Aldous Harding (born Hannah Sian Sunday Clark on November 18, 1988) is an enigmatic and ethereal folk singer-songwriter from New Zealand. She is known for her boundary-pushing expressive songwriting style, her raw emotion expressed through her breathtaking vocals, and her captivating live performances. Her music is often described as somewhat untouchable, with a contemporary alternative-folk sound that bends genre boundaries.

Born and raised in Lyttelton, New Zealand, Aldous Harding spent her childhood surrounded by the old-world, rural customs of the nearby village, overlooking the coastal harbor. Despite growing up in rurally remote surroundings, she was exposed to diverse musical influences such as Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone. While in high school, she sang in a ukulele club and began experimenting with songwriting.

After graduating, Aldous left home to attend East 15 Acting School in Essex, England. It was during her time in England that she earned her nascent artistic identity, playing open mics and street corners as she continued to develop her inventive songwriting. In summer-autumn of 2012, she self-released her debut EP, Aldous Harding, followed in June 2013 by a six-track live EP produced by Ben Edwards. The Dark Things EP was released in May 2014 and showcased a compelling signature style, combining evocative poetry with passionate vocal delivery.

In April 2015, Aldous Harding released her critically acclaimed debut full-length album, A Careful Hand, on the independent Southbound label. Containing ten songs of intimate intensity and whimsical beauty, the album earned her four-star reviews in both MOJO and NME as well as high-rotation radio play on BBC 6 Music and a nomination for the Silver Keswick Prize at the New Zealand Music Awards.

In July 2017, Aldous Harding released her sophomore album, Party. The simplistic album explored themes including death, grief, loneliness, empowerment, and betrayal, all within a series of decaying rock and folk-influenced ballads. Recorded live with a five-piece band in seven days, Party garnered Harding praise and airplay all around the world, making her one of the most visible acts in New Zealand music. Her release also featured several singles including “Imagining my Man” and “Horizon”.

In 2020, Aldous Harding released her third album, Designer, on Jagjaguwar Records and 4AD. Designer was described by Pitchfork as “a difficult and opaque record full of warnings and uncertainty” and dwells on what she regards to be the intimacy and freedom of making music for herself. The iconic album reached Top 10 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, emerging as her most successful record to date.

As a singer-songwriter, Aldous Harding’s life is a continuum in which her painting, act of therapy, playing violin, and collecting vintage clothes all feed into her music. She is a passionate and driven artist whose enigmatic presence adds a hard-to-define spark to her curious and unique sonic lexicon. She has created a revered body of work and extensively toured around the world, receiving accolades that ensure she occupies one of the highest tiers in the folk music genre.

Alcest is a French post-black metal rock band founded in 2000 by Neige, the group’s frontman and primary songwriter, along with bassist Kriss and drummer Simon. Alongside being integral to black metal’s atmospheric sub-genre, the band has also helped define what is to become known as the “shoegaze” scene in metal.

The trio released their debut full-length album, Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde, independently in 2007 – though this was preceded by two EP’s, Tristesse d’un Papillon and Le Secret, both released in 2005. They continue to release other albums to broad acclaim such as Écailles de Lune (2009), Les Voyages De L’Âme (2011 / 2012), Shelter (2014) and Kodama (2016).

The ‘Spiritual Black Metal’ project started by Neige, in Laval, France in 2000 was originally formed as a solo project instead of a group. Since he started playing post-black metal in the early 2000s, Alcest has been making waves in both the European and US rock / metal circuits with their hauntingly extensive and melodic sounds. 

The bands’ compilation of musical and lyrical themes owes its intensity in its representation emotions of euphoria, nostalgia and sometimes even longing. All these themes are supported by Neige’s diverse instrumentation, ranging from acoustic guitar, spoken word droning and dreamy keys. Neige’s aspiration when the project first began was to focus on textures, atmospheres and melodies that evoke emotion and they achieved it by “stockpiling” many tremendous looks and feels to produce their effectual music.

When crafting their music, Alcest pursues two routes. Synths play a major role in producing a dreamy and ecstatic sound, augmented by Nicola Mazzei (also from Alice N’ Chains) on organ chords that hold a pronounced modern-Synth driven sound. In saying this, the rest of the instrumentation deserves such recognition too, particularly Zero on heavily distorted bass.

Whilst gaining high praise in both critical and fan reviews, skewering support from BBC 6 adopting the band as well as touring majors like Download Festival, Alcest have expressed their abilities for creating major and significant stories with their emotive album pieces. Alcest’s music has – at times – sent immortalizing narrations by allowing the listener to escape traditional struggles of every day life. Their creation is to let go of the things that haunt them and in return receiving peace and closure. Int expression if viewed is actually extremely positivity affecting.

The message Alcest continue to deliver is what sparks interest amongst its rock fanbase. The lyrical lifeline gracefully guides whilst the comfort of Neige’s elected instrumentals draw sound together. These lyrical messages keep the project intriguing in its own realistic way.

Overall, Alcest is a stunningly creative and truly unique musical group and enough cannot be said on how captivating their trancey black and post-black metal is. By finding a definitive narrative, layering his music with quite intense musical explorations and constructing an array of fragrances to contradict traditional shoegaze outlets, Neige and his distinctive project evolved its way to creating such an impressive fanbase that definitely cannot be compared. Ultimately, Alcest being responsible for the unitization between metal and the ‘shoegaze’ scene and blending essential qualities between the two makes them highly acclaimed in 2020 – 17 years since they began.

Albert King (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992) was an American blues musician and the most influential electric guitarist of the early post-war blues era. He was influential in introducing and popularizing the soul music form. Born in Indianola, Mississippi, he moved as a child to Arkansas, then to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1948. As an adult, King was admired for his powerful singing and soaring guitar playing. He is widely remembered as “the King of the Blues” and recognized for having a significant influence on Blues, Soul, Rock, and R&B music.

King’s musical career began when he was hosting a New Year’s Eve blues party in his basement and a blues singer heard his playing. The singer ran to the radio station to report what she had heard, and this prompted influential disk jockey Sonny Blount to invite King to make a record at the Sutro Recording Company in St. Louis in 1951. Soon after, King achieved success with a number of R&B hits, including “Don’t Throw Your Love on Me So Strong,” “Crosscut Saw,” and “The Sky Is Crying.”

In the 1960s, King’s popularity grew as rock musicians began to embrace blues music and started taking cues from the groundbreaking sounds of Albert King. His song “Oh Pretty Woman” was later made famously famous by Roy Orbison, while Eric Clapton recorded “Born Under a Bad Sign,” and B.B. King shared a performance of “Crosscut Saw.” As the popularity of blues increased in the 1970s, King made several critically acclaimed Live and Recorded appearances at renowned venues such as the Fillmore East in Manhattan and San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium.

King’s albums achieved wide appeal and success in the long run. His 1966 debut album, King of the Blues Guitar, was hailed as a masterpiece, as was King’s 1965 Out of Sight and 1970 Los Angeles, both of which would continue to influence generations of guitarists and singers. The 1970s and ’80s also saw a number of critically acclaimed albums, such as The Lost Tapes and Lovejoy, while his powerful’s 80s albums, I’ll Play The Blues For You and Wednesday Night in San Francisco reaching mass audiences.

King continued to perform live until his final performances in the days just before his death in 1992 at the age of 69. In addition to his many music accolades, King was prompted to be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Over his lifetime, King collectively won or was nominated for nine awards and made 214 recordings. To this day, his music continues to elicit admiration for its pure forms of songwriting and songwriting style that included the combination of his monotone vocals, electric guitar effects playing, and vibrato overdriving licks. In 2016, six of King’s notable songs were added to the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 2019, the United States Postal Service inducted him into their Music Icons stamp series before 2020.

He revolutionized blues guitar playing alongside Albert Collins and Freddie King, leaving an impact on all electric forms of the music. His influence is felt in both traditional forms and modern music today, with his influence being seen in more contemporary players like Gary Moore, Albert Collins, and John Mayer. He has become an icon of American Blues guitar, and his lasting legacy will live on for years to come.

Albert Ayler Trio was an American jazz power trio best known for their revolutionary and innovative style of avant-garde jazz. Founded in New York City in 1965, the trio was directly responsible for sparking the free jazz movement and ushering in a new era of musical exploration and experimentation. The group was comprised primarily of alto saxophonist/composter Albert Ayler and two of his jazz colleagues and collaborators: bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray.

Ayler was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1936 to a family of musicians. His father was a trumpeter with a national touring orchestra, and Ayler was attracted to the music from an early age. After experimenting with a number of different instruments, Ayler chose to focus on the alto saxophone and picked it up as his primary instrument during high school. After developing the basics of the saxophone, Ayler served in the military for two years and when he returned honed his skills at the Academy of Music in Cleveland.

In 1962, Ayler moved to Sweden to further develop his improvisational talents, an endeavor that was ultimately successful. During this time, he formed the Albert Ayler Trio with guitarist Alan Silva, and the two soon developed an identifiable sound. Returning to the United States in 1964, the band gained some national exposure thanks to Ayler’s close brush with the discipline when he appeared alongside Don Cherry in the Nu-Sound Production documentary “Messin’ with the Blues.”

In 1965, the band moved to New York City and slimmed down to a trio with the addition of bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. This would signal the true focus of the ensemble, and Ayler himself referred to it as “Spiritual Unity”. Indeed, the trio pushed free jazz to its outer limits and focused intensely on improvisation and experimentation. However, beyond Ayler’s playing, both Peacock and Murray also impressed with intense solos and off-the-cuff playing. The addition of Sunny Murray’s drums was perhaps the group’s greatest contribution to jazz as a whole, as Ayler felt they provided the group with a vital oratorical component.

The trio followed up their free-style playing with more orthodox approaches as Ayler’s compositions moved into standards, hymnals, and traditional compositions. As the band returned to the more traditional approach, they embellished the bebop classics with free jazz elements, the fusion of the two not only creating melodic sparks, but producing high-energy solos and improvisational playing.

The trio recorded Their 1965 album, Other Music, for ESP-Disk, as well as Music is the Healing Force of the Universe and Sound Practice in 1969 and Changing with the Times and Spirits Rejoice one decade later. In between the 1970s albums, the Trio disbanded as Ayler sought spiritual guidance away from music. Ironically, Ayler left the band and eventually reformed it as an acoustic quintet, the group re recording much of their early work as they explored new directions and ideas.

Sadly, Albert Ayler passed away suddenly at sea in November 1970. The cause of death remains a mystery and continues to intrigue fans to this day. However, the innovative and game-changing music made by the Albert Ayler Trio will be remembered for generations to come. Although the band’s history was short-lived, their music advanced jazz to new frontiers and was essential to the development of contemporary improvisational and avant garde music.

Simply put, the Albert Ayler Trio pushed the boundaries of jazz and provided a critical spark to the free jazz musical revolution of the 1960s. Whether structuring their setlists around blues standards or new and unwelcomed melodic ideas, the trio developed a style all their own, and, in that, their legacy will never be forgotten.

The Alban Berg Quartett was a formidable group of instrumentalists from Vienna, Austria, who were considered among the leading string quartets of the 20th century. Established in 1970 by cellist Heinrich Schiff and violinists Gerhard Schulz and Thomas Kakuska, the ensemble was widely acknowledged for its innovation in traditional performance techniques and its primary dedication to the works of Austrian composer Alban Berg. Celebrated for their precise and vigorous musical excellence by critics, audiences, and composers alike, performances of the Alban Berg Quartett transcended technical mastery to reveal events of powerful inimitable intensity.

The quartet earned a substantial reputation throughout the majority of its 36-year duration, but its members’ connection to Austrian musicologist Theodor Adorno, which funded their first recordings and granted them the use of the Berg estate’s manuscript, changed their public identification. With the release of their major works on the Deutsche Grammophon label, the company then marketed the group solely as the Alban Berg Quartett, carefully cultivating an identity that accentuated their direct connection to the composer.

The original quartet initially performed extensive tours throughout Western Europe, earning particular praise in England. After Israeli violinist Günter Pichler joined the quartet in 1977 as a replacement for Thomas Kakuska, the group flourished, achieving their truly polished interpretation of Berg’s composition quartets. Their intense recordings of the lyrical Violin Concerto and synth versions of the opera Lulugenerated critical acclaim and international tours with performances in South Africa, Japan, Mexico, and the U.S.

The subsequent global popularity gained additional members, such as Matthias Zimmermann serving as a replacement for Gerhard Schulz in the mid-1980s, and Barbara Schmid serving as a replacement for Heinrich Schiff in 1995. This newer quartet continued to attract European and American markets and released an award-winning live and studio recording of the Vienna Piano Quintet in 1997. The group members conducted workshops and masterclasses worldwide, passing along their individual wealth of performance skill to aspiring musicians.

In 2001 the venerable and now widely renowned ensemble bid a farewell to their 36-year musically triumphant career in a magical farewell concert at the Schönbrunn Palace and Vienna Musikverein, where they showcased some of their most renowned works.

The Alban Berg Quartett was recognized several times, primarily for their achievements in performing the integral works of Alban Berg. In 2001, they received both the ECHO Award from the German Phonographic Association and the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize; in 2003, Theodor Adorno Prize; and finally in 2004, The Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, an honor handed to only a few prominent musicians including David Oistrakh and Herbert von Karajan. Their legacy continues to influence both aspiring and professional players of string instruments. Thus Berg’s works endure with music worlds forever indebted to the marvel that was the Alban Berg Quartett.

Alanis Morissette is an influential Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and actress. Born June 1, 1974, in Ottawa, Ontario, Morissette found success as a teenager when she released her debut album, Alanis, in 1991. The release made her an important presence on the ’90s pop-rock scene and a feminist icon. Moving swiftly through the decades, Morissette has since released eight studio albums (including her iconic 1995 release, Jagged Little Pill) to critical and commercial success and countless sell-out world tours.

Morissette’s family encouraged her to pursue a professional career in music, and assisted her in cultivating a multi-faceted career. Her father, Alan – an educator – managed her during early career. Her mother, Georgia – a housekeeper – managed her fan mail and acted as her chaperone on tour. Her two older brothers, Chad and Wade, were key in engineering her early success, as it was mostly their handsiwork that we must thank for Alanis’ first two albums.

Their collective foundation of support opened the doors for international success to Royal Oak High School grad, Morissette. As an homage to her family, Morissette named her first album, Jagged Little Pill, after a lyric she composed reflecting her experience as self-discovery at sixteen.At eighteen, she signed a two-year deal with MCA Records and relocated to Los Angeles. She releasing her second album in 1992, titled Now Is the Time.

It took an international break with her third album for Morissette to be recognized in the long run – at home and around the world. Alanis secured a record deal with Maverick Records and released a landmark single, You Oughta Know, in 1995. It was embraced worldwide and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 Chart. Her fourth album, Jagged Little Pill, was met with universal praise, earning her seven Grammy Awards as well as sales records not only in America, but all over the world.

Since then, Morissette’s chart success, critical acclaim and whoa individuality have only proven one consistent thing – her music will always remain distinct from her contemporaries and her, unpredictably impressive, lyrical genius produces, intimate story telling sets this artist apart from so many.

Morissette’s seventh studio album Havoc and Bright Lights, in 2012 permitted her universal legion of fans to further explor of her original music – the fruition of her ongoing, two-decade rollercoaster journey. After surviving heartache and professional muck in the interim, Morissette returned to Maverick albums and released her final -and eighth album- to date, Such Pretty Forks in the Road, in 2020. At least a few tracks convey the hauntingly beautiful optimism Morissette has synthesized throughout her musical career; the very thing that her fans cherishes most about her signature sound.

Morissette has become an important figure in the national and international feminist and socio-political dialogue. After blazing a ground-breaking path on the pop-rock scene during the ’90s, Alanis still remains culturally active in the 2000s. In honor of her philanthropic endeavors, she has been celebrated with a nomination for her induction to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2021. Throughout her thirty-year career, Morissette has harnessed courage and vulnerability in transforming pop-and-rock into a wildly experimental layer of spiritual growth and ultra modern story telling. It doesn’t seem that she will slow down any time soon.

Alain Goraguer (born May 25, 1927, in Eaubonne Val-d’Oise, France), is a French composer, songwriter, producer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his many soundtracks to French films, television shows and cartoons, as well as having a long-lasting career as an electronic keyboard artist.

Goraguer grew up in a creative household, with both of his parents being members of the artistic and theatrical circles in Paris. As a child he studied classical piano and composition. After he entered the Ecole Normale de Musique in 1950, he made his recording debut in 1953 on Henri Renaud’s Antibes Orchestra recording, “Les Recettes du Misoné”.

As an innovative arranger, Goraguer’s first recorded success was with Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya (on the Bayou)” which he arranged for Renaud’s orchestra. In 1956, he provided the parisien-pop-style arrangements to Georges Brassens’ first LP “Death of a Mogul”. His lengthy collaboration with Brassens yielded a self-titled album in 1965.

Goraguer spearheaded a new era of French pop and library music with the 1967 Chorus-by-Festival label release, “Minor Swing”, the first known French LP for jazz and popular standards. The album furthered his reputation as a solid arranger and spawned many works in the jazz-funk genre, including such albums as “Go Go Goraguer” and “Vibrations”.

Goraguer was asked by composer Pierre Dutour to arrange soundtracks for low budget French films. This established Goraguer as one of the most sought after soundtrack artists of the 1960s and 70s. In 1970, he earned national attention for his work on Alain Resnais’s classic film, “Last Year at Marienbad”. During the 1980’s and 1990’s his television credits multiplied as he scored theme songs for dozens of TV shows.

Goraguer is also lauded as one of the pioneers of modern electronic and synthesizer music. He was among the first to work with the Moog modular synthesizer, scoring the soundtrack to the 1967 musical documentary “The World of the Synth”. He was also recruited as a main member of the electronics-based cult group Ensemble Intégral at its formation in 1969.

But Goraguer’s signature work was the score to the Cartoon Network’s “Tintin” series. Goraguer composed over 200 pieces for this score, thus earning his nickname “Tintin Man”. His other scoring work includes the Aventures Fantastiques, Lebouf Doublerachel, Emmanuelle, and Alexandre le Grand.

Throughout his career as a prolific composer and arranger, Goraguer has managed to craft his own distinct sound that is both unique and revolutionary at the same time. His style crosses easily through many genres such as film, library, jazz, pop, funk, and electronic music.

Alain Goraguer passed away at the age of 91 on June 3rd 2018 in Eaubonne, France. He will be remembered as a major influence in the development of various musical genres, and his contributions to the world of music will live on for generations to come.

Alain Bashung (1947-2009) was a French singer, songwriter, actor, and poet who emerged as one of the most iconic figures in French culture and popular music during the late 20th century. Born Alain Baschung on 1938 in Paris, France, Bashung became the quintessential French artist of the postmodern era. Throughout a career spanning four decades, Bashung produced a diverse body of work, including film soundtracks, collaborations with other high-profile French artists such as Brigitte Fontaine, and several bestselling solo albums.

Bashung’s musical origins began with the klezmer and jazz-tinged cabaret/cabaret/vaudeville style performances hosted by his father at a night club in the Latin Quarter of the city. As a teenager Bashung expanded his palette by delving into the world of Anglo-American pop music, allowing artists such as Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash to influence his passionate singing style.

In 1967, Bashung released his debut self-titled EP. This little-noticed release soon yielded to a real debut album “Archi-Mélodie” in 1969. Due to its success, the follow-up, “Les femmes sont d’humeur changeant” (1970), entered the French charts, allowing the singer to embark on an extensive series of live shows throughout France.

Throughout the 1970s, Bashung’s music veered from melodic pop to bluesy rock influenced by artists such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. In 1980, the singer released the influential concept album “Passé le Rio Grande.”. On this record Bashung explored rough but romantic images of Mexican landscapes reflecting the seismic political and cultural shifts of the era. That same year, Bashung was named “Male Singer of the Year” at the Victoires de la Musique.

The singer enjoyed considerable creative freedom in the eighties, as his music moved toward a hybrid of jazz, pop and rock without ignoring for a minute the convention of pop. By the 1990s, Bashung was firmly established in France and Europe and was routinely playing to large crowds. However, control over Bashung’s creative direction occasionally became a source of contention between the singer and the labels he grew increasingly resentful of.

In 2003, Bashung won two Victoires de la Musique awards for his album “L’imprudence.” His next album, the landmark “Osez Josépohine” saw Bashung at the top of his powers. Produced in collaboration with celebrated French producer Dave Marcaccio, “Osez Josépohine” is the definitive statement on the art of French chanson and rock. It spawned the hits singles “Vertige de l’Amour” and “Comme un Legume.”

Alain Bashung’s reputation has continued to build since his death in 2009 at the age of 62. The artist will forever remain an untouchable icon to all generations of French music fans and an essential reference in the long history of French cultural expression.

Alabama Shakes are an American rock band formed in Athens, Alabama, United States in 2009. The band’s core members include lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard, bassist Zac Cockrell, guitarist Heath Fogg, and drummer Steve Johnson. After independently releasing their debut EP, Alabama Shakes began touring the United States, quickly gaining national attention and a large underground following. After signing with label ATO Records and releasing their debut album Boys & Girls in 2012, the band skyrocketed into mainstream success. Alabama Shakes received a number of accolades, including Grammy Award nominations, the Breakthrough Act award at the 2012 BRIT Awards, NME Award for best international breakthrough act, and two subsequent Grammy awards for their 2015 album, Sound & Color.

Brittany Howard, the lead singer and guitar player of Alabama Shakes, grew up in an all black Baptist church in Athens, Alabama, where she first found and developed her passion for music. Starting at the age of 11, Howard immersed herself in her community’s Sunday services and other music-centered experiences. Later in life, she got involved in local acts consisting of punk and acoustic shows, honing her skills as a vocalist, exploring different types of sound, and ultimately developing a tight room. By the time she crossed in her 20s, Howard had already built a committed local audience along with a passion an unforgiving performing flow, enabling her to quickly come up with catchy melismas and pierce the emotions of the listeners with her blues-tinged vocal styling.

The rise of the band drastically changed in 2011, when Brittany joined forces with Zac Cockrell, Steve Johnson, and Heath Fogg to create Alabama Shakes. After months of rehearsing, networking, and writing, the quartet released a 5-track EP “Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls” in April 2012, which served as an introduction to their intense retro soul-flavored live shows. An immediate critical acclaim followed the EP’s release, as the band quickly became favorite among the public and industry figures. On the backdrop of these positive reviews, Alabama Shakes embarked on a nationwide promotional tour and signed with ATO Records later that year.

The band dropped their debut album Boys & Girls, also on ATO Records, just in Spring of 2012 and Alabama Shakes promptly made their way to the indie music scene with them. Their debut album, showcasing restless 1930s and 50s-inspired rhythm and blues combined with Hannah’s stellar voice, quickly captured both audience and critics. The band earned its first Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rock Performance in the same year. Later in Spring of 2013, Alabama Shakes was nominated and graciously earned the Breakthrough Act award at the prestigious BRIT Awards, further establishing their place in contemporary mainstream music.

The same year, Shakes members engaged on a promotional tour for Boys & Girls across the United States and the United Kingdom. They took their show through the largest venues across the country, delivered a powerful performance at the blockbuster Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival, and closed out the tour with a set at the famous Coachella festival. After their return to the US, they finished the recordings for their sophomore album. The recordings where surprisingly diverse thematically, as they used synthesizers and augmented their sound with strings.

In April 2015, Alabama Shakes finally released their much anticipated second album, entitled Sound & Color, marking their return in a new light that until then had been unheard of in their repertoire. They quickly gained attention from the press and public alike, and although there was a lot of apprehension for their return, the album received critical acclaim and showcased a multi-dimensional exploration of sound. Its release was supported by an international promotional tour that showed both a polished and liberating performance by the band that had evolved from youth to adulthood over the span of their career.Just after one year of Sound & Color’s release, in 2016 the band won their first Grammy Awards for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for their single “Don’t Wanna Fight”.

Today, Alabama Shakes proudly stands as one of the most respected American rock bands. Though no members have ever revealed their natural aspirations or what the future foreshadows for Alabama Shakes, the one sure is that with joint and separate explorations beyond their hometown they’ll definitely leave their mark in the world of modern and classic rock for decades to come. Sustained by an acclaimed catalogue and a behemoth-sized live show, Brittany Howard and her band will continue to push the envelopes and present quality music that’s sure to live up to the legacy they have created.

Al Stewart — born Alastair Ian Stewart — is a British folk-rock singer-songwriter born in 1945. Author of a handful of iconic songs still heard regularly on radio today in classic and folk-rock circles, Stewart recorded nearly two dozen albums in his prime, and has been performing actively for over 40 years.

Stewart’s musical career began in 1964, when he dropped out of high school to pursue music full time. He moved to London to study music, but spent his spare time playing in folk clubs and searching for gigs. Taking cues from popular American folk acts of the day, Stewart quickly developed a career of his own in the mid-‘60s British folk revival, releasing several albums to critical acclaim.

By the 1970s, Stewart had re-emerged at the forefront of the UK’s folk-rock movement, blending traditional folk sounds with electric instruments and a cheeky, inquisitive lyrical style. His rise to fame started in hit in 1975 with a record-setting and award-winning single, “Year of the Cat”, and in 1976, his album Year of the Cat secured him a worldwide audience.

The distinctive lyrics and quick paced prose of songs like “Year of the Cat”, “Midas Shadow”, “Lord Grenville”, “On the Border”, and dozens more made Stewart a likely influence for a variety of later singers, songwriters and bands. It was during this period that Stewart really came into his own style, incorporating often bleak melancholy lyrics with cheerful, often historical, narrative.

The next level for Stewart came during the 1980s, when his record sales began to slump, prompting Stewart to lean heavily on his touring and the arrival of a new and talented backing band comprised of percussionist Peter White, mandolin player Jeff Newell and guitarist P.J. Olszac. Together, the group left behind the strictly folk-rock sound of the ’70s and crafted the ideal patchwork of wit, biting irony and gentle, pensive folk-rock that created Stewart’s ‘80s hits “Time Passages” and “Song on the Radio”.

Stewart’s talent at historical fiction was also a sideshow unto itself. His 1973 album Past, Present and Future remains one of the most poignant albums of the 1970s, weaving an implied narrative of the perils of Man as depicted through the time travel of an Everyman. Stewart’s 2020 album Forgotten Mans Dream stands as a testament to Stewart’s generational references and longstanding ability to touch on themes both ancient and modern.

In the 1980s and ‘90s, producers, engineers and musicians fell in love with Stewart’s folk-rock sound while working on remixes, videos and masterings for more popular acts. This led to a commercial awareness of Stewart’s solo material and an increase in popular recognition. Stewart was even inducted into the National Association of Independent Recording Artists’ highly sought after Digital Music Hall of Fame in 1998.

Al Stewart has enjoyed a long, successful career in music; his songs can be heard daily on classic and folk-rock-sized radio channels. Stewart continues to tour in the present day largely Europe and Asia, regaling audiences with material from back catalogue and introducing semi-regular studio work with ongoing exerts to revive tried and true sounds from the ‘70s.

The passionate songwriting and performative style crafted over Al Stewart’s half-century career yearns to live on into many more. He is a monarch and a sage, a bold influence in folk-rock music, with a steady message about the history of longing and how music remains the enduring platitude that speaks to us all.