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C Duncan / Alwyn Jones – Hallamshire Hotel, Sheffield 1.02.2025 – Backseat Mafia
The Hallamshire Hotel in Sheffield, with its 1970s-inspired browns and oranges, provided an ideal setting for C Duncans autumnal yet lush indie pop as he arrived in the city as part of Independent Venue Week. The Mercury Prize-nominated singer-songwriter showcased tracks from his latest album, It’s Only a Love Song, released a week or so before, 2025, along with selections from his earlier work. Performing solo with keyboard, guitar, and backing tracks, Duncan’s hushed yet assured vocals captivated the audience, and he charmed them further with his witty and self deprecating patter between songs. Highlights of the evening included the steggeringly beautiful ‘Think About It’ and the enduring favourite ‘Say’…
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Tenzin Choegyal along with Matt Corby, and Rohin Jones craft a meditative soundscape with new album “Snow Flower” – Backseat Mafia
Grammy-nominated Tibetan singer/musician/composer, Tenzin Choegyal has just released the first track, the titular “Snow Flower” from his forthcoming album, a collaboration with multi-instrumentalists Matt Corby and Rohin Jones (of The Middle East), and songwriter Alex Henriksson. The song is a poignant exploration of life’s impermanence, beautifully rendered in Tibetan and played on the dranyen, a traditional Tibetan lute-guitar. The track features minimalistic, yet powerful lyrics sung by Choegyal with a textured richness, while Corby provides the harmonious backing vocals. Tenzin Choegyal, is a Grammy-nominated artist who brings the rich tapestries of Tibetan nomadic music traditions to the global stage. Born into a nomadic family in Tibet, his early years in…
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Coruja Jones Drops Haunting Indie-Folk Single ‘The Day I Die’ – Backseat Mafia
Manchester-based musician and songwriter Dan Jones, known professionally as Coruja Jones, has released his latest single, ‘The Day I Die.’ The introspective track, produced by Sam Vicary of The Cinematic Orchestra, serves as the lead single from Jones’s forthcoming EP, Undo, slated for release later this year. ‘The Day I Die’ is a profound exploration of surrender and acceptance, capturing the essence of melancholic indie-folk. The song delves into the emotional journey of healing and moving on from grief, building on themes introduced in Jones’s previous work, which addressed the raw pain of his father’s passing in 2016. This new single represents a significant step in his healing process, reflecting…
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South Facing Festival – Love Motion Presents Grace Jones, Crystal Place Concert Bowl, London – Backseat Mafia
The word ‘iconic’ gets thrown about a great deal in music, but there’s really no other person more deserving of the accolade than Grace Jones. Not only for her music, but her visual artistry (not surprising considering her long-term connections with Andy Warhol, Jean-Paul Goude & Keith Haring). At the age of 76, she is quite frankly a phenomenon all on her own! Appearing at an equally iconic venue, the Crystal Palace Concert Bowl, the home to many classic gigs of the ‘70’s and ‘80’s including Bob Marley’s last ever gig in the UK. Not looking quite like it used to, but still has the famous pond, where many fans…
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Moxxy Jones – Unnoticed – Backseat Mafia
Synth-pop duo Moxxy Jones has finally unveiled their highly anticipated debut album, ‘Unnoticed’. Over the past two years, the US-based pair has steadily released singles from this 11-track offering, culminating in a colourful collection of genre-blending songs that evoke a sense of nostalgia. Opening with ‘This Time’, the album quickly introduces you to the duo’s flare for textured soundscapes, boasting electro-pop goodness with its soaring female-fronted vocal lines and classic dance-inspired drum patterns making it a vibrant offering that perfectly lines up the rest of the album. Elsewhere on the album ‘Sinking Into You’, featuring vocals by Courtney Grace showcases the duo’s versatility. It begins with a dark, arpeggiated synth-bass…
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Kelly Jones – Town Hall, Birmingham 05.05.24 – Backseat Mafia
Kelly Jones brought a captivating night of music to a sold out Birmingham crowd, not once but three times this weekend is support of new album ‘Inevitable Incredible’ which came out on May 3rd 2024. Kelly Jones, lead singer of Welsh rockers, Stereophonics has really changed the pace with this album and these live shows feel like we’ve been invited into his living room for a personal performance. Upon getting to the venue, everyone was asked to put their phones in sealed bags for the performance, Kelly wanted us to have no distractions, and take us on a journey for an hour where you don’t need your phone and you…
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Terry Jones speaks up in ‘Silent Like Chaplin’ video; new EP out next month – Backseat Mafia
‘What’s Terry Jones doing releasing a video for a song off an album that’s already been out 18 months?’, you may find yourself asking. Well, the song in question is just as relevant as it was back in October of 2022, when the Pittsburgh artist released his debut solo album Friday the 14th; and furthermore, the video is excellent. ‘Silent Like Chaplin’ examines the way blowback in unfairly meted out towards Black people who protest their mistreatment; or as Jones puts it: “[It] is the story of how ‘outspoken’ Blacks in America are often treated negatively for having opinions. Black public figures are always treated well when they ‘stay in…
