COVENTRY Music Museum Curator Pete Chambers writes for the Observer
Love + Madness
Love + Madness is a new record label, set up in Autumn 2022 to support talented artists across the Coventry and Warwickshire area.
It is the brainchild of Sam McNulty and Pandora Craig who recognised the need to promote and support emerging acts and give them a professional boost with recordings and publicity.
There is also the chance for them to play at the HMV Empire Coventry, which is a partner in the project.
I was honoured to be a part of the selection panel for this amazing enterprise.
It was truly exciting to see all the selected artists perform live at HMV Empire Coventry backed by the wonderful Sekine string Quartet.
They added a unique celestial quality to all the original songs.
A huge pat on the back to producer and arranger Paul Sampson for making it sound so very good.
The label has also received support from the Arts Council England.
They are preparing for the digital release on January 27.
HMV have physical copies going on sale this week.
We will also be launching the YouTube channel with videos of the EP songs from the gig in December.
Track Listing: Tainted Love – IcyDaRabbit (featuring WR4P), Red (Lipstick) – AKA Abi, Mean It – Jack Blackman, Tokyo – Ruth Kelly, Forever the Spill – Dean MacDonald, Glowing in the Sunrise – Pandora, Screen Kisses – The Boy Who Invented Everything.
This is such an important and well received project, well done to the Arts Council England, for having the foresight to fund such a unique programme.
Well of Follies by Ancient Cracked Voice
Every so often I get sent a package from the dark shady world of Ancient Cracked Voice.
A band which keeps its cards close to their chests, having said its output is always something special and very original.
This CD entitled ‘Well of Follies’ was actually released in 2011, but it’s so worth looking at again all these years later.
It starts with ‘King of Infinite Space’ – it’s Rock ‘n’ Roll but not as we know it, followed by a great Warren Zevon cover ‘Hula Hula Boys’.
Then up comes ‘The Infinite Arc’ and wow!
This is a classic of a song, I struggled to stop playing it and get to the next track, but it was so very hard as every play I got more into it.
This deserves to be re-released as a single and video.
So finally moving on there are more great songs (including the very Covcentric ‘William F Cody and the Foleshill Blues’), plus some great covers (even Dylan and Shakespeare get the ACV treatment).
But it’s their original songs that have the real impact and top marks for the excellent drum sound on this CD and great artwork too.
ACV is Chris Smith (formerly of the Marmites and The Kazoos) and John Cummings (the legendary singer John Stringbean Cumming recently emerged from several decades as the singer and frontman for the legendary Armpit Jug Band).
They are ably assisted by Nigel Riley, John Hall, Jazz Beasley and Dave Goodwin. This album really needs to be in your collection.
