The Clear

Now you know Ralph's a fan of unsigned Indie and that's mainly all he writes about. However he does indulge himself now and again when a truly classic piece of songwriting finds it's way into the kennel.

Sheffield's The Clear and their latest single America which is fresh, yet nostalgic and beautifully channels classic West Coast Pop is just such an example. 

America is a slice of classic songwriting, harking back to that golden age of perfectly-crafted pop songs which Ralph's playing on Radio KC next Sunday

Colin Elliot (producer of fellow Sheffield star Richard Hawley) heard The Clear and their songs so after working with Kylie Minogue at Abbey Road Studios he invited them to his own studio to capture their warm & glossy sound. A fruitful session followed out of which the tracks America and Sunlight were born.

The debut single was released a while back and DJs Gary Crowley, Tom Robinson, Janice Long and top tastemaker Simon Raymonde rushed to play it on this shows. Gary went as far as naming Sunlight one of his “favourite songs of the summer.” 

Since Sunlight the band have been signed by the inimitable Lance Freed to Rondor Music and America is the new single to be released this summer by The Clear as part of the build up towards their debut album. 

Personally, I can't wait!

Sisteray

Sisteray have been making big waves in the indie/garage rock scene since forming in 2012 however 2014 was a breakthrough year for the London four-piece and 2015 looks to continue in that vein. They're big favourites here in the kennel and regulars on Ralph's Indie Show on Radio KC.






Previously, working with producer Michael Smith (12 Dirty Bullets) at RnR Studios, the Sisteray debut EP She Likes The Drama was released on digital format back in February 2014, with praise from Ralph, Jim Gellatly, This Feeling, Music Week, XFM, RTE Radio, Louder Than War, Merc Clothing, Time Out and The Londonist. 








The EP followed a successful debut Double A side single by Sisteray, Take It Away / Happy Endings back in August 2013, which was championed by the likes of Gary Crowley of BBC London 94.9 fame.

Well big news just announced by Sisteray is the release of No Escape on Monday 16th of March. It's a no nonsense look life in modern day London for your working class 'twenty-something'. 

It's dystopian lyrics are juxtaposed with a poppy, guitar driven soundtrack that's been co-produced by Brian O'Shaugnessey and Andrew Winters. The video was filmed and directed by BFI award winner William De Ritter.





No surprise then that this catchy 'poptastic' offering has already been played by Simon Raymonde and Jim Gellatly on Amazing Radio as well as XFM, Radio London 94.9 and Fred Perry Subculture.

Unlike the hapless hero of the No Escape video these shiny bright young things are most certainly going places!

     Live Dates:

        11/03 - Talking Head - Southampton

    17/03 - The Fat Fox - Portsmouth

21/03 - Old Brown Jug - Stoke

      28/03 - Billericay Town FC - Essex

 1/04 - Club Kamikaze - London

Desert Ships

Musical news for today comes in the form of a dreamy EP release by Desert Ships called Skyliner. 

Desert Ships are composed of Mikey on vocals and guitar, Daniel on bass and vocals with Claude on drums and vocals and forming in 2012 then releasing their debut album Doll Skin Flag in the same year.  The album, produced by acclaimed musician and producer Mark Gardener formerly of seminal shoegaze band Ride was met with huge critical acclaim.







Alan McGee, founder of Creation Records described the band as having “some great fucking songs” and Mark Gardener described his time working with Desert Ships as “a total pleasure, a total trip.”

The London based trip-tonic Desert Ships describe their sound as heavily cinematic. Haunting guitar loops and hypnotic grooves allow the dream-like melodies to weave in and amongst each other, while the three-part vocal harmonies bring a spacey, ambient tint to the eclectic mix.  Comparisons have been drawn with the likes of Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, and at times even the rousing film scores of John Barry.  Lead singer Mikey describes the band’s music as “a reverb drenched apocalyptic experience”.

Desert Ships have played numerous festivals since the release of Doll Skin Flag, and toured with the likes of The Prodigy, Band of Skulls, Babyshambles and The Rifles as well as radio airplay from XFM's John Kennedy, BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq and BBC Radio London Calling's Gary Crowley.  They consistently receive radio play on local stations in the UK, US, Europe and South America.









The Skyliner EP is trip-tastic and Desert Ships are psychedelic as you can get, kicking of with the shoegazy title track Skyliner which drifts dreamily into the excellent Shell Shock. They follow that up with Heart Beats which has shades of Rubberbear, before finishing with the more industrial and edgy Ausgang, my favourite on the EP and for me it's a 9/10.




Gigs

Sat 8th Nov

 EP Launch: Cherry Cola club night at The Purple Turtle, Camden, London.

Sisteray - She Likes The Drama

Sisteray have been making big waves in the indie/garage rock scene since forming in 2012 however 2014 seems to be a breakthrough year for the London four-piece.  

Working with producer Michael Smith (12 Dirty Bullets) at RnR Studios, the Sisteray debut EP ‘She Likes The Drama’ was released on digital format back in February, with praise from Ralph, Jim Gellatly, This Feeling, Music Week, XFM, RTE Radio, Louder Than War, Merc Clothing, Time Out and The Londonist. 







The EP followed successful debut single by Sisteray, Take It Away / Happy Endings (Double A-Side) in August 2013, which was championed by the likes of Gary Crowley (BBC London 94.9).

Big news just announced by Sisteray that will interest vinyl fetishists is that the band will release a limited edition, 300 copy run of ‘She Likes The Drama’ on 12” vinyl on the 27th of this month through Grebo Records. They've teamed up with London based Modernist artist, Terry Grant, for a unique illustrated recreation of the original CD cover. 





To coincide with that, they're also releasing new single 'Rollin' Over' for free, along with B-side 'Accelerated Culture'

They recently played their third This Feeling Club Night in association with XFM and SummerJam with Reverend and the Makers and have now announced the dates below.

LIVE DATES:

07/08 - Young Leaders Festival 

09/08 - Enterprise London

23/08 - SummerJam Festival

30/08 - Wigan Live Festival

13/09 - Sebright Arms London

Elia and The Low Tears

What's the biggest compliment one of your fans can pay you? Well Elia and The Low Tears had a music video made for them by Romanian fan Alex Bade!  Its a taster to make you go to the Best Of British Unsigned nomination page.  So without further ado Ralph's bringing you more music from the funky Elia and The Low Tears in a bid to convince you to vote for him in the upcoming awards.

London based Elia and The Low Tears tracks feature regularly with the likes of Tom Robinson on BBC Radio 6, Gary Crowley on BBC London and of course Ralph's Sunday Indie Show on Radio KC available worldwide in 104 countries.

Elia and The Low Tears are Elia Rulli and an ever changing, eclectic mix of musicians referred to by some as his 'elastic band'.







He professes to make alt soul that draws upon the classic traditions of Prince and the songwriting depth of Joni Mitchell but mixes them up with the here and now. Fresh, boundaries-stomping music that makes you want to rub against trees inappropriately.

Look in the eyes - not around the eyes

After watching the videos of Elia and The Low Tears you are now going to go and vote for them in the Best Of British Unsigned by clicking on this link > BoB