Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
A tribute to Ray Charles who went to #1 on this date 60 years ago to start part 2 along with a tribute to Leon Bridges making his debut surrounded by the new funk & soul for this week. Dan Lloyd's AMPED rock atom smasher brings it home.
"The Drop with Danno" on GFN 광주영어방송 98.7FM in Gwangju & 93.7FM in Yeosu, Korea. An eclectic radio curation of all things musical spanning the spectrum every week. Broadcasting 8-10pm KST nightly.
June 23, 2022
The Drop with Danno
Bobby Harden & The Soulful Saints – Feels So Good
Nurdjana – Do The Right Thing (Revision)
Laura Rain & The Caesars – Diamond In The Rough
Young Gun Silver Fox – West Side Jet
Mica Millar – More Than You Give Me
Kowloon – Today
Ray Charles – You Don’t Know Me
Ray Charles – Born to Lose
Leon Bridges – Coming Home
Thee Sacred Souls – Easier Said Than Done
Khruangbin & Leon Bridges – Mariella
Ron Trent & Khruangbin – Flos Potentia (Sugar, Cotton, Tobacco)
I.
It is 20 hours past midnight after a bit of an overcast hazy rainy one as it seems rainy season is officially upon us here in the peninsula we call home, or at least most of us tuned in tonight. Naturally wherever you are we are grateful for you tuning in whether now or later, but whatever timezone this is Danno as always, ready to go tonight with our Sampled & AMPED funk punk soul rock Thursday night, drizzled into consciousness as June 23, 2022. Thursday night is here and it’s time to get funky to start with Dan Lloyd finishing the job with all the rocks he’s got in tow for our AMPED feature this evening. Lots of great new, recent, and slept on funk & soul vibes to let flow through tonight in hour 1, with a couple friends of the show along with a couple of features for part 2 involving two of our very favorite artists. Dan Lloyd as always has lots to say and do after we hit 9 bells tonight, so do keep it locked. However, it’s time to get this boat afloat in the audio seas and as mentioned we’re saving the history for later, but we do start holy and old school with The Soulful Saints because it Feels So Good. THIS is The Drop.
Bobby Harden & The Soulful Saints – Feels So Good
The Drop has officially commenced with the audio slap happery here on our Sampled & AMPED Thursday night. Danno here helping to keep the funk alive in our first hour although do note I do not claim to do such things on my own, and Dan Lloyd rolls the rocks in hour 2 this evening for our AMPED feature, slamming the door shut with emphasis.
Now for those just joining us we opened not with history as that comes in part 2 tonight with a double feature, so we started fresh and oh so clean with Bobby Harden & The Soulful Saints and a tune titled Feels So Good which, indeed it does.
Admittedly, it doesn’t feel good for me personally to have missed this little 7” heater, released physically in late March of this year, digitally late last year, but obviously we’re very glad to play it on the air tonight and not whiff on it totally. This release is the fourth 45 for a boutique label out of Brooklyn called Dala Records, and for those not familiar with Bobby Harden and his very own soulful saints, the band operates out of their adopted home base in New York as well. Bobby Harden is originally out of Youngstown, OH which admittedly is a town that gets a lot of bad stuff thrown out there about it in this fully deindustrialized era in which we live. However, for some positivity, did you know that The O’Jays and Bobby Womack originally hail from Youngstown as well? True story.
Don’t knock a place until you take a look in, fair listener. Anyway, can’t wait to hear more from this band and Dala Records, that tune is fantastic.
#9870, @gfnthedrop, pod.
Okay, so we got some new & recent from friends of the show coming up to start the next block, as we’ll give Nurdjana’s new EP a spin which just dropped last week, along with Laura Rain & The Caesars who we absolutely adore, and then we got a very nice new single from Young Gun Silver Fox to check out and that’ll close the first block of fresh cuts for tonight’s gig. THIS is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday night.
______
Back to the mic as we close out the first fourth of our nightly game of audio mirrors for this Thursday night. Danno here designing the roundabouts with only the barest minimum of stop signs, and we are amidst this week’s sampled funk & soul first hour tonight, with Dan Lloyd bringing the rock and/or roll in the 2nd half of the show. We just opened with a triad of friends of the show, so let’s talk positive...
Nurdjana – Do The Right Thing (Revision) (…of course, we welcomed the Dutch Alberta-based soul singer in for our June 10 show for a world premiere of this and another joint off the artist’s fantastic new EP coming home. The record on the main is a tribute to Nurdjana’s dearly departed father Rob, with some tunes written by him, and others dedicated to his memory. Do check it out, Nurdjana (sp.) Coming Home, available everywhere.)
Laura Rain & The Caesars – Diamond In The Rough (…another artist we loved having on the show this year was Laura Rain who hails from Detroit. This tune features on the band’s album Rise Again, which dropped in April via NRK Records. Interestingly, both of these tunes were featured on a great playlist on Spotify called New Funk & Soul Weekly run by Bristol Funk based in the UK, so big up to all three involved, both the curator and two of our favorite artists.)
Young Gun Silver Fox – West Side Jet (…the yacht rock project is back with this tune as of June 17 along with a Nintendo game styled video. For those unfamiliar, the group is the duo of Shawn Lee and Andy Platts, and their album from last year called Canyons is one of our absolute top albums of last year if you’d like to hear more.)
Okay, so that’s just about it for our first quarter this evening, BUT we got a couple more cuts to chew on before we jump it to part 2. Up next is Manchester-based Mica Millar and a tune called More Than You Give Me, which is off the Heaven Knows LP which came out June 10 if you’d like to check more and which we do indeed very highly recommend. Following that and taking us into the break we have LA-based Kowloon and a tune called Today. The artist is a musician and filmmaker that on the music front is one of our favorites and just seems to get better with each release, with Today continuing that trend. This is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursdays.
Mica Millar – More Than You Give Me
Kowloon – Today
II
The Drop cold opens the slow burn 2nd can in tonight’s funk punk soul rock audio feast. Danno here, holding it down solo until we get Dan Lloyd back in for our weekly AMPED obliterator for parts 3 & 4. However, lots to do until then, so let’s get with the history opener, the first of two here in part 2...
Ray Charles – You Don’t Know Me (….)
Ray Charles – Born To Lose (…for those who know music, both these cuts are a couple of the slower feature on Ray’s Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music, released in April of 1962. It was on this date 60 years ago that the double LP went to #1 on the Billboard charts, and into timeless classic territory forever after that. If you haven’t taken a full dive, this one’s a must, and rest in power to Ray Charles, one of the best of all time.)
#9870, @gfnthedrop, pod.
Moving forward, we have another history feature with a trio of cuts bookended by subject two of our history double dip in Leon Bridges both then and now, and we’ll add Thee Sacred Souls for the fresh meat in the sammich. More notes on nutrition come forth after you listen in, but for now THIS is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday evening.
___
The Drop returns rubbing the eyes as the strain from all the historical reading has taken a toll, but we love it, we’re not gonna lie. Danno here amidst the funk & soul and such, Dan Lloyd shuts the front door later with our AMPED rock feature coming up in just a few. Now, we had a bit of a Leon Bridges feature for our 2nd bit of history tonight, so let’s get to then and now along with what happened in the middle…
Leon Bridges – Coming Home (…ironically on a night where we played Nurdjana’s new EP of the same name, it was on this date in 2015 that the debut of Bridges went down with the Coming Home LP, and that was of course the title track. Fast forward seven years and Bridges is just one of the best around, so we had to start and finish the triangle tonight Bridges and nobody else, but in the middle we had something new from...)
Thee Sacred Souls – Easier Said Than Done (…for those uninitiated, the band is out of San Diego and is a huge proponent of Chicano soul, if in fact you’re looking for a Texas connection. This is a single to the band’s upcoming self-titled debut LP, which is out August 26.)
Khruangbin & Leon Bridges – Mariella (…hard to follow up on the mega-popular Texas Sun EP from 2020, but it appears that this year’s Texas Moon LP has indeed done exactly that. Khruangbin of course are the trio that claim lineage from Houston TX, but those in the know are positive they are from somewhere beyond the solar system, and that closes our Leon Bridges tribute tonight, but not Khruangbin.)
And that is the band with the Thai name for airplane has a newer collaborator of late to go with Bridges in Chicago’s Ron Trent. So, we’re gonna play a collab cut between the two called Flos Potentia Sugar, Cotton, Tobacco that dropped in late April. This is featuring on a continuous DJ mix and deluxe DJ album dropping tomorrow called What Do The Stars Say To You, flexed by the legendary Francois Kevorkian so mark that one, that should be amazing. And that’s gonna close things spacey before Dan Lloyd nukes everything upon entry. THIS is The Drop at the half.
Ron Trent feat Khruangbin – Flos Potentia (Sugar, Cotton, Tobacco)
III & IV AMPED
Weezer – The Opposite of Me
Black midi – Eat Men Eat
Goose – Arrow
Sports Team – Cool It Kid
Alexisonfire – Sans Soleil
Russian Circles- Conduit
Beach Rats – Blown to Bits
Thick - Loser
Norma Jean – Call For the Blood
Narrow Head – T.W.I.N.
Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck – Venus in Furs
Weezer – The Opposite of Me
Start calling it the Great Weezer Way, because Weezer is headed to Broadway. The news coincides with the release of the latest EP in the band’s ongoing SZNZ series.
Rivers Cuomo and co. will take over The Broadway Theatre for a week beginning Tuesday, September 13th. Across five shows, the band will perform each song cycle of their SZNZ project — Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter — followed by a special encore on closing night. Each night, the band also promises to play corresponding deep cuts from their extensive, career-spanning catalog of three decades. Tickets for the residency go on sale June 24th at 10 am ET via Telecharge.
With today being the summer equinox, Weezer also unfurled SZNZ: Summer in all its glory. The follow-up to March’s SZNZ: Spring and its alt radio hit “A Little Bit Love,” the second chapter of the seasonal project includes lead single “Records” as well as highlights like opener “Lawn Chair,” “Thank You and Good Night,” and “What’s the Good of Being Good.”
Black midi – Eat Men Eat
black midi have dropped their biting new single “Eat Men Eat” from their upcoming third studio album Hellfire, along with its accompanying horror Western music video.
The song might arrive with some familiarity to fans of the UK trio, who have performed a live version of the tune since 2021 under its working title “Flamenco.” Its original namesake derives from the song’s use of Flamenco music elements, immediately present in the driving acoustic guitar melody and variety of palmas and percussive nods provided by London-based Flamenco specialist Demi García Sabat.
Lyrically, “Eat Men Eat” deepens black midi lore by building out an elaborate tale around The Red River Mining Company, which was briefly mentioned in the song “Diamond Stuff” from Hellfire’s immediate predecessor, 2021’s Cavalcade, though its sinister machinations are finally revealed here.
Hellfire is due on July 15th via Rough Trade Records.
Goose – Arrow
Connecticut rockers Goose have performed the song “Arrow” live in concert for many years. The group recently recorded and released the song as a single and video from their upcoming new album, Dripfield, via No Coincidence Records on Friday, 24 June. For this rendition, the jam band have added a pulsating saxophone via Stuart Bogie (Arcade Fire, the Hold Steady) to give the song a serious funk vibe. The music hits a steady groove before introspectively slowing down and letting one’s mind catch up with one’s body.
The song has been a fan favorite. Goose wanted to make sure that the arrangement captured the live spirit. Peter Anspach (vocals, keys, guitar) explained, “The resulting version was created the day we recorded it and was one of most exciting days for us all. During the opening hits, we all took pots and pans from the kitchen and just dropped them on the ground of the studio to create a wilder, more outrageous impact.”
Sports Team – Cool It Kid
Over the last couple months, Brit-rockers Sports Team have been rolling out their new album Gulp! (July 22) So far, they’ve shared a couple tracks, including “R Entertainment” and “The Game.” Today, they’re back with another one.
Sports Team’s latest is called “Cool It Kid.” The band says it’s about “getting too deep in your stress about stuff and sometimes saying to yourself, ‘You know what, maybe sometimes you should sit back and it’s best not to react on your intense, irrational emotions.'” It also features Sorry’s Asha Lorenz on vocals.
Alexisonfire – Sans Soleil
Otherness, the band’s first album in 13 years, releases this week, and finds the Canadian band expanding upon the post-hardcore sound they made their name on in the 2000s. This song in particular stands out among the singles; an anthemic psychedelic rock ballad that showcases the band in a completely different light. Early reviews have been positive, too.
Russian Circles- Conduit
Russian Circles are returning with a new album, Gnosis, arriving August 19th. The band has also announced tour dates and shared the lead single, “Conduit.”
In support of Gnosis, Russian Circles are heading out on a fall North American headlining tour, followed by a co-headlining European run with Cult of Luna set for Spring 2023. The North American outing kicks off September 15th in Minneapolis and runs through a homecoming show on November 12th in Chicago. Rezn will support the second half of the itinerary. Get tickets via Ticketmaster.
The instrumental post-metal trio employed a new songwriting process for Gnosis. Instead of building songs out of fragments in the practice room, the band members wrote and recorded full compositions independently. These were then presented to the other members “so that their initial vision was retained.”
The album’s press release reveals that the more cinematic songs were dropped in favor of “physically cathartic pieces.” Based on the pummeling chugger that is “Conduit,” we’ll take the band at its word. At four and half minutes, it’s on the shorter side for a Russian Circles song and gets straight to the point.
Gnosis was recorded by engineer Kurt Ballou (guitarist of Converge) at his God City Studios, with Russian Circles adding additional tracking done at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio in Chicago.
Beach Rats – Blown to Bits
Next month (July 29), Beach Rats — the Asbury Park-bred band whose members have clocked time in Lifetime, Bouncing Souls, Bad Religion, and Minor Threat — are releasing their debut full-length Rat Beat. They’ve shared the title track and “Heavy Conversation” from it so far, and today they’re back with one more, “Blown To Bits,” which is sort of wistful but still blows by in a minute and change.
Thick - Loser
Brooklyn trio and Band To Watch alums THICK are back with news of a new album, Happy Now (August 19), the follow-up to their 2020 debut LP 5 Years Behind. Happy Now is out in August, and the band is introducing it with “Loser,” a live-wire rock song that reminds me a bit of Colleen Green. “Do you think that I’m a loser? I love when people tell me I should quit,” goes the hook. “I’ll never be a winner/ I love when people tell me I should quit.”
“Especially in music, it’s so easy to feel like a loser and a fuck-up,” the band said in a statement. “We want people to know that it’s okay to mess up and that everyone’s a loser sometimes. It’s really the best way to live, instead of trying to be number-one all the time.”
Norma Jean – Call For the Blood
NORMA JEAN will release a new album, "Deathrattle Sing For Me", on August 12 via Solid State Records. The official music video for the first single, "Call For The Blood", which boasts unique, digital-sounding guitars, can be seen below.
"Accept that everything is a draft," says NORMA JEAN vocalist Cory Brandan about the song. "It helps to get it done. We banded together to make this record and to me, this song is the rallying cry. Composed by my brother, [co-producer] Matthew [Putman], this song was written around a single idea, altered heavily in post, and then mimicked by us. The studio and post-production elements acted as an instrument. The experimentation and the process behind this track was a major point of inspiration for many other things we ended up doing throughout 'Death Rattle Sing For Me'. I feel like Matthew wrote this song with my voice in mind and I wanted to do something very unique over it. Dangerous rock 'n' roll! Blast it!"
Narrow Head – T.W.I.N.
Houston’s Narrow Head have a style that’s about halfway between early-’90s shoegaze and early-’90s post-hardcore; they sound like the most seasick thing that you might year on alt-rock radio back in the high grunge era. It’s been two years since Narrow Head released their excellent album 12th House Rock, and they’ve just shared their first new song since that LP landed.
Narrow Head are playing Manchester’s hardcore-heavy Outbreak Festival this weekend, and their new stand-alone single “T.W.I.N.” is the kind of thing that will probably sound pretty great when heard at an extremely loud volume in a big crowd of people. It’s a big, churning rocker with a bittersweet vocal and a whole lot of guitar fuzz. A whole lot of bands are going for that Hum style these days, but Narrow Head might be the best of them.
Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck – Venus in Furs
Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck have a collaborative album on the way, and now, they’ve dropped the latest preview, a cover of “Venus in Furs” by The Velvet Underground.
Whereas the original is notable for John Cale’s electric viola and Moe Tucker’s bass drum and tambourine shake backbeat, Depp and Beck’s take is more straightforward and sludges forward with fuzzed-out guitar and bleary vocals. Listen to it below.
In addition to their Velvet Underground cover, Depp and Beck’s upcoming album, 18, will feature them taking on songs by The Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, and The Everly Brothers. It will also contain two Depp originals, including the previously released “This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr.”
“I haven’t had another creative partner like him for ages,” Beck said about Depp in a statement accompanying the album’s announcement. “He was a major force on this record. I just hope people will take him seriously as a musician because it’s a hard thing for some people to accept that Johnny Depp can sing rock and roll.”
Although this new endeavor comes after the conclusion of Depp’s defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, the actor has actually been a rock musician for years, most famously as a member of The Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry. Along with his latest foray into music, Depp is currently in pre-production for a film in which he’ll play King Louis V, but it’s yet to be seen if Hollywood views him as too much of a liability for tentpole blockbusters.
However, this isn’t the last we’ve heard of the trial. Heard, who won $2 million in her own countersuit, reportedly can’t afford to pay the $10.35 million in compensatory and punitive damages awarded to Depp and intends to appeal the decision.