Ralph's Top 10 Blogged band Chart - 31.1.15

OK bands you know the score .....

the more hits your blog gets by the fans ..... 

the higher you go .....

So Tweet it, Facebook it .....

Generally and expose yourself .....

Now Mr Snuggles and I Have Been sitting with our heads down counting the hits on each blog to see who's got bands which place.  

The Top Ten Blogged Band Chart is played every Sunday 5-7pm on Radio KC as part of Ralph's Indie Show.

No 1...Fold





Oil Powered Machine uses the powerful ecological messages from the ill-fated American journalist and political activist Michael Ruppert. As his diatribe builds so does the addictive hook of Fold's electronic musicality. 

No 2...The Phantoms

Ralph's been a big fan of Edinburgh band The Phantoms since he covered them back in April last year after they played a set at the Ralph's Life CD Launch in Electric Circus for the Rethink Mental Illness charity. They've since played a succession of gigs including the one and only King Tut's in Glasgow.

No 3...Faerground Accidents





Especially when that underdog is the extraordinarily out-there Faergound Accidents who; digitally on 9th February, are releasing the single She Makes Me Want To Die accompanied by a gorgeously glammed-up video. If Robert Smith and Jarvis Cocker have conceived a bastard son then Faerground Accidents extravagant front-man Bomar Faery is the result.

No 4...Fiona Soe Paing

Fresh from London’s global festival of music ideas, Music Tech Fest, and a show at Cineworld for Aberdeen International Film Festival, Fiona Soe Paing will perform her show Alien Lullabies  combining  tracks from her forthcoming album with projected animation by New Zealand artist Zennor Alexander  in  a hypnotic combination of cinema and live gig.








No 5...Jay Stansfield






Variously described as - original, affecting and a tad bonkers, North West musician Jay Stansfield has consistently provided us with an eccentrically pleasing back catalogue of music. He's recently added to that with his third; and for me, best album Birth And Death.











No 6...The Black Lamps

If you're a fan of anyone from Joy Division to Public Image Ltd, The Fall to The Cure then these Barnsley musical luminaries tick all the boxes. 

Describing themselves as a post-rock ambient guitar band, The Black Lamps have created a stunning selection of melodiously crafted 'shuffle and repeat' tracks that John Peel would have been happy to feature on his shows.

No 7...The Old Border

Courtesy of Amar Chauhan

Despite describing themselves as 'ne'er-do-well musicians' London four piece The Old Border are producing some classy alt-pop stylee tracks culminating in the release of the bouncy All Over as their first single.

It's the first track off their soon to be released debut EP Rehearsed In The Mirror and reflects their musical influences nicely.

No 8...Neutronic

Now Ralph's more of a guitar band animal, however after having covered Liverpool's The Little Secrets and SeaWitches recently he's been showing his mellow side. So much so, he had a listen in to the low-fi electronic vibings of Chester duo Neutronic.

No 9...Seawitches

Based in Liverpool, Jo Herring and Laura Caldwell met in 2007 through friends; a meeting that resulted in an explosion of creativity where songwriting, musicianship and visual art collided to create SeaWitches.

The band gig regularly in Liverpool, where they've played Sound City, Music Week and interestingly, the Green Party Conference as well as hosting their own nights supporting other well known bands like Eagulls and Giant Drag.

No 10...Milton Star




Ralph's been checking out Scottish band Milton Star prior to giving their excellent track Salvation a spin this Sunday on his Radio KC Indie Show.

Milton Star are Alan Wyllie and Graeme Currie who write and record their unique blend of indie and dark country in a converted church in darkest Fife. 

The Phantoms

Ralph's been a big fan of Edinburgh band The Phantoms since he covered them back in April last year after they played a set at the Ralph's Life CD Launch in Electric Circus for the Rethink Mental Illness charity. They've since played a succession of gigs including the one and only King Tut's in Glasgow.

He's played their single Revolution a few times now on his Radio KC Sunday Show along with a few of their other tracks and they featured in his 2014 Top 100 tracks. Good news is, The Phantoms have released Wasting Time as a single with video and it's a great follow up to the anthemic Revolution.

Focusing on their driving guitar sound backed by thumping drumming and strong vocals it's a fair bet Scotland's DJ's will be pricking their ears up and The Phantoms will again see some serious air play.

No wonder XFM's Jim Gellatly was quoted as saying - "Soaring atmospheric Britpop -What Oasis would have sounded like if they'd listened to The Doors rather than The Beatles." 

Catch them live if you can as they support Cold Ocean Lies in King Tut's on the 14th of March. The Phantoms are Ralph's 'ones to watch' for 2015.




Wasting Time takes their sound to a whole new gritty level, acompanied by a powerful vocal as The Phantoms are very quickly proving to be Scotland's answer to Catfish and The Bottlemen. 

The Phantoms must be favourites for T in The Park's T Break stage this year (Ralph predicted it for The Vigo Thieves three years ago and they've never looked back since).

Faerground Accidents

Now strictly speaking Ralph operates an unsigned policy, however an exception can always be made for a band or artist signed with John Robb's Indie record label Louder Than War who champion the underdog.






Especially when that underdog is the extraordinarily out-there Faergound Accidents who; digitally on 9th February, are releasing the single She Makes Me Want To Die accompanied by a gorgeously glammed-up video. If Robert Smith and Jarvis Cocker have conceived a bastard son then Faerground Accidents extravagant front-man Bomar Faery is the result.

Despite the record's doom laden title, it's an upliftingly delightful musical romp. The vocal backed by bouncy, jangly guitar and organ in a Britpop stylee.

Photo by Mark Tighe at the o2 Academy, Sheffield 

It's infectious and fun and should finally see Faerground Accidents garner more of the acclaim they so rightfully deserve. 

If there's a fine line between genius and madness then Bomar is certainly straddling the fence, fortunately for us he's now toppling towards the genius side.  

Photo by Mark Tighe at the o2 Academy, Sheffield

Back in 2012 the Faerground Accidents fortunes took a dip as Bomar was admitted to a psychiatric facility. 

Once recovered he reformed the band, calling on the musical skills of Marray Fenton, Dan Botterill, Michael Breeze and original band member Henrietta Rowlett.









The enforced hiatus has obviously paid off as Bomar and cohorts are back with no small amount of aplomb. 

Upcoming live dates include the single launch in Gullivers, Manchester on February 12th and it's a must for any North Westerner's gig diary. Ralph will be spinning We Hate The Same Things on his Radio KC Show on the 8th February.

Neutronic

Now Ralph's more of a guitar band animal, however after having covered Liverpool's The Little Secrets and SeaWitches recently he's been showing his mellow side. So much so, he had a listen in to the low-fi electronic vibings of Chester duo Neutronic.

They've just released Closer on download earlier this month and it's a delightfully melodic soundscape using the contrast of Luliana's slightly accented vocal backed by Paul's smooth English tones overlaid on Neutronic's cleverly worked 80's electro musicality in a Cocteau Twins stylee.














Having previously worked together on a one-off electro pop project they've got together again to bring us Neutronic.


The duo have crafted an exceedingly assured sound which is proving popular with radio stations. Needless to say Ralph's giving Neutronic a spin on his Radio KC show. They've featured on Tom Robinson's BBC Radio 6 Mixtape and Dave Monks on BBC Radio Merseyside.

SeaWitches

Based in Liverpool, Jo Herring and Laura Caldwell met in 2007 through friends; a meeting that resulted in an explosion of creativity where songwriting, musicianship and visual art collided to create SeaWitches.

The band gig regularly in Liverpool, where they've played Sound City, Music Week and interestingly, the Green Party Conference as well as hosting their own nights supporting other well known bands like Eagulls and Giant Drag.











 
2012 saw Tilo Pirnbaum joining the band on drums, and SeaWitches entered the studio to record their first EP Spacegun, which received positive reviews and helped secure a loyal and diverse fanbase. They also began to play outside  Liverpool, securing gigs in Manchester and London.

Jamie Jenkin was recruited on guitar in 2014 and, seven years in the making, the line up is complete and the band are ready to take their music to a wider audience.  

Prolific songwriters, they work collaboratively with each member bringing a diverse set of influences.  









Hailed as one of the most exciting bands to emerge from Liverpool's music scene is recent years, SeaWitches are the latest signing for Edge Hill University's The Label Recordings run by Carl Hunter of The Farm and assisted by media students.  An experiment that has led to huge success for previous signing Hooton Tennis Club, who are now with Indie label Heavenly Recordings and who they'll be supporting in The Shipping Forecast on the 20th of February.





They're releasing 'Stars' as a single on February 16th and it's 'poppier' than some of their previous, slightly moody work and it's been played recently on Ralph's Radio KC Indie Show.


It's Siouxsie Sioux meets The Lotus Eaters with a smattering of The Cure. All that's good from 80's pop brought bang up to date, and they've made a shiny new psychadelic video to accompany it. It's this week's 'shuffle & repeat' track here in the kennel.

Ralph's Top 10 Blogged Band Chart - 24.1.15

OK bands you know the score .....

the more hits your blog gets by the fans ..... 

the higher you go .....

So Tweet it, Facebook it .....

Generally and expose yourself .....

Now Mr Snuggles and I Have Been sitting with our heads down counting the hits on each blog to see who's got bands which place.  

The Top Ten Blogged Band Chart is played every Sunday 5-7pm on Radio KC as part of Ralph's Indie Show.

No 1...Fold





Oil Powered Machine uses the powerful ecological messages from the ill-fated American journalist and political activist Michael Ruppert. As his diatribe builds so does the addictive hook of Fold's electronic musicality. 

No 2...Fiona Soe Paing

Fresh from London’s global festival of music ideas, Music Tech Fest, and a show at Cineworld for Aberdeen International Film Festival, Fiona Soe Paing will perform her show Alien Lullabies  combining  tracks from her forthcoming album with projected animation by New Zealand artist Zennor Alexander  in  a hypnotic combination of cinema and live gig.






No 3...Jay Stansfield






Variously described as - original, affecting and a tad bonkers, North West musician Jay Stansfield has consistently provided us with an eccentrically pleasing back catalogue of music. He's recently added to that with his third; and for me, best album Birth And Death.










No 4...The Black Lamps

If you're a fan of anyone from Joy Division to Public Image Ltd, The Fall to The Cure then these Barnsley musical luminaries tick all the boxes. 


Describing themselves as a post-rock ambient guitar band, The Black Lamps have created a stunning selection of melodiously crafted 'shuffle and repeat' tracks that John Peel would have been happy to feature on his shows.

No 5...The Old Border

Courtesy of Amar Chauhan

Despite describing themselves as 'ne'er-do-well musicians' London four piece The Old Border are producing some classy alt-pop stylee tracks culminating in the release of the bouncy All Over as their first single.

It's the first track off their soon to be released debut EP Rehearsed In The Mirror and reflects their musical influences nicely.

No 6...The Little Secrets

Indie popsters The Little Secrets have just released All I Need and it's a gloriously exuberant piece of shiny pop which has already garnered critical acclaim and mainstream radio play. 













No 7...Milton Star




Ralph's been checking out Scottish band Milton Star prior to giving their excellent track Salvation a spin this Sunday on his Radio KC Indie Show.

Milton Star are Alan Wyllie and Graeme Currie who write and record their unique blend of indie and dark country in a converted church in darkest Fife. 

No 8...Elephant Memoirs

Ralph recently gave Gateshead Indie rockers Elephant Memoirs a spin on his Radio KC Sunday Show and thought it'd be a good idea to take a look after some great feedback. 

Formed in 2013 by John Aspinall, Barry Drew and Carl Aspinall they've been working hard to create a catalogue of original material which they've been performing on a regular basis throughout the North east of England.

No 9...Filter Distortion

Due to Ralph's love of guitar type bands he's only occasionally reported on electronica, however on hearing Liverpool's Filter Distortion he's decided to buck that trend after the four piece finally emerged from a self-imposed year of confinement in a windowless room.  

The band set about producing their finest work yet, and have certainly achieved their aim with debut album Transition.  

No10...Teenage Wildlife

Ralph played Most Beautiful Thing by Teenage Wildlife (the alter ego of London based musician John Wright) a couple of Sundays ago on the Radio KC Indie Show to some excellent feedback so therefor it's great to be able to bring you news that a new track has been released.

Come On and Shoot is an intricately layered track replete with smouldering vocals and an infusion of electronica - it's tight, smooth, funky yet sultry.