Matt Duke + Rosi Golan + Hope Waits June 14, 2011

We've all heard the old song about the hip bone being connected to the leg bone, but what about the heart-strings and the grey matter? That connection is harder to make - but it's one that Matt Duke manages to forge with the whip-smart, emotive songs on his second Ryko album, One Day Die - an album which touches on the darkness implicit in that title and uses it as a springboard to redemption and rebirth.

"You could look at the title and think, ‘wow, that's dark,' but it's not meant to be morbid, it's meant to raise questions about how to cope, how to get past the darkness," says the 25-year-old South Jersey native, who grants that he went to his own dark place last year after suffering a hand injury that was serious enough to jeopardize his ability to play guitar again.

"As strange as it sounds, that was a blessing in disguise," explains Duke, "because it was something of an enforced break that made me reconsider everything. When I started again, I found myself taking a completely fresh approach - one where I was willing to just experiment with no reservations."

With the help of producer Jason Finkel, Matt accelerated his healing process and dug deep to craft 11 songs. The pensive songwriter began to expand his horizons both sonically - evidence the doomy, string-laced opener "MLT" and the ethereal "Lay," which brings to mind the delicate tension of the late Jeff Buckley - and in the incisive wordplay he works so effortlessly.

Duke's impressionistic lyrics - delivered in a pure tenor that cuts straight to the bone -- shine bright, particularly throughout the edgy "Kangaroo Court" and on the guitar-driven "Needle and Thread," in which Duke assumes the role of the troubadour yearning to find "open arms at the bar for the prodigal son that often goes astray."

Such quests make up the heart and soul of One Day Die - an album which finds Duke asking questions of himself and which grabs listeners by the lapels and shakes them into a similar frame of mind. He literally puts them on the therapist's couch for the roiling "Psycho-Babble," and then reminds them - in the unflaggingly beautiful "Shangri-La" - "I know Shangri-La is somewhere near/ I've seen it, I've been there."

That paradise aside, Duke has been to a lot of places since he began his musical career. Writing and performing around South Jersey and Philadelphia while in high school helped him win the respect of soon-to-be-collaborators like Marshall Crenshaw, Suzzy Roche and Dylan sideman David Mansfield.

Barely past his 18th birthday, Matt recorded a demo that caught the attention of Mad Dragon Records, a label run by students at Philly's Drexel University. Mad Dragon released Matt's critically-acclaimed debut album, Winter Child, paving the way for his signing to Ryko, which spawned the well-received Kingdom Underground, produced by Marshall Altman.

"Those records were definitely a part of who I was at the time when I made them," says Duke. "But [One Day Die] really is me. Every character, every narrative is me in a lot of ways. With Jason's help, I realized that it's a good thing to get carried away. I got carried away a lot here."

That's evident throughout One Day Die, an album that runs as much on adrenalin as it does on intellect. As Matt reminds us in "The Hour":

"Wounds heal in good time

Remember all of the joy and all of my love for you

We all one day die

And you'll be alright"

Not just alright. Mended and made well.

http://www.myspace.com/mattduke

Rosi Golan is an Israeli born singer songwriter who has made many stops in her travels, including Germany, Paris and finally ending up in Los Angeles at the age of nine. During her travels, she not only managed to hone her infectiously melodic songwriting, but also learned to speak four languages: French, Hebrew, German and English.

Rosi is indeed a long way from home, but certainly in the right place to showcase her unique talent for rich, dark melodies and a voice that not only draws you in, but still haunts you the next day. Those talents are on full display on her Marshall Altman produced (Matt Nathanson, Marc Broussard) debut CD, The Drifter and The Gypsy. The 11-song set includes Shine, the anthem for the current Pantene campaign, Hazy, a duet with William Fitzsimmons recently featured on One Tree Hill, Lullaby heard on Private Practice and Come Around recently featured on Ghost Whisperer.

Rosi, signed with Kobalt Music, has co-written numerous songs for other artists, including Let Me Out, a single from Bens Brother debut CD (EMI/Virgin). The song was featured on Greys Anatomy and nominated for the prestigious Ivor Novello songwriting award for Best Song. "It would appear to be only a matter of time before this Israeli born singer-songwriter makes a deserved name for herself - and her sultry live shows only add weight to that belief. Influenced by such candid lyricists as Norah Jones and Ray LaMontagne, Golan leaves little to the imagination with her own intimate style of writing. Her chic, sensual vocal lends itself perfectly to a collection of personable songs that can arouse and delight audiences in the here and now yet still resonate long after."
http://www.rosigolan.com/

Hope Waits possesses that rare talent that is born of challenge, pain and heart. Growing up in the Deep South, Wait's voice was strong from the beginning. The seventh of 12 children born to an alcoholic father and an overprotective mother, Waits grew up singing in Baptist choirs (despite her mother's disapproval) and wrote love songs underneath her bed quickly learning how to pull a tune out of her bizarre home life. After her mother's murder (a case that is unsolved to this day), Hope left home at 21 and began to pursue her passion. After relocating from New Orleans to Los Angeles, Hope met Douglas Grossman who introduced her to his longtime friend Peter Malick who produced Norah Jones' first recordings. The two signed her to their label and released her debut self-titled album in late 2007 to rave reviews. With Malick at the helm, Waits delivers a record so full of maturity and passion that it belies the fact that this is a debut album. In addition, Hope's music found the attention of Putumayo World Music who included the singer's take on Jackie Wilson's "I'll Be Satisfied" on their 2008 Women of Jazz release (alongside Melody Gardot, Madeleine Peyroux and Cassandra Wilson) and made her the spokesperson for the project. Hope is currently working on her second studio album, and will be touring in the later part of 2011.
http://www.hopewaits.com/newsblog/

Official Website: http://www.jamminjava.com/