John Paul White is known as one half of the
four time Grammy-winning duo, The Civil Wars and now the world of music is
bracing itself for White’s first solo work in nearly a decade. His solo album
‘Beulah’ was released via Single Lock Records on 19th August and is
a diverse collection of genres. These songs came unbidden to White who says
‘Honestly, I was trying to avoid them, but then I realised the only way I was
going to get rid of them was if I wrote them down… The one day I told my wife,
‘I think I’m going to write a song’. She was surprised as I was. I went and
probably wrote eight songs in three days…’
'The Martyr' Review: 'The Martyr' is a fantastically dark southern rock track with folk enhanced vocals and lyrics intertwined throughout. I am a big fan of the guitar hook and combined memorable chorus with layered vocals added to create an almost gospel element - can't imagine how spine tingling it would be live. If you liked Matt Corby's latest album, anything full of soul (music that makes you feel something), or of course just straight forward brilliant rock singed folk, you're bound to enjoy John Paul White's new album 'Beulah'. Enjoy!
In An Instant are a Northern Irish four-piece from Bangor who, since their formation in 2013, have received considerable acclaim for their creative blend of indie rock and electronic dance music. In 2014, they released their debut EP 'Light You Know and Love', with lead single 'Something Right and Something Real', garnering airtime from BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, and BBC Introducing. They took some time to develop their craft and now they've returned with their new single 'Where The Demons And The Devil Speak'...
General Questions:
1. How old were you when you started getting involved in music and how?
We all had been involved in music from a very young age. Some of us started at only a few years old with instruments. But in terms of when it became something serious would have been in secondary school (around 12). It was a very musical school with lots of talent coming from it, I think that inspired us all to be creative.
2. What is the most inspiring musical performance you've ever seen?
Personally I have seen many acts play, but in terms of inspiring. Well that would have to be seeing Two Door Cinema Club playing a festival in our home town. They are from the same town, and to see them playing in front of thousands of people and being there, was so inspiring. It was strange seeing them around the school before and them then living their dreams. That's something special.
3. Who have you been listening to lately?
So much to be honest. A lot of The 1975, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Travis is a Tourist. But of course all the classics still, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen.
3 Qs for In An Instant:
1. What is the biggest thing you've learnt as a band in the music industry since forming in 2013?
Well I think we learnt quickly that it is a fast paced and very tough industry. You'll be put in uncomfortable places and have to push through a lot. Things won't go your way most of the time, but just keep doing what you love. Never let small things get in the way of you playing a great show or recording an amazing show.
2. If you could invite any three people, dead or alive, to one of your shows, who would you choose and why?
Dave Grohl - well he is so involved in making music, and any type. He cares about the fans, the music and also his own life. He is a hero to a lot of people, including all of us.
Bono - our lead singer is inspired by Bono. Especially what he does outside of music. He is also Irish; he would know how to enjoy a gig.
Kurt Cobain - Kurt changed the music scene, and opened up the world to a different side of music. He changed the typical 'Rockstar' tag, and lived his life the same being famous as he did before.
3. What process did you go through creating your latest single, 'Where The Demons and The Devil Speak', and how much did it differ to your previous releases?
This song was a lot more collective and certainly rawer than previous songs. We really worked hard to show that we were much more than just an electronic band, and we brought more of a rock sound to our songs. We also worked with a new producer and he was able to bring some fresh ideas to us. The new releases are certainly darker than before, but that shows us from a new perspective.
Random Q:
Ideal Friday night?
Probably a combination of all of our favourite things... jamming with each other, having a few beers, and maybe watching some kind of sports. Nothing too crazy, but laid back and chilled.
'When The Demons And The Devil Speak' Review: This track's overall sound finds itself in between the likes of Two Door Cinema Club and Foals. It has an energetic guitar riff throughout mixed with memorable bass lines, hi-hat heavy drum beat and a melody that's been impossible to stop humming. A generally brilliant track that fits in with previous releases and should get you excited about what's to come next from this band...
1. SOS (Overboard) - Joseph Joseph are Natalie, Allison and Meegan Close, a band of three sisters hailing from Portland, Oregon. They self-released their debut album 'Native Dreamer Kin' in early 2014 and built a following playing intimate house shows and sessions, which turned to touring with James Bay. They also performed their single 'White Flag' on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, recently which was their debut TV appearance... 'SOS (Overboard)' is the second track they've shared from their forthcoming second album 'I'm Alone, No You're Not' - enjoy!
2. Bluffing - The Attics Based in the country town of Colac in South-West Victoria (Australia), The Attics formed in 2011 dropping a dark and moody indie rock EP, now with another EP in the not-too-distant future they recently released their new single 'Bluffing', which is arguably their most addictive release to date. A string of headline dates are due to be announced soon - so keep your eyes peeled - if you're a fan of Tame Impala, you'll love these guys.
3. We Used To Be In Love - Clean Cut Kid Mike Halls, Evelyn Halls, Saul Godman and Ross Higginson from Liverpool are Clean Cut Kid. Their indie band taking the music world by storm right now, they've graced festival stages, gained support for their previously released singles, now they release their EP 'We Used To Be In Love' and this is the infectious title track (and lead single)...
4. Cry Baby - Fickle Friends Indie pop band from Brighton, Fickle Friends are creating a pretty big hype at the minute. They formed in 2013 and consists of Natti (vocals/keyboard), Sam (drums), Harry (bass/backing vocals), Chris (lead guitar), and (Jack) Wilson (keyboards). After touring the UK and Europe and playing 53 festivals across those two years, they signed to Polydor Records and have been releasing a couple singles each year since 2014, 'Cry Baby' is their latest and we think there's a debut album in the not too distant future...
5. Boys That Sing - Viola Beach Viola Beach were one of the most promising indie rock bands of 2016, Kris, River, Tomas and Jack have still managed to share their music and with a self-titled album reaching #1 in the UK Albums Chart, I'm sure they would be proud of achievements. I'll let the music speak for this one - enjoy!
Fayetteville, Arkansas indie rock band, Brother Moses, will release their sophomore EP 'Legends' on 26th August. They began in 2014 when James Lockhart and Moses Gomez came together while studying at university. Their roommate, Michael Seck, was added on the drums shortly after for the recording of Thank You For Your Patience, an EP which received praise. In the spring of 2015, the band teamed up with now full-time members Matthew Heckman (bass) and John-Lewis Anderson (guitar / keys) to record this EP...
General Questions:
1. How old were you when you started getting involved in music and how?
James:My parents, mainly my dad, who's a very talented pianist, put me in piano lessons when I was seven or eight. I ended up doing that all the way through high school. I started playing tuba in the school band when I was twelve, and I think that's around the time I picked up guitar as well.
Matthew: My mom and dad met through music; they played in a string quartet together. My dad plays cello, my mom plays violin professionally, and they bought me my first cello off of ebay when I was nine.
Moses:I played baritone in school band throughout junior high and high school For my 14th birthday my brother convinced me to ask for a guitar, so I got one started to learn to play. Then for my 15th birthday I got a ukulele and that's when my musical career began.
2. What is the most inspiring musical performance you’ve ever seen?
James: For me, it was super recent. A very good friend of ours, Corey Kilgannon, was opening for Penny and Sparrow on tour, and they came through Fayetteville (our hometown), which is notorious for having really, really chatty crowds. And Corey is a solo acoustic act, so I was expecting him to get kind of drowned out by the chatter, and for the first half of his set, he kind of did. But then he just kind of confronted the crowd, which I've seen people do before, and it never works, but he didn't really say much, he just kind of started to play his set differently. And he was posing these questions to the crowd through his songs, and everyone had to shut up and listen, because he was really putting himself out there, and no one was going to ignore it. So at the end of the show, he baits us into all singing along to the last song, and in the middle of the most participation he's gotten all night, he just put his guitar down and walked offstage. It was incredible.
Matthew: When I was ten or eleven Yo Yo Ma came to Fayetteville with his 'Silk Road' quartet and my parents took me to see him. Before then I endured classical music - and to some extent music in general - because I thought it was good for me somehow, but that night I fell in love with performance. Watching the way Yo Yo Ma could make his instrument sing inspired me to really work at becoming a better musician.
Moses: There used to be this local band called SW/MM/ING around Fayetteville, freshman year of college I saw them play at a local club. They are the reason i'm playing the music we play.
3. Who have you been listening to lately?
James: I just recently read Greg Kot's book about Wilco, which is fantastic, and so I've been going back through their catalog, and Uncle Tupelo, and Son Volt, etc.
Matthew:Funk.
Moses:A lot of Albert Hammond Jr. and bossa nova music
3 Qs for Brother Moses:
1. You’re currently out on tour, but which three countries would you most like to tour and why?
James: We've all talked about how stoked we'd be to go to Australia someday, and I think every band dreams of someday getting to play in Europe. I also think it would be dope to do one of the festivals in South America, those look like a ton of fun.
Matthew: Germany - I feel like people get ~crazy~ in Germany. Japan - I've just always wanted to go to Japan. Eastern europe - hostel tour.
Moses:France, Spain, and Portugal. I've always wanted to go to these places.
2. What is your usual songwriting process, is there specific roles within the band or is it a collective effort?
James: It's totally collective, but we do kind of specific roles. We all know what we're good at, and what we're bad at, and those are all really different things for each of us. For this EP, it would just start with song ideas that Matthew or I had, and then we'd throw those out in a group setting and be like, "destroy this and turn it into something better", and sometimes that happens, and sometimes you actually had a pretty good idea and it doesn't change much.
Matthew: There's a song on the record - 'Please Stop' - that sounded completely different before we recorded it. We weren't super happy with the vibe the original version had, but didn't really know how to change it. The night before we left to record 'Legends', James sent me a voice memo of a simple piano part, which I sent to John-Lewis. John-Lewis and I stayed up all night recording a demo based on that voice memo, which we all then further developed and eventually finished once we got to LA.
Moses: A song can start from a single guitar part, melody, or lyric. We all bring forth our ideas and each of us tinkers, takes apart, and reform the ideas we have.
3. From your forthcoming EP ‘Legends’, which is your favourite track and why does it stand out to you?
James:It changes for me a lot, but right now I'm really feeling "Please Stop". It was the last song we finished in the studio, and I guess I've had a lot of nostalgia lately about that time, since we're writing again. It was for sure the most collaborative effort on the EP, and I feel like you can hear all these little pieces of each of us in the song. But the way things go, playing these songs over and over again live, I'll probably have a different favorite, like, next Wednesday.
Matthew:I'd have to say 'Sandwich Bags'. Playing that song is always emotional, and really fun. It's a song I wrote in the midst of one of the darkest periods of my life where I had just ended a long-term relationship, and was working as a night-shift server and absolutely hated my job. I was in my kitchen counting my tips from the past week and sorting them out into these bags so I could make a deposit later that day. I had a sickening moment where I realized that almost every waking moment from the last seven days of my life was represented by the money contained in the sandwich bags sitting on my kitchen counter. My friendships were suffering, my health was suffering, my grades were suffering; it hit me that the money on my counter was the physical distillation of all of that. This probably sounds weird, but it made me angry at the money. I was angry at physical money sitting in front of me. The song allows me to channel that energy, that essence, every time I play it. It's a constant reminder to myself that I should always be doing more than just surviving.
Moses: 'Sandwich Bags' to me has the most depth out of all the songs on the EP. Other songs really match the energy, but 'Sandwich Bags' continues to have an ever-lasting effect on me every time we play it. There's definitely something about playing that song live that really brings something out of me.
Random Q:
Weirdest band story?
James: Once we were in Minnesota, and we were swimming in the river, and Moses, John-Lewis, and Grayson, our touring drummer, all cut their feet open on barnacles or glass or something, so I was doctoring them up in this grocery store parking lot. And out of nowhere, this crazy older guy pulls up to us in his minivan and just starts berating us out of his window, saying a bunch of crazy stuff about how he wants me to kiss their feet and how he works out more than anyone in the world, just an awful stream of aggressive nonsense. And we just laughed at first, but then we kind of told him to leave us alone, and then he got out of the car and started kind of coming up on us, and there was a moment there where we all wondered if we were gonna have to fight this old man in a parking lot in Minnesota, but he ended up just getting in his car and driving away. Super weird. He was really jacked, especially for someone his age. We could've taken him, though.
Moses: I agree with James, the dude was nuts. 'Crazy Eyes' Review: 'Crazy Eyes' is probably one of my favourite indie rock songs at the minute. They offer a math rock twist to the track, which is full of infectious riffs and melodies. It's an energetic song that's bound to get stuck in your head, and force you to sing along. The video compliments the song well (and is humorous in a morbid way), if you like bands like Wolf Choir, Local Natives and Bombay Bicycle Club, you're bound to love this song, the rest of the EP and these guys! Enjoy!
Jolé is the moniker of Brighton based solo artist, Josh Oliver, creating subtle lo-fi pop he has been compared to the likes of Frightened Rabbit, Keaton Henson and Bon Iver. He left the UK for a year to write and travel with intention of gaining new experiences and influences on his music; taking a break from performing and just writing music, having toured solidly around the UK and Europe for 5 years with his previous band. 'A Year Of Ages' is the latest track to be released from that year of writing...
'A Year Of Ages' Review: 'A Year Of Ages' is a fantastically ethereal and atmospheric track, with a powerful warmth intertwined between each layer and throughout every section of the song. Stunning stripped back verses and an energetic rock infused chorus, when listening you can really hear where the comparisons of Frightened Rabbit and Bon Iver come from and I would easily put Jolé up there with the greats of their genre. Looking forward to hearing more from him!
1. My Call - Josh Rawiri In 2013 Josh formed three piece band Moroccan Knights, playing a packed out debut festival and headliner shows and touring the east coast of Australia twice and gaining a lot of media support for their single 'The One For You'. However, the last 18 months have seen Josh Rawiri touring with an evolving musical mob, turning heads at popular festivals and crafting a handful of new singles for an upcoming album... 'My Call' is his latest single and if you enjoy the likes of Matt Corby and Hozier, you're bound to love Josh!
2. Paper Hearts - Em George Following on from three successful singles, comes Em George's self-titled debut EP. The first single release 'Paper Hearts' and spent two weeks in the AMRAP Metro and Regional Charts reaching number three. 'Blues Lady' is the second release from the EP, written about Billie Holiday and was selected as a semi finalist for the International Songwriting Competition 2015. Em George is definitely one to watch, following in the footsteps of Laura Marling and Joni Mitchell...
3. Take Your Mark - Vorsen The Perth four-piece combine warm smokey vocals with organic intimate melodies, blend blues/rock together with an energetic twist. Vorsen's debut self-titled EP was a hit both online and by radio across the country and their single 'Hurricane' was featured in the Top 5 on the triple j Unearthed roots chart for weeks. Following the release of that release comes the lively follow-up track 'Take Your Mark', enjoy!
4. Battles - Corbu This is New York's Corbu and their stunning animated video for their single 'Battles'. Inspired by Warp records stalwarts, ski-fi imagery and psychedelia through the ages, Corbu are a true creative force and this music video represents that. The band have recently hosted the first of their own 'Summer Triangle' parties in New York, and are soon heading out on tour with Bloc Party. They're a duo to watch - literally!
5. Understanding - Martin Creed July saw Wakefield-born and Glasgow-raised Martin Creed release his new album 'Thoughts Lined Up' and 'Understanding' is the lead single taken from it. Not only is he forward thinking and creative with music, he's also 2001's Turner Prize-Winner for the infamous Work no. 227: the lights going on and off), his current exhibition in New York is just coming to an end but keep your ears and eye out for future projects of his...
2015 was a big year for Melbourne trio, Woodlock; their EP 'Sirens', released in September, charted in the Top 50 iTunes charts and two of the singles landed on the Viral 50 Spotify Charts. Bowen (percussion), Eze (guitar / vocals), and Zech (guitar / vocals) have sold around 30,000 EPs in the last 18 months and have racked up over 4 million streams, whilst touring Australia and playing a string of festivals and supporting Elle King on her Bluesfest Sideshows. They've recently released their single 'The Only Ones', so we caught up with them for a Q&A...
General Questions:
1. How old were you when you started getting involved in music and how?
Zech: Eze and I come from a very musical family, so we’ve always been involved with music. Bowen I think started in high school and church. Bowen: I asked someone “What’s the easiest instrument to learn?” They said drums and the rest is history.
2. What is the most inspiring musical performance you’ve ever seen? Eze: Coldplay or the Paper Kites. Zech: Definitely! Coldplay have this energy that makes you feel like you are part of a special moment.
3. Who have you been listening to lately? Bowen:Well I love my Classics, so I’ll always go back to Creedence Clearwater, James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac. Eze: Kings of Leon, Bon Iver, Young and Free Zech:I'm with Bowen on Fleetwood Mac, but I’ve been listening to LiveWire by Oh Wonder and Chihiro by Aoste.
3 Qs for Woodlock:
1. You’ve performed at some great venues / festivals and shared stages with some great musicians, but which is your dream venue and who would be your dream act to perform alongside?
Bowen:We set the goal since we started to play with the Paper Kites, but I think we have a few, Coldplay, Paul McCartney and Kings of Leon would be a few off the top of my head.
2. What have you found to be the best and worst thing about being in a band?
Eze: The best would be that you get to do what you love, with people you really enjoy the company of and I cant think of a worse side! No in all honesty there really isn't any thing that makes this terrible, there are things that make it hard, but we love it and its worth the times of struggle.
3. What is process did you go through creating ‘The Only Ones’ and how different was it to the tracks on your ‘Sirens’ EP? Zech:So many ways, for one it wasn't written by Eze and I but was written by myself and Lindsay Jackson. And writing with someone new can be a scary thing. With our writing process Eze and I are very open with each other about what we want to convey and being that most of our songs are about personal moments, they're not always easy to create with strangers. I was lucky that Lindsay was such a great guy to work with and really helped me to open up my writing in a way that I never would have before.
Random Q One unforgettable tour moment? Bowen:Our largest show to date, and having people singing a song we have called Fortress. It's about knowing someone struggling with depression and being there for them to help through it. It sounds corny but it honestly felt like a depression breaking moment. Like people were being set free. 'The Only Ones' Review: 'The Only Ones' opens with stunning piano and vocals coupled together, gradually growing with percussion and bursting into a fantastic, infectious pop song. The chorus is full of layered instrumental tracks, and vocals that make it impossible not to singalong to. Lyrically and melodically brilliant and perfect for summer playlists. If you're into Eliza and the Bear or The Lighthouse and the Whaler, you're bound to love Woodlock!
