I Can Feel Your Love

Trust Me #30 - I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor

Whenever I visit the wonderful Monorail in Glasgow, I often gravitate to the soul section. There are always wonderful compilation records available and for me, they can easily make a case for the most value for money records in the store. Most recently, I've bought 2 of the Shaolin Soul compilations - songs that RZA from Wu-Tang Clan has sampled - he has unbelievable taste!

Kent Records are arguably the masters of the soul compilation. Originally released back in 1982, their For Dancers Only compilation is a record I pulled out of the rack while browsing in Monorail one day, many years ago. I am a real sucker for sleeve notes and some soul comps go to the trouble of having a track-by-track run through. 

On the For Dancers Only sleevenotes, the words every track is a great 60's dancer leapt out at me before the curator, Harboro' Horrace, went on to say the record was for dancers, drinkers and DJ's. Those words were enough for me.

That's the other reason why I love soul compilations - indeed, all kinds of compilations. They are great for DJ-ing as (unless your a purist) they mean you don't have to cart quite as many records around! When I bought this some friends and I would put on the odd DJ night in the downstairs basement of a pub called O'Henry's (now the Yes Bar) across from the famous Horseshoe Bar in Drury Street, Glasgow.

We always played vinyl. And on the rare occasions I do DJ, I like to use vinyl. I'm not a purist who plays originals only and I totally get the ease of using downloads/streaming, but I love the thrill of the needle drop and the skill of getting the next song right.

the aforementioned Shaolin Soul record - when I DJ'd in Mono in November 2021

Anyway, For Dancers Only was full of songs I could play when I DJ'd but one jumped out at me in particular - the mighty I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor.

After a glorious introduction with horns leading us into a groove, there is a run of I Can Feel Your Love backing vocals sounding sweet and sublime, and then we're introduced to Felice Taylor's voice cutting through; strong, true, soulful and packed with emotion.

I can't explain this feeling that I get when you pass by

I guess I always knew that your love would get me by and by

I see the stars above me and my heart starts to cry

Cause you're the only one that I need by my side

And I can feel your love, oh yeah, coming down on me

And I can feel your love, oh yeah, coming down on me

What a vocal! The song is relentless, the backing vocals are delicious, the beat is perfect and somehow beautifully understated, the horns stab in all the right places.

And then things are lifted in a short instrumental section with horns to warm hearts before kicking back in to soar higher.

My darling when, I feel alone

I feel like I, just can't go on

Nothing seems to go right

Baby when you're, out of sight

What a song! It never fails to make me smile or reach for the volume to crank it up. I Can Feel Your Love continues to blow me away every time I hear it. Enjoy.

CHECK ON YOUTUBE HERE

You'll find a list (and links to) of all the previous songs featured in the Trust Me series below.

And you can check them all out via my Spotify playlist by searching for Everything Flows - Trust Me or by CLICKING HERE

Previous Trust Me blogs

1. Something On Your Mind by Karen Dalton

1A. Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells

2. I Am, I Said  by Neil Diamond

3. Where's The Playground Susie?   by Glen Campbell

4. If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lighfoot

5. Gimme Some Truth by John Lennon

6. Gone With The Wind Is My Love by Rita and the Tiaras

7. In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans

8. The Music Box by Ruth Copeland

9. The Ship Song by Nick Cave

10. Sometimes by James

11. I Walk The Earth by King Biscuit Time

12. Didn't Know What I Was In For by Better Oblivion Community Centre

13. When My Boy Walks Down The Street by The Magnetic Fields

14. The Man Don't Give A F**k by Super Furry Animals

15. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser

16. Are You Lookin' by The Tymes

17. A Real Hero by College & Electric Youth

18. Feelings Gone by Callum Easter

19. Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground

20. Did I Say by Teenage Fanclub

21. Don't Look Back by Teenage Fanclub

22. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From by Teenage Fanclub

23. Belfast by Orbital

24. Clouds by The Jayhawks

25. Dreaming Of You by The Coral

26. Everlasting Love by Love Affair

27. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke

28. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones

29. Shaky Ground by Sneeze

29. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells

Introducing Parcels

WOW - sometimes you take a chance on something and that chance is repaid tenfold and more. Earlier on today I was flicking through the new releases on Spotify - not something I usually do. I liked the title of an EP and band so checked it out. I then spent the next 20 odd minutes pottering about my kitchen enjoying some fine crafted electronic pop music - checking the name of each song and vowing to write a blog on it.

So it was the Hideout EP by a band called Parcels that I discovered, released via exceptionally hip French label Kitsune. The band (all under 22) list their hometowns as Berlin and Byron Bay. 

Think Prince, Royksopp, Daft Punk, Chic and Erland Oye and you have an idea of the polished pop with wah wah guitar and crystal clear vocals. 

Myenemy opens proceedings; the synths and keys underpin a bass groove and the vocals have a soulful and uplifting feel to them.

Gamesofluck immediately draws you in; the groove just continues effortlessly from the opener they build it up, take it down, bring in the beats, throw in some funky guitar and generally make it all sound ridiculously easy to create brilliant pop music. Far too many artists have songs that last far too long these days, I'm still left wanting more after 5 minutes 48 seconds - a good sign.

The title track is pure bliss, the vocals are so clear and true, the melodies are thoughtful and hooky. The beat kicks in and just takes things higher - brilliant stuff.

Older is playful guitar pop, harmonies and a sense of urgency. Allaround has a real Royksopp Melody AM feel to it - lazy sublime vocals and melodies but they have the ability to increase the pace when required.

All in all this is a gorgeous EP. 

Introducing - Emme Woods

Photo by Brian Sweeney

Please meet Emme Woods, a 21-year old singer and songwriter who releases her debut 7-inch via Last Night From Glasgow Records tomorrow (Monday 25th July) when she also headlines King Tut's Wah Wah Hut as part of Summer Nights.

Emme used to perform under the guise of Something, Someone - a folky, rootsy and acoustic style won her a number of plaudits and fans. Things changed earlier on in 2016 when Emme bought her first electric guitar.

In came a slow, raw and bluesy style. Emme sent her first recording in this style to Ian Smith, just around the time we had set up Last Night From Glasgow. I think we were on our second or third meeting. 

Ian pressed play and the 6 of us sat round in silence, staring into space or at the speakers, enjoying the raw guitar sound, the slow and unrushed pace of the song and Emme's stunning vocals.

There was a moment of silence before Ian asked everyone for their thoughts. PJ Harvey was mentioned a couple of times before it was swiftly decided that this would be the second release on our fledgling label.

Rather a lot has happened since we launched the label at the end of March. One incredible thing (mentioned in my last label blog about Mark W Georgsson) is that acclaimed Scottish photographer Brian Sweeney is on board as Artistic Director!

Brian shot the beautiful cover for the 7-inch record (artwork above) and also the promo film below.

The black and white film fits the song perfectly and I think that when you watch it, the film enhances the song as they work so well together; Emme looks like a film star, its cinematic, sexy, edgy and evocative. As is the song.

Emme has bags of ability and is also full of ideas, I love the fact that she is exploring new sounds and wants to collaborate with others.  I look forward to watching her develop and to hear what she comes up with and I hope we can release something else on Last Night From Glasgow in the future.

I caught up with Emme for a quick online chat ahead of her Tut's show tomorrow.

EF -Has the move to electric guitar changed your writing style?

EW - It has a bit, it's kinda free'd me up to experiment more and to go a bit more mental. My playing style has transferred over to electric but has changed because some of the sounds you can get out of an acoustic are a bit different to the sounds on electric, but I'm feeling it.

EF - What do you hope to do/achieve over the next year or so? Are you writing with anyone?

EW - I'm still writing by myself a lot but I've recently started writing with an amazing musician and songwriter; Barrie James O'Neill. I've not long moved into a new house, it is a beautiful old Victorian house and the living room is amazing. It has great acoustics and a piano, so I just invite Barrie over and we write there. With the great space and me and Barrie bouncing ideas off each other it just feels such a creative space.

Over the next year I'm working towards getting an album out. Some tunes are coming together really nicely so I'm getting quite excited to hit the studio soon.

Last Night From Glasgow Records launch

Stephen Solo captivating the LNFG launch crowd

Well..... I’m not quite sure what I was expecting or hoping for from the launch party of Last Night From Glasgow Records last night, but I’ve been buzzing all day and I really don’t think it could have gone any better.

You can read my blog from March on co-founding the label. Rather a lot has happened since then!

Our first four releases are sorted;

Mark W Georgsson (and friends) - The Ballad of the Nearly Man, AA-sided 7-inch single

Emme Woods - I Don’t Drink To Forget, 7-inch single

Stephen Solo - Pii, USB credit card album

TeenCanteen - Say It All With A Kiss, album

We also have acclaimed Scottish photographer Brian Sweeney on board as artistic director. Brian has shot the cover art for the first two releases and is currently editing videos. I’ll be blogging about both as soon as they are ready for release.

We have also surpassed our target of 100 members! We were going to cap it at 100, but the interest levels are high so we’ll review at 125, but will definitely cap at 150 for management and admin purposes!

Alan Morrison also wrote a lovely piece on the label HERE

But on to last night....

Doors were at half seven on a scorching day in Glasgow. Entry was free, invite only, I did wonder if people would just go to a beer garden or a park, but no, at 7.45pm people started to trickle into the brilliant loft space up the stairs in the Old Hairdressers and we were on.

One of the many magical things about last night was the fact that so many people came on their own. It was a members only night (with the odd guestlist place for friends of the artists). We could manage a few plus ones, but couldn’t accommodate one for every member.

This created a great atmosphere. People were introduced to each other, talked about how they found out about the label, where they were from, their taste in music. It was lovely to watch and be part of.

One girl Kerry told me that she had felt disconnected from the music scene since becoming a Mum almost 3-years ago and joining the label had made her feel part of it again. The six of us who formed the label naturally roped in some friends at first to get things going, but now it is purely organic and growing by word of mouth. So it was brilliant meeting people we had only previously spoken with online and hearing them talk so enthusiastically about our idea and venture.

Ian, Ross, me, Joe, Andy and Stephen - the ‘board’ of LNFG Records 

The six of us, Ian, Ross, Stephen (not solo), Andy, Joe and I got up at the start to thank everyone for their faith in us and our idea for the label and then it was on with the show.

Stephen Solo was on first. I’ve known Stephen for 7-years and I had never seen him so nervous. We’re releasing (not officially until August but you can buy it now) an album he recorded on his iPhone6 called Pii. Stephen pretty much made it up as he went along and never intended for it to be released, let alone played live.

So Stephen introduced himself and his worries about his performance. He then promptly sent jaws dropping and spines tingling all over the room with a truly stunning 5-song set. The crowd responded warmly and Stephen delivered.

There were many brilliant moments from last night, but one that will live long in the memory was Stephen’s performance of Crying Because (Love Is Everything) which was utterly gorgeous. Backed only by a ukelele and a little bit of effect on his voice, Stephen produced a moment of emotional genius.

Watching people congratulate Stephen afterwards warmed my heart. Hearing that someone told Stephen’s wife Hayley that the £50 membership for the label was worth it just for that performance was incredible.

You can watch the homemade video (also recorded on his iPhone6) below and order his astonishing album on a supercool USB credit card HERE

So I mentioned there were many brilliant moments from last night. Another one was the fact that no-one spoke during songs! Maybe the odd whisper, but you could listen to and enjoy the artists! I’m amazed at going to gigs where people constantly talk through a show.

Next up was young Emme Woods who used to release under the guise of Something, Someone until she recently bought an electric guitar and sent us her first demos.

Morgan (Emme) played her first set with an electric guitar and cleverly created little riffs which she looped to create grooves, delivering a beautiful heartfelt set that again gathered a great response.

Morgan had the confidence to play a song that she had only just written and she also delivered an ABBA cover version (SOS), stripping it back to the bare bones to let you hear the dark lyrics beneath the shiny pop song.

Morgan’s single will be out in July before her headline show at King Tut’s on July 25th.

Cover art for Emme Woods debut single

Headlining the show was Mark W Georgsson, our first release OUT TODAY

Prior to Mark coming on, I had the pleasure to say a few words to thank Brian Sweeney who then premiered the video to accompany the single. It is beautiful and I’ll be blogging on the single and the video as soon as it is ready.

Brian also said a few words; highlighting how the label is encouraging artists and creativity. It is a genuine pleasure to have him on board.

Mark had pulled together a 6-piece band to back him. Their soundcheck was wonderful, the band were shit hot and could jam away no problem, creating a brilliant loose country vibe.

Mark and friends in soundcheck

Tino, Michael and Robbie from The Bar Dogs, Richard and Dave from The Strange Blue Dreams and the gorgeous Katie McArthur to duet on the single.

They looked the part, a double bass for some songs, a violin, Mark and Tino interacting superbly on guitars. And they sounded the part, delivering a set that ranged from beautifully sparse ballads to blistering country rock, with the odd Americana gem in between.

And then there was time for everyone to mingle and chat some more. The support and feedback about the label and the night was pretty mind-blowing.

Stay tuned!

Barraloadasoul

It was a like a scene from a film; beautiful, widescreen, everyone was ready; looking good, feeling good, dressed to impress...lights.....camera....action...

Last night at the world famous Barrowland Ballroom was an absolute joy; listening to and dancing to some incredible tunes on the talc dusted dancefloor with good friends. The atmosphere was exceptionally positive and friendly. Good vibes spread from the dancefloor to the DJ's and back again.

People looked amazing, the age range was vast and everyone was there to have a good time. Early on we watched enthralled as a young guy in huge flares kicked and spun with his girlfriend who was just as good as him.

The tunes were superb - a few we knew, loads we didn't. We ventured to the bar downstairs a few times through the night where DJ's were also playing and I fell in love with a new song - Tyrone Barkley's Man of Value. What a tune, I had to find out what it was and the DJ obliged.

Back up the stairs people had loosened up and the dancefloor was busy. There were some incredible dancers but most people, myself included, were there to have a good time and dance our hearts out to some great songs - the best tunes at the best venue.

The DJ's all had 30-45 minutes to spin their tunes and show their taste, skills and collections. There were some slow burners, some floaters and many a stomper - DJ's wanted people dancing.

Jackie Wilson's (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher was euphoric. People had their hands in the air, punching the sky in delight as they danced and sung along.

What a night! This was the second annual Barraloadasoul - roll on next year.