Saint Sapphire Q&A

Band name:

Saint Sapphire.

Where are you from?

Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Who is in your band?

Samuel Morgan - Vocals, Guitar

Jack Walsh - Bass, Vocals

Thomas Ferris - Guitar

Andy Bowden - Drums

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

Liam Neeson herding sheep to loud guitars, loud bass, loud vocals and louder drums.

Who are your main influences musically?

Our influences generally range anywhere from the classic punk outfits like The Clash and The Buzzcocks to newer rock outfits like Foo Fighters, Green Day, My Chemical Romance etc.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

To make good tunes that people like, and to hopefully make a few quid to buy some new clothes.

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

Definitely when we were compared to Green Day on a radio station in England, that was really cool for us! To be mentioned in the same breath as one of our main influences alone is surreal!

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

We once played a gig in Banbridge just outside Belfast where everything was just not going well, we had received a bollocking from the headlining band who honestly weren’t very nice people at all due to misunderstandings with gear etc and everything was just going wrong, but everyone has bad nights! Happens to the best of us!

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

Our newest single ‘Underneath The Sun’ is probably our favourite song (out of the ones we’ve released but more on unreleased songs later).

Where can we listen to it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pJPaDdaiFE

Where can we find out more about your music?

We’re on most social media sites, just find us on Facebook at Saint Sapphire and find us on Twitter and Instagram on @saintsapphireuk

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

Just make sure to keep up to date on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc about new releases! More information regarding our next release should be dropping very soon! 

Fourth album from And So I Watch You From Afar

NORTHERN Irish rockers And So I Watch You From Afar have released their fourth album, Heirs.

It follows an intensive six-month writing period in Belfast for the band in which they created some of their most personal and meaningful work to date.

They told RealSoundsOK: "Its central theme is about the inheritance of ideas, in that we're all heirs to other peoples' passion, which in turn inspires ourselves."

Guitarist Rory Friers continues: "We started making the album while touring in 2013. We would be recording demos in our hotel rooms, back stage and we would even hire out rehearsal rooms during days off." 

The writing process for the album saw Friers, drummer Chris Wee, bassist Johnathan Adger and new guitarist Niall Kennedy amass about 30 new songs, which were whittled down to 15 and then a final cut of ten.

Friers added: "It's called Heirs as a tribute to a lot of new people who came into all our lives during the writing and recording of the album - lots of nephews and Johnny had a daughter, Eisa.

"It seems like the songs soaked up all those feelings we had during the writing. Because making the album was such an intentionally intense and full time experience none of us where listening to much other music or even experiencing much else outside of it. 

"So, it feels like a very pure representation of what happens when these four people decide to make music together. It was a very intense time and the record has been shaped by that."

The band have put out the single Redesigned A Million Times, which you can listen to below. The album is available for order at iTunes and Sargent House.

For more on the band - including current tour dates across Europe and the UK - visit facebook.com/andsoiwatchyoufromafar

Third Degree Q&A

Your name: 
James Law, lead guitar.

Where are you from? 
Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Name of band: 
Third Degree.

Who else is in your band? 
Cathal Gorman (drums), Ryan Connolly (bass) and Sammy Stevenson(singer).

How would you describe yourselves? 
Always a tricky question, we have been called alt rock, rock, pop rock, I don't like to say we're trying to be a particular genre, we like rock and we write what we like I suppose!!

Who are your main influences musically?  
We all listen to different music, but my personal influences would be Led Zeppelin, Biffy Clyro, Anberlin, A Day To Remember, Bring Me The Horizon. The other guys are into bands like Tool, the Answer, Stone Roses, Muse..... Too many to mention!!

What do you hope to achieve in music? 
Being a small local band our dream would for loads of people to have heard our music or seen our videos. We don't ever say we want to be bigger than the Beatles or anything like that, but we would love to achieve the amount of success to get ourselves on tour around the uk, also do a gig in somewhere like America. Would just be cool to say to people we toured somewhere far away, even if it was just to the Barman and his dog!!  
In the meantime we love recording songs and making videos for them, we give them all 100%.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?  
Probably videoing our latest video, we had so much fun doing it, we ended up shooting it on a beach at 3 in morning with all our equipment set up, with more than enough rum and whiskey to keep ourselves fuelled!! Then the next day we videoed back on the beach with loads of charity walkers all watching us, while dressed up in pirate gear with make up!!!  Moments like that make being in a band so worthwhile.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?  
Ha easy, driving 40 miles to a gig that we were already late for then as we unpacked the equipment we realised we had forgotten the bass!!!

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
Our track "Thunder" sums us up. It's a track we really enjoy playing and can get stuck into. It's been played on the radio a few times. Was real strange the first time I heard it come on the radio in the car unexpected, felt great!!

Where can we listen to it? 
http://youtu.be/cq_tEtPIGaM

Where can we find out more about your music?  
Here our a few links www.facebook.com/Koashmusic where we would appreciate a lick if you like our stuff. Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/13thirddegree.And here's the link to our video flamin rum that we filmed on the beach: http://youtu.be/HTK1ZT1lLTg

Anything else you’d like to say that I forgot to ask?  
Keep on rockin on the free world!!

We Are Knuckle Dragger's The Drone coming soon

WE Are Knuckle Dragger will release their album The Drone on October 21st and you can check out the trailer for it above.

The alt-rockers emerged from the UK underground scene in 2010 and have gone on to play at Reading & Leeds Festival and tour with Meshuggah and Dillinger Escape Plan.

The new album, which follows their 2012 debut Tit For Tat was produced by Ross Robinson (Slipknot, Deftones, Glassjaw).

For more on the band visit www.faceboook.com/weareknuckledragger or check out the Q&A they did with RealSoundsOK back in January.

Arborist Q&A

Your name: 

Mark McCambridge.

Where are you from? 

Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Name of band:  

Arborist.

Who else is in your band? 

Ben McAuley (drums, engineering), James Heaney (Bass) and Richard Hill (Piano, guitar).

How would you describe yourselves? 

Our music reaches for the measured and mature while remaining starkly modern. Centred around a soaring vocal and unique lyrical style, it speaks of bleak truths (Leonard Cohen, Bill Callahan) but delivers them with an assured soulfulness (Sam Cooke, Al Green).

Who are your main influences musically?  

Mostly influenced by classicist songwriting in the form of The Band, Wilco, Sam Cooke, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Songs:Ohia.  Something both lyrically and vocally focused.

What do you hope to achieve in music?  

Our ambitions are to play and be played alongside the artists we admire. Though, I admit the likes of Sam Cooke and Dusty Springfield may prove a little difficult. Though kernel to it all is the creation of music that takes from each of these artists and creates something new and unique. 

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

Any number of moments spent in the studio. We value the recording process beyond all else and have the benefit of Ben, our drummer, as engineer and producer. This allows for the ideal atmosphere for the recording process and general creativity. When it clicks and sounds just as you'd imagined, there is very few things can better that. 

Or opening for British Sea Power last Wednesday would be up there.

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 

Telling Jon Donahue of Mercury Rev that it "wasn't his best show".  He took with good grace but regrettable nonetheless. 

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

Incalculable Things - As mentioned in the influences, it captures much of what we look for in music; vocally and lyrically.

Where can we listen to it?  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFR94ye-Egk

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.arboristmusic.com

https://www.facebook.com/arboristband

https://twitter.com/arboristmusic

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

Some upcoming shows...
http://arboristmusic.com/index.php/shows/

We Are Knuckle Dragger Q&A

Your name: 
Aran Glover.

Where are you from? 
I'm from Belfast, but currently living in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.

Name of band: 
We Are Knuckle Dragger.

Who else is in your band? 
My excellent buddies Pete Currie and Shaun Abbott.

How would you describe yourselves? 
Trio of friends on a mission for good times!

What are your main influences musically? 
It's a difficult question because a lot of the time it feels like personality plays more of a part in this band, as opposed to musical influence and/or prowess. It would be easy to reel off a bunch of bands, or musical styles, but in fairness it's not really gonna get either of us anywhere, is it?

What do you hope to achieve in music? 
To show people that the real music exists beyond what is fucking fed to them on a convenient level, and that new shit shouldn't just be a slightly dressed up/down version of the past. Also, designer haircuts fucking suck, in music or otherwise! 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 
Touring with Meshuggah and Animals As Leaders, the last date being the sold out HMV Forum in London! That would have to be up there, being the biggest crowd we have ever played to. The very first time we ever played Belfast was one of the best times too! Played a little venue called The Pavilion, and it was near sold out. We'd only just released our first EP, so it was most unexpected!

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 
Bits I want to forget are forgotten, and hence I can't remember any for you now. Plus some bad times are good to remember regardless. Makes you appreciate when the roads smooth out.

Where can we listen to your music? 
Just searching WeAre Knuckle Dragger in YouTube will find many music videos we've done, along with tour diaries featuring us on the road with The Dillinger Escape Plan, Meshuggah, as well as studio footage with Steve Albini in Chicago summer 2011 recording your debut album Tit For Tat.

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.weareknuckledragger.com should fulfill all link needs! 

Twitter fans - WAKDragger, Aran_Glover, Mr5haunAbb0tt, pswcurrie

Anything else you’d like to say about your band that forgot to ask? 
Next month we're recording our next album in LA with Ross Robinson, and our concentration is all on that at the minute. We'll be back on the road again soon though, and if we ain't playing a town near enough to where we wanna be heard, be sure to let us know!