Ralph has been a fan of the supremely talented Jess Kemp for a while now having played her tracks on his Radio KC Indie show regularly over the last two years. In that time, her star has very much come into its ascendancy, especially with her video of Stars (one of the Videos Of The Week on ralphslife.co.uk last year) which was one of the musical highlights of 2015. All the more blatantly obvious due to the release of her debut EP Camden which is being launched in Manchester's Academy 3 on the 29th of April. The Camden EP is Jess Kemp at her strongest with four varied and very radio-friendly tracks which will also go down well at gigs.
With a strong track like Killer Shoes (which Ralph's spinning on his Indie Show on February 28th) with its choppy guitar and punchy vocal or the more delightfully subtle Stars; which she released as a debut single, with its uplifting lyrics and pop-esque soundscape, what's not to like. There's many an artist that would be glad to produce material like this at the height of their career, never mind as a debut EP. Jess Kemp is getting it spot on right from the off!
Based in Liverpool, Jo Herring and Laura Caldwell met in 2007 through friends; a meeting that resulted in an explosion of creativity where songwriting, musicianship and visual art collided to create SeaWitches.
The band gig regularly in Liverpool, where they've played Sound City, Music Week and interestingly, the Green Party Conference as well as hosting their own nights supporting other well known bands like Eagulls and Giant Drag.
2012 saw Tilo Pirnbaum joining the band on drums, and SeaWitches entered the studio to record their first EP Spacegun, which received positive reviews and helped secure a loyal and diverse fanbase. They also began to play outside Liverpool, securing gigs in Manchester and London.
Jamie Jenkin was recruited on guitar in 2014 and, seven years in the making, the line up is complete and the band are ready to take their music to a wider audience. Prolific songwriters, they work collaboratively with each member bringing a diverse set of influences.
Hailed as one of the most exciting bands to emerge from Liverpool's music scene is recent years, SeaWitches are the latest signing for Edge Hill University's The Label Recordings run by Carl Hunter of The Farm and assisted by media students. An experiment that has led to huge success for previous signing Hooton Tennis Club, who are now with Indie label Heavenly Recordings and who they'll be supporting in The Shipping Forecast on the 20th of February.
They're releasing 'Stars' as a single on February 16th and it's 'poppier' than some of their previous, slightly moody work and it's been played recently on Ralph's Radio KC Indie Show. It's Siouxsie Sioux meets The Lotus Eaterswith a smattering of The Cure. All that's good from 80's pop brought bang up to date, and they've made a shiny new psychadelic video to accompany it. It's this week's 'shuffle & repeat' track here in the kennel.
With a strong track like Killer Shoes (which Ralph's spinning on his Indie Show on February 28th) with its choppy guitar and punchy vocal or the more delightfully subtle Stars; which she released as a debut single, with its uplifting lyrics and pop-esque soundscape, what's not to like.
