Australian Automotive From February 2015

Paul McCartney creates a splash whenever he releases a new album, but Ringo Starr stays a bit on the sidelines, cranking out records and tours to a smaller, dedicated audience. Starr is under no delusion that he might suddenly have a Top 10 smash: he's happy to be a working musician, which is all he ever wanted to be. After all, he was a working musician before he was a Beatle, a beginning he celebrates on "Rory & the Hurricanes," the opening track of Postcards from Paradise, his 18th studio solo album. "Rory & the Hurricanes" is part of a long line of latter-day autobiographical tunes from Ringo, and that's not the only similarity Postcards from Paradise shares with the records Starr has made in the new millennium…

Robin Taylor is quite a prolific Danish guitarist, recording and performing both as a solo artist and also leader of Taylor’s Universe since the mid 80s. Each new release contains new compositions bringing some familiarity with things past and surprises of new things to come. For this outing, From Scratch, the Universe is Robin (electric and bass guitars, keyboards, percussion, etc.), Karsten Vogel (sax and bass clarinet), Claus Bøhling (electric guitar), Thomas Thor Viderøulstrup (miniMoog), and Klaus Thrane (drums). Guests include Finn Olafsson (electric guitar), Jakob Mygind (sax), Carsten Sindvald (sax), and the voices of Jytte Lindberg, Louise Nipper, and Jan Fischer…

Delmark recording artist Rockin' Johnny Burgin is the new modern king of Chicago West Side blues. He recorded "Greetings from Greaseland" with the cream of the crop of the San Francisco Bay blues scene at California's funkiest studio, Greaseland. This CD, his sixth, features Aki Kumar on harp, Kid Andersen on gtr, Vance Ehlers on bass and June Core on drums. It also features the first recordings of Johnny on harp. There's some great chemistry and blues feeling on display on his first ever California recording with these great Bay area blues players.

Harrison Kennedy is a Black Canadian electric blues, R&B, and soul blues, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for being the lead vocalist on the Chairmen of the Board song, "Chairman of the Board", but has had a varied solo career since the mid-1970s. He was awarded the 2016 "Blues Album of the Year" Juno Award for his release, This Is From Here. It was Kennedy's sixth nomination for that Award. He is also a Blues Music Award, and multiple Maple Blues Award nominee.

Lindsey Stirling brings her futurist world of electronic big beats fused with violin, dance, and animation to London s Forum Theatre. Filmed live during her Shatter Me World Tour, the 90 minute live show features her smash single Shatter Me along with several other tracks from her sophomore album which debuted at #2 on Billboard s Top 200 album chart.

Max Richter’s landmark 8.5 hour work SLEEP in an abrdiged 90 min. version. The SLEEP project explores new ways for music and consciousness to interact, a “personal lullaby for a frenetic world…a manifesto for a slower pace of existence.”