Ralph's favourite video this week is Sirens and Vices by Jingo. It's the first single taken from their upcoming album Make Some Money, Buy Some Love and the video was directed and edited by Charlie Barclay. The album is due for official release on March 11th and will be available on CD and vinyl due to a successful crowdfunding campaign by Jingo. The album launch will be on the same date in the Dalston (London) venue Birthdays. The Jingo album follows on from their critically acclaimed debut The Art Of Loving in 2014 and the Ghost In The Machine EP which was released the following year. Sirens and Vices sees Jingo performing with their usual raw edged passion, with Katie's vocal on-point as ever, making the single an ideal appetiser for the ensuing album. Needless to say Ralph will be giving the track a spin on the Radio KC Indie Show and with previous support from journalistic luminaries such as Kerrang, Clash, Artrocker and God Is In The TV Zine plus radio play on Amazing Radio, Radio KC and BBC Radio It's hard not to see this release propelling Jingo even further into the Rock firmament.
Essex based Alt Rockers Rob Jarvis and The Mercury Sons are due to release their debut single Just To Make You Happy on the 17th of February. It's already had its first radio play on the KerrangFresh Blood Show and needless to say Ralph will be giving it a pre-release spin on his Radio KC Indie Show soon. I'm pretty certain they'll also be playing it at their first ever live gig in Think Tank? Underground, Newcastle this Saturday. Rob Jarvis and The Mercury Sons cite a vast amount of musical influences ranging from Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains through to Foo Fighters and one of Ralph's favourites, Biffy Clyro. These influences certainly make themselves felt on this first rendering from the band. Just To Make You Happy showcases frontman Rob's ability as a songwriter. It's a strong rocking it out track that highlights his passion and skill in bringing light and shade to a track. Whilst he tips his hat to his influences in Just To Make You Happy he most definitely makes his own unique mark.
As Rob said: "Our debut release hasn't been shown to a great deal of people, but those who've encountered it during the 'making of' stages have made reference to all kinds of bands, certainly lots of references to 90's rock, so I hope you all like it!"
Ralph is pleased and proud to be able to premiere GRIT the new single from Áine Duffy & The Hypnotyst. The two combined forces last April, attempting to create a revolutionary new sound unheard of in the music industry. Cultivating influences from nearly every genre, with a heavy electronic leaning, electric guitar and big vocals. With GRITÁine Duffy & The Hypnotyst flirts with dance, rock and funk to innovatively combine genres and moods, creating their own individual sound which is designed to get concert venues rocking and the dance floors moving.
Gritis a swirling soundscape of Áine's raunchy vocal overlaid on a funky electronic beat laid down by The Hypnotyst and not only is it being premiered here in the UK on this blog, but it gets a first time spin on Ralph's Radio KC Indie Show this Sunday (20th November) and is Video Of The Week on ralphslife.co.uk from tomorrow.
With an album in the offing for 2017 and their music being mixed by three time Grammy nominated Emily Lazar (The Prodigy, Sia, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Moby and David Bowie) it's exciting times ahead for Cork born Áine Duffy and composer/producer The Hypnotyst.
December 1st: The Harbour Bar Bray, Ireland Tickets & More
December 3rd: Madame Claude Berlin, Germany Tickets & More
December 17th: Hackett's Bar Skibbereen, Ireland Tickets & More
This week Ralph's favourite video is Renegade by Hunter and The Bear and it's the first single from their debut album due out early next year. Having shared the stage with Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Simple Minds, this young British band are making a big noise on the rock scene. They've toured extensively in the UK & Europe this year and have been described as - "One of the most exciting live acts around!" Get it here: http://smarturl.it/hatbrenegade
Ralph has featured singer/songwriters Chris Tavener and Scott Dean in the last two blogs and to complete the set of three, we're featuring the debut album release by Borrowed Body aka Niall Hill this week. London-based, Niall has put The Rising Sea out via indie record label Screamlite and it's a collection of seven highly listenable, emotive Alt-Folk tracks which are evocative of Nick Drake or on a more contemporary level Bon Iver. Borrowed Body kicks off the the album in fine style with the meaningful soundscape of Over The Garden Wall. The poignant vocal backed by simple melody is a delight.
This is an album for a balmy night in the garden with the headphones on and a glass of wine in hand. Blissfully unaware of the comings and goings of the world and getting lost as Borrowed Body lulls you with his lush vocal. OK - OK that's as muso as I get and you really need to go and grab a copy of the album yourself to see what I mean. It's as strong a debut release as I've heard in a long time despite of, or in fact due to, it's subtle tones. Ralph will be featuring the excellent Antennas on his Radio KC Indie Show (Sunday 26th June from 5-7pm) in a week's time.
Oxford based Zurich have just released their eagerly awaited debut EP Small Wars and Ralph was quick to give the single release from it, Alone a spin on his Radio KC Indie Show recently. They're described as post-punk with more than a smattering of eighties electro, which I feel they've managed to give a fresh twist.
Zurich is comprised of, Adrian Banks on Bass/Vocals, Chris Gillett on Guitar/Vocals and Leigh Taylor on Drums/Samples
Now Ralph's looked at crowd funding projects before, whether for bands producing a new album or for an Indie film trying to raise production funds but Simon Horrocks the director of Third Contact has already made the film, his Kickstarter project is to get his Indie film onto the cinema screens in London including the BFI IMAX! The exciting news is that with only a few hours left the film's Kickstarter exceeded its total and raised nearly £16,000. The film itself is a tense, dark insight into death, grief and one mans attempt to retain his sanity. You can be part of this films unique story by attending the screening at the BFI iMax in London.
'Psychotherapist David Wright runs a private practice in London but is struggling to motivate himself. Memories of lost love torment him, while Rene, a client, has committed suicide and David is now in such a state he considers following the same path. Meanwhile, another client also talks of suicide; but this is ‘quantum suicide’ – a thought experiment which implies immortality for conscious beings. Rene’s sister, Erika Maurer, finds his apartment is almost empty. Just one cup, spoon, fork and knife, frames without pictures, torn family photos… One more curiosity: a list of memories – four dated descriptions of specific moments in his life.
David agrees to meet Erika, as she seeks to understand her brother’s state of mind, and the two damaged souls look to each other for some kind of comfort. Another client, Helen, acting strangely, walks out of her session.
But when he discovers Helen has met the same fate as Rene, leaving behind another mysterious list of memories, David is drawn into an obsessive investigation, determined to find out who or what is responsible before any more lives are lost.
Hi, my name is Simon and I’m a writer/director, living about 3 miles from where I was
born in North London. In 1973, after we’d dropped out of the rat race to live on an arts-centre-come-hippy-commune near Glastonbury, I declared I wanted to be a film director and my parents, who always indulged my creative urges, bought me a second-hand standard 8mm camera and a tripod.
CUT TO: London, March 2010. After screenwriting for a few years, making a small amount of money, one thing was bugging me - my screenplays weren’t getting made into films. As my agent said at the time, financiers weren’t prepared to take the risk.
So, I set out to shoot my debut feature-length film with whatever I had to hand, or could afford to buy with my wages working in a cinema. I was told I couldn’t do justice to the screenplay without a professional crew and at least a modest budget for equipment. But I went ahead and started filming, anyway. Because one thing my parents taught me - the most important thing in art is not what tools you have, but the creativity you put into using them.
After a lot of hard work, improvisation and imagination, we made a film which has gone on to show at a prestigious festival in Germany and receive critical acclaim. We couldn't have done it without a great cast, so I was lucky enough to have actors and friends appearing in the film and donating their time for free, as well as many other generous helpers along the way.
We now invite you to join on us on this incredible journey as we take our film to one of the most prestigious movie theatres in the world - the BFI IMAX in central London, the biggest cinema screen in Britain.
Third Contactis a gripping psychological thriller with a sci-fi twist, which originates fromwhat has been described by one film critic as ‘a goldmine of ideas’, including madness, depression, grief, as well as scientific concepts such as a disturbing ‘thought-experiment’
called Quantum Suicide.
With influences beginning at Sophocles Oedipus the King, this story follows on from Hitchcock’s Vertigo and Marker’s La Jetée- stories about time and fate, about memory and obsession.
“It is difficult for me to convey the sheer artistic brilliance and visual beauty that the work possesses.” Kate-Jane Hall, THE LONDON FILM REVIEW
“Quite the masterpiece and sensational debut” Joseph Rothschild, FAUST
“A goldmine of ideas.” Ralph Sziegoleit, FRANKENPOST
“A moving experience that not only qualifies as cinema but could also be considered a masterful piece of art with its poetic use of mystery and dialogue.” Christopher George, MOVIE SLEUTH
"The writing is beautiful. The storytelling. The performances. The art direction. At this level in the microbudget realm, I can't think of anything else that comes close." Heidi Haaland,SCREENWRITER.
"A massive achievement and if I can ever produce anything that is even half as good I'll be pretty bloody pleased with myself. BRAVO!!!" Steve French, FILMMAKER.
"Through Third Contact, Simon Horrocks has created the kind of film which I can only dream of making in the future and has set the standard for low-budget mess-with-your-mind productions." Pardonmyfrenchie, BLOGGER & FILM EDITOR.
"poetic and... mysterious" Critic Nic, FILM BLOGGER.
"Fans of directors like David Lynch, Darren Aronofsky, Richard Kelly, Vincenzo Natali and Duncan Jones ought to enjoy Third Contact’s open-ended, philosophical and conspiratorial nature." Ian Cavalier, SPIRAL NOTEPAD.
We'll release Third Contact independently in select theaters around London. From there, we’ll be pushing to show the film in independent cinemas across the UK.
We’ve shown Third Contact to independent cinemas in London - they like the film and want to show it. Before they can show it, however, we need funds ready to pay for film promotion.
The theatrical release and resulting media coverage of the film will become a huge asset as we then move on to distributing via DVD, Blu-Ray and video streaming services to an international audience.
I’ve done all the promotional design work myself, which means even more of your money will go where it’s needed. Apart from securing a professional film PR company’s services, costs will include hiring a cinema booker, paying for posters and flyers to be printed and other “deliverables” such as Digital Cinema Packages and Blu-ray masters.
I believe in cinema, which means watching films on a big screen. That‘s what inspired me to want to make my own films. I would love to bring Third Contact to cinemas around the world and your backing will help me to keep pushing towards that goal.
I want the exclusive event screening of Third Contact to be a special experience for those making the £50 donation. That's why I've provisionally booked the BFI IMAX cinema screen in central London.
This is one of the most prestigious cinemas in the world, where many of the biggest stars in the business attend premieres of their films. But why should big budget productions have all the fun?
Should you choose to pledge £50, I will be eternally grateful. Should 250 or more of you decide to pledge £50, the event screening will take place at the BFI IMAX. If not we will find another (slightly smaller) prestigious venue in London.
If you pledge £50, as an added thank you, I will add your name to the opening credits for this special event screening. If enough people make this pledge, your name will be up on the biggest cinema screen in Britain. Feel free to take a picture!
Ralph's favourite video this week is Sirens and Vices by Jingo. It's the first single taken from their upcoming album Make Some Money, Buy Some Love and the video was directed and edited by Charlie Barclay.
