Riffed

RIFFED have collated a list of the top 5 young/new artists for 2014. We're expecting big things from the following, and don't be surprised if they do reach the top of the industry by the end of this year. 

5. The Brookes

We recently did an 'Introducing...' interview with The Brookes and now they have made it into our Top 5 Artists To Watch For 2014 list. A Libertines/Oasis/Miles Kane-esque band, a real Britpop/rock gem. We are tipping them to become huge.

4. Childhood

Indie band Childhood have just released their debut album 'Lacuna' and following previous single releases such as 'Solemn Skies', we were expecting this to be a cracker and we weren't let down. Expect Childhood to propel even further forward as a band in 2014.

3. Catfish and the Bottlemen

The Welsh lads have stormed into the media spotlight recently with releases such as 'Kathleen' and 'Rango' and we don't expect them to step out of the spotlight anytime soon with their debut album 'The Balcony set to be released on the 15th September.

2. Johnny Lloyd

The former Tribes frontman has gone solo since the split of the Camden band, but this hasn't affected his brilliance. He was our single of the week with 'Pilgrims' from his forthcoming EP also titled 'Pilgrims', which we cannot wait for. Expect more from Johnny very soon and a tour, we tip him to have a fantastic 2014.

1. Royal Blood

Recently supporting Arctic Monkeys at Finsbury, and having played Glastonbury and with Reading and Leeds to name but a few the Brighton rockers are becoming a household name, but we saw them when they weren't so popular. There was 20 or so people at the Fruit in Hull and it was free entry, yet now look where they, the duo keep on propelling further and further forwards but we expect them to go even further. The best is yet to come from Mike and Ben.

We hope you enjoyed reading our top 5 list of artists we tip to have a brilliant 2014 and we sincerley hope you give them a listen if you haven't yet done so.

RIFFED x

We chatted to Sheffield band Best Friends this week. This is what they had to say:

1) Highlight of your career so far?

Playing with Thee Oh Sees in Liverpool, it was crazy.

2) Favourite gig you've played?

Tramlines 2013 up until our set got cut short; fuck lazy promoters.

3) What can we expect in the near future?

More songs, more shows, more booze, more party.

4) What's it like being in Best Friends?

It's rad.

5) Who's on your playlist?

Beta Blocker and the Body Clock, Poledo, Nai Harvest, The Bohos, Radical Boy, Fruit Tones, The Black Tambourines, Crushed Beaks, Playlounge, Birdskulls, Che Ga Zebra, 2pac.

Cheers Best Friends for the interview. Pleasure.

Listen to Best Friends : http://bestfriendspartyhard.bandcamp.com/

Follow Best Friends on Twitter : @BestFrienddss

Or 'like' their Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/bestfriendspartyhard

RIFFED x

We chatted with Dylan Williams of the band Dumb. They're not as Dumb as their name suggests by the way.

1) What's it like being in DUMB?

Being in DUMB is a great laugh. We are super busy at the moment with our e.p coming out very soon on vinyl, busy is good!

2) Favourite gig of your career so far?

We played a show at the institute in Birmingham with Jaws not long ago and we had about 600 people jumping up and down singing the words back to us throughout, definitely our best show to date!

3) What can we expect in the future from DUMB?

We have an E.P. coming out very soon!!! Going to be a proud moment.

4) Who's on your playlist?

Our playlist changes all the time. Loving Darlia at the moment and revisiting old favourites like Bjork and All Saints.

5) Who are your biggest inspirations?

We don't really have one big inspiration, we just go with an idea and see where it ends up. We like it when a bands songs each have their own individual identity. A lot of bands can come across quite 'Samey', we don't want this to be us.

Cheers RIFFED, Dylan x

Big thanks to Dylan from DUMB for the interview.

Listen to DUMB via their webpage : www.werdumb.com or via Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/user/WeRDumb2013

Follow DUMB on Twitter : @WeRDumb

Or 'like' DUMB's Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/WeRDumb/info

RIFFED x

We spoke to Hull band AFFAIRS this week. AFFAIRS are set for a huge future, as supporting bands such as Dog Is Dead, Coasts, Jaws and Alt J suggest. This is how it went down : 

1) Who are AFFAIRS?

AFFAIRS are 5 dudes from all over the U.K who are based in Hull.

Vocals- James Robinson

Guitar and backing vocals - Liam Grindell

Guitar and synth - Dan Parker

Drums - Mike Bradnam

Bass - Jack Richards

2) What can we expect from AFFAIRS in the future?

We are set to release our new EP 'Muscle' on the 20th June. We will be releasing singles from the EP over the coming months as well as touring the EP as part of a brand new set. Expect to see us across numerous festivals over the summer. Were are really looking forward to tearing it up in Sheffield at Tramlines, we played a show in steel city last week and it was insane. Hope they can live up to that show.

3) Favourite gig of which you've played

A big one for us was supporting Dog is Dead at Fruit in Hull. The crowd were so behind us that night. Really busy and just a really good atmosphere to the night. Any show we come off laced in sweet and the crowd is too is a good one for us.

4) Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Either packing out 02 academy shows with big sweaty masses of cheering people or just packing carrier bags at Asda. Both equally as exciting.

5) Who's on your usual playlist?

We usually have quite a mix of genres on our tour playlist for the van. Can range from Wild Swim and Sohn to Duran Duran really. As long as it's something that gets us nice and pumped for a show we are happy.

We shall link you to the EP when its released. Good to have featured.

Regards

Liam Grindell

Thanks Liam for the interview. Appreciated.

Listen to AFFAIRS via Soundcloud : www.soundcloud.com/affairsband

'Like' AFFAIRS on Facebook : www.facebook.com/affairsband

Or follow them on Twitter : www.twitter.com/affairsband

RIFFED x

We spoke to Michael Freeman, the frontman of Grimsby rockers Kismet Ryding. Kismet are a huge band in their home town, playing gigs left, right and centre. They have recently been touring Europe also, showcasing their incredible music accross the continent. Kismet released their debut EP 'Look. See. Don't. Trip.' which was limited to 100 copies. If you are one of the lucky ones to have a copy, hang on to it as we can guarentee that it'll be worth a few pounds in the future. This is what Freeman had to say to us:

1) Who are your biggest inspirations?

As a band we have a wide array of different influences that overhaul our personalities, I (Mike) take lyrical influence from Eminem and Faithless, as these were two artists I loved listening to when growing up. But now I listen to anything from Electro Swing, to Experimental music of all types.

There is a rumour in the band that Jazz loves his girl bands, but he always denies this..... He claims to have a love for John Bonham and tries to prove it by investing in vintage equipment that he shares with the late legend, and by taking on similar drum patterns and fills. He always is deeply inspired by Keith Moon, and any 60/70s rock. He is also an avid listening to Brit Rock (something that we all share) but he definitely has a Girls Aloud CD somewhere.

Josh's main inspirations stem from Brit Rock and 70s music also, with his favourite guitar piece coined as Stevie Ray Vaughan's take on Little Wing. Josh does have his vices though and we rib him a bit for listening to Paramore, but I personally have never listened to them so I might be missing out! I do wish he would stop wearing his Paramore T-Shirt in public though!

Tom doesn't listen to music - he lives, feels, breaths, and I think even his blood is made out of crotchets and quavers. His inspirations are vast and he absorbs everything that makes him feel good, and he is constantly searching for the next song that will stop a group of people in their tracks, and force them into listening.

2) Favourite gig you've played?

This is a tough question as their have been so many. I think the band collectively agree that when we played Markthalle in Hamburg, something definitely happened - Tom got that in to it he fell over (not missing a note I might add) - and the stage had been graced by so many greats, the room itself had an atmosphere about it. Before the gig we was given a book showing some pictures of past artists that we was sharing a dressing room with, it included a very naked RHCP, and a not so naked Kurt Cobain, donning his infamous 90s baggy Jumper.

My Personal favourite gig was definitely a pub in Scunthorpe, where we wrote a couple of songs instead of doing a set, because the only person in the audience was asleep with his dog at the bar.

3) As fellow Grimbarians, which gig venue in Grimsby do you prefer and do you think there should be more?

Yardbirds is obviously awesome, great sound and layout, cheap drinks and a proper gig feel to it. There is a new venue down Freeman Street called the warehouse, that we have had a jam in but not done a gig, that looks like the real deal in there, cant wait to play that. But in terms of actual Venues, there are non that cater for an intermate audience - Spiders Web in Cleethorpes is always a cracking atmosphere and has the right shape about it, but I think its a case of setting up and playing where ever you can in this town, and people certainly do that, which makes for a great musical community! I think we if added more venues it would saturate the audiences, and we wouldn't have that community spirit that you see at all the local gigs, so I think we are doing alright as it is, its one of the best towns for music i've seen during the time spent in the band!

4) Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Pyramid Stage.

5) Any plans for releases and/or tours?

We are spending a bit of time writing and honing our live set, but we do have recording plans for new songs. We will be releasing our next single from Look.See.Don't.Trip in the not to distant future, and we are planning a town tour in August, which is coming together nicely. www.kismetryding.com for developments on that !

6) Who's on your playlist?

I can only speak for myself here, but at the minute i'm big on Bombay Bicycle Clubs new album, I've recently started listening to the Foals, which is alright - War on Drugs, huge band for me at the minute.... and this crazy band called GRIZ, who just sound like Glastonbury at 3am. All in all quiet a summery set up going on.

Cheers.

Cheers Mike for the interview. Huge pleasure. If you're local to Grimsby, visit The Warehouse on the 14th of June were Kismet are supporting fellow RIFFED introducing artists The Brookes alongside Albion, tickets are only £3.00, so snap them up whilst you can.

Follow Kismet Ryding on Twitter : @KismetRyding

'Like' Kismet Ryding on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/KismetRydinguk

Or visit Kismet Ryding's webpage : http://www.kismetryding.com/

Purchase their debut EP via iTunes : https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/look.see.dont.trip-ep/id71091560

Listen to Kismet Ryding on Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/user/KismetRyding

RIFFED x

 We met Mancs Giant Star and got ourselves with the band aiming to become as giant as their name suggests. Giant Star have recentley released their debut album 'Year Of The Snake' and it has been met b very positive reviews, there's no wonder why. Giant Star are currently going through their Super Nova stage, exploding on to the scene and releasing incredible tunes sending shockwaves accross the music industry. But let's hope unlike out in the galaxy, Giant Star's supernova doesn't end soon. Here's what the band had to say:

1) Who are Giant Star?

The band has an ever changing face with many sides. People come, people go. Currently five, six or seven Mancunians with blood from all over the world.

2) How did the production of the 'Big Time' EP go?

Produced it ourselves at Lisa Stansfields' Gracielands studio in Rochdale, where many legendary albums have been recorded. Such as 'Year Of The Snake' by Giant Star. Available now on iTunes. 99p for a very short period of time. Oops you missed it.

 3) What else can we expect in the future?

We are doing a rare live performance at Sound Control Manchester, Friday 13th June. The 'Big Time E.P' launch party for our next hit single. Then we are back in the studio finishing our second album, which is sounding massive and after being mixed, mastered and shrink wrapped will hopefully take us to many exciting places.

 4) Favourite gig of which you've played?

The one I just mentioned. It's gonna be a top night. Some friends of ours are turning up to play with us, some rich and famous, some rich with infamy, some just richly inflamed.

5) Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

Staring back from the inside of a very long and blackened mirror, possibly wearing Gold headphones by Dr Hook or whatever his name is, whistling the theme to the Rockford Files and reminiscing about the golden age of dreaming.

6) Who's on your usual playlist?

Curtis Mayfield, Primal Scream, The Clash, Sly & The Family Stone, Flock Of Seagulls, Salvador Dali, Eek A Mouse, Jesus & Mary Chain, Smokey Robinson, Picasso, Walt Disney.

Big thanks to Giant Star for the interview.

Like' Giant Star on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/giantstarmusic

Listen to Giant Star on Soundcloud : https://www.soundcloud.com/giantstar

Follow Giant Star on Twitter : @giantstarmusic

Purchase Giant Star's debut album on iTunes : https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/year-of-the-snake/id728469146

RIFFED x

We spoke to Ilkeston's indie rock band The Young and grabbed ourselves an interview with the young guns on the scene.

1) Who are The Young?

The Young are a four pieced indie/rock band that write and perform original pieces of music aswel as performing their twist on a variety of genre of covers.

2) What can we expect from The Young in the future?

Hopefully in the future The Young will be touring around the world sharing our passion for music with huge audiences.

3) Which gig of which you've played is your favourite?

Our favourite gig would be at The Rescue Rooms, great sound and a great crowd we all thoroughly enjoyed it!

4) Who are your biggest inspirations?

We all have many different inspirations a few off the top of our heads would be The Beatles, The Black Keys, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Royal Blood and Arctic Monkeys amongst many others.

5) Where do you see The Young in 5 years time?

In 5 years we have hopefully been able to tour the world performing at our best with some other great musicians and widening our network resources.

6) Who's on your usual playlist? 

Our playlist not only includes all our inspirations especially Catfish and the Bottlemen who we are in love with at the moment but other great artists such as; The neighbourhood, circa waves, royal blood, the beatles, the jam, the clash, kings of Leon the list just goes on forever.

You can find our tracks and more information on our Facebook an reverb nation!

Thanks

The Young

Follow The Young on Twitter : @TheYoungUK

'Like' The Young on Facebook : www.facebook.com/theyounguk

Listen to The Young on Reverbnation : www.reverbnation.com/theyoung4

RIFFED x

This week we caught up with Brighton rockers Tiger Cub. A band of whom have supported fellow Brightoners Royal Blood on their recent UK tour. They've also recently released their new single, 'Blue Bloods', another huge track from the lads with a bright future ahead of them.

1. Who are TIGER CUB?

We are all called James except Jamie is actually called Jamie.

2. What can we expect from you in the future?

Another single (yet to be announced) festivals, tours. Long term - a fragrance, a cable access tv show and our own brand of wafer biscuit. It's Q shaped and it's called a Qiller Qwafer ™

3. You supported fellow Brighton rockers Royal Blood on their recent tour, how did that go?

It was cool, we love those guys and love touring. It was a kinda rifftastic 2 weeks.

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

Dead

5. Who's on your usual playlist?

Mac Demarco

Beck

Bikini kill

Black flag

Dean Martin

Shellac

We certainly hope Tiger Cub aren't dead in 5 years... but we'd like to say a huge thanks for the interview. 

Follow Tiger Cub on Twitter : @_TiGERCUB

'Like' Tiger Cub on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/tigercubtigercub?fref=ts

Visit Tiger Cubs wepage : http://tigercubtigercub.co.uk/

Listen to Tiger Cub on Soundcloud / Youtube : https://soundcloud.com/tigercub / https://www.youtube.com/user/tigercubtigercub?feature=watch

RIFFED x

Grimsby quartet The Brookes are a band looking set to achieve big things. A very Libertines-esque band, headlining gigs around their local town and releasing fantastic britpop/rock EP's such as their latest release 'Taking Over'. We spoke to Jamie Craw, guitarist in The Brookes and this is what he had to say.

1) Who are The Brookes?

The Brookes are a four piece garage rock band based in Grimsby. We formed with the members we have now around January time. We got straight on it writing our own tunes, conveniently enough I (Jamie Craw) already had loads written from the past, so we just jammed out to them really to make them like what you hear on our EP we've just released.

2) You've recently released a new EP titled 'Taking Over', tell us a little about that?

We've just released our EP 'Taking Over' yeah. The tracks on it were a last minute decision really. We always knew Taking Over was gonna be on it, 'cause it's just that one tune that gets stuck in your head, it's that one everybody knows haha.

Taking Over I think was the first song we put together as a band, had loads of different choruses that were utter shite, then sang this one as a sort of joke, especially the four leaf clover bit, and it just stuck. There's not much of a story behind it, it's just really about falling into that stage with a lass where she won't get out of your head haha.

Can't Stand Me Now is the short and sweet one. We like to think it's consistently fast and upbeat. I had Wreckin' Bar by The Vaccines in my head writing this one. The verse and chorus combination just came out really, simple as. I thought it'd sound cool to repeat it, and that was the song finished. Unfortunately we didn't have the solo we play live with this tune written when we recorded the studio version.

Break It Off is a bit slower than the first two, it's just your cliché tune about breaking up with a lass really. It's about getting to that stage where you're starting to get over them, but you're still not quite there. I don't know really haha, it's a strange one.

Alone Together, the track that closes the EP. This is one of my favourite tunes I've written haha. It's just a simple song, again about a lass (common occurrence in our tunes). Despite the lyrics being a bit sentimental, I think this is one of my favourites to play live. I just really like what we did with the solo at the end, it's just melodic and in the background, it's nice haha.

3) Which gig of the many you've played has been your personal favourite?

There's two gigs that come to mind in particular. The one we did at O'Neill's on 2nd of May was good, there was just fuck loads of people there really, it was a quality night despite all our lot getting chucked out when we'd finished playing, yeah that was a good one. Then there's the one we did at Spider's Web on the 31st May. Was a smaller crowd but it was a mad night again, had a stage invasion at the end it was just fucking quality. We're looking to book some more gigs like those two.

4) What can we expect from The Brookes in the future?

Well obviously we wanna bring in massive crowds to all our gigs, and want them going mad really. We're hopefully back in the studio July / August time to do another EP. For the rest of 2014 and 2015 all we really want to do is get out there more. We want to get onto bigger things, support some big acts, and play further out in the UK, make a name for ourselves.

5) Who's on your usual playlist?

I tend to listen to a lot of The Libertines, and The Courteeners. I'm also a massive Orphan Boy fan. Ben's more into his Who and Kinks and stuff like that. Rob likes the same stuff I like really, and all that's on Elliott's playlist recently is The Stone Roses and Twisted Wheel haha. We're also obviously massive Oasis fans too, can't beat Oasis can you?

The Brookes are playing a hometown gig in Grimsby on the 14th of June at The Warehouse with support coming from fellow locals Kismet Ryding and Albion also, tickets are only £3.00 so snap them up whilst you can. These hometown gigs will certainly begin to become a rarity in the near future as The Brookes are set for a huge future. Also, if you're lucky, purchase a copy of the EP via the band. We aren't sure whether there are any left, but if there is, snap them up. 

Big thanks to Jamie for the interview. 

Follow The Brookes on Twitter : @TheBrookesUK

'Like' The Brookes on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/TheBrookesUK

Listen to The Brookes on Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH09eVWKlZOZG13J0YdoveQ

RIFFED x

Curb were formed in the West Midlands in 2013 by Lee Booker (bass) and Tom O'Ryan (Vocals, guitar), Booker and O'Ryan later acquired Joe Booth (lead guitar) and Sam Hunt (Drums). They when went on to release a demo titled, "How Are You Now?", in August 2013  which was followed by various gigs including supporting Royal Blood and Loom. Earlier this year Curb released "So High" which at this point in time has managed to get 46,327 plays on Soundcloud. The West Midland lads will be playing various gigs throughout the year and are gearing up to release an EP in the late summer followed by a tour around the UK, and we cannot wait. After discovering Curb we asked them whether they fancied an interview and they said yes. So, here it is, our interview with Curb.

We recently posted individual playlists by each member on our social network sites if people wanna check those out. We'd like to give a shout out to Heavy Waves though, we'll be playing a gig with those guys and a few other bands at the Hare & Hounds on 20th June.

A big thank you to Curb for taking time out to be interviewed by us and it was a pleasure. If you'd like to check Curb out follow the link : https://soundcloud.com/curbsaysmile

Also, follow curb on Twitter under the handle : @CurbBand

Or 'like' them on Facebook : facebook.com/Curbtheband

RIFFED HQ x