Monday Music: Bonnie Prince Billy - Chief Ghoul - Carly Jamison

Bonnie Prince Billy - Most People.

Background - The first track from the 'Refugee' compilation album has surfaced. 'Most People' is the contribution from Bonnie 'Prince Billy. 

Featuring Richard Dawson, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Linda Thompson, Alasdair Roberts, Ricky Ross, BMX Bandits and many more, the 'Refugee' album is a united effort from some of folk’s most esteemed and cult figures, who’ve contributed an original or unreleased song each to the ‘Refugee’ project.

‘Refugee’ (out digitally on June 3rd through Brainfog) is a highly significant collaborative recording project which reflects, through song, the issue of the refugee crisis in its many forms, from Syria and beyond. It’s been curated by Scottish folk artist Robin Adams, who called on his close friends and musical colleagues from around the world to contribute to the project.

Each track is an unreleased original song, with contributions from the likes of the above artists. All proceeds go to the MOAS organisation (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) who’ve saved more than 13,000 lives since 2013 in the Mediterranean Sea. Read more on them at www.moas.eu.

The first song from the 'Refugee' compilation is this superb acoustic piece from Bonnie Prince Billy. Gentle and understated, something this artist excels at, the song 'Most People' is touching and provoking. With this legitimate cause in mind, I'm sure the collection of musicians involved will deliver equally fine songs.

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Chief Ghoul - Let Me In.

Background promo - Blues rock outfit, Chief Ghoul, announces the release of their latest album, Damned, their fourth release to date and Lee Miles’ solo follow up to III. Chief Ghoul is Lee Miles (guitar, vocals, songwriter), Chase Coryell (bass) and Justin Brown (drums). The band started as the brainchild of Miles, who began his career in song writing as a solo artist under the name Chief Ghoul. Seeking to expand the project’s sound, Miles recruited Coryell and Brown.  premiered their latest single for “Roll Baby Roll, Kill Baby Kill” on Diffuser.fm, with Lee Miles saying, “This song is my ode to the exploitation films of the ’60s and ’70s. They were gratuitous and they were awesome. Not too many movies get made like that anymore and I actually think that’s a good thing.” The Revue said, “Whether he’s telling stories about individuals on land or sea, Miles has established himself as a songwriter to watch. For that matter, he’s not just a musician, but a storyteller.”

Hailing from Louisville Kentucky, Lee Miles moved to Chicago at 21. “Chicago is a gritty city and I mixed that sound with Louisville and ended up with a good merge of the two. I wrote about things that I was going through and there has never been a different feeling for me across my albums.” The band is now based back in Miles’ home in Louisville , where Chief Ghoul’s latest installment, Damned, was written - don’t miss it!

'Let Me In' has a haunting feel to it (sorry could not resist). Actually I guess it's a bluesy lament, set just right as a predominately acoustic piece, with Lee Miles vocals so naturally gifted for this type of music.

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Carly Jamison - Dynamo.

Background promo - Anyone who thinks that rock music is dead has not been following the stream of new singles that have been emerging from songwriter and recording artist Carly Jamison over the past 6 months. First there was the "The Devil's Trying To Bring Me Down" which graced Halloween party playlists world-wide. Then there was "Christmas May Have To Be Postponed", a brand new original Christmas song inspired by vintage rock and roll that reached #1 on the Hypem Twitter Music Chart. "100 Goals" ushered in the new year with high intensity blues rock to super-charge New Year's goals and resolutions. Now, just in time for tornado season, she has announced the release of "Dynamo", an exciting brand new rock and roll song.

Carly States - "It's a totally autobiographical song. There are several people in my life who have told me that when I visit it's like a tornado or hurricane hits, so I thought that would be a fun subject for a song! Plus, I just started hearing it playing in my head one day so it really just wanted to write itself."

The single was produced by Tres Sasser who also produced her previous singles. He said, "We were inspired by 80's guitar riffs and mixed them with stacked Prince-like vocals that are instantly memorable. The song moves and hops seamlessly through the 80's, 90's, and 2016 and takes the idea of a sing along solo to a new height. Chris Tench's guitar work really complements the subject matter and seals the deal musically."

It was recorded at The Sound Shelter in Franklin, TN. Players on the track include Chris Tench on guitars, Tres Sasser on bass, Elton Charles on drums, and Mike Webb on keyboards. It was engineered by Brett Ryan Stewart and mixed by Joe Costa (known for his work with Ben Folds, Ke$ha, and Brad Paisley) at The Sound Shelter. It was mastered by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Mastering (known for his work with Jason Isbell, Courtney Love, Fall Out Boy, Sturgill Simpson, and others.)

There's something of a retro feel to 'Dynamo'. It's pretty much a no nonsense rock'n'roll piece, with Carly's vocals driving the song forward as much as the drums and bass. Add in a little classic rock guitar and you have one fine song.

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