Tempest’s New Music Video “Jolly Roger” Heralding Upcoming Album “Going Home”

“Jolly Roger” is the music video from Tempest’s “Going Home.” With a handful of pirates and the classic Jolly Roger flying, the video was produced at Morgan’s Cove, the secret, treasure-laden pirate ship in a backyard of Morgan Hill, CA, as well as at SoundTek Studios in Campbell, CA. “Jolly Roger” is a folk-rock cover from the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn. 

The Bay Area Celtic Rock Band is releasing the new album, “Going Home,” on the group’s new record label Celtodelic on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2022. Co-produced by band leader Lief Sorbye and Robert Berry (3, December People) in November and December of 2021, the album is best described as “Euro Celtic,” as Tempest incorporates more Scandinavian and British Isles material into their brand of Progressive Folk Rock.
 
Lief wrote “The Shepherd’s Daughter,” based on the traditional British ballad, The Knight and The Shepherd’s Daughter. “Dream Morris” was a melody fully formed in Lief’s head one morning when he woke.  
 
The disc features a range of spirited fiddle and mandolin instrumentals “The Optimist” and “Mrs. Preston’s Favorite.” There are songs in Lief’s native language Norwegian. “Hjemreise” is a dedication to the recent passing of his mom and the magical mountain cabin ‘Jegerstølen,’ pictured on the front cover of the record. The song title translates to the album title, Going Home.
 
The Norwegian children’s song “Pål Sine Høner” (Paul’s Chickens), a Swedish murder ballad “De Två Systrarna” (The Two Sisters), and the British “The Devil and the Farmer” are traditional folk songs on Going Home.

Hailing from Oslo, Norway, founding member and lead singer/electric mandolinist, Lief Sorbye, is recognized as a driving force in the modern folk-rock movement. He started Tempest in 1988 after years of touring and recording on the folk circuit. The band also features San Francisco’s Lee Corbie-Wells (fiddle, vocals), Bulgaria-born Nikolay Georgiev (guitars), Michigan’s Hugh Caley, (bassist), and Cuban drummer Adolfo Lazo, who is an original member of Tempest.  

TEMPEST ‘The Going Home Tour' Spring 2022

Feb. 26 | Vallejo, CA          EMPRESS THEATRE
Mar. 5 | Fresno, CA            FULL CIRCLE BREWING CO.
Mar. 12, 13 | Dublin, CA    ST. PATRICK’S DAY FESTIVAL
Mar. 17 | Healdsburg, CA   HEALDSBURG PLAZA
Mar. 17 | Soquel, CA          MICHAEL’S ON MAIN
Mar. 19 | Sutter Creek, CA SUTTER CREEK THEATER
Mar. 25 | Williamsburg, IA RAVEN WOLF
Mar. 26 | St. Louis, MO      FOCALPOINT THEATRE
Mar. 27 | Goshen, IN          IGNITION MUSIC GARAGE
Mar. 30 | Rochester, NY     LOVIN’ CUP
Mar. 31 | Albany, NY         THE LINDA THEATRE
Apr. 1 | Middletown, CT    BUTTONWOOD TREE ARTS CENTER
Apr. 2 | New Hope, PA       HAVANA
Apr. 3 | Wayne, PA             118 NORTH
Apr. 4 | Kenton, DE           COOLDOG CONCERT SERIES
Apr. 6 | Cleveland, OH       BROTHERS LOUNGE CONCERT HALL
Apr. 7 | White Oak, PA       BRYN MAWR CHURCH
Apr. 8 | Columbus, OH       BYRNES PUB
Apr. 9 | Dayton, OH           YELLOW CAB TAVERN

 

 

 

Mandala's MIDNIGHT TWILIGHT: 18 Years in the Making

www.withinMandala.com 

www.AutumnsongsRecords.com

MANDALA, The Band

Rhys Marsh — voice, guitar, mellotron, sitar, rhodes, rebab, pedal steel

Francis Booth — bass guitar

Will Spurling — drums, percussion, tablas

with:

Anna Giddey — violin

Natalie Rozario — cello

Peter Keserue — harmonium

Coming out May 5 is Mandala’s album, MIDNIGHT TWILIGHT on Norway’s Autumnsongs Records (distributed by MVD in North America).

Mandala's debut album, MIDNIGHT TWILIGHT, is an exhilarating combination of Western and Eastern folk music, mixed with heavier forms of progressive rock, all wrapped in an early-‘70s glow.

Mandala was formed in London in 1997, by Rhys Marsh (voice, guitar), Francis Booth (bass) and Will Spurling (drums). Their plan was to create music that represented all things analog, specifically their love of valves, vinyl and VU meters. They wore flares and large-collared shirts with pride, quickly becoming one of the most talked about bands in the college, performing regularly in the weekly foyer, on TV shows and in end of year productions.

By 2005, they had a new sound that encompassed violin and cello, which they presented at concerts across the UK and North America. They recorded and self-released two EPs — one showcasing their ability to rock out, albeit this time with a string section, and the other showcasing their acoustic material. The sound was penned by The Guardian newspaper as “Folk Noir.” At this time also, Mandala’s music was attracting the attention of fans in Scandinavia through MySpace.

The group played hundreds of concerts, though never recorded a full album. In 2006, they decided to call it a day. The band members ended up pursuing other musical projects, Rhys Marsh even moving to Norway to begin a successful musical career there. They remained friends — in fact, in the years between 2006 and 2012, they had grown even closer as friends.

In 2012, the ideas for getting back together were sparked, and in 2014 the band flew to Norway — heading to Autumnsongs Recording Studio in Trondheim. For 10 days they were accommodated in the Autumnsongs building — a solid concrete bunker, with no windows. The time of day quickly became irrelevant, as they set up in the studio to record in the truest way they could: live, together in the same room, surrounded by room mics and lava lamps, allowing the instruments to bleed over each others' tracks. They only time they ventured outside was for dinner, which always ended up being a barbecue, on the mountain next to the studio, during the hours of the MIDNIGHT TWILIGHT.   

From the first playback, they were blown away by the sounds that came through the monitors. They were even tighter as a band than they had been years before. Suddenly, it felt as though the three of them had grown so much as people and musicians that they were able to fully express the songs as they should be heard.

MIDNIGHT TWILIGHT has been 18 years in the making. We hope you agree that it's been worth the wait.

Critics’ responses:

Album Cover for Mandala's MIDNIGHT TWILIGHT.

“Folk-noir”

The Guardian

“Knife-edge atmospheres & Eastern-tinged melodies”

The Independent

“Haunting atmospherics, with an icy edge.”

Time Out

“Atmospheric romanticism”

The Metro

“As if Jeff Buckley met Radiohead in a subterranean cellar”

Musician Magazine

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