Luna Rosa

Ralph's been looking at all the bands and artistes playing at this year's Blackthorn Festival in July and featured them all in one big blog, but there's a few which we'll be taking a closer look at over the next few weeks.

One such band is Luna Rosa who hail from Corby in Northampton-shire and they profess to...

"bringing a raucous sound that the music industry has been missing for far too long. Big beats to shake your cranium, groovy rhythms, Guitars that scream and wail like a banshee. Walls of sound that force the people to move, all laced with anthemic lyrics."







Formed in 2014 Luna Rosa have played up and down the UK racking up over 200 gigs in just over two years, including headline and festival slots. Their live shows are brash, exciting and raucous, grabbing the crowd from the off and not letting them go.

The release of the first Luna Rosa E.P in Nov 2015 brought an array of reviews, sessions and much bigger gigs. In 2016 the single from the E.P This One (High On The Groove) was played on over 50 nationwide radio stations, including BBC Introducing and BBC 6. and Ralph's Radio KC Indie Show.

The next single by Luna Rosa is due to be released in May, followed by a tour and the aforementioned appearance at Blackthorn Festival. Looks like this is going to be a massive year for Luna Rosa with their fan-base getting bigger; as are the gigs, making them a band not to be missed.

Partisan

Formed in Manchester in 2013, Partisan are a Rock band who are committed to their cause. Their punchy, bold and unflinching anthems are taking authentic Rock back into the mainstream, evidenced by their ever increasing fanbase.

Partisan are Stuart Armstrong (vocals and guitar), Dan Albon (bass) and Leo Stanfield (drums). Founding member Armstrong's previous band Six10Repeater established him as a force to be reckoned with; the band won coveted support slots with the likes of Nine Black Alps, Babyshambles, The Damned and Status Quo and appeared in Pro Evolution Soccer. Xfm (now Radio X) named them as Best Unsigned Band 2009, and their supporters included BBC 6 Music.






Partisan have worked with notable producers Jim Spencer and Mike Bennett, they've gigged extensively across the UK and played iconic American venues Pianos in New York and Whiskyagogo in Los Angeles. International airplay has marked them out as one of the UK's hottest exports and 2017 sees them ready to take their career to the next level. New single Ashes is a vital slice of strong guitar riffs, driving beats and infectious melody, raising the stakes when it comes to today's contemporary Rock scene.


Ralph's giving Ashes a pre-release spin on the Radio KC Indie Show March 26th so make sure you tune in PLUS you can catch Partisan live at the following...

30th March - The Castle, Manchester

31st March - Dublin Castle, London

6th May - West Street Live, Sheffield

26th May - Big Barn Rally, Stockport

23rd June - Factory, Manchester

14th July - Zanzibar, Liverpool

11th August - Fire Station, Carlisle

The Honeyfire

Sisters Sally and Natalie Joiner are The Honeyfire, a dream-pop guitar band hailing from Bristol, UK.

Their enchanting harmonies and textured guitar lines reveal an honest and endearing bond between the siblings. Blending themes of fear, failed love across dreamscapes thorugh their poetic lyrics, these ethereal songstresses captivate their audiences with dark and hauntingly beautiful live performances.

Sally and Natalie began writing and performing together from a young age and that shows in the quality of their latest single Replica. It'll be on Ralph's Indie Show next Sunday - 18.9.16.




During their musical development The Honeyfire were briefly joined by drummer Anja Quinn and they began to make a name for themselves supporting national touring artists, such as Mark Morriss (The Bluetones) and Bristol's very own She Makes War, also receiving radio play from BBC 6 Music and BBC Introducing.



The Honeyfire recorded their self-titled debut album with Jim Barr (Portishead and Get The Blessing) at his Bristol studio. With a sound ranging from the energetic driving guitar riffs of 'Parallel' to the a cappella vocals and music made on a saw in 'Unheard Voice', the album was released in December 2014 through Bristol based Jelli Records, and was met with widespread critical acclaim.

Performing at various festivals including Lakefest, Nibley and Bristol Acoustic Music Festival where they appeared alongside Chris Wood, Stackridge and Thea Gilmore, September 2015 saw them performing The London Acoustic Show before reverting to their two piece line up.



The Honeyfire continue to perform across the UK alongside writing and recording material for release in 2016 and 2017. The sisters also host a monthly radio show on Pirate Nation Radio.


Live Dates:

Sat 24th Sep – Carnival Records, Great Malvern, Worcestershire

Fri 14th Oct – Lilico’s, Barnstaple, Devon

Thu 20th Oct – The Louisiana, Bristol

Sun 23rd Oct – Bedroom Bar, London

Sun 30th Oct – Mesmerist, Brighton

Filter Distortion

Due to Ralph's love of guitar type bands he's only occasionally reported on electronica, however on hearing Liverpool's Filter Distortion he's decided to buck that trend after the four piece finally emerged from a self-imposed year of confinement in a windowless room.  

The band set about producing their finest work yet, and have certainly achieved their aim with debut album Transition.  

Ralph will be spinning Neon Nights on Radio KC just after the New Year.







Recorded using just 3 microphones, Filter Distortion wrote and produced all the album's tracks before mastering with engineer and producer Daniel Woodward at the Whitewood recording studio.


it's unashamedly entrenched in the 80's but they've imbued their sound with powerful percussion and guitar to make the transition into today's music scene. 

Filter Distortion have created a soundscape that draws on everything from Depeche Mode to Public Service Broadcasting to create an album that's as easy to listen to as it is powerful, with each track a stand-alone.



Filter Distortion are attracting an ever-increasing following, due to having their music featured on Ch 4 as well as BBC 6 Music and international radio. Tracks from the album Cameras in the Dark and Neon Nights were selected as Tom Robinson's Fresh on the Net Fresh Faves.

Transition is available as a digital download and limited edition vinyl from Dig Vinyl, Probe Records, Piccadilly Records and mail order via the band's website.

Peacock Affect

Through Ralph's involvement in the Ralph's Life CD for Rethink Mental Illness, it's been a real eye opener as to how many of the musicians  previously blogged either suffer from mental health issues or are close to someone that does. Because of that they were more than happy to donate a track for the CD.

One of the common denominators with them all was the almost healing effect music has whether through playing or creating it. 



Recently whilst checking out the recently released double A side single by Peacock Affect; which is the alter ego of young Essex musician George Holman, it was interesting to hear his experiences and thoughts on his own struggle with mental health and how music helps him to cope.

George has been writing music from his home in Exeter since he was sixteen. Influenced by the ill-fated Elliott Smith and The Smiths, George's music stems from melodies that he picks on the guitar and lyrics that flow directly from his feelings. 








He explains...

"I don’t really know where my inspiration comes from because it comes through at random times. I write melodies down all the time, sometimes I'll never play that song again, but here and there an idea will become a song. I draw a lot of my inspiration from nature; the trees, the wind, the sea..."







As someone who has experienced emotional struggles and mental health issues, George uses music as a means of coping with them. 


"I think my best songs comes from a really deep and horrible place."

"I really don’t think I would write anything if I hadn't suffered from any mental illness.  Creating is cathartic."





BBC Radio 6 Music and some of the UK's most respected music sites are praising Peacock Affect, though for George this will never be more important than his creative output. 


"For me, music isn't about providing a means to become rich and famous, I just feel really good to know that people want to listen to what I create as my lyrics are deeply personal." 






"I feel comfortable in my own skin and whether I’m in a good mood or a bad mood, I have my music."

Both tracks on the double A side single The Heaven Smiles and Wallflower see George's understated vocal floated over intricate acoustic guitars.

It's the exquisite simplicity of these seemingly introspective tracks that make them so wonderfully impactive and moving.




The one thing for me to take away from listening to both the music of Peacock Affect and the thoughts of George Holman is that it's good to talk about and increase awareness of mental health issues, not only for personal improvement but for the edification of others.

If you can, go catch him on stage at either of the gigs below, he's both nervous and excited about performing live and I'm certain that you'll come away from his performance wanting more in the same way I did when listening to his tracks.

Tue 25 Nov 2014	Ronnie Scott's               London             Tickets
Fri 05 Dec 2014	The Dublin Castle         London             Tickets

Snippet

Snippet aka Johnno Casson is the quintessential English musician.  Prolific, diverse, entertaining, clever, wistful and whimsical (no more so on his previously released mini-album 'DIY' and the track 'Let's Talk About Us' on which he comments on his winkle (and he isn't introducing us to his pet mollusc Brian). Prolific as ever Snippet has released an EP of tracks that should be on everyones 'Summer Playlist' and it's called, appropriately enough, 'The Sunshine EP'.




Previously Ralph's referred to Snippet as being all things to all listeners bringing you everything from funk to electro. If you haven't already been introduced to his inimitable stylings then this is the perfect lead in...go and seek out his back catalogue or even better check him out live...I think you'll find he's one of the nicest blokes you'll ever meet, as was proved when he kicked off the Ralph's Life CD all-dayer in London's Proud Camden earlier this year.





The EP was performed, recorded, produced and mixed by the man himself and mastered by Wim Oudijk. Snippet was quoted as saying "the EP is six unique nuggets of sunshine 'SnipHop' that are big on bounce, low on fat (but always 'phat') & full of technicolor loveliness."

Following on from the previously mentioned and critically acclaimed D.I.Y Album, Snippet takes it up a notch with a batch of killer songs cloaked in sweet layers of retro synths & hand crafted loops, topped off with vocal hooks to die for...music to lift your spirits & put a spring in your step.





From the first bars of the lead track 'We Luv The Sunshine' the lyrics are uplifting and the whistling infectiously cheerful. Second track in and the instrumental 'This Way Up' with an Ivor Cutler harmonium vibe leads you into the optimistic and bouncy 'Can I Luv You'. 

'Misplaced Youth' is a more soulful, reflective track whilst 'Run For Your Life' moves up a gear again with a 'SnipHop' vibe, finishing off with the quirky 'fLIP' showing just how versatile Snippet can be.




We Luv The Sunshine by Snippet

If you don't believe me then... 

“Snippet: A National Indie Treasure…The most played artist ever on BBC Introducing - Fresh On The Net” 
Tom Robinson BBC 6 Music

A New Band A Day

It's not often I consider blogging a blogger (OK, OK - never) but when I got news that Ask Me PR's Joe Sparrow aka A New Band A Day music blogger had been nominated for an AIM Award as 'Indie Champion' I decided to put paw to 'puter and share the news.

Ask Me PR were hugely excited to let me know that he'd been nominated for a highly prestigious AIM Award in the 'Indie Champion' category – alongside music industry luminaries like Lauren Laverne, John Kennedy and Gilles Peterson!

Joe’s been given a well-deserved nod as recognition for his long-standing devotion to unearthing and showcasing new music on his blog A New Band A Day. The blog's been running for over five years; catching the attention of the music industry by showcasing well over a thousand brand-new, unusual and very independent bands culled from the less-frequented corners of the internet.

Whilst some of the bands have gone on to huge success (he wrote about the then-fledgling Rizzle Kicks when they were still at college), most stay relatively unknown: but Joe says he’s happy with this – and that it’s kind of the point.

“I started A New Band A Day because I missed the rough-round-the-edge songs that I only really used to hear on John Peel’s show… the ones where you could hear the tape hiss and the squeak of the guitarist’s chair; or some obscure deep house track from Paraguay.

“So I set about finding them for myself and sharing them online… I never wanted to find the next big thing (and I didn’t either) and I never really thought about where doing this might take me!

“However, I’ve done things I never thought would do as a result – I lived in NYC for a few months, popped up on BBC 6 Music, experienced the madness of SXSW – but most importantly I have met so many fabulous people who I now count as best friends.

“In five years, I’ve dug up so many bands that thinking about it makes me feel a bit sick – but I can remember all of them, even if all the names are starting to blur into one (possibly vowel-less) mega-band-name now!”

Here's today's A New Band A Day top story by way of a tribute to Joe...go follow him!

Koloto: In The Chromo-zone

[28 Aug 2013 | No Comment | ]

Here’s something dreadful: I listened to Koloto‘s music, liked it; and then saw that it was made by a woman, and then I made a judgement.

I couldn’t even help it. It wasn’t a negative judgement, just that I suddenly looked at the music in a whole new way, merely because I found out that this producer of electronic music, unusually, was not a man.

Sigh.

But just to clarify: there is nothing ‘female’ aboutKill Screen, just as there is nothing ‘masculine’ about, say, Underworld’s Skyscraper, I Love You. (Well, unless you subscribe to the …

Read the full story »


Good luck Joe!