Kid Kapichi

After setting the British guitar music scene alight with their riff-filled debut EP, hedonistic Hastings quartet Kid Kapichi return with their much vaunted EP Lucozade Dreams which is released tomorrow March 30th).

Having received support from the likes of Kerrang TV, MTV Rocks and London Evening Standard with their eponymous breakthrough debut EP, the rising indie rockers were being tipped off by industry experts as ones to watch.

No surprise then that Brian is spinning their most excellent single release Puppet Strings on the Radio KC Indie Show on April 15th.

Consisting of Ben Beetham (guitar/vocals), Jack Wilson (guitar/vocals), Eddie Lewis (bass) and George MacDonald (drums), the EP mirrors their colossal riff-infused live shows; driven by monstrous guitars and vocal melodies, which are seamlessly switched between Jack and Ben. King Kapichi have recently been discovered by the Underground England Soundwave’s platform, putting them alongside the likes of Pale Waves and Black Honey.

Dripping with rock tunes that punch you in the chest and leave you humming the chorus with the few breaths you have left, the Kid Kapichi EP with it's blend of heavy, incendiary rock with harmonising vocals, makes it obvious as to why the four-piece are the forerunners of the new generation of bands in the deepest South.

With a sold-out festival show on Hasting Pier already under their belt, Kid Kapichi will be touring the UK showing off Lucozade Dreams alongside one of Brian's favourite Scottish bands and SAMA Best Rock Award Winners Bloodlines. 

March 29^th - Glasgow – The Old Hairdressers

March 30^th - Edinburgh – Banshee Labrynth

March 31^st - Inverness – Tooth and Claw

April 4^th - London – Camden Monarch

April 6^th - Torquay – Apple and Parrot

April 7^th - Hastings – The Carlisle

Billy Bibby & The Wry Smiles

Billy Bibby & The Wry Smiles have been long time friends of Ralph's Life both here on the blog and on the Radio KC rotations so we were intrigued to hear about the new single Together? which strays from the usual path a tad; with no small degree of radio friendly aplomb we soon discovered.

Who better to explain that than Billy himself: 

"Together? is something I wanted to write so that it would push the boundaries of the Billy Bibby & The Wry Smiles sound but still maintaining the hooks that I personally always look for when writing a song. I don't personally like going into too much detail about the lyrics but hearing them for yourself you'd probably figure out that it's about a love triangle of sorts told from the perspective as the outsider of the three."







Billy went on: 

"I wanted to see how I could make the verse and chorus fit together but at the same time have them quite different in sound. 

The verse seems quite happy and then the chorus comes in hard and to the point! Live, this song isn't one to be missed because before we even released it people have been starting mosh pits as the last chorus kicks in! And we all need a song like that, right?"

We'll be playing Together? by Billy Bibby & The Wry Smiles on the Radio KC Indie Show on March 18th so tune in on rkc.noip.me internet radio from 5-7pm GMT.

MARCH

02 Chester | Telford's Warehouse 

06 Manchester | Jimmy's

15 Cardiff | Gwdihŵ

16 Leeds | Verve Bar

17 Sheffield | The Leadmill | supporting The SSS [SOLD OUT]

23 Birmingham | The Flapper | supporting Big Ginger Kid

30 Nottingham | The Toll Bar

31 Liverpool | EBGBS

APRIL

01 Merthyr Tydfil | The New Crown Inn

05 Dunfermline | PJ Molloys

06 Glasgow | The Record Factory

14 Selby | Test Fest

21 Bolton | The Blind Tiger | supporting Twisted Wheel

Dates are constantly being added. Check HERE for the latest gig info or go to billybibby.com

The Moods - Video Of The Week

Brian's favourite video this week is Hidden by The Moods from their Missing Peace album.

After a monumental 2017, The Moods accelerate into 2018 at an exponential rate.

 Hailing from Manchester and the North West, The Moods are a ten-piece collective creating socially charged rap dealing with topics such as corruption, poverty, injustice and inequality. 

This new 10 date UK tour showcases songs from their acclaimed album, Missing Peace, and provides an opportunity to witness the brilliant moods show live in some of the UK,s classic indie venues.

The Moods will be playing Brian's #RoyalBeddingDay event in St Helens in support of Musicians Against Homelessness and local charity Teardrops on May 19th as part of their UK tour and A1 (M) Records are co-sponsors of the all day festival in Ruskins Sports Club.

Mar 10th – DONCASTER – Vintage Rock 

Apr 28th – MANCHESTER – Bred Shed (MoodsFest) 

May 5th – LIVERPOOL – Zanzibar 

May 6th – BARNSLEY – Solidarity Festival 

May 19th – ST HELENS – Brian's MAH Festival 

May 26th – LONDON – Nambucca 

Oddity Road

Oddity Road kicked off 2018 with their biggest headline gig as 500 people crammed into a sold out Sheffield Academy. They followed this up with a UK support slot alongside The Sherlocks and their own UK headline dates. 

The four 18 year old school mates played over 50 gigs and 25 festivals in 2017 including an infamous BBC Introducing headline set to 4000 people at Y Not festival.

With new songs in the bag Oddity Road plan to build on their relentless work ethic to reach an even bigger fan-base through 2018. For fans of the big indie chorus. 

About Don't Hold Me Down :

"It's really a fairly simple love story for our mates.  We're all 18, our mates are. We go out in town, spend what little money we have, sometimes drink too much and we're all trying to meet that someone. 

The song starts with that first glance across a room, a one night stand? But it's not really about that, it's about how you start spending time together, fall in love and will do anything for each other; before the inevitable fall out, regret and broken hearts.”

Feb 24th Oddity Road Sat 19:30

Lending Room             Leeds

March 2nd Oddity Road Fri 19:00

Sound Food and Drink             Liverpool

March 3rd Oddity Road Sat 19:00

The Garage           Glasgow

March 16th Oddity Road Fri 19:00

The Bodega            Nottingham

March 30th Oddity Road Fri 19:00

The Deaf Institute            Manchester

March 30th Oddity Road Fri 19:30

The Deaf Institute            Manchester

April 13th Oddity Road Fri 19:00

The Victoria, Birmingham           Birmingham

SHEAFS

SHEAFS are a five-piece indie rock band from Sheffield, which formed in the later end of 2015 comprise Lawrence Feenstra (lead vocals), Chris Goodacre (guitar/backing vocals), Charles Mellor (guitar), Callum Wright (bass/backing vocals), Charlie Eastap (drums).

Following on from the legacy of breakthrough single, This Is Not A Protest, new track, Shock Machine is a bold step up in both power of performance and size of hooks used.




Working with producer Thomas Mitchener (Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes) Shock Machine showcases a harder, faster side to the band yet still gives the listener a riotous sing along chorus and a break down to end all breakdown. 

As with the previous release, be afraid, be very afraid, this song will get stuck in your head.

SHEAFS live sound has earned them a consistent place in This Feeling tour book as well as slots on the Isle of Wight, Reading Festival bills and their largest show to date in front of a 2000 strong crowd at Y Not Festival. SHEAFS debut headline tour in support of Shock Machine runs across the UK this February and March.

SHEAFS are another band high on our 'ones to watch' list and Brian's giving Shock Machine a spin a week on Sunday's Radio KC Indie Show so tune in from 5-7pm GMT on the 11th of February. They're going to be mahoosive!!!

Speak, Brother

Speak, Brother are regaling us once more with their lush vocal harmonies, rustic instrumentation and contagious heartfelt lyrics with the release of their latest single Magnesium Burn prior to the debut album Young & Brave out this week and is accompanied by a UK headline tour, hopefully as a precursor to them taking their rightful place on a stage in a stadium near you soon.

Brian will be spinning Magnesium Burn on the Radio KC Indie Show a week this Sunday and it's well worth tuning in for as they soar to new musical heights with this latest offering.

They're high on our 'ones to watch' list for 2018 so if you get the chance I suggest you don't miss a gig near you on the upcoming tour. 

Speak, Brother frontman James Herring had this to say about Magnesium Burn...

"This song comes from a deep well of frustration in my life. Fear has kept me contained and depression has weighed me down. I've been distracted from what's real, worrying what's behind the corner. I've not done things, said things, loved people just because I'm not sure what would happen.

  Every day it's better to just autonomously play it safe, stay afloat and hope something one day changes.  There is this deep longing to just run. Run into the dark places. Like a child into the fields. I think it's at those places when we're most uncomfortable and just a about out of control of the outcome, where we really live, grow and become free."

The Tates

Water is the brand new single by Welsh indie pop 5-piece The Tates and it's been eagerly awaited after the success of their debut release Electric Girl which we played on Ralph's Radio KC Indie Show. It was also supported by Huw Stephens, BBC Intro, Radio 1, playlisted on Amazing Radio and A-listed by BBC Radio Wales.

Ralph will be playing Water on the Radio KC Indie Show next Sunday (26.11.17) so remember to tune in from 5-7pm GMT.

Energised by their summer tour in support of Electric Girl plus feeling confident and inspired they returned to the studio in Cardiff to work with producer Steffan Pringle (Estrons, Himalays and Future Of The Left).

They emerged with a sense of purpose with a song that will redefine The Tates as the torch-bearers of a new sound, a sound that ranges from The Libertines’ poetic raw energy to the death disco of early New Order and the fuzzed dayglow pop melodies of MGMT. Lyrically Water asks a poetic question exploring themes of nature over nurture, as Tom the guitarist explains... 

“Are the flaws that we share with our parents who we are, or have we learnt from them? Are we free to be the people we want to be or are we trapped by our genetic makeup and our immediate environment and society?” 

It's testament to them that with unwavering belief in the pop song they are in full control of their chosen genre, making the pop song theirs. The Tates build from the ground up on their ascendancy to the stars.

The Slow Readers Club - Video of The Week

Ralph's favourite video this week is for the newly released single Lunatic by The Slow Readers Club. 

The Slow Readers Club are a Manchester based four piece who specialise in indie electro doom pop and who are currently selling out shows throughout the UK on their Through The Shadows tour.

Lunatic The New Single from The Slow Readers Club
Video by: croftwerk.co.uk Spotify: spoti.fi/2zlNUY1 iTunes: apple.co/2gwNYk7 Apple Music: apple.co/2gwNYk7 Deezer: bit.ly/2gSdld0 You can catch them on tour at the following dates: 21st October - The Button Factory, Dublin 4th November - Academy 2, Birmingham 10th November - The Garage, London [SOLD OUT] 17th November - Thekla, Bristol 23rd November - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham [SOLD OUT] 24th November - The Albert Hall, Manchester [SOLD OUT] 9th December - King Tuts, Glasgow [SOLD OUT] Plus catch them supporting The Charlatans on 30th November at O2 Academy Sheffield

Antonio Lulic

False Positives is the long awaited, chilling new single from Antonio Lulic, taken from his forthcoming EP Departures concerning the police killing of innocent Londoner Jean Charles de Menezes, in the aftermath of the 7/7 London bombings. 

Antonio Lulic recalls...

“On the 22nd of July, a man being followed by the London Metropolitan Police was shot and killed on a train at Stockwell tube station, on suspicion of being one of the previous day's bombers. In truth, as it would eventually transpire, he was Jean Charles de Menezes,a Brazilian who was mistaken for a terrorist because of the colour of his hair and his skin.”

“The song itself started writing itself in my head, listening to news broadcasts and reading reports about the sequence of events that led to this mans death. 

But back in 2005, it was still too raw, and the story wasn't yet finished being told. 

In 2016, on hearing that Jean Charles' family had lost their final appeal at the European Court of Human Rights, the song came back to me, and I realised that I could finish it.” 

He recently returned from opening up for old friend Ed Sheeran on his Latin American stadium tour. The pair met playing on the London Singer-songwriter scene and have been playing shows together ever since. 

“So, I wound up this spring playing in thirteen stadiums across seven countries in Latin America, from Argentina to Mexico. I never expected to stand on stage in front of 53,000 fans chanting my name, but I got to live that dream." 

The sincerity in Antonio Lulic's voice is palpable on the single and Ralph's already given False Positives a play on the Radio KC Indie Show. With or without the assistance of Mr Sheeran Antonio Lulic is destined to become a shining star.