Deafman Glance, the follow-up to 2016’s Golden Sings That Have Been Sung, is the second Ryley Walker album produced by LeRoy Bach and Walker himself. It was largely recorded at the Minbal Studios in Chicago, with some later sessions taking place at USA Studios and in LeRoy’s kitchen. Ryley plays electric & acoustic guitars and was joined by long-time 6-string sparring partners, Brian J Sulpizio and Bill Mackay, who both play electric. “I was under a lot of stress because I was trying to make an anti-folk record and I was having trouble doing it. I wanted to make something deep-fried and more me-sounding. I didn’t want to be jammy acoustic guy anymore. I just wanted to make something weird and far-out that came from the heart finally. I was always trying to make something like this I guess, trying to catch up with my imagination. And I think I succeeded in that way — it’s got some weird instrumentation on there, and some surreal far-out words. The last record was cool but I was still figuring out what I was good at. But I’m fucking 28 years old, I’ve got to figure out a sound, figure out something that I enjoy doing. So this record is a little bit more grown up. Ol’Ryley’s just workin’ on bein’ a better Ryley. I think more than anything the thing to take away from this record is that I appreciate what improv and jamming and that outlook on music has done for me, but I wanted rigid structure for these songs. I don’t want to expand upon them live. There’s a looseness to some of the songs I guess, but I didn’t want to rely on just hanging out on one note. It’s so straight-forward that I can see a lot of people really not liking it to be honest. But I’m so happy, I’m happy that it’s completely different and unexpected.”

From Johnson City Tennessee, Amythyst Kiah describes herself as a Southern Gothic, alt-country blues singer-songwriter whose influences span decades and diverse styles. Combining rhythm and blues, country and old-time covers alongside startling originals with an angular contemporary twist, she bestrides both musical spheres with complete authenticity and an authority matched only by her commanding stage presence. Channelled through her massively expressive voice, her richly layered repertoire confirms Amythyst's emergence as a hugely distinctive new artist who is currently making waves on both sides of the Atlantic.   She’s set for another big year and has just released a fantastic new track called Black Myself as part of Our Native Daughters, a collaborative album with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla and Alli Russell which explores the historical experience of black women in the US. It’s written and sung by Amythyst and is a hugely powerful anthem-in-waiting.