“Wake Up,” New Song & Music Video by Platypus Planet

Song Deals with Recovery Through Progress and Truth

 

Platypus Planet have a new song and music video, “Wake Up."

The group and music are the creation of German Starseed/Singer/songwriter/ keyboardist/ multi-media music leader Anna Black. The band’s core consists of Anna and three more passionate artists: drummer Frank Nolte (Germany), bassist Alexis Bietti (France), and what Anna calls Platypus Planet’s enigmatic secret weapon, keyboardist Robeone (United States).

Notables in the prog rock community have contributed to her meditative and electronic-inspired progressive music including Imaginaerium’s Clive Nolan & Laura Piazzai on a recent single called “Inner Peace.”

Lifesigns/Strawbs/ Dave Bainbridge & Sally Minnear guitarist Dave Bainbridge joins Platypus Planet on the new meditative and electronic-inspired progressive music single “Wake Up.”

The music video for “Wake Up” shows imagery and Anna performing with a message. about why so many people are awakening and changing these days, moving away from lower vibrational people that take energy from them.  The story spotlights on recognizing and defining pain, progressing, and going through the process with truth.  Anna says, “The song is a call to break through the noise, to let go of the versions of ourselves we've been taught to perform, and to reconnect with something real. It’s about waking up to the truth that there’s nothing to fear in being who you are.” 

She says the theme of her songs are about serving, “As I wake up, I’m helping you wake up.”

The music video and song resonated with Fan MamaChar Leonard, who posted on her social media, “I believe this one will be added to my morning routine! “   

 

Anna, Frank, Alexis, and Robeone are working on their first album to be called, “Echoes of the Soul.” There are other songs on the upcoming album out, in addition to “Wake Up” and “Inner Peace,” songs already on streaming media include “Sincerety,” “Identify,” and “Song of Sorrow.”

“Wake Up” 

Eyes are blinded,
Touch is grinded,
No one to feel it,
No one to heal it,
Calling,
You to wake up,

You need to wake up,
You need to wake up,
Wake up,
You need to,

Listening on the surface,
I tell you what my truth is,
Now stand up,
And be yourself,
There's nothing you can't do,

Listening on the surface,
I tell you what my truth is,
Stand up,
And be yourself,
There's nothing you can do,

Let yourself be your truth,
Wake up,

Eyes are blinded,
Touch is grinded,
No one to feel it,
Calling,
You to wake up.

 

C 2025, Anna Black, All Rights Reserved 

South African Pop Singer Jann Klose On Tour w/ New Single & Music Video “Sugar My”

­ ­ ­ Award-winning musician and songwriter Jann Klose is touring, and has a new song "Sugar My" on all streaming media. Jann is an award-winning pop singer-songwriter, who has released six albums and two EPs. Klose was raised in Kenya, South Africa, Germany and the United States.    His latest song, “Sugar My” (Honey Rose Records) is at 50 and rising on the MediaBase Top 40 charts. Watch the new music video  His two recent singles, "Love You the Most" and "Pilot Light" have accumulated over 5 million streams across all platforms. Love You the Most (part of the soundtrack to the Amazon film Married Young) broke Top 40 radio in the United States, peaking at #49.  Jann is an ambassador for Desmond Tutu's TutuDesk campaign and Brick by Brick Uganda. He is the singing voice of Tim Buckley in the movie "Greetings from Tim Buckley" (Universal). His songs have been heard on the Grammy® nominated "Healthy Food For Thought" compilation, charted in the Billboard Top 10 compilation "Action Moves People United" as well as MTV Cribs and movies "Dead Broke" (Warner Bros) featuring Paul Sorvino and “One Little Finger” alongside Quincy Jones, Siedah Garrett and Julian Lennon. He has performed as an actor and singer in touring companies of Broadway musicals, including "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Jekyll and Hyde," and "The Who's Tommy" as well as made for TV movies, voice overs and commercials. Jann has won 4 Independent Music Awards (IMAs). In 2020, Jann launched his podcast, Making Sound with Jann Klose. Recent episodes have featured industry legends like Felix Cavaliere (Rascals), Annie Haslam (Renaissance), Frank Bello (Anthrax), and Simon Kirke (Bad Company), actor/songwriter Michael O’Keefe (Caddyshack, the Great Santini). Jann tours year-‘round in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia and has opened for and collaborated with a wide range of artists including Pat Benatar, John Oates of Hall and Oates, Suzanne Vega, Renaissance's Annie Haslam, The Yardbirds and Jim McCarty, Rosanne Cash, Paula Cole, Brett Dennen, Karen Zoid, Shekhinah, Carrie Newcomer, Alicia Madison, The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, Gary Lucas, Jeffrey Gaines, Elliott Murphy, Rusted Root, Pete Seeger and Les Paul.    JANN KLOSE TOURDATES June 3, 4, 5,  NAMM 2022  Show, Anaheim, CA   June 8  Bishop Tri-County Fairgrounds Bishop, CA June 11 The Finnish Hall Berkeley, CA June18   Michael Braceland Art Gallery, East Patchogue, NY June 19   Cozy Cabin Concerts  Green Brook Township, NJ  Sept. 16-18   Island Hopper Songwriter Festival, Fort Myers Beach, FL Sept. 25:  House Concert, Fort Myers, FL

Mandoki Soulmates’ “Living in the Gap/Hungarian Pictures” The Band of Bandleaders

Number 1 in Hungary & Germany, Building in North America

"Living in the Gap/Hungarian Pictures” is the 11th album by Mandoki Soulmates. It’s finding and building support in North America, because of the music and unity themes. We’re setting up interviews with Leslie Mandoki, the leader of “the band of bandleaders.” 

The release of “Living in the Gap/Hungarian Pictures” (Cleopatra Records) follows the 2018 USA tour of Mandoki Soulmates, including a performance at New York City’s The Beacon Theater. Just passing 350,000 streams of the album, and reaching over 1.3 million people on Facebook.

Mandoki Soulmates is currently planning to tour the USA and Germany late 2021. In the meantime, Leslie’s finding ways to thank and support, “all the frontline workers, doctors, nurses, grocery clerks, supermarket workers--all the people, who kept the world turning and took care of our daily needs and our lives…”

The album “Living in the Gap/Hungarian Pictures” features a Who’s Who of Classic Rock: Ian Anderson, Jack Bruce, David Clayton-Thomas, Bobby Kimball, Tony Carey, Simon Phillips, Chris Thompson, Al DiMeola, Mike Stern, Randy & Ada Brecker, saxophonist Bill Evans, Supertramp´s John Helliwell and Jesse Siebenberg, bassists: Steve Bailey and Richard Bona, former Snarky Puppy keyboardist Cory Henry, and the Cutting Crew’s Nick Van Eede.

Leslie teamed up with his Soulmates Ian Anderson, John Helliwell, Bobby Kimball, Al DiMeola to record the song “WeSayThankYou,” donating all royalties to US charity organizations (The United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund in support of the WHO (World Health Organization) and The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City).

The album topped the Amazon Classic Rock Charts in Germany end of 2019, and is growing throughout the world including “Eccelente supergruppo” writes StoneMusic.it. Mandoki Soulmates is finding support on prog, classic rock, singer-songwriter and fusion playlists, especially with the songs: “The Torch,” “Living in the Gap,” “Wake Up,” and both “Young Rebels” and “Old Rebels.” Thanks to a great campaign from the Planetary Group, over 70 radio stations in North America, alone, are playing Mandoki Soulmates. This includes medium and high rotation on tastemaker and buzz stations KFAI-Minneapolis/St. Paul, KPSU-Portland, WDCE-Richmond, VA, WICR-Ithaca, New HD Radio w/ Zach Martin, KVCU-Boulder, WRHU-Hempstead. 

WUSB-Stony Brook’s Captain Phil Merkel’s been spinning Mandoki Soulmates all summer, “my biggest takeaway from the entire work is the amount of caring and empathy Leslie has for everyone, especially us here in the USA as we struggle to cope with that monster COVID 19.  I am so glad we have Leslie looking out for us.  Give it a listen, you won't be disappointed.”

Making a Scene writes “Leslie Mandoki is making a scene! The band is pure sophisticated jazz rock, or as Greg Lake (Emerson, Lake, & Palmer) put it, ‘One of the best bands you’ll ever see.’”  The late Mr. Lake, also, dubbed Mandoki Soulmates as “the band of the bandleaders”!

Canada’s LetItRock calls “Living in the Gap/Hungarian Pictures”, “A glorious thing.” Classic rock’s Strutterzine gets the message: “The impact now is so much bigger and the result is a journey which should be heard by as many people as possible…”

Why are so many of us pushing for Mandoki Soulmates to be heard?  Leslie says, “Music is the greatest unifier and nothing is more timely than to raise our voice to unify the world and to build bridges over the gap we are living in, to get out of our news bubbles and echo chambers.”

House of Prog Radio writes, “the coming together of such a diverse cast perfectly expresses the album’s lyrical theme of unity, which couldn’t be a more timely message for today’s world.”

Since escaping from the Iron Curtin in the 1970s, first becoming a refugee in Germany, and then creating a life that included running the largest recording studio in Europe, Leslie’s life has been dedicated to unity, and it shows—in part—because of the pleasant and hard things he went through in order to achieve the Great European Dream. Recently Leslie told Germany’s Tekdeeps.com that “rock and roll means revolution and rebellion for a better world.”

 

  

Jann Klose Releases MOSAIC: Special Edition

Acclaim for Indie Artist Inspires Album with Songwriter’s Demos

Songwriting is all about the process, and few know that better than one of Pop/Singer-Songwriter’s most

Downloadable Cover of MOSAIC: Special Edition

outstanding vocalists, Jann Klose. He demonstrates this process from demo to radio-ready music on his new collectible CD, MOSAIC: SPECIAL EDITION, which he’s making available to the fans first at his New York City show at the Rockwood Music Hall this Saturday night (December 6) at 8 pm.

“His songs are sturdy, often soaring vehicles for the purity of his voice,” writes SiriusXM's Deep Tracks host Michael Tearson, in SING OUT magazine, the veteran standard for contemporary roots music. “Jann Klose is a richly textured artist.”

MOSAIC found acclaim on Little Steven’s Underground Garage show, Entertainment Tonight online, WFUV-New York City, C-Net, WBZ-Chicago, KCSN-Northridge, CA, KPFK-Los Angeles, as well as stations in Canada, the UK, Mexico, Spain, Germany, Indonesia, Australia. Since the album’s release in June 2013, he’s opened for and/or performed with a wide array of artists including Robyn Hitchcock, Paula Cole, John Oates, Liz Callaway, Pat Benatar, George Lamond, Bret Michaels, Jeffrey Gaines, Toby Walker Jr., Gary Lucas… Jann is winning fans around the world.

The special edition is for those who want a more intimate look at the artist and his process. The new release contains all the great songs on MOSAIC, as recorded with Grammy-winning producer James Frazee (Esperanza Spaulding, My Morning Jacket) and David Bendeth (Elvis Presley, Bruce Hornsby). The album also includes one new demo of the melodic “Anything,” and the original artist demos for “Make it Better,” “On and On,” “Long Goodbye,” “Falling Tears,” and “Four Leaf Clover.”

According to Jann, the Special Edition highlights the “way arrangements and lyrics will change and evolve. I wanted to let my audience in on that process.”

Born in Germany and Raised in Kenya, South Africa, and Hamburg, Jann currently lives in the melting pot called New York City when he is not touring the world. He won four Vox Pop Awards at the 2014 Independent Music Awards, including one for his cover of Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren” on MOSAIC. Two of Jann’s songs appear in the Australian documentary VENUE AT THE END OF THE WORLD which he is interviewed in, as is Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson and Dick Cavett. 

His music video MAKE IT BETTER is approaching 20,000 views. See it at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=stEjfSzO9CQ. His collaboration with singer/songwriter/guitarist Gary Lucas has resulted in a music video, MARY MAGDALENE (about 2012's Superstorm Sandy to help raise funds for Island Park, NY's Volunteer Fire Department). Jann sings Tim’s parts in the 2012 film GREETINGS FROM TIM BUCKLEY. He has released four solo albums and two EPs, has songs featured in films and TV, and plays 75-100 shows a year across North America, Europe, and Asia. 

####

JANN KLOSE TOUR DATES 

12/6 Rockwood Music Hall, New York, NY

1/3/15 St. Pauli Museum, Hamburg, Germany

1/5/15  TBA, Hanover, Germany

1/6/15  Mein Haus Am See, Berlin, Germany

1/8/15  Saturn Kino, Barnstedt, Germany

1/9/15  Prinz Willy, Kiel, Germany

1/10/15 Haus Konzert, Barnstadt, Germany

1/12/15 Wohnzimmerkonzert, Barnstadt. Germany

1/30/15 Fiddler's Crossing, Tehachapi, CA

2/1/15 SOhO Restaurant, Santa Barbara, CA

2/6/15 Don Quixote's w/ Tempest, Felton, CA

2/8/15 Fresno Folklore Society at Mea Cuppa Coffee, Fresno, CA

2/13/15 WitzEnd Live, Venice, CA

3/14/15 Ethical Brew, Teaneck, NJ

4/17/15 Electric Maid, Washington DC

4/24/15 Shaggy Turtle House Concert, Charlotte, NC

4/25/15 SLHC Concerts Basement Series, Hickory, NC

8/9/15  Cozy Cabin Concerts, New Jersey 

9/5/15  Cadyville Concerts, Plattsburgh, NY

4/9/16  Riverfolk Concerts, Honesdale, PA

www.jannklose.com

www.facebook.com/jannklose

www.twitter.com/jannkloseband

www.youtube.com/jannklose

Jann on ET Online: ETOnline at www.etonline.com/music/131526_Artist_You_Should_Know_Jann_Klose/index.html

Lucas Klose's Mary Magdalene www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA-GJNH0I38 

BLACKMORE'S NIGHT to launch the first single, "The Moon Is Shining (Somewhere Over The Sea)" off the new album “Dancer and the Moon”

Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the digital release of the first single from BLACKMORE'S NIGHT new album "Dancer and the Moon" entitled "The Moon Is Shining (Somewhere Over the Sea)." This beautiful new song is "Based on an old folk Czech melody which Candice and I thought were very melodic and haunting" says Ritchie Blackmore. "We adapted and arranged to suit more of a rock structure. We also played it as a ballad as it was originally intended. We asked several of our Czech friends what it was called but they couldn't tell us, so it remains a mystery."

The single can be downloaded now from every fine shop such as iTunes or Amazon and streamed legally via Spotify and Deezer. It is also possible to enjoy a sample of the song, following this link:
www.frontiers.it/download/The_Moon_Is_Shining_sample.mp3

"Dancer and the Moon" will be released on June 11th in North America and June 14th in Europe in regular cd configuration and deluxe edition in digipak, including a bonus DVD featuring a 40 mins "making of the album" documentary and acoustic versions of "The Spinner's Tale," "Somewhere Over The Sea/Moon Was Shining," "The Ashgrove" and "Queen For A Day." The album will also be made available in a super-deluxe edition strictly limited to 2000 copies  packaged in a polyston frame with the cover artwork printed on canvas and including a black tote bag with Blackmore's Night artwork, 4 Blackmore's Night pins, a certificate of authenticity and of course the CD/DVD edition.

BLACKMORE'S NIGHT confirmed tour dates for Europe include:

Palace of Ukraine, Kiev (Ukraine) - 15th June
Crocus City Hall, Moscow (Russia) - 18th June
BKZ Oktyabrsky, St Petersburg (Russia) - 20th June
Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline (Scotland) - 26th June
Mill Volvo Tyne Theatre, Newcastle (England) - 28th June
Wolverhampton Grand, Wolverhampton (England) - 1st July
City Hall, Salisbury (England) - 3rd July
G Live, Guildford (England) - 5th July
Hugenottenhalle, Neu Isenburg (Germany) - 9th July
Serenadenhoff, Nurnburg (Germnay) - 11th July
Congresshalle, Saarbrucken (Germany) - 13th July
Kongress am Park, Augsburg (Germany) - 14th July
Burg Creuzburg, Creuzburg (Germany) - 19th July
Albrechtsburg, Meissen (Germany) - 21st July
Beethoven Saal, Stuttgart (Germany) - 23rd July

####
www.blackmoresnight.com 
www.candicenight.com

Jann Klose to open for RENAISSANCE 2009 this October (Pop singer/songwriter available for interviews in advance of shows)

Jann Klose will be opening for Renaissance on their 40th Anniversary Celebration this October. The tour will visit theatres and performing arts centers in the Northeast U.S. There are a total of nine shows. Headliner Renaissance features long time Renaissance members - singer Annie Haslam and guitarist Michael Dunford.

Jann has had a professional friendship with Annie, who saw and heard him perform at a record release party for a benefit album, SERENITY HOUSE, in September 2007. The following year the two collaborated, along with Renaissance's former keyboardist John Tout, and Jann's band for a sell-out show at the Sellersville Theater, in Sellersville, PA.

Jann's album, REVERIE continues to build momentum. The record has already become a critical favorite in regional America and is - as the LA Weekly states - becoming "a minor hit," heard on over 115 radio stations worldwide, including Sirius XM Radio in the U.S., the BBC in the U.K. and most recently, Prambors Radio in Indonesia.

Since the release of REVERIE, Jann has also opened for Jonathan Edwards, The Strawbs, Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root and performed with Rosanne Cash, Marty Stuart and Roger McGuinn at the Martin Guitar 175th anniversary concert. (He'll be opening for Marshall Crenshaw at the Sellersville Theater, in PA on October 24.)

Jann and his band supported Elliott Murphy on tours of the East and West Coast. The two are planning on more shows together later this year. Jann recently returned from a European tour, which included his second run of dates in the U.K. and Germany as well as Georgia, France and Ireland for the first time. In addition to radio airplay and extensive touring - over 100 shows in 2008 alone.

There are also free downloads of songs from REVERIE available at http://jannklose.com/audio.html Jann and his band have been receiving positive press for REVERIE:

“The first thing that's totally unmistakable about Jann Klose is that voice - which is just light years beyond that of the typical singer/songwriter...a sound that is classy, distinctive and often irresistible.”- The Springfield Republican, Advance Newspaper Wire Service

“Klose wins over the listener with his soaring voice, which may well be a staple of chamber pop for a long time to come.” - The Washington Post

“Born in Germany and raised in Africa, Jann Klose brings an element of world music to his adult-contemporary pop-rock. His latest record Reverie offers songs of thoughtful introspection and longing. Rich arrangements feature orchestral strings, jazzy horns and old-world accordion in addition to the standard bass, drums and guitar. Highlights include the melancholy 'Mother Said, Father Said' and Latin-flavored 'Clouds.'” - Performing Songwriter

Confirmed Jann Klose tour dates, Fall 2009
please visit http://www.jannklose.com for updates

October 6 Rams Head On Stage Annapolis, MD w/ Renaissance
October 8 German House Theatre Rochester, NY w/ Renassiance
October 9 The Concert Hall New York, NY w/ Renaissance
October 11 Keswick Theatre Glenside, PA w/ Renaissance (SOLD OUT!)
October 12 The Birchmere Alexandria, VA w/ Renaissance
October 13 The Egg Albany, NY w/ Renaissance
October 14 Whitaker Center Harrisburg, PA w/ Renaissance
October 16 South Orange Performing Arts Center South Orange, NJ w/ Renaissance
October 17 Xanadu Theater at the Trump Taj Mahal Atlantic City, NJ w/ Renaissance
October 18 Beacon Sloop Club Pumpkin Festival Beacon, NY w/ Pete Seeger
October 24 Sellersville Theater Sellersville, PA w/ Marshall Crenshaw
November 4 Acoustic Long Island Saint James, NY
November 5 Clear Conscience Cafe Cambridge, MA w/ Lizanne Knott
November 16 Uncommon Ground on Devon
Chicago, IL
November 17 and 18: 12th Annual Jeff Buckley Tribute Concert, Uncommon Ground Chicago, IL
November 20 The Blue Magoo Warren,OH
November 21 Rolling Plains Church Zanesville, OH
December 5 Stephen Talkhouse Amagansett, NY w/ Elliott Murphy
December 9 Johnny D's Boston, MA w/ Elliott Murphy
December 10 The Watercolor Cafe Larchmont, NY w/ Elliott Murphy
December 11 The Living Room New York, NY

http://www.myspace.com/jannklose
http://www.jannklose.com