Hollie Cook "Happy Hour In Dub"
A heavenly set of dub versions to pair with Hollie Cook’s critically acclaimed 2022 album Happy Hour. Hollie’s first full dub record since 2012, Happy Hour in Dub was coaxed into being by close listening of the original album’s modern lover’s rock.
Hollie and Happy Hour producer Ben Mckone explain:
The reason and inspiration for wanting to make the dub record is because Happy Hour, in its original form, has so many intricate musical details running throughout the songs—from the backing vocal and string arrangements to some far more subtle details. And during the mixing process, hearing some of these parts on their own over the drum and bass foundation, we felt there was so much left to explore and expose in the songs and take them to outer space.
At the controls rejoining Hollie in exploring the space, Mckone takes her soulful creations and stretches them to their sonic limits, with new vocal features by Josh Skints and Kiko Bun.
Mad Anthony "The Lost Tapes"
Rays of late-afternoon sun drip through the rafters of an old barn in Santa Barbara, California. It’s early 1975 and three recent transplants from the Midwest sit surrounding a single microphone, acoustic strumming and rapturous harmonies filling the airy space. John K. Schwab, Larry Dotson, and Carl “Mad Anthony” Richards had made a name for themselves in the Ohio club scene, going as a trio by Richards’ outlandish nickname. And while this recording session was theoretically going to provide the demos to garner that big break, the record deal and international tour never materialized. Instead, the recording did eventually reach the ears of an important listener: Schwab’s son, Ben, now a musician himself with the bands Drugdealer and Sylvie, the latter of which takes direct influence from his father’s band. And after seven or so years of Ben’s convincing, and over 40 years of the recordings going largely otherwise unheard, the elder Schwab and his bandmates decided it was time. Introducing The Lost Tape (due in 2023, via Earth Libraries).
“I used to tell my son, ‘You can play all the hot licks, be the Eddie Van Halen of your neighborhood, but nothing will last as long as a good song,” Schwab says. “We didn’t have the ability to properly record in 1975, but Ben reminded me that it’s the quality of the songs that matters, not the recording.”
Mad Anthony developed their immaculately honeyed and breezy style first in Cincinnati, Schwab joining Richards and Dotson, who had been previously working together in other bands. At first the trio made the rounds at bars and clubs playing covers of The Birds, The Beatles, Jackson Brown, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. But as their reputation for soaring harmonies and whip-tight arrangements grew, Mad Anthony disbanded before coming back together in southern California to take their next steps. Between their time in the barn and piano tracking in a studio in the San Fernando valley, Mad Anthony pieced together enough material for 10 achingly beautiful tracks that tragically sat unlistened for decades.
Not long after recording those demos, Dotson moved to Florida, essentially ending that era of the band. Schwab and Richards would work with an array of other musicians as Mad Anthony, moving away from acoustic-driven sound and towards a bigger rock formation until Schwab returned to Ohio a few years later. But while variations of the group came and went, The Lost Tape contains the sole recordings of the core trio, tracks written and sung by each member in a charming fusion of voices, live to tape as if directly in the room.
Les Imprimes "Reverie"
Big Crown Records is proud to present the debut full length offering from Les Imprimés, Rêverie. The stirring and ethereal sounds of Les Imprimés have been making fans of anyone who hears them since their first 7” single hit the speakers. Morten Martens is the man behind the band. Born, raised, and working in Kristiansand, Norway, he keeps a low profile while making his heartfelt, highly infectious, and unique music. This album is a long time coming for Martens and it is sure to make him a name to be reckoned with.
The first thing you notice listening to Les Imprimés is the high level of musicianship. Martens plays nearly every instrument on the recordings and handles the production and arranging. He has been making records for decades, winning a Spellemann Award (aka, the Norwegian Grammy) in 2006 for producing a Hip Hop album as well as getting nominations across three other genres. While awards and accolades speak to the level of his talent, this new album really shows who he is as an artist on his own terms.
It is his sound, his fingerprint, his sensibility, that makes his music hard to categorize. He has crafted an album of songs with different energies that all fit together to make one gorgeous record. The lead single “Falling Away” starts with a raw drum break and turns into a lushly arranged tune that paints the picture of love when it slips away. On “Still Here” he professes his resilience through life’s twists and turns over a thundering track that puts a new spin on the B side ballad genre. Songs like “You” and “Our Love” mix tones from 60s and 70s Soul with arrangement nods to Doo Wop records while Martens’ lyrics and delivery leave you singing the melodies long after they finish. “Love & Flowers” finds Martens in a moment of clarity with a song that fits the niche sub genre of happy break up tunes, the four on the floor track will move the dancefloor while the message will resonate with anyone who put too much effort into the wrong situation in their lives. However, it is songs like “Muse” and “Chess” that really encapsulate the uniqueness of Les Imprimés as they push the boundaries of genre, one a profession of love for music and the other a cover of an electronic record respectively. Martens’ lyrics, emotion, and delivery truly make the whole thing come together and stand out from any of his peers. There’s an infectiousness and a pop sensibility in the writing that is done with the utmost class and taste giving Les Imprimés the rare quality of immediate attraction that only deepens the more you listen. It is his sound, his fingerprint, his sensibility, that makes his music hard to categorize. He has crafted an album of songs with different energies that all fit together to make one gorgeous record. The lead single “Falling Away” starts with a raw drum break and turns into a lushly arranged tune that paints the picture of love when it slips away. On “Still Here” he professes his resilience through life’s twists and turns over a thundering track that puts a new spin on the B side ballad genre. Songs like “You” and “Our Love” mix tones from 60s and 70s Soul with arrangement nods to Doo Wop records while Martens’ lyrics and delivery leave you singing the melodies long after they finish. “Love & Flowers” finds Martens in a moment of clarity with a song that fits the niche sub genre of happy break up tunes, the four on the floor track will move the dancefloor while the message will resonate with anyone who put too much effort into the wrong situation in their lives. However, it is songs like “Muse” and “Chess” that really encapsulate the uniqueness of Les Imprimés as they push the boundaries of genre, one a profession of love for music and the other a cover of an electronic record respectively. Martens’ lyrics, emotion, and delivery truly make the whole thing come together and stand out from any of his peers. There’s an infectiousness and a pop sensibility in the writing that is done with the utmost class and taste giving Les Imprimés the rare quality of immediate attraction that only deepens the more you listen.
Hollie Cook "Happy Hour in Dub"
Hollie and Happy Hour producer Ben Mckone explain:
The reason and inspiration for wanting to make the dub record is because Happy Hour, in its original form, has so many intricate musical details running throughout the songs—from the backing vocal and string arrangements to some far more subtle details. And during the mixing process, hearing some of these parts on their own over the drum and bass foundation, we felt there was so much left to explore and expose in the songs and take them to outer space.
At the controls rejoining Hollie in exploring the space, Mckone takes her soulful creations and stretches them to their sonic limits, with new vocal features by Josh Skints and Kiko Bun.