Another World was produced by band member Scott Ligon and The Flat Five. It was recorded/engineered by Flat Five drummer Alex Hall at his popular Chicago studio, Reliable Recorders with some additional sessions done at Wilco’s gearhead paradise, The Loft, engineered by Mark Greenberg.

The charms of this band are manifest. These guys are all about

Another World was produced by band member Scott Ligon and The Flat Five. It was recorded/engineered by Flat Five drummer Alex Hall at his popular Chicago studio, Reliable Recorders with some additional sessions done at Wilco’s gearhead paradise, The Loft, engineered by Mark Greenberg.

The charms of this band are manifest. These guys are all about vocal harmony — five hardcore vocal buzz junkies — and they share a vast range of influences from The Free Design to The Three Degrees to Captain Beefheart and a restless desire to explore a song from the inside out: to see just how far out it’ll go. This sophomore album showcases The Flat Five’s trademark keen musicianship and their slightly subversive sense of humor. It’s marked by the playful wide-eyed sweetness that colors all their music, tempered with their appreciation for how freaking good it feels to listen to a beautiful bummer on repeat sometimes. Like Charles Schultz said: “Happiness is a Sad Song.”

Pravda Records proudly presents the sixth full-length by Iowa City Ambassadors of groove The Diplomats Of Solid Sound, entirely mixed and edited at The Magic Barn in Iowa City and inspired by the sounds of the best 60s style soul and funk. Having already cut 5 full-length albums, "Instrumental Action Soul" (Prescription Records - 2001), "Lets Cool

Pravda Records proudly presents the sixth full-length by Iowa City Ambassadors of groove The Diplomats Of Solid Sound, entirely mixed and edited at The Magic Barn in Iowa City and inspired by the sounds of the best 60s style soul and funk. Having already cut 5 full-length albums, "Instrumental Action Soul" (Prescription Records - 2001), "Let´s Cool One"(Estrus Records - 2003), "Destination Get Down!" (Estrus Records - 2005), self-titled “Diplomats Of Solid Sound featuring The Diplomettes” (Pravda Records/Record Kicks 2008), and “What Goes Around, Comes Around”, the band is just getting warmed up. “A Higher Place” is chock full of irresistible funk and soul bombs ready to melt your heart or make you shake it on the dance-floor, strongly confirming their standing in the contemporary funk and neo-soul scene. LP includes free download card.

At the heart of The New AM, the immensely appealing debut from The Imperial Sound, is the band’s mastery of the classic pop hook. Primary songwriter Rick Mosher references everyone from Todd Rundgren and Carole King to Elvis Costello and The Replacements, and the result is an impressively consistent album of perfect pop moments. Years of shared

At the heart of The New AM, the immensely appealing debut from The Imperial Sound, is the band’s mastery of the classic pop hook. Primary songwriter Rick Mosher references everyone from Todd Rundgren and Carole King to Elvis Costello and The Replacements, and the result is an impressively consistent album of perfect pop moments. Years of shared experience in studios and on stages have sharpened the Imperial Sound’s instincts, and their arrangements have an easy power that is only earned over time. As accomplished as the band is, they are never afraid to let their Midwestern roots show. An Imperial Sound song is like a semi-polished gem – beautiful, but unpretentious and still a bit rough around the edges. The best of them, like “Yesterday,” “Daylight,” and “A Man Like You” are both sophisticated and endearingly straightforward. It’s no surprise that a who’s who of Chicago rock and pop talent lined up to sing on this project: Kathy Ruestow, Dag Juhlin, Kelly Hogan, Nora O’Connor, Bobby Cornelius, and Peter Himmelman all lend their voices to the album. Listen to the slashing power chords of “Get Along” or the major-league horn hooks of “I Feel Strange,” and you’ll realize that you’re in the company of a band that understands the power and the beauty of a truly great pop song.

Matt Wilson of Minneapolis is best known as a singer and songwriter for Trip Shakespeare, a band that blossomed in the 90s. But his new group which he calls an Orchestra is making waves both because of its appealing sound built around a unique combination of instruments including harp and banjo, and because Matt’s songwriting is as inspiring as

Matt Wilson of Minneapolis is best known as a singer and songwriter for Trip Shakespeare, a band that blossomed in the 90s. But his new group which he calls an Orchestra is making waves both because of its appealing sound built around a unique combination of instruments including harp and banjo, and because Matt’s songwriting is as inspiring as ever.

Raised in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Matt and his high school friends formed a group called The Panic, and spent much of their youth as under-aged performers in Minneapolis nightclubs such as 1st Avenue and 7th Street Entry. In the early 80s, Matt followed his brother Dan to college in Boston where they formed a number of bands including the Love Monsters in which Matt took his first turn as a front man. Returning to Minneapolis, the brothers joined forces with bass player John Munson to form Trip Shakespeare, touring and recording together for a decade.

Matt’s music has been featured on MTV, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Spin, The Toronto Star and many other publications. Trip Shakespeare’s single, “Toolmaster of Brainerd”, was named by City Pages one of Minnesota’s 50 Greatest Hits, and that group was included by nationally-influential radio station The Current in its 2017 list of 893 Most Essential Musical Artists of All Time.

Matt’s new orchestra has a grassy sound that’s easy to fall into. Most striking to both the eye and ear is the harp mastery of Phala Tracy. The band’s sound is underpinned by the propulsive banjo groove of Quillan Roe. The bright sounds of harp and banjo are sent forth on black road of electric bass paved by Minneapolis guitar wizard Jacques Wait. The group sings together in striking close harmony. Their new album, When I was a Writer, represents not only a new and appealing sound but a 10-track songwriting triumph of melody, rhyme and pure emotion.