The RGM Inbox May 2020
Welcome to the belated May edition of the RGM Inbox. In this latest instalment, we feature two names that I’m sure will be familiar to many readers in Emily Zuzik and David Berkeley. Rounding out this months quartet we’ve David Ramirez, the Texas-based singer-songwriter with a cool-sounding new record in the can and virtuoso guitarist Jon Gomm who revisits his past as he embarks on the next phase of his career with a new record label.
Emily Zuzik should be no stranger to regular RGM readers. We featured ‘Trouble’ the first single from Emily’s upcoming album earlier this year and I’m pleased to report she’s back with another track from the record which shows an entirely different side of Emily. ‘All That Love’, which Emily describes as “A real country weeper”, has a stately unhurried grace that feels just right as it explores the effort we put into relationships without any guarantee of reward. Looking back is fine, but letting go is the key if things don’t quite go as you’d hoped. Emily’s upcoming record ‘Torch & Trouble’ will be with us in August of 2020 until then here’s ‘All That Love’:
David Ramirez photo by Phillip Harder
Over the last few months, Texas-based singer-songwriter David Ramirez has been releasing tracks from his upcoming album due July 17th, 2020 via Sweetworld/Thirty Tigers. The latest of these is the title track ‘My Love Is A Hurricane’ which finds the singer expanding on his Americana roots with the addition of delicate electronica and a really nice gospel/R&B influence on the vocal arrangement. The result is as impressive as you’d expect from Ramirez with the blend of influences adding a haunting, ethereal feel to proceedings. For more info about David Ramirez:
Another artist who we’ve featured previously at RGM is David Berkeley. We first discovered David via a live show in London a few years back and more recently via his work in Son of Town Hall (live review + album review). David has been busy in quarantine and has a new album ready for release on June 22nd. David recorded the album on a secondhand acoustic guitar he picked up in Spain, with the recording taking place in a makeshift studio in the house he and his family are holed up in. When not strumming an acoustic guitar David is also an accomplished author and his book ‘140 Goats and a Guitar’ is now available via Audible and Itunes for those of you who like to listen to your books.
Acoustic singer-songwriter and virtuoso guitarist Jon Gomm sprang to prominence back in 2012 when a performance of ‘Passionflower’ went viral online passing six million hits. In the intervening years, the song continues to make waves (the hit count in now some seventeen million and rising) and Jon has continued to record independently since his debut offering in 2003. Now in 2020, Jon has signed with KScope and ‘Passionflower’ has been re-recorded and is available via Spotify for the first time here. The new recording with producer Andy Sorenson is representative of what to expect from Jon going forward.
Unfortunately it’s my sad duty to report that this concludes the latest edition of the RGM Inbox. Please join us next time as we hope to continue to shed a little light on just some of the great music that’s out there waiting to be discovered.
Welcome to the latest edition of Sounds on Sunday, an occasional series where we showcase new and upcoming releases perfect for a relaxing Sunday (or any other day, for that matter). For this episode, our musical choices seem to be centred in Canada, with a nod to Norway and the Middle East. So join us as we listen to, and hopefully learn more about, Justine Giles, Drea Lake, Marthe Halvorsen, and Tenise Marie.