was in 1996 that Jay-Jay Johanson, a young man from a cold climate, fascinated by the Bristol sound they called trip-hop and Portishead in particular, first tapped delicately on our eardrums.
The intoxicating album that definitively put this rare and elegant Swede on the map was called Whiskey. It was the beginning of an enthralling adventure. In only a few songs he revealed a family tree that spread its roots far and wide: on one branch Lee Hazlewood, or pop from Talk Talk or Nilsson, on the other John Coltrane with Johnny Hartman, and a whole army of calm jazz or symphonic
recordings sampled from everywhere imaginable.
Almost 20 years later he has returned with an
incredible new album. This new release is called Opium and it contains the very essence of Johanson’s music: an ease with inventing melodies, a voice that gently caresses, and the jacked up, heady rhythms that lift and carry the songs. From the peaceful harmonica opening of Drowsy / Too Young To Say Good Night to the smoke-wreathed love song I Don’t Know Much About Loving, via titles with a sporadic and light groove (NDE, Alone Too Long), Opium is a courageous offering. Johanson opens his heart with
fearlessness and modesty, gracefully lowering his guard and evoking the questions that torment men of his age: love, solitude, immaturity. The songwriting is unerring, the words have a suppressed poetry. This
new Johanson is the work of a guy who has survived the avalanches, who is no longer looking for answers and is content to sketch out the perspectives in as many songs. Some titles are serious (Harakiri), but others immediately take up the reins casting a more
gentle, peaceful light, like Scarecrow, a collaboration with Robin Guthrie that would not have sounded out of place on a Cocteau Twins album, or of the strange positivity of Be Yourself or I Love Him So.
The strength of Opium is that it asks questions that don’t necessarily have an answer; it offers a collection of songs freed from any certitude but which convince
through their modesty, through their precision.
In short, Jay-Jay at his best.

Statement Haircut are influenced by electronics, post-punk, funk, dub & pop, and interested in guitars vs. synths and harmonies vs. beatboxes

Press:

Statement Haircut win the Half Man Half Biscuit memorial prize for having my favourite band name in this list. That aside, this London trio are unlikely to be compared to the lads who shook the Wirral. Their bio highlights their eclecticism, noting that they’re influenced by dance, post-punk, funk, dub, and pop.

This disparate mess of genres comes together nicely, because Statement Haircut are essentially a pop band, albeit one that sounds like it might have been left for too long in the tumble dryer. Fans of music that avoids the easy hook and reaches for something interesting will enjoy their recent singles – try Rügen as a starting point.
http://blog.clowdy.com/clowdys-z-new-artists-s/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=A-Z_of_new_music-N

Satirical hand drawn projections provided the backdrop to their performance, as Darren Reynolds and Michael Stevenson engage in dynamic electro-pop creating a cavalcade of sound of industrial techno, and soaring synths. 
http://www.peterguy.merseyblogs.co.uk/2013/03/threshold-festival-2013-review.html

Overcoming the not ideal sound, the duo, whose sound is a pleasing, extremely catchy electro-indie, have a congruence and maturity about them that suggests they’re ready to step up a couple of echelons.
http://www.thedoublenegative.co.uk/2013/03/threshold-2013-%E2%80%93-reviewed/

Statement Haircut showcased a unique blend of visual art, catchy synths and clever programming. Coupled with the setting of Camp and Furnace - the ideal venue for such an outfit - they kept the audience gripped by fine musicianship.
http://www.peterguy.merseyblogs.co.uk/2013/03/triphazard-ep-launch-statement.html

... play catchy tunes with sing-along choruses ... as the synths cascade around the room and the house beats ping off the walls amidst sugar-pop melodies
www.bidolito.co.uk/

WW Bookings + info: toc@touchofclassrecords.com
Press: alex@jukeboxpr.co.uk + pete@jukeboxpr.co.uk

Follow & Hear More From Robyn : https://rbn.lnk.to/FollowYD

Tommy Hart is a matchmaker of soul and sound, igniting unforgettable moments of euphoria and release on the dance floor. Based in Mexico City by way of New York, his selections weave a patchwork of raw, soulful, and hip-shaking grooves, inspired by the global house music community.

BUTT started in 2001 as a pink, pocket-size magazine by, for and about homosexuals.

GRAMMY and EMMY Award winning Children's Band! Formally Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

ShaneKahn is following