OK bands you know the score .....
the more hits your blog gets by the fans .....
the higher you go .....
the higher you go .....
So Tweet it, Facebook it .....
Now Mr Snuggles and I have been sitting with our heads down counting the hits on each blog to see which band's got what place.
Tracks from the Top Ten Blogged Bands are played
every Sunday 5-7pm on Radio KC as part of
Ralph's Indie Show.
every Sunday 5-7pm on Radio KC as part of
Ralph's Indie Show.
No 1: The Phantoms
Formed in Edinburgh in 2012 by four school friends, ThePhantoms released their debut EP This Is How It Should Be in December 2013 and followed this up with a short UK tour.
The story of Danish born but UK living Nikolaj Bloch who now performs under the pseudonym of Bloch Eyot is as strange and tangential as it is fascinating and absorbing. It leads us to his current incarnation which he describes as, "A new musical journey."
Born in Denmark, his mother taught him Danish political folk songs on guitar from the age of 6. he then trained in classical piano at college, and when he left school he joined a touring blues band.
Franco and the Dreadnought is the pseudonym of Manchester born multi instrumentalist John Blaylock. It’s a winning combination of his heartfelt vocals, superb songwriting skills and his trusty Dreadnought acoustic guitar.
He's also recorded a debut album about the restoration of friendly relations; interestingly entitled, Welcome To My House Bumblebee.
The last time Ralph checked out Roman Nose and gave them a spin on the Radio KC Indie Show was back when they did a collaboration with SAMA Best Electro winner Plum. They've been quiet of late, but I can assure you they're back with a bang in the form of the excellent new Jacked Up On Mercy EP to be released on Monday 28th March. The EP will be out on the band's own label Badly Built Records and will be available as a download.
Ralph's been spinning tracks on his Radio KC Indie Show on a regular basis by Blackburn band New York Tourists who are interestingly described as QOTSA meets Foals.
Since Ralph last checked out Kidsmoke last year they released the immaculate Cut Yourself Loose which has racked up over 20,000 plays on Soundcloud, Spotify and other sources. Now, the Welsh Indie-Pop outfit have announced Heartache as their second single of 2016. Recorded by Ben Trow and mixed by Darren Lawson.
Following on from the release of their Stone Asylum EP back in 2014 and prior to the release of the upcoming Shadows And Noise album next year, Gloucestershire based Clay Gods have decided to celebrate the addition of drummer Max Ganderton to the band with the release of a double A Side single.
The hard-driving Cabin Fever in particular and the slightly lighter Looking For Jerusalem are the epitomy of doom-laden rock, lyrically and musically in the style of Liverpool's excellent Kynchinlay.
No 9: Day Old Hate
Formed in Edinburgh in 2012 by four school friends, ThePhantoms released their debut EP This Is How It Should Be in December 2013 and followed this up with a short UK tour.
They are influenced by the likes of Kasabian and Simple Minds and are Colin Simpson on guitar and vocals, Colin Mckillop on lead guitar, Zach Tarimo Goodhur on bass and Blair Cullen on drums.
Born in Denmark, his mother taught him Danish political folk songs on guitar from the age of 6. he then trained in classical piano at college, and when he left school he joined a touring blues band.
No 3: Franco & The Dreadnought
Franco and the Dreadnought is the pseudonym of Manchester born multi instrumentalist John Blaylock. It’s a winning combination of his heartfelt vocals, superb songwriting skills and his trusty Dreadnought acoustic guitar.
He's no stranger to success and as a testament to the power of his musical ability, he was asked personally by Desmond Tutu to write a song celebrating the life of Nelson Mandela. The archbishop gave the song entitled "Inyaniso" (translation - "Truth") as a gift to Mr Mandela for his birthday.
No 4: Daniel Peterson
In order to try and keep Ralph's burgeoning International readership happy whilst maintining the UK unsigned integrity, we're featuring The Velvet Rope, a gem of a new single release by Daniel Peterson whose heritage is Antipodean but current location is London.
He's also recorded a debut album about the restoration of friendly relations; interestingly entitled, Welcome To My House Bumblebee.
No 5: Roman Nose
The last time Ralph checked out Roman Nose and gave them a spin on the Radio KC Indie Show was back when they did a collaboration with SAMA Best Electro winner Plum. They've been quiet of late, but I can assure you they're back with a bang in the form of the excellent new Jacked Up On Mercy EP to be released on Monday 28th March. The EP will be out on the band's own label Badly Built Records and will be available as a download.
No 6: New York Tourists
Their debut EP received rave reviews from some of the UK's most respected music media outlets and Chew Me Up, Spit Me Out was selected as one of BBC Intro's top 10 tracks of 2013. Support slots followed, with the band bagging appearances alongside the likes of The Subways, The View, The Sunshine Underground and The Buzzcocks plus a headline slot on the Alt Stage at Blackburn Festival.
No 7: Kidsmoke
Since Ralph last checked out Kidsmoke last year they released the immaculate Cut Yourself Loose which has racked up over 20,000 plays on Soundcloud, Spotify and other sources. Now, the Welsh Indie-Pop outfit have announced Heartache as their second single of 2016. Recorded by Ben Trow and mixed by Darren Lawson.
No 8: Clay Gods
The hard-driving Cabin Fever in particular and the slightly lighter Looking For Jerusalem are the epitomy of doom-laden rock, lyrically and musically in the style of Liverpool's excellent Kynchinlay.
Ralph's just got a sniff about a new single from Leeds based alt-rockers Day Old Hate called Don't Chase Me so he thought he'd share the news and the video with you.
“It’s important to not to get too hung up about the people that didn't or don't believe in you”, states vocalist Ollie Swift and it is this very sentiment that forms the basis of the newly released video for the single Don’t Chase Me.
No 10: Jess Kemp
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.
