Tomlin Leckie

Given Ralph's predilection for crowd funding projects it was a pleasant surprise when a copy of Tomlin Leckie's Kickstarter funded EP 'We Are Stories' dropped through the letter box.  


Tomlin moved to Edinburgh in 2006 from France and finally started busking during the Edinburgh Festival in 2008. Since then he's been going non-stop, playing around 150 shows a year with various different bands.







2012 was a particularly busy year for Tomlin with his now defunct band James Brown Is Annie supporting multi-platinum band The Black Seeds and five-time Grammy award winner Robert Cray.

He's now taking some time now to concentrate on his own acoustic folky/bluesy music and looking forward to playing more intimate gigs just armed with a guitar, harmonica and voice!








The EP 'We Are Stories' is 5 tracks long and the obvious young James Taylor comparisons (let's hope he hangs onto his hair better) cannot be escaped, especially the lead track 'Earthwalker' which is Tomlin's 'Fire and Rain'. It's an atmospheric track that begs to be replayed.  Despite playing in a band Tomlin's style is eminently suited to  solo acoustic performance. His accomplished guitar playing and emotive vocals draw you in.

Next track up is 'From Any Fool' and it's more upbeat with a hint of Steely Dan' - another old rock soul in a young body. Immaculate guitar again matched with a smooth vocal and a perfect summer sound.











'Strangers' has a more sombre, bluesy feel to it, telling a (seemingly introspective) tale.  It's followed by 'This Machine' lightening the mood a tad musically and another strong track lyrically.  Final track 'Any Lie' and we're back with a Steely Dan-esque (no bad thang) vibe with some bluesy harmonica added to great effect.  It's smooth, seductive and maybe just my favourite, although it's a close run thing with 'Earthwalker'.

Upcoming Events for Tomlin Leckie

• Tomlin all alone and acoustic at Leo's Beanery Saturday, 21 September 2013 at 16:00

  Leo's Beanery Edinburgh, United Kingdom

• I'm supporting Colin Clyne in Glasgow! Friday, 18 October 2013

  The Roxy 171 Glasgow, United Kingdom

Red Sails

If you're looking for well crafted, melodic tunes in a Steely Dan sylee then you've come to the right place because Ralph's been listening to Red Sails from Liverpool and it's time you did too!  Their tracks sound simple but are actually complex well written musical gems that soar, taking you on highs and lows with their lyrics and melodies.





Their track 'Looking Out To Sea' is a case in point of a track that's best played with the headphones on chilling out on a warm summers afternoon beer in hand.  The good news is they've got more tracks (and a video) on the way.  More good news is they're playing LEAF in Liverpool on the 13th September with the highly acclaimed This Morning Call (Ben Hayworth) and Lumin Bells and Ralph's putting his gig collar on and will be bringing you a review.







Up until now they've been almost hermit-like for a band with such quality music. However it looks like the tide is turning as, with increasing radio plays of their track 'Sure Enough', including Ralph's Indie Show on Radio KC and now by Dave Monks on BBC Introducing plus with the aforementioned new tracks and gig on the way Red Sails boat looks like it's about to come in!