Monday 22 December 2014

Sirens & Shelter Q&A

Your name:
Scott.

Where are you from?
Kent, England.

Name of band:
Sirens & Shelter.

Who else is in your band?
It’s just me.

How would you describe yourself and your music?
I’m just a guy who likes writing songs. It helps me keep my head clear. I’m also not brilliant at interviews.

Who are your main influences musically?
Mike Kinsella, Copeland, Evan Weiss (Into it. Over It), Sam Duckworth (GetCapeWearCapeFly), Kevin Devine.

What do you hope to achieve in music?
I’ve never really given it much thought. The idea that my songs might help someone out is cool… Whether that’s distraction on a morning commute, or cheering someone up who’s having a shit time, or if it gets someone out of the house to a show for a beer – that’d be great.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
I’ve had the opportunity to release and EP and an album through Engineer Records and Desert Pearl Union Records, which I’m really proud of. Played loads of shows all over the place and made some amazing friends.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
It’s like anything really – you only ever really remember the good bits. Saying that; playing 14 straight nights with some sort of throat infection wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
The title track from my album, Through The War. The song closes the record and has a bit of everything – hooks, cool chord progressions, interesting instrumentation and it’s really honest lyrically. I also recorded the vocals in a horrible corridor, which gives them a raw feel.

Where can we listen to it? 
You can listen to the whole album for free here:

Where can we find out more about your music? 

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?
I think everything mentioned above is enough to get you started. Oh, I’m releasing a new album in Spring 2015 called Maybe You Should. If you like what you hear, check that out too. 

Middle City Q&A

Band name: 
Middle City.

Where are you from?
London, England.

Who is in the band?
Simon Ricketts (vocals, guitar), Will Minting (keyboards), Al Redler (bas) and Bryan Hudspeth (drums).

How would you describe yourselves?
Four pretty strong characters with four very different musical backgrounds, put in a blender and what you get hopefully is something that isn’t very easy to pigeon-hole.
There’s elements of new wave, country, soul, prog rock, soft rock, we’re old enough not to care about genres but stupid enough to dig at the moment what we’re each bringing to the party.

Who are your main influences musically?
If you breathe in real deep you’re going to get tones of Dylan, distinct hints of REM, maybe a David Byrne after-taste.

What do you hope to achieve in music?
To produce some work that stands the test of time, that people like us would pay to hear, that someone somewhere is going to listen to and connect with how they may be feeling. 
Really looking forward to getting back in the studio to finish off what may end up as an album late next year, but it’s hard, “delete” button being pressed a lot. We really admire studio perfectionists such as Jeff Lyne, the Blue Nile and (listen to them, they should be legends!) Public Symphony. It would be noise to get a bit of notice without resorting to the usual hype and 21st century payola.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
Getting the four tracks down for our EP #1 was pretty awesome after a year of doodling. Each of the songs has been on a long journey to where it is now. The next session will definitely be an improvement but only because we have set the bar with those tracks.
Definite buzz for people to be picking up on the tracks. We’re in no hurry!

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
Forgotten - result.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
Gatsby’s Wonder has some key ingredients - a big theme, big on melody with Will Minting’s rolling piano and horns, Bryan’s and Al’s rhythm section (almost Motown for the chorus), Simon’s guitars and words straight from the final couple of pages of the Great Gatsby.

Where can we listen to it?
The track is on the forthcoming Americana Retrofit compilation by Factory Fast Records.

Where can we find out more about your music?

Sunday 21 December 2014

Jane A Bakken Q&A

Your name:  
Jane A. Bakken. A stands for 'Adele' a name I used to hate ...that is until 'Adele' started singing!

Where are you from?
Born in Duluth, Minnesota....midwestern United States. However, travelled at ripe age of three months to Seattle WA area, northwest US and have lived in this area ever since. Currently live with my family in country, about 45 minutes east of Seattle.

Name of band: 
Solo vocalist on my fourth album.

Who else is in your band?
Teamed up with Grammy-award winning music producer/musician Eric Tingstad.
Individual musicians on albums hired on project basis...some of the finest in this area.

How would you describe yourself and your music?
An eclectic singer with a wide range vocally as well as with languages, cultures and musical genres. Sing music in 10 languages (not fluent in any except English...practicing all). Always passionate about people from many cultures languages, backgrounds. This album includes covers in six different languages, including English, and crosses over several musical genres. It's a lil sweet, a lil sensual, a lil sassy with covers of jazz, Broadway (2), pop, big band, and even a few classical numbers.
The glue that holds this album tight is the familiarity of every song: All English songs are well-loved globally and the songs in each language are well-loved favorites in that specific language/culture. 

Who are your main influences musically?
Great question...especially as it relates to this album!
I was wondering the other day, where did this fascination with different cultures and their music originate? I think one of the main influences is that I was raised in a church community that brought  in musicians from around the world including every musical genre. My folks would also invite people from many cultures into our home for dinner, gatherings, etc. When I was five, they brought in two sailors from a South Korean ship moored in the port in Seattle for a Sunday dinner. With one of the sailors, that began a lifelong friendship that continues to this day.
I recall hiding my transistor radio under my pillow listening to the Beatles...of course, loved them!!
My piano classical training started at age 6, and brought many musical genres into my life. Started playing for church choirs, groups, singers at age 12.
My own music training started at age six. Mrs. Wills, my first grade teacher, evidently saw/heard a love for music in me and sent me home with a cardboard keyboard and a primer's music book...a bright red one! Well, my folks were not able to buy a piano, so I recall pounding on that cardboard keyboard on dining room table for more than a year, and then the next day, I would play it on Mrs. Wills' piano in classroom. That was my music roots. And ever since I remember, I wanted to sing.


What do you hope to achieve in music?
Music has always been about connection for me - connecting to body, mind and spirit within myself and with others in relationship. This album of covers crosses over language, culture and musical genres. It is my humble response to all those songs, cultures and artists calling to the music rumbling inside me, a handful of whom I honor in this album.
My goals are the same now as they were when I first started performing. And that is simple: Work at finetuning my craft daily, and show up in service to the music, authentically, whole-heartedly. My hope is that all my music in all it's love and passion brings great joy to the hearts of all listeners, and that it carry in every note that Love has the power to connect us.  This album, more than any other, embodies all the many colours of my soul!
It's been six years since my last album. You know, they say that singing, well for that fact, all art, is a 'reporting of the soul'. And I, like many artisans, need those times where I focus more on the inner journey, times of reflection so that what I bring up to the surface in the singing is 'something worthy of reporting'.
Life and preparation for this album took me places inside and musically that were new, and you can hear that in the energy of each song.
I want to move out again in global concert tours with this new album ...when the time is right.
I want to do solo concerts for the next 50 plus years that embody the feelings of this album - a concert that weaves together various languages, cultures, musical genres with excellence.


What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
I would say the creation of this new album. I had been working for the past three years with various coaches, honing my skills in different musical genres, selecting music, etc. I had began about 12 years ago more intensive training in bel canto singing (beautiful singing...classical/operatic), and that foundation has brought a new depth and breadth to all the music....even the jazz, pop, Broadway, etc. I had the
opportunity to work for several sessions with Rosalind Plowright OBE, a well-loved opera singer in the UK, who was working with the Seattle Opera for a time last year. I have already been getting great feedback on songs from other countries, and of course, the US...so, of course, that fills up my heart! Feedback that the singing takes people to new place of connection inside themselves, that it makes them feel more loved...that they can feel a special energy pouring through the singing...that's the kind of feedback that makes it all worth while for me!

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
I've already forgotten it.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
Well, that is where I'm a bit of an odd fish....not able to do that. Hence this album:  LOVE AND PASSION COLOURS OF MY SOUL. Throughout my piano/singing career, I have had times where I've focused specifically just on one genre - jazz/pop & R&B/country/world music/classical/alternative/spiritual, etc.  However, the whole of my life and musical journey has brought me to this place. All the different kinds of music/languages/cultures have been what has enabled me to connect with all the colours of my soul into one varied tapestry and they all make up me and my music today. I think it is that journey of deeper connection within myself through these songs that is holding a place of special energy for the listeners.

Where can we listen to it? 
New Album just released, so we are just ramping up for marketing last week and this.
Several radio stations, including streaming internet stations globally, have said they will be playing.
www.janebakken.com   main website
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/janebakken4
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/janebakken2 
Twitter @CarmenRose12 - Click on Tweets and Replies for many tweets of song previews and YouTube clips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE26UGzL7bE   

This is a preview of Track 1 on new album: Broadway cover from Jekyll & Hyde
I normally do not include this for airplay, however, globally, it is getting more interest along with I Send You Love (one of my originals from Christmas album) probably due to holiday season.




Where can we find out more about your music? 
Both new album and Holiday album available for purchase and downloads through all CD Baby download partners: CD BABY, Amazon, iTunes, Shazam, etc.

Danny Medakovic Q&A

Your name:
Danny Medakovic.

Where are you from?
I live in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. A great, gritty town with an industrial history that is now going through an artist-driven revival. A great music town too!

Who else is in your band? 
The CD includes some of Hamilton’s finest musicians including Mike Trebilcock, Marshall Bureau, Mary Simon, Carrie Ashworth, Ben Bowen, Jay Burr, Sal Rosselli, Troy Dowding, Matt Coleman, Jeff Ball, and Chris Altmann.

How would you describe yourselves?
A roots singer/songwriter who loves to marry a good story with a catchy tune. I also try to keep things positive and include an underlying sense of humour, hope, and optimism, even within the saddest song.

Who are your main influences musically?
I draw on the classic singer-songwriters of the 60s and 70s but am also influenced by contemporary alt-country artists like Lucinda Williams and The Jayhawks. Really though, I love lots of music and can find inspiration anywhere, in many forms including Soul, Pop, and African and Latin musical forms.

What do you hope to achieve in music?
I’d like to become recognized as a great writer. That would be really nice, I think. In the meantime, I’ll continue to try and write and record good music and get out and play some festivals to make myself better known. If a really well-known artist were to record some of my songs, well that would be a real treat.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?Writing, producing and engineering this CD “Jolley Cut” feels like a highlight right now. I’m proud of this record and but like most artists, am already thinking about the next project!

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
Having both my main hard drive and my backup drive both crash after being 90% done recording and mixing a new album about 6 years ago. I finally managed to recover some of those files and one of the songs (Ode to Bob) was finished up with new vocals and the addition of violin and cello and included on my Jolley Cut CD.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
That’s a tough one because you try to do different things with different songs. As far as songs that I’ve already recorded, I think the title track from Jolley Cut represents my approach of combining story-telling, melancholy and humour and wrapping it up in a good piece of music.

Where can we listen to it?



Where can we find out more about your music?
And https://www.youtube.com/user/FryTruckMusic  (Fry Truck is a great alt-country band that I play in)

Lola Dutronic Q&A

Your names:
Richard Citroen and Stephanie B.

Where are you from?
Richard: Coventry, UK, although I live in Toronto, Canada.
Stephanie: I am currently based in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Name of band: 

LOLA DUTRONIC.

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

Richard: Electro-pop in several languages. People tell me that we're quite Euro sounding.
Stephanie: There is a certain dreaminess in the sound and lyrics of all of our songs, Lola is happy, sad, lonely, in love - sometimes all at once, but always in a very light-hearted way.

Who are your main influences musically?
Richard: Saint Etienne, Luke Haines/Black Box Recorder, David Bowie, Portishead, Suicide…and Lady GaGa! ;-)
Stephanie: Uh, Lady GaGa? I admit she is extremely talented, and she definitely knows what she is doing - but her sound is not really my cup of tea. I have rather been influenced by movie soundtracks and easy listening from the 60s and 70s in English, French and German, the first albums of the Cardigans and Zoot Woman, all albums of Goldfrapp - that's all I can come up with right now, and I am sure you can hear all of that in our music :-)

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Richard: We've gotten some attention in the past with our all-star single "Everybody Loves You When You're Dead" with Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Hugo Burnham etc., and we got a minor radio hit in Peru with "Happy Birthday", but what I'd really like is to get a proper hit single…something we could play on The Graham Norton Show, but failing that, it would be great if we could get a major artist to have a hit with one of our songs.
Stephanie: A hit single is always nice :-) After all, it is proof your music touches people's hearts, at the same time securing your financial situation.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Richard: Supporting Tom Tom Club on the German leg of their European tour in 2013 was great. Chris & Tina are such lovely people….but on a more personal level, getting the email from our label in 2007 telling me that our album "The Love Parade" was on the "shortlist" for a Grammy Award nomination takes some beating. I was so excited I was practically stopping people in the street(!) and whatever happens in the future, short of actually winning one or having a proper hit, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to repeat that sense of optimism.
Stephanie: I completely agree :-)

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Richard: Playing Bucharest Romania! While it was the biggest crowd we've ever played to, we ended up getting stiffed by the promoter.
Stephanie: But the city and people were really nice, I have to say. And also the food and drinks! Would I want to forget that? I definitely can't forget what it felt like getting on the plane after just 2 or 3 hours of sleep :-)

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Richard: "Everybody Loves You When You're Dead", because it practically wrote itself, and I managed to get some of the sense of humour that I've got in "real life" into the lyrics. Also, because our label boss, the late Marty Thau got us together with a bunch of fairly well known performers to sing backing vocals on it and I had people like Blondie's Jimmy Destri and Michael DesBarres giving me advice and encouragement behind the scenes, so it was a bit a of a "welcome to the club" moment for me.
Stephanie: For me it is "Everyone's A Star". Listen to it and you will understand.

Where can we listen to it?

"Everybody Loves You When You're Dead"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pbmWeESVlw




"Everyone's A Star"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWx8XfKz8HY



Where can we find out more about your music? 

We're pretty much everywhere…
http://loladutronic.bandcamp.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/lola-dutronic/id39904466
https://www.facebook.com/lola.dutronic?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/pages/LOLA-DUTRONIC/80232595392
https://twitter.com/LolaDutronic
https://myspace.com/loladutronic
https://www.youtube.com/user/LOLADUTRONICTV
http://www.redstarmusic.net/

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

Richard: We're working on a new album that should be ready to go sometime in early 2015. It's our best one yet! But we would say that, wouldn't we?
Stephanie: We would. Thanks for listening!

Sunday 14 December 2014

Lamb Of God and 18 others join Download bill

LAMB Of God are among 19 more acts to be added to the line-up for Download 2015.

The festival at Donington Park in June will be headlined by Slipknot, Muse and KISS.

Also added are Billy Idol, Clutch, Hollywood Undead, Body Count, Eagles of Death Metal, Godsmack, Madball, Dragonforce, Every Time I Die, Rise Against and Backyard Babies.

Mallory Knox, Crown The Empire, Motionless In White, Black Veil Brides, Parkway Drive, Northlane and HEAT complete the additions.

Tickets are on sale now and you should head over to downloadfestival.co.uk for more.


Wednesday 10 December 2014

Restroom Karate Q&A

Your name:
Jack Halkabar.

Where are you from?
Budapest, Hungary.

Name of band:
Restroom Karate.

Who else is in your band?
Kasa Zsiraf B (drums and vocals), Kads (guitar) and myself (guitar and vocals).

How would you describe yourselves and your music?
We are an alternative rock band, musically I think the way we record our music, the vibe of a home studio has a great impact on our sound which is great in my opinion, but at the end of the day we are still just kids trying to figure out who we really are... we are just really good friends...

Who are your main influences musically?
As a kid growing up I listened to many classic rock bands, also some psychedelic rock... As a band we have many post-Rock, alternative and punk influences... 

What do you hope to achieve in music?
Personally for me, when we're together rehearsing or recording in the studio, I feel like I'm having the time of my life... Being with friends, doing what we love is exactly what we wanted when we started out 2 years ago...

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
We just recently released our second EP witch we are very proud of... I feel like overall the experience is beyond describable...  

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
I don't think there are any moments I'd forget... Even from the bad experiences we've learned...

If you could choose just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
Sent Back From Hell it's one of the earlier recordings, but my favorite track from the EP. I think it represents our musical style very well. Hopefully people can relate to as much as I do... 

Where can we listen to it?


Where can we find out more about your music 

Two State Nation Q&A

Band name:
Two State Nation.

Where are you from?
Birmingham, Alabama US.

Who else is in your band?
Shellina Ryals - Lead Singer
Steven Ryals - Guitar (spouse to Shellina)
Jesslyn Parmley - Guitar
Isaac Mixon - Drums
Amanda Miller - Bass

How would you describe yourselves and your music?
We are a garage rock/indie rock band. Many of us have played music together for years in various other projects. Shellina and Jesslyn began working on a new sound that would take a deeper rock sound than what any of us had previously performed together.
We formed the band in January, worked on songs in Feb-April, went into Studio in May-June, mixed July-Aug, released the debut and began touring.

Who are your main influences musically?
Five people in this band with almost opposing musical tastes but we found our unique sound began to form at times when we covered a little band called...The Dead Weather...or as we like to call it our favorite Jack White side project. Our personal main musical influences are a bit mix matched, our bass player is a huge Manchester Orchestra/Kings of Leon fan, our lead guitar player Johnny Greenwood(Radiohead) /John Frusciante(Red Hot Chili Peppers) our rhythm guitar player Damien Rice/Glen Hansard, our drummer a bit of Dave Matthews Band/Avenge Sevenfold, and our lead singer anyone from Bjork/Ani Difranco/Robert Plant.

What do you hope to achieve in music?
As songwriters and musicians our goal is to play and be heard like anyone else. We had a goal to record, tour, and perform our original songs. We have been honored to get to keep doing that with our fall tour, and are now booking into our spring/summer tour. For us to play and to be able to have a moment in front of  an audience is why we do what we do...it's a wonderful blessing every time we play! We are terrified, we perform, it feels like an electrical boost, and we blink it's over and we want it again.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
Our initial album release party was the first time many of our songs had ever been played before anyone. We had our closest family and friends that packed themselves into our favorite little punk dive called The Syndicate Lounge. To hear everyone singing our songs back and jumping up and down to 10 Foot Golden made every moment of work worth it for us! It was a surreal moment to hear people connect to your music. 

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
Hahaha...well I'm not sure we can say as we must protect the innocent..but without those moments of disaster on a tour you don't really have the laughs have after you have survived it all...but a few eager male fans at times that have lead to a few interesting or cringeworthy moments I could desire to forget.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
That's hard as each person in the band seems to have their favorite for various moments, however as a band we tend to all agree that "Fool On Fire" is us at our most natural relaxed state. We began a jam in practice with the intro riff and that lead to the entire song coming together almost instantly. 

Where can we listen to it? 


Where can we find out more about your music?

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?
We are having  the time of our lives! We hope our music connects that attitude to our fans. We are a very close family and we love to play...the audience is always our focus. We have and always will be a live band! Our goal is to make you laugh, make you sing, make you jump up and down, give you a song when you cry, a song when you are pissed, a song when you don't know your name, and a song to play for mom to show her how evolved you have become...or that band you play when you just need a smile!


Tuesday 9 December 2014

Thy Veils Q&A

Your name:
Daniel Dorobantu.

Where are you from?
Timisoara, Romania.

Name of band:
Thy Veils.

Who else is in your band?
Manuela Marches (voice), Ana Telea (guitar) and Radu Pieloiu (drums, percussion). 

How would you describe yourselves and your music?
I am a person with a constant interest and curiosity towards the nature of reality, the Universe and everything, using mainly music, photography and video art as main tools for exploration.

Who are your main influences musically?
Byzantine chants and the sound of church bells because these were the main elements of the sonic environment in the first years of my life. Then, I think the music that impressed me the most in the following years left a solid mark: Dead Can Dance, Philip Glass, Brian Eno, The Cure.

What do you hope to achieve in music?
Increase the sense of awe that the process of being inspired generates.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
It was Thy Veils’ concert last September in our hometown. The location, our performance, the lights, video projections, collaborator & public, everything worked together, in excellent harmony, fulfilling the sense of “coming full circle” that defined this whole year. A life-changing experience for me.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
If there was something, I don’t remember it.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
It is Thy Veils’ Adâncime (live in the ballet room), and it includes everything I love about what we are doing right now.

Where can we listen to it?



Where can we find out more about your music?

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?
I am always interested in knowing where other people travel in their minds or what they experience when they listen to Thy Veils so I use the opportunity to invite anyone in sharing their excursions with us. Thank you Greg :)

IX Q&A

Your name:
IL
: Iain Laskey.


Where are you from?
IL
: I'm from Great Wakering, a village in Essex. 


Name of band: 

IL: IX (Pronounced "icks").

Who else is in your band?

IL
: Darren Esp - he's from Chelmsford, also Essex.


How would you describe yourselves and your music?

DE: We always struggle with this question. It's a bit of a cliché but we don't really see ourselves sitting solidly in any one category. Is electo-prog-rock a category?

Who are your main influences musically?

IL
: My heart has always been in electronic music. I had a vague interest in music as a teen but when John Foxx's Metamatic came out and that sudden rush of synth music, it just felt special to me. I quickly started backtracking, discovering all the 70's pioneering experimenters. I was resolutely synth only for years but since then I've started to go through phases, Krautrock, 70's funk, 60's psychodelia, anything that sounds interesting really. I'm far more about moods and texture rather than catchy riffs though. I can get quite unfeasibly excited by a sound! 

DE : We're quite eclectic when it comes to influences, some of the great electro pioneers like the early Human League, John Foxx, OMD for sure, but also people like Led Zeppelin, Rage Against The Machine, Mozart, Jean Michel Jarre, Underworld, NIN, Earth Wind and Fire... we're a bit all over the place when it comes to influences.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

DE: IX is about building up a body of quality work and a reputation. Our style is going to change from release to release but we hope the people who take the time to listen to us will like what they hear no matter where we go with it. In the long term we plan to get into doing soundtrack work and producing other artists as well as continuing to put out albums as IX.
IL: Whilst riches would be great, we're far more interested in producing something we like and are happy with quality wise. If other people enjoy it too, we're doubly happy.


What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

IL
: I think the realisation, after years of enjoying other people's music, that we can do it ourselves and produce something with a certain level of polish. I grew up through the years when the music industry was a closed book unless you went through the route of getting a manager, getting signed, expensive studio time and all the manipulation that then follows. Being able to put a release out across all the major outlets, for minimal funding and with just our own efforts was a huge buzz.
 I've also been massively impressed by just how supportive the self publishing indie world is. There's some fantastic web sites, people on Twitter, Soundcloud and so on who are all promoting each other, working together in a totally ego free way, often giving huge amounts of their time, basically for the love of music.
DE: There's been a couple for me. Our first sale on iTunes, yeah that was a good feeling... but for me the best moment was when I'd just finished recording The Machine (parts I - III) and I sat back for the final play through and thought... yeah...  that's proper that is.


And what’s the moment you want to forget?

IL
: So far so good :-)

DE:  For me the massively long mastering sessions for the System VII which resulted in insane amounts of frustration. Finally we ended up dumping all the work and starting over again. We'd decided that were going to take a High Dynamic Range approach to mastering and to hell with the "loudness war" and modern conventions.


If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

IL
: I would say The Machine (Part I-III) is most representative of our work up until now although newer tracks are off in a different direction to some extent.

DE:  I'd have to pick the track IX from System VII... It's a real mish-mash of influences but for me totally works.  It's got an odd time signature, a kind of rocky edge and some serious electronic noise assaults too.

Where can we listen to it? 

DE
:  https://soundcloud.com/ix_band/ix-1

ILhttps://soundcloud.com/ix_band/the-machine-parts-i-iii

Where can we find out more about your music? 

http://www.ixband.co.uk/
@ixbanduk
https://ixband.bandcamp.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/ixband
https://soundcloud.com/ix_band
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/system-vii/id930786050
https://www.facebook.com/IXBAND

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

DE:  Our next album called "Grinder" is well under way and should be out in the spring.  Look out for the pre-orders going live on Bandcamp soon.
IL:  Just that we always appreciate any and all feedback, especially via Twitter and Soundcloud. It's the interaction with fans and other bands and indie supporters that has been really rewarding for me.


Monday 8 December 2014

Matt Muré Q&A

Your name:
Matt Muré.

Where are you from?
Watford.

Who else is in your band? 
Alfie Tamarro(Drums) and Gene Taylor (Bass).

How would you describe yourselves?
Time Out called it 'Anthemic', NME's Mark Beaumont described it as 'Seductively melodic rock'n'roll that tore my club apart' and we've had comparisons drawn to everyone from Phoenix and The Big Pink to Modest Mouse and Interpol.

Who are your main influences musically?
Fortunately much of who we've been compared to. At the same time I try and listen to as much new and old as I possibly can.

What do you hope to achieve in music?
The primary goal is and has always been to keep making music and keep playing bigger shows. I've got my hit list of venues, festivals, radio shows and publications for this year but first and foremost is always the music. Over the next few months I've got a couple more singles I'm pushing to get out followed by an EP later in the year all of which I'm hoping to be key in playing some of these bigger shows and tour supports we're aiming for.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
In terms of performance headlining the 100 Club last year with my band was a huge milestone. Equally getting this début release out has been a long time coming and I'm very excited about the upcoming singles early next year.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
There was a moment 15 minutes before the 100 Club headliner where my band had been thrown out over a complete error in communication that escalated entirely out of proportion. I found myself between two bouncers, the bar manager and the promoter trying to calm things down and get my band on stage in time. It was a complete nightmare of what was one of our biggest shows to date. Fortunately everyone swallowed their pride and when we finally did get up on stage the drama and absurdity of it only helped fuel our performance.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
The debut release Not Alone! It's been the longest time coming and has had the most thought in terms of the right song to put out first. 

Where can we listen to it?
You can watch the video for it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dpKkQAQyE0 and download it from bandcamp: http://mattmuremusic.bandcamp.com/



Anything else you’d like to say that I forgot to ask?
I'll be heading out for some warm up shows with my band throughout December and a London and regional tour throughout January and February 2015 so please come check us out!
More details can be found on the website and social media and more date are being confirmed shortly:
DEC 10th - Notting Hill Arts Club, TV Nights
JAN 31st - The Finsbury, Lost In The Manor
FEB 4th - 93 Feet East, BUZZ Mark Beaumont NME
FEB 15th - The Old Queens Head, Islington