AOR Heaven just released CHAMPLIN, WILLIAMS, FRIESTEDT

TOTO singer Joseph Williams teams up with former Chicago singer Bill Champlin and Swedish guitarist/producer Peter Friestedt for a new remarkable AOR release following the success with the ”Live In Concert” DVD that made it all the way to the top on the Swedish Chart!

In 2012 Champlin/Willams/Friestedt played a sold out Scandinavian tour and during this time the first recordings of the "CWF" album took place. The new album also includes contributions from Steve Porcaro of  TOTO, Randy Goodrum (TOTO, Chicago), Will Champlin and Tamara Champlin.

Champlin says: "I’ve been involved with a project that includes me, Peter Friestedt a great  guitarist and producer from Sweden, and Joseph Williams, the singer of TOTO! I was pretty knocked out by the stuff. I’d almost forgotten how good it was when we did it. There are great songs and even better performances on this album, and I know you’ll love it It’s rare for me to be involved with a project and be surprised by how good it is. This one will knock you out.”  

Joseph Williams is the lead vocalist with Grammy winning US band TOTO.  He has been busy as a composer of film and drama scores, as a session vocalist, backing singer and can be heard in Disney’s animated feature film “The Lion King” as singing voice of the adult Simba (“Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”). 

Guitarist, producer & recording artist Peter Friestedt has released two critically acclaimed albums “LA Project” (2002) and “LA Project II” (2008) that got top reviews. Peter has been a busy sessionplayer playin on records with David Foster and Fergie Frederiksen and touring Europe and Japan with Joseph Williams with who he also released the "Williams/Friestedt" album that was a top 40 hit in Scandinavia!

Bill Champlin was the lead singer of the legendary band Chicago for more than 25 years, and is a founding member of the band Sons of Champlin. Champlin has written Grammy award winning songs for Earth Wind & Fire and George Benson, and worked with countless artists including Elton John, The Doobie Brothers and Steve Lukather of TOTO.

Preservation Records is pleased to announce the re-release of LAVA's Prime Time on cd with three bonus tracks due to October 5th.

It all started with a cup of coffee in Oslo with some of the key members of Lava, Svein Dag, Per and Egil, and Tobias with his newly founded record-label, Preservation Records.

Long story short; the meeting resulted in a deal with the goal of re-releasing Lava's catalogue on CD and digitally. The original studio sessions, the master-tapes, has been located and is being re-mastered, this time with modern technology in order to make a fresh sound.

So far, the album "Cruising" is released successfully in Japan, Europe and in Norway. The next on the list is "Prime Time" with three extra bonus tracks. For the first time it is available on CD and will be available digitally for the fans.

Lava was originally released in 1983 with Egil Eldøen as front vocalist. Sidsel Endresen contributes with vocals on the track "Hard Times". The album peaked at #6 in Norway and stayed on top 40 for 9 weeks in the charts.

"Prime Time" represents a genre that originally came from California in the 70's. The sound is big with expensive production and 1"class musicians". The album was recorded in the legendary Rosenborg Studios in Oslo. Lava is considered the most important representative for this genre in Norway. Today, Lava has a large fan base both in Norway and internationally. Together with Lava, we wish to bring this awesome music to the world!

The album will be sold through Preservation Records and will be distributed in Japan and the world through Diskunion. In addition it will be sold through dedicated westcoast and AOR stores like AOR Heaven in Germany and Blue Desert in Sweden.

After a hiatus of 11 years, Dakota reunited in 2014 to record a brand new album, titled 'Long Road Home'.

Original band members Jerry Hludzik and Bill Kelly joined up with John Lorance, Eli Hludzik and various guest artists to record the new album at SI Studios, Pennsylvania. Two years in the making, 'Long Road Home' is a culmination of countless hours of work and passion poured into a project that is close to the band's heart.

Dakota is: Jerry G. Hludzik (Vocals & Guitar), Bill Kelly (Vocals & Guitar), Eli Hludzik (Drums) & Jon Lorance (Guitar)

Guest Appearances by: Bill Champlin, Ricky Dehlin, Alessandro DelVecchio, Tommy Denander, Justus Dobrin, John "JR" Robinson, Danny Seraphine, Jon Lorance, Eli Hludzik, Lenny Mecea, Tom Borthwick & Rick Manwiller

The Swedish Gothenburg based trio My Quiet Companion (Sofia Ekberg, Patrick Rydman and Henrik Cederblom) was formed in the autumn of 2012, out of pure joy, jamming together while producing Sofia’s EP "All The Small Details".

Their eponymous full length debut album contains a selection of tracks previously released on that record, along with new material. The group performs their original songs in a style of americana, folk, pop and roots.

My Quiet Companion have played live across Sweden, where they have opened for Aoife O’Donovan of Crooked Still fame and shared the stage with Adam Levy (songwriter and guitarist from Norah Jones’ Handsome Band). In 2015, the trio was invited to play the 2015 Arctic Sounds Festival, Sisimiut, Greenland, where they also held songwriting workshops. With 3 guitars, mandolin, dobro, stompboard and harmony singing they create a groovy intimate sound where you can lean back and listen to the tales of the song. Catchy Americana with a Scandinavian edge.

Thanks to Peter Holmstedt at HEMIFRAN

”Jonquil Child” by singer-songwriter Tiffany Huggins Grant marks the arrival of a bright new talent on the Americana music scene. The 12 song album boasts 10 original numbers that bring her honey-and-crystal voice and her songwriting to the fore, reveling in her gift for melody and in her creative vision.



Grant’s songs perfectly balance the sweet and the bitter. Her arrangements reflect the signatures of great American roots music in their tremolo guitars, pedal steel, soulfueled keyboards and perfectly measured rhythms, while also incorporating apt-but-unanticipated strokes of classic rock and psychedelia. And Grant’s writing draws unsparingly on her experiences combating alcoholism and depression, even while celebrating the triumph over both that ”Jonquil Child” represents.



Throughout the album, the band, which also includes drummer Paul Griffith (Emmylou Harris, Todd Snider, Jason Isbell), bassist Thomas Grant (Jeff Orr, Matt Walberg), steel guitarist John Heinrich (Hank Williams Jr, Merle Haggard, Reba McEntire) and keyboardist Jen Gunderman (Sheryl Crow, Iris Dement, Caitlin Cary), and producer Mark Robinson are perfect foils for Grant’s artistry. Robinson, who plays guitar on the album, has also produced albums for David Olney, Mark Huff, Ray Cashman and Davis Raines.



A native child of Smyrna, GA, (“The Jonquil City”), Grant grew up steeped in the musical traditions of the region and influenced by the wide-ranging tastes of her parents, and knew she wanted to write songs. By age 17 she had appeared at Nashville’s famed Bluebird Café. It was inevitable that Grant would move to Nashville, and after a few years in Music City she gained her momentum.



Today her stage resume includes opening shows for such respected artists as Tommy Womack and Americana hitmakers Shovels & Rope.

Thanks to Peter Holmstedt at HEMIFRAN

TOUCHING THE DIVINE is the third studio album from Intelligent Music Project and the second all-star line-up, creating a remarkable infusion by its author and producer's musically erudite and unconventional style, and the full creative input of the legendary musicians. The production features session aces Simon Phillips (drums and percussion), Nathan East (bass) & Tim Pierce (guitars), and the remarkable voices of John Payne (ex-Asia) and Toto`s Joseph Williams, who bring their own flavor to all 14 equally outstanding pieces in the album.

Intelligent Music Project III is showcasing the chemistry and versatile style that went into IMP II - rich and layered, guitar-centric, melodic-progressive sound. Catchy tunes, and dynamic riffs melt flawlessly with Payne's and Williams’ trademark vocals while the immaculate Phillips – Pierce – East stamp their blueprint on the record all the way through.

The band's overall musicianship blends impressively with the complexity of musical arrangements, including unforgettable symphonic expansions. Matching the classic rock energy and instrumental charge with his lyrical patterns, rapt and diverse music theme development is the signature style that propels this all-star project of Milen Vrabevski, author and producer of TOUCHING THE DIVINE.

Stand out tracks: Bursting out with track 1. “Opening (Cool inside)” - sounds like introductory rhapsody, seamlessly blending the exceptionally tasteful instrumental part into Joseph Williams' illustrative singing.

The pilot single “Sky” is a melodic, hard rocking piece, propelled by powerful guitar riffs and Joseph Williams' gently hitting vocals, scored by uncompromising guitar virtuosity.

“Escape” feat. John Payne's evocative timbre is a timeless rock ballad immediately reaching to the charts. From the soul retriever “We Can” sung by John, through Joe's passion “Life” and the duet “Stay Up” (John & Joe) to the key tracks “Simply Feels Good” (featuring lead and backing vocals by John Payne, Joseph Williams and Carl Sentence, recently appointed as Nazareth's lead singer) and “Mind Projection” – Intelligent Music Project III marks its producer's determination to make one solid addition to the AOR classics of all times.

Says Simon Phillips, “It's really interesting to do a second project with Milen. In this new project 'Touching the Divine', musically the composition has developed, it's developed from the first record... and that's good to see.”

Says Tim Pierce, “This project is great, because it's very, very challenging and musical, in a way like Queen is musical... and it's got all of these layers and colors. Musically it's very fun, because it travels a lot of different places.”

Says Joseph Williams, “It's wonderful to explore working with Milen. The project has a wonderful message, accompanied with some beautiful music and some great rock 'n' roll – the musicians in this project are top 'noch.”

Says Nathan East, “This project is very special to me, because of the nature of the message of the project. I was very inspired and happy with the idea, because the message has value and meaning and I am about that. The word 'inspirational' is what I use to describe this project.” Says Carl Sentence “There is a lot of music and a sense of depth in Milen's songs. They are not ordinary. They are very beautiful… and the way these songs are composed is very, very good.”

Says John Payne, “It's incredible opportunity to work with such great people – Nathan East, Tim Pierce… Wonderful songs – my favorite so far is 'Mind Projection', but there are a lot of great songs, a lot of great melodies and some great playing. You've got some world class players – Simon, Tim, Nathan East…and Joseph Williams singin', I mean – he is amazing!”

Says Milen Vrabevski, “This is a super band, which every producer would be happy to work with, and it gave a very good finish to our Intelligent Music Project, in this case – number III. I was enormously fortunate to be the author and producer of the whole project. The idea we want to share with the audience through this album is simple – we must find the Divine within ourselves in order to become the successful individual we want to be. We try to show how to do that.”

To purchase Intelligent Music Project III - TOUCHING THE DIVINE CD:

Amazon: http://geni.us/2pOa

iTunes: http://geni.us/dXQ