For the past ten years, The Cold Stares have toured the world relentlessly as a duo, blowing away audiences across the US and Europe with a fierce, blistering live show that belied their bare bones, guitar-and-drums setup. Now, the band is embracing a whole new kind of chemistry as they launch their next chapter, adding a third member and channeling the classic power trio sound they grew up on with their explosive new album, “Voices”.

“The chains were off when we made this record,” says guitarist/singer Chris Tapp. “Suddenly, all the parameters that had dictated what we could and couldn’t do just disappeared and we were free to create whatever sound we wanted.”

GA-20 clearly is on to something big. It’s a movement, a new traditional blues revival. The dynamic, throwback blues trio are disciples of the place where traditional blues, country and rock ‘n’ roll intersect. “We make records that we would want to listen to,” says guitarist Matt Stubbs. “It’s our take on the song-based traditional electric blues we love.” Stubbs and guitarist/vocalist Pat Faherty, and drummer Tim Carman have been at the forefront of this traditional blues revival since they first formed in 2018. It’s no wonder they skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard Blues Charts.
“Since we started the band we’ve focused on the story, the melody, and on creating a mood. Playing live as much as we do, we’re finding more and more that people are discovering how cool it all is. Traditional country, soul and funk music have all had these massive recent revivals, but traditional blues so far has not.” With their new Colemine album, Crackdown, and an intensive tour schedule, that’s all about to change.

The first thing you notice about McKinley James’ extraordinary new EP Still Standing By is the serious mix of Motown soul and blues-based guitar playing. It doesn’t sound like the type of “blues” you get from traditional purveyors of the genre, but instead from a guitarist who understands chord theory so well you could swear you’re hearing a horn section sometimes. That’s because he leads a duo, and while guitar stores reverberate with licks from ham-fisted modern bluesmen when they don’t know shuffle from shinola, McKinley would walk into that guitar store, plug in, and summon the spirits of his own idols, nearly forgotten pioneers like Otis Rush and Johnny “Guitar” Watson. Still Standing By is his third EP, all of them fine listens, and here’s the thing… McKinley is 19 years old. Already a veteran before he’s old enough to drink.

“Moroccan singer and multi-instrumentalist Majid Bekkas and the three Scandinavian giants Kajfeš, Nordenström and Pasborg meet by a Berber fire in the psychedelic immensity of the desert. The richness of atmospheres is what makes this band so powerful” – Télérama, France. “Majid Bekkas brings a sweeping, spiritual jazz outlook to his gnawa music. His earthy voice is captivating and his collaboration with trumpeter Goran Kajfeš a cross-cultural delight” – The Guardian (GB) 
 “Magical music with trance-like power” – Downbeat (US) Trance, ritual, mysticism, psychedelia, magic…however one chooses to describe the way that North-African ‘gnawa’ music affects people, there can be no denying the fascination for it which reaches right across the world. Morrocan guimbre-player and singer Majid Bekkas is one of it’s most dazzling figures, and also probably the musician who has made this music interact with other genres. 
 Now, with this “magical” quartet, Majid Bekkas has built a bridge connecting North Africa and Northern Europe, aligning the ancestral with the ambient. An inspired move which seems to catch the very spirit of 21st century jazz. 

 MAGIC SPIRIT QUARTET incorporates a spiritual and ritualistic magic through this unique ensemble, whose other members are the three Scandinavian jazz giants: Swedish keyboardist Jesper Nordenström, Swedish trumpeter Goran Kajfeš and Danish drummer Stefan Pasborg.