Posts Tagged ‘jules’

TAPEtoTAPE lives!

As the eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed, TAPEtoTAPE has been very quiet recently… As excuses go there is a good one, well I think so anyway!

Having spent nearly a month in America with Kodiak Jack recording their second album time has escaped me slightly.  Having been cooped up with Tesla’s Brian Wheat at his newly refurbished J Street Recording Studio for many weeks it has been a struggle to get back up to speed with life back in Blighty.  But we are almost there. Almost.

Over the next few weeks we will be tweaking the TAPEtoTAPE website, revealing the new look logo and of course most importantly, bringing you plenty of reviews news and features.

Coming very soon there will be a fantastic retrospective interview with Status Quo from Pete Makowski’s archives, new interviews with Brian Wheat and SoulMotor’s Darin Wood plus loads more!

TAPEtoTAPE lives, the future is unwritten… well, our future will mainly be written but you get what I mean.

Allsorts – Nudy Bronque

There is always a worry that as soon as you label anything as ‘kooky’ that it conjures up visions of mad aunts and those people who always insist on sitting next to you on a bus, even if the entire thing is empty.  In this case however it is a compliment, Nudy Bronque are so effortlessly off-beat it is impossible not to fall for their charms.

With Movement and Sitting Pretty from their last EP easily in my Top Tunes of 2012 list, the prospect of new material, and the chance to hear it first, was certainly a good start to 2013.

Allsorts is the first track to be released from the three piece line up and has all the hall marks of a classic Nudy track.  Built around a slower, almost lounge lizard groove, it is the lyrical imagery they conjure up that lifts Nudy Bronque so far above many of their peers.

Bringing to mind the likes of His ‘n’ Hers / Different Class era-Pulp or even The Divine Comedy, they find the romance in the day to day and make it all seem just a little seedy too.   Lead singer Aidan is part crooner; part indie troubadour, narrating the woes of others and sounding more than a little like Jake Shillingford.

Refreshingly free of the usual Oasis/The Libertines rip offs that most ‘indie’ bands seem to rely on these days, Allsorts is the sort of song that reminds you that indie can be clever and interesting, not just generic and dull.  My favourite tip for big things in 2013… Maybe, definitely.

Jules says…

Allsorts is out in February, to find out more visit the Nudy Bronque website HERE.

Kodiak Jack team up with Brian Wheat (Tesla/SoulMotor) for album number two!

After a successful 2012 playing gigs up and down the country, several festival slots and plenty of airplay, the time has come for Kodiak Jack to move on…

The debut album Your Death: My Glory received critical acclaim across the board with Room Thirteen calling it “an album that sounds truly epic”, Uber Rock declared it “a top notch debut album, chock-a-block with catchy anthems” and Classic Rock magazine stated “Their debut is assured and urgent”… That however was then, and this is very much now.

January 2013 will see Kodiak Jack returning to the studio to record their sophomore effort and confident that they can eclipse their début with their best songs to date.

We are very proud to announce the band will be recording the new album at J Street Studios in Sacramento, California and that Brian Wheat, bassist with US rock giants Tesla will be taking on production duties.

Having worked with the likes of Deftones and Papa Roach as well as Tesla and SoulMotor, we are excited to be able to follow in the footsteps of some of the USA’s finest exports.

Brian has become a fan of Kodiak Jack over the past year, so when the opportunity to work with him came up we all naturally jumped at the chance.  With his experience on both sides of the mixing desk combined with his ear for a rock anthem we couldn’t wish for a better choice to lead Kodiak Jack to the next level.

Brian will be coming over to the UK for a week of pre-production before we head over to the States to begin the recording process.  Ahead of this Kodiak Jack will be playing at the Deco in Portsmouth on Saturday 19^th January and unveiling some of the new tracks from the album for the very first time.  We may just be able to get Brian along to attend as well…

Recording begins on the 27^th January for four weeks, during this time we will be filming a documentary of the sessions and there will be daily blogs from members of the band so you can keep up with the progress of the album.

Kodiak Jack and Angry Badger Records would like to thank everyone for their on-going support and look forward to being able to share the new material with you all very soon.

The new Kodiak Jack album will be out on Angry Badger Records in Summer 2013, to be preceded by a single in May (tbc).

You can find out more about Kodiak Jack by visiting their Facebook page HERE.

To keep up to date with all future releases you can join the Angry Badger Records Facebook page HERE.

The Insurrection Chart on The Lock In

Only on 103.9 Voice FM

Happy New Year!!  The Insurrection Chart is back and we are all excited to see what will be the first Number One of 2013.  Here are the choices for this week’s Chart, 20 tracks to choose from, vote for as many as you like, it is all down to YOU!

Brother Goose just clung on to the top spot to make it to the Christmas Number One, but they were pushed right to the last minute by FlashFires!  The first Number One of 2013 is down to you…

The Insurrection Chart will be on every Thursday evening between 6-8pm, on The Lock In on 103.9 Voice FM. You can listen on line as well, just follow the link above. All shows are available on ‘Listen Again’ too so you can always catch up if you miss any shows.

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Running In The Family (25th Anniversary Edition) – Level 42

If ever there needed to be proof that fashion is a fickle beast, then surely the 80s is a case in point.  Whilst once derided for the questionable hairstyles, unfortunate clothes and a long list of bands sporting both, the 80s have gone through something of a resurgence, or at least re-evaluation, over the last few years.

Some acts of course fair better than others under the harsh light of the 21^st century, Spandau Ballet for example still irk me more than is rational whilst Simple Minds earlier work seems more appealing with each listen.  However, despite their omnipresence in the later part of the decade, my over-riding memories of Level 42 are of Mark King’s bass emblazoned with the LEDs up the fret board rather than the music… or so I thought.

Spawning no less than five Top 40 hits, including the Number 3 title track, Running In The Family saw Level 42 at their commercial peak but ultimately it would be the album that split the band.

The album has the classic crisp, electronic production of the late 80s and the remastering has added an extra crispness to the sound.  Thankfully the quality of the songs themselves serves to counter any negative thoughts you may have about the 80s sheen, even if the smooth jazz-lite of It’s Over does sound like the soundtrack to a dinner party serving shrimp cocktail and Babycham.

To Be With You Again and Fashion Fever allow Mark King’s thunderous thumb the chance to do what it does best before ending on the earnest social commentary of Freedom Someday.

There is plenty to explore throughout the bonus tracks and nothing says the 80s like a Shep Petitbone Remix, present and correct amongst the extras.  More interestingly there are six ‘Acoustic Re-interpretations’, recorded for this release they see the songs stripped down to a far more basic set up.

Lessons In Love still shines, whilst it lacks the driving throb of Mark’s bass the melody is still as infectious as ever.  Running In The Family and Sleepwalkers also work well, only Freedom Someday feels a little stretched.

The three live tracks taken from the 1987 live video have been lovingly mixed and mastered, capturing just enough atmosphere but ably demonstrating just how good Level 42 were outside of the studio as well as in it.

The band would never be the same again after this; creative differences and exhaustion saw the departure of both Phil Gould and Boon Gould and commercially Level 42 would not surpass the success of RITF.  25 years on this album still offers something to the nostalgia hunter as well as the new comer, good pop never goes out of fashion; thankfully shoulder pads did.

Jules says…

To find out more about Level 42 you can visit their official website HERE.

Simon Townshend – Port Washington Library, Port Washington NY – Friday 7th December 2012

Sat on a train leaving Manhattan for a destination little more than a name on bit of paper was not how I expected to be spending my holiday in New York.  Having seen The Who at MSG just two days earlier, a flurry or emails and phone calls to a variety of people saw us accepting the offer to go and see an intimate gig. At a library.

When you consider that one of the phone calls came from Paul Townshend and the artist in question was none other than Simon Townshend, you can understand where my new found sense of adventure had come from.  The idea of being able to see Simon up close and personal just two days after seeing him (albeit it from a nose bleed inducing height) at The Garden was just too tempting.

So walking down the Main Street of Port Washington in the dark and the rain looking for the library was actually far more exciting than you would imagine, I realise it didn’t make us Christopher Columbus but it still felt like a fairly exhilarating undertaking.

The Library really is a library, I was half expecting it to be a funky name for a cool venue, but no, it is an actual library.  With Red Apple Snapple in the vending machine and no beer.  However this is a library with a difference and they host these ‘Sound Swap’ events on quite a regular basis from what I can tell, the stage and set up is certainly more impressive than some actual venues I have been in.

It is evident from the before Simon even takes to the stage that the audience are here to listen and as Simon saunters on he is greeted by a warm welcome followed by a reverent hush.

Introducing the first track, Electric Friend, with a story about his ‘friend’ Eddie Vedder not only captures your attention but does rather put my rock ‘n’ roll stories into perspective.

Simon is very honest about his songs and their meaning, he candidly talks about some of the inspirations behind the likes of Denial and is visibly moved as he speaks.  Given the personal nature of not just the lyrics but the show itself it seems crass to reveal all in a review like this but suffice to say the emotion is raw and the feeling is shared by all in attendance.

Not all of the songs are soul searching however; some are more simple love songs like She Asked Me which was written for his wife, whilst others have more curious beginnings like All So Real (or All Surreal as Simon dubs its) which started with Paul Weller writing the melody, in a dream as it transpires but it has a hypnotic quality to it capturing the dream-like quality.

As the evening progresses Simon seems to relax more and more, he even eventually removes his sunglasses.  It is to his credit that he makes the slightly formal surroundings feel like his own front room, we’ve all been invited and he cuts a charismatic host.

He ends the performance with the rather marvellous Making Waves, a keen observation that sometimes it is just better to wind your neck in; although Simon puts it far more eloquently than that.  ‘Making waves on a stormy sea, is a recipe for making enemies of lovers’ is a powerful image and a suitably fitting message to finish the show on.

Given Simon’s family heritage and indeed his ‘day job’ as guitarist for The Who it is inevitable his sound is heavily influenced by the Mod scene but don’t be thinking he is relying on his family name to sell records.   Simon definitely has his own voice and stories to tell and this evening has proven there is far more to Simon than family ties alone.

Jules

To find out more about Simon Townshend then visit his official website HERE.

The Insurrection Chart on The Lock In 

Only on 103.9 Voice FM

Here are the choices for this week’s Insurrection Chart.  24 tracks to choose from this week with the addition of Simon Townshend, vote for as many as you like, it is all down to YOU!

Congratulations to Brother Goose for making it to Number One for the second week in a row, if you want Hometown to be our Christmas Number One then you know what to do!  However, Rhys Williams has made it back into the Top 5 so could well be heading back to the top…

The Insurrection Chart will be on every Thursday evening between 6-8pm, on The Lock In on 103.9 Voice FM.  You can listen on line as well, just follow the link above.  All shows are available on ‘Listen Again’ too so you can always catch up if you miss any shows.

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The Best Of Eva Cassidy – Eva Cassidy

The wonderful thing about music is that you don’t have to be the best in the world to have an impact.  Musical history is littered with examples of those who, whilst technically lacking, had the one thing that is more important than any amount of professional training; passion.

It is one thing to stand on a stage in front of some high waisted trousers and millions of viewers and proclaim ‘This is all I’ve ever wanted’, it is another thing to just keep your head down and get on with it.  Talent will prevail.

Eva Cassidy is the perfect example of this, an undeniably elegant voice but certainly not perfect, but she certainly knew how to use her vocals to the best of her ability and every song on this collection feels achingly genuine and heartfelt.

Sadly taken before her time, it has been the subsequent years that have seen her music finding new ears with every passing moment.  The very best of Eva Cassidy is released to coincide with what would have been her 50^th birthday and is a fitting tribute to a true talent.

It is not enough to simply record a ‘good’ version of an existing track; you need to be able to add your own mark to make a cover version work.  This is something Eva managed to do with a rare consistency.   Ain’t No Sunshine and What A Wonderful World both honour the originals yet sound uniquely ‘Eva’ gentle but sublime.

There are delicate versions of two tracks made famous by Cyndi Lauper, both Time After Time and True Colours have a restrained grace about them, the chorus for Time After Time is about as beautiful as you can get.

It is also to her credit that she manages to keep the emotion in Danny Boy without it becoming too gloomy, as this is surely one of the most depressing songs ever written and can easily become unbearably melancholic.

It really is all about the song throughout this collection, vocal and instruments beautifully accompany each other, no histrionics, no overproduction to hide the cracks, simplicity is the key and it works.   If you haven’t already discovered the delights of the Eva Cassidy back catalogue, then this is the perfect place to start.

Jules says…

Martin Rossiter live at The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth, Tuesday 27th November 2012

I suppose it depends on your point of view as to whether the Wedgewood Rooms is looking half full or half empty as Andrew Foster takes to the stage.  Whilst not bursting at the seams the room is receptive to his acoustic stylings and as he does his best to battle through ‘the lurgee’, playful banter is exchanged with various members of the crowd and one by one he wins over the audience.

As rock ‘n’ roll entrances go, coming on to the strains of ‘Tomorrow’ from the Annie soundtrack is amusingly camp, whilst most of us assume it is done ironically, we are later assured it is just because Martin loves the song.  He does concede however that perhaps he will be retiring it in future due to titters from the front row.

So, as Martin’s pianist Robin slinks on as the music dies, Martin glides on stage next as the crowd move in and applaud the return of an unsung indie hero.  I should just say now, as far as I am concerned Gene were highly under-rated during their career and Martin Rossiter does not receive the critical praise he deserves.  Sucked up in the furore of Britpop, Gene were too quickly written off and unlike many of their peers, their split in 2004 was the last they wrote, no revival/nostalgia tours for them and therefore little revisiting of their work has taken place.

Performing a select few tracks from his Gene years, tonight is really a showcase for Martin’s debut solo album ‘The Defenestration Of St. Martin’, an altogether different beast to his past incarnation.  Sure, this still shares some similarities to Gene, they certainly look alike, but this feels more like Martin laying his soul bare and exorcising more personal demons.  This is also purely Martin’s work, no band at play, no compromises to be made; just the songs Martin wanted to write.

It is no secret that the album is ‘soul searching’ shall we say, something Martin jokes about several times throughout the show but it is far from doom and gloom.  The emotionally raw set is punctuated with wry between song chat.  Sipping a beverage Martin concludes ‘Beer tastes better standing on a drum riser’ before adding with his tongue firmly in his cheek ‘I have one in my house; I just drink beer on it’.

Opening with ‘No One Left To Blame’ everyone is instantly under the spell of St. Martin, there can be few performers who have been away for so long yet command such instant respect and awe from their audience.  As hosts go, Martin is warm and engaging, despite the fact he is only accompanied by the piano throughout, every song is greeted with a quiet reverence, everyone hanging on every word and move he makes.

The Smiths comparisons dogged Gene in the early days and they were often dismissed as ‘wannabes’ but this is incredibly short-sighted, after all I am pretty sure if you listen closely, Oasis had shades of The Beatles in them… ‘I Must Be Jesus’ does admittedly have all the trademarks of a Morrissey statement, all it is missing is the bunch of gladioli and a pout.  It is however a funny but painfully keen observation about the trials of being a teenager and how Martin justified his pain to himself, assured he must be destined for bigger things.

‘Sing It Loud’ and ‘My Heart’s Designed For Pumping Blood’ are both majestic and Martin is almost true to his word, ‘Drop Anchor’, the first single from the album, very nearly does move me to tears.  An ode to a loved one to make a commitment and settle down, once again it is incredible how powerful such a sparse song can be.

The Gene back catalogue is treated with respect and forgotten gems like ‘London Can You Wait’ and the stunning ‘Olympian’ are truly beautiful when stripped back to just voice and keys.

Highlight of the show is the deeply moving ‘Three Points On A Compass’, lyrically brutal but musically tender it is genuinely one of the most powerful pieces I have heard in a long time and provokes real feeling from everyone in the room.

This evening was a truly moving experience, Martin’s song writing has matured and developed an even greater emotional depth than he displayed with Gene.  I implore anyone reading this to check out his debut solo album ‘The Defenestration Of St. Martin’, this is one name from the past that deserves to be heard without prejudice.  Leave any preconceived notions of a Britpop revival at the door, all hail St. Martin.

Jules

The Insurrection Chart on The Lock In 

Only on 103.9 Voice FM

Here are the choices for this week’s Insurrection Chart.  23 tracks to choose from, vote for as many as you like, it is all down to YOU!

Congratulations to Brother Goose for making it to Number One on the second week of the chart, if you want to keep Hometown in the Number One spot you know what to do!

The Insurrection Chart will be on every Thursday evening between 6-8pm, on The Lock In on 103.9 Voice FM.  You can listen on line as well, just follow the link above.  All shows are available on ‘Listen Again’ too so you can always catch up if you miss any shows.

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