News From Hemifran April 2015

Hemifrån is an independent A&R, promotion and marketing company, based in the heart of Sweden, specializing in, what they call, “gut music” – The kind of music that you can feel in your gut, no matter what. Hemifran is promoting a lot of singer-songwriter, westcoast-pop, country, AOR and more. Here are featured some of their latest news – it is not all west coast, but dig into it!

Brad Absher & Swamp Royale – Lucky Dog

Brad Absher  – singer, songwriter, and guitarist,  lives in Houston, Texas. Brad was raised in Lake Charles, LA and his unique sound reflects the area’s Swamp Pop influence he first heard on South Louisiana AM radio. After moving to Tulsa in the late 70’s, teenaged Absher was soon studying with the city’s best, including Gerry Lewis & the Playboy’s guitarist, Tommy Tripplehorn. Absher credits this relationship as key to his development, saying “It wasn’t really formal lessons as much as just hanging out becoming friends and getting to hear him play live.”  Soon thereafter, slide guitar made its way into his sound after seeing Ry Cooder and his East Texas supergroup “Chicken Skin Review.” His musical expertise has been recognized widely throughout his career, referred to frequently in Tulsa as a  “Guitar God.” In 2013,  he competed and was selected as Houston’s International Blues Challenge Regional Winner.  He and his band were sent on behalf of the Houston Blues Society to represent Houston at the IBC’s in Memphis. More information at Hemifran.

Peter Blachley – Nevada Sky

”Nevada Sky” documents a life of inspiration, reinvention, and marks a profound coming together of many of the facets of Peter Blachley’s life — family, photography, music, loves won and lost, and professional and personal aspirations. In Blachley’s journey, he’s been a carpenter and served in Vietnam. His second act was being a music video pioneer through making culture-defining videos with the Stray Cats, George Thorogood and Duran Duran as an executive producer and marketing visionary. During this time, Blachley worked at Capitol-EMI, and he went from the mailroom up to being music a marketing executive before cross-fading to EMI’s Picture Music International as music video division executive, content producer and marketerer. At 50, his music business tenure ended, and he reinvented himself as a gallery owner, co-finding the fine art music photography gallery the Morrison Hotel Gallery with partners Richard Horowitz and iconic photographer Henry Diltz. More information at Hemifran.

Duffy Kane – Dead Man Walkin´

Duffy Kane is an American country blues-rock boogie rebel who plays a mean guitar, howls up a sandstorm and writes a helluva insightful lyric. He’s a thinkin’ man’s axe slinger with a lot of fret board facility and even more on his mind. After transferring years of classical violin studies into self taught guitar wizardry, the Weirton, West Virginia, native came up aping hard rockin’ yahoos like Ted Nugent and Black Sabbath. He swiftly graduated to the truly challenging fretwork of country and jazz players such as Jerry Reed, Brent Mason, Speedy West, Pat Martino, Mike Stern and all-in-one master Stevie Ray Vaughan. This rocketed his nimble pickin’ and chordal harmony chops to Mars. Today, Duffy Kane is a hard working perfectionist who spends a 3rd of his day sheddin’ on guitar, a third devouring mind-expanding politico reading (“Atlas Shrugged,” for example) and the final 3rd terrorizing audiences at night with his songs that are both instrumentally and lyrically stimulating. Thus the title of his 6th and latest independent CD, “Dead Man Walkin'”, songs of life challenges and conscience for an America under siege from the inside as well as diabolical outside forces. More information at Hemifran.

Cheryl Barnes – Listen To This

Cheryl Dyrithe Barnes is a classically trained jazz singer in possession of remarkable depth, range and technique. Beloved around the world as a captivating live performer, Cheryl shied away from making records for nearly a decade. Now in 2015, Ms Barnes returns with her 4th and finest album to date, a studio recording entitled “Listen To This” for which every one of the 12 selections is a personally inspired gem. Produced by Rahn Coleman and also featuring the impassioned piano playing of her husband Phil Cabasso, “Listen To This” was patiently rendered over a 5-year period, prepared with tender loving care utilizing Los Angeles’ finest, including soloists saxophonists Rickey Woodard and Pete Christlieb, pianists John Hammond and Joel Scott, and trumpeter Nolan Shaheed.

“Listen To This” moves from 2 tunes penned by Mark Winkler (the sassy “Like Jazz” and the evocative nostalgia of “That Afternoon In Harlem” to inventive adaptations of “When I Am Laid In Earth” (from Henry Purcell’s opera “Dido & Aeneas”) and Joni Mitchell’s epic “Come in From the Cold”. There’s even a Christmas song. “I love how varied the album is, because I’m varied”, Cheryl beams. “The complexity of jazz, of improvisation, expression and harmony, is clearly there. Rahn, Phil and our engineer Aaron Testerman spent hours, I’m talking marathon sessions, working”, Cheryl shares. “Phil would come home with his eyes like x’s! We didn’t have a deadline so we never rushed. A beautiful evolution blossomed through the process”. More information at Hemifran.

Johanna Börjeson – Bara Är

Johanna Börjeson is a singer and musician from Stockholm, Sweden, who writes music in the field of folk-country-rock. Through her songs Johanna tells stories about her life as a young adult as well as everyday life with her husband and three children. Johanna’s musical journey started early. She began discovering music and songwriting through the piano before she had turned seven years old and she has always known that she wants to sing for a living in one way or another. Her passion for music has brought Johanna in many different directions – She has played the cello in different orchestras and she has always been singing in many different choirs and bands at both small and a big events. She has a long experience as back up singer both live and in studio sessions with different artists. More information at Hemifran.

Boy=Girl – S.T.

Boy = Girl is a power duo. They may play sparse and intimate. They may rock it out. Either way you get penetrating harmonies and captivating musicianship. Boy = Girl mixes traditional and contemporary music, with an emphasis on original compositions. Both successful bandleaders, with international touring experience on their own, Jen (Mo’ Mojo) and Paul (Hillbilly Idol) bring together their natural vocal blend, multi-instrumental skills, song-writing, and appreciation and understanding of American music styles, with their love of performing with each other.

In this duo, Jen plays the upright and electric bass and guitar, though she’s well versed on Cajun accordion, piano and other instruments. Gifted with a beautiful voice, she is the kind of singer that can carry a song, pull you in and not let you go. Her background in blues, zydeco, old-time, country and bluegrass has shaped her eclectic vocal and instrumental style. More information at Hemifran.

Chris Cuddy – Dear Elvis

The new album “Dear Elvis” by Vanishing Castle artist Cris Cuddy marks a jubilant return to his rock’n’roll roots and this collection harkens back to his several recordings with trail-blazing roots rockers Max Mouse and the Gorillas, who answered that age old question “Can A Gorilla Sing The Blues” with a mighty howl which former Spin Magazine Editor Glenn O’Brien labelled “tortured-with-a-twist-honkey-soul-twang”. More information at Hemifran.

ODi – Maslow´s Songbook

“Maslow’s Songbook” is the debut album from Irish singer-songwriter ODi, whose music combines folk, acoustic, pop, rock and indie. ODi spent her early years in Wexford listening to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, David Gray, Frames and PJ Harvey and was inspired to write her own songs. After posting some early home recordings on MySpace people began to listen, liked what they heard, and asked when ODi’s next gig was. Armed with a cheap guitar won in an auction on eBay, she headed to her local venue to blag her first gig. More information at Hemifran.

Kaurna Cronin – Glass Fool

“Glass Fool” is the debut album from Australian singer-songwriter and folk-rocker Kaurna Cronin, whose music combines folk, acoustic, pop, rock and indie. Growing up amongst the Australian folk festival circuit with his family and listening to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and Paul Kelly, Kaurna began to write songs and shared them performing on the streets of Australia and Europe. Kaurna Cronin combines grand story-telling, energetic folk jams, and harmonies to boot with a natural ability to engage and inspire. In the past years Australian song-smith Kaurna Cronin has performed in venues, on street corners and festivals worldwide supporting the likes of Keith Urban, Stu Larsen, Jordie Lane and Roscoe James-Irwin (Cat Empire). More information at Hemifran.