Laurel Canyon Music

For fans and musicians of Folk, Americana, Country, Blues, Singer-Songwriter, Rock, Roots & Acoustic and music from the Laurel Canyon late 60’s/early 70’s era.

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We aim to help music fans connect and discover great new music and help indie musicians promote their music and help them build relationships with supporters and industry professionals.

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Roxanne de Bastion - Heirlooms & Hearsay (05/05/2017)

  • Artist: Roxanne de Bastion
  • Genre: Indie Folk, Singer-Songwriter
  • Release Date: 5th May, 2017
  • Record Label: Nomad Songs
  • Tracks: 10
  • Website: http://www.roxannedebastion.com/

It's always very exciting when Berlin born and London based singer-songwriter Roxanne de Bastion releases new music. Especially when it is her new second album and a very special groundbreaking one at that. 'Heirlooms and Hearsay' is perfectly named as it links three generations of the very talented and musical de Bastion family. It tells their stories, sharing their memories and their music. Containing all self-penned songs and a co-write the album explores Roxanne's life, her feelings, her family history and rich musical heritage. Including valuable heirlooms like the family piano handed down through the generations by her great grandfather Aladar Holzer which was one of the inspiration for the album.

Keston Cobbler's Club - Almost Home (31/03/17)

  • Artist: Keston Cobbler's Club
  • Genre: Indie Folk, Pop
  • Release Date: 31st March, 2017
  • Record Label: Tricolour Records
  • Tracks: 12
  • Website: http://kestoncobblers.club/

London five-piece the Keston Cobblers Club have always been a very innovative band with super foot stomping and toe tapping live shows and highly creative home-made videos. With amazing warmth and musicianship, they are a very hard band not to like. After their highly acclaimed previous album 'Wildfire' gained huge praise across the board, their latest album 'Almost Home'is a similar masterpiece of fresh ingenuity and infectious earworm melodies. The new album is slightly more stripped than 'Wildfire' but still has the trademark KCC high quality. It sees the band returning to it's roots and taking a more simple approach to their songwriting.

Beatrix Players - Magnified (31/03/17)

Beatrix Players are a London-based all-female trio who make florid, adventurous music that operates at the interface between folk, singer-songwriter acoustica, prog and quasi-classical baroque chamber pop. There is a light, translucent quality to the music, and yet when it is not being hushed and reverent, it has the attack and thrust, the surging dynamism, of rock. It can be soft and intimate, but it can also be fiery and intense, epic and immense. There are tempestuous passages in their music that you can imagine being delivered by traditional rock instrumentation but it is the very absence of guitars and drums that means that there is nobody out there quite like them. Beatrix Players' music is sung, and largely performed, by Amanda Alvarez (cello), Jess Kennedy (piano, backing vocals) and Amy Birks(lead and backing vocals), with a little help from friends on violin and double-bass. Amanda Alvarez is the Beatrix Player in love with Bach s cello suites, the one whose contribution to the group's melodies is a matter of record. Spanish-born, with an Australian mother who has sung with choirs in the Spanish capital, her musical experience ranges from playing in classical orchestras to pummelling her way through a series of punk and grunge bands in her teens and early twenties. 'I listened to the melodies, not the lyrics,' she says by way of explanation, adding that her mind was further blown with the advent of female-fronted 90s acts such as Garbage and No Doubt. BP s other Australian, Jess Kennedy - along with Amy Birks the co-writer of the songs - had a modern folk phase and is also classically trained. She has a penchant for 'dramatic and emotional-type piano music', which possibly explains why Beatrix Players' music is so dramatic and emotional. Jess is the one in thrall to the romanticism of Chopin and Beethoven and darkness of Rachmaninov, as well as the film soundtracks of Thomas Newman, Michael Nyman and Yann Tiersen. She has been penning songs since childhood, and describes her writing tentatively as a sort of emotional splurge. Amy Birks is BP's vocalist, lyricist and art director - the one responsible for their art work, not surprisingly she works by day as a graphic designer (Jess has a job in environmental sustainability). She arrived in London from Stoke-on-Trent with a degree in music technology and a background in melancholy songcraft, from the 60s to the 90s (she loves Joni Mitchell, Don McLean and Mazzy Star). She's no fey troubadour, though: she is friends with 'new wave of British heavy metal' band Diamond Head. 'I used to watch them rehearse,' she says. 'They showed me the ropes.' Beatrix Players are getting used to acclaim, and all manner of genre names being ascribed to what they do, from modern folk and baroque exotica to dark classical pop. They have been written about in Prog magazine, but they could easily be featured in Folk Roots or MOJO as well as Classical Music given their chamber music influences which come through in their song structures and arrangements, focused as they are on cello, violin, double-bass and piano. 'People try to fit us in a box, but we don t fit in any box,' says Amanda. 'They struggle with that.'

Charlie Worsham - Beginning Of Things (21/04/17)

Beginning of Things is Worsham's second full-length album and follows 2013's 'Rubberband', which received widespread acclaim. American Songwriter calls Worsham, "the sort of triple threat artist that seems in short supply on Music Row these days. He writes well, sings well, and is a skilled and tasteful guitarist to boot," while Rolling Stone asserts, "A fleet-fingered guitarist and empathetic vocalist, his talent is reminiscent of a young Keith Urban in all the best ways." Co-produced by Frank Liddell (Miranda Lambert, Lee Ann Womack, Aubrie Sellers) and Eric Masse (Rayland Baxter, Mikky Ekko) with Arturo Buenahora, Jr. (Eric Church, Dierks Bentley) serving as the Executive Producer, Beginning of Things includes 13 new songs, nine of which Worsham co-wrote. Of the album, Worsham comments, "We had so much fun! I had fallen out of love with music, and making this record put me back in love with it on a level I hadn't felt since I was a teenager. Beginning Of Things was a challenge in surrendering control and trusting my own talent. I'm confident that these songs and these recordings capture my musical geography and personal truth, and at the end of the day, I'm convinced that is the ultimate purpose of an artist-to speak one's truth."

Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys - Pretty Peggy (06/10/17)

  • Artist: Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys
  • Genre: Folk
  • Release Date: 6th October, 2017
  • Record Label: Navigator
  • Tracks:
  • Website: http://samkelly.org/

Absolutely thrilled to announce the release date of our BRAND NEW ALBUM - PRETTY PEGGY. It’s been almost two years since the first album, and we’ve spent that time collecting, writing and arranging new material. We had a pretty amazing two weeks in the studio recording it, and we’re all very proud of the finished product and can’t wait for you to hear it! It’s going to be released on 6TH OCTOBER 2017, and we have signed with Navigator Records who are going to be releasing it. Over the next few months we’re going to be keeping you topped up with videos, single releases and other juicy tidbits so keep your eyes peeled. To kick things off, here is the official music video for the first single from the album - Chasing Shadows.

You can pre-order the new album now from:
Propermusic: http://smarturl.it/za1oxm
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/gqhb6o 
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/j6uums

Chris Stapleton - From A Room Vol. One (05/05/17)

  • Artist: Chris Stapleton
  • Genre: Country, Americana
  • Release Date: 5th May, 2017
  • Record Label: Decca (UMO)
  • Tracks: 9
  • Website: http://www.chrisstapleton.com/

2017 album from Grammy Award-winning US singer-songwriter, recorded in the legendary RCA Studio A in Nashville. Includes 'Broken Halos'.

Emily Barker - Sweet Kind Of Blue (19/05/17)

  • Artist: Emily Barker

  • Genre: Americana, Folk, Country, Singer-Songwriter

  • Release Date: 19th May, 2017

  • Record Label: Everyone Sang

  • Tracks: 10

  • Website: http://www.emilybarker.com/

Emily Barker's new album was recorded at Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis with Grammy winning producer Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price) and an all-star cast of Memphis session players. Sweet Kind of Blue is her first full studio album since 2013's critically lauded Dear River and marks a new sound for Barker as she returns to the soul and blues influences that first inspired her to become a songwriter and musician.

Emily Barker is best known as the writer and performer of the award-winning theme to BBC crime drama Wallander starring Kenneth Branagh. She has released music as a solo artist as well as with various bands including The Red Clay Halo, Vena Portae and Applewood Road. In 2015 she composed her first full feature film soundtrack for Jake Gavin's Hector, which won a Scottish BAFTA for its lead actor, Peter Mullan.

"Blues meets country meets gospel... a sweet and tender distillation of Americana influences" Clash

"Emily Barker has a gift for great melodies" The Guardian

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound (16/06/17)

  • Artist: Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
  • Genre: Country Rock
  • Release Date: 16th June, 2017
  • Record Label: Southeastern/Thirty Tigers
  • Tracks: 10
  • Website: http://www.jasonisbell.com/

The Nashville Sound was recorded at Nashville's legendary RCA Studio A and produced by Grammy Award-winner Dave Cobb, who produced 'Something More Than Free' and Isbell's celebrated 2013 breakthrough album 'Southeastern'. 'The Nashville Sound' features 10 new songs that address a range of subjects that include, politics and cultural privilege ("White Man's World") longing nostalgia ("The Last Of My Kind"), love and mortality ("If We Were Vampires"), the toxic effect of today's pressures ("Anxiety"), the remnants of a break up ("Chaos and Clothes") and finding hope ("Something To Love"). Songs such as "Cumberland Gap" and "Hope The Highroad" find Jason and his bandmates going back to their rock roots full force.

Hannah Aldridge - Gold Rush (16/06/17)

  • Name: Hannah Aldridge
  • Genre: Rock, Americana, Singer-Songwriter
  • Release date: 16th June, 2017
  • Record Label: Rocksnob
  • Tracks: 10
  • Website: https://hannah-aldridge.com/

Americana is the perfect concoction of American roots music that comprises our musical ethos as we know it today. It is something so ingrained in our history, folklore, tradition, and mythology that it is not as simple as just "becoming" Americana, but rather, it is something that you are born into. It's that old cast-iron Coca-Cola sign that's been in your neighbor's shed for 50 years, a banjo and a Fender telecaster playing together, a 1955 Chevy with a modern stereo.

There are few artists that can truly encapsulate the essence and true range of Americana like Muscle Shoals artist Hannah Aldridge, whose musical pedigree precedes her and speaks for itself.

Hannah Aldridge is the daughter of Alabama Music Hall of Famer Walt Aldridge, who is one of the most prolific songwriters of the modern musical era. Twice named by Billboard magazine as one of the Top Country Songwriters of the year, ASCAP Songwriter of the Year, and countless Number One and Top Ten hits recorded by the likes of Lou Reed, Reba McEntire, Travis Tritt, Earl Thomas Conley, Ricky Van Shelton, Ronnie Milsap, and Conway Twitty.

With sounds ranging from blues in the Mississippi Delta to the dusty, dixieland jazz sounds from New Orleans, the musical stylings of Muscle Shoals on up to the primitive roots of American Country music, Hannah Aldridge leaves no inspiration or influence untapped. 

The excellent 'Gold Rush' is Hannah's second album and our LCM album of the month for July. Hannah is also on tour in the UK this month, catch her if you can.

"Gillian Welch backed by The Stones in their Country influenced days - Fabulous" 4* (Maverick)

Tom Hyatt - Live At Spiritual (26/02/17)

  • Artist: Tom Hyatt
  • Genre: Singer-Songwriter
  • Release Date: 26th February, 2017
  • Record Label:
  • Tracks:
  • Website: http://tomhyatt.co.uk/

Tom Hyatt is a unique and stand-out artist on the London live circuit. His explosive voice delivers dynamic and forthright songs, backed by propulsive guitar or contemplative piano. Tom's latest album was recorded at The Spiritual, in Camden.

Little Big Town - The Breaker (24/02/17)

  • Artist: Little Big Town
  • Genre: Country
  • Release Date: 24th February, 2017
  • Record Label: Decca (UMO)
  • Tracks: 12
  • Website: http://www.littlebigtown.com/

Current CMA Vocal Group of the year, Little Big Town will be releasing their seventh studio album on February 24th entitled- The Breaker. The new studio album will include their current Top 10 hit, "Better Man," written by Taylor Swift. The single has sold over 300k singles. They will kick off of 2017 with the first ever Ryman Residency. Each of the six shows will feature different support acts and surprise special guests.

Jo Harman - The People We Become (03/02/17)

  • Artist: Jo Harman
  • Genre: Soul, Blues
  • Release Date: 3rd February, 2017
  • Record Label: Total Creative Freed
  • Tracks: 10
  • Website: http://joharman.com/

 

"I'm not trying to fit in anywhere", admits Harman, whose super-sized voice fills the record's 10 tracks. "I'm just trying to write classic songs, and present them with classic production. When you try to chase what's going on at the moment, then it's going to sound old very quickly." Raised in Southwest England, Harman found success on her own terms with her debut, Dirt On My Tongue. The album was released independently in 2013 and supported by a touring schedule that found Harman sharing the stage with icons like Patty Smith, Joan Baez and Sinead O'Connor. Wildly successful for an independent record, Dirt On My Tongue was embraced with particular devotion by the blues community in the U.K., with Harman racking up more than a half-dozen nominations from the British Blues Awards. Looking to expand her horizons beyond any single genre, though, she began teaming up with her longtime co-write, Mike Davies, to write new songs that took their cues from some of the classic artists — including Carole King, Cat Stevens and David Bowie — whose music had filled her childhood home. She wasn't looking to be a throwback artist; instead, she was narrowing her focus to the building blocks of ageless music, from powerful melodies to organic, natural-sounding arrangements. Released worldwide on February 3, 2017, People We Become marks the biggest leap of Harman's career. To make it, she headed overseas to Nashville, Tennessee, where she found a trusted collaborator in producer Fred Mollin. While a winter storm raged outside, Harman and Mollin holed up inside the city's famed Sound Emporium Studio for three weeks, focusing on a warm sound — full of upright piano, Rhodes, unaffected bursts of electric guitar, and the soulful sweep of Harman's voice — that contrasted with the town's snowy weather. Shortly after the album's release she'll return to Nashville again, this time as part of her first American tour. Poignant and personal, tracks like "Silhouettes of You," "Changing of the Guard," and "Person of Interest" find Harman moving through the stages of a breakup. She's heartbroken one moment, forever reminded of a relationship that's fizzled out, and empowered the next, eager to explore what lies ahead with emboldened purpose. Other tracks cast a broader net, with the stomping, percussive "Reformation" taking influence from Harman's work with Amnesty International. Backing her up are some of Nashville's best session players, whose contributions bounce between smoky, soulful ballads and brassy, Motown-tinged anthems. On an album that features performances by award-winning players like Tom Bukovac, Greg Morrow, and Gordon Mote — as well as a guest appearance by the Doobie Brothers' frontman, Michael McDonald, who lends his harmony vocals to the Seventies-worthy soul of "When We Were Young" — the most striking instrument is Harman's voice. It's an instrument that's been sharpened by her years on the road, and it's never sounded better. I've learned how to express myself a bit better, and to convincingly put across the stories that I'm telling, Harman says. "It's a natural progression. My voice has matured, in the same way that the songs have matured, and the production has matured. I've only ever tried to be me, and that's what People We Become is. It's me."

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