Hidden Nature. Releases at Afterglow Records, Suffused Music and Midtown Records

Ryan Adams has been praised as "one of rock's most talented songwriters” (SPIN). The 7-time Grammy nominated artist has 17 studio albums to his name, accumulating in millions of sales. He has produced albums for esteemed musicians including Willie Nelson, Jesse Malin, Jenny Lewis and has collaborated with some of music’s most influential artists such as Weezer, Fall Out Boy, America and many more.
 
Ryan’s profound contributions to music have taken many different forms. From his songwriting, to his producing, to fronting the rock/alternative country band Whiskeytown, and forming, “Ryan Adams & The Cardinals,” his ability to connect with audiences across a variety of different mediums is undeniable. Adams’ musical creativity was recognized early on and led to his NME Best Solo Artist win in both 2003 and 2004. In addition to his self-titled, double-Grammy-nominated 2014 album, Ryan’s catalogue includes Heartbreaker, Ashes & Fire, Easy Tiger, Cold Roses, Jacksonville City Nights, Love Is Hell, his 2001 major label debut Gold, and more.
 
Ryan’s artistry is not limited to his songwriting capabilities. In 2009, he published Infinity Blues, a book of free verse poetry about his journey to self-realization, and Hello Sunshine, a collection of poems and short stories. Ryan’s passion for writing continues, and he is currently working on his first novel. His music has spanned multiple musical genres, and has been incorporated in film and television specials such as Judd Apatow’s top grossing production Bridesmaids, This is 40, popular HBO TV series’ True Blood and Felicity, and his song, ‘Stay Alive’ appeared in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, starring Ben Stiller.
 
In November 2014, Ryan performed a two-night engagement at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall, which turned into a critically acclaimed live album on PAX-AM records, a label specifically for his music releases.

Ryan is widely known for his powerful shows performed all over the world and regarded for his prolific songwriting. He has been praised by many music icons including Noel Gallagher, Taylor Swift and the legend Elton John, who described him as the “fabulous one.” Adams currently resides in Los Angeles, California with his five cats, typewriter, and coffee machine.

Land of the Living Official Release- May 29th. 

There comes a time in every man’s life when he must question the principles of his culture, his community, and his ancestors. Some may ignore the questions, while others, particularly artists, wrestle with them until something new and lasting is formed from the struggle. Shortly written after the death of his father, Matthew Perryman Jones’ latest record, Land of the Living is a courageous personal Odyessey through life’s most troubled waters of love and loss, and communicates the process by which we grieve, and the fight to find restored hope.The writing process of Land of the Living was an intense wringing of words, emotions, and melody from the rags of Jones’ solitude, but are an account of his truth found in the pain.

His first full length album since 2008, Land of the Living was produced by Cason Cooley (Katie Herzig) and is set to be released on May 29th. The record could not have found a better birthplace than the elusive bohemian studio in Round Top, Texas, where it was recorded. The studio itself was made from a 1700’s Amish farmhouse, is surrounded by vast land and skies, and haunted by a woman the band came to call Sarah.  Matthew slept in a teepee outside the studio for the week the band recorded.  The short time span forced them to “trust our gut and bring our very best to the table.” 

For this record, Matthew decided to entrust the fate of his musings to the ones most likely to connect with it: his fans. In just thirty days Matthew’s “tribe” contributed $26,000 to fund the creation of the album. “Going into making this record supported by fans inspired me in a whole new way. It really awakened the sense of why I went into music in the first place-creating a meaningful connection with people through music.”

Inspiration also came in the form of the writings of Rumi, the letters of Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo (from which the title Land of the Living was taken), and Federico Garcia Lorca, who wrote about the idea of Duende—loosely translated as a heightened sense of emotion, expression, and authenticity in art, and particularly, in music.

In each song there is a sense of wandering in the desert and wrestling with the angels.  “Waking up the Dead” conveys the transition from mourning to once again feeling passionate about life. “I want to dance on fire and be born again” is Jones’ earnest mantra. Matthew mirrors the poetry of Leonard Cohen when he sings, “You stand in the water with your arms crossed, groaning hallelujah.”  In “Oh Theo,” he grasps Van Gogh’s artistic and spiritual struggle saying, “My heart was still unknown, I was drunk and full of sorrows. I was longing for a home with nowhere to go.” 

Perhaps the crux of the record’s struggle can be heard on “Cancion de la Noche”, or “Song of the Night.”  Echoes of Daniel Lanois’ mysticism float in the mournful guitars and full, round drums. He sings, “I was alone in the water, deep in the water, where did you go? Oh the light is in disguise, breaking slowly, pull me close and I will push you away.”

A response to “Cancion de la Noche”, is the song “The Angels Were Singing”, which delves into Jones’ grief over the recent loss of his father.  As if in a Flannery O’ Connor short story, he says, “I started running to feel more alive, to wake up my senses that slowly had died . . . each tear was a chorus, a sacred reprise, and I finally was grieving that long goodbye.”  

Is the pain we encounter in loss worth living and loving to the fullest?  In no way a trite answer to the question, the title and last track on Matthew Perryman Jones’ philosophical record gives us a resounding yes.  “You cannot love in moderation, you’re dancing with a dead man’s bones.  Lay your soul on the threshing floor. . . I am coming home.”  And as Rumi said, and Jones has shown us to be true through the journey of Land of the Living, “A thousand half-loves must be forsaken to take one whole heart home.”



From the voice behind Running for So Long comes Wearing No Clothes,  a bare, unedited collection that captures the pulse of what makes a song human in the postmodern age.

Ainsworth trades studio sheen for sincerity here, offering recordings that feel like confessions whispered to a friend. Each moment hums with imperfection, intimacy, and truth, a reminder that vulnerability still carries weight in the age of AI. 

In a world obsessed with polish, Parker Ainsworth is a real one.

TPS, aka Tom Price-Stephens, is a South Wales-born musical dreamer and mainstay of the London music scene.

Over the last two years he has performed at festivals, cafés, bars, venues and street corners. Wherever Tom performs he takes the same show that fills living rooms and somehow it makes venues like the Bedford and Montreaux Jazz Café (Harrods) feel like home.

Tom's ability to capture a crowd’s attention is second to none, and his voice has been described as "dipped in honey and dried by rich tobacco smoke".
- "Better than I thought you'd be"
- "Like an angel, on the rocks"
- "Like a cross between Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, Jamie T"

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