With the single being released across all platforms TODAY, it is also being played on BBC Radio Solent this Saturday between 8-9PM, as part of BBC Introducing.
For those who haven’t heard of you before, how would you describe your sound and style?
I would say its an amalgamation of Indie Folk and Americana. A cocktail of sounds really, I like to go from calming folk style to the rawer americana/rock vocals and blend it all together.
If I were to use the phrase ‘for fans of’, who would you liken yourself to?
I would say my two major artists would be Gregory Alan Isakov and Noah gunderson, but neither are very well known, so I like to say its got a hint of bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’ album in there.
When did you first start thinking about making your own music? Where did your inspirations come from? Are you self-taught or did you take music lessons?
I started pretty young, self-taught and did the whole rock band thing, but then gave up on it all and spend a decade in the Army, it was only last year that I rekindled with the dream and started writing again.
Who helped with the music for your latest single “Trust Your Heart” and who produced it? How did you all meet?
I actually did everything myself. Wrote it all, played all the instruments, and produced it. I wanted to make it as personal as possible, so I studied for a while (still am studying) how to produce, and once I had gotten a simple understanding I just put my efforts into getting it done. The whole album will be done this way. My last single Thirteen Gardens was done at Quay West Studio with producer Nick Bowen, who is a genius, and I can’t wait to work with him again, but I wanted to see how much of Trust Your Heart could be done alone.
Where did the lyric inspiration come from, and how do you go about songwriting?
It was written for my wife, she’s been a rock for me and helped me through a lot, so I felt the best way to give her something back would be to write her a song. When it comes to writing lyrics I kind of shut the world out and play with the idea on guitar and say words, like bad poetry until it forms into something tangible.
Can we expect any videos to go alongside the music?
I will make something simple to accompany the music, but no big productions in line at this time.
Is this single a hint of more new music on the way?
Absolutely, this is the first single from a 9 track album called Novella.
Are there any plans for going on tour or any festivals this year?
I have a tour in mind, alongside some dates already booked throughout the first part of the year, and festivals will take up most of the summer, but I’d like to get a few more dates in Europe. I am playing a couple of dates in Paris in May.
I’d like to thank Liam for taking the time to answers my questions and wish him all the best with his album.
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For those who haven’t heard of Miles Grindey before, how would you describe yourself?
I’d say Modern sounds with retro familiarity. Drawing on what I like from times gone by to bring it to today’s standards.
If I was to use the phrase “for fans of”, who would you best compare yourself to?
I would say Van Halen, Def Leppard and a touch of Aerosmith. Though I have many influences also including Robert Palmer, Ry Cooder, Elmore James, Robert Johnson but to name an additional few.
Who helped with the music in your single – Make Up Your Mind – and how did you meet?
The first person to help me was Wayne Viar, he laid down the drums for it. I met him at Cafe 290 in Sandy Springs while I was out in Atlanta back in November 2018 . He’s a great guy, fantastic sense of humour! The second person was Enrico Galetta, he laid down the bass for it. It’s amazing this world we live in today, I’ve never met him in person (though I would love to!) but we always spoke over the phone or voice chat on Facebook etc and he is truly one of the greats and such a pleasure to work with. Ian Michael Bruh, who did the vocals for the track, was superb! I remember before we got to work with this track, he came over where I was staying at the time and we worked on the details of the lyrics and melody (how I had imagined it etc). When we actually got round to recording it, he was epic. So easy to work with and nailed it. I met Ian after his band Bumpin’ The Mango’s show (also in Cafe 290), hit it off there and then! I thought he was the perfect blend of David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. Trammell Starks, who engineered it, was awesome. I gave him a point of reference to how I’d like it to sound and voila! He got it in one. I met Trammell after a show at The Velvet Note, a great down-to-earth guy. Bill Hart did the keyboards on it. Bill was a family friend, knowing both my parents since the 1980s while my dad was at GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology) in Hollywood.
Who produced Make Up Your Mind? Have you worked with them before? How was it working with them?
Myself and Bill Hart produced it. I had previously worked on Bill’s track “Good Times” as a producer, he decided to use that title after I kept saying it during my time out there. It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride on a personal level, but a positive result in the end. It took two trips to Atlanta to complete both Bill’s track “Good Times” and my track “Make Up Your Mind”.
Where did the lyric inspiration for your latest single come from, and what is your song writing method?
Well, this is the interesting part. The chorus came about months before I had written the full set of lyrics. It’s absurdly cliché I know, but the inspiration stemmed from a relationship that ended a little over 5 years ago. When it comes to writing songs, I tend to prefer to get into a headspace of any event that I feel is interesting and let the music do the talking so-to-speak. If I don’t do that then plan B is just to write the music and sit there for a little while to see what the music says to me. Sounds crazy! But it’s the personal investment in my music that I feel gives it a distinctive style.
Who made the album art for Make Up Your Mind?
I did! I used a photo that was part of a photoshoot I had done in Atlanta and Vicki Mosley Gregory was the mastermind behind the camera. I used some equivalent to Photoshop or something to mess with it a little and add in the important details. I’m pretty happy with it!
Is there any music videos on the way?
Not at the moment, there may very well be in the future. Who knows!
When are you next on tour, and where can we catch you?
No tour plans at the moment – got to finish off the rest of the next album! I know many people I speak to are borderline sick of hearing me say that, but it really does take a while! At the moment though you can catch me around Southampton at various jams and open mics. I have made it my new year’s resolution to try and head up to London to go to some jams round there, just to spice it up a little.
And finally, where can we find out more about you?
You can find out everything you would ever dream of knowing about me by:
Yes! For fans of the genre of movies that are considered “so bad, it’s good” there’s a little ‘easter egg’ in the lyrics of Make Up Your Mind. In the second verse it goes “Love is blind, said Tommy”. That is a reference to Tommy Wiseau’s character in The Room. Also, I packed a guitar pedal in my suitcase to get the tone I really wanted for the guitar track.
I’d like to thank Miles for taking the time to answer my questions and wish him all the best success with his single and the rest of the album when it is released.
For those who haven’t heard of Chavez Cartel before, how would you describe the band?
We’re dirty and loud and according to a recent gig review we are pretty intense. Ben got compared to a bull at our last gig – he was pacing about a bit. So dirty, loud, intense, pretty and bull like so we’re told. We’ll take that 🙂
Who is in the band and how did you all meet?
Ben simpson (vocals), Jack Kelly (lead guitar), Josh Kemp (rhythm), Calvin Brillus (bass), Tom Isaacs (drums) …. I can’t remember how we all met to be honest but I do remember meeting Josh out at a gig. We got chatting and I told him he had great hair and that was that. He really does have shit hot hair. It’s mint.
If I was to use the phrase “for fans of”, who would you best compare yourselves to?
I reckon for fans of The Stooges snd The Doors… Nirvana I guess on the riff side of things, Lou Reed in the sense of dark, dirty vocal and poetry. Compare is probably the wrong word to use we’re guna come off in pretty bad shape compared to those aren’t we. I’d say resemble. Respectfully resemble.
Who produced your latest EP – Confidence is all I’m Taking Home? Have you worked with them before? How was it working with them?
We worked with an Aussie producer called Govinda Doyle. He’s worked on some big records and won awards for his work so getting the opportunity to work with him was one we couldn’t miss. Once we knew he was interested that was that. We did our first record with him too so working with him and communicating with him is as natural as breathing these days he’s more like a mate. A mate who’s an actual genius.
Where did the lyric and music inspiration for these songs come from?
The lyrics and music on this record are all pretty much an encouragement/invitation to really give whatever is you’re doing a good fuckin go and have some self belief about ya. The records about trusting your path and working hard at love and dreaming.
Will there be any music videos to accompany the new EP?
A video for Different Underneath (track 2) is in the works and will be out end of January. It’s looking good man our video guy sent an update last week. It’s dark and it’s edgy and makes us look like we know what we’re doing. Could fool a few people.
When are you next on tour, and where can we catch you?
Tour dates to be announced on our socials very soon. Logistics are being worked out as we speak. First leg is an east coast tour of Australia we do know that.
Where do you hope the band will be, this time next year?
The only thing we hope for is that we’re wherever we deserve to be. We don’t want any gifts. We’re a fuckin hardworking band and we think that’ll pay off. So all I can say is if we carry on next year the way we’ve carried on this year we should be somewhere prosperous.
And finally, where can we find out more about you?
For those who haven’t heard of boWsER before, how would you describe the band?
Bowser has always been such a fun project, the music that we produce is edgy rock usually with a cool catchy hook but always some sort of edginess and a big heaving riff somewhere in the song. We came up with the term volcanic rock as there’s always some sort of level of explosion and dynamic within the songs. It’s quite high energy and a lot of fun to play and produce. When we started out like any other band we always wanted to be original and come up with riffs that we hadn’t really heard before by any other bands, that of course is quite hard to do because music has been recycled so many times now but I still feel that boWsER has quite an original tone about it which definitely stands out and that’s why we’ve had such great feedback and interest in what we’ve done so far.
Who is in the band and how did you all meet?
In its current form boWsER is a 3 piece comprising of Brad Weynton (vocals, guitar) Nathan Williams, (drums)and myself Otto Mitter (Bass). We actually met on the Gold Coast many years ago, there was quite a cool band scene at the time lots of different music coming out of that area ranging from punk, rock metal to funk and jazz and quite a tight-knit scene of amazing musicians. Everyone knew everyone and a lot of the different bands started meshing together to form new bands, boWsER came about this way. boWsER actually started with different band members to now, the band played a show or 2 but then took a hiatus. Brad Weynton is the main singer songwriter for the band and Brad, Nathan and myself have been really good friends over the years and played in various bands together, at one point Brad needed a new bass player for a gig that was coming up so I jumped in we haven’t looked back ever since. Brad, Nathan and myself started working together a lot jamming co-writing songs together and really forming the band in it’s true element to what it is today. We had a dear friend of ours who was in the band on guitars Grant Wallis, he also added some really nice flavour to the band and the songs we were doing at the time, we did some epic tours on the East Coast of Australia a few years back and recorded our debut ep Modus Operandi. Life started to get in the way at that particular point and we all had a lot of projects that took us away from the band, so we gave it a rest and focused on other things that we were doing. It’s funny how the universe works but last year we decided that everything just felt right to go in and do our full-length debut album Whispers from The Wicker Man. They say everything happens for a reason and I couldn’t agree more, the album is the most solid thing that we ever done maybe because we’ve all matured musically and because we are now in the right headspace to send this thing out the world.
If I was to use the phrase “for fans of”, who would you best compare yourselves to?
The sounds of Bowser would definitely appeal to fans of Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, Faith No More, Tool, Muse, Nuns of Tundra, Mutemath, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, bands that fit into this kind of genre. It’s rock music but it’s cryptic, volcanic and always some kind of hook that pulls you in.
Who produced People In The TV? Have you worked with them before? How was it working with them?
People in the TV was produced by Steve James, he is now a good friend of ours, he is critically acclaimed working with some amazing bands over the years such as Shihad, Skunkhour, The Screaming Jets, Superjesus, Mental As Anything, Sex Pistols, Electric Mary, Airbourne and the list goes on, its incredible the amount of amazing people this man has worked with. To have him as part of the project has been a real honour for all of us and the best thing about it is he really loves the music. Steve has produced the whole album that’s coming out next year, it’s a cracker and we are so proud of it.
Where did the lyric and music inspiration for this song come from?
Brad wrote this one from scratch, I believe he got his inspiration from the song Strange Brew from Cream and the lyrics touch on the issue of people that deal with isolation and mental health issues. I think the actual lyrics themselves are quite simplistic but yet they have this cryptic approach to them which Brad is so good at doing, he would have to be one of my favourite lyricists out there haha but of course I am a little bias, but it’s like every time he writes a song the words have two meanings and it really gets you thinking about the story behind the lyrics. Nathan is an incredible drummer and musician and adds that percussive flair that gives boWsER’s sound a very interesting twist. Brad usually will demo up a song and then bring it to Nathan and myself and then we add our flavour to it which turns into that crunchy behemoth groove which is boWsER’s signature sound.
You recently released the video for ‘People In The TV’. Is this a hint at more new music on the way?
We have our new album coming next year so the answer to that one is a big YES and we are really excited about it, we plan to have another single coming in the new year and then the release of the full-length album a little after that, stay tuned
Where was the video shot and who produced it?
The video was shot at a studio / Warehouse at Gold Coast studios, they do a lot of treat photography and production there. I got a friend of mine Tyson Leith from Timberwolf films to produce this one. I wrote a script for it which was quite basic really but it was able to give us the dynamic of black and white through the verses to red dark and edgy in the chorus, a simple approach which was quite effective considering we shot everything within a few hours in one day. I also got my son Cayden to appear as a cameo, he played the part of a kid who’s affected by the propaganda that is spread in the world of social media and video. we’re all really happy how it turned out, Tyson is incredibly talented he lives in New York and I work with him on various other video projects and we just knew that he was the guy to do this one for us.
It’s been a little while since you last released any music. What were you doing in that time?
Life is a crazy journey and sometimes you just don’t know what it’s going to throw, you can always have a plan but generally you have to change that plan quite a bit along the way. We all had other musical projects and work interests that we pursued for a few years but sometimes you have to follow your heart. The reality is playing original music that is your own and trying to live off it can be a tough gig. I myself become a cosmetic chemist and produce and manufacture cosmetic products for the beauty industry which keeps me extremely busy, but once you’re a musician it is always in your blood and you can never really let go of it.
When are you next on tour, and where can we catch you?
We have been discussing doing a show but at this point we are not sure exactly when that’s going to happen we are actually really content just doing digital releases and video clips and thankfully because of this day & age it’s so easy to share our music now this is a great platform and project for us. When you listen to boWsER and especially this up and coming album it is a great representation of what we sound like live, so when we do go and do a show at some point, people will definitely have a good idea of what we are going to sound like.
And finally, where can we find out more about you?
We tend to be a little underground in the world of promoting, but we’ve started building the social platforms more now with the release of People in the TV, and the best places to follow us would be Facebook at Instagram @bowsertheband
Anything else you would like to tell us?
Thanks so much for having us on board for this interview, it’s such a pleasure to be able to share our music now and we are really looking forward to 2020 and releasing Whispers from The Wicker Man. The volcanic cryptic beast is about to be unleashed.
I’d like to thank the band for taking the time to answer my questions and wish them the best of luck in the future!
For those who haven’t heard of A Kind of Man before, how would you describe yourself?
I would say listen to the music and come see a show with me and my band.. Then you’ll figure it out.
What is your story with music? Where did you begin?
I started on a boarding school back in 2001 were I became friends with Jesper Lykkedal. I remember my first impression of him, a skater kind of type with greasy Nick Carter kind of long hair (he’ll be so pissed at me for saying this). And I wore techno pants my mom made, with Buffalo boots and Dax Wax spike hair and an homemade eyebrow piercing. We both had a guitar but couldn’t really play yet. We became close friends and destroyed all our cloths with a sense of pride and teenage rebellion so we could feel like Kurt Cobain. It was beautiful…
We wrote a lot of songs and I just knew that I was doomed to pursue music for the rest of my life.. Or die of depression
To use the phrase ‘For fans of’, who would you best compare yourselves to?
The Drums, The Big Pink, Foster the People, The New Pornographers, Peter Bjorn and John, Communions and The Beatless.
Who produced your self-titled EP? Have you worked with them before? How did you find working with them?
I made the EP with Julian Winding. The first song we made was ‘Teddy Love’ from the EP. I remember us crying of joy when we finished it at 7 AM in the morning after a night with a lot of whiskey. After that I wrote the other songs and produced them with him in his apartment in Berlin.
Where did the lyric and music inspiration for these tracks come from?
It’s a mix of many things… Mainly between crazy love to my ex girlfriend and a personal desperation of not feeling able to do the things I want. We had a difficult relationship during the last years of it. We wanted each other so badly but at the same time we couldn’t figure out to be happy together.
But it all started with Teddy Love. The lyrics was written from a notion of the perfect dream scenario for a relationship.
I didn’t know how to pick up girls in my start twenties, so many things were imagined while enjoying my own company. A bit of a dilemma. However, I finished this song after falling in love with my ex (who is also “the girl” in the music video “TEDDY LOVE” by Meeto). It suddenly made sense to finish it.
Teddy Love is about being in love and horny. And saying goodnight with a pillow fight even when you’ve grown old together.
What is your song writing process?
It’s always pretty tough.. I’m not really into straight forward stories cause nothing is rarely that way, but at the same time I need to be on track with something. That’s always a big dilemma for me when I’m writing.
You released the video for ‘Franceen’ last month. Who directed and produced it? What did it involve when making it?
The artist Nicolai Bruun made it. The idéa of him making it came because a few seconds of his art is also featured in my first video “TEDDY LOVE” that is made by Meeto. I thought it could be nice to let Nicolai do a whole movie for Franceen.
The process for me was mainly to send him small videos of me singing the song so he could see my face expression and use the lip movement. Then he made a cool video…
Is there any more music videos on the way?
The director Meeto is making the second video for me. This time it’s for the song FLIP, also on the EP.
The movie willl be an artistic and fierce love story about a farther, a son and a girl. It’s being shot with an old film camera from the 70’s and we’ve already did most of the scenes. It’s getting crazy good! You have much to look forward to..
Your album art looks very unique. Who designed it and what does it represent, in your opinion?
The picture is taken by Meeto. It’s from one of the scenes in the “TEDDY LOVE” video. He also handwrote the title and I did the editing and grafik.
For me the picture is about a man who’s starting to wake up from one dreamland and about to enter another. From being a scared and confused little boy to the man he dream of being..
Are there any plans to go on tour or play any festivals next year?
Not fixed yet.. But we hope to get some good response on our applications.
Where can we find out more about you?
Besides music I work as a photographer. Havn’t updated my website for years, but here you go: bjornrosenquist.com
And give me a visit in DK. I’ll show you around
I’d like to thank Bjørn for taking the time to do an interview with me, and wish him all the best for the future!
2019 has been a massive year for music, with both new artists and seasoned professionals making headway across the charts and on tours across the country. With the ever increase of music streaming services, one artist in particular clocked over 6.5 billion streams globally on Spotify alone.
Frank Turner started the year off by releasing the break away EP from Be More Kind. Don’t worry – EP was released on the 24th January, before Frank headed off on a 9 stop arena tour of the UK, with support from Jimmy Eat World and Grace Petrie. Not long after getting back off tour, Try this at home – Adventures in songwriting was released to the general public, on the 21st march, which came with in store appearances and book signings across the country. Without a moment to rest, Frank then went on to record the music for his second music release of 2019 – No Man’s Land. A concept album about forgotten women in history, this album divided the Frank Turner army, with news articles accusing Frank of mansplaining, and a particularly brutal NME article claiming the album is only about Frank himself. Nevertheless, Frank went on to tour America and the UK with a new style of show, playing a solo acoustic set before a full band ‘unplugged’ set that followed. Although I liked the change, I would rather see the high energy, bad dancing Frank we are all used to. The man who never stops touring has also released tour dates for across the world next year. (find dates here). Somehow, in the midst of all this, Frank also found the time to get married and go on a honeymoon with his new wife, Jess Guise.
As well as going under his own name, Frank’s side piece – Möngöl Hörde – played their first show in over a year at 2000 Trees Festival, followed by an American invasion in December. The Hörde also released two tracks on streaming services this year. Godfrey Newman and Selfiestixamitosis collected over 60,000 streams between them, on Spotify alone. Not a bad year for Frank and his crew.
@ khenninger13 on twitter
After the run of shows opening for Frank Turner early on in the year, Jimmy Eat World played a surprise show at the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, AZ to celebrate 25 years of shows, before announcing their 10th studio album. Surviving was released on the 18th October, and featured 10 tracks. A mix of styles, some that we are used to from the band, and some new to all, this album went down a storm. Jimmy Eat World played a few shows in the UK, and have announced they are the Thursday headliner at 2000 Trees 2020.
@jimmyeatworld on twitter
The Story Is, the fourth studio Album from folk-punk legends, Skinny Lister was released on the 1st March this year. The six piece’s latest release is as high energy as normal, and a massive 2 UK tours as well as some overseas shows. As well as filming and producing 3 music videos, the band also joined Frank Turner for his Lost Evenings festival in Boston.
Bristol based musician Gaz Brookfield has also had an amazing year. Lostfolk was released on the 1st October, before Gaz set out on a staggering 33 stop tour, touching every corner of the UK. The tour was concluded on the 14th December at SWX in Bristol, with the full band playing, as well as support from Jake Martin and B-sydes, who accompanied Gaz on all his shows.
Séan McGowan had a great year. Curate Calm, Create Chaos was released on the 1st November, before Séan also set out on tour. His tour had mixed success, with Bristol and Southampton selling out almost immediately, but also with a less successful show in Bideford to a small, but appreciative crowd of 12. Séan finished off his tour with two shows at his home venue, The Joiners, in Southampton.
The end of the year cannot go by without a mention of Green Day. After releasing their Woodstock 1994 performance on vinyl for record store day, the band announced in September that they would be going on tour again, with Fall Out Boy and Weezer, as well as a new album, Father of all Motherfuckers, due to be released next year.
Hello Exile, the sixth studio album from The Menzingers was released this year. After the great success that came with their previous album, After the Party, in 2017, the latest album came out with a bang, with the first two tracks, America (You’re Freaking Me Out) and Anna, clocking over 1.2 million streams each on Spotify alone. This was also accompanied by a world tour, starting stateside and coming over to Europe, the UK, and then over to Australia and New Zealand in 2020.
@millershoots on twitter
Newcastle’s The Wildhearts made an epic comeback this year, with a new album, Renaissance men, being released, and a UK tour to go with it, as well as popping up at a few festivals. One tack, Let em go, also featured Frank Turner on vocals.
Dancing On Tables have gone from strength to strength this year. I first caught the band at The Fleece, in Bristol, as part of Dot to Dot festival 2019, and since then have gone on to release a new EP. Transpose was released in the summer, and includes a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark.
Scott Hutchison’s death in 2018 is still something that is raw with a lot of people, with Tributes and covers of his music being played across the world by many different artists. In 2019, Tiny Changes: A Celebration of Frightened Rabbit’s ‘The Midnight Organ Fight’ was released, with profits going to Tiny Changes, the mental health charity set up in Scott’s honour. 15 different artists featured on the record, including Scotland’s own Biffy Clyro, as well as Craig Finn from The Hold Steady, Daughter, the Manchester Orchestra and many more. Tiny Changes is still promoting mental health, and can be found here.
Album cover from The Midnight Organ Fight
IDLES also went from strength to strength this year. Although they didn’t release any new music, they did tour the country – and the world – with the future looking bright for the five piece band from Bristol.
Northern Ireland’s Two Door Cinema Club released their latest album in 2019, titled False Alarm. The band started releasing the songs from this album slowly over the spring, with Talk, coming out on the 18th March, Satellite on the 24th April, and Dirty Air and Once being released in the lead up to the full album launch on the 21st June. This was paired with a 6 show UK arena tour, and playing the Other Stage at Glastonbury this year.
@JaredLeibowitz on twitter
New Chums, an indie rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, had a successful year. They released their latest EP, I Won’t let you go across all streaming services and physical copies available through their webstore. The five track EP delves into love and relationships, and sounds pretty fucking awesome in my opinion.
A five track EP was released from Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. this year, from his performance with the full band at 2000 trees festival. Sam Duckworth has also been at it on the political side of things, coming out with the Arty Political Broadcast, available on all streaming services.
Xtra Mile Recordings
Anything about music of 2019 cannot go by without some honorary mentions to some artists who have exceptionally well this year:
Lewis Capaldi, who has taken the nation by storm.
Ed Sheeran is still at it, being named BBC Radio 1’s artist of the decade.
Lil Nas, for his chart topper Old Town Road, as well as efforts made in the Black and LQBTQ+ community.
Rag’n’Bone man, with Human and Giant, the massive chart hits.
Billie Eillish. Whatever you think of her, she has boomed this year.
Post Malone, who has continued to make smash hit records
Sam Fender, whose debut album Hypersonic Missiles has risen in the charts.
2019 was also a big year for music festivals. Although Boardmasters, the festival by the sea, had to be called off due to the weather, there were many other big events across the country. Glastonbury celebrated its 49th year, and next year’s big 50 is set to be good. 2000 Trees, Cheltenham’s medium sized festival, hosted a range of artists, with Frank Turner, You Me At Six and Deaf Havana all headlining across the three day event. Beautiful Days 2019 was also a big festival, with Skunk Anansie, Ziggy Marley and The Levellers headlining.
With 2019 being such a big year for music, I must thank all the musicians, as well as the fans for making it how it was. Here’s to 2020 being just as good, if not better.
Smoke Fairies released two songs from their newest album ‘Darkness Brings the Wonders Home’. I thought it would be a good opportunity for a catch up…
For those who haven’t heard of the Smoke Fairies before, how would you describe yourself?
We are two guitarists who write and sing melancholy, riffy songs. We’ve been making music for an age.
Who is in the band and how did you all meet?
There are 2 of us in the band. We met on the first day of secondary school in 1994. We didn’t like each other because we both had the same bag but maybe it was a sign.
If I was to use the phrase “for fans of”, who would you best compare yourselves to?
I think our music is a bit odd and has never really fit into any boxes, which is a blessing a curse. We have been described as dream pop, folk, and more recently stoner metal which is the description I like the best, even if its not entirely accurate.
Who produced the album? Have you worked with them before? How was it working with them?
We went to Seattle to work with Producer Phil EK for our latest album. We hadn’t met before and only had a few phone conversations where we discussed the weather before we flew out there. He really pushed us to be the best we could be which meant having to be told we were sounding weak and weren’t playing our guitar riffs in the best way. It was a hard experience to go through but he inspired us to be better.
Where did the lyric inspiration for these songs come from?
Modern isolation, the feeling that the whole world is doomed, ponds, insects, people who can’t commit, the Croydon cat killer, doomed love, hope, the woods.
Where was the video for ‘Disconnect’ shot and who directed it?
We shot the video to Disconnect in our house. We had to move everything out of the way to make room but the space was tight and towards the end of the day, things were falling off the shelves and lights were falling over. The worst moment of the day happened when we had to move the cat litter tray, I backed into it and all the used cat litter tipped down the back of my legs into my boots, so gross. It was directed by Annick Wolfers who also shot our video for Out of the Woods. We can trust Annick to always get a beautiful shot.
When are you next on tour, and where can we catch you?
We are doing a UK tour in February. You can catch us at these venues: Manchester Soup Kitchen – February 1st Leeds Oporto – February 2nd Norwich Arts Centre – February 3rd Oxford Bullingdon – February 5th London Hoxton Hall – February 6th Birmingham Sunflower Lounge – February 7th Bristol Rough Trade – February 8th Portsmouth The Square Tower – February 9th
And finally, where can we find out more about you?
For those who haven’t heard of Lucifer Gunne before, how would you describe the band?
A beautiful compilation of rock-like noise, tailor made for people who like to question and love everything, including themselves and their peers. The world’s a pretty freaky place.
Who is in the band and how did you all meet?
Currently, we have Don Mackenzie, backing vocals and guitar thing 1, who has been their since the band’s first iteration (there’s a long story to the creation of the band that I’m sure you can find online, but the short answer is I met him at a pixies concert). Steve Henwood, starring as guitar thing 2, we found him asking if there was any bands that wanted a guitarist in our area, so we decided to take him in, beautiful bastard he is. Finally, we have Jackson Kidd, professional stick hitter and keeper of all time, who we knew from another project of his (check out Speaking to Houses on Facebook!), so we got him on board when we were without a drummer a couple of months ago. His middle name is ‘Campbell Zultan’, so he automatically qualifies as a cool guy.
Oh yeah, and me, I play that thing with four strings and am the main vocalist. No cool facts for me. Nothing to see here, people.
Lucifer Gunne on Facebook
If I was to use the phrase “for fans of”, who would you best compare yourselves to?
We’re a band for fans of getting through difficult times, consistently working to improve yourself and cutting out the bullshit in your life. As well as idles and early Arctic Monkeys material.
Who produced Energenetic? Have you worked with them before? How was it working with them?
Ah yes, the lovely people over at Elysian Studios. Though I cannot say who they are, they were the best people to work with, super helpful and weren’t afraid to speak their minds if they had an idea. Love working with creative folk like that. It was our first time working on something with them, and I cannot thank them enough for the opportunity they gave!
Where did the lyric inspiration for these songs come from?
Anywhere and everywhere. Life. Friends. Enemies. Inner demons. The world as we know it.
You recently released the video for ‘Energenetic’. Is this a hint at more new music on the way?
We’re currently gift-wrapping something very special for all to hear. I’m unfortunately a bit of a perfectionist and am currently analysing everything down to the most minute detail, but as soon as I’ve finished doing that, I’ll let you know.
Where was the video shot and who produced it?
That was actually up on my old work building, I used to work on the top floor so just decided to ask my manager “hey, can we use this space for a music video?”, thankfully, the response was positive and I love how it turned out in the end.
Stephen Press was the guy who worked on it. 5 trillion gold stars to him, he put in a lot of hours and it really shows.
When are you next on tour, and where can we catch you?
Touring information is currently locked up in our vaults and nobody is sure where the key is right now, but I promise you the plans are in there somewhere. We do have a final wrap-up show for the year on December 29th in Valhalla, the best venue in Wellington, New Zealand.
And finally, where can we find out more about you?
Check out Lucifer Gunne on Facebook and Instagram. That’s where you’ll be able to find our tour dates, announcements, giveaways and more. Spotify and all your other favorite streaming services is where you can find that thing we make called music.
Anything else you would like to tell us?
Every dead body on Everest was once a highly motivated individual.
I would like to thank Rory for taking the time to answer our questions and I hope to catch Lucifer Gunne when they make it over to the UK.
After the success of his Be More Kind world tour and the No Man’s Land America and UK tour, Frank Turner’s back at it again, this time announcing a solo tour around the UK, visiting a host of cities and towns not normally included tours.
Most people who have seen Frank live in the last few years are probably used to also hearing the sounds of the Sleeping souls, but this tour goes back to his older routes, with just him and his guitar on the stage.
Frank is also being supported by his Wife – Jess Guise – and the wonderful sounds of Micah Schnabel. This looks to be a great show.
£1 from every ticket will also be going to Way Out Arts, a charity Frank has been supporting for many years.
I look forward to chatting to Frank before he sets off at the start of March and seeing his show at the Bath Forum.
REWS are making good headway after their release of their newest single BIRDSONG. I chatted to Shauna from the band, have a read of our conversation below:
For those out there who haven’t heard of Rews before, how would you describe the Band?
I would say the REWS sound is high energy fierce femme alternative rock / pop sound. The inspiration behind a lot of the songs is deeply rooted in wanting to share a bit more positivity and comfort through tough situations. The band is a revolving cast of awesome musicians who I get to play with during different events but usually compromises of a drummer, bassist and myself! 🙂
Dot to Dot festival 2019
If I were to use the phrase “for fans of”, who would you say you are similar to?
Hmmm…
maybe Yungblud, Royal Blood, Paramore, Foo Fighters, Deftones?? Bit of an
eclectic mix! Haha!
You recently released your latest single “birdsong”. Is the hinting at more new music on the way?
It sure is! I’ve just finished recording the album actually! I’m very very veryyyyy excited to release more soon! :). The new year will be full of musical treats!
Who was the song (and album) produced by? Have you worked with them before?
The song (and the rest of the second album) was produced by Alex Loring and Tom Andrews. I hadn’t worked with them before but it was super fun and I’m delighted with the sound we’ve created together!
Where did the inspiration for the lyrics for Birdsong come from?
I wrote
the song after finding a little wounded bird whilst out for a run one
day. I was reading ‘You Are A Bad-Ass’ which is a kind of self-help style
book (its pretty good!) around the time and I kind of imagined how that bird
would feel if it were feeling human emotions. I reflected some of the
stuff I had been reading and I really wanted to write something that would
inspire others to get rid of negativity in their lives and just get up, accept
who they are, where they are and do their best to fight for the things they
love and forget about peoples negative opinions. And I guess the writing
process inspired me to keep my chin up and keep striving to do what I love too.
The music video for Birdsong looked like a lot of fun to make. Where was it recorded and what did it involve?
It
was a hell of a lot of fun to make!! Jonathan Finnis Films and James A
Chisholm made the video – total legends!!
Basically,
I had a very strong idea visually of how the video should look and that was to
go through a metamorphosis from feeling trapped in a cocoon to floating in the
sky – similar to the message in the song. I was keen to make it a bit
darker than the previous videos, and because REWS has went through a line up
change, wanted to show that they band was different too. SO we all put
our heads together, gathered up two of the fab musicians who I get the pleasure
to play with (Ele Lucas on Bass, Karen Jones on drums) for the live stuff &
as a narrative, we came up with the silks idea. So James arranged a
session with an amazing silk artist (Nix Pretlove) and she showed me some great
movements on the silks and what I could do to go through that metamorphosis and
‘fly’ on the silks! It was great fun!! The day came and we had half
a day of band shoot and half a day of silk shoot – I actually developed motion
sickness reallllly badly during the spinning and almost threw up a few times…
the things you do for art hey??
When are you next on tour, and where can we catch you?
Heading off on Sunday to Ireland – I’m supporting The Darkness on my UK tour up until the 20th Nov and then I have my own headline run in March 2020 across the UK – which has been called ’The Phoenix Tour’! I’m delighted to be playing along with the fantastic Scott Hislop on drums and Ele Lucas on bass! <3. Check out the tour dates at www.rewsmusic.com/listings
@rewsmusic – twitter
March 2020
11th – King Tuts, GLASGOW
12th – The Key Club, LEEDS
13th – Night People, MANCHESTER
14th – Bodega, NOTTINGHAM
19th – Camden Assembly, LONDON
20th – Waterfront Studios,
NORWICH
21st – O2 Institute, BIRMINGHAM
26th – The Exchange, BRISTOL
27th – Joiners, SOUTHAMPTON
And finally, where can we find out more about you?
I’d like to say a massive thank you to Shauna for taking the time to answer my questions and wish her and the rest of the band the best of luck with the upcoming album release and tour!
TrueStyleMusic 