In October 2018 Dutch musician Stefan Breuer turned his one-man lo-fi bedroom project The World of Dust into a trio for a string of shows in France. It was a family affair with his father Cees Breuer on bass and backing vocals, and his brother Arno Breuer on drums. They shared bill with Queen Of The Meadow and Garciaphone, two acts from his label Tiny Room Records. They brought a camera and they have finally put the Closer to Dad documentary on YouTube.
Dutch indie label Tiny Room Records will celebrate their 5 Year Anniversary on November 39 @ Brewpub De Kromme Haring and rehearsal space Studio Patrick in Utrecht.
Five confirmed acts so far: dreamy folk duo Queen Of The Meadow (France), psych folk singer Garciaphone (France), adventurous rockers Taifun (Belgium), and two Dutch indie super groups - Naked Shortsellers (country) and Combo Qazam (experimental Krautrock).
French folk act Queen Of The Meadow have made a video for Valentine's Day, a track from their A Room To Store Happiness album. They used stop motion and clay and filmed it with Super 8, a cumbersome but worthwhile process.
French folk act Queen Of The Meadow have announced a Dutch mini tour to promote their latest album A Room To Store Happiness: "no signs of the "difficult second album" jinx. Ferguson uses her voice as the main force, stacking layers upon layers to create a pastoral, psychedelic feel (yes, unicorns and rainbows are mentioned)".
French folk act Queen Of The Meadow seemed to come out of nowhere in 2916 with their debut album Aligned With Juniper. Long story short: singer Helen Furguson picks up the guitar at 27, is taught to play by Julien Pras, they fall in love, and she writes the songs for an album that gets rave reviews. Now that that the novelty of a kick-started career has worn off, the next album has to live up to the expectations.
A Room To Store Happiness shows no signs of the "difficult second album" jinx. Ferguson uses her voice as the main force, stacking layers upon layers to create a pastoral, psychedelic feel (yes, unicorns and rainbows are mentioned). Stand-out track Ashes Adele is almost a chorale, a celebration of the human voice (and some studio trickery to connect the parts). Multi-instrumentalist Julien Pras knows when to hold back or step forward, depending on what is needed for the song. His bass playing almost floats just beneath it all. Joe Jackson once proclaimed that Happy Loving Couples have no stories, but Ferguson and Bras prove him wrong.
Dutch musician Stefan Breuer turns his one-man lo-fi bedroom project The World of Dust into a trio for a string of shows in France. It's a family affair and they will be sharing the bill with Queen Of The Meadow and Garciaphone, two acts from his label Tiny Room Records. Breuer is looking forward to it:
This is really happening... In a few weeks, we are going on tour in France! For these shows, I recruited my father Cees Breuer to play bass and do backing vocals, and my brother Arno Breuer. to play drums. A family band. We have not been together this long since... 15 years? At least?
French folk act Queen Of The Meadow will play four shows in The Netherlands to promote their Aligned With Juniper album. Recommended if you like UK Seventies folk with hints of psychedelic, pastoral pop.
Live dates:
HCTF lists the 20 albums that will be in regular rotation for many years to come.
2016 was a memorable year for music lovers.
One thing will never change: independent music is where it's at when you are on the look out for something interesting to listen to.
Sadly some of the greats are no longer with us - David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen as well two of the finest sidemen - Scotty Moore and Bernie Worrell. As 2016 drew too a close underrated Status Quo rhythm guitarist Rick Parfitt and singer George Michael also checked out.
Today: countdown from number 20 to 16.
French folk singer Helen Furguson started to play guitar at the age of 27. The instrument was a birthday present and it soon became clear that was she was a natural. Her teacher (now partner) Julien Pras taught her the basics and she started writing her own material. The songs turned into a project and they named themselves Queen Of The Meadow. The debut album Aligned With Juniper could have been released during the UK Seventies folk boom, with hints of psychedelic, pastoral pop.
Ferguson looked at her immediate surroundings and personal life for her lyrics. She writes about shattered dreams, nightmares and lucky breaks. The keyword is intimacy. She proofs that facing her inner demons can be turned into songs that are both soothing and confident. Aligned With Juniper is like an unlocked diary, for all to see and hear. Recommended if you like Sandy Denny.
