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Long Tall J is a Dutch Prog Rock Artist and Producer living in London who has released four albums. His style is a mixture of Prog Rock, AOR, Melodic Rock and occasionally flirts with Funk and World.
On the 1st of March his fourth album, titled Solidarity, was released. Long Tall J is not a live act but a studio act. His tracks are created via exchange with his collaborators. In this case there are nine. Two from The Netherlands and seven from Ukraine.
The general theme of the Solidarity album is, you guessed it, human solidarity at both the individual and at a global level. At the moment, with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza going on, this is a hot topic and something he feels really strong about.
LTJ is in his daily life a commercial pilot and as such has visited Ukraine and Russia multiple times. This resulted in getting to know the Ukrainian musicians he cooperates with.
On the new album we find ten tracks. Six with vocals, one with spoken word and three instrumental. The album was co-produced by Emiel Zwaard Recording in Delft, The Netherlands and it was mastered by Steve Kitch, the keyboard player from The Pineapple Thief.
House of Prog just published the following review about the album:
https://houseofprog.com/blog/2024/02/29/long-tall-j-solidarity/
If you like to listen to the album you will find it on Bandcamp:
https://longtallj.bandcamp.com/
On Bandcamp and the website there are physical cd's available.
Linktree will provide you with alternative streaming links, media and reviews:
https://linktr.ee/Longtallj
Tracks:
1 - Your Soul (feat. Mariia Arkhipova) 2 - Ukraine (feat. Mariia Arkhipova) 3 - Alt Funk 4 - Turandot (feat. Peh Hong Ip & Mariia Arkhipova) 5 - All About You (feat. Mariia Arkhipova) 6 - Solidarity 7 - Long Tall Boots (feat. Mariia Arkhipova) 8 - Pie in the Sky 9 - Still I Wanna Know (feat. Peh Hong Ip & Mariia Arkhipova) 10 - Floydian Blues
Some background about the tracks:
Your Soul: A kind of dramatic song about a woman, in perhaps Kyiv, who her partner is at the Eastern front.
Ukraine: A protest song against the ongoing terror in Ukraine.
Alt Funk: a mixture of prog, funk and world featuring a three piece horn section. To balance the serious start of the album.
Turandot: a long prog piece which is like a magical journey in prog land.
All about you: the most catchy track from the album with a very layered approach to the arrangement and convincing vocals from Arkhipova.
Solidarity: a prog tune consisting of a mix of electronics and conventional instruments conveying the central theme of the album via spoken word.
Long Tall Boots: a more rocky track but very melodic.
Pie in the Sky: a slight jazzy track but in a way very prog given the freedom of arrangements with a star role for the horns.
Still I Wanna Know: a 70's prog style ballad with a melodic bridge
Floydian Blues: we all are sad about the demise of Pink Floyd and the rift between Waters and Gilmour. This track is very prog style psychedelic and echoes the atmosphere of Floyd and the sadness how it ended.
A Ukrainian video maker is working on videos for all ten tracks. They will be published when ready on the You Tube Channel. They will also include all lyrics.
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