Riffed

We caught up with post hardcore rock band Cold Summer last week. The quartet from Wakefield chatted to us about there then forthcoming release of their new single, 'Car Crash (In Progress)', as well as a little about themselves. 

1. Who are Cold Summer?

Justin: Well we're 4 guys from Wakefield and surrounding areas who play in i guess a rock band, we kind of do our own thing and we try to achieve this feat by mixing diverse influences from what we're all on into and not hopefully being one dimensional / predictable with our approach to song writing. We've been together now about 3 years, we've progressed quite a lot in that time and we've put out a few releases. Dan Feast sings, Chris Harrison plays guitar, Chris Hepworth plays Bass and I (Justin Eastwood) play drums.

2. You're set to release your new single, 'Car Crash (In Progress)', on September 22nd, tell us a little about the track?

Dan: Well about the subject matter the song touches upon, it's just how is messed up I feel the world is and with the lyrics I felt I need to tackle everything I feel that makes it that way from my perspective and I'm sure other people as well certainly feel the way I do. We experience the same things in day to day life and people can relate to their voice not getting heard and be that in a relationship / politics with one another. Greed and corruption are like subjects I touched upon a lot as we see it on our TV screens everyday in some shape or form, the chorus is about the injustice people face who try and do the right thing / make a positive difference in life and the 'powers above' sweep this under the carpet as it were.

3. 'Car Crash (In Progress)' is supposedly a part of a project for 2015, can you enlighten us on what you have in store?

Chris Harrison: We're pretty much set on releasing a 6 track EP to follow up from our album release last year, we've recorded quite a bit of it up to now (3 completed songs) but we're heading into the studio in about 8 weeks time to finish it off with Mike Bennett, we're actually still writing at the moment, there's a determination to really get a few songs penned down and then we can pick the best 3 that fit in with what we've already laid down, it'll hopefully mean we have a few more new songs to play live as well, even if they don't get recorded at this point.

4. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

Chris Hepworth: Well the way things are moving forward we'd see ourselves playing more festivals and just hopefully touring the world with hopefully a few great recordings to show for it.

5. What's next for Cold Summer?

Justin: Well we have a few tours, tours and rumours of tours flying about at the moment, so we have plans in action for that but we can't confirm at the moment but hopefully at least one before the year is out! We also have a couple of shows before the end of the year too, so even though we're pretty focused at this moment in time on writing, we're still out there playing shows. So yeah we've got the EP release to look forward to early next year so again it's a busy period for us till then.

Big thanks to Cold Summer for the interview. 

Listen to Cold Summer's new single, 'Car Crash (In Progress), via their official Bandcamp page: http://coldsummer.bandcamp.com/

Follow Cold Summer on Twitter: @coldsummeruk / https://twitter.com/coldsummeruk

Like Cold Summer on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColdSummeruk

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

We chatted to Manchester based indie band Mirror Gorillas this week. With influences from the likes of The Strokes to The Libertines the quartet are aiming to become a hit within the highly competitive indie scene of the industry nowadays. 

1. Who are Mirror Gorillas?

A snake, a neek of the century, a bouffant and a Jamie slate.

2. Who are your biggest inspirations musically?

Our biggest inspirations are most probably The Libertines, The Smiths, The Strokes, We Are Tombola, Blur, The Stone Roses, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Oscar Wilde.

3. You've recently come under the management of Owen Howard of our friends over at fellow music blog, POND. How did this come about?

It just all fell into place and then Jamie got really angry and he punched a magpie.

4. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

Harry: "At the bottom of a canal somewhere in Manchester."

Butcher: "Due to the chaotic nature of the universe, there are too many variables and we cannot begin to predict the outcome of the efforts of the next hour let alone 5 years."

Jamie: "Headlining Glasto."

Tim: "@8utch3r still being a neek begging us to favourite his tweets."

5. What's next for Mirror Gorillas?

Harry: "Dunno."

Jamie: "Headlining Glasto."

Tim: "Smash hits... QM."

Butch: "Soundcheck at The Roadhouse for our gig at The Roadhouse... am I being post-modern?"

Huge thanks to Mirror Gorillas for the interview. 

Listen to Mirror Gorillas via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/MirrorGorillas

Follow Mirror Gorilas on Twitter: @MirrorGorillas / https://twitter.com/MirrorGorillas

Like Mirror Gorillas on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirrorgorillas

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

We caught up with The Four Fours for the second time this week. After introducing them to you previously via our 'Introducing...' section, Chris, Matt and Rich were up for another chat on the topic of their debut single release, 'Go'. This is how it went down. 

1. How's things been for The Four Fours since we last spoke?

Pretty good! Our debut release of 'Count To Ten' and 'Messing With History' was well received and we are still picking up airplay, both at home in the UK and also in the states, we are really grateful to those stations.

2. You're just about to release your new track, 'Go', tell us a little about this?

It's a song about ending it with someone and wishing that the memories would be wiped away by them leaving. Chris came up with the music a few months ago and demoed it at home, playing all the parts himself. It's not changed a lot since then, Matt added the words and melodies, we tightened it up and rearranged it a little bit, and then recorded it properly. It's quite an interesting piece musically, with lots of jangly chords and an unorthodox timing. There is influences from bands like Cable, The Foo Fighters, and even The Smashing Pumpkins in there.

3. Have you got any plans for a tour in the pipeline at all?

We're thinking about doing some gigs later in the year, maybe just a short run. We'd love to do some gigs around Halloween and really get into the vibe by building a cool set, dressing up and encouraging gig-goers to wear fancy dress too!

4. What's next for The Four Fours?

At the minute we are concentrating on pushing 'Go' ready for its release on September 29th - you can check it out now via SoundCloud. We're about halfway through recording our debut album, we'll be heading back into the studio in October to get a few more songs finished off.

Big thanks to The Four Fours for the interview. 

Listen to The Four Fours and their debut single, 'Go', via Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/thefourfours/go-1

Follow The Four Fours on Twitter: @thefourfours / http://www.twitter.com/thefourfours

Like The Four Fours on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thefourfours

Visit The Four Fours official webpage: http://www.thefourfours.com

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

Possibly our greatest discovery via 'Introducing...' so far? Introducing to you a name we're more than sure you'll be hearing a lot more of in the coming months, Jim Valentine. Though the quartet have only released one track as of yet, boy is it a blinder. 'Make You Mine' incorporates the sound of Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane into a kind of Last Shaddow Puppets super-giant. The debut has already been recieving prime-time airplay on Xfm and the future is looking huge for the Rock n' Rollers. For this reason we thought it was important we got in touch with the band in question, this is how it went down.

1. Who are Jim Valentine?

We are James, Carlo, Charlie and Alekzander. (Valentine)

2. You've so far only released one track, this being 'Make You Mine, will there be any others released in the near future? ‎

Yeah, we've just finished recording a double a-side single. We started in March or April (can never remember) and have been gigging like crazy so this will be our first 'official' release.

3. Your sound has been compared to likes of Miles Kane and Arctic Monkeys, how does it feel to hear your sound being compared to big names like these?

It's great that people dig our vibe enough to suggest that we have something in common with successful artists although we don't tend to pay much attention or necessarily agree. I suppose that kinda thing is meant for the punters rather than a validation for us.

4. ‎Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

Touring hopefully. We love seeing the whites of their eyes. The rest is bullshit.

5. What's next for Jim Valentine?

We're going to release the double a-side and then tour it. The anticipation is palpable.

Huge thanks to Jim Valentine for the interview. 

Listen to 'Make You Mine' via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jim-valentine-music/make-you-mine

Follow Jim Valentine on Twitter: @TheJVsound / https://twitter.com/TheJVsound

Like Jim Valentine on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jimvalentinemusic ;

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x

Recently we caught up with Brum band Last Light. The quartet offer a powerful and alternative plectrum-spamming sound that sounds something like Twin Atlantic and You Me At Six's love child and for this reason we thought we'd grab an interview with themselves. 

1. Who are Last Light?

We're an Alternative band from Birmingham. We've been mates for ages, we all went to school together in Birmingham but now we've decided to start a band and make music together.

2. Who are your biggest inspirations musically?

Musically i think we're most inspired by Alternative bands like Brand New, Manchester Orchestra and Deftones. I think vocally we draw influences from Alexisonfire and people like The Weeknd.

3. Which track out of the two you've released, those being 'Waves' and 'Shelter', do you feel as though best describes you as a band?

I think out of the two, Shelter probably sums us up. It's quiet and loud and we try and make it as heavy as possible live. Shelter is quite a dark song musically and lyrically and that is definitely the direction that defines us as a band.

4. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

That's a hard question, we don't even know where we'll be in 5 months time! Hopefully we'll have a few festivals and tours under our belt with an album to play to people. I think if you start setting yourself unrealistic long term aims as a band you become disillusioned when you don't reach what you've got in mind. It should be about having fun with your mates and meeting new people and playing gigs rather than having this intricate long term plan of what you're going to do. We're just going to play gigs, write music and have fun with it and see where it takes us.

5. What's next for Last Light?

We're trying to sort out the release of the EP and hopefully next year a small UK tour, maybe a weekender somewhere. We've been lucky to support some great bands so far, so if we can keep doing that and learning from them, we should be in a good place.

Big thanks to Last Light for the interview. 

Listen to Last Light via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lastlightuk ;

Follow Last Light on Twitter: @lastlightband / http://www.twitter.com/lastlightband

Like Last Light on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lastlightuk

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

In recent times there has been a surge of female solo artists appearing on the scene, from the likes of Kate Tempest to Lauren Aquilina to Rae Morris to Chloe Howl and so on and so on. This appears to have inspired Daisy Victoria, a powerful indie-grunge solo artist thats certainly making a name for herself via her raw yet melodic sound. After featuring in NME's Radar and recieving airplay from Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1, we finally managed to catch up with Daisy. 

1. Who is Daisy Victoria?

Daisy Victoria is I and I am a solo artist.

2. You released your EP, 'Heart Full Of Beef', in March, tell us a little about that?

‘Heart Full Of Beef’ was released in March this year and it’s had a wonderful reception for which I’m extremely grateful. Huw Stephens played the single on his Radio 1 show and Lauren Laverne and Mary-Anne Hobbs, both of BBC6Music, played tracks too. I was also invited to represent BBC Introducing at Latitude this summer on the back of the EP which was super exciting! I'm thrilled by, and extremely grateful for the lovely feedback I've received from people who've listened.

3. Who and what are your biggest inspirations?

I love all kinds of music, it all inspires me. Independent film, and walking too.

4. Who's on your usual playlist?

It''s Bob Dylan and Captain Beefheart majority of the time.

5. What's next for Daisy Victoria?

I have a new EP (‘Nobody Dies’ coming out on November 3rd, and I’ve assembled a 4 piece band to play some live shows in London, amongst a few solo Norwich shows, including supporting Martha Wainwright on 31st October at EPIC Studios which I’m really excited about. I have a couple of videos coming out soon too, to accompany the single and another track from the new EP.

Big thanks to Daisy Victoria for the interview. 

Listen to Daisy Victoria's 'Heart Full Of Beef' EP via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/daisy-victoria/heart-full-of-beef/recommended ;

Follow Daisy Victoria on Twitter: @Daisy_Vic / https://twitter.com/Daisy_Vic ;

Like Daisy Victoria on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daisyvic ;

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

This week we chatted to former Northen singer/songwriter Lukas Creswell-Rost. Now habitating in Berlin, the 80's synth-pop fueled solo artist released his latest single 'Ten Dollar Cocktails' on Monday and was up for a little chat about it prior to release as well a little on himself. 

1. Who is Lukas Creswell-Rost?

That's me. As a musical project its also just me, but I've been helped on the recordings by various other people. I'm from Leeds, UK, but I live in Berlin.

2. What are the biggest inspirations‎ for your sound?

For this new album of mine coming I'd say it would be a combination of my favourite analogue delay pedal, some gated reverb, my 80's synth, a smattering of bitterness, and listening to far too much music by Jim O'Rourke and Prefab Sprout.

3. Which moment of your career so far has been your highlight?

Maybe doing a tour where I was part of a backing band with my dad. We supported Mike and The Mechanics.

4. You're set to release your new single, ‎'Ten Dollar Cocktails', as well as its video. Tell us a little about this?

It's the first single from the album and a first release for the new label set up with a friend, Plain Sailing Records. The song was written as a direct result of buying an old anologue synth on ebay and messing about with the new sounds on it. It existed as a demo for ages until good friend James Yates got hold of it and recorded a slamming Phil Collins style drum part to it. Then I knew it had to be finished. I like that it's a very simple song with just three chords and the total antithesis of most of my other songs. It alludes to an air rage incident of Swedish neo-classical metal guiatrist Yngwie Malmsteen, so for the video I went on a trip to Sweden with film makers Bruno Derksen and Henrike Meyer where we filmed intensely for two days and nights. The result is this video, plus 2 more! I'm damn happy with it all.

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time? And, what's next for Lukas Creswel‎l-Rost?

I'll have a few more albums under my belt. I'll also be keeping the record label I've just started in maintenance. And more to boot I expect. Next up is releasing the album 'Go Dream'. Then a vague plan to make two EPs; one instrumental, and one of more folky fingerpicking songs.

Big thanks to Lukas for the interview. 

Purchase Lukas Creswell-Rost's latest single, 'Ten Dollar Cocktails' via Bandcamp: http://plainsailingrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ten-dollar-cocktails

And 

Listen and watch the official video via Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SALwnpXKek4&feature=youtu.be

Follow Lukas Creswell-Rost on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lukascreswell / @lukascreswell 

Like Lukas Creswell-Rost on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lukascreswellrostmusic ;

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

We recently chatted with hi-fi indie rock band, Fragile Creatures. The quartet released their debut self titled EP on the 31st August and were up for a short chat about it as well as a little on themselves. 

1. Who are Fragile Creatures?

Fragile Creatures are Adam Kidd (vocals, guitar), Aaron Neville (keys, vocals), Tom Alty (guitar, vocals), James Crump (drums) and Adam Whittles (bass).

2. You've just released your self titled debut EP, tell us a little about this?

We recorded this EP in parts of 2012 and 2013 - the release has been delayed by a year, due to unfortunate circumstances so we're really glad to have it out. It collects together tracks we recorded while the band was being formed so it's a lovely document of that time. We've had a great response already and we're hoping now that we're finally able to share it with the world it well help to put us on the map.

3. What has been the highlight of you career so far?

We've just spent two weeks in Bath recording a début album. I'd have to say that has been the highlight as I'm really proud of the results already and it's not even mixed yet. We recorded the band playing live together for the majority of it and kept the over dubs to a minimum. It's great that the band has come so far we're able to focus in the studio and capture the elusive beast that songs can become - when you're under pressure to get things right it can be hard to find the right feel. This time I think we really nailed it. We had a great time doing it too - we have a lot of fun together!

4. Who would you associate your sound with?

I'm probably not best qualified to say - we sound like a lot of different bands depending on who is listening! I'd love to be associated with groups like Grizzly Bear or Vampire Weekend who've been really into lately, but I suspect we're quite a different beast, in our way. If I were to deconstruct our song Fragile Creatures I could say it combines ideas from The Smiths and Radiohead; similarly Sunshine takes inspiration from The Clash and Stevie Wonder - but the end result is quite different and you wouldn't necessarily associate our music with those artists if you listened to it. We've been compared to bands we've never really listened to that much - people like Squeeze or 10CC. We seem to have a bit of a musical melting pot going on, but not deliberately so, we just play what we feel like playing and hope for the best.

5. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time? And, what's next for F‎ragile Creatures?

In 5 years time I'd love to be sitting on a beach somewhere, sipping cocktails, wealthy beyond my wildest dreams! Seriously though I would love to still be making music with these guys and to be making a decent living out of it. Right now we're in EP mode and doing whatever we can to get that out there - to let people know who we are! We're also going to put the finishing touches to the album we've recorded and then hopefully find a decent platform to release that from. It's all go, go, go at the moment and I feel pretty excited about it all. The future's looking good.

Big thanks to Fragile Creatures for the interview. 

Listen to Fragile Creatures self titled debut EP via Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/fragilecreatures

And purchase the EP via their Bandcamp: http://fragilecreatures.bandcamp.com/

Subscribe to Fragile Creatures Youtube channel: http://youtube.com/fragilecreatures

Follow Fragile Creatures on Twitter: @fragilecreature / http://www.twitter.com/fragilecreature/ ;

And Like them on Facebook: http://facebook.com/fragilecreatures

Also, visit Fragile Creatures official webpage: http://fragilecreatures.co.uk/

Written by Charlie Ireland.

RIFFED x 

Recently we chatted to Jordan Brown, A.K.A Palms Vincent. The solo artists from Wiltshere describes his sound as that of a combination of Tame Impala, The Beatles and The Doors and we wouldn't argue about that. Although he is yet to play a gig, expect to be hearing big things from Palms Vincent in the near future. 

1. Who is Palms Vincent?

Palms Vincent is I, a solo project with various featuring musicians. Palms Vincent was created because of the pure love for 60’s psychedelia, 80’s new wave & motown instrumentation.

2. Who are your biggest inspirations?

A combination of the experimental sounds of Tame Impala and mid-period Beatles with the classic craftsmanship of The Doors.

3. Favourite gig of which you've played?

Unfortunately there has been no gigs of yet. 

4. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

In 5 years time... playing lots of gigs and festivals. Also, winning a mercury prize and playing a 12 string guitar

5. What's next for Palms Vincent?

What's next is to knuckle down and write some gratifying pieces of music, along with a busy gigging schedule.

Huge thanks to Palms Vincent for the interview. 

Listen to Palms Vincent via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/palms-vincent

Follow Palms Vincent on Twitter: @palmsvincent / https://twitter.com/palmsvincent ;

And 

Like Palms Vincent on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/palmsvincent

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

Recently we chatted to Belgrave, the three piece from Swansea are an electronic and snyth-pop fueled group, not to disimilair to that of Pixel Fix infact and despite unveiling to us that they are yet to play a gig, expect this to change in the near future. If you're a lover of electronic pop, Belgrave will most certainly be right up your street.

1 Who are Belgrave?

Belgrave are Elliot Nicklin, Simon Parton and Edward Bayes and we're based in South Wales. 

2 Who are your biggest inspirations?

Classical music is a huge inspiration for us, such as Steve Reich, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Philip Glass and Jonny Greenwood. Of course, electronical and ambient music is an ispiration for us too, such as Burial, Four Tet, James Blake and Eno. But, we also like a bit of rock too.

3 Favourite gig of which you've played to date?

Unfortunately we've played no gigs together as Belgrave as of yet. But we've all gigged a lot with previous bands and as individuals and they were all pretty cool.

4 Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

In 5 years we'll still be making the music without a doubt, as well as working with our business.

5 What's next for Belgrave?

What's next for us is to realease a new EP, possibly a mini album even. Also, some small and intimate local gigs.

Big thanks to Belgrave for the interview. 

Listen to Belgrave via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/belgraveuk ;

Follow Belgrave on Twitter: @belgraveuk / https://twitter.com/belgraveuk

And

Like Belgrave on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Belgraveuk ;

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x