Benbo

Multi-instrumentalist and cartoonist Benbo is set to release his new single Gravity Pulls Me Down 22nd September via PKLZD.

Tipped by Pigeons & Planes, Eddy Temple Morris and BBC Introducing, and co-signed by Cooking Vinyl, the former London resident has flown the capital to somewhere in the north of the UK that he will only describe as ‘The Bunker’, where he has amassed over four days worth of unreleased music over a vault of various hard drives.

Gravity Pulls Me Down, the first cut off his forthcoming mini-album Everything Is Fine is an off-kilter, psychedelic tinged alternative pop wonder and Ralph will be playing it on the Radio KC Indie Show on Sunday 13th August.

Speaking about the track, Benbo said, “It’s about depression I think, how you can be feeling high because for once everything is going lovely and then something happens to puncture your happy feeling and you’re on your way back down to the ground. Also there’s something in there about true love, I used to think it was about true love winning in the end but upon listening to it again I’m not sure whether it’s actually about the love in question being unrequited.”

Breaking off from a long-time quest to complete the perfect debut album, the reclusive artist Benbo will release his his new 9-track mini-album Everything is Fine – a meticulously-crafted 20-minute alt-pop journey through space-fuelled plans to escape personal and global disaster - on the 29th September. 





Also included on the promo CD’s is Bleep This aka F This one of the album’s most radio friendly tunes (in edited form) that highlights just how caustic a ninety second pop fix can be, when you put your heart and soul into it.

The release will feature collaborations from the likes of long-time Ralph's Life favourite Kat Five of Feral Five fame, writer A.K. Benedict (Doctor Who) and audio collector Gr3n (Cathay Tapes); plus production/mix by Marta Salogni (Frank Ocean/MIA) and mastering by Grammy-winner Mandy Parnell (Björk) and Bob Macciochi (DJ Shadow).

Fiona Soe Paing

 
Electronica producer and vocalist Fiona Soe Paing will bring her live show to Dumfries with a unique audio-visual performance as part of the Big Burns Supper Festival later this month.





Fresh from London’s global festival of music ideas, Music Tech Fest, and a show at Cineworld for Aberdeen International Film Festival, Fiona Soe Paing will perform her show Alien Lullabies  combining  tracks from her forthcoming album with projected animation by New Zealand artist Zennor Alexander  in  a hypnotic combination of cinema and live gig.








The musician, who has drawn comparisons to  Bjork, The Knife and Fever Ray,  will combine her blend of off-world electronica and ethereal soundscapes with stunning 3D animations and live vocals to create an immersive and memorable cinematic experience.  





Fiona Soe Paing's work; supported by Creative Scotland and rated as  "Outstanding" in the  2014 Noise Festival Showcase Awards curated by Brian Eno, and her last EP release Tower Of Babel was given a Four Stars rating in The Skinny Magazine. 

 “The chance to perform in Europe's largest winter fringe festival was really something I couldn’t turn down and I’m excited to be bringing something a bit different to what is an incredibly diverse and exciting programme ofmusic and theatre events, alongside punk icons The Undertones, and Scottish Hip-Hop heroes Hector Bizerk”

The performance of Alien Lullabies will take place 1pm at the New Performance Space, Electric Theatre Workshop,  28 Munches Street, Dumfries on Friday January 30th.  

Tickets cost £6.50/£4.50 concessions, and are available in advance from the Munches Street box office, or telephone 01387 271820.

The Big Burns Supper Festival  runs from  23rd - 31st January across Dumfries. 

Cheyenne Doll

One of the advantages of having a radio show with Radio KC playing unsigned UK acts that's based in France is that it can be a two way street and heading in our direction is sultry French singer/songwriter Cheyenne Doll.  She's recently released a five track EP 'Carmen' to great critical acclaim in France and now Ralph brings it to the attention of the UK.

Her self-titled first album recorded in London had a distinct punk/rock influence but this EP is a lighter, acoustic and more pop/folky trip designed to show off her vocals, musicality and songwriting skills. 









The lead track 'Carmen' is sensuous, reflective, delightfully harmonious and in order to appeal to a wider audience she's recorded the vocals on the EP in English.  Cheyenne plays all the piano and guitar on the tracks and the violin accompaniment, especially on 'Carmen' gives them a very poignant  feel.








Her musical background began at the age of 13 and her influences since then have been diverse.  In Miami she collaborated with Galbert Spence of Burning Spear followed by a move to London where she recorded  a punk album under the auspices of none other than Kenny Jones (worked with Pulp, Bjork, Robbie Williams, Steel Pulse, Oasis and The Smiths) at Alchemy Studios.  Moving on to New York she spent some time playing in the bars and clubs in Brooklyn and Manhattan before heading cross country to Los Angeles and a spot in the world famous Whiskey A Go Go.

photo by Jean Michel Sooprayen — at La Métisse Paris.

On returning to France she embarked on a tour of Paris venues playing a selection of acoustic songs and was selected to play the prestigious Solidays Festival. This was the inspiration for a return to the studios to record the 'Carmen' EP last year.  The EP was recorded using an analogue format to give it an honest lo-fi appeal.

 Here's a video of Cheyenne in the Kaiser Studios recording 'So Sad' for the EP.  

let's hope she decides to cross the channel and do some gigs over here sometime soon!

Plum

Who said dreams don't come true!  
Plum won the Best Electronic
at the Scottish Alternative Music Awards.....
here's a transcript of her acceptance speech...
"Holy Crap...Thanks!"

More good news too as she's just released a fantastic new animated video in collaboration with talented animator Jiamin Liu, and here it is.....

Back in July last year I acquired a taste for fine female voices after listening to Kathryn Marsh so I turned my nose in the direction of Plum, the alter ego of Edinburgh based Shona Maguire.  As one of Scotland's few female electronic producers, she'd just released a concept album 'The Seed' to much critical acclaim. .







Big news  last November was a new single 'Smile' from the album, with the 'B' side the result of a Tweet Ralph can remember seeing on Twitter some time back where she'd collaborated with top dubstepper TeKlo on the track, taking them both out their comfort zone.....

So what's the latest...well she's just been and gone and got herself nominated in the Best Electronic category of The Scottish Alternative Music Awards 2013.....

Not only has there never been a solo female winner at the Scottish Alternative Music Awards (SAMAs), but Edinburgh-based musician Plum has just become the first female ever to be nominated in the Best Electronic category.

Ralph will be featuring tracks from 'The Seed' on his Sunday Indie Mix radio show on Radio KC (every Sunday 5-6pm) until the awards ceremony on Friday 8th March and he asked her what it felt like being shortlisted for the Scottish Alternative Music Awards and Plum said:

“I am absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for this award. Female electronic music producers are very rare right now, so I hope that my shortlisting inspires other female artists to produce great electronic music and compete with the best."

“My latest album, The Seed, was entirely funded by my fans, so it is great to be able to reward them for their dedication by securing honours like this.”

The winners of the Scottish Alternative Music Awards are voted for by the public - from Monday 11 February, you can vote for Plum  to win the Best Electronic Act award at The Official SAMA website.

She will be releasing her next EP, Betsy Thunder, in June 2013, along with live dance performances resulting from a residency with Edinburgh’s Dance Base due to take place in March 2013.

Buck 65 was quoted as saying of Plum's nomination - "I'm glad more people are starting to catch on to what I've known for years....it's rare to find music that is equally intelligent, beautiful and moving and all at a high level"

Uniquely for an unsigned act, Plum already has a group of über-fans who follow her every move and have even been known to dye their hair in support of the artist, as well as baking cupcakes topped with edible Plum logos to hand out at live gigs. Her music has also already been used on the BBC’s Lip Service and a Scottish Government anti-knife-crime advertisement. She can even count 2013 Brit Award Nominee Goyte and Canadian rap-legend Buck 65 among her fans.

The title track of 'The Seed' jumps at you with a thumping almost Stranglers like (Peaches) bass and drum beat before Plum's thrillingly clear vocal kicks in. Some say PJ Harvey, I'm getting hints of Bjork especially in the hauntingly lovely 'Meadow of Weeds'.  

Whereas 'The Seed' is in your face from the first note, 'Meadow of Weeds carries you along on a river of vocal loveliness. 

Myriad is a more mainstream crowd pleaser piece of electronica with Plum's vocals maintaining their Scottishness (nae bad thing) in the same way the aforementioned 

Bjork's vocals appeal.

Fiona Soe Paing

After reviewing Plum and Pumajaw recently Ralph's continuing in his mission to bring you the best in Scottish electronica.  So here's the sublime Fiona Soe Paing, based in Aberdeenshire and who has been evolving her unique brand of experimental, vocal-led electronica since 2007. 




One of her first home demos, sung in fledgling phrasebook Burmese, was discovered on Myspace by the legendary BBC DJ Charlie Gillett who sadly passed away just over two years ago.  He included it on one of his 'Sound of the World' compilations, released internationally on Warner Music, alongside artists including Gotan Project and Devendra Banhart. 


THE TOWER OF BABEL EP is accompanied by a limited edition DVD of music videos by New Zealand animation artist Zennor Alexander. Their previous collaborations have been screened on The Arts Channel on Sky TV New Zealand, as well as at film festivals including Digital Fringe Melbourne and NEON digital arts festival Dundee. 





'Behrot' is an almost wistful track with a swell of soft electronic waves lulling the your senses before Fiona's sensual vocals almost unnerves the listener towards  the end.




In early 2012, Fiona was granted funding through Creative Scotland to make new work, and two of the new tracks are included on the TOWER OF BABEL EP.

TOUR DATES are planned for 2013 including gigs with Plum 26th Jan in cellar 35,Aberdeen, then February 15/16 at Aberdeen’s very first festival of electronic arts at the Lemon Tree and Club Snafu, and a follow-up EP of remixes by Black Lantern Music artists including Morphamish and Texture, is planned for the spring. 




She cites Bjork as one of her influences and that is most evident in the track Daymoon Sun.  Atmospheric, powerful electronica overlaid with her elegant, evocative and dark vocal.





The title track 'Tower of Babel' has an altogether more industrial soundscape and it's hypnotic beat is matched by the edgy animated video by Alexander. 

PRESS:

Fiona Soe Paing interview @ The Electronic Music Experiment



"Seriously left-field electronica - I love it, it's effective - Rob Da Bank would be proud."
- Ally McCrae, BBC Radio 1: Introducing

"A tough-but-sensual slice of modern electronica... Soe Paing's extraordinary vocals are really what separate these tracks from the pack... these artfully multitracked performances convey urgency, ecstasy and a haunted sense of dislocation."
**** - The Skinny








"Inhabiting the same territory as other big game players such as Memory Tapes, Four Tet and Fever Ray... but also adding something wholly unique...starkly minimal yet lushly layered, eerily haunting yet evocatively sensuous and simplistic in outlook yet complex in execution."
- Sadie Marren, Quotidian Times









"Like watching a snake slowly moving; you’re drawn to it’s movements but wary of it’s venom... What I’m hearing are hit songs from a decaying future that’s a lot more impressive than where we are in it’s scope. This is the music I hear when reading Neuromancer or Virtual Light."

- toeleven.net








Now one thing you might not expect with all this gritty, dark, surreal electronica would be Fiona's dog.....so may I introduce you to.....Fluffy.....

Pumajaw

About to ride high on the current tsunami of electro/pop sweeping the country are Scottish masters of the art Pumajaw, who are in the throes of planning a gig assault on Britain and Europe.  The release of the album Demonmeowmeow at the end of 2011 saw them tour Europe where for some reason they are more revered than back in the Old Country.  Maybe the more cosmopolitan nature of the Italians is better suited to Pumajaw's 'music is art' approach.  No lightweight electro here but hypnotic, sleazy, mean and moody jazz infused synth.








Pumajaw are producer/instrumentalist John Wills and chanteuse extraordinaire Pinkie Maclure.  Pinkie has released two solo albums - on One Little Indian in 1990 and on Beggar's Banquet in 1996. John was a founder member of Loop and the Hair and Skin Trading Company, both Beggar's Banquet, until the mid-90s.










The sultry 'Your Arms Your Doors' could almost be a homage to the late, great; always missed, Billy Mackenzie with its soaring vocal acrobatics.....

They've released two albums under the name Pumajaw. Before that they released one album as Pinkie Maclure, one as Lumen and one under their individual names.  They used to be to be pigeonholed as trip-hop or psychedelic folk, but were never comfortable with either and recently have grown more electronic/synth-led, noisier and more rhythmic.

For the recently completed third album, Demonmeowmeow, John swaps acoustic guitar for electric and rediscovers the ritualistic drumming he was known for in the 80s and 90s. Pinkie still plays concertina, but more or less abandons any folk influences and returns with vigour to her early inspirations of the great singers of jazz, blues and avant-garde pop and their on-stage performances are as mesmeric as they are musical.






A bit of hat tip to Bjork on Chinny Chin Chin with it's haunting (wouldn't be out of place in Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis') more industrial  feel.....

They have three releases lined up for 2013.  The first is a remix ep of Tallulah including mixes from Christ. (Boards of Canada) and Crooked Man (Jarvis Cocker/All Seeing Eye, Todla T) which will be released on Herb Recordings soon.

"Crooked Man are working on a remix of Mazy Laws which we're really excited about."

There is also a new album in the works which features songs from Film Noir Classics including Night of The Hunter alongside new Pumajaw songs.

"We are really looking forward to our next tour of Europe which starts in April. We may play some gigs in Britain too but that will be later in the year."



In the meantime here's their dark, atmospheric video of the original version of 'Mazy Laws'.....take your eyes of Pinky Maclure if you dare......

Fabulous news for Edinburgh as Pumajaw are looking towards crowd funding to bring their sensational show to The Edinburgh Fringe.....so have a read and see how we can all help!

Song Noir by Pumajaw - Edinburgh Fringe 2013

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'Song Noir' is the new creation of Scottish duo Pumajaw. We are jazz/blues singer/songwriter/musician Pinkie Maclure and sound artist/musician John Wills.

Plucking from obscurity great forgotten songs from film noir and American gothic movies, we reinvent them with a 21st century approach and a deep respect for the originals. Adding to these our own haunting compositions, we create a world at once nostalgic and futuristic, using cutting-edge technology, traditional instruments (concertina, guitar, keyboards, autoharp) and our own atmospheric visuals.

Reviews

"Pumajaw raised the bar for the rest of the festival. Sometimes growling, other times hauntingly angelic, Maclure's voice was always utterly engaging. Wills is a highly accomplished player and his use of loops and samples created a wall of sound that a full-blown band might struggle to craft. Maclure is quite an enigma and Pumajaw's effect was heightened by the theatricality of her performance, pacing the mini-proscenium and, witch-like, seducing her audience into a weird and even scary world. And the way she handles the concertina would make the knees of grown men tremble."

David Prater THE SCOTSMAN****

"There are eight wonderful, original songs here together with the most atmospheric instrumental arrangements and a voice that is nothing less than thrillingly world class. This is adventurous music from one of the country’s deeply hidden artistic treasures.’"

4.5/5 Sharon O’Connell, UNCUT****

…..You wonder if the neighbours know about them in the local shop. About Maclure fleeing Banff for France on the back of a teenage Jacques Brel fascination; about her extraordinary voice– parts Juliette Greco and Ella Fitzgerald – a voice that would, in a better world, deliver the greatest Bond theme ever.

You wonder if they realise that Wills  is possessed of an uncanny knack for bewitching atmospheres and ritualistic beats.  Or that the duo’s alliance has won them fans from Radio 3's Verity Sharp to Kevin Le Gendre, editor of Jazzwise, who decreed Pumajaw “disarmingly beautiful”).

Nicola Meighan, THE SUNDAY HERALD

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