The world is on fire -Gus Black

I. Opening Invocation (3× cycles, soft but firm)

Call (immersion)
REAL–I–TY DOESN’T EX–IST IN LIEU OF US — — /

Echo (relation)
REAL–I–TY EX–ISTS IN CON–JUNC–TION WITH US — — /

Mirror (seal)
EVERY–THING EX–ISTS (.) WI–THIN A RE–LA–TION OF IT–SELF — — //

(repeat 3×, each time louder as if unveiling a truth)

⸻

II. Mantra Layers

Layer 1 — Relationship of All Things
E–VERY AC–TION / FROM SAY–ING HEL–LO — — /
TO PICK–ING UP PA–PER / TO LIS–TEN–ING TO RE–AL–I–TY — — /
SIGNS ARE A–ROUND US / WE ARE IM–MERSED — — //

Layer 2 — Contrast & Reference
EVERY–THING THAT IS = CON–TRAST — — /
DIFF–ER–ENCE = NEED TO KNOW THE O–THER SIDE — — /
O–THER SIDE NEEDS RE–FER–ENCE — — /
WI–THOUT RE–FER–ENCE DIFF–ER–ENCE DOESN’T KNOW — — /
WI–THOUT DIFF–ER–ENCE RE–FER–ENCE DOESN’T EX–IST — — //

Layer 3 — Duality & Presence
DU–AL–I–TY CAN–NOT CALL US WI–THOUT MAT–TER — — /
EN–ER–GY DOESN’T MAT–TER WI–THOUT BE–ING PRE–SENT — — /
PRE–SENT DOESN’T COUNT WI–THOUT COUNT–ING OUR TIME — — //

Layer 4 — Time as Gift
OUR TIME CAN A–MOUNT FOR MORE MO–MENTS BY BE–ING PRE–SENTS — — /
UN–A–BLE TIME IS UN–DER–STOOD DE–SIGN — — //

⸻

III. Ignition Refrain (seal the axiom)

EVERY–THING = RE–LA–TION — — /
RE–LA–TION = CON–TRAST — — /
CON–TRAST = CRE–A–TION — — /
CRE–A–TION = PRES–ENCE — — //

WE COUNT TIME — — / TIME COUNTS US — — /
WE ARE PRES–ENTS (.) / PRE–SENTS = MO–MENTS — — — — //

Relational Axiom — Everything Is Related

nothing tastes as good as skinny feels 
You caught me slipping up my throats in peels
I found a way to the bathroom to puke
nothing tastes as good then when im in you
nothing tastes as good as skinny feels 
you caught me tripping let’s just both be real
the best acid made my throat need to heal
finger my throat goodbye to yesterdays meal

yesterdays meal

so close (1968)

Third full length LP Makena is out now.

Buy LP or digital: bit.ly/makenalp

No Clear Mind - Lulu

Mets

No Clear MInd - Celeste

Oi Va Voi have long been standard bearers of musical exploration and artistic integrity. Whilst the sound has developed and the personnel has evolved, the vision has remained the same. The band mix subtle, dynamic rhythms and western melodic sensibility with the folk music of their Jewish and East European heritage and deliver it live with a trademark energy and dynamism. From their earliest days Oi Va Voi have managed to resist categorisation while remaining internationally accessible.  

As their journey resumes with a new album and a dynamic, expanded live show, the Oi Va Voi sound of 2018 is more nuanced than before - the songs are more worldly, and carry a greater social urgency. The vibrant energy remains though, along with a unifying and heartfelt message of our common humanity in a world which seems increasingly polarised.

Formed at the dawn of the millennium by six young Londoners with diverse musical roots, Oi Va Voi made an instant impact with their debut album Laughter Through Tears. Produced by Grammy award winners Bacon & Quarmby, the album was a double winner at the BBC Radio 3 World Music awards and Dutch Eddison Award winner. It was listed in The New York Times Top 10 albums of the year and launched the career of guest vocalist KT Tunstall.

The follow-up Oi Va Voi was met with favourable reviews but within a month of its release the group’s label was sold. They boldly took control of their own fate, using the proceeds from their unique live shows and festival appearances to finance the recording of their third studio album, 2009’s energetic, Travelling The Face Of The Globe. 

Widespread acclaim for that album launched the band back on the road, with sell-out gigs across Europe, Russia, Turkey, Israel, and memorable appearances at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire and WOMAD. A long and prolific period of gigging followed, with the band consolidating its reputation as a magnetic live experience for fans across several genres.

For their forthcoming album, founding members Josh Breslaw (drums) and Steve Levi (clarinet/vocals), along with trumpeter Dave Orchant and guitarist Michael Vinaver, make up the core songwriting quartet. Also prominent on the album is the spellbinding, virtuosic violinist Anna Phoebe, who has appeared live with Oi Va Voi while building a successful solo career. 
Since the early days with KT Tunstall to the last record with Rudimental’s Bridgette Amofah, Oi Va Voi has also featured a female guest singer, and the latest line-up includes 6 songs from stunning new vocalist Zohara. “She has a spellbinding voice,” says Josh. “When we first heard her we sent her a track and she sent it straight back with a vocal that blew us away. So we sent her another track – and then another.” 

The result is an album that brims with Oi Va Voi’s traditional strengths of blazing musicianship, insightful songcraft and meticulous production - and adds to that a more ambitious rhythmical texture, along with personal soul and political urgency in Levi’s lyrics and Zohara’s voice. Sonically, it registers as the group’s most expansive recording to date.

Over a singular career Oi Va Voi have made a point of transcending genre and defying trends, in favour of more enduring and meaningful musical and cultural values. 

The new songs will get their first live outing alongside established favourites from Oi Va Voi’s catalogue when the band tours later in 2018.

Oi Va Voi - Vanished World

Tiny Drop by Simone White
Featuring Andrew Bird on violin,  Chris Dave on drums and Kaveh Rastegar on bass. 
Produced and co-written by Pete Min at Lucy's Meat Market.
Video directed by Ronan MacRory
https://youtu.be/ZiqZeRDao2k
download track- https://simonewhite1.bandcamp.com/track/tiny-drop-feat-andrew-bird

Here's a new song, Tiny Drop! It premiered at UN World Oceans Day 2018. The song is anti-war. The video is about plastic pollution in the ocean. We're all tiny drops that make up the world. Every small action you make affects the whole. Everything you vibrate contributes, however small and insignificant you feel, it makes a difference. Vote. Speak truth. Allow yourself to love and be loved. Carry a reusable jar around instead of another effin to-go cup.

Tiny Drop

how much will it cost
a lot a lot
the way the wind blows around you
how the sky felt above you
the beauty that you lost
a lot a lot
for all the wars you fought
you are a tiny drop tiny drop
you are a tiny drop tiny drop

Tiny Drop

CocoRosie - Beautiful Boyz

from the b-sides collection All That You Start

true

The Dance Of A Stranger Heart

Kat Frankie - People (Live)

"Simone White has a voice like ether. It's sweetly airy and hypnotic. Hearing it can pull you under to a strangely beautiful, glittering world where nothing seems real." - NPR 
Here are some of my songs that you might not find elsewhere (B-sides, demos, remix, live, guest vocalist)  xo