Riffed

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This Competition Is Now Closed - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Fancy seeing The Boomtown Rats at 02 Academy Sheffield on the 22nd October? Well here's your chance.

Simply follow us on Twitter (@riffedonline / https://twitter.com/riffedonline) and retweet this tweet: https://twitter.com/riffedonline/status/510024290088271872

Or

Like us on Facebook (/riffedonline / https://www.facebook.com/riffedonline and like and share this post: https://www.facebook.com/riffedonline/photos/a.536087453180064.1073741828.528095180645958/575612942560848/?type=1

Competition closes on 18/09/14 and the winner will be announced on the same day.

Good luck!

RIFFED x

Sometimes when we're unable to find a new single worthy of our Single Of The Week title we retrace our steps and re-discover a single that made our ears melt from a time ago. That is why 'Dripping Down' by the Mercury Prize Award nominated artist East India Youth is our Single Of The Week for this week. 

Released back in December of last year prior to the release of the synth-pop fuelled MacBook mastered debut album 'Total Strife Forever' that earned William Doyle more than a few plaudits, 'Dripping Down' was hotly tipped. I remember first discovering East India Youth when downloading 'Dripping Down' during its spell as iTunes' Single Of The Week and I've loved it ever since. It's 4 minutes and 16 seconds of pure synth-pop that builds majestically throughout with an ever increasing in magnitude drum beat as well as mechanically engineered stargazing effects before climaxing into a slow and chilled out finish that lets you reflect on the brilliance you've just had the pleasure of listening to. Still to this day 'Dripping Down' is as brilliant as it were upon the first listen.

RIFFED's Rating: 8/10 

Listen to 'Dripping Down' and watch the official video via Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeMmpfZhNoc

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 

Friday. 2 days of sickening intoxication and roughing it in a shabby pop up tent have already taken place. The atmosphere in the Festival Republic Stage has been set with a quick 30 minute set from The Fat White Family with their combination of sleazy blues, and a stage presence that hails both from punk rock as well as grunge. As their set closes a flock of fuzzy headed teens with skinny jeans and pre-rolled joints shuffle towards the dimly lighted stage.

Playing their indie anthems such as 'Mallrats' 'Who Needs You' and 'Southern Comfort', they brought a mixture of fury and melody to the stage. Singer Mario Cuomo climbing the rigging, swinging about with the microphone in his mouth presented the awesome raw savagery that the Orwells possess. His interaction with the audience was a shadow of a young Iggy Pop in the Stooges, with a mixture of crude antics and intense stage presence.

They truly showed that they are destined for greatness with their second album 'Disgraceland' (released in June) they have sold their garage revival to the masses and have a fucking great time doing it.

The Orwells doing what they do best; climbing rigs and flicking cigs.

RIFFED's rating: 8/10

Written by The Bowl. 

RIFFED x 

Though 'Ten Tonne Skeleton' may not be an official single by Royal Blood, it's still been awarded the title of our Single Of The Week for this week for the pure reason of it being absolutely brilliant.

Track number nine of ten on 'Royal Blood', 'Ten Tonne  Skeleton' is undoubtedly our highlight. You would of put your house on it being a powerful yet catchy track and you would of been right, Mike Kerr once again uses his bass as a six string and begins 'Ten Tonne Skeleton' with a toe-tap and head-bang worthy riff that continues throughout the entirety of the track. "Cut loose like an animal. fired out like a cannon ball" are the words that you'll be shouting at the top of your voice from the ever so catchy chorus come 2 minutes and 24 seconds in, prior to this though, a gothical yet ever so brilliant interlude which entails of a choir singing to the beat of Ben Thatcher's symbols. It gets us everytime. A track that reminds us of 'No One Knows' by the mighty Queens of the Stone Age, 'Ten Tonne Skeleton' is a huge hit from an album packed to the rafters with huge hits. 

RIFFED's Rating: 9/10 

Listen to 'Ten Tonne Skeleton' via Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKuaH21LAtg

Purchase the number 1 album, 'Royal Blood', feauturing 'Ten Tonne Skeleton' here: http://www.thestereoboutique.com/en/s/royal-blood/82411

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This Competition Is Now Closed - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Fancy seeing DZ Deathrays at 02 Academy Oxford on the 15th September? Well here's your chance.

Simply follow us on Twitter (@riffedonline / https://twitter.com/riffedonline) and retweet this tweet: https://twitter.com/riffedonline/status/506875739057430528

Or

Like us on Facebook (/riffedonline / https://www.facebook.com/riffedonline and like and share this post: https://upload.facebook.com/riffedonline/photos/a.536087453180064.1073741828.528095180645958/569675859821223/?type=1

Competition closes on 09/09/14 and the winner will be announced on the same day.

Good luck!

RIFFED x

We recently caught up with possibly the most cheerful band in the industry, Happyness. The lo-fi indie band, fresh from performing the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading and Leeds, chatted to us about their debut album, 'Weird Little Birthday', as well as their forthcoming UK tour. 

1 Who are Happyness?

That feels confrontational or we've never done well with big existential questions or us.

2 You've recently released your debut album, tell us a little about this?

We released it ourselves on our label. It's called "Weird Smiling" (the label, not the album). The album, not the label, is called "Weird Little Birthday". We made it ourselves in our studio which we can't use anymore because of neighbour complaints and a collapsing floor. That's called "Jelly Boy Studios". It (the album, not the studio) was meant to be 14 tracks, but we made 2 of those into 1. So now it's 13 tracks, which worried us because we're amateurishly superstitious (we just knock on wood and stuff we don't really know the rules). It was mixed by Adam Lasus so thanks to him, he was a big part of it too.

3 You're going on a UK tour in October, looking forward to this?

Yes. It should be fun. Someone actually pointed out that all the shows are in England so it may be falsely advertised.

4 Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

Well, we're pretty happy just being in a band at the moment, but at some point we'll probably be looking to expand the brand. I think we could do well in the packaged food area - we have an idea for a breakfast sausage with our name written up the middle like Brighton rock.

5 What's next for Happyness?

Well our EP just came out in the UK and it comes in the US in a week or so. So that.

Huge thanks to Happyness for the interview. 

Buy Happyness' debut album, 'Weird Little Birthday' via Rough Trade: http://www.roughtrade.com/albums/83570

Also, purchase Happyness' new EP, 'Anything I Do Is Alright', via iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/anything-i-do-is-all-right/id906654897

Buy tickets for Happyness' October tour and see dates via NME Tickets: http://www.nme.com/tickets/artist/happyness ;

Follow Happyness on Twitter: @Happynessmusic / https://twitter.com/Happynessmusic

And

Like Happyness on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Happynessmusic

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 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This Competition Is Now Closed - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Fancy seeing Twin Atlantic at 02 Academy Sheffield on the 29th of October? Well here's your chance.

Simply follow us on Twitter (@riffedonline / https://twitter.com/riffedonline) and retweet this tweet: https://twitter.com/riffedonline/status/504685316293554176

Or

Like us on Facebook (/riffedonline / https://www.facebook.com/riffedonline and like and share this post: https://upload.facebook.com/riffedonline/photos/a.536087453180064.1073741828.528095180645958/566675320121277/?type=1

Competition closes on 03/09/14 and the winner will be announced on the same day.

Good luck!

RIFFED x

Our Single Of The Week for this week, 'I Wanna Get Out Of Here But I Can't Take You Anywhere', may not be so new in itself, but it most probably will be to those of whom'll be reading this and if it is, you certainly need to give it a listen and quick. 

Ming City Rockers are a band on a rapid rise, after supporting Palma Violets on numerous occasions, the Mings are set to release their self titled debut album on the 15th September and if 'I Wanna Get Out Of Here But I Can't Take You Anywhere' is anything to go by, it could most certainly spark the craze for the Immingham lads that is just waiting to happen. Ming City Rockers are known for their charismatic and upbeat sound and 'I Wanna Get Out Of Here But I Can't Take You Anywhere' just epitomises this. It's a track of which makes you envisage a crowd of people headbanging and jumping around like a bunch of loonatics whilst screaming the ever so catchy chorus as loud as possible. Ming City Rockers cleverly incorporate rock n' roll with punk and especially so within 'I Wanna Get Out Of Here But I Can't Take You Anywhere', as well as adding a short harmonica solo which could only sound right in a Ming City Rockers track. 

If you're yet to listen to 'I Wanna Get Out Of Here But I Can't Take You Anywhere', we strongly advise you listen right now. Expect big things from these lads. 

RIFFED's Rating: 9/10 

Listen to 'I Wanna Get Out Of Here But I Can't Take You Anywhere' via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mingcityrockers/i-wanna-get-out-of-here-but-i

Pre-order Ming City Rockers self titled debut album via Recordstore: http://www.recordstore.co.uk/recordstore/recordstore/Ming-City-Rockers-Signed/3GOA0000000

Written by Charlie Ireland. 

RIFFED x