The Phantom Sound

With hints of Siouxsie Sioux and Joy Division running through it, Get To Me, the debut single from The Phantom Sound is ticking all of Ralph's Boxes and he's playing it on the Radio KC Indie Show next Sunday March 1st). 

Working on a debut album, The Phantom Sound aka Californian born (now living in London) Marisa Schlussel strives to create honest, powerful and emotional songs, drawing on diverse influences from the late 70's and 80's including Bowie, Blondie, The Ramones and Duran Duran and giving them a contemporary feel.











To produce the album she's been working with none other than the legendary Ken Stringfellow whose previous work ranges from The Posies and R.E.M. to the reformation of Big Star and a discography of over 200 albums.

Her aforementioned predilection for Blondie is also apparent as their drummer Clem Burke has also played on several of the tracks along with Rilo Kiley's Pierre de Reeder.

Not one to hang around, Marisa composed the album in Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam and finally London, where she's currently settled down. It's available now to download by clicking HERE and the video has just been premiered - you can watch it here and live dates will follow soon - watch this space!

GRIMderry

It's a dismal, wet and windy Monday morning, so what better time to check out Irish musician GRIMderry whose angst fueled electro/rock/blues/jazz blend of music suits the mood.  GRIMderry aka Laurence McDaid is about as Indie as it gets, creating and self-producing his thought provoking music using Ableton from the shed in his back garden, which includes the recently self-released EP - 'Digital Throw-up' - of which more later. 

He describes himself as - "an exporter of Lo-fi Electro-blues: Electro because of the ‘instrumentation’. Blues because, mostly, I get irritated by things other people seem to find totally acceptable; the music I write, therefore, is a sort of catharsis. It could be more obscure, but you have to make some things easy for everyone."








" I love rock music in most forms and electronic music in its most obscure forms. I write pseudo-cryptic songs about things that annoy me, which is less therapeutic than you might imagine. I've been progressively making a name for myself among the; for lack of a better term, alternative Northern Ireland music scene." 











"People have this mental block about music that’s depressing, but I find even the music people ‘dance’ to of a weekend has depressing lyrical content about heart-break, or rejection. People connect with music because of a human need to empathise and relate to their peers. GRIM is my attempt to do that my way."

So with that in mind, it's time to check out the Digital Throw-up EP.






 




The EP kicks off with 'I Pray For Water' and it's short but sweet, soulful and plaintive as opposed to the follow up track 'Quick! Nobody Smile' which is manic and industrial and has shades of Bowie during the 90's but more raw, brash and edgy. 

It's followed up by a lighter almost orchestral in parts electro track, the quirkily titled 'The Sun Seen In Thick Mist Looks Like The Moon'. It's not so grim in Derry all the time as this track is a delight. 













It's back to what GRIMderry does best with 'Machine Speak' with jagged electro beats overlaid with an angst filled vocal.  The electro theme is continued with 'Breaking Up' and it's what Moby would sound like if he crossed to the dark side. It's as compulsive to listen to as it is repetitive and gets my vote for a single release.  







  

Burning Condors

Looking for some down and dirty, bluesy and gritty, edgy rock 'n' roll?  The look no further than Burning Condors as they're producing just that in spades!  

London four piece Burning Condors emerged when Marcus Thompson left his roots of Bradford and moved south to London to find acting work and met band mates to be Matthew Edun and Churchy.

With Marcus influenced by British acts like Joy Division and Bowie and Matthew an old school blues nut, the pair introduced each other to their record collections to create a noise which led one reviewer to gush - Burning Condors have distilled the essence of the blues, added a dash of rockabilly swagger and forced it through a modern art punk filter to come up with something fresh and new’.

After cutting their teeth on the London gigging scene, they earned a break with a run of support slots for Punk Blues favourites the Legendary Shack Shakers.  








After seeing Burning Condors strut live, producer Mark Robertson invited the boys out to his studio in Nashville, Tennessee to cut their debut album.  The record also features the talents of Col JD Wilkes of Dirt Daubers and Dave Roe from Johnny Cash's band Tennessee Three and is released September of 2013.

Although their sound naturally draws comparisons to bands from the other side of the Atlantic, they're most definitely a product of their immediate environment and wear their London roots along with their combined musical heart loud and proud on their sleeve.

Alongside their devotion to their craft as musicians, Burning Condors collaborate with emerging photographers, illustrators and animators from the UK’s exciting art scene to create visuals which add a new dimension to their music. The cover art for ‘Dirty Girl Blues’ was produced by Danny O’Connor (aka DOC) who has exhibited alongside some of the world’s leading urban artists including Banksy and Adam Neate. DOC often leaves paintings on the street for people to discover and take home.

Burning Condors’ debut album ‘Round Our Way’ is due to be released in September 2013. ‘Round Our Way’ was recorded at Stainless Sound Studios, Nashville and features a guest performance from the aforementioned Dave Roe.

Hot on the heels of the release of their 2nd single ‘Knockout’, a track described by Fortitude Magazine as - “150% old-school hot…slinky to the point of slithering out of the speakers” - the new single ‘Dirty Girl Blues’ is released on 15th July 2013 through Snakehand Records.







From the first grinding, sliding guitar and cocky vocal backed up by a solid beat (shades of Doctor Feelgood) 'Dirty Girl Blues' grabs you by the short and curlies and doesn't let go as it's soaring slide guitar digs it's nasty way into your heart and soul.  Proper old school and it's Ralph's Record Of The Week on Radio KC this week prior to its release on Monday.