ive Artists from Around the World Come Together to Honor Joni Mitchell

Melanie Horsnell (Australia), Pretty Archie (Canada), Tori Sparks (Catalonia), Blue Rose Code (Scotland), and Megan O’Neill (Ireland) had never met before they were each chosen to be on the same “team” as a part of the international music export project Global Music Match 2021. Two months later, they’re releasing a single recorded together across oceans and time zones.

The song is none other than “Carey” by Joni Mitchell. The five artists chose this particular song in honor of the 50th anniversary of Mitchell’s seminal album Blue, which was released half a century ago this summer. The music video for “Carey” will be released on August 20th and the song is available on streaming platforms everywhere on August 27th, 2021 (Good Stem Records/MGM Distribution).

“Canadiana” band Pretty Archie took the lead in laying down the track, giving the iconic song a bluegrass twist. As all five of the artists draw inspiration from traditional or acoustic music — from folk to blues, from Celtic to flamenco — they were each able to add their own flavor to this fresh rendition of Mitchell’s timeless composition. Each artist recorded his or her part for “Carey” at home or in a local studio and send it off to Australia, where it was mixed and mastered by sound engineer Michael Lynch. The music video, which shows clips of the artists at home and in the studio in their respective countries, was similarly recorded across multiple continents.

The song and video capture the collaborative spirit that inspired Global Music Match and are perfect examples of the enduring nature of music as a universal language, especially during difficult times. All of these artists are balancing post-COVID lives and careers, and each comes from a different culture, yet they were able to come together to create something unique that honors their musical roots. 

Lucas Avram Cavazos, longtime radio presenter of the show “The Club with Lucas” on Radio Kanal Barcelona, listened to the song in a sneak preview and said: “Hearing this impeccable bluegrass, alt-country version of a Joni Mitchell classic wowed me. It has full-on summer sleeper hit written all over it — not to mention the nostalgia it brought on for a long-time expat with deep Austin, Texas roots. In a word, excellent!”

About Global Music Match

Global Music Match is an initiative that was born in 2020 to help connect and promote artists in international music markets within the challenging parameters of the coronavirus pandemic. The first edition was a huge success, sparking creative connections between talented artists of distinctly different musical genres who otherwise might never have had the opportunity to work together. 

This second edition features 78 artists from 17 countries and 4 continents, each well-known in their home territory and hand-picked by their respective cultural export offices. Artists from Australia, Britain in France, Canada, Catalonia in Spain, Chile, Denmark, England, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Scotland, Taiwan, the United States and Wales collaborate from June through August this summer, helping each other’s music travel to all corners of the world. 

These 78 artists have been divided up into thirteen teams, each one guided by a respected festival director from the world of acoustic, folk, or traditional music.

Global Music Match 2021

Carey

Carey (Global Music Match 2021)

On Record Store Day 2021, in celebration of Tori’s 10th anniversary since moving to Barcelona, she and the band released a limited-edition, color vinyl version of their album, El Mar.  Along with the new vinyl, Tori presents her new live show: EL MAR ELECTRIC. The show is an homage to and a celebration of the mix of cultures and musical styles — American, Spanish, Catalan, Latin, Arabic, and more — that have marked Tori’s career.

Watch the videos here: http://www.tinyurl.com/elmarelectric

El Mar Electric

Verde (El Mar Electric)

Veinte Años (El Mar Electric)

Wade In The Water (El Mar Electric)

Bitter Seeds (El Mar Electric)

Until Morning (El Mar Electric)

Verde (Live)

Wade in the Water (Live)

Veinte Años (Live)

Until Morning (Live)

Until Morning/Come Out of the Dark
(Glass Mountain Records, 2011)

Judge a Book

My Delilah

Tori Sparks’ fifth studio album began as a curious experiment. A chance meeting at a benefit concert in 2012 resulted in an unexpected collaboration between the American singer-songwriter and a Barcelona-based Flamenco fusion trio, Calamento. Months of rehearsals spawned the bilingual recording project El Mar. El Mar features new songs in English and in Spanish, as well as several compositions from Tori’s previous four albums, each reborn into Flamenco-influenced arrangements. Atypical versions of other artists' works -- including traditional Mexican songs, works by Leonard Cohen, Javier Ruibal, and others -- round out the electic repertoire of this highly original work. Calamento is percussionist Xavi Garcia, Spanish guitarist Pepe Camacho, and bassist Ramon Ramon Vagué Zuazo. The album also features special musical guests Francisco Guisado “El Rubio” on electric guitar, vocalists Izabel Laura "Izä," Joaquin Gomez "El Duende," and cellist Manuel M. del Fresno. El Mar was recorded in Feelback Studios in Barcelona by engineer Cesar J. de Cisneros, who was awarded a Grammy in 2007 for his work on Ojos de Brujo’s groundbreaking album Techari.

La Flor De Estambul

La Llorona

Live recording of the new single “Adam” by the Tori Sparks Band.

Adam (Live)

Five years ago, acclaimed American singer-songwriter Tori Sparks made the move from Nashville, TN (US) to Barcelona. Her fifth album El Mar (Glass Mountain Records, 2014) was a collaboration with flamenco fusion trio Calamento, and is a surprising mix of blues, rock, and flamenco. The album began as a curious experiment after a chance meeting at a benefit concert. Over months of rehearsals in a basement in Barcelona, a strange and beautiful synthesis sprang from the mix of Tori's blues, rock, and folk sensibilities with the Spanish musicians' atypical take on flamenco and jazz fusion. 

The bilingual project was an unexpected international success, called "indescribable, incredible" (Deruting), "adventurous, pushing the envelope" (Rolling Stone), and "extremely special, a monster of a record [Top 20 Albums of the Year]" (Orpheo). The band went on to triumph on the festival circuit (Voll-Damm International Jazz Festival, InFusion Flamenca, the GREC Festival, others) as well as on tour in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and more. Two years later, Tori Sparks + Calamento have returned to the studio, but with one big difference: The quartet has become a quintet. 

The maestro of the electric guitar, El Rubio (08001, Color Humano, Rosario Flores), lent a helping hand on the El Mar recording sessions, and ever since has become an integral part of the Tori Sparks + Calamento’s evolving live show. When the band started working on the arrangements for the new album, El Rubio was been part of the creative process from the beginning. His multiple layers of electric guitar combined with the flamenco guitar of Pepe Camacho  smash traditional concepts of genre, and push the group's already daring mix of musical flavors into even further into uncharted territory. The band continues to experiment with new sounds without sacrificing the unique combination styles that won them fans the world over with El Mar. 

La Huerta includes original compositions (“Little Wars,” “On My Mind,” “Bitter Seeds,” “Until Morning,” and title track “La Huerta), as well as completely unexpected versions of songs from the Spanish, Cuban, and American songbooks. (Led Zepplin por tangos/bulerias, anyone?) Tori Sparks' unforgettable voice is stronger and more expressive than ever. The foundation of on which the band builds their groove is Ramon Vague on bass and Javi Garcia on cajon. 

The album also features musical guests Joaquin Gomez ("El Duende") and Alba Bioque. La Huerta was recorded in Barcelona at Feelback Studio with engineer Cesar J. de Cisneros, mastered by Yves Roussell, both Grammy Award Winners for their work with fusion artists such as Ojos de Brujo and Solea Morente.

La Huerta

Until Morning

Kashmir

La Leyenda del Tiempo

Bitter Seeds

Nature Boy

Tori Sparks' seventh album is called ‘Wait No More,’ and was recorded live on September 14th, 2018 at Luz de Gas in Barcelona. The album is her third collaboration with flamenco fusion trio Calamento and electric guitarist, El Rubio, and also features guest vocalist Alba Bioque (Glass Mountain Records, 2019).  The song “La Flor de Estambul" appears on the A-side of the limited-edition vinyl record version of the ‘Wait No More’ live album, as well as on the deluxe version, available on double CD.  The live video features guest artist Lena Nouar, Barcelona-based belly- and modern dancer, teacher, and choreographer.

------------

'Wait No More’: The Live Album

Featuring:
Tori Sparks - Voice/Palmas
El Rubio - Electric Guitar
Pepe Camacho - Spanish Guitar
Ramon Vague - Bass
Javi Garcia - Cajon
Alba Bioque - Additional Vocals/Palmas

Sound recorded and mixed by Andres Giraldo (Panaba Studio, Barcelona).
Mastered by Yves Roussell Mastering, Barcelona.
Cover photo by Alexey Stradubanov (Akra Produccions).

A Glass Mountain Records/Tori Sparks Music Production.
www.torisparks.com 
www.glassmountainrecords.com

Wait No More

La Flor de Estambul

La Flor de Estambul (Live)

Tori Sparks' seventh album is called ‘Wait No More,’ and was recorded live on September 14th, 2018 at Luz de Gas in Barcelona. The album is her third collaboration with flamenco fusion trio Calamento and electric guitarist, El Rubio, and also features guest vocalist Alba Bioque (Glass Mountain Records, 2019).  The song “Kashmir” does not appear on the limited-edition vinyl record version of the ‘Wait No More’ live album, only on the deluxe version, available on double CD. 

------------

'Wait No More’: The Live Album

Featuring:
Tori Sparks - Voice/Palmas
El Rubio - Electric Guitar
Pepe Camacho - Spanish Guitar
Ramon Vague - Bass
Javi Garcia - Cajon
Alba Bioque - Additional Vocals/Palmas

Sound recorded and mixed by Andres Giraldo (Panaba Studio, Barcelona).
Mastered by Yves Roussell Mastering, Barcelona.
Cover photo by Alexey Stradubanov (Akra Produccions).

A Glass Mountain Records/Tori Sparks Music Production.
www.torisparks.com 
www.glassmountainrecords.com

Kashmir (Live)

The Scorpion in the Story (Glass Mountain Records, 2009)

Tall Towers

Cold War

Tori Sparks was born in Chicago. She later lived and recorded for years in Nashville, but has always spent most of her time on the road. 

Since the age of 18 she has played over 150 concerts each year and has played in 24 countries. Her strength as a live performer lies her ability to seamlessly blend musical genres and to connect with audiences of all walks of life, be it playing for 100 people in a small club, or for 30,000 people at prestigious music festivals such as Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Bele Chere (USA); Festival Jardins Pedralbes (Spain); Su La Testa (Italy); others. She is a sought-after public speaker at professional conferences such as SXSW, WOMEX, PrimaveraPro and more, and is known for giving back to the community through music.

From 2007 to 2011, Tori put out four albums on her own label, Glass Mountain Records, featuring some of Nashville’s top musicians. In 2011 Tori Sparks moved from Nashville to Barcelona, Spain, and in just a few years had already left her mark on her adopted country. In 2018, rock magazine Popular1 put Sparks on the list of the five most important female voices in Spain; in 2019 she received the award for Rock Artist of the Year by No Solo Cine magazine; her voice can be heard in soundtracks and in numerous commercials — most recently in the official soundtrack for the Netflix series Sky Rojo, from the creators of Money Heist. 

Tori’s next two albums, El Mar (2014) and La Huerta (2017) were collaborations with Barcelona-based flamenco fusion trio Calamento and electric guitarist El Rubio. Their unusual mix of blues, rock, and flamenco sung in both English and Spanish started out as a side project, but quickly grew to be an international success, called "adventurous, pushing the envelope" (Rolling Stone), and “pure art” (Los Conciertos de Radio3, TV2). Their third album together, a double live album called Wait No More, was released on vinyl and double CD on Record Store Day 2019. “A flawless live album… an extraordinary fusion of styles,” said national newspaper La Vanguardia in its review.  

In fall 2020, Tori and the band released a single recorded in lockdown. “The Man Who Sold the World" was recorded at five separate apartments scattered throughout the city. Download the new single ”The Man Who Sold the World” here, and watch the new music video — half animation, half video — here. The song is also included as a bonus digital download in the Record Store Day release of the limited-edition vinyl version of El Mar, in celebration of Tori’s 10th anniversary in Barcelona.  

Right now, Tori and her band are touring behind not one, but two separate live shows: El Mar Electric and Roots Music Revival. 

Two projects at once? Why not? Tori and her band are always on the move. They debuted El Mar Electric along with a live EP of the same name  in 2023, in a series of not one, but five sold-out concerts in Barcelona. The show is an homage to the mix of cultures and musical styles —  Spanish, Catalan, American, Arabic, Latin, and more — that have marked Tori’s 20+ year career. She and the band took the blues, rock, and flamenco fusion show on the road in tours in Germany, Spain, and Morocco, before their travels were cut short this past summer by an unexpected injury to her vocal cords, compounded by a severe case of COVID in summer of 2023. As a result, Tori — who can usually play through anything — lost her voice completely, and had to go through six months of vocal rehabilitation before finally returning to the stage in February 2024.

Now, she’s back and stronger than ever. In Spring 2024, she and the band presented their second, separate project: Roots Music Revival. The repertoire draws on tunes from Tori’s first four albums from her Nashville and Chicago days, and reflects a return to her musical beginnings. This is a musical “revival” to be sure, in the sense that the style of music is pure Americana, but it's also a personal revival as Tori remembers and pays tribute to her musical beginnings.  These high-energy concerts show off a different side of the band, whose roots and blues sensibilities run deep; these events also include guest artists from the city they’re playing in. 

They will be on the road with both concerts presenting both projects throughout 2024, while preparing for their next studio album release in 2025.

Tori Sparks is proud to be endorsed by D'Addario Strings since 2007, and by Thembe Fashions since 2016.

Tori Sparks

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