Snooks La Vie
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Snooks La Vie

Roxby Downs, South Australia, Australia | INDIE

Roxby Downs, South Australia, Australia | INDIE
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"Album Review"

Snooks La Vie (yeah, that is a cool name) hails from Adelaide, and has fronted soul/RnB band The Hiptones for ten years. On this, his solo debut album, he'll take you on a journey through '70s American sound of blues, soul, alt-country and a little rockabilly.
Stripped back to a basic band sound of drums, bass, guitar and harmonica and recorded in four days using vintage amps. Produced by singer/songwriter Charles Jenkins, who also plays.
La Vie delivers this bag of self-penned tunes with loads of soul and killer harmonica.
- Denise Hylands - Stack Magazine (Australia)


"Album Review"

Reviewed by Jenny O’Keefe
On first listen to this new independent offering out of Adelaide, I got that itchy brain feeling. Where have I heard this dude before? Turns out in another life a decade ago, Snooks La Vie headed up a rootsy soul band The Hiptones, as well as The Deliverymen. Heaps of gongs, awards and success have enriched La Vie’s sound and placed him on a slightly different folky alt-country path. He’s even sporting a grouse flannie and straw hat on the cover. Authentico!

Rhythmically sweet and vocally compelling, “Another Place In Time” is a worthy addition to lovers of the genre. The album was produced by Northside music royalty Charles Jenkins, who also guests on a few tracks, adding some flavour to a well-balanced solo effort. Included in this lovely collection of eleven tunes is a tribute to the storytelling prowess of Townes Van Zandt, with all tunes penned by La Vie. The labour of love feeling oozes from every note, and pleasingly so.

File under: Confidently delivered yearning and ace blues harp. - Upstream Whispers


"Album Review"

Reviewed by Jenny O’Keefe
On first listen to this new independent offering out of Adelaide, I got that itchy brain feeling. Where have I heard this dude before? Turns out in another life a decade ago, Snooks La Vie headed up a rootsy soul band The Hiptones, as well as The Deliverymen. Heaps of gongs, awards and success have enriched La Vie’s sound and placed him on a slightly different folky alt-country path. He’s even sporting a grouse flannie and straw hat on the cover. Authentico!

Rhythmically sweet and vocally compelling, “Another Place In Time” is a worthy addition to lovers of the genre. The album was produced by Northside music royalty Charles Jenkins, who also guests on a few tracks, adding some flavour to a well-balanced solo effort. Included in this lovely collection of eleven tunes is a tribute to the storytelling prowess of Townes Van Zandt, with all tunes penned by La Vie. The labour of love feeling oozes from every note, and pleasingly so.

File under: Confidently delivered yearning and ace blues harp. - Upstream Whispers


"Album Review"

A one-time signing to Sony BMG’s global release roster, Snooks La Vie’s former band The Hiptones, turned out an enormous brand of soul, surf and blues and toured ceaselessly across Australia from 1999 through to 2009. “I left The Hiptones on good terms and on quite a high after ten years and had been writing more and wanted to be in control of my own destiny,” explains La Vie from his home town of Croydon Park, Adelaide. “It was an emotional time and a lot of this is reflected in the song writing on the record”.
The album La Vie refers to is his debut solo release, Another Place In Time, recorded at Loud Tie Studios (Port Noarlunga, South Australia) in August 2010 with Charles Jenkins (producer) and Jim Redgate (engineer).

Originally slated to record with long time associate, James Black in 2010, La Vie explains that the artist’s swelling Rockwiz commitments ruled him out. So, when Snooks La Vie met Charles Jenkins at a Port Noarlunga house party soon after, mutual interests were piqued. “We were playing together on this bill with Suzannah Espie and others and we got talking, and a few days later I gave him [Jenkins] a cold call to see if he wanted to do it,” he explains.
Working alongside and learning from Jenkins, whom La Vie believes should be mentioned in the same breath as the great Australian songwriters Paul Kelly and Don Walker, opened his eyes to another stately string in the Jenkins musical bow.

“He was just an awesome facilitator,” says La Vie. “You get some producers who are good at getting sounds by telling you to ‘do this and that’ but Charles just facilitates the whole thing; like the mood and the simplicity that he draws from songs is spot on.”

The big chops, oversized beret wearing La Vie has shaved up a little and now dons vintage western wear and a cowboy hat to play the new role. You can find him channelling the classic early ‘70s sounds of America throughout Another Place In Time, yet he still retains the trademark soul in his vocal armoury. From the ‘tremology’ feel the record captures and twang guitars, La Vie’s intent was to unashamedly meld a Buddy Miller-era Band of Joy sound together with a faithful alt-country aesthetic.

“I was really looking for that sparkle between the tremolo bar guitar and acoustic feel and on the track that Charles plays on [Sometimes Life Gets In The Way] we were heading for that kind of Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood style, so the acoustic really freshened it up a bit.”
Nikko Kipridis, La Vie’s old Hiptones mate is integral throughout the album with his playing of a Gretsch and Redgate’s ‘50s and ‘60s Guild and telecaster guitars, ‘Bringing the shit’ as Henry Wagons would say. “Yeah Nik is schooled on The Allman Brothers Band and in his other band, The Streamliners he has a little BB King blues style and jam band feel, too” says La Vie.
“He’s just not stuck in a genre, like he loves the band Low, to Merle Haggard, to Al Green, and I’m the same...it just opens up your ears more when you have varied influences.”

Looking to be more considered songwriter and craving to learn the simplicity of the craft, La Vie was also put onto the works of US country hero Townes Van Zandt. “Guys like Guy Clark and Toiwnes were really good at that style of keeping it simple and I wrote a tribute to Van Zandt on the record [Aeroplane Glue] after watching the documentary, Be Here To Love Me that referenced parts of his life and the way he wrote,” he says. “Song writing doesn’t always have to be so intellectual as long as the narrative is real and it creates a mood.” Amen to that.
- Nick Argyriou - Inpress (Australia)


Discography

Another Place in Time (2011)

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Bio

Dipping into the classic early 70s sounds of America,
Another Place In Time is the debut album for Adelaide
troubadour Snooks La Vie who has been a prominent
figure on the roots circuit for the best part of fifteen
years. Credited for his soulful vocals and authentic
delivery of the harmonica, Snooks La Vie has quietly
secured the endorsement of the Australian music industry
and proudly counts many contemporaries including
Troy Cassar-Daley, Renee Geyer and Ross Wilson
as fans.

Staying true to the era, the album includes vintage
amp noises, and was recorded organically, utilising the
technological limitations of the time to capture its spirit.
An astute interpreter of roots-based music, Snooks La
Vie performs with an electrifying energy and maturity.
Snooks says he wanted to keep the record stripped
back with lots of space to showcase the songs in their
truest form, so the album was recorded with just guitars,
bass, drums & harmonica.

Recorded in only four days, the album was produced
by legendary Melbourne songwriter/producer Charles
Jenkins (who plays on some album tracks), along with
Jim Redgate local and international guitar maker who
engineered it. Inspired by some of his favourite artists
such as Townes Van Zandt (of which he pays tribute to
on the track Aeroplane Glue), Waylon Jennings and
Dwight Yoakam, the album features eleven tracks all
penned by Snooks and takes the listener on a journey
through Blues, Soul and Alt-country with a hint of Rockabilly.
Snooks La Vie has been a prominent figure on the
Adelaide roots circuit since the emergence of his debut
band The Deliverymen. He has become a highly
respected musician within the music fraternity both
locally and nationally, establishing himself as one of
Australias elite blues/soul/country vocalist and harmonica
players.

As former frontman of The Hiptones, he has enjoyed
the success of awards such as a South Australian
Music Award for best blues band/act in 1997, signed
to a major label in 2006 and an APRA nomination for
blues/roots work of the year in 2008. That same year
Snooks also took out South Australian blues vocalist of
the year. The next four consecutive years Snooks
was once again awarded South Australian blues vocalist
of the year (2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012). He also took out harmonica player of the year 2012.

Throughout his career Snooks has had the pleasure of
supporting and touring with the likes of Chris Isaak, The
Royal Crown Revue, Wendy Matthews, and The Blacksorrows, to name a few.

Another Place In Time is a release that is proud and
timeless, and conveys a deep personal honesty.