A quirky little thing here, is that the cover of Dead Letters will tell you side one isn’t done. But it is. Aqualung - Aqualung HQ: We're delighted to let you be the... - Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. In the late 1990s, while I started to discover new music by this new phenomenon called internet, I found a lot of music that was kind of similar - but I could not sort by a genre. The songs where very melodic, pop-like and beatlesesque but anyhow different. Years later I learned the genre was named PowerPop. So I started this blog. It's called PowerPopSquare, though I'm not sure if it fits to all the musicians here. GOOD TIMES GONNA COME: "2002 12 08 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/.

Streaming has been doing some strange things to music, you may have noticed. None of this has been lost on Matt Hales. After all, not only does he make and release music as Aqualung, but he also writes and produces music for some very successful streaming artists, so he knows the score you might say. Yet on Aqualung’s latest album Dead Letters, he’s not bothered one bit about conforming to streaming conventions. Hales grew up in Southampton, where his parents ran an independent record shop. [10] He aspired to be a musician from an early age, writing songs using the family piano when he was just 4 years old. When he was 16, Hales was awarded a scholarship to study music composition at Winchester College. Within a year, he wrote his first symphony titled "Life Cycle", [11] and formed his first band, which carried several different names during its lifespan. In the spring of 1990, the band (known at the time as Mecano Pig) [12] produced their debut self-titled album, but broke up soon afterwards. That same year, Hales moved to London to study music at City University, [13] and in 1992 formed a new band with his brother Ben called Gravel Monsters. [14] RUTH / the 45s [ edit ] Ramirez, Erika (22 August 2012). "Lianne La Havas, Reps Talk 'Is Your Love Big Enough?' Album & Stardom". Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved 22 February 2013. Columbia, Records (8 December 2004). "Strange And Beautiful, Eagerly-Anticipated Aqualung Album, Ready for Stateside Release". UBM plc . Retrieved 21 February 2013.Murphy, Lauren (5 March 2010). "Music Review-Boyzone-Brother". The Irish Times . Retrieved 22 February 2013. Well, isn't that interesting? I love articles like this, and I will be forwarding this one to Matt Hales so he can have a gentle laugh or a shrug of the shoulders.

Our full range of studio equipment from all the leading equipment and software brands. Guaranteed fast delivery and low prices. Cairns, Dan (29 October 2022). "The best albums of 2022 so far". The Times . Retrieved 5 November 2022. Long, Joe (25 July 2005). "Aqualung: Breathing Underwater". Glidemagazine.com . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Overall ‘Dead Letters’ is a reflective album that deserves to be played. A lot. It might not be as flash and showy as other albums released this year. However, there is a subtle elegance to it that elevates Aqualung from his peers. If you give it a chance you might find something very special indeed.Champion Of The World’ has massive Elton John ‘Benny And The Jets’ vibe, but also sounding reminiscent to the songs that first broke Hales two decades ago. There is a soaring string section that grows and falls, as does Hales’ vocals. The chorus features the lyric “You got it / Your feet are just a bit too big for your shoes” and “you’re a soldier now”. It feels like Hales is either talking about fame – his rise to prominence and drop off – or he could be talking about his children. And this is the beauty of ‘Dead Letters’. You are never sure if his being confessional or talking about someone else entirely. Aqualung first came to attention in 2002 when the debut single ‘Strange and Beautiful (I’ll Put A Spell On You)’ became a surprise UK Top 10 after being discovered via a Volkswagen Beetle advert. While that song created a magnetic allure, the strength and versatility of Hales’ songwriting further enamoured audiences. The debut self-titled Aqualung album reached Gold status in recognition of over 100,000 domestic sales, while the brighter symphonic scope of his second album, Still Life, led to another chart hit with ‘Brighter Than Sunshine’. By the time Aqualung’s third album, Memory Man emerged, glowing comparisons had been made with everyone from Bacharach to Radiohead via The Beach Boys, while his music has featured in ‘Twilight’, ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL: "2002 09 22 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/. At Aqualung’s recent ‘one night only UK tour’ (his first performance in the UK for 12 years at Bush Hall, London) Matt Hales let his devoted audience know just how clued up he is on streaming trends: That was Matt’s rather tongue-in-cheek cue to launch into Champion of the World, alas, not a streaming hit. But most definitely not worthless either, the song is as close to a hit single as he’ll write these days (and a surefire hit in a parallel universe of good taste). It even has a Doobie Brother’s bounce!

Still, it’s unlikely Aqualung’s gentle ballads will trouble the top of the Billboard charts (hey, Matt did get close enough, in 2003 ‘Brighter Than Sunshine’ reached 32 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart in the U.S.). As a songwriter and record producer, Hales has collaborated with Lianne La Havas, [6] Bat for Lashes, Tom Chaplin, Mika, Daniel Wilson, Kina Grannis, Andreya Triana, the Fray, Kwabs, Jason Mraz, Reignwolf, Sara Bareilles, [7] Jacob Banks, Paloma Faith, [8] Disclosure, Alex Clare, Mansionair, Mikky Ekko, For King & Country [9] and many others. Aqualung first came to attention in 2002 when the debut single ‘Strange & Beautiful (I’ll Put A Spell On You)’ became a surprise UK Top 10 after being discovered via a Volkswagen Beetle advert. While that song created a magnetic allure, the strength and versatility of Hales’ songwriting further enamoured audiences. The debut self-titled Aqualung album reached Gold status in recognition of over 100,000 domestic sales, while the brighter symphonic scope of his second album, ‘Still Life’, led to another chart hit with ‘Brighter Than Sunshine’. By the time Aqualung’s third album, ‘Memory Man’ emerged, glowing comparisons had been made with everyone from Bacharach to Radiohead via The Beach Boys, while his music has featured in ‘Twilight’, ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. a b "Aqualung - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014 . Retrieved 15 January 2022. Hales' work has earned him various awards and nominations, including two Grammy and three Ivor Novello nominations.Mervis, Scott (5 May 2005). "Music Preview: Matt Hales, aka Aqualung, explains confusion with Jethro Tull album". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Indeed, if ‘side one’ contains the big grand opener and ‘the (parallel universe) hits’ then ‘side two’ is the introspective half, full of personal stories, life sketches and dedications to family and loved ones. Each song is beautifully worked, with some rather wonderful chamber pop arrangements. On returning to England from the USA and making a new home in the South West, Hales was reacquainted with an old piano (which even came with vomit stains from prior family use). That piano adorns the inside cover sleeve of the album and proved to be the central tool in this record’s creation, with Hales composing sketch after sketch that eventually shaped themselves into the album's nine fabulous songs. ‘ Bad Dreams’, the album’s closer, is a masterpiece. It’s nearly 8 minutes long and not a second wasted. Finally, just before the needle gravitates towards the centre, Hales whispers ‘so’, just as the record started. Kellman, Andy (29 May 2012). "Fall to Grace – Paloma Faith". AllMusic . Retrieved 21 February 2013.

Heatseekers Albums: 3 September 2005". Prometheus Global Media. 3 September 2005 . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Matt Hales' official Aqualung Facebook post on 40th birthday – 17 January 2012". Facebook. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022 . Retrieved 8 March 2013. It’s funny, but some musicians who have long careers are often apologetic about their most recent work. While this might have a touch more humility than the usual brazen fib “this is my best work ever”, they needn’t be. I wonder, has streaming got something to do with this? When an artist’s new work is so transparently ranked against their biggest hits, it must send a disconcerting message.matt hales' first studio album in over 7 years is a bundle of deeply personal, emotionally charged expressions of intense feeling. Dead Letters is the new album from Aqualung - aka songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Matt Hales - his first in more than seven years.