http://www.justbecause.ch/shows.htmlNewest Shows at Just Becausehttp://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363B373A.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-20T12:07:32 Elizabeth Harper, a former drama major from Los Angeles, had been writing delicate, wistful songs of longing and detachment for several years when she met musician [and] psychoanalyst-in-training Mark Richardson in 2009 and asked him to remix one of her tracks. Their creative chemistry was instantaneous – Mark’s production style was cerebral but sensual, relying heavily on vintage synths and drum machines, and influenced by ‘80s bands like Human League and Depeche Mode while still conscious of modern club sounds steeped in hip hop and house. It perfectly complemented the melancholy undertone in Harper’s songs and revealed in them an urge towards ecstatic abandon.   Along with multi-instrumentalist/engineer Scott Rosenthal, the two formed Class Actress and recorded the debut EP Journal of Ardency, which was released to much acclaim by Chris Taylor’s (of Grizzly Bear) Terrible Records in 2010.   In the year since, Class Actress toured the US, Europe and South America, Mark worked towards attaining his PHD, and the band completed a new full-length record, entitled Rapprocher, which is French for “to come close to.”   The record is the soundtrack for a tragic love affair conducted in European discos and New York nightclubs, via smart phone disconnection and jet-lag disorientation, from within the dull opacity of luxurious hotel rooms and anti-anxiety medication. It’s the story of a relationship that's yearning to go another round. Harper's secrets and Richardson's beats liberate the listener and freedom reigns on the dance floor. This is sensual music about tragic romance and the eternal longing for what you can't have. Where Journal was the secret diary, Rapprocher is the love letter.   The pleasure and sorrow of romantic connection are inescapably entwined in Harper's lyrics, while the smooth, cool surfaces of Richardson's production conjure an eternal after-hours nightlife that Harper inhabits fearlessly, displaying a provocative, wounded raw sexuality that some reviewers have compared to early Madonna.   Class Actress is: Guilty Pleasure. NSA dance music. Casual Encounters. Stalker Pop. Depeche Mode meets early Madonna and Five Star as heard on the radio in the leather backseat of a cab.   Class Actress is not: Acting Class.   http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363B363C.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-14T18:03:32 The Mondrians formed in the Summer of 2005, recorded their first home-made demo tape in their mountain-based rehearsal studio, including the songs « Pearl Of The Lake » and « The Shout ». Then, the young Swiss band started touring, first in Switzerland, then in France and the United Kingdom. They also played in Paléo Festival, Pully For Noise and Les Eurockéennes. Press and radio started talking about the guys like « Swiss pop-rock new talent […] one of the best rock'n'roll band at the present time ». After three years on the road gaining both critical success and a strong following, The Mondrians recorded their first album in Spain with producer Gordon Raphael (The Strokes, Regina Spektor). You will necessarily fall in love with this record full of energy, with lively songs and soft ballades. Their brand new album is scheduled to come out mid-november this year on distributed by Irascible. For the most impatient, you can already have an idea of how talented these four boys are, by downloading a few songs of To The Happy Few, following the link below. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363B363A.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-14T16:57:41 The turntable soul trio started life in pubs in North London, creating weird songs with samplers, turntables and guitars in between trips to the bar. They got offered a real gig, so had to write some real songs. Some people seemed to like them, so the pressed a 7" record. More people seemed to like that, so they pressed two more 7"s, running their own record label from the back of taxis and at work when no one was looking. The band have toured Europe, Asia and Australia, including playing the Montreux Jazz Festival, Glastonbury and Sydney Opera house, and have recorded radio sessions for Mark Lamarr in the UK and DJ Tidav (Virgin Radio) in France. Their widely anticipated third album ' 270 Stories' will be released by Tru Thoughts on October the 11th 2010. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363B3638.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-14T14:17:00 Initially the story about Nikolaj Grandjean is one of adaptation. And contrasts. Dealing with a heritage of fitting in. Growing up in an environment, rather different from the others’, keeping peace, makes the kid bicultural. Making music and insisting on staying honest, have later become and essential path. Insisting on telling his truth. This is now. Obviously many things lead to this. For many years Grandjean played in various rock bands, but never really enjoyed having to share the song writing with others. Grandjean joined with singer Tanja Thulau and producer Per Vibskov on a quest to conquer the world with great pop music and signed with Sony. After working on an album for 3 years , the album was dropped by the label, and Grandjean proclaims, in equals parts of anger and disappointment, that he is from now on a song writer and his dreams of being discovered young – with world domination to follow – comes to an abrupt full stop. During recordings with Luke on a mountainside in Brazil, Grandjean gets quite handy with the recording devices and with close friend, opera singer Mikkel Lomborg, by his side, he decides to start recording his own material as a proclaimed singer. This partnership defines a radical change in Grandjeans life and career. A vision of nearness and playfulness is put into music and label man, DJ, producer and recording artist, Kenneth Bager picks up on the idea. The result is the solo debut, ‘Carrying Stars’, released April 2008. Since then Grandjean has been touring around the world, playing more than a hundred shows. Live he is joined by Mikkel Lomborg and Christian Winther. Once again insisting on bringing the truth, keeping everything close and alive. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363B353E.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-13T14:47:04 Initially the story about Nikolaj Grandjean is one of adaptation. And contrasts. Dealing with a heritage of fitting in. Growing up in an environment, rather different from the others’, keeping peace, makes the kid bicultural. Making music and insisting on staying honest, have later become and essential path. Insisting on telling his truth. This is now. Obviously many things lead to this. For many years Grandjean played in various rock bands, but never really enjoyed having to share the song writing with others. Grandjean joined with singer Tanja Thulau and producer Per Vibskov on a quest to conquer the world with great pop music and signed with Sony. After working on an album for 3 years , the album was dropped by the label, and Grandjean proclaims, in equals parts of anger and disappointment, that he is from now on a song writer and his dreams of being discovered young – with world domination to follow – comes to an abrupt full stop. During recordings with Luke on a mountainside in Brazil, Grandjean gets quite handy with the recording devices and with close friend, opera singer Mikkel Lomborg, by his side, he decides to start recording his own material as a proclaimed singer. This partnership defines a radical change in Grandjeans life and career. A vision of nearness and playfulness is put into music and label man, DJ, producer and recording artist, Kenneth Bager picks up on the idea. The result is the solo debut, ‘Carrying Stars’, released April 2008. Since then Grandjean has been touring around the world, playing more than a hundred shows. Live he is joined by Mikkel Lomborg and Christian Winther. Once again insisting on bringing the truth, keeping everything close and alive. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363B353A.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-13T11:19:32 Luke Rathborne writes songs about life, and life is rarely simple, neat and easy. On his I Can Be One / Dog Years split-EP, to be released March 8 via Dilettante Recordings, the singer-songwriter defies today’s cookie cutter flavors, preferring to hold true to his artistic vision – a vision that embraces the zen of Leonard Cohen and the weathered tone of Bob Dylan, basking both in a heady aura of dialed-down pop exuberance. Luke Rathborne shimmers, because his songs emit an incandescent glow as warm and inviting as they are naked and vulnerable. It’s not about finding answers to life’s questions, it’s about shedding light on life’s experiences. Seeing how they make us better for the wear while they ruffle us around the edges. “Hopefully, people will see the difference in the music here,” says the 23 year-old troubadour of his ambitious release. “They are two groups of songs that belong with each other, but not necessarily together. As an artist, you really have to think about the way you’re putting a record together, and it’s got to be done in a way that interests people – if you think, in your gut, that you’re just going to smash songs together and call them a record… that’s just material, that’s not a record.” Rather than muddling his music’s disparate take on the world around him, attempting to intertwine songs written under different circumstances and in different frames of mind, Rathborne decided to offer audiences his ideal window into his headscape – two EPs, each unique in their own right, as one album. Dog Years embraces Rathborne’s more pop aesthetic – not shiny, happy pop, but effervescent, melancholic pop. The title track offers a cynical poke to not letting the ‘dog years’ pass you by, and if you hear a bit of Dylan in the New Yorker’s tone, you aren’t mistaken. He also cites a lot of ‘60s and ‘70s music like the Kinks and the Beatles as impacting those early tracks, written as a teenager in Maine. The material from the second set, I Can Be One, was penned following Rathborne’s move to New York City after high school and completed with members of Antony and the Johnsons contributing to the arrangements. Big Star and Lou Reed’s Berlin enter the realm of influences, and the material takes on a somber, darker hue. “Motor City” elicits a somber sense of pining, while closing track “Solon Town” is an arching epic that bridges Rathbornes rural roots with his transplanted Brooklyn home. Its title track, “I Can Be One,” is one of the tracks that led Devendra Banhart to invite him on tour and exclaim, “I love this young dude,” in a recent Magnet piece. “The second EP is more of a reaction to living in New York, and it’s a lot more personal and minimal,” he says. “It’s like battery acid – people are really freaked and don’t know what to do with it.” But while the tones change, the inspiration is largely the same. “All of the songs – on both EPs – are about being afraid of connecting, because connections open up the possibility of being harmed… It’s interesting that they intersect here, because I’d been playing with the idea of putting them together and seeing how they mix, but this seems a lot more pure – this is my music, this is what I want to say, and this is how I want to say it.” http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363B3538.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-13T11:15:54 Luke Rathborne writes songs about life, and life is rarely simple, neat and easy. On his I Can Be One / Dog Years split-EP, to be released March 8 via Dilettante Recordings, the singer-songwriter defies today’s cookie cutter flavors, preferring to hold true to his artistic vision – a vision that embraces the zen of Leonard Cohen and the weathered tone of Bob Dylan, basking both in a heady aura of dialed-down pop exuberance. Luke Rathborne shimmers, because his songs emit an incandescent glow as warm and inviting as they are naked and vulnerable. It’s not about finding answers to life’s questions, it’s about shedding light on life’s experiences. Seeing how they make us better for the wear while they ruffle us around the edges. “Hopefully, people will see the difference in the music here,” says the 23 year-old troubadour of his ambitious release. “They are two groups of songs that belong with each other, but not necessarily together. As an artist, you really have to think about the way you’re putting a record together, and it’s got to be done in a way that interests people – if you think, in your gut, that you’re just going to smash songs together and call them a record… that’s just material, that’s not a record.” Rather than muddling his music’s disparate take on the world around him, attempting to intertwine songs written under different circumstances and in different frames of mind, Rathborne decided to offer audiences his ideal window into his headscape – two EPs, each unique in their own right, as one album. Dog Years embraces Rathborne’s more pop aesthetic – not shiny, happy pop, but effervescent, melancholic pop. The title track offers a cynical poke to not letting the ‘dog years’ pass you by, and if you hear a bit of Dylan in the New Yorker’s tone, you aren’t mistaken. He also cites a lot of ‘60s and ‘70s music like the Kinks and the Beatles as impacting those early tracks, written as a teenager in Maine. The material from the second set, I Can Be One, was penned following Rathborne’s move to New York City after high school and completed with members of Antony and the Johnsons contributing to the arrangements. Big Star and Lou Reed’s Berlin enter the realm of influences, and the material takes on a somber, darker hue. “Motor City” elicits a somber sense of pining, while closing track “Solon Town” is an arching epic that bridges Rathbornes rural roots with his transplanted Brooklyn home. Its title track, “I Can Be One,” is one of the tracks that led Devendra Banhart to invite him on tour and exclaim, “I love this young dude,” in a recent Magnet piece. “The second EP is more of a reaction to living in New York, and it’s a lot more personal and minimal,” he says. “It’s like battery acid – people are really freaked and don’t know what to do with it.” But while the tones change, the inspiration is largely the same. “All of the songs – on both EPs – are about being afraid of connecting, because connections open up the possibility of being harmed… It’s interesting that they intersect here, because I’d been playing with the idea of putting them together and seeing how they mix, but this seems a lot more pure – this is my music, this is what I want to say, and this is how I want to say it.” http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3E3E.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-09T15:04:19 Initially the story about Nikolaj Grandjean is one of adaptation. And contrasts. Dealing with a heritage of fitting in. Growing up in an environment, rather different from the others’, keeping peace, makes the kid bicultural. Making music and insisting on staying honest, have later become and essential path. Insisting on telling his truth. This is now. Obviously many things lead to this. For many years Grandjean played in various rock bands, but never really enjoyed having to share the song writing with others. Grandjean joined with singer Tanja Thulau and producer Per Vibskov on a quest to conquer the world with great pop music and signed with Sony. After working on an album for 3 years , the album was dropped by the label, and Grandjean proclaims, in equals parts of anger and disappointment, that he is from now on a song writer and his dreams of being discovered young – with world domination to follow – comes to an abrupt full stop. During recordings with Luke on a mountainside in Brazil, Grandjean gets quite handy with the recording devices and with close friend, opera singer Mikkel Lomborg, by his side, he decides to start recording his own material as a proclaimed singer. This partnership defines a radical change in Grandjeans life and career. A vision of nearness and playfulness is put into music and label man, DJ, producer and recording artist, Kenneth Bager picks up on the idea. The result is the solo debut, ‘Carrying Stars’, released April 2008. Since then Grandjean has been touring around the world, playing more than a hundred shows. Live he is joined by Mikkel Lomborg and Christian Winther. Once again insisting on bringing the truth, keeping everything close and alive. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3E3C.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-09T14:37:24 Initially the story about Nikolaj Grandjean is one of adaptation. And contrasts. Dealing with a heritage of fitting in. Growing up in an environment, rather different from the others’, keeping peace, makes the kid bicultural. Making music and insisting on staying honest, have later become and essential path. Insisting on telling his truth. This is now. Obviously many things lead to this. For many years Grandjean played in various rock bands, but never really enjoyed having to share the song writing with others. Grandjean joined with singer Tanja Thulau and producer Per Vibskov on a quest to conquer the world with great pop music and signed with Sony. After working on an album for 3 years , the album was dropped by the label, and Grandjean proclaims, in equals parts of anger and disappointment, that he is from now on a song writer and his dreams of being discovered young – with world domination to follow – comes to an abrupt full stop. During recordings with Luke on a mountainside in Brazil, Grandjean gets quite handy with the recording devices and with close friend, opera singer Mikkel Lomborg, by his side, he decides to start recording his own material as a proclaimed singer. This partnership defines a radical change in Grandjeans life and career. A vision of nearness and playfulness is put into music and label man, DJ, producer and recording artist, Kenneth Bager picks up on the idea. The result is the solo debut, ‘Carrying Stars’, released April 2008. Since then Grandjean has been touring around the world, playing more than a hundred shows. Live he is joined by Mikkel Lomborg and Christian Winther. Once again insisting on bringing the truth, keeping everything close and alive. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3E3A.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-09T14:36:33 Initially the story about Nikolaj Grandjean is one of adaptation. And contrasts. Dealing with a heritage of fitting in. Growing up in an environment, rather different from the others’, keeping peace, makes the kid bicultural. Making music and insisting on staying honest, have later become and essential path. Insisting on telling his truth. This is now. Obviously many things lead to this. For many years Grandjean played in various rock bands, but never really enjoyed having to share the song writing with others. Grandjean joined with singer Tanja Thulau and producer Per Vibskov on a quest to conquer the world with great pop music and signed with Sony. After working on an album for 3 years , the album was dropped by the label, and Grandjean proclaims, in equals parts of anger and disappointment, that he is from now on a song writer and his dreams of being discovered young – with world domination to follow – comes to an abrupt full stop. During recordings with Luke on a mountainside in Brazil, Grandjean gets quite handy with the recording devices and with close friend, opera singer Mikkel Lomborg, by his side, he decides to start recording his own material as a proclaimed singer. This partnership defines a radical change in Grandjeans life and career. A vision of nearness and playfulness is put into music and label man, DJ, producer and recording artist, Kenneth Bager picks up on the idea. The result is the solo debut, ‘Carrying Stars’, released April 2008. Since then Grandjean has been touring around the world, playing more than a hundred shows. Live he is joined by Mikkel Lomborg and Christian Winther. Once again insisting on bringing the truth, keeping everything close and alive. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3E36.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-09T10:36:34 WhoMadeWho may lack a question mark after their name but their music will certainly have you asking after them. Why do they dress up in skeleton suits when they play live? Why does a band supposedly known for disco punk start their second album with an outbreak of omnious sounding woodwind? And why do they fill their most breezy pop moments with teutonic synths? The Danish trio are difficult to pin down but their music sounds as effortless as it is stylistically and sonically adventurous. WhoMadeWho are on a mission to eschew convention. The band formed in 2003, with falsetto voiced bassist Tomas Hoffding coming from the Scandinavian Garage-Rock underground, singer songwriter/guitarist Jeppe Kjellberg from the avant garde jazz scene (with beard to match), and drummer Tomas Barford – who also records as Tomboy – a rising star of electronic music. They released several 12-inches on leading German disco label Gomma Records including ‘Out The Door’ and ‘Space To Rent’, culminating in their eponymous debut album in 2005, which won them a devoted audience who evangelised about their new favourite band, making it the sleeper hit of the year. But in the end: It’s impossible to describe the musical genius that accounts for the world of WhoMadeWho. A wideness and complexity but at the same time simplicity and depth that’s quite unique in today’s music. Call it New Age Dance Pop. Call it Advanced Indie Disco. You have to hear – no: better feel for yourself. Because – as London’s i – D magazine put it: It’s out of any categories…it’s simply brilliant!” http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3D3C.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-09T09:36:09http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3C3E.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-08T16:48:52 Following the release of new single ‘Silicon’ through Distiller Records, Sound of Guns announce their biggest tour to date in support of new album ‘Angels & Enemies’, which drops March 5th. Recorded at the Distillery in Bath, the album was produced by Dave Eringa who has previously worked with The Manic Street Preachers and Ocean Colour Scene. Having already secured a headline slot at HMV’s Next Big Thing in February 2012 and being nominated for the 2011 XFM New Music Award, Sound Of Guns kicked off the new year with support from XFM’s Mary Anne Hobbs, a slot on her evening playlist, Single of the Week on Rich Walters XFM show and BBC Radio 1 support from Zane Lowe and Huw Stephens. Discovered by BBC Introducing, Sound of Guns have developed as a band since releasing their debut album ‘What Came From Fire’, which was one of the ten albums shortlisted for the 2011 XFM's New Music Award. Having now crafted ten new and original tracks for ‘Angels & Enemies’, Sound of Guns have their sights set once again at the top. The journey for Sound of Guns has been far from dull. Since forming, the band have gone from having their guitars stolen, studio burnt to the ground to being surrounded by armed police (a misunderstanding after a local at a gig heard the band talking about ‘guns’). More recently they have toured with The View, performed at Radio One’s Big Weekend, Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds and recorded at the legendary BBC Maida Vale studios Sound Of Guns are not afraid to appeal to the masses. With the support of Mary Anne Hobbs, Radio One heavyweights and bands including Everything Everything, Miles Kane, The Courteeners and Delphic, it’s now time for Sound of Guns to take centre stage. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3C3C.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-08T14:32:40 Dividing a vinyl record with Sea Side and River Side betrays an obvious feeling for all things liquid. On his last album, « Plaine inondable », released in 2009, Fránçois sung Be Water, a delicious and watery song backed up by a secret Basque choir. As frank as the smile given by Jean-Pierre Léaud at the very end of « 400 Hundred Blows » when he arrives at the sea for the first time, Fránçois’ music confronts lightly with reality and the elements which surround it. Being the first Domino French signature, Fránçois and The Atlas Mountains are ready to spread their wings over indie pop’s vast international landscape. Open and extremely sensitive, these twelve songs, as evidenced by Les plus beaux, a genuine and already precious love hymn, display graceful and surprising arrangements, with their watercolours like melodies. Like an Atlantic Narcissus or a broken wing Icarus, the sleeve express some sense of romantic journeys. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3C3A.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-08T13:09:02 Dividing a vinyl record with Sea Side and River Side betrays an obvious feeling for all things liquid. On his last album, « Plaine inondable », released in 2009, Fránçois sung Be Water, a delicious and watery song backed up by a secret Basque choir. As frank as the smile given by Jean-Pierre Léaud at the very end of « 400 Hundred Blows » when he arrives at the sea for the first time, Fránçois’ music confronts lightly with reality and the elements which surround it. Being the first Domino French signature, Fránçois and The Atlas Mountains are ready to spread their wings over indie pop’s vast international landscape. Open and extremely sensitive, these twelve songs, as evidenced by Les plus beaux, a genuine and already precious love hymn, display graceful and surprising arrangements, with their watercolours like melodies. Like an Atlantic Narcissus or a broken wing Icarus, the sleeve express some sense of romantic journeys. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3C36.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-08T10:21:32 WhoMadeWho may lack a question mark after their name but their music will certainly have you asking after them. Why do they dress up in skeleton suits when they play live? Why does a band supposedly known for disco punk start their second album with an outbreak of omnious sounding woodwind? And why do they fill their most breezy pop moments with teutonic synths? The Danish trio are difficult to pin down but their music sounds as effortless as it is stylistically and sonically adventurous. WhoMadeWho are on a mission to eschew convention. The band formed in 2003, with falsetto voiced bassist Tomas Hoffding coming from the Scandinavian Garage-Rock underground, singer songwriter/guitarist Jeppe Kjellberg from the avant garde jazz scene (with beard to match), and drummer Tomas Barford – who also records as Tomboy – a rising star of electronic music. They released several 12-inches on leading German disco label Gomma Records including ‘Out The Door’ and ‘Space To Rent’, culminating in their eponymous debut album in 2005, which won them a devoted audience who evangelised about their new favourite band, making it the sleeper hit of the year. But in the end: It’s impossible to describe the musical genius that accounts for the world of WhoMadeWho. A wideness and complexity but at the same time simplicity and depth that’s quite unique in today’s music. Call it New Age Dance Pop. Call it Advanced Indie Disco. You have to hear – no: better feel for yourself. Because – as London’s i – D magazine put it: It’s out of any categories…it’s simply brilliant!” http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3B3E.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-08T09:29:12 2010 was a benchmark year for the young Miss Nika Roza Danilova. Under the moniker Zola Jesus, Nika released two stunning EP’s stateside via Sacred Bones, Stridulum and Valusia and abroad combined those (mostly) into her debut full length, Stridulum II, for Berlin based Souterrain Transmissions. This year’s first single, “Night” earned the estimable Best New Music seal of approval just before she embarked on several very well attended SXSW appearances. The video for this song quickly elevated her to fashion icon as it appeared in several regions of Vogue and the NME declared her “goth’s new figurehead”. Nika was hand chosen by designer Angelos Frentzos to make her European debut performance in Milan during his fashion week show. Zola Jesus continued to play shows in various incarnations in various parts of the country every weekend from March until August. Then she graduated college. Immediately following, Nika and band embarked on three back-to-back tours of Europe and the US opening for Fever Ray, The xx and Warpaint amongst dozens of headline shows. She played Berlin Fest, Primavera Club, headlined Pitchfork’s Offline Fest and her live performances garnered reviews as stunning as her recorded output. Valusia was released mid-October while on tour, and contained one new song (read: secret weapon) not on Stridulum II-- Chris Coady produced single “Poor Animal”. This undeniable dance-floor masterpiece soared up the radio charts and continues to burn brightly on BBC 1 alongside her simultaneously ranking re-working of previous cut, “Sea Talk”. All three of these singles along with “I Can’t Stand” ranked among the New York Times, Pitchfork and LA Times’ singles of the year. Stridulum II appeared on NME and Uncut’s albums of the year. Having just completed her 1st US headline tour, Nika Danilova is about to embark on US and EU festival circuit, including stops at Pitchfork, Bestival, Electric Picnic, Big Chill and the Hollywood Bowl amongst others. To say her follow-up full length due in early October is merely highly anticipated may be a bit of an understatement. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3B3C.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-02T13:44:04 My Brightest Diamond is spearheaded by Shara Worden. Her paternal grandfather was an Epiphone-strumming traveling evangelist, her father an accomplished accordionist and her mother a classical organist. As a young person, Worden sang in church with her family and competed internationally with her high school chamber choir. Having decided to pursue a degree in opera, she attended The University of North Texas and received a BA in Opera.After moving to New York and recording three albums of her songs, Shara decided to focus on arranging and began studying composition with composer/performer Padma Newsome (Clogs, The National). During this time she composed music for several off-Broadway theater productions. In 2004, Worden recruited a string section via craigslist. Rob Moose responded, joining her dream cast of musicians (Earl Harvin, Chris Bruce [and] Zac Rae) to create the sound of My Brightest Diamond, which combines elements of rock and classical music. Their first record, Bring Me The Workhorse, was released on Asthmatic Kitty Records in 2006. Their sophomore album entitled, A Thousand Shark’s Teeth, was released in 2008. Recent years have found Worden collaborating as much as songwriting. She sang the role of The Queen for The Decemberists‘ rock opera, The Hazards of Love. She was heard on Sufjan Stevens‘ albums Illinois and The Age of Adz, dueting with David Byrne for his album Here Lies Love, as well as singing in Padma Newsome’s chamber ensemble, Clogs, for The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton. Worden also performed with Bryce and Aaron Dessner in The Long Count theater production at BAM. In the summer of 2010, Worden gave birth to her son, and six weeks later was filming, Khu, the Detroit installment of Matthew Barney’s seven-act opera, Ancient Evenings. Last October, new music composer Sarah Kirkland-Snider released the song cycle, Penelope, featuring Worden’s voice. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3B3A.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-02T13:39:01 My Brightest Diamond is spearheaded by Shara Worden. Her paternal grandfather was an Epiphone-strumming traveling evangelist, her father an accomplished accordionist and her mother a classical organist. As a young person, Worden sang in church with her family and competed internationally with her high school chamber choir. Having decided to pursue a degree in opera, she attended The University of North Texas and received a BA in Opera.After moving to New York and recording three albums of her songs, Shara decided to focus on arranging and began studying composition with composer/performer Padma Newsome (Clogs, The National). During this time she composed music for several off-Broadway theater productions. In 2004, Worden recruited a string section via craigslist. Rob Moose responded, joining her dream cast of musicians (Earl Harvin, Chris Bruce [and] Zac Rae) to create the sound of My Brightest Diamond, which combines elements of rock and classical music. Their first record, Bring Me The Workhorse, was released on Asthmatic Kitty Records in 2006. Their sophomore album entitled, A Thousand Shark’s Teeth, was released in 2008. Recent years have found Worden collaborating as much as songwriting. She sang the role of The Queen for The Decemberists‘ rock opera, The Hazards of Love. She was heard on Sufjan Stevens‘ albums Illinois and The Age of Adz, dueting with David Byrne for his album Here Lies Love, as well as singing in Padma Newsome’s chamber ensemble, Clogs, for The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton. Worden also performed with Bryce and Aaron Dessner in The Long Count theater production at BAM. In the summer of 2010, Worden gave birth to her son, and six weeks later was filming, Khu, the Detroit installment of Matthew Barney’s seven-act opera, Ancient Evenings. Last October, new music composer Sarah Kirkland-Snider released the song cycle, Penelope, featuring Worden’s voice. http://www.justbecause.ch/shows_703E32363A3B38.htmlSamual Galley2012-02-02T09:45:17 Often described as one of the most talented voices in the country, Jarle Bernhoft has built his career step by step. From small roles as a child on stage in the Norwegian Opera, via success with heavy rock and a record deal in Los Angeles, to his first soul influenced solo album, has his music style taken many bends and detours. Now it starts to materialise like a long, wide road with a distinctive character which is unique in Norwegian music. With Bernhoft’s stage performance described as ‘a giraffe high on PCP’ and having once himself been called ‘the thinking man’s The Hives’, there was certainly never any lack of pace and energy. Span was the hardest working band. Intensive touring extensively across Europe led them to a deal with Island Records in London, later with the American label Interscope Records. When they released the debut album ‘Mass Distraction’, produced by Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters, Echo & The Bunnymen) in 2004, the future seemed bright for this four headed rock monster. However, Span played their last concert for a sold out Rockefeller venue in Oslo in October 2005. New challenges were waiting. The album ‘Solidarity Breaks’ is also the result of Bernhoft’s rediscovery of himself as a solo performer. It was recorded in London, produced by Fred Ball (Pleasure, Bertine Zetlitz, Brett Anderson) and has become an organic adventure where Bernhoft admits that being solo has its pros and cons. There are twelve tracks on the album. Most of them are written by Bernhoft and some in collaboration with the producer Fred Ball, one with the renowned artist Ed Harcourt, one with Jimmy Hogarth (Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Beverly Knight) and one with the keyboardist David Wallumrød. The album is mostly recorded by Jarle’s one man band with guest appearances by among others Knut Reiersrud (for the occasion on harmonica), drummer Torstein Lofthus, David Wallumrød, Ed Harcourt, bass player Audun Erlien and backing singer Kwame Ogoo. It is is mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice who has worked with among others U2, Depeche Mode and Kylie Minogue. As the title indicates, this time it’s about solidarity: “With this album I would like to tell many stories, but my main issue is solidarity on both small and larger scales. It’s about everything from solidarity in politics, solidarity with other humans, in society, in relationships - on how difficult it can be to live together both under small and big conditions”, he explains. When it comes to music, the album is a particular mix of some familiar and less explored directions for him: “I have among many things listened to a lot of hip hop, the part of pop music I think develops most today. I gather I’m more open today than before, and my shoulders are more relaxed. Jokingly you can say that the album sounds like my former one taking a couple of fish leaps via early Nik Kershaw and The Roots and has landed in 2020”, he laughs.