Any artist is welcome to send us a track via freshonthenet.co.uk anytime between Monday lunchtime and Thursday morning (or when we receive 200 submissions, whichever is sooner) - and all our moderators, including Tom Robinson, will listen to every track. This is our full inbox from the week beginning Mon 24th May: from Friday afternoon you'll be able to hear our shortlist and pick your favourites on this week's Listening Post which will appear at freshonthenet.co.uk/batch407

If a track you submitted does not appear in this list, it’s probably because another of your tracks appeared in our Fresh Faves or on the BBC Music Introducing Mixtape during the last three months — we ask that artists featured on either wait three months before resubmitting to give others a chance. We also don’t accept short previews or SoundCloud GO tracks that can only be heard as 30 second previews, and tracks made private after submission, which cannot be included in playlists. You will be able to resubmit the track in future. Tracks that have been previously submitted and tracks from banned artists will also be removed.

ENTIRE INBOX: Batch 407

This song is based on the the legend of Shadhavar, a mythical unicorn like creature who roams the dunes of what was once Persia. We gave him a story and hope you enjoy! This is the third and final single from the Imagined Realities Ep releasing soon! 

Lyrics and Vocals: Tyler Cressman and Ciroyelle
Lead Guitar and synth: Tyler Cressman
Composition and Instrumental: Charles Bucklez
Flute and Production: Constricted Freedom
Art: Molly Samuelson 
April 2021 


Here is the legend of Shadhavar:

In the desert 
On the dunes
A Monoceros


Few have glimpsed him
Oh they hear him 
His song shows
your destiny 

 Divine spirit, protector of the land
Melody drifts calmly on the wind
some men, can’t quite comprehend

His tune,  not for all the same
Plays songs of love or songs of pain
tells a future of loss or gain.

Shadhavar Shadhavar Shadhavar

I will reveal your determination
Can you accept your own causation?

My horn umasks your fate
My melody is your destiny

Sultan comes to hear his tune
Jumping out from behind a dune
expects to depart appeased

But the notes they portend a life 
Wrought with sorrow, and his reign shall end
 slay him, say the sultan to his men
 
Break the curse he has cast upon me!

(bump bump bump part)
The chase ensues…..

Dead of Night
Torches bright
Sharpened spears
Time to start running the sultan he nears

The desert shakes
Shadhavar breaks
For the place 
The Sultan won’t find him, he cannot be seen

The men the move fast 
Shadhavar gasps
can’t slow down
Tips of the spears begin to surround

And at last 
 within their grasp
Nearing collapse
Spears into the air they are cast

In an instant 
Swooping down
Come the eagles
Catch the spears

Sultans camels
turn against him
 save their god
So Shadhavar remains….

In the desert, 
on the dunes, 
The  spirit
rightful place reclaims

And the Sultan 
 trampled down
As was predicted
Left for vultures to feast


Here is the legend of Shadhavar:

Imagined Realities

Shadhavar

Debut single from The Kite Society

Release date: 28/05/2021

Steady On

Fallout

She Sleeps - Available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music etc from 28th May. 

 https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/jenstevens1/she-sleeps

Anthemic, chilled pop from UK artist Jen Stevens. 
Last single 'We Do It Right' hit #1 in the iTunes songwriter charts. 
Lyrics feature poetry written by Jen's late Mum, who passed away in 2012. Written as a conversation between mother and daughter. 
101 vocal tracks - all Jen, with piano, trumpet and synth also performed by the writer. 
I'll be working with charities to raise awareness of using music and writing as a means to cope with bereavement, with an extensive social media campaign.

She Sleeps

Pre-Save on Spotify

Home

Cover of "Peace Inside" by Track Dogs on Oddy Mandocello tuned GDAD. If you like this, check out Track Dogs on your favourite streaming service. They are fantastic!

Peace Inside

From David Lyttle's third album 'Faces', out February 23rd on Lyte Records. Written by David Lyttle and Duke Special. www.davidlyttle.com 

David Lyttle - Houdini (feat. Duke Special)

Written for an, as yet, unreleased film, this song intertwines maritime imagery with themes of love and union, creating a celebratory ode to the sea and marriage.

The Mermaid

Cover of "Here Comes The Rain Again" from album Daylight Nighttime

Here Comes The Rain Again

First official release from Track Dogs' third studio album, this is a tribute to AC/DC's original singer and was inspired after listening to an AC/DC song (It's A Long Way To The Top If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) after a concert in Estepona, Spain. The style of the song reflects the band's "one mic" style where they sing around one condenser mic using only acoustic instruments. 

Bon Scott, He Rocked

This song written by Alan Begley was a firm favourite at the International Bar, Wicklow Street. This version recorded live by Paul Thomas for the 'Songs from a Small Room' CD, celebrating Dave's years running the Tuesday singer/songwriter night.

12 Walking the Streets

With thanks to Paul Lewis who posted it at https://youtu.be/H79_3Nv_eWo "The song ‘Merrily Upon High’ recorded on 21 December 1978 at Pye Studios in London. It was co-written and performed by Peter Gabriel and Tom Robinson. It was recorded specially for Nicky Horne’s Capital Radio show and broadcast for the first time later that day. The pair played a charity concert at Hammersmith Odeon on 24th December 1978. They were joined on stage by Phil Collins, Elton John and Mike Rutherford, plus members of Tom Robinson Band and Peter Gabriel’s musicians. I found this track in a box of tapes that I had kept for close to 40 years. I was delighted to find it still played OK. As far as I can tell this track has never seen an official release, although a re-recording was released by Tom Robinson sometime in the early 1980’s after TRB had split up."

ROB & GAB - Merrily Up On High

We released this track as part of an exclusive EP + online concert ticket to support School-Home Support for Britain's most vulnerable children. 

Thanks to all of you we raised our target of 1000£.

"Meet Me in the Middle" was written during lockdown in 2020 and features the gorgeous strings of Chris Demetriou and Adrianne Wininsky, recorded in Stockport, UK.

Meet Me in the Middle

Meet Me In The Middle

Fresh On The Net is a music blog hosted by Tom Robinson and Team Freshnet, offering independent artists an open door and a level playing field for their music. Our inbox is open at http://freshonthenet.co.uk every Monday to Thursday morning - if you share a track with us there it will be heard by every member of our moderation team.

IMPORTANT: 
Only send ONE track, and make sure the dropbox says "OPEN".  Sorry, but tracks sent while the dropbox is closed - or shared drectly with this Soundcloud account - will not get heard.

TRACK DOGS

Track Dogs have spent the last couple of years barnstorming the UK with some major festival appearances and collaborations. 2023 has seen them release their third album in 18 months, debut at Glastonbury and perform at The Royal Albert Hall with Show of Hands. 

Well-established in Spain where they are based, they are surprising UK music lovers with “Sun-shiny songs thriving on dark themes behind irresistible rhythms.”
 
The two Irishmen, one Englishman and an American (Garrett Wall, Dave Mooney, Howard Brown & Robbie K. Jones) whose artistic names derives from the dark subterranean world of New York's subway system, celebrate 17 years together in 2023 with 10 albums under their belts, including their most recent release "Blind Summits & Hidden Dips", an album that grows on the work that has opened so many doors for the band.

What they're saying about "Blind Summits & Hidden Dips";

“Track Dogs play jukebox hits for the apocalypse… If you were looking to mark your card for the end of the world party; head to wherever Track Dogs are playing; for they surely will be playing. Squeeze in at the bar, drink up and thirst no more.”
Americana-UK.com 7/10  

“You can make the journey from Laurel Canyon to twelve-bar blues (with a twist) from one song to the next…‘Blind Summits & Hidden Dips’ is packed with inventiveness and surprises around every hairpin bend; you won’t get bored with this anytime soon.
” musicriot.co.uk - ****  

“Their latest album flits from the country-rock of Cover Your Tracks, the brass-boosted Way Of Things and the funk of Blues Brother. Top that all off with a stonking cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Rhiannon alongside Spanish vocalist Lu Garnet” 
Daily Express - ****  

“The good news from this latest release, Blind Summits & Hidden Dips, is that their musical smörgåsbord is as varied as ever, arguably even more so, while the bad news is… Well, there is no bad news…the lyrics and music of Blind Summits and Hidden Dips also reveal a depth and complexity on repeat listens. Sometimes what is revealed can be deadly serious, and sometimes it shows they’re a band with a finely tuned sense of humour; two Track Dogs for the price of one, I’ll settle for that.” https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2023/09/track-dogs-blind-summits-hidden-dips/

“The band’s tightness is exemplified in So Much Dust, which demonstrates the band’s rich vocal harmonies and strong sense of melody. A memorable original…reflected on human existence: A song for our times.”
Robert Trussel, Kansas City Theatre.

““Groovy” is not a word I often use in this column, but that’s just the adjective I need to describe Madrid-based Irish band the Track Dogs. The band’s music is, like the band of ex-pats, an eclectic cultural crossover.
The Irish Echo, New York

“This band turned out to be a total discovery, with vocal harmonies on a par with groups like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, America or the most melodic style of, for example, the Eagles mixed in with the graceful irreverence of The Pogues.”
Renacer Eléctrico Music Magazine, Spain

“Their lively, melodic music has a strong American/Latin sentiment, a strong sense of fun and an abundance of sunshine”.
Folkradio.co.uk

“Superior Americana…joyous stuff”
Hot Press, Ireland

“Never in danger of overstaying their welcome”
R2 ****

For more information please contact 
info@trackdogsmusic.com

Meet Me In The Middle

Track Dogs

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