Anika i go to Sleep

In 2021, the international contemporary music festival Only Connect commissioned an interpretation from I LIKE TO SLEEP of the first movement of Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalila symphony. A project which initially led to a 15-minute piece performed at the festival, with the trio re-writing the music of Messiaen, but also rewriting the music of their own. Messiaen as a reference and compositional tool may be heard in the album for those really listening for references. With “Sleeping Beauty” the trio also explore even heavier riffs than before, seasick grooves and tempi, and deeper ambient soundscapes. Through extensive improvisation, the effects and processing of the sounds are way more extreme than before, almost awakening the sleeping beauty.

I LIKE TO SLEEP are a young and energetic free jazz trio based in Trondheim. The trio were brought together by a common interest in modern jazz language, free improvisation and 70s jazz-rock. The product of these musical influences can now be experienced through the unique combination of vibraphone, baritone guitar and drums. They specialise in heavy riffs, extensive improvisation pushed to its limits, and well-written melodies a style labelled Powerjazz.

The unmistakable voice of Whitney Houston is powerful and timeless. She is one of the best-selling artists of all time with sales of over 200 million records worldwide and is the only artist to have had seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. She reached the pinnacle of pop success, becoming one of the most accomplished recording artists of all time. But her heart was always in Gospel music, and it profoundly influenced her life and career. I Go To The Rock captures her Gospel music journey. Featuring six never-before-released songs, the album gives a glimpse of the deep faith behind the voice that continues to uplift and impact countless lives around the world.

These two slightly later efforts are actually more consistently interesting than the duo's first two albums, mostly because they stop trying to sound like the Beatles or the Everly Brothers, and sound more distinctive and soulful - that's doubly true of the material off of the True Love Ways album. They rely more on their voices, which show more flexibility - P&G were never going to be blues singers, but they're far less embarrassing and more directly attuned to what they're singing here, which includes Otis Blackwell's "All Shook Up" and Leadbelly's "Good Morning Blues." The results are sometimes successful within the context of the duo's work; "Cry to Me" is a good cover and one of their better records of this era, even if the Rolling Stones did it better, and their cover of Smokey Robinson's "Who's Loving You" is astonishing. The sound is consistently good-to-excellent, though the notes are sketchy.