3 November 2020

Artist: BLACK NEEDLE NOISE
Who: The moniker of legendary producer John Fryer who started his career in 1979
in London where he soon began working with seminal bands on 4AD, Mute, Rough Trade and Beggars Banquet, including Depeche Mode, The Wolfgang Press and Cocteau Twins. His achievement in helping develop the latter’s pioneering ethereal and ambient sound ultimately led Watts-Russell to recruit Fryer as his partner for This Mortal Coil.

(photo by Martha Schuster)

Album: THESE MORTAL COVERS
What: A covers-based album by John Fryer/Black Needle Noise, involving collaborations with a handful of varied vocalists, including Anjela Piccard, Pinky Turzo, Beca, Tom Berger, Magic Rebecca Coseboom, and Betty X, featuring awesome versions of top tracks by Black Sabbath, Nancy Sinatra, R.E.M. and Louis Armstrong among others.

Released (digitally): 27 October 2020

John Fryer: “The whole idea of doing cover versions started back with DarkDriveClinic. We
were backstage for one of our live shows and the floor was gruby and Rebecca asked if she could put on my shoes to get something from the other side of the room and then I said, hey, let’s do a cover of “Walking In My Shoes” and so then the covers album was born back in 2011.”

Turn Up The Volume: This huge wall of titanic synth soundscapes takes your breath away. Overwhelming, staggering, and mind-blowing at times. A varied bunch of classic crackers, old and new, get another sonic life when they come under the electronic spell of Fryer‘s melodramatic vision. Most covers albums fail badly because they lack open-mindedness, inspiration, and inventive imagination. These Mortal Covers is a triumphant exception.

Don’t miss this elevating experience!

Singles: She Talks Angels (probably the best cover I heard all year) / What A Wonderful World

– SHE TALKS TO ANGELS –
(Original by Black Crowes)

– WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD –
(Made famous by Louis Amstrong in 1967)

Full album…

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BLACK NEEDLE NOISE: Facebook