Spring Break

Spring Break are a three-piece hip hop collective who invite us to join them on their journey of ambitious diversity whilst they explore a broad palette of influences that they've marinaded in a melting pot of multiple genres. The result is one of the best albums I've had on repeat so far this year.

They cleverly fuse those influences into the delicious Tropicaledonia album in a Ralph's Life favourites Stanley Odd stylee who they've previously toured with and it will provide the soundtrack of my summer.

Photography by Project 246

A nascent Spring Break evolved at Belladrum 2014 where the band were organically assembled to play on the Burke and Hair stage. A winter in Thelonious Rumpus' studio birthed the spring time release of 2015's Departure Lounge EP. 

A hectic summer of festival appearances, with national press coverage, radio and tv appearances and an advert for Bowers and Wilkins speakers. 

A busy year was jubilantly capped off with a SAMA award for Best Hip Hop act.

Tropicaledonia artwork buy Calum Carr www.facebook.com/CalumbaInk 

For the last year Spring Break have been working on their debut album Tropicaledonia; a fusion of many styles, drawing influence from a rich palette of folk, funk, blues and jazz whilst all the while steeped in the cut and paste traditions of hip hop. 

Spring Break hope the musical diversity of the record will appeal to a wide range of tastes as it draws from the varied backgrounds of all the band members and collaborators. 

Lyrically it's a highland reportage on the human condition; detailing daily stresses, mental health, drinking culture and addiction, small town mentality, lampooning back stabbers and the foibles of the industry and pointing a clown gloved finger at toxic masculinity.

Photography Project 246

Live dates for 2018 include; 13th April playing with Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 at The Loft in Forres, 14th April Album Launch Party in Inverness. 

1st June in Glasgow playing with the Twistettes in Machullis, 16th June at Wildwoodz festival, July 21st at Audiosoup festival, 3rd August at Belladrum festival and August 31st at Lindisfarne Festival and November 9th at The Ironworks in Inverness with Urban Voodoo Machine. 

More dates to be added as they come in.

Ceiling Demons

Ralph has followed the musical progression of North Yorkshire based dark hip-hoppers (it's grim up north) Ceiling Demons with increasing interest as they develop their unique soundscape. 

Never shy about capturing the frailties of the human state after initially getting together to pay tribute to a lost friend and then through their musical practice addressing mental health issues; Ceiling Demons have, with the release of their new single March Forward attained a new level of not just retrospective sadness but optimism and aspiration.

Driven by the warm sound of brass, March Forward marks the transition of the seasons as the death of winter is reborn into spring. The track sees twin siblings Psy Ceiling and Dan Demon go through an emotive journey of loss and acceptance. The recognition of our mortality and inner struggles is interspersed with an uplifting message which offers a sense of hope.

Since the release of their experimental EP, Belly Of The Hopeless and the stand-alone split 7" Lost The Way on Come Play With Me late last year, Ceiling Demons have been crafting a fresh body of work which will be released later this year via Durham-based DIY label Win Big Records. 

March Forward is an addictive and emotive insight into this new oeuvre, and the first track to be released from the album. The project is once again produced by Beat Demon and features instrumentation from their live band.

Ralph will be playing March Forward again via the Radio KC Indie Show on Sunday May 28th, so tune in from 5-7pm.

LIVE DATES:

Friday June 16th - 360 Club at The Library  Leeds

The Moods

Ralph has been featuring the Blackthorn Festival on the blog recently due to the fact that it's near Manchester and probably the best value for money small festival in the UK.

We've also been singling out a few Manchester bands for some special attention and today it's The Moods turn.

They are the city's premier electro hip-hop reggae outfit, and their message is loud and clear. This 9-strong band unifies rap, brass and beats, delivering potent, political lyrics for a post-2016 world to make you dance make you think. Born out of a musical experiment in North Manchester's Boomshack Studios in early 2014, The Moods quickly gathered members and momentum. 

With thanks to trust a fox photography

A dizzying amalgamation of producers and poets, they swiftly honed their very own sound, which, when taken live, quite simply blew their audiences away. 

It wasn't long before The Moods attracted the attention of local radio stations (Ralph's giving them a spin again on next Sunday's Indie Show on Radio KC) and journalists like John Robb and Terry Christian.

The Moods ended 2016 on an absolute high, with raucous, sell-out gigs in London, Glasgow and Manchester. 

As the world reflected on the travesty that was 2016, The Moods channeled their energy into writing and performing their vital, mighty music.

They have now signed an artist development deal with the fiercely independent A1(M) Records (Ralph's just featured their Music From The North Live EP to raise funds for Salford 94.4 fm) in Manchester. Further to that, their new single JOY is to be released on June 23rd and we gave it a pre-release spin on Sunday 4th June.

Dopesickfly

Ralph's favourite video this week is Barriers by Dopesickfly. 

Founded in the summer 2015 in Glasgow Scotland having busked the streets of Glasgow, the band evolved there sound into a Neo Soul, Rock, Hip Hop, Acid Jazz fusion with just the right amount of Funk. 

The lyrically explosive, musically diverse, Funk Rock Hybrid known as Dopesickfly emanate an upbeat feel good vibe inviting everyone to join in with catchy hooks and dance their heart out! There encouraging & sing of life connecting to all ages of people- making music for people!




Barriers (Official Music Video) Filmed & Edited by- ChilledAffinity Featuring April Granelli The album DOPESICKFLY is available now:

Bandcamp: dopesickfly.bandcamp.com/album iTunes:
itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/dopesickfly Spotify:
spotify.com/artist/6WfSpX8qP9BxeuUn



Follow Dopesickfly
Website: dopesickfly.com Facebook: facebook.com/DOPESICKFLY Instagram: instagram.com/DOPESICKFLY/
Twitter: twitter.com/DOPESICKFLY/

The Boston Shakers Live in The Cavern Club

With thanks to Nicki Vinall Photography ©

It's always nice to get out on a road-trip and when the chance presented itself to catch The Boston Shakers as support to Xander and The Peace Pirates for their album launch in Liverpool it was too good an opportunity to pass up. 

The Boston Shakers closed the recent Ralph's Life event for Musicians Against Homelessness in St Helens and very nearly brought the roof down, so it was going to be interesting seeing them do their thang in a sold out Cavern Club.

In true Boston Shakers style they hit the stage running with Best Things In Life For Free, with Lucas playing fastest finger first building up the beats and charismatic front man Alex flowing at machine gun speed over Jordan Kennie's manic guitar playing.

They're loud, tight and entertaining as they thrash through their set. In no uncertain terms The Boston Shakers are staking their claim as one of the best unsigned bands on the live circuit.



They've already got a bank of tracks that are fast becoming classics, none more so than their electric rendition of Black Magic where again frantic guitar play and speed of sound vocals backed by the heaviest of beats got the Cavern Club crowd jumping.

They finished off by throwing a hoedown with a barn stomping rendition of Keep Of That Grass. 



Next up they're supporting Electric Six in O2 Academy in Liverpool followed by Space in The Arts Club and it's onwards and upwards for The Boston Shakers.

FƎRИO

Every now and again Ralph likes to explore other genres outside his normal Indie comfort zone. On this occasion, it's the ever so slightly mysterious London hip-hop artist FƎRИO. 

Now I say hip-hop, but FƎRИO prides himself on having created his own musical genre, the self-styled ESH Music which is released on indie label Ai Recordings.





His latest release is the Skywalker EP which includes the funky and infectious, bhangra-esque infused track, Quatrains Freestyle. 

He seems to be currently making more of an impact on the American scene as the EP hit No. 4 on the US iTops Chart recently and has featured regularly on Radio KC.

His music career started at the tender age of seven and by fourteen had performed his first shows in Jamaica on some of the biggest sound systems like Bass Odyssey, Metro Media and Stone Love, which was originally built by the legendary Winston 'Wee Pow' Powell and now, using social media he's rapidly building himself a fiercely loyal fanbase

Official Burnt Toast

Anyone that follows Ralph on Twitter will know he's partial to a bit of toast, preferably charred around the edges, so it's no surprise there was a bit of excitement here in the kennel when the soon to be released (November 2nd) Money As Debt Double A Side Single by Official Burnt Toast hit the turntable. With flip side Hi Time it's a great intro to their Tubs 'n Tongue-Fu album on Sonskrif.

The sociopolitically incisive brand of jazzy, spoken-word hip-hop stylings they purvey are reminiscent of Arrested Development or A Tribe Called Quest but the message Official Burnt Toast bring on this Double A Side Single is germane to what's happening around us today.

Official Burnt Toast are Adrian Lawrence, Patrick Luke and Abrar Hafiz. Based in East London with their version of spoken-word, hip-hop and punk variously described as:

"an infectious cocktail of American paranoia, Canadian objectivity and a very English obsession of introspection and the fly on the wall documentary with the warmth of an accessible sound”.




Official Burnt Toast were featured in The Observer, where respected fashion photographer Perou is quoted as saying:

“I always shoot to music except when we’re being filmed for TV shows and we’re not allowed. My fave band at the moment is Official Burnt Toast. Their music is between spoken word and rap. It’s very funky, but with English sentiment”.

Known for their electric live performances, The band cite Glastonbury where they played the Green Peace stage to a capacity crowd as, “one of the best gigs we’ve done to date”. Needless to say Ralph's already given Official Burnt Toast a spin on his Radio KC Indie Show and it's no surprise they'll be featuring regularly in the future.

Colonel Mustard and The Dijon 5

Picture courtesy of Julian Bailey Photography

Now they don't come much funkier than Scotland's Colonel Mustard and The Dijon 5 and that point was proved recently when they won the coveted Scottish Alternative Music Award for Best Live Act, much to the delight of their faithful followers who comprise the legions that are the 6th Dijon.






Colonel Mustard and The Dijon 5 are a manic assemblage of musical mayhem, much loved by their growing throng of fans. They throw the party and the 6th Dijon are always invited to join in the craziness that ensues.

They released a CD Single called These Are Not The Drugs (You Are Looking For) which was their self-styled 'anthem for Summer and Festivals' and it's a disco-tastic blend of psychedelic beats and funky ass Scottish hip hopping. If The Cuban Brothers and Primal Scream were to conceive a bastard child, then Colonel Mustard and The Dijon 5 would be the result.

Outside Your House

Now it's no secret that despite the volume of US rappers knocking at the kennel door, Ralph has no great love of hippety hop - however - the self styled 'Barely Rappers' Outside Your House bring a quirky lo-fi feel to the table in a crossover stylee between Ceiling Demons, To Have Is To Hold and a snippet of Snippet.

The release of The Ones That Left Town EP by duo Outside Your House is the proverbial breath of fresh air in what can be an extremely stale musical genre. 

Ralph's giving one of the tracks a spin on Radio KC next Sunday.











Photos Out There from the EP is spoken word overlaid with a melodious lo-fi soundscape, mixing a hint of Bhangra with an almost Brit Pop feel. It's the first of six interesting tracks and each hold their own individual appeal.

Fading Out (Like The Picture On My Work ID) has a psychedelic 60's flavour with a splurge of Jarvis Cocker whilst Improbable Cities leans on a more recognisable hip-hop style but with a quirky electronica background. Top work by the Outside Your House duo.







Blood In The Laundry continues in that vein with a quintessentially British vocal over an almost disturbing electro track giving them an up to date Scaffold feel.

Dennis Taylor Style and Forks finish off this unique offering with clever lyrics (choking on a home-made ciabata) crossing Sparks with Public Service Broadcasting in both an unsettling and yet fulfilling way.






Hailing from Durham, Outside Your House are folk singing, spoken word rapper Faithful Johaness and sweet-singing sampler and musician Jonathan Swift. Together they strive to be one of a kind, and are succeeding with no small amount of aplomb. Definetely ones to watch.

'It's rap Jim - but not as we know it!'

Grab your copy of the EP from this link!

Stanley Odd

It's not often you get to use dystopian, Scottish and Hip-Hop in the same sentence, however, the third album by Scottish Hip-Hop collective Stanley Odd has some extremely incisive and introspective views on the increasingly dystopian society in which we currently exist. 

A Thing Brand New is shades of  Fear and Loathing in Airdrie rather than Las Vegas as Dave Hook's writing examines not only himself but the 'Scottish Dream'.










From Get Back In The Basement with its 1984-esque theme - 

"Fear and consume, fear and consume.
With CCTV. 
As they peer in ma room. 
They think I don’t but I .
Can see through the gloom." 

- to Son I Voted Yes with its hopes and dreams for a better future for his son in an Independent Scotland laid bare, Dave aka Solareye has me gripped with his ability to share thoughts through his lyrics. 

The album is Stanley Odd at their best, blending Hip-Hop stylings with Veronika's sublime vocals overlaid on a variety of musical themes ranging from electronica to blues courtesy of AdMac, Scruff Lee T Lo and Samson the Snake.

The album is out November 10th and can be ordered in advance.

The first single from A Thing Brand New is 

Pastime and here's the video for your delectation.

Upcoming live dates...

Date	Venue	Location		Tickets
	Nov 15	The Lemon Tree	Aberdeen, United Kingdom		Tickets	RSVP	Share
	Nov 21	Liquid Room	Edinburgh, United Kingdom		Tickets	RSVP	Share
	Nov 25	Barfly	London, Uk		Tickets	RSVP	Share
	Nov 26	The Sunflower Lounge	Birmingham, Uk		Tickets	RSVP	Share
	Nov 28	Ironworks	Inverness, Uk		Tickets	RSVP	Share
	Dec 13	Glasgow Garage	Glasgow, United Kingdom		Tickets	RSVP	Share