BlackWaters are a four piece from the depths of nothingness (Surrey). And yet despite their murky background, they’ve turned aggro and pent-up frustration into rampant, shouty, spit-fuelled, BO-inducing, agitated punk rock’n'roll.

Carl Barât produced their debut single, ‘So Far Out’.  The Libertines frontman and high-priest of contemporary punk was drawn to the immediacy of their fledgling release, which was written as a reaction to Brexit - a decision that will impact the lives of these four lads long after their ancestors are gone. “There’s no inspiration, we’ve got no platform to say anything on. Our age restricts what we can and can’t do.”

Primed and ready to roll, BlackWaters embark upon a co-headline tour with Blackpool trio Strange Bones for fifteen dates of short sharp introductions. New track ‘Down’ will be released next month.

BlackWaters Tour Dates

January 23rd – The Tin Angel, Coventry

January 24th – The Louisiana, Bristol

January 25th – The Bodega, Nottingham

January 26th – The Venue, Derby

January 27th – Boileroom, Guildford

January 28th – The Horn, St. Albans

February 1st – Brudenell Games Room, Leeds

February 3rd – Guildhall, Preston

February 4th – Bootleg Social, Blackpool

February 5th – The Fulford Arms, York

February 7th – The Polar Bear, Hull

February 8th – Think Tank, Newcastle

February 9th – Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh

February 10th – The Leadmill, Sheffield

February 11th – The Sugarmill, Stoke on Trent

Vocalist, composer and avant-garde icon Diamanda Galás has announced the release of two new albums, her first since Guilty, Guilty, Guilty (2008).

All The Way, a collection of radical re-workings of traditional and jazz standards, and in concert at Saint Thomas The Apostle Harlem, recorded at the titular church during the Red Bull Music Academy Festival 2016, are out on 24 March and will be released on Galás’ own label Intravenal Sound Operations.

All The Way features remarkable, radical takes on familiar tunes, including the seminal ‘The Thrill Is Gone’ and a solo piano interpretation of Thelonious Monk’s ‘Round Midnight’. The album’s centrepiece is the American traditional ‘O Death’, which has become a staple in live performances, and concludes with ‘Pardon Me I’ve got Someone To Kill’ by country singer Johnny Paycheck.  All The Way includes both electric live recordings (recorded in Paris, Copenhagen, and East Sussex) and studio recordings made in San Diego, CA.

At Saint Thomas the Apostle Harlem documents Galás’ volcanic May 2016 performances at Saint Thomas the Apostle church in Harlem, NY, described by the New York Times as “guttural and operatic, baleful and inconsolable, spiritual and earthy, polyglot and wordless, nuanced and unhinged”. The concert, produced by Intravenal Sound Operations and Red Bull Music Academy, was composed exclusively of what Galás calls “death songs”. Sung in Italian, German, French, and Greek, the performances include Galás’ dramatic settings of death poems by Cesare Pavese and Ferdinand Freiligrath, as well as renditions of songs by Jacques Brel (‘Fernand’, ‘Amsterdam’) and Albert Ayler (‘Angels,’ sung by Galás, who has always believed that Ayler’s work is also vocal music).

Taken together these albums showcase the work of an artist at the height of her power and creativity, demonstrating mastery not only of her voice (for which she has become so well known), but also of the piano, and as a composer. Diamanda Galás will be touring these “death songs” around North America and Europe this spring, will full dates to be announced shortly.