New album release: The Carousel – Backstrom

The Carousel is Backstrom’s debut album. It is available now on Spotify. Photo: Backstrom, used with permission.

When it comes to music, I love all types of music. Well, almost all of them, but my favorite genre is rock. With the new year comes the release of new music by artists everywhere. Today I am pleased to announce a new release this month from Backstrom.

Backstrom is a Swedish songwriter in the genres of Folk, Country, and Rock. His debut album The Carousel (feat. Bart Topher) was released today. If you enjoy this type of music or just enjoy discovering new artists, consider this new release. Backstrom’s music is available on Spotify and you can follow the artist on Instagram. (Backstrom, 2024)

Get to know a little bit about Backstrom in this Q & A:

Question: Who are the band members and what do they play?
Backstrom: Backstrom was initially the only “band member” or the songwriter. But I worked with a lot of great session musicians who played a huge role in this project and more or less became band members in the end. For this album, Bart Topher does vocals on eight songs and has also written three lyrics. Tommy Jones wrote three lyrics as well. Fransisco Paz plays all drums and percussion and helped out with a lot of instrumental production. Luca Giannotti plays a lot of guitars on the folk songs and also some bass. Kimberly Faith does harmonies on 6 songs. Hernan Ian plays guitars on the country songs. Maciek Szczyciński play most bass. And there’s a lot more who deserves credit in this project.

Q: Can you tell us anything about the recording process?
B: I wrote the ground material in the winter season and started out by doing a simple demo myself of the songs during the spring – then I spent the rest of the year hiring different session musicians to improve the sound and instrumental quality of the songs. So the whole album is more or less done online and I’ve been sending files back and forth around the world. Gabe Wolf made a great contribution mixing and mastering the songs in the end.

Q: How and where did you get together?
B: I hired all musicians through Fiverr.

Q: Have you played any notable gigs, festivals or other events?
B: No, this is mostly about songwriting and not live performance.

Q: What are the band’s main influences?
B: In general Leonard Cohen, Mark Lanegan but it stretches all the way from Townes Van Zandt to the Rolling Stones and beyond in some songs.

Q: Can you briefly describe what the song/each song is about?
A: It’s not always a deep thought behind every line, it needs to sound good as well, and I prefer to leave the underlying interpretation to the listener!

Q: What are you most happy about with the record?
A: I think we managed to get a quite unique sound, it doesn’t sound so much like anything else out there.

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Dive into Dry January with Twang’s Miche-Nada recipe

Twang’s Miche-Nada. Photo: Twang, used with permission.

Dry January is a movement for anyone who drinks alcohol. Some people participate as a detox from their excessive drinking that happens over the holidays. Others use the beginning of the new year to kick-start healthy habits and routines. With Dry January in full swing, Twang, a Tex-Mex inspired, family-driven company founded in 1986, specializing in the creation of products with flavored salt, sugar, and spice blends is sharing a non-alcoholic drink recipe, better know as a mocktail.

For over 38 years Twang has been sharing its flavorful products and recipes with the world, and Dry January is no exception. Twang would like to share its vibrant “Miche-Nada” recipe – a spin on the classic Mexican beer cocktail, the michelada. (Twang, 2024)

Made with never ending flavor for all taste buds, Twang’s Miche-Nada can be made with classic, spicy, or pickle Twang Reserve Michelada Mix. Curated with a blend of all-natural ingredients, the michelada mix includes real lime juice, robust ancho chiles and organic Worcestershire sauce. Twang Rimming Salt completes the Miche-Nada and comes in flavors like lime, sunrise spice, nectarberry and more. Perfectly balanced and conveniently packaged for national shipping, the michelada mix comes in a 16oz bottle for only $7.00 while the rimming salts are only $4.00 each.

Twang Miche-Nada

Ingredients:

  • Twang Reserve Michelada Cocktail Mix (classic, spicy or pickle flavors)
  • Twang Rimming Salt (lime, sunrise spice, nectarberry and more flavors)
  • Ice
  • Sparkling water
  • Lime wedge

Directions:

  1. Rim your glass with choice of Twang’s Rimming Salt
  2. Add some ice to your glass
  3. Add choice of Twang Reserve Michelada Mix
  4. Add sparkling water
  5. Garnish with a lime wedge