Mthly Throughline

Mark Knopfler is an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose distinctive blend of rock, country, blues, and other roots traditions bears a sonic stamp all his own. One of the most celebrated British guitar heroes to emerge in the late 1970s and '80s, he first rose to fame as the leader of Dire Straits, where his songwriting and incisive guitar work played a decisive role in making them an international success story. Landing major chart hits on both sides of the Atlantic with songs like 1978's "Sultans of Swing" and 1985's "Money for Nothing" (the latter anchoring their landmark 1985 album Brothers in Arms), Knopfler's dry wit and smooth, earthy guitar style helped Dire Straits cut a unique throughline that somehow traversed both the more traditional pub rock style of the '70s and the excess of the MTV era.

We’ve always been careful not to call Balmat an ambient label, because we like having the freedom to move, to drift, to morph. But with our 11th release, we turn our ears—proudly, blissfully—to a strain of ambient at its most timeless. The appropriately titled Dreams & Whispers comes from Warsaw’s Bartosz Kruczyński, who has recorded under a number of guises, Earth Trax, as well as his own name. Over the years, he’s touched upon deep house, breakbeats, acid, techno, electro, IDM, and more; often, the throughline running through a given album is simply the refusal to remain in any one place for long—well, that, and his unusually nuanced ear for harmony and texture.

Big Loud Records heavy hitter HARDY, crowned “Nashville’s nü-metal king” by the Los Angeles Times, is set to release his first ever full album rock project, Quit!!, on July 12. The long-awaited LP features singles “ROCKSTAR,” currently climbing at rock radio, “PSYCHO” and title track “QUIT!!” HARDY soared to new heights in 2023 with the release of his critically acclaimed half-country, half-rock sophomore album the mockingbird & THE CROW, adding to 4.6 billion career streams. The 17-track effort debuted top five all-genre on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and topped seven additional Billboard charts in its first week, including Top Country Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Album Sales. The pride of Philadelphia, Mississippi has earned his reputation as “a promising purveyor of keeping the spirit of classic heavy Southern rock alive” (American Songwriter), “capable of writing the big hits for radio, obstinate enough to do something completely unexpected, and savvy enough to find the throughline for it all” (Rolling Stone). A five-time ACM award winner and two-time CMA award winner, HARDY has also won three CMA Triple Play awards, was named the 2022 BMI Country Songwriter of the Year and is a three-time AIMP Songwriter of the Year. HARDY has written 15 #1 singles including game-changing two-times Platinum duet “wait in the truck” feat. Lainey Wilson and first-ever rock radio #1 “JACK.” He’s previously toured with Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean and more.

Big Loud Records heavy hitter HARDY, crowned “Nashville’s nü-metal king” by the Los Angeles Times, is set to release his first ever full album rock project, Quit!!, on July 12. The long-awaited LP features singles “ROCKSTAR,” currently climbing at rock radio, “PSYCHO” and title track “QUIT!!” HARDY soared to new heights in 2023 with the release of his critically acclaimed half-country, half-rock sophomore album the mockingbird & THE CROW, adding to 4.6 billion career streams. The 17-track effort debuted top five all-genre on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and topped seven additional Billboard charts in its first week, including Top Country Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Album Sales. The pride of Philadelphia, Mississippi has earned his reputation as “a promising purveyor of keeping the spirit of classic heavy Southern rock alive” (American Songwriter), “capable of writing the big hits for radio, obstinate enough to do something completely unexpected, and savvy enough to find the throughline for it all” (Rolling Stone). A five-time ACM award winner and two-time CMA award winner, HARDY has also won three CMA Triple Play awards, was named the 2022 BMI Country Songwriter of the Year and is a three-time AIMP Songwriter of the Year. HARDY has written 15 #1 singles including game-changing two-times Platinum duet “wait in the truck” feat. Lainey Wilson and first-ever rock radio #1 “JACK.” He’s previously toured with Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean and more.

We’ve always been careful not to call Balmat an ambient label, because we like having the freedom to move, to drift, to morph. But with our 11th release, we turn our ears—proudly, blissfully—to a strain of ambient at its most timeless. The appropriately titled Dreams & Whispers comes from Warsaw’s Bartosz Kruczyński, who has recorded under a number of guises, Earth Trax, as well as his own name. Over the years, he’s touched upon deep house, breakbeats, acid, techno, electro, IDM, and more; often, the throughline running through a given album is simply the refusal to remain in any one place for long—well, that, and his unusually nuanced ear for harmony and texture.

It makes sense that Jontavious Willis was a sociology and anthropology major in college. He explores American culture via country blues: Delta, Piedmont and Texas styles. Raised on gospel in Greenville, Georgia, Willis' life changed once he saw a video of Muddy Waters playing "Hoochie Coochie Man." A quick study, he mastered fingerpick, flatpick and slide guitar and earned the ultimate seal of approval when Keb' Mo' and Taj Mahal co-produced his last record, 2019's Spectacular Class. Willis' third album drills down on the rich musical history of his home state—the birthplace of Blind Willie McTell and Ma Rainey—and was recorded at the legendary Capricorn Sound Studios in Macon.

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