Newton Faulkner - 'Studio Zoo' Album Review

NEWTON FAULKNER

STUDIO ZOO ALBUM REVIEW

SET FOR RELEASE AUGUST 26TH

After his most recent album 'Write It On Your Skin' rocketed to number one immediately after release, acoustic god Newton Faulkner is back with another album full of hits! His new album 'Studio Zoo' is set for release on August 26th and I advise you all to head over to his website and pre-order it, you will definitely not be disappointed.

The recording process is different for every artist and in this case, it was entirely unique. Newton set up a live stream where fans could watch him live 24/7 over a 5 week period as he recorded 'Studio Zoo' from his home studio. This gained him a ton of exposure and is possibly one of the best things -in my opinion- that anyone could do while recording an album. It gives people the chance to feel as though they are a part of the process. The album is already set for success and it hasn't even been released yet!

The first track on the album 'Where To Start' starts of with Newton's classic rhythmic picking and in come the mellow vocals, I absolutely love the lyrics of this song, he sings 'keep your love, I don't need nobody'. When you're listening to this song you can hear the atmosphere, almost as though he's performing in the very room that you're in. 

The next track on the 'Studio Zoo' is 'Treading Water'. The song is carried by the slapping of Newton's guitar, a sound that we hear often in his music. With this song his vocals are very fragile. With the next song on the album 'Plastic Hearts' Newton picks up the pace straight away, vocals are speedy and his picking is impeccable. He carries this on with 'Indecisive'. This is a song that is definitely going to be hit, the lyrics are meaningful and the chorus is one that I can picture an entire audience singing back to him at the top of their lungs. 

'Losing Ground' is also a song that catches your attention, it has that same sound that Newton's always had. The harsh guitar rhythm and strong vocals immediately make you want to sing along. This is a song that I think will gain Newton more fans, it has the classic sound of his past music although it has a air of pop around it, meaning that people who may not have listened to him before will hear this song and perhaps want to check out some of his other music too.

The last track on the album 'Orange Skies' rounds the album off nicely. With a chorus that reminds us of that folk sound that we all love. 

This entire album is fantastic, Newton has stayed true to his folk roots while adding so much of his own rhythm and talent which ultimately makes this album what it is. 'Studio Zoo' showcases his singer/songwriting abilities perfectly. Meaningful and relatable lyrics, a great voice, great rhythm and the talent that is Newton Faulkner is the recipe for another No.1 album.

-newcitylauren

Ask: The OK Social Club

LIFE IS MUSIC TV ASK: SINGER/SONGWRITER RAFF ERAGONA

How did the band get together?
We met while playing in two different bands in Stirling, we hit it off that night and kept in touch. When the time came that we were looking for people to play with we got together.

What made you want to start a band?

I always loved music growing up and I guess I had a good ear. When I saw Back to the Future the first time I knew that I wanted to play guitar, My parents were kind enough to take a punt and I got one that Christmas, I was pretty natural at it right away.

How did you come up with the band name?

It was the name of a night we tried to put on a few years ago. It was rubbish but it seemed like a good name at the time, I don't like it.

Individual musical inspirations: 

These are very varied, I love a lot of older stuff, The Beatles, Sam Cooke, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Supremes, Chris loves to keep on the pulse, anything new and interesting, Jordan likes Dave Grohl and lots of 70's Pop and Gordy likes 90's indie stuff, that's a very vague answer to be honest.

Can you describe your sound in 3 words?
"Dirty Guitar Pop"

Who is the girliest member of the band? 

Jordan, Chris, no definitely Jordan.

Describe each other in 1 word (one good thing, one bad thing) 

This is unfair as I'm the only one answering: 

Chris - Pessimistic, driven 

Gordy - Stubborn, Genius 

Jordan - Enthusiastic, inattentive

Any crazy fan experiences?

Not really, anyone that we've met that comes to see us is pretty cool. Some folks have got tattoos and stuff, that's pretty flattering.

If you had a superpower, what would it be and why? 

I'd like to time travel, just to see what things were like before. I'd probably do some paradox stuff too.

What is your songwriting process like? 

I write all the words and music then everyone plays together until we get parts we're happy with.

Tell us a bit about your most recent release: 

Our most recent release was our debut album 'Nothing in Common', it's basically 10 of the best songs we had when we recorded it. It's a great representation of what we sounded like when we started out. 

Favourite song to play live? 

New stuff is always our favourite, a song called 'Keeping up Appearances' which we played live for the first time last week seems to be everyones favourite just now. Of the older songs, 'The Shape of Things to Come' is still fun to play.

What have you got planned as a band for the rest of 2013? 

We're going to finish writing our second album and record it before the end of the year, we also have a few cool gigs coming up including a few dates in Italy.

For people who haven't heard of you before, why should they check you out? 

I guess it's all down to taste, if you like guitars and pop music check us out, if you like experiential music go listen to Aphex Twin. One thing I'd say is if you like our songs then come and see us live, it's all about live music.

Where can we find your music? 

Just search for The OK Social Club on: 

iTunes, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter.

Thanks to Raff Eragon of The OK Social Club.

Stay Awesome, Life is Music Tv x