Morgan in concert at Sonorama 2019 – Recorded August 9, 2019 – RNE Radio 3 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
Heading to other places and other countries this week, kicking it off with a concert by the much-talked-about Pop/Soul/Indie/Blues/Folk outfit from Madrid; Morgan.
They’ve been around since 2012 – and if you’re already familiar with them (they are getting a worldwide reputation), skip the rest of this and head straight to the player.
But if you aren’t – Here is a band that offers glaring proof that Popular Music is happening everywhere and Rock hasn’t been the sole property of English speaking countries in a very long time. Of course, you would naturally assume this band is from somewhere around Texas, maybe Colorado, even New Mexico singer Nina de Juan has the phrasing and the nuance down cold and the only giveaway is the banter between songs.
This is the thing, and it’s happening everywhere – bands and artists are singing in English to extend their popularity to more places and are working really hard to make their native language impossible to detect. It’s been working for a number of bands over the past few years – the stigma of a band from Madrid or Paris or Stockholm not being able to make their work known beyond their borders is a thing of the past. And it’s about time.
Morgan is a tight unit that has a good grasp on Funk – the Rhythm section is great. Nina’s vocals are absolutely killer, with passion, nuance and a lovely range that puts her heads above a lot of current acts who just so happen are stateside locals.
Before the pandemic hit, Morgan were braced for a lot of gigging around the UK to promote their latest single, Another Road. The hopes were to break into the UK/English speaking market and get the ball rolling. It was hoped that perhaps they would venture across the Atlantic to start making headway over here. But like to many artists, things got chopped off at the starting gate when quarantines, social distancing and banned public gatherings made it all impossible.
This has been the real tragedy with music and our current climate with COVID-19. Sadly, they aren’t the only band suffering from aborted starts to much-anticipated careers. I only hope they find ways of keeping the message and the music out there – I know I am trying to go what I can via Past Daily – but it’s up to you to seek them out, check out their websites, pick up their records, downloads, t-shirts – whatever you can do to support these bands until something breaks.
In the meantime, hit the play button and get familiar with a band that certainly deserves your rapt attention and a bit of love.
Crank it up and come back tomorrow. We’ll be digging up surprises.
