Fading Ways Music - The Blog

Red Orkestra’s third album, “All’s Well in Heaven and Hell”, has now been released in Canada, and while we await its European dates (confirmed is a release in the BeNeLux via Sonic RendezVous and Portugal via Compact Records) this Spring, we thought we would present you with the title track from this beautiful album - a more intimate, paired-down offering than Red Orkestra’s “Life with the Machines” album. While “Life with the Machines” was more of a brit-pop offering, “All’s Well…” takes us back to the urban-folk of the acclaimed debut album “After the Wars”, but the landscape is darker and more personal than previously. Johnny Charmer’s songwriting has taken a turn into Nick Drakeian territory, and while all the political lyrical activism remains firmly at the helm, the songs on this album go well beyond the surface. Johnny’s bared his soul on this one.

Red Orkestra - All’s Well in Heaven and Hell MP3.

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For those who don’t know Red Orkestra, we need to trace its roots back to a band from the Canadian prairies in the mid-90s called Red Autum Fall. Simeon Ross, Rich Ragany, Gail Thompson and Jackie Duncan moved to Toronto in ‘96 and the band soon conquered the hearts of Smiths-loving Torontonians and any other brit-pop fan that would listen. But alas, Rich and Simeon split the band up and went their separate ways, leaving a certain fella named Johnny  - who had played second guitar in the last couple of R.A.F. shows - to start up a new project with Simeon. This band was called Charmer, so by the time I met Johnny and asked him to play guitar in the Neil Leyton line-up circa 2002, he was already Johnny ‘Charmer’ to me…

By the time Charmer the band split up Johnny’s surname was so a part of him that when he started his own project, Red Orkestra, everyone in our Toronto circle of musician friends knew him as Johnny Charmer. Red Orkestra put out a great debut album, “After the Wars” (the first CC-licensed physical album to be internationally-distributed) produced by Steve Payne (Charmer, Boy, Leyton, iSpies, and a host of other projects) featuring Devin Stoneham, myself and Loaf Pariah (from The Pariahs, eh) in the band line-up before Johnny hooked up with The Machines for the second Red Orkestra record. However, in my honest opinion, this upcoming third album is thus far his best:

Johnny’s got his third album all done, once again with Steve Payne producing. “All’s Well in Heaven and Hell” is coming out in the new year, and Johnny is offering bloggers the chance to post its first single - and other exclusive tunes off the new album, if you contact him - “Red Orkestra - Wait“. The record is a more understated, less brit-pop and more folky, introspective jaunt through one of Canada’s most prolific singer/songwriters mindsets over the last couple of years, through some Canadian and European touring and the “Enola” EP (a digital release). For more information and to get in touch with Johnny requesting more mp3s for your blogs, visit www.redorkestra.com.