Prepare yourselves for a rock experience like no other – Lui Krieg and the Alchemysts of Sound are ready to send your head spinning with Upside Down, a track which combines their classic rock stylings with elements of spirituality and mysticism. A never-more pertinent critique of the current state of the world and society, it’s the perfect introduction to a front man reverentially dubbed, “The Crystal King” and a band which features legendary Cosmic Percussionist and producer extraordinaire, Paul Foss! The first taste of the band’s album, Spirit Rise, Upside Down is a driving, intense experience, destined to change your view of the world!
Do Not Adjust Your Set! Welcome to the world of Lui Krieg & The Alchemysts of Sound and their video for Upside Down!
It is written in the stars that Lui should take to the stage as a rock star – after all, this is a man who is known worldwide for his sparkling rocks! The rocks in question are crystals and gemstones. It is in the world of the spiritual and mystical that Lui has spent his life, journeying from his homeland in Germany to South-East Asia, Africa, South America and finally to where he now calls home, Glastonbury, The Isle of Avalon. Establishing himself as the go-to guru for all things Crystaline, Shamanic and Magical, he now turns to a passion that has burned within him throughout his life – rock music. The Alchemysts of Sound are vocalist Lui and drummer, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Paul. They are supported by the guitar legend Kit Morgan, (famed for his work with Jethro Tull’sIan Anderson and Curved Air) and the powerful voice of Zoe Munroe. Lui is ready to live his dream, bringing the spirit of rock to a new audience.
Regularly turning heads in Glastonbury and on his travels all around the world, as startled onlookers confuse him with legendary Led Zep frontman, Robert Plant. Lui was inspired to write Upside Down when he was standing on his head…quite literally, upside down!
“I went to Tulum, Mexico for three months last winter to prepare myself physically and mentally for the Lui Rocks campaign! One afternoon on the beach I was doing a headstand as part of my yoga practice and as I was standing on my head looking out to the beach I received the words, ” this world is upside down, let us turn it around”. When I sent a picture of me doing a headstand to my producer, Paul Foss, he replied that this is a great idea for a great song that reflects the state of the planet at this moment in time! A new song was born!”
Accompanied by a suitably brain-twisting video, Upside Down is your introduction to rock’s latest, greatest character.
David Hicks is a photographer who is just as interested in the behind-the-scenes stories as he is in the stories themselves. A true photojournalist, Hicks aims to capture every aspect of waking life.
Whether that be everyday activities on the streets of Cuba to the passionate and dynamic tango culture in Buenos Aries, Hicks will be there to experience it and share it.He says of his tango collection: “The Tango, a now-popular dance between a man and a woman, started in its current form in the mid-1800s, after a massive migration to Argentina, mostly by men. Because men outnumbered women by quite some number, the only way for a man to get close to a woman was via a brothel or by dance.The men practiced together, as you’d have to be a great dancer to get a woman’s attention. So, this very sexual dance you see now was born out of the reality for men in those old days. Nowadays, you see it performed often, usually on the street corners of Buenos Aires, with live musicians or a pre-recorded soundtrack, and they do it for the tips!”
It can always be a struggle when you music possesses such a crucial and pertinent message and yet you’re blocked by the damning limitations of ‘going under the radar’ – electronic animated anarchists ‘The Mad Game’ know this all too well.
The band’s debut EP, ‘Player One’, is a righteous middle finger to what they describe as ‘The Mad Game’ – the absurdities in society that have been integrated as the status quo – after tangling with governments, security services and local mafia. Their message of outrage and vitriol is a potent one found across the EPs five tracks – a mere morsel of their true potential – and is certainly enough to make listeners pay attention.
The trio’s soundscape is an eclectic one: the righteous indignation of the best punk music married beautifully to the jarring and skittish landscapes of the best electronica. The lead track, ‘Game Over ‘, in particular makes a phenomenal first impression to the animated anarchists with members Sonu, Karla and Sonya giving their respective inputs to this chilling three-pronged attack. What these newcomers nail best is their sincerity.
It’s hard to take such a venomous assault from someone you don’t genuinely believe has lived through the horrors that they detail – The Mad Game give off no such illusion. What you hear is authentic and those unaware of the band’s craft will soon learn to such things. It makes for a truly gripping and inspiring experience.
This is not a project that anyone should overlook regardless of their tastes; thoughtful, well crafted and genuine music. Not something 2021 receives in surplus.
“The Tunetables idea was borne,” says Rob Chappelhow, the man behind a range of ingenious new storage solutions, “out of a personal desire to have my music collection around me once again.”
That’s something all of us record-collector’s can empathise with. Now, I’ve banged on before about how, for many of us, digital streaming doesn’t cut it. Streaming services are great, but for a large number of us hard-core music fans, we want something we can hold in our sweaty hands, right? But, once you have all those lovely records, where do you put them?
Flat-pack shelving is fine, but it’s hardly inspiring. That’s where the Tunetables range comes into its own. More words from Rob Chappelhow, who explains that the idea came to him during a visit to the Joe Strummer Archive exhibition in the basement of Fred Perry’s flagship store in Covent Garden – “Set out under an acrylic plinth was Strummer’s personal tape cassette collection…his musical heritage and inspiration perfectly showcased.”
It was totally spellbinding. I soon started to conceptualise how I could create my own version of this…a personal time capsule of life-affirming music. I wanted something that could be inherently useful, something that I would see and use every day, and that would be a talking point for like-minded music enthusiasts.”
And lo! Tunetables was born… What Chappelhow has done is to take brand new music-equipment flight-cases (the type we are well-used to seeing lugged around by roadies and musicians) and turn them into hand-crafted storage solutions for your CDs, tapes and vinyl. It’s a wonderful idea and, most importantly, they look great. As mentioned, each case is built by hand, and can be personalised with your own initials (or whatever you fancy). Storage ranges from 100 – 500 for CDs, 30 – 60 for tapes, and 75 for vinyl. That’s not a bad amount at all. I can see a lot of people going for this, from pro and semi-pro musicians to plain music-lovers such as myself. This is modern design with an old-school aesthetic. Check them out for yourself!
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