The Boarders

This summer sees the return of the unique collaboration between Ghanain xylophonist Isaac Birituro and British singer-songwriter Sonny Johns, AKA The Rail Abandon. Having created something of a buzz back in 2019 with their debut album Kalba - gaining support along the way from Gilles Peterson, Cerys Matthews and Tom Ravenscroft to name but a few - after something of a hiatus, the duo teased us earlier this spring with the Lapaz EP in preparation for their new LP.

With a vast discography, the success of their previous longplayer The Dream Of Lasting Peace and a reputation of being an extraordinary live act, Siena Root is back in 2020 with a new conceptual album called The Secret Of Our Time. Siena Root is well-known for its rainbow spectra of appearances, its many great guest artists, its broad musical range and its unique interpretations of classic rock music. The sound of The Seceret Of Our Time is as solid as ever, exploring the boarders between blues, psych, folk and rock.

Edward Power sets the reader down in the midst of a February 2017 blizzard that raked Utah's Uinta Range as nine snowboarders made their way into the backcountry for a day of intense adventure. As the boarders were taking their first turns, expert avalanche forecaster Craig Gordon was tracking the storm and its impact, posting one of the most dire avalanche forecasts and warnings in his career.

Siena Root came to life in Stockholm and is today considered one of the pioneering Swedish bands in roots rock music. They persistently pulled through with releasing their first album on vinyl back in 2004, long before the retro trend had people carrying down their old turntables from the attic. The quest to bring out the beauty of analogue music production to the listeners continued. The live act came to be an uncompromising show, using all the heavy vintage equipment that most bands lack the strength and passion to carry along. Even a full size multi-track tape recorder was brought on tour during the recording of the live album.

Under the title "Crossing Borders" jazz guitarist Klaus Spencker will release his new CD production. In addition to the longtime companion Peter Schwebs on the double bass in this trio line-up is the originating from Oldenburg and living in Boston / USA Exception percussionist and drummer Bertram Lehmann. "Crossing Borders" stands for overcoming internal and external borders, for musical ventures in which stylistic dividing lines are consciously transgressed. Based on jazz as a cosmopolitan art form, the three musicians embark on musical voyages of discovery in which folk and film music, contemporary jazz and free improvisation merge into sound images and stories.