We Speak Music

Michele Ducci releases sophomore studio album ‘Snail in the Clouds’

Published

5 months ago

June 12, 2026

Don Reed

For his second studio album, Snail in the Clouds, Michele Ducci recruited Simon Milner (Is Tropical, Ysing) to record and produce the album in his 4 am Studios in London. The result is a lush, multi-layered pop album that showcases Ducci’s superb songwriting and vocal talents. To add to these riches, Ducci and his partner Letizia Mandolesi created an entire world populated by fantastical creatures, which they lovingly portray in an epic full-length animated video to be unveiled soon.

The album and film tell the story of a planet called Snail, inhabited by hybrids – primarily a mixture between scorpions, snails and humans – who lead a life according to the style of Pythagoras, devoted to music. There is also a cloud man named Agostos, a writer of musical operettas, who together with a talking smoke machine called Doctor Subtilis, begins to kill all hybrids, targeting in particular the hybrid musician Diodoros and his band, in an effort to steal the ark of melodies, an ancient ship that allows the whole planet to survive with music and joy.

The tracks of the album are diverse in tempo, tone and instrumentation.

Follow the Sun is a radiant slice of psychedelic tinged pop with a joyously uplifting chorus. Rain on Me channels the synth-heavy soundscapes and dancing bass of Underworld’s Born Slippy behind Ducci’s cracked, world-weary vocals. Don’t Stress Her opens with a rhythmic drumbeat that is soon joined by a sinuous trail of violin and saxophone that conjures up the wave of a voice in filigree, while Next to Me is a tender love song sung by Letizia Mandolesi accompanied by sparse piano and violin. Woman Like You pairs bright distorted electric guitar with an electronic drumbeat, adding in Ducci’s soulful vocals and a catchy uplifting chorus with Letizia Mandolesi’s sweet vocal harmonies. A vintage organ pedalboard operated by Ducci simultaneously generates chords, bass and rhythm, like a one-man band.

The album is out now digitally via Monotreme Records with a limited edition 180 g vinyl LP to follow in July.

Michele and Letizia’s previous musical short film, The Great Book of Nature, is an official selection for the 2026 Venice Shorts Film Festival.

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We Speak Country

Shania Twain Announces Major UK & Ireland Summer Shows for June 2027

Published

5 hours ago

November 2, 2026

We Speak Media

Shania Twain on horseback with her arms outstretched, wearing a fringed brown jacket and white top, with a red pickup truck and desert landscape behind her

Five-time GRAMMY Award-winning global icon Shania Twain has announced a major run of outdoor shows across the UK and Ireland for June 2027, including headlining State Fayre, the UK’s largest music and BBQ festival, on Saturday 19 June.

The eight-date run begins at Scarborough’s Open Air Theatre on 16 June, before Shania heads to Glasgow Summer Sessions at Bellahouston Park, State Fayre Festival in Chelmsford, Cardiff’s Blackweir Fields, Live at Powderham in Exeter, Dublin’s Marlay Park, Belsonic in Belfast and finally culminating at Oxfordshire’s Blenheim Palace Festival on 29 June.

Tickets go on general sale on Friday 6 November at 9am.

The announcement follows the release of Little Miss Twain – The Places I’ll Go, the deluxe edition of Shania’s acclaimed seventh studio album, Little Miss Twain. Released this July, Little Miss Twain marked a significant and deeply personal chapter for Shania. After more than three decades as one of the most successful and influential artists in music, the global superstar turned back to the beginning, revisiting the experiences, sounds and memories that shaped her before the world knew her name.

Drawing from her childhood and teenage years growing up in Canada, the acclaimed album traces the roots of her singular sound across country, pop, rock, soul and bluegrass, offering a revealing portrait of the influences behind an artist who would go on to reshape the boundaries of country and pop music. The album also features an exceptional lineup of collaborators, including Tanya Tucker, T Bone Burnett, Ronnie Wood, Josh Homme, Ray Parker Jr., and Toto’s David Paich. With Little Miss Twain – The Places I’ll Go, Shania expands that story, offering an even deeper look at the formative experiences and musical influences behind both the artist and icon she would become.

Also recently released was the audiobook of Shania’s 2011 memoir, From This Moment On, now available with narration from Shania herself. The bestselling book traces her tumultuous rise to stardom and features a new foreword with personal reflections on her journey.

Shania’s influence remains as far-reaching as ever. In 2027, she will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Come On Over and the 25th anniversary of Up!, two era-defining albums that transformed country and pop music, broke barriers around the world and cemented her status as a global icon. With a huge run of live dates in 2027, and a biopic chronicling her life and career also in development, Shania continues to look ahead while celebrating the music and milestones that have defined her extraordinary career.

SHANIA TWAIN, UK & IRELAND 2027
Wed 16 June, Scarborough, Open Air Theatre
Thu 17 June, Glasgow, Glasgow Summer Sessions, Bellahouston Park
Sat 19 June, Chelmsford, State Fayre
Tue 22 June, Cardiff, Blackweir Fields
Thu 24 June, Exeter, Live at Powderham
Sat 26 June, Dublin, Marlay Park
Sun 27 June, Belfast, Belsonic
Tue 29 June, Oxfordshire, Blenheim Palace Festival

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