63 – ‘Blackfoot Circle’, ‘Code500’ and ‘The Worms’
Blackfoot Circle:
“Blackfoot Circle….. Two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer and a singer. All with the same desire for what they do and for where they want to be.
The band are from Portsmouth, England, where you can hear their songs playing from any open window and where a sell-out Wedgewood Rooms crowd can be heard singing their lyrics on any given Saturday night.
Fresh off the back of winning Hard Rock Cafe’s UK Battle of The Bands competition, where they received glowing reviews from judges James Curran (Absolute Radio), Jemma Downey (Live Nation) and James Walsh (Starsailor), The band’s belief and reputation are growing fast. This and their recent appearance at Bestival being covered by ITV’s Meridian News has created a real buzz in and around their local area.
They now hope to achieve the same following nationally as they have in their home town. Music trends are forever changing and Blackfoot Circle feel that they are the band to be the catalyst for the next shift to make guitar music great again.”
(Info obtained from the band’s facebook page here)
Code500:
“Code500 are an Alternative band from Northampton, UK
Several studio recordings early 2010, soon became live sessions, bringing together different musicians, experimenting with a new sound. Since then, Code500 have become well known, playing live at, and hosting various club nights. The band have successfully gigged in and around London and recently performed at the BBC’s Introducing. The band are currently putting final touches to their much anticipated debut EP, set for release in the coming months.
Delivering a massive wall of sound , Code500 are best described as a modern fusion of Rock n Roll, Trip Hop and Dance”
(Info obtained from the band’s facebook page here)
The Worms:
www.reverbnation.com/thewormery
“The Worms are an English trio of folk and electronic musicians. In 2005 we began playing songs about ornithology and architecture at open mic nights in Reading. Our soul is gothic, our mind is psychedelic, our roots are progressive, our attitude is punk, our tradition is folk, our tools are electronic. Over the last 5 years, we have recorded sessions for WFMU in New York, been broadcast on Resonance FM in London, been broadcast on homegrownradionj.com in New Jersey, been broadcast very regularly on KPOV in Bend, Oregon, played live in session on Resnonance FM in London, produced 4 demo recordings and performed as a solo, duo and trio in Reading and London, UK, and Seoul, South Korea. Our newest demo is called “Strife Cycle”. We soldier on.”
(Info obtained from the band’s Reverbnation website – link above)
42 – ‘The Lost Boys’, ‘The Doll Mechanics’ and ‘Sam Batt’
The Lost Boys:
www.myspace.com/officiallostboys
“Witty and catchy Indie Pop from Southampton. If you like your music short, sharp, quirky and yet touching, then hopefully you’ll like ours.”
(Quote obtained from the band’s facebook page)
The Doll Mechanics:
“The band was formed by lead singer/songwriter Lauren James. Drummer Sam Wilmott and Lauren attended music school together and had been playing in various band formations in London over the last year. In February 2011 they welcomed new guitarist Daniel Jones and bass player David Rudin to their new identity… The Doll Mechanics!”
(Quote obtained from the band’s facebook page)
Sam Batt:
“Her songs have an unusual quality of honesty, depth and humour very much belonging to the craft of songwriting and what it takes to move someone, mixing heartfelt story-telling with catchy melodies and clever quirky lyrics that make you smile and stand strong enough alone to carry a solo acoustic performance.
Her voice is emotive and charismatic, sweet seductive tones that can break your heart, make you laugh and turn you on all in the space of 20 seconds.
Live she makes you feel that the songs are written and performed just for you, even in a crowd of thousands. Sam Batt’s unique sound lives in the spaces between Chrissie Hynde, Jamiroquai, Manu Chao and more traditional acoustic flavours of artists like Jack Johnson, Joni Mitchell and Mouse – her voice also has a raw, dynamic quality more akin to Cerys Matthews or Stevie Nicks.”
(Biography info obtained from the artist’s website)
31 – ‘Some Velvet Morning’, ‘Electric Penguins’, ‘Rams Pocket Radio’ and ‘ Age of Giants’
Some Velvet Morning:
“Rock band start a revolution! Amazingly in only 6 weeks Some Velvet Morning raise a staggering £100K album launch budget with new model record label My Major Company UK.
Some Velvet Morning’s lead track on their forthcoming album “How To Start A Revolution” was on the international trailer for ‘Kickass’, the Matthew Vaughn Hollywood blockbuster. Their distorted basslines and pounding beats have woken up audiences around the world offering them a sound to believe in again – “You won’t fool the children of the Revolution.”
Some Velvet Morning like to do things differently. Recording live to tape, rather than computer in their large north London studio, the Fish Factory, the band have built momentum over the last three years with a series of radio friendly gems including BBC and XFM playlisted singles ‘Losing My Mind’ and ‘Propaganda’ from album “Silence Will Kill You.”
‘Losing My Mind’ took the band to the states to record a show (Fearless) for Fox TV, followed by a tour of the East Coast. It wasn’t long before the rest of the world caught on. Some Velvet Morning have taken their sound to the South of France, Russia and most recently Asia, where the band performed for 3000 fans as part of the Heineken Greenspace festival.
Some Velvet Morning’s roof top publicity stunt nearly got them arrested: With a nod to the Beatles, the band shunned council authorities by performing live on the roof of the PRS For Music in London, blasting their cries of the revolution across six blocks around Soho. Oxford Street also hosted another ‘heritage’ gig this year, when Some Velvet Morning supported the legendary Yardbirds at the 100 Club in February. Shows with The Levellers, Reef and at the British Moto Grand Prix at Silverstone followed.
Whilst learning from masters of the UK’s buoyant musical past, Some Velvet Morning continue to break new ground by veering away from the normal pop fodder of teenage crushes and heartbreak, preferring instead subjects such as religious tolerance, western political indoctrination and McCarthyism.”
(Quote obtained from the band’s facebook page)
Some Velvet Morning‘s “How To Start A Revolution” featured on the International movie trailer for Kickass:
Electric Penguins:
www.electricpenguins.get-ctrl.com
“Electric Penguins are back to tempt you with their self-recorded and produced long player entitled “II”. The 12 track feast of psychedelic cuts slides dreamily between electronic, folk and ambient soundscapes with acoustic and club elements dispersed throughout the record. Whirly and trippy audio effects, vocoders, moogs, mellotrons, organs, deeply layered strings and naked pianos mash and mix to maximise melody. Amongst the delights featured are the folksy love song to London, “Highgate Hill” and the kraut-club inspired combo-track“Airships/Soundproof 45”.
With live supports to Devo, Annuals, Sebestian Tellier and krautrock legends Roedelius prompting gushing reviews like this…“They led the audience through a delightful soundscape, lit up superbly by angelic vocals and magical lyrics. Splicing together bits of Kraftwerk, Laurie Anderson, Sigur Ros, The Postal Service, Pink Floyd, Alison Moyet and Brian Eno with old English folk ballads the band weave a remarkably rich audio tapestry”(Hot Press)…it’s little wonder the Penguins live rep as a “must see audio visual experience” is rock solid.
In addition to widespread domestic critical acclaim, Nic Harcourt has also supported Electric Penguins on his highly influential Morning Becomes Eclectic programme on L.A’s KCRW Radio and UK trade mag Music Week featured the Penguins as a high point of Irish music scene talent on their recent sampler. Mark Cummins has formerly collaborated with Pink Floyd’s orchestral arranger Edward Shearmur and contributed to endeavours with Massive Attack cohort Gavin Wright. Paul Murphy is a Dublin based producer of various rock bands and composer of multiple tv and film projects.”
(Quote obtained from the artists’ Official Website)
Rams Pocket Radio:
www.myspace.com/ramspocketradio
“RAMS’ POCKET RADIO is Peter McCauley, a drummer, pianist, jack-of-all and songwriter from Lisburn, Northern Ireland. Unfettered personal expression is the impetus of the project, and with the timeless works of the 1950’s product designer, Dieter Rams’, in mind; purity, simplicity and longevity are the first concerns.”
(Quote obtained from the artists’ facebook page)
Age of Giants:
(No biography info available on the artists’ website)
25 – ‘Club Smith’, ‘Dustland’, ‘Southern’, and ‘Gorgeous George’
Club Smith:
(No biography info available on the artist’s website)
Dustland:
(No biography info available on the artist’s website)
Southern:
www.myspace.com/thisissouthernmusic
“Hailing from Belfast, Southern are a musical trio consisting of siblings Thom and Lucy Southern and one of the best exports of the past 12 months. Lead vocalist and songwriter Thom Southern got his start busking around Belfast and Dublin for pocket money. At the tender age of 17 he won ‘Belfast Busker of the Year Award’ which gave him a coveted slot in the Belfast Nashville festival. Through the festival he won the ‘Katherine Brick Award’ for ‘Young Songwriter of the Year’. Soon afterwards Thom joined together with his sister Lucy and their childhood friend Jonny Lee.
It was not long afterwards that Southern began to make a big impact on the Belfast and Dublin music scene playing with well-known artists such as John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Steve Harley, Nanci Griffith, John Hannen, Benitta Hill and Iain Archer.”
(Quote obtained from the band’s facebook page)
Gorgeous George:
www.gorgeousgeorgetheband.tumblr.com
“Gorgeous George play a mixture of balkan folk, eastern european jewish klezmer, and manouche jazz, with cockney voices and lyrics about overtime, saturday afternoon results and everyone wearing the same bloody aftershave. bonjour.
We like eastern europe and south west london and we’re here to unite the two.
We are currently working hard on our debut EP ‘Dangle The Carrot’ for a mid-may release and doing lots and lots of gigs.”
(Quote obtained from the band’s facebook page)
22 – ‘For Abel’, ‘The B.Goodes’, ‘Neo Ferns’ and ‘Dakota Beats’
For Abel:
“We are For Abel. We make music. We want to make you sad because we feel like that too sometimes. We want to make you happy because thats what everyone wants to be.
Since acquiring limbs we have have flown far afield as showcasing at SXSW in Texas, as well as playing much closer to home in fields and lesser established premises. For Abel have been featured by BBC Radio’s Steve Lamacq, Vic Galloway, Huw Stephens, Colin Murray, Tom Robinson & Jim Gellatly and have also been digitised on the wireless by many others including XFM and NME Radio. The Skinny, Art Rocker, NME and numerous British tabloids have also thrown their arms towards For Abel in loving fashion.
We Are For Abel
You Are For Abel”.
(Quote obtained from the band’s myspace page)
The B. Goodes:
www.myspace.com/thebgoodesband
“The B. Goodes were formed with John Brett & Phil Jackson writing and recording in late 2008 and by Summer 2009 were joined by Jay Goodrich & John Randall (formerly of Rosalita), with a shared view to write and perform original music taking influence from the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s. The sound which came out was a mixture of beat, surf, soul and rock ‘n’ roll. The B. Goodes are an energetic and dynamic live act with the emphasis very much on having fun.”
(Quote obtained from the band’s myspace page)
Neo Ferns:
“Neo Ferns is the musical vehicle of London based singer-songwriter James Andrews. Formulated around a love of the acoustic guitar, he began developing a sound from an early age with the intention of taking the genres of folk and pop in a different direction. Although heavily influenced by the greats of those styles, the real focus of the music is to create atmosphere and space, combining a soft and reserved vocal style with thoughtful lyrics, he’s always enjoyed the art of music experimentation, resulting in a haunting but undeniably distinctive form of indie-folk. That’s not to say he isn’t fond of collaboration. The project has seen the work of several musicians contribute to provide a dynamic and complex sound.
The project is attracting lots of attention at the moment, both on the airwaves from radio play, and around the streets of London Town from many successful recent shows, such as supporting Merge signed Wye Oak on their first European Headlining Show, it’s a representation of the years of hard work and determination towards the project. This is what Spoonfed.com said “Ethereal, minimal pop makes for comforting listening. Minor tweaks and seemingly insignificant electro-bleeds can transport an average group to a great one. Neo Ferns have done just that, going that extra mile has evidently paid off in their indie-electro airy squeezes. “. The recently released ‘Five Weeks’ E.P on Octopus Escape signalled a changing sound, with a more standard rock approach. But like every release in the past, the sound has always changed, being the beauty of the project as it evolves. Who knows what’s coming next?”
(Quote obtained from the artist’s Official Website)
Dakota Beats:
“Dakota Beats are a 5 piece Indie band based in Dudley. From the ashes of The E-Go’s the Dakota Beats are set for a very exciting 2011. Dakota Beats have gig dates booked nationwide and management in the form of Jolene Chalk. Dakota Beats have recorded their first 3 track EP called ‘No New Faces’ with Editors, Ocean Colour Scene and The Twang producer Gavin Monaghan”
(Quote obtained from the band’s facebook page)
London Unsigned Music 