54 – ‘MoCara’, ‘Criminal Brainstorm’ and ‘Derider’
MoCara:
“MoCara are a four-piece alternative/punk/ska band from Leatherhead in Surrey. MoCara’s sound is thick with loud melodic guitars, thundering funk-driven bass lines, intense pummelling drums, ska grooves, big choruses, passionate lyrics and loads more; all of which come together with a shared obsession with creating our own vibe: A vibe that we want to spread as far as possible.
That MoCara sound has taken the band to some of the best venues in London and South East England as well as a minor headline slot at Guilfest. It has also taken the band far in many competitions; most notably to the final of Jar Music Live’s Maldives Breakout Festival at the O2 Academy Islington.
The bands first EP, ‘The Shallow South’, was released in June 2011.”
(Info obtained from the band’s facebook page here)
Criminal Brainstorm:
Derider:
“Bursting through the seams of Brighton, this explosive quintet have been relentlessly hitch-hiking across stages, brushing arms with the likes of Cerebral Ballzy and Abdoujaparov and earning a slot on Ipswich Music Day’s main stage. The band, consisting of fireball figurehead Whitnee Springfield, guitarists Sin and Rayna Vandèl, bass player Chuck Tango and sticksman Nate Marcus are now in the process of writing the material that will become their debut album.”
(Info obtained from the band’s facebook page here)
50 – ‘Hot Panda’, ‘Rotifer’ and ‘Auction For The Promise Club’
Hot Panda:
“Hot Panda are just two boys and two girls from Edmonton trying to do the same thing they’ve always tried to do: play some kind of rock and roll that’ll make people dance and feel happy…Simple stuff!
These kids -Maghan Campbell (drums), Chris Connelly (vocals, guitar), Catherine Hiltz (bass), and Heath Parsons (keys, accordion) – have toured so much in the past few years that their shabby van, $30 motel rooms, and stranger’s floors feel more like home these days than their own beds. Since the release of their first EP (2008’s Whale Headed Girl) and their subsequent signing to Vancouver’s Mint Records, the band has zigged and zagged their raucous live show across North America (ok, minus Mexico, but still…) and Europe on planes, trains, and automobiles until they thought they might die!
They’ve snapped pictures of themselves under the Eiffel Tower, played on a stage once graced by the Beatles in Hamburg, and visited royal palaces in Vienna, all when they went on tour opening for the Von Bondies across Europe in April, 2009! They’ve also had wonderful times playing at festivals like SXSW in Austin, Texas, CMJ Music Marathon in New York, and North of the border at Pop Montreal, Halifax Pop Explosion, Sled Island in Calgary, and NXNE in Toronto. Along the way, they’ve played with lots of other bands they love, like Art Brut, The Raveonettes, Tokyo Police Club, Chad Van Gaalen, Electric 6, Crystal Antlers, and lots more. So, in short, it’s been some kind of adventure!
Yet, as great adventures often go, this one suffered some moments of ugly struggle. November 2009 marked the departure of one of their founding members, shortly before the band was supposed to record their sophomore release. However, despite this sad and unsettling blow, the band kept their heads held high long enough to snag Catherine Hiltz as their new bass player/multi-instrumentalist. Hiltz’s arrival, however, has majorly revitalized the band- it’s a long story, but in short, Hot Panda is having fun again, and they’re damn happy about it!
How Come I’m Dead? (Out on Mint Records October 12, 2010), a follow up to 2009’s acclaimed Volcano…Bloody Volcano!, was written with Hiltz and recorded at Vancouver’s JC/DC studios during the chaos of the 2010 Winter Olympics. It has a playful sense of humour to it, revealing the band’s sense of relief and the return of ridiculous good times since Hiltz’s arrival. Like Volcano, How Come I’m Dead draws inspiration from music’s most random corners- the album has moments of dreamy noise, circus freak dance, heartbreaking country ballads with screeching metal guitar solos, lovely harmonies, psychadelic drones, and straight up pop/rock numbers. There’s even a hip-hop track, which includes a bass scratch solo and enough f-bombs to earn them an adult content warning sticker- which tumbles directly into a grinding techno song!
Watch for Hot Panda in a town near you this fall- joyfully dispensing their new rock and roll tunes as they tour North America starting in September!”
(Quote obtained from the band’s official website)
Rotifer:
Auction For The Promise Club:
www.auctionforthepromiseclub.co.uk
“Recently listed in the Marie Claire UK Playlist alongside Florence and the Machine and I Blame Coco, 2011 is year proving to be a for the unsigned band,Auction for the Promise Club.
Introduced on BBC 6 Music by Tom Robinson and on XFM by John Kennedy as well as regional BBC Radio Show’s across the country, the female-fronted rock band have garnered critical acclaim for their unique sound, which channels shoegaze through giant hooks and huge choruses.
2010 saw Auction for the Promise Club support Paolo Nutini and Martha Wainright at the Eden Sessions and also Reverend and The Makers. The band has racked up performances at some of the country’s most renowned venues, including Liverpool’s Cavern Club, Birmingham’s Gatecrasher and the ICA in London, as well as headlining a closing show at London Fashion Week, Jalouse, Mayfair. ”
(Quote obtained from the band’s official website)
48 – ‘Krossbreed’, ‘Bletchley Park’ and ‘The Insight’
Krossbreed:
“KROSSBREED stands for non-compromising metal. It’s a mixture of 4 different minds and 4 different ideas about metal formed into one hard and heavy unit, in other words a crossbreed of their own creativity.
KROSSBREED was formed in 2003 in Antwerp, Belgium. KROSSBREED has no real boundaries, what leads to a style of metal that is hard to name. But one thing we can agree on is that it’s a band that will take you to every corner of the metal world. Going from fast ripping riffs to catchy mind breaking tempos, KROSSBREED has it all.”
(Biography info obtained from the band’s facebook page)
“
Check out Krossbreed‘s Music video for “Ashes of Tomorrow” – a song from their album “3 Cheers for the Misery”:
Bletchley Park:
www.myspace.com/bletchleyparkband
“Bletchley Park is growing to become a high-aspiring band in the indie scene. Highly influenced by bands Editors, Interpol and Bloc Party amongst others, the female-fronted quintet has produced a distinctive sound that continues to catch the interest of many.”
An indie rock band with a particular sound in mind, one you are to discover.
Bletchley Park first took its novel tunes out of the garage during the Rookie’s Battle of the Bands of June 2009 which brought together (or against each other) twelve bands from contrasting genres. The band made its way through to the finals until it was announced winner of gigs in Copenhagen, Denmark and of a production project with renowned British producer Paul Powell.
The band started off its in-studio experience with David Vella, from Temple Studios Malta, who left a trail of his musicality in five original pieces: ‘Alien’, ‘Dust’, ‘Hold The Trap’, ‘The Last Star’ and ‘Fake Smiles’.
The first single released – ‘Alien’ – was in the Maltese charts for over 12 weeks and hit the number 1 spot on XFM’s Homegrown chart and Bay Radio’s Malta’s Top 10 chart. ‘Alien’ is currently being aired on UK Radio 10 – The Varmint show:www.varmintshow.net
In the mean time, the band was promoting its music through a number of public appearances on TV shows and radio interviews while having press releases published in the printed media.
Bletchley Park’s second single ‘Hold the Trap’ has also made it to the top place in the local charts – Bay Radio’s Malta’s Top 10 & also those of the Malta Music Charts(Smash).
Bletchley Park have been nominated for the Best New Artist Award of the Malta Music Awards 2009 honouring their achievements in just a few months.
The band has myriad plans for the coming years, the nearest being rocking Copenhagen and production of an album with Paul Powell during Summer 2010 in Ibiza.”
(Biography info obtained from the band’s facebook page)
The Insight:
“The insight est un groupe breton, de rennes plus exactement …le style musical est dans la lignée de The Cure, Joy Division, Interpol.
La nouvelle vague bretonne écume à nouveau les terres arides de nos platines. Et Rennes retrouve son statut de scène innovante quelque peu égarée depuis Marquis de Sade. L’intermède des Transmusicales ne faisant qu’importer une fois l’an un savoir faire trop bien caché. The Insight a en revanche choisi la langue de Shakespeare pour convoler en juste noce avec la créativité. Une différence de taille qui pénalise d’entrée toute diffusion radio, trop dépendante des quotas « chanson française ». Oui, côté musique, il ne suffit pas de naître en France pour être français. Et si The Insight chantait en Breton, ils seraient français ? Allez savoir… Côté influences, la bonne pioche serait les cartes Cure et Joe Division à n’en pas douter.”
(Biography info obtained from the band’s facebook page)
37 – ‘Eliza Jaye and The Tarts’, ‘Codes’, ‘Air Castles’ and ‘The Good Suns’
Eliza Jaye and The Tarts:
www.myspace.com/elizajayeandthetarts
(No biography info available on the artist’s website)
Codes:
“C O D E S . are an alternative/electronic quartet from Dublin, Ireland. Expansive yet melodic. Powerful yet delicate, their music colours the void between the ambience and longevity of soundtrack music and the energy and immediacy of live music..
Soaring vocal harmonies, dreamy arrangements and a calculated cryptography of electronic beats, piano, glockenspiel and analogue synths permeate their sound.
Codes debut album “Trees Dream In Algebra” which was recorded in Gloucestershire UK & mixed in Auckland, New Zealand with acclaimed producer Greg Haver (Manics, SFA) and mastered in NYC by Greg Calbi (U2,Interpol,Kings of Leon) is out now. It was the winner of Best Album 2009 in Phantom FM Dublin’s annual awards, is featured in hotpress magazine’s top 200 Irish albums of all time and was nominated for The Choice Music Prize 2010.”
(Quote obtained from the band’s facebook page)
Air Castles:
“Air Castles is a London based band led by Swedish born singer-songwriter Max Mansson.
Starting off as a home recording project in 2008 by the then 19-year-old Mansson, Air Castles has since recorded an EP and an album together with Magnus Lindberg of Cult of Luna.”
(Quote obtained from the band’s facebook page)
The Good Suns:
(No biography info available on the artist’s website)
34 – ‘Jax Walker’, ‘Chaser’, ‘Some Skeletons’ and ‘Wyndham North’
Jax Walker:
“A culture clash, Jax Walker is a musician / producer & illustrator interweaving a deadly combo of classic Hiphop with sprawling, electronic indie. A brain blast of Pulsating Basslines, Bulletproof Beats, Trashy Keyboards and Human Voice, the most fun you can have with your own ears!
Backed by his head turning live band, Jax regularly packs out some of the most notorious haunts across the country, recent gigs include the Waterats, The Deaf Institute, Nottinghill Arts Club, Antwerp Mansion, Proud Camden, the Night & Day et al. With future ear bursting releases on the agenda, expect big things over the coming months.”
(Quote obtained from the artists’ myspace page)
Chaser:
(No biography info available on the artists’ website)
Some Skeletons:
(No biography info available on the artists’ website)
Wyndham North:
(No biography info available)
33 – ‘Cult With No Name’, ‘Evaney’, ‘SpyGenius’ and ‘Statuesque’
Cult With No Name:
“‘Post-punk electronic balladeers’ Cult With No Name, comprise the East London duo of Erik Stein and Jon Boux. Having been the first international signing to LA label Trakwerx in 2007 (founded by Jackson Del Rey of Californian punk legends ‘Savage Republic’), ‘Cult With No Name’s two studio albums to date – ‘Paper Wraps Rock’ and ‘Careful What You Wish For’ – have been met with considerable critical acclaim.
Leading UK music journalist Mick Mercer proclaimed the band his discovery of 2007 (with both albums sitting in his subsequent annual top ten lists), Blaine L. Reininger of genre-transcending legends ‘Tuxedomoon’ collaborated on their second album, Don Letts spun tracks on BBC6, and more recently Brett Anderson (Suede) asked ‘Cult With No Name’ to open for him for the launch of his new album.
Having provided the music for two blacker than black comedies at the Edinburgh festival (‘Moz and the Meal’ and ‘Bored Stiff’), it’s fitting that ‘Cult With No Name’ turned their attention to cinema for their first DVD release, ‘Lightwerx: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’. Cult With No Name’s compulsive and compelling soundtrack extends their ability to instantly create evocative moods over 51 breathtaking minutes, on a journey that takes in mystical ambience, nerve-shredding distortion, popular and unpopular song, electronica, and vast, futurist soundscapes. ”
(Quote obtained from the band’s facebook page)
Evaney:
SpyGenius:
“An electric 4 piece band who use a 60s vocabulary to craft 21st century music with a postmodern twist.
If you appreciate the jangle-meistering of the Byrds and Beatles, the harmonies of Crosby, Stills and Nash and the lyrical wit of Robyn Hitchcock, you’ll love Spygenius.”
(Quote obtained from the band’s Official Website)
Statuesque:
www.myspace.com/statuesquemusic
London Unsigned Music 