Riffed

We caught up with Harper this week, the quartet from East London and Essex are a band with big ambitions and their latest EP, 'Mono No Aware', provides solid evidence that they could well be set to reach lofty heights. 

1 Who are Harper?

We're a four piece band from East London/Essex, and our sound, I guess, can be placed somewhere in between blues rock and alternative rock. We've been together for just over a year, and we also make up part of the 'Lock Up Rock' conglomerate.

2 You've recently released your new EP, 'Mono No Aware', tell us a little about this?

Sure thing. We recorded it in February at Shelter Studios and it was produced by Dominic Rippel. It's currently streaming for free from our Soundcloud page.

3 Who are your biggest inspirations?

It really differs, depending on who you're talking to and when you're talking to them. I suppose you could say our main influences stretch from Led Zeppelin to Outkast.

4 Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

That's a difficult one. We just try and take it one song at a time... obviously we have big ambitions, but we're aware of the hard work we need to put in to achieve them. Hopefully, in 5 years time, we'd be continuing to write and release music we're passionate about - what would be the point otherwise?

5 What's next for Harper?

We're currently working away in the studio and hoping to get something new released before the summer's out. Other than that, we're looking to organise our next night under the guise of 'Lock Up Rock' with more details soon to be released, and then towards the autumn and winter months we'll be getting out to some cities other than London. Our current shows that are booked in are:

22nd August - Old Brentwoods Rugby Club, Brentwood (Phoenix FM's 'Phoenix Fridays')

28th August - Surya, Kings Cross

15th September - Hoxton Underbelly

Big thanks to Harper for the interview. 

Listen to Harper's new EP, 'Mono No Aware' via their official Soundcloud page: https://soundcloud.com/HarperBandUK

Follow Harper on Twitter: @HarperBandUK / https://twitter.com/HarperBandUK

And 

Like Harper on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarperBandUK

Visit Harper's official webpage: http://www.harperband.co.uk/

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

We chatted to English speaking yet Italian bred band Last Rudders this week. The Italians have recently released their new track, 'Films', and were on hand to tell us a bit about it. 

1 Who are Last Rudders?

We are a three piece indie rock band from Italy. In spite of being three Italian lads our songs are written in English.

2 You've recently released your new track 'Films', tell us a little about this?

We released 'Films' as an introduction to our first demo EP, which was recorded live and released earlier this month, and it is its opening track as well. It has this kind of dark atmosphere we're into, along with a strong presence of the rock n roll vibe. Although it was written as a single piece, it's like a collage of more situations both in sound and lyrics, which is frequent in our songs. It's important to us because we think that it's one of our most representative songs so far, in these terms.

3 Who are your biggest inspirations?

Our sound it's a mixture between indie bands like The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes, with also some influences from classic bands like The Velvet Underground, Guns N' Roses, The Kinks and Led Zeppelin. And from stuff like Queens of the Stone Age and Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, too.

4 Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

Hopefully playing bigger shows, maybe outside of Italy because we think rock n roll doesn't really get the recognition it deserves here.

5 What's next for Last Rudders?

We're already working on new songs. We're going to hit the studio again after the summer, so we guess it won't be long until we put out something new.

Big thanks to Last Rudders for the interview. 

Listen and download Last Rudders' debut EP, 'Last Rudders / EP' via their official Bancamp page: http://lastrudders.bandcamp.com

And listen to 'Films' via Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESd1Ekzrtg4

 Also, listen to Last Rudders via their official Soundcloud page: http://soundcloud.com/lastrudders

Follow Last Rudders on Twitter: @lastrudders / http://www.twitter.com/lastrudders

And

Like Last Rudders on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lastrudders

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

We recently chatted to Nolita View. The quartet have recently recieved airplay on stations such as Xfm and Amazing Radio and were up for a quick natter about it as well as a bit about themselves. 

1 Who are Nolita View?

Nolita View are Mike Clarke, Will Jacks, Tom Northeast and Alex Smyth.

2 Who are your biggest inspirations?

There are a quite a few, some you may or may not hear come through in our music. Talking Heads, particularly their live DVD 'Stop making sense' is a big favourite. Also The Replacements 'Let it be' is played a lot. The best thing I've heard this year has been a band called 'Ought', their song 'habit' blew me away - worth looking up. And recently a guy called 'D D Dumbo', looking forward to his album.

3 Your track, 'Fall In', has recieved airply Xfm and Amazing Radio, how does it feel to hear your music on the radio?

It's been nice hearing the tracks on radio stations like Amazing radio and XFM mainly because we have a lot of respect for the other bands that get played during the same shows, every time I listen I find 3 or 4 great new bands. 

4 Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

Regretting poor life decisions.

5 What's next for Nolita View?

We have at least 4 news songs that we are excited to start recording, this should begin next month. Then I expect some more gigs. 

Big thanks to Nolita View for the interview. 

Listen to Nolita View's track, 'Fall In', as played on Xfm and Amazing Radio, via Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik3TODr_e38&feature=youtu.be or Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nolitaview/fall-in

Follow Nolita View on Twitter: @nolitaview / https://twitter.com/nolitaview

And

Like Nolita View on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/nolita.view

Visit Nolita View's official Bandcamp page: http://nolitaview.bandcamp.com/

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

Earlier this week we caught up with Another Man's Poison. The rock 'n' roll three piece from Grimsby have recently released their debut album, simply titled 'Another Man's Poison's LP' and were up for a short chat about it. 

1 Who are Another Man's Poison?

We're a three piece rock and roll band... well I guess you could generalise us as a rock n' roll band, we tend to write music for ourselves and our influence is hailed from many different genres which shows through in our music. 

2 You've recently released your debut album, 'Another Man's Poison LP', tell us a little about this?

Our home-produced album came from an EP we wrote and recorded in January, and had written since October/November last year, we kept writing more and more songs that we wanted to include in the EP, and by the time we'd recorded most of them our production skills had got so much better, so we just rerecorded and rewrote them all, ended up with nine tracks, so chucked in a couple of covers and marketed it as a (25 minute) 'album'.

3 Who are your biggest inspirations?

Well this week they are Fidlar, Wavves and Rancid, I'm sure the others would argue differently, but we tend to have mutual maximum respect for Twisted Wheel, Social Distortion and The White Stripes.

4 Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

In 5 years time I hope we're still coming up with cool ideas and running over to each others houses to jam and progress them with each other, we're so like-minded and it's ace.

5 What's next for Another Man's Poison?

We have a New EP in the works! It's gonna be a concept EP about surfing (none of us surf). 

Huge thanks to Another Man's Poison for the interview. 

Download Another Man's Poison's debut album, 'Another Man's Poison's LP', via there official bandcamp page for free: http://anothermanspoison.bandcamp.com/album/another-mans-poison-lp

And also listen via their official Soundcloud page: https://soundcloud.com/anothermanspoison

Like Another Man's Poison on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AMPUKROCK

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

BABIES chatted to us this week, though their name may be decieving, they're not actual babies. The three-piece from Hull are set to play Humber Street Sesh next Saturday, something of which RIFFED is very much looking forward to, and Babies also gave us their take on this years event as well as telling us a little about themselves. 

1 Who are BABIES?

Yo...BABIES are Ryan, Joe and Sam.

2 You've recently released new tracks, 'Plush' and 'Makeout', tell us a little about these?

Welll the 2 songs couldn't really be anymore different. When we did PLUSH we wanted to try and make something new sounding compared to 2048 and RUNFAST so we recorded it somewhere new and took a bit more time putting it together. I think we've all had moments were we are unsure about it but since its come out the response has been awesome.. I think most bands go through times of thinking they suck.. And if they don't, well then they do just probably suck MAKEOUT/BREAKOUT i think we recorded as a reaction to PLUSH being so produced and felt, I unno, a bit guilty about it. So we wanted to do something that was closer to our live sound. We recorded and mixed it ourselves and its pretty much just a live recording with some oohs and handclaps.

3 You're playing Humber Street Sesh this year, something of which we're very much looking forward to you, is it the same case for you?

We are STOKED to be playing Humber street.. We didn't apply to do it cos we were bizyy doing stuff and then got asked anyway so we was double stoked. Its just a sick day whether you play or not. And the atmosphere is so chillled. The guys who put it on have done such a great job. Were on early so hopefully we will catch a few passers by at that time..

4 Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

5 years is a ridic amount of time.. Probably serving someone chicken. Were having the best time at the mo, and we've got some coool stuff coming up so we just enjoy it. We just want to get better, we practice more than any band we know, we've done ok but we want to improve how we sound live a lot.

5 What's next for BABIES?

Wellll we have a few offers of bits from different people but we will wait and see. We'll probs head back in the studio. Wanna do something which makes people go "WOW"... that and get tattoos, and better gigs, and sun, yanow. Stuff.

Huge thanks to BABIES for the interview. 

Listen to BABIES new tracks, 'Plush' and 'Makeout', via Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/ild0o0mn0rqp

Follow BABIES on Twitter: @BABIESSICK / https://twitter.com/BABIESSICK

And

Like BABIES on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/babiessick?ref=ts&fref=ts

Fancy seeing BABIES amongst plenty more bands at this years Humber Street Sesh? Wristbands are only £3! Purchase them via the Hull Box Office here: https://www.hullboxoffice.co.uk/tickets/buy_ticket/188

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

We caught up with Venture this week, the 5 piece fronted by Lucy Burrows have recently been signed up by ScreamLite Records and were willing to chat to us about it as well as a little on themselves. 

1 Who are Venture?

Venture are; Lucy Burrows on vocals, Miles Burrows on guitar / vocals, Mike Hargreaves on drums, Josh Fairhurst on bass and Thom Mutch on guitar.

2 You've recently released your new EP, tell us a little about this?

Yeah, we released it about this time last year and the reception was phenomenal. We took a lot of time to get the songs sounding exactly how we had envisioned, and it paid off. The reviews have been nothing but positive which amazes us, and people are even still buying the thing, after a year!

3 You've also recently signed with ScreamLite Records, how did getting signed feel?

It was unreal, at the end of 2013 we said to ourselves, next year, we'll aim to get signed to an independent label, we thought the EP as a whole was more than good enough, so we set to work writing to every label we could think of. Screamlite were lovely with us, talked us through everything we needed to know as amateurs and gave us a deal we couldn't refuse. The partnership we have with them is one I think a lot of bands would envy, everything gets discussed between us and them it's a really good relationship we have.

4 Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

Ideally we'll have an album or two out, and hopefully good ones! A few tours under our belt, hopefully get out of England once or twice. We just want to continue to make music, and Screamlite have given us that future. As long as the tunes are still good, and relevant, we'll keep writing them.

5 What's next for Venture?

We're recording a single in August, hopefully to be released before the end of the year. It's an absolute banger as well, so keep your eyes peeled.

Huge thanks to Venture for the interview. 

Listen to Venture via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/miles-burrows

Follow Venutre on Twitter: @venture_music / https://twitter.com/venture_music

And 

Like Venture on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VentureMusicOfficial

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x

Recently we chatted to cLOSERS, the punk-rock quartet released their latest EP, 'cLOSERS or LOSERS' in January and were up for a quick word with us about it and themselves. 

1 Who are cLOSERS?

We're just four guys with a passion, and we're trying to do our best to realise the dream of making this passion becoming our lives. We really love music, and we do our best to improve on our own musical work every day.

2 You've recently released a new EP, care to indulge?

'cLOSERS or LOSERS' was released in January, and it's our first EP. We're really glad of the goals we reached with this album. All the seven songs have been broadcasted several times by web radios in UK and US, having good reviews and appreciation from the people they reached. It's such a great thing for us, and we're proud of our work, first of all because it mirrors what we wanted to express and what we wanted to tell everyone at the time we were working on it.

3 Who are your biggest inspiration?

We're all inspired by those bands which were our teenage myths, you know, Blink 182, Green Day, The Offspring, NOFX, New Found Glory, and so on. By now, many years have passed, and everyone of us has his own favourite bands and musician, but we still have all that pop-punk rock bands as milestones of our music inspiration.

4 Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

Well, we hope you can see us sharing worldwide stages with great rock bands, playing all around the globe and still working hard, every day, on our own music and dreams!

5 What's next for cLOSERS?

New stuff's almost ready, we're collaborating with ScreamLite Records in the near future, and it's such a big deal for us. All the new songs are going to be very different from the ones of 'cLOSERS or LOSERS', but we can't reveal nothing in advance because we want to fix on them the best as we can. Hope you'll enjoy them!

Big thanks to cLOSERS for the interview. 

Listen to cLOSERS via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/weareclosers

Follow cLOSERS on Twitter: @we_are_cLOSERS / https://twitter.com/we_are_cLOSERS

And

Like cLOSERS on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weareclosers

Written by Charlie Ireland

RIFFED x 

We caught up with Dancers earlier this week. The band from the Vale of Clwyd in North Wales have recently released their debut album, 'What You Want I Can’t Get It All But What I Do I Do It All For You', and were up for a quick chat about it. 

1 Who are Dancers?

Dancers is a five-to-six piece noisy pop band with our roots in the Vale of Clwyd, North Wales. We've been playing together for a while but life just keeps getting in the way. We're back from a two year hiatus and we've finally managed to keep everyone in the same country for long enough to get our debut EP finished.

2 You released your debut album 'What You Want I Can’t Get It All But What I Do I Do It All For You' on the 19th, tell us a little about this?

It's a record that's been a long time coming. We began recording it in 2012 in various spots around the UK with the aid of Alun, our elusive producer. I (Daf) moved to Canada shortly afterwards and the idea was to finish mixing it via email. It turns out that this is quite a difficult thing to do, and, coupled with the fact that a lot of the original takes weren't up to scratch, we decided to shelve it until I was back in the country. So, it exists in a bit of a time-warp really, it's an image of a band from two years ago.

3 Who are your biggest inspirations?

I learned the guitar around the Smashing Pumpkins and that shapes the way I approach the instrument and probably the way I sometimes sing. That kind-of fuzzy aesthetic leaks through our music. I was listening to a lot of post-rock when I was at my most impressionable so bands like Mono and Explosions In The Sky had a huge impression on me at the time; I still can't resist a massive dynamic change in a song, it gets me every time.

4 Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

I think we'll still be making music, all of us, in one way or another. I don't think our music is too conducive to achieving success but that's almost never been the point for a lot of bands. In all honesty, we'll all probably be working in offices, smashing our heads into screens and sighing louder each year the Glastonbury lineup is announced. But y'never know, y'know?

5 What's next for Dancers?

First of all we'll be celebrating the launch of our record at Four Bars at Dempsey's in Cardiff on Saturday, July 26th (that's this Saturday). There's a double A-side in the works that should be out later this year. Lots of writing and recording, gigs, momentum, beer mats, rehearsed dance routines and maybe we'll even get the chance to sit down and take a nice promo photo of ourselves.

Big thanks to Dancers for the interview. 

Watch the video to 'Feeling Ill Again', taken from Dancers debut album via Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/100873955

Download Dancers debut album via their official webpage: http://dancersband.wordpress.com/

Listen to Dancers debut album via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dancers

Also download their debut album via their official Bandcamp page: http://dancers.bandcamp.com/releases

Follow Dancers on Twitter: @dancersband / https://twitter.com/dancersband

And

Like Dancers on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dancersband

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

Recently we chatted to Thunderhank, the Americans have recently released their self-titled debut EP and were on hand to introduce themselves. 

1 Who are Thunderhank?

Thunderhank is comprised of brothers Henry and Samuel Bellingham.

2 Favourite gig of which you've played?

Our favourite gig was at Kung Fu Necktie in Philadelphia. The sound was great, the people who worked there were really nice and a bunch of our friends made it out to see us.

3 Who are Thunderhank's biggest inspirations?

We have a LOT of inspirations but recently a couple specific bands have been really been influencing the new material we're working on. Konk, a New York City band from the 80s, have a song called "Your Life" that we've been playing over and over for more than a year now. There's something amazing about a dance tune that's undeniably badass. Also it's just a blast to throw on at a party. Another song that we've been feeling is "Life's a Scream" by A Certain Ratio for all the same reasons. It's cool, confident and a little bit funky. We're hoping that this style of dance music shows up in our own songs. I could go on forever about Grace Jones, Brian Eno and Michael Jackson but those two songs should serve as a good indicator of where we're headed stylistically.

4 Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

In 5 years we would like to be playing nighttime sets at festivals. And it would be so much fun to find a great singer to produce a pop record for. Both of those things have been dreams of ours for a long time.

5 What's next for Thunderhank?

The next move for Thunderhank is to release this ep we've been working on and hopefully reach a bigger audience through it.

Huge thanks to Thunderhank for the interview. 

Purchase Thunderhank's debut EP 'Thunderhank' via iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/thunderhank/id684993782

Listen to Thunderhank's debut EP 'Thunderhank via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thunderhank

Follow Thunderhank on Twitter: @Thunderhanky / https://twitter.com/Thunderhanky

And

Like them in Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thunderhank

Visit Thunderhank's official Bandcamp page: http://thunderhank.bandcamp.com/

RIFFED x

RIFFED caught up with Michael Persall this week, the singer/songwriter from New York is set to release his 'This & That' EP this September and was willing to tell us a little about it. Although Michael Persall may be an unfamiliar name to many here, across the pond Persall is becoming a popular figure, don't be surprised if you hear his name being branded over here anytime soon. 

1 Who is Michael Persall?

I'm a 20 year old singer-songwriter living in New York City attending New York University. I'm from Carmel, California, and I'm pretty much like any other 20 year old you'll find. Love playing and watching sports when I'm not writing or gigging.

2 You're releasing your 'This & That' EP in September, tell us a little about this?

This is a project that I have been working on for about 6 months now. I began recording demos for it and wrote a ton of songs in the winter. I connected with my producer, Doug Schadt, in March, and since then we have been recording the songs and working on the production. The EP as a whole is really just based off of personal experiences, and sort of acts as a timeline for my life the past couple of years. I decided to title it "This & That," because I don't like super deep titles that no one understands. This & That is simple and pretty self-explanatory.

3 We are from the UK, any plans to tour over here?

I was just over there actually last week! I definitely plan on coming back this year and maybe for an extended period of time next summer.

4 Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

In five years I expect to be a very successful touring and recording artist while also working consistently as a songwriter for other artists.

5 What's next for Michael Persall?

After releasing this EP in September, I'll make a video for each song and gig throughout the fall to promote it. I'll also start recording the following EP in the Fall and early winter to release sometime shortly after the new year.

Big thanks to Michael Persall for the interview. 

Listen to Michael Persall via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/michaelpersall and Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelPersall

Follow Michael Persall on Twitter: @MichaelPersall / https://twitter.com/MichaelPersall

And

Like him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelpersall

Visit Michael Persall's official webpage: http://www.michaelpersall.com/

RIFFED x