Latest News
Scary People single ‘Black Eyes’ out now!
"… a short and sweet slice of alt-rock goodness."
- Artrocker
"… this Dundonian five-piece could well end up as the next Therapy?.”
- The Metro
Scary People have released their latest single, Black Eyes, out now via RedRoom Recordings.
Black Eyes is very much in keeping with the guitar and distortion heavy, gut-punching alternative rock sound Scary People have mastered and made their own since their humble beginnings as a band thrown together in less than a week to play a support slot in front of a sold out crowd.
The single premiered on AltSounds, and picked up support from the likes of Artrocker and STV
Dundee. You can listen to it now for free via the band's SoundCloud page.
For this outing they’ve enlisted producer Matt Lawrence to supply the skills he used working with the likes of Feeder, The Rolling Stones and Foals to take their sound to the next level. The counter-play between guitars, drums and lead vocalist Daniel Forouhar’s distinctive voice creates a tapestry of distortion that rises above the chaos of noise to reveal a technically brilliant, and deliciously dirty, slice of hard rock.
The release of Black Eyes ensures an exciting end to a very productive year. EP Chicago! created a buzz around Scary People that saw them pick up support form the likes of The Skinny, Artrocker, The Daily Record, The Metro and BBC Introducing leading to a number of festival appearances, most notably T in the Park and Wickerman.
Black Eyes is released today via RedRoom Recordings and is available to buy digitally on iTunes.
Introducing… White Ape!
White Ape have the new year firmly in their sights with their second EP Kick It Down released via Sotones on 19th January 2015.
To get a taste for their raw sound, you can stream the EP's title track via the band's SoundCloud page.
Kick It Down is a return to the raw and subversive sound that slicked the streets of ‘70s London, with a deadpan humour and take no prisoners attitude that sees the band take on urban gentrification and highlights the creativity that blossoms in some of the more run down parts of the Capital. While the subjects they tackle may seem bleak, their guitar hooks, witty lyrics and sneering vocals add a sartorial elegance to their sound. Make no mistake, White Ape’s intense live performance loses nothing of its raw energy when committed to record, and this EP is the evidence.
Based in London, White Ape are Tommy Mack (vocals & guitar), Jim Turner (guitar), Mike Davies (bass) and Olly Goulding (drums). They’ve been together since 2012, when founding members Tommy and Mike decided to form a band after a drunken night swimming in the China Sea. Since then, members have come and gone, replaced by Mike’s childhood friends.
Tommy remains suspicious that he may be the next to go…
With influences ranging from the words of H P Lovecraft to the sheer, unbridled experimentation of Captain Beefheart, Kick It Down presents a snap shot in the lives of four musicians with a flair for social commentary backed up by stripped down, rabble rousing rock. In these ‘interesting times’, their timing could’t be better.
Kick It Down is released via Sotones on 19th January 2015.
India Mill single ‘Morning Song’ out now!
"India Mill can stand tall amongst their peers as being a band who have something to say."
- Artrocker
India Mill have released their latest single, Morning Song,via Bold Venture Music/AWAL.
Morning Song, the second single taken from their debut album Under Every Sky, is a hymn to universal heartbreak with an epic guitar line reminiscent of U2 at their most potent played out with Bowie-esque vigour that channels both the drumbeat and drama of Hounds Of Love era Kate Bush.
You can stream the single for free via the band's SoundCloud page.
The band are from Darwen, a former mill town in Lancashire where any kind of music can find an ear, and any form of pretence will be shown its rear. On their previous single, Caribesque, Artrocker commented, “They’re not afraid to mix a little bit of politics into their songs and they sound all the better for it”. while Tom Robinson claimed the track, “Sounded effin’ terrific coming through the radio speakers,” on its second BBC 6 Music spin in just six days.
Al Smith (bass & vocals), Simon Nicholson (guitar), Chris Coates (guitar) and Dean Ingham (drums) take music seriously, taking their name from the biggest landmark and biggest mill in their town where the old economy has long since faded but the scars of industrial revolution still linger. Four friends who have known each other longer than they haven’t, India Mill are a band living the old-school dream, childhood friends making their way from nowhere to somewhere, passing comment en route, chronicling Britain's Big Society as it unravels at the seams. Their penchant for genre bending has ensured the band remains impossible to pigeonhole, and their mission to create a new take on alternative rock is fast becoming their own personal badge of honour.
They’ve already picked up support from the likes of Frank Skinner on Absolute Radio, Tom Robinson on BBC 6 Music, and Artrocker Magazine. Their debut album, Under Every Sky is set for release on 24th November.
Morning Song is out now via Bold Venture Music/AWAL and available to buy digitally via iTunes.
Neil McLaren single ‘Middle Of It All’ out now!
Neil McLaren has released his latest single, Middle of It All, via Two Thumbs.
You can stream the single for free via Neil McLaren's Bandcamp page.
You can also watch the video that accompanies it on Neil's YouTube Channel.
The Scottish troubadour has been making a name for himself north of the border since he started to write and perform in 2012. Following a path first trodden by the likes of Nick Drake in the ‘70s and, more recently, popular artists such as Ben Howard, Damien Rice and David Gray, Neil McLaren has been able to run with these influences and push them that little bit further by creating a sound that is very much his own. This sound has seen him pick up support from XFM Scotland, STV, The Daily Record and Amazing Radio.
Middle of It All is a heartfelt shanty where McLaren’s vocals really are the star of the show. There is a character that shines through his voice, not dissimilar to Ray Lamontagne, as McLaren evokes a feeling of warmth, heart and soul with his lyrical content adding a depth to proceedings. A choral harmony further enhances an already impressive track as McLaren let’s his expressive vocals and lyrics run free. The track is especially important to Neil as the song was written around a time when he felt lost in a melee of disputes and family disharmony. Using the themes as a way to escape these troubles, Neil was able to produce an emotive, heartfelt offering of which many of his contemporaries would be proud.
To support the release Middle of It All, Neil will be playing live dates in and around Scotland. He will also be looking to release another single before his next EP launches in February 2015.
Middle of It All is released today, 17th November 2014, via Two Thumbs and is available to buy digitally on iTunes.
Le Very release ‘The Dive - Brandt Brauer Frick Remix’!
Le Very have released the minimalist and industrial 'The Dive - Brandt Brauer Frick Remix', transforming the track into a deliciously dark and atmospheric dance tune that feeds your body as well as your mind. The track is originally taken from their debut EP Playground, released 24th November 2014 via Zukunftmusik.
Stream and download 'The Dive - Brandt Brauer Frick Remix' via Le Very's SoundCloud page.
The video for EP title track Playground premiered on Gigwise and you can now watch it on Le Very's YouTube channel.
You can also stream the track from Le Very's SoundCloud page or via the embed below.
Their first single, the dynamic EP title track, combines a stoic industrial beat with minimalistic stabs of guitar and an all-embracing polyphonic refrain. On the other end of the spectrum, the cynical peer-pressure hymn 'Marching On' morphs effortlessly from haunting jazz to a euphoric high-life choir, culminating in a striking saxophone solo. In the middle of it all, the orchestral theatrics of 'The Dive', featuring a remix kicked in by Brandt Brauer Frick,
draws from roots-rock technonism, showcasing just how multi-faceted Le Very's sound can be.
Playground incites a style war, which is not about right or wrong, but about love and hate and everything in between, and about just how far the concept of pop music can be pushed in the year 2014.
Playground is released on 24th November 2014 via Zukunftmusik.