Music

The culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, announced the relaxing of restrictions at Thursday’s 5pm press conference where he said performances can now take place as long as they are “outside and with a limited and socially distanced audience”. … [Read more...] about Outdoor theatre and music can restart in England from 11 July

Also out this month One of Carlos Niño’s frequent accomplices, composer Laraaji, is back with Sun Piano (All Saints Records, 17 July), an album recorded on a slightly clunky piano in a Brooklyn church. His signature style is slightly thumpy: the right foot seems to be permanently on the pedal, and he’s keen on those slurring “slip notes” typical of country music pianists such as Floyd Cramer. But Laraaji’s spacey modes and hypnotic blurs can be devastatingly effective. … [Read more...] about Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Carlos Niño: Chicago Waves review – a chameleonic voyage with jazz rigour

Ennio Morricone was born born on November 10, 1928, in the Italian capital. His father Mario, a trumpet player, realized early on that his son was also musically talented. Ennio started composing music at age six, and was enrolled at the conservatory when he was 12. He first learned to play the trumpet — following his father's advice, who argued that his own talent fed his family well. Ennio later studied composition, graduating in two instead of the usual four years: a natural-born talent. … [Read more...] about Iconic Italian composer Ennio Morricone dies at 91

True to its title, Lighter is full of high-intensity moments primed for a stadium crowd to whip out phones. It’s a raw break-up record, from the sparse desperation of rock ballads like Carefully, to the vulnerable vibrato of folk song Bloom. Missal’s deep husk of a voice is an immense instrument, and while she does a lot of belting, it’s at its most impactful when she shows a spectrum of restraint and power within one song, as she does on the smouldering Just Like You, and the acoustic guitar-peppered opener How Does It Feel? (the latter feels made for summer movie credits). … [Read more...] about Donna Missal: Lighter review – progressive torch singer sounds strangely retro

“A really big thing about this song for me is how we all think that we are good citizens without having empathy or trying to relate to other people in society. We’re quite happy to prop up this Australian larrikin ideal, but is that even real? To have that message coming from men, I guess I hoped that that would actually drive home the words a bit more.” … [Read more...] about Cash Savage casts an all-man choir: ‘I hoped it would drive home the words’