Feral Love

It's just over three years since Ralph checked out Liverpool's sublime Bird and then some time thereafter they took a bit of a hiatus before parting. However, Adele Emmas and Christian Sanford have re-emerged triumphantly like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes as the nascent Feral Love.

Emmas and Sanford spent a year in a damp, windowless basement studio writing, emerging only when they knew they'd arrived at the sound they'd been striving for.

Recorded at Parr Street Studios with Chris Taylor (Hooton Tennis Club, Bill Ryder-Jones), Like the Wind is the Feral Love debut single and is released on Edge Hill University's The Label Recordings.

Ralph's spinning Like The Wind this Sunday (24th aprill) on his Radio KC Indie Show and live dates are as follows...

May 1st - FESTEVOL, Camp and Furnace, Liverpool (With Steve Mason & Juliette and The Licks)

May 5th - The Bedroom Bar, London 

May 18th - Heavenly Social, London

May 29th - Sound City, Liverpool

Ralph's chart 2.3.13

OK bands you know the score.....

the more hits your blog gets by the fans, the higher you go.....

So tweet it, Facebook it.....

and generally expose yourself.....

Now Snuggles and me have been sitting with our heads down counting the hits on each bands blog to see who's got which place.  

So here it is.....

The Top Ten Blogged Band Chart .....

No 1..... The Folk Remedy

Getting tired of Mumford and Sons churning out the same ole same ole? Then do what I did and take a look at The Folk Remedy from Manchester whose diversity and musicality is as refreshing as it is highly listenable.  These three musicians have merged their own different musical backgrounds into one sound, which brings out their individual personalities whilst staying true to their folk roots.

No 2..... Steve Heron







What's the connection between Johnny Marr and Edinburgh singer/songwriter Steve Heron I hear you ask?  Well I'll tell you...They both play guitar and Steve Heron likes Johnny Marr who's just brought out a solo record and a video after 25 years and Steve's about to release his new single 'Picturesque' and a video at a launch party in Edinburgh's Sneaky Pete's on the 29th of March...what's the chances?

No 3..... Calm As The Colour

So you've got to ask yourself how a band that's putting out consistently fine music and pulling in accolades from press and radio alike, still aren't quite finding their place in the hearts of the Scottish music buying public.  Calm As The Colour from The Kingdom of Fife are such a band and whilst they've only been together just under two years they've garnered compliments and airplay from the luminaries of Scottish radio and beyond.

No 4..... Tingle In The Netherlands

After checking out Scottish Electronica producers Plum and Fiona Soe Paing Ralph thought it was time to turn his attention to some electro/pop a bit nearer to home so here's Tingle In The Netherlands from Manchester.  If you're expecting doom 'n' gloom heavy synths think again.  

No 5..... Bird

Three piece Liverpool band Bird is the creation of Adele Emmas (singer, songwriter) Sian Williams (guitar, harmonies) and Alexis Samata (drums) Together they create dark, haunting, atmospheric music which will entice you in to their magical, other worldly universe. With beautiful, siren-esque vocals, tribal, hypnotic drum beats and spellbinding guitar work, Bird are refreshingly unlike anything that's currently on the music scene.

No 6..... Plum

Back in July last year I acquired a taste for fine female voices after listening to Kathryn Marsh so I turned my nose in the direction of Plum, the alter ego of Edinburgh based Shona Maguire.

So what's the latest...well she's just been and gone and got herself nominated in the Best Electronic category of The Scottish Alternative Music Awards 2013.....

No 7..... Ded Rabbit

Now Ralph's never been averse to something a bit different, so when he caught a snippet of Ded Rabbit recently he decided to investigate further.  Four brothers from Yorkshire who've made their way up to the Highlands of Scotland and had a major dose of The Average White Band rub off on the way.  They're probably the freshest, funkiest thing on the Scottish music scene at the moment bringing us everything from Indie Jazz  and Alt Rock interspersed with a liberal dose of old school Funk.

No 8..... Wullae Wright

Everybody likes to make a comparison about artistes and Ralph's old man is no exception. He heard Wullae Wright's 'Halo Effect' playing on my laptop and next thing he was wiping the dust of his collection of vinyl, dug out Led Zeppelin I and stuck it under my nose muttering....."Babe I'm Gonna Leave You".  Chance would be a fine thing some would say, however I had a listen and low and behold Wullae Wright is capturing the same raw intensity of vocals that an early Robert Plant did. 

No 9..... Wishes

Ralph's now got his own Unsigned Indie Mix show on French station Radio Kaos Caribou every Sunday 5 - 6 pm and it's thanks to listening to their eclectic mix of music that he came across Paris based band Wishes

No 10..... Paul Freeman

Paul Freeman has spent over ten years in the music business but as far as his current project is concerned he can be considered a 'new' artist.  He's releasing a solo album in the spring called 'The King of False Alarms' and it will be the first of two which will feature both his acoustic side and a more solid band based tracks

Ralph's Chart 23.2.13

OK bands you know the score.....

the more hits your blog gets by the fans, the higher you go.....

So tweet it, Facebook it.....

and generally expose yourself.....

Now Snuggles and me have been sitting with our heads down counting the hits on each bands blog to see who's got which place.  

So here it is.....

The Top Ten Blogged Band Chart .....

No 1..... Bird

Three piece Liverpool band Bird is the creation of Adele Emmas (singer, songwriter) Sian Williams (guitar, harmonies) and Alexis Samata (drums) Together they create dark, haunting, atmospheric music which will entice you in to their magical, other worldly universe. With beautiful, siren-esque vocals, tribal, hypnotic drum beats and spellbinding guitar work, Bird are refreshingly unlike anything that's currently on the music scene.

No 2..... Plum

Back in July last year I acquired a taste for fine female voices after listening to Kathryn Marsh so I turned my nose in the direction of Plum, the alter ego of Edinburgh based Shona Maguire.

So what's the latest...well she's just been and gone and got herself nominated in the Best Electronic category of The Scottish Alternative Music Awards 2013.....

No 3..... The Folk Remedy

Getting tired of Mumford and Sons churning out the same ole same ole? Then do what I did and take a look at The Folk Remedy from Manchester whose diversity and musicality is as refreshing as it is highly listenable.  These three musicians have merged their own different musical backgrounds into one sound, which brings out their individual personalities whilst staying true to their folk roots.

No 4..... Wullae Wright

Everybody likes to make a comparison about artistes and Ralph's old man is no exception. He heard Wullae Wright's 'Halo Effect' playing on my laptop and next thing he was wiping the dust of his collection of vinyl, dug out Led Zeppelin I and stuck it under my nose muttering....."Babe I'm Gonna Leave You".  Chance would be a fine thing some would say, however I had a listen and low and behold Wullae Wright is capturing the same raw intensity of vocals that an early Robert Plant did. 

No 5..... Wishes

Ralph's now got his own Unsigned Indie Mix show on French station Radio Kaos Caribou every Sunday 5 - 6 pm and it's thanks to listening to their eclectic mix of music that he came across Paris based band Wishes

No 6..... Calm As The Colour

So you've got to ask yourself how a band that's putting out consistently fine music and pulling in accolades from press and radio alike, still aren't quite finding their place in the hearts of the Scottish music buying public.  Calm As The Colour from The Kingdom of Fife are such a band and whilst they've only been together just under two years they've garnered compliments and airplay from the luminaries of Scottish radio and beyond.

No 7..... The Ninth Watch

After a hectic and successful years gigging in 2012, Manchester four piece The Ninth Watch are hibernating in the studio with a view to bringing you a host of new tunes and if they're as strong as the tracks they produced last year, we're in for a real treat.

No 8..... Hector Bizerk

An M.C. and a drummer...simple words for the complex musical experience that is Hector Bizerk.  Formed just over two years ago and originally comprising of  seasoned rapper Louie and equally experienced drummer Audrey Tait they've made massive inroads into the Scottish music scene. 

No 9..... The Recovery!

The Recovery! are a five piece punk/metal/core band from Glasgow who  release their new E.P ‘Wherever Nowhere Takes Us’ on 11^th February, 2013 via Indie label Cold War Legacy. 

The first single from the record ‘The Faint & Fragile’ is available now for free download!

No 10..... Vigo Thieves

As me old man never tires of saying, "Always great to hear a Scottish band singing like you know they're a Scottish band".  Well that certainly applies to The Vigo Thieves, just listen to the wonderful Steal Your Heart with it's almost Big Country-like intro and the thumping Heartbeats, last years video soundtrack for T in the Park has got to be a big club favourite, which is guaranteed to get the proverbial joint jumpin'.  They're up for Best Live Act at the SAMAs.

Bird

Three piece Liverpool band Bird is the creation of Adele Emmas (singer, songwriter) Sian Williams (guitar, harmonies) and Alexis Samata (drums) Together they create dark, haunting, atmospheric music which will entice you in to their magical, other worldly universe. With beautiful, siren-esque vocals, tribal, hypnotic drum beats and spellbinding guitar work, Bird are refreshingly unlike anything that's currently on the music scene.

After meeting each other through a friend of a friend, Adele and Sian bonded over their mutual love for artists such as Leonard Cohen, Kate Bush, The Cocteau Twins, Warpaint, and Fleetwood Mac. The girls decided to swap numbers and soon after songwriter Adele and drummer Alexis invited Sian along for a 'jam' where they realized together they had something very special to give. After signing to Jack To Phono Records, playing a UK tour and sold out EP launch back in 2011, the band have since built up a large, loyal fan base in their home town of Liverpool and other areas of the UK alongside releasing their much anticipated EP 'Shadows' back in August 2012.

They are nothing short of extraordinarily, ethereal,  atmospheric, haunting, and delightfully far from the norm so hopefully I'll see them share a bill with Pumajaw and Plum sometime soon for what would be gig of the year!  Such is the quality of material it's hard to favour any particular track however first up I've included the spectacular 'Shadows'.

Radio 1's Rob Da Bank, BBC Radio 2, BBC 6 Music's Maconie and Radcliffe, BBC 6 Music's Tom Robinson and Ralph's favourite, Dave Monks at BBC Radio Merseyside have all recently featured Bird on air. They've also had music featured on Channel 4 and had various magazine articles published in NYLON magazine, Bido Lito and many more. Specially selected by the BBC, last year Bird attended a workshop at Abbey Road and Maida Vale London. Former Cocteau Twin and label owner Simon Raymonde chose Bird as one of his favourite bands of the year!


They're as assured live as they are in the studio and hold an audience in their spell.....

In recent weeks they've been featuring in many best of lists for 2013 and were featured as The Guardian’s ‘New Band Up North’ in December 2012. 

“Liverpool trio Bird are creating music that’s hauntingly beautiful and forcefully captivating. Their poetic lyrics take your mind on a journey making you feel like you’re walking around in a gothic novel … Knowing they were onto a winning sound after one session must have been an amazing feeling. But after you’ve listened to them for the first time it’s easy to understand how they must have felt as you get a similar reaction. Their music moves you.” 








Blogger Andy Von Pip chose them as one of his Tips For 2013 -  “The music converges around Adele’s exquisite empyrean vocals, and it is they that beckon the listener on through the twilight gate and into a world of off-kilter fairytales where a star fretted sky twinkles to illuminate twisted branches that inhabit the dark enchanted forest of Adele’s imagination.”

Ralph's chum Tom Robinson included them on his BBC Introducing Mixtape not once but twice in 2012. He also said meeting Adele at a BBC Introducing Masterclass held at Abbey Road was one of his highlights of the day. 

They have also announced their first UK tour....

February
15th Liverpool -The Leaf
16th Sowerby Bridge - Puzzle Hall
18th Edinburgh Electric Circus
19th Inverness Hootananny
20th Glasgow King Tuts
22nd York The Duchess
26th Manchester Castle
27th Leicester The Scholar Bar @Leicester University -

March

2nd Milton Keynes Zone
3rd London Upstairs @ The Garage
4th Brighton The Hope
5th Bournemouth The Winchester
7th Bristol Start the bus
10th Birmingham The Yardbird Jazz Club
11th London Brixton Windmill


You can buy tickets for any of these gigs here

If you need a reason to go and see Bird on the second half of the tour here's a review of their Edinburgh gig in The Electric Circus by guest reviewer Malcolm Parry to convince you they just shouldn't be missed.....

Two supports for Bird tonight, first up: Elbi. http://soundcloud.com/elbimusic  An Edinburgh based, french, electro hip/hop soul singer. Not dissimilar in vocal style to Amy Winehouse, with inspirational echoes of Lauren Hill & Ella Fitzgerald. All backed up with looping vocals and electronica. Soulful yes!  But not a full soul singer, as we moved along song to song, Elbi started to introduce hip/hop style rap-in french!!  A real edge!,  which will hopefully bring her to a wider audience. Tres bon.

Next up; In the lovely wee shape of  18 yr old folk singer,  from the fishing town's of Fife.....we get : Lidh  https://www.facebook.com/lidhmusic. Just fresh from recording her debut album & supporting fellow folky's: Withered Hand & King Creosote. And my goodness, it shows.  A real giggley cuteness to this young lady,  politely bantering & story telling in her sweet Fife accent. You could almost imagine you were sat in a quaint fishing pub, ale in hand, open fire a blazing, while she kept it alight with acoustic fingerstyle songs, moving between the guitar & mandolin. Then introducing a cover; The Smiths- Bigmouth Strikes Again.  By the end you could smell the salty air & hear the seagulls. With talent at such a young age, we can only look forward to her debut album. A real delight.

Main act; Bird. https://www.facebook.com/birdmusicofficial  I awoke the morning of the gig to the sound of bird's singing in the start of a new day,  from the trees nearby.

 I have seen alot of hype & excitement surrounding these ladies; Lead Singer/basist: Adele, and lead guitarist/vocalist: Sian. The stage setup, looking,  how I would imagine a Grimms fairy tale living room,  with old lamps, empty bird cages , fairy lights with backdrop visuals of the two witches themselves, ( the cover of the excellent new EP Ophelia ).

Tonight they chose to be black witches, with a ghoulish looking drummer, who throughout the entire set, remained hunched & head-bowed  almost prisoner like, Maybe caught in a curse?  All adding to the eerie presence. As we move through 45 mins of live music, all under the enchanting spell of bird, we experience mysterious choir like vocals ( sometimes I hear Bat 4 Lashes, Smoke Fairies ), tribal drums,  ethereal guitar  ( like early Cure - pornography  & the xx ), cinematic build up's into crashing guitar crescendo's. Moving effortlessly through material new & old, finishing with a cover of : Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead with Adele's bass,  thrashing away like the long lost daughter of Geezer Butler.  A cover version they made their own.

If only the birds in the morning sounded this sweet?

Never let it be said Ralph isn't an equal opportunities blogger so here's what a couple of my contemporaries have to say.....

Louder Than War placed Bird at number 2 on their Top 50 New Bands for 2013. “When they start playing….. oh my, what a truly exquisite sound they come out with! A disarming, often foreboding, yet undeniably beautiful compound of folk, new age, Gregorian church music and the best bits of the late ’70s / early ’80s goth movement. Theirs is the sound of childhood stories of wandering through dark forests, of discovering hidden caves laced with cobwebs, of hearing wolves howling in the dead of night, all those stories you were told as a small child before you went to sleep at night … This really is music to get completely lost in, proven by the virtual silence from the audience by the time of the second song. Bird stir up an astonishing gamut of emotions, feelings and gut instincts, a quietly revolutionary act whose subtle insurrection is surely only a few months away from coming into action. Believe.”

Gods in The TV wrote “Bird utterly get the medal for grafting right now. It’s therefore just as well that the music, the haunting close harmonies, feeling as pre-Raphaelite as anything in the art gallery down the road, gets more and more compulsive with every listen.” Whilst the blog Just Music I like had this to say; “Bird were guaranteed their place amongst my bands to watch after two recent live performances blew me away … Those live sets saw the trio bring to life their recent Shadows EP with a live power and grace, equally dark and mystical with rich swirling guitar tapestries and superlative defying harmonies, it was like being transported to an otherworldly place of pure, spiritual beauty.” 



The new EP Ophelia is planned for February 11th and has been produced by Bill Ryder Jones from The Coral.