studio performances. In today's R&B world, littered with retro-soul cronies, ear-twisting melisma and hollow affectations, James has a voice that stands out not only for its natural beauty and grit, but for its honesty. His songwriting shares the masterful architecture and the inspired creativity of Smokey Robinson, each rhyme and rhythm crafted meticulously, somehow twisting familiar themes into unfamiliar new shapes. And though his voice is unmistakably his own, he delivers his songs with the kind of soulful abandon that often evokes Ray Charles and Otis Redding.
Hunter, who has supported the likes of Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison, Etta James, and Willie Nelson, emerged as a soul powerhouse in 2006 with People Gonna Talk, which hit #1 on the Billboard Blues chart, landed on year-end lists from Mojo to USA Today, and was nominated for a Grammy. His next album, The Hard Way, was another Billboard Blues #1, but it was 2013's Minute by Minute, that brought James and his band, The James Hunter Six, to the states to team up with Daptone producer, Bosco Mann for the first time.
PBS FM
John CaleMusic For A New Society (Featured on The Breakfast Spread)
John Cale's M:Fans is not for the faint hearted - you need to prepare yourself for this one. His latest album M:Fans is an emotional re-working of his 1982 album Music For A New Society with the two being released as a double CD. In his autobiography the former member of The Velvet Underground describes making the original album as 'torturous;' yet he decided to breathe new life into it back in 2013. In M:Fans you can hear more than the sorrow of the original album. This one evokes a frustration, almost a sense of urgency and anger at how the world is changing, but somehow lightens the melancholy that runs through Music For A New Society. In fact at the time of recording Cale's friend and former band mate Lou Reed, no doubt tinging the sound of the album. Fans of Cale's original work will not be disappointed, with M:Fans providing an updated insight into Cale's mind.
By Cat– The Breakfast Spread
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