Pianist-singer-songwriter Judith Owen is known for her love of musical variety and melding it into a great stylistic gumbo all her own. ‘Somebody’s Child’ is the culmination of this mix: voice and piano front and centre, songs that are vignettes of life crafted from the perspective that we ARE all “somebody’s child” – parental as well as planetary. An album about us.

“By nature, I am a diverse musician. It’s who I am because of all the music I grew up being exposed to, from opera to Sinatra, Joni to Stevie Wonder, and everything in between,” says Judith.

Whereas 2014’s critically-acclaimed ‘Ebb & Flow’ was personal and very much a love letter to Laurel Canyon, ‘Somebody’s Child’ takes a leap from the confessional to the observational, whilst recruiting the same crème de la crème of Los Angeles session musicians – bassist Leland Sklar, guitarist Waddy Wachtel and drummer Russell Kunkel – and incorporating them with her British-based musicians – master percussionist Pedro Segundo and sublime cellist Gabriella Swallow – to create a fresh new dynamic.

“It’s a very British thing where you love mixing all those styles. It’s classical. It’s pop. There’s jazz. There’s rhythm and blues. Then there’s rock thrown in there too,” Judith emphasizes, as evident in the jewel-like, pastoral and melancholic ‘No More Goodbyes’ and the staccato, jazzy rocker ‘We Give In’.

The opening song, and title track, is intimately framed with a string quartet and “is the heart of the record. It sets the tone – a mission statement. I was in New York, in the middle of winter, and I saw this beautiful young woman, about nine months pregnant, barefoot in the snow, wearing a trash bag, that was all she had, stomach out and in a state. I was crossing the street, with everybody else, trying to avoid her, when I thought, “That’s somebody’s child, and if my life had been different, that could have been me.  Or any of us! We’re all so dehumanized, and this whole record is about reconnecting with our humanity, really seeing what’s around us, discarding, even if it is just for a moment, our constant state of denial.”

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by Pierre Perrone (2016)

Following the recent acclaimed first edition of AOR Global Sounds compilation, DJ and producer Charles Maurice’s dug even deeper through international lost productions to create a sequel for this series.

The result is AOR Global Sounds Vol.2, a new compilation made of 8 forgotten and rare tracks produced between 1975 and 1983 in all parts of the globe. At the end of the 70s, many artists over the world were deeply influenced by AOR’s famous stars such as Steely Dan and his classic Aja LP, looking to reach the same attention to sound production and details, and this specific Westcoast style mixing together Pop-Rock standards, with Soul (sometime Disco) and Jazz influences.

From Renée Geyer Band in Australia, and Boban Petrovic in Ex-Yugoslavia, to Carol Ray Band in France, and Greg Yoder in Hawaï, Charles Maurice and Favorite Recordings built another hot selection of lost tracks clearly infused with this special AOR touch, in a Soulful and Disco way.

Fully remastered from originals with the same attention to sound quality than in first edition, AOR Global Sounds Vol.2 (1975-1983, selected by Charles Maurice) is presented by Favorite Recordings in a deluxe vinyl version, housed in a tip-on jacket and as CD.

Rita Wilson’s self-titled new album, her second, not only marks the singer and actress’ debut as a songwriter, it also showcases her knack for creating insightful, eloquent singer-songwriter pop that is etched with stunning honesty. Working with a host of the country’s finest and best-selling songwriters and producers, including several Grammy Award winners and nominees, Wilson taps into the bittersweet moments of her own personal experiences on songs like “Grateful,” “Forgiving Me, Forgiving You,” and “Crying, Crying,” giving the listener a window into the interior emotional life of someone known primarily for the indelible characters she has brought to the screen in It’s Complicated,Sleepless in Seattle, The Good Wife, and Girls.

“At one point in the writing process, I realized that there was a theme emerging from the songs that had to do with different levels of being vulnerable, or weak, or strong, or courageous,” Wilson says. “It seemed that there was something going on there and I tried to not get in the way and see what would come through.”

After the positive reception she received for her 2012 debut album AM/FM, an intimate collection of covers of her favorite songs from the ’60s and ’70s, Wilson knew she wanted to continue making music. “I thought, ‘I have to keep doing this,’” she says. “I didn’t know what form it was going to take. I didn’t know how I was going to do it. But with the help of some really amazing people, I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and going down the path, not without fear, for sure, I was terrified, but excited enough to see where it would lead.”

The path led to co-writing sessions in Los Angeles and Nashville with Grammy Award winners/nominees Jessi Alexander (Blake Shelton), Kristian Bush (Sugarland), Nathan Chapman (Taylor Swift), Kara DioGuardi (Carrie Underwood), Lauren Christy (Avril Lavigne), Richard Marx (Keith Urban), and Dan Wilson (Adele); acclaimed songwriters Kelly Archer (Jason Aldean), Darrell Brown (Keith Urban), Blair Daly (Rascal Flatts), Stephan Moccio (The Weeknd), Jon Randall (Sheryl Crow), and Jason Reeves (Colbie Caillat), as well as the producers Ron Aniello (Bruce Springsteen), Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat), John Shanks (Melissa Etheridge), and Babyface (Whitney Houston), in addition to Chapman, Marx, and Dan Wilson.

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Allison Dietz sings in a voice both naive and experienced, like honeysuckle and heartache, or sunshine and sorrow. She's equal parts Loretta Lynn, Ford F-150, and Johnny Walker Red. No stranger to the stage, Allison has recently embarked on a journey from singer to artist, finally giving her songwriting skills priority. The result is 'Pretty Lies' and with it, she gracefully delivers songs filled with both anguish and redemption on a remarkable debut album.

Born and raised in Maryland, Allison’s musical roots began with the classic folk, rock, and rhythm’n’blues records her parents frequently played. An avid devotee of all genres of music, it was during her college years when americana, roots rock, blues and classic country began stirring her desire to write. Willie Dixon, Elmore James, Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, Kris Kristofferson, John Prine, Dolly Parton, Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams, and Patty Griffin all became personal songwriting heroes.

What inspired the songs on this album? “Most were at least in part inspired by things I have personally experienced, bad love, good love, lost love, and mercifully, real love. To balance the cheating, drinking, lying songs I seemed to be writing, I wrote 'Nobody Loves Me (Like You Do)' to honor joy and the real love in my life, and 'Let Me Keep you Warm' was written as a hopeful song for someone close going through some trying times. 'Parade' is a little different, as it was inspired by a large, formal funeral procession for a local fireman who passed away in the line of duty. I was driving a back country road when I saw it coming. I pulled over, got out and stood to pay my respects. It was one of the most moving and heart-rending things I have ever witnessed and, although a stranger, it affected me deeply. I can only imagine what his colleagues, friends and most especially his family were going through”.

Is there one song on the album that you feel has captured who you are as an artist? “I'm still discovering and experimenting with who I am, stylistically. However, if I had to choose one song that most captures my essence, it would be 'Can't Get Away'. It was one of the first songs I wrote for the album and it's a little sad and a little dark but a little redemptive and a little badass too. And I just love it”.

On 'Pretty Lies', Allison Dietz sings past the graveyard with a tone that makes it clear that she knows what it is to be nose-to-the-linoleum-heartbroke. But her delivery is without guile or artifice, purely innocent in all the best ways.

Thanks to Peter Holmstedt at HEMIFRAN

Very exciting news, Steve Porcaro long awaited first solo "Someday/somehow" will be released on June 10, on his label Porcara Musica.

Here's the track list:

1/ Ready Or Not 2/ Loved By A Fool 3/ Someday/Somehow 4/ Swing Street 5/ She's So Shy 6/ Back To You 7/ Face Of A Girl 8/ To No One 9/ Make Up 10/ She's The One 11/ Night Of Our Own 12/ Painting By Numbers 13/ More Than I Can Take

Listen to songs samples at amazon.com

More informations soon. Stay tuned!