Bombay Bicycle Club – Pedalling the Same Synth-Pop Delights

Credit: Josh Shinner

London four-piece make convincing return with single ‘Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You)’.

It’s been five years since Bombay Bicycle Club released the Mercury Prize nominated number 1 album ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’, ten since their jangle-rock debut ‘I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose’. So when the four Londoners teased their return earlier this year after a long hiatus, the music world sat up and took notice.

Expectations were high, the bar had been set by the glorious synth-extravaganza that was ‘So Long’.

“Our new single, Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You), is now out. We’re so excited to be sharing new music after five years away. Recording it earlier this year reminded us all of the joy of working together on something we love.” 

Produced by John Congleton, ‘Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) is a star spangled joy-ride across buoyant waves of pop and through shallows of pulsating thrum. A compelling piece of indie pop fusion it lures the listener in with its rizzled guitar lines, minimalist sticks, and nuanced vocals, all held in check by some well scored lines of low-lying bass.

Commenting on their impending fifth album the band said “We’re going away next week to finish the rest of our record, so it’ll be out next year” 

Bombay Bicycle Club returned to the live music scene earlier this Summer playing several shows across Europe including one at the Cork Opera House at the beginning of August. The British quartet are set to play a series of sold out dates including London’s renowned Brixton Academy on 8th November. No ticket? Bring a stool.

‘Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You)’ is available to stream and download now, and you can watch the official video for the track below,

*If a little of what you fancy appeals, and you’d like to have my #dailyinspo365 posts appearing in your inbox, I’d love to have you along for the joy, the bumps, and more importantly, the company. You can follow along by clicking the ‘Follow DervSwerve’ link on the right!

Until We All Get Bored & Move On #dailyinspo365

Radiohead have been hacked!!

If Radiohead, with all their access to high end tech, can still be hacked, then there’s little hope for tech numpties like me!

Thom Yorke’s extensive mini disc archive has been hacked, resulting in the band doing what they do best, and sticking two fingers up at the unnamed hacker. In a less than ‘Hail to the Thief’ move, the Oxford five piece have left the sticky fingered culprit ‘High and Dry’ by releasing the full archive up on Bandcamp.

The eighteen hours of audio feature recordings of demos from 1995 – 1998 including previously unheard music. Broken into 18 minidisks, the ‘hacked’ release includes demos of several iconic Radiohead tracks including Exit Music, No Surprises, and Lift which itself was only released in June 2017. Along with demo versions of OK Computer tracks, the MD also feature a full-band version of True Love Waits, a live favourite that was finally recorded in a piano arrangement for 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool.

The vast collection of unreleased tracks, which were recorded during the sessions for 1997 album OK Computer, were hacked for financial gain, with the thief threatening to upload the full 18 hours of material onto the web if the band didn’t cough up a USD$150k ransom.

But in typical Radiohead fashion, the band chose to make the 18 MiniDisc recordings, most of them around an hour in length, available on Bandcamp for £18. Proceeds will go to climate activists Extinction Rebellion.

 

Extinction Rebellion thanked the band, describing its gift as “unprecedented support”. Radiohead authorised the use of their song Idioteque for a new Extinction Rebellion promotional video. “The climate and ecological emergency demands courage, truth-telling and generosity like never before,” the group said. “We are so grateful to Radiohead for showing us how that’s done, both now and in the lead-up to the April rebellion. Words are inadequate but actions do change the world.”

The Bandcamp release was accompanied by the following note from frontman Yorke.

we’ve been hacked
my archived mini discs from 1995-1998(?)
it’s not v interesting
there’s a lot of it

if you want it, you can buy the whole lot here
18 minidisks for £18
the proceeds will go to Extinction Rebellion

as it’s out there
it may as well be out there
until we all get bored
and move on

Thmx

One for the ‘Girls’

Roe returns with the maturer, fuller sound of the universal ‘Girls’

The past three years have seen Derry-born Roisin Donald’s career go from strength to strength. Better known to most as ROE, the now twenty-year old multi-instrumentalist is currently riding the crest of a wave, as she floats from one high-profile support gig to the next, shoring up the likes of Kodaline, The Coronas, and legendary rock-group and fellow Nordies, Snow Patrol.

Now fresh from her first sold-out headline tour and a stint at Camden Rocks Fest last week, the multi-talented fast-rising talent has just released her second single of 2019. The follow up to the hugely-successful ‘Down Days’, which racked up over 50k streams on Spotify alone, ‘Girls’ is already showing signs of being another hit having received airplay from radio big-hitters at BBC Radio 1, RTE 2FM, and Today FM.

Although her sound is as genre-elusive as ever, Roe’s latest release has something of a mid-Atlantic feel to it. ‘Girls’ sees Roe dabble with various sound textures, layering lines of soft pop melodies with the richer R&B beats more readily associated with acts like Sigrid and Maisie Peters. The result of this musical wardrobe update is a more funked-up twist on her trademark tuneful indie-folkpop.

Nailing ebb and flow with pin-point accuracy, Roe’s ever-compelling vocal is in perfect sync with the song’s changing tides, leading it from laid back minimalism to the fuller, more immersive 3D sound of the chorus. With a maturing edge to her tone, Roe wields nuance like a pro, using it to get her message across with maximum effect.

A natural storyteller, Roe has been penning songs since childhood. Mixing keen observations from the ‘front seat’ with her own narrative, Roe’s take on often taboo subjects puts her right up there with fellow sharp songsmiths like Sam Fender.

A song for ‘every-girl’“Girls is about changing the goalposts on social expectations and accepting yourself for who you are no matter what flawless content you see online.” It’s a call to action to celebrate those so-called imperfections that in fact make each of us unique.

Gently dipping its toes in mainstream, ‘Girls’ is a perfectly choregraphed pop-gem enriched with warm R&B sensibilities. Possibly the crossover track we’ve been waiting for from Roe.

Derv

*If a little of what you fancy appeals, and you’d like to have my #dailyinspo365 posts appearing in your inbox, I’d love to have you along for the joy, the bumps, and more importantly, the company. You can follow along by clicking the ‘Follow DervSwerve’ link on the right!

A Kiss from a Rose #dailyinspo365

With its alluring perfume and flawless colour tones, it’s no wonder the rose is called the “Queen of Flowers”.

Not only is the rose symbolic of love, its fragrant history unfurls like an exotic Eastern tale: from being featured in 1600 BC Cretan murals to being hailed as the “Queen of Flowers” by Greek poetess Sappho; having Romans cover their floors with their petals to Egyptians using them in food, perfumes and wine.

Symbols of love and friendship, we’ve been adoring this ‘royal genus’ of plants for decades and for many gardeners, including my mother, roses are a lifelong passion.

They have also been a passion for countless artists, composers, lyricists, poets and writers.

From Faurés, Les Roses d’Ispahan from Quatre mélodies to the world famous Irish ballad The Rose of Tralee, Manet’s ‘Flowers in a Crystal Vase’, to Robbie Burns ‘A Red, Red Rose’, the face of floral perfection has featured in our books, classrooms, libraries and galleries for centuries.

In this post, we celebrate nature’s beauty through poem, drama and song.

Published in 1609, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 54, one of the Fair Youth sequence, continues the theme of inner substance vs outward show by distinguishing between roses and canker blooms. Only roses can maintain their inner essence by being distilled into perfume.

SONNET 54

O how much more doth beauty beauteous seem,
By that sweet ornament which truth doth give!
The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem
For that sweet odour which doth in it live.
The canker-blooms have full as deep a dye
As the perfumed tincture of the roses,
Hang on such thorns and play as wantonly
When summer’s breath their masked buds discloses:
But, for their virtue only is their show,
They live unwoo’d and unrespected fade,
Die to themselves. Sweet roses do not so;
Of their sweet deaths are sweetest odours made:
   And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth,
   When that shall fade, my verse distills your truth.

Written in 1987, Seal’s global hit ‘Kiss from a Rose’ first featured on his on his eponymous 1991 debut album. Originally discarded by the singer, it was eventually re-recorded and picked up by Joel Schumacher for the Batman Forever soundtrack.

You can listen to the quasi-classical version of Kiss from A Rose by Seal below.

I’ll leave you with what is perhaps the most famous literary reference to the rose, from Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in which Juliet presents the argument that how things are named has no bearing on what they truly are!

“O, be some other name!
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.”

Derv

*If a little of what you fancy appeals, and you’d like to have my #dailyinspo365 posts appearing in your inbox, I’d love to have you along for the joy, the bumps, and more importantly, the company. You can follow along by clicking the ‘Follow DervSwerve’ link on the right!

Early Morning Me Time #dailyinspo365

On the sofa, curtains pulled back, early morning light, tea, peace and birdsong.

Every now and then, I like to get up at dawn – I’m not being time-specific as dawn has, as you know, an ever-shifting start time.

Right now, dawn creeps slowly over the horizon just before 5am, a good thirty minutes before sunrise. It’s a time of total calm and intense silence, and like a fine wine, something to be sipped and savoured slowly.

Bit by bit, the early call of the birds that populate the garden gets stronger and more intense, until it reaches full ‘rush hour traffic’ mode around 8am. But, until then, it’s thoughtful and somewhat hushed. It’s almost as if they don’t want to wake the neighbours!

During these mindful hours, I like to take some time ‘to be’ before firing up both the kettle and radio, tea and Today being early morning staples. Having moved from waking to awake, I open up the laptop and start to write. It’s probably fair to say that I get more done during these pre-‘opening time’ hours than at any other time of the day.

There’s nothing better than starting one’s day that little bit earlier, and having even just a few quiet moments to oneself. There’s also nothing better for mind or motivation than an early start, without distractions, free from the addling noise and bustle of the impending ‘working day’.

During these lovely Summer months, why not give it a try, even just for a few quiet moments of mindful meditation? And tea!

Derv

*If a little of what you fancy appeals, and you’d like to have my #dailyinspo365 posts appearing in your inbox, I’d love to have you along for the joy, the bumps, and more importantly, the company. You can follow along by clicking the ‘Follow DervSwerve’ link on the right!

Liverpool’s Adopted Son Enjoys Some High Times

The master of acerbic vignettes returns with yet another tragi-comic take on everyday life, as he knows it!

Emilio Pinchi is no run-of-the-mill singer/songwriter. He is a master craftsman of highly polished, low-brow narratives set against a backdrop of smutty redbrick buildings and alleyways strewn with last night’s takeaway cartons. A master storyteller of tales of mundanity, profundity and jocundity, Pinchi is a sort of latterday Dickens if you will, except his ‘hard times’ are set against the comfiest of lo-fi post-rock/indie fusion.

A throwback to his Liverpool flavoured Stoke roots, the most telling thing about Pinchi’s lyricism is its witty honesty. It’s not for nothing that Liverpudlians (even adopted ones) are renowned for their razor sharp repartee and facetious one-liners.  In his songs, there is a strong sense of disassociation from the current jaded world view; not for him a glib acceptance of fake news syndrome or social isolationism.

Instead, Pinchi draws upon a keen eye and empathetic nature to sketch his brief vignettes of the streets, pubs, living rooms and bedrooms of Brexit Britain. With a talky vocal twist akin to that of his 90’s predecessor, Sheffield stalwart Jarvis Cocker, Emilio Pinchi’s conversational singing style gently draws in the listener, holding their attention for the few minutes it takes to recount his tale.

Most recently, Emilio has started playing with a full band, and the breadth of colour and warm textures they have brought to his music is palpable on his newly released single ‘High Times’. There’s a more expansive feel to the sound, a tighter hold on production. The idiosyncratic Pinchi hallmarks are still there – mellow acoustic strumming and infectious melodies, but with the added ‘umph’ of some lo-fi electric guitars and delightful marimba/glockenspiel/xylophone/keys xf (multiple choice instruments), all underpinned by some ‘chillaxed’ drumming.

With its happy go lucky vibe and chatty tone, ‘High Times’ has all the living room lax you’d expect from a slacker indie shuffle. Peppered with colourful ‘green’ conversation and spontaneous chuckling, this sharp focus snapshot of the bigger world picture is redolent of the on-point wordsmithery of Cocker, Turner, and dare I say it, Ian Broudie (excl his Three Lions blip!). Like Broudie, Emilio Pinchi cradles the world in a soft delivery whilst opening it up for discussion through ‘screengrabs’ of events and moments in time.

Emilio Pinchi has been mellowing out below the mainstream parapet for a few years now but one gets the feeling that like a periscope, his sights are set on a higher mark. He may not have made the Sound of 2018 shortlist, but this dark horse is certainly one to watch, and carefully.

Emilio Pinchi has live dates coming up shortly – keep a check on his Facebook page for details. His latest single, ‘High Times’ is available to stream or download now. Listen to it here,

DervSwerve

Sigrid wins BBC Sound of 2018 poll

Sigrid-press-photo-cr-Francesca-Allen-2017

Norwegian Sigrid wins BBC Sound of 2018 poll

The Norwegian singer Sigrid has been announced as the winner of BBC Music’s Sound of 2018 Poll. The Don’t Kill My Vibe star beat off stiff competition from the likes of Pale Waves, Sam Fender and IAMDDB to claim this year’s top slot.

The annual poll, which is voted for by 173 music industry insiders, has previously seen Ellie Goulding, Adele and Jack Garratt take the crown. The BBC Music survey asks industry professionals to name their three favourite new acts (whose releases have not yet made it into the UK Top Ten). By anointing Sigrid as the Sound of 2018, the cohort of music pros are essentially backing her as ‘the artist most likely to’ rise to the top in 2018.

With her unwavering, impassioned voice and faultless electro-pop production, the singer broke through last year with her critically acclaimed debut single Don’t Kill My Vibe, released in Feburary 2017. While follow-on singles Strangers and Plot Twist were also hailed as sonic success stories by music critics across the globe, the Norwegian youngster has yet to crack the UK Top 40.

On being told of her win the singer, who is signed to Island Records said: (It’s) “crazy … I’m just really happy and proud of what my team and I have achieved together,” … adding that she was “honoured as there are so many other artists I look up to who have won this before me”.

Following the announcement, the singer hit BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge for some live renditions of her singles. (If you missed it, you can still catch it on BBC iPlayer for up to 30 days from 12th January, 2018).

This year’s Runner Up was English artist Alex O’Connell who performs under the Rex Orange County moniker. His blend of quirky R&B and easy-going guitar pop have seen the 19 year old ratchet up guest slots on US Rapper, Tyler the Creator’s album, as well as lives with Skepta and Frank Ocean.

One to Watch: Norwegian Sigrid

The three remaining acts to make the Sound of 2018 Top Five were unsigned Manchester vocalist IAMDDB; 19-year-old US American Teen and five time Grammy nominated  Khalid, who’s already bagged a Top 20 slot and worked with the likes of Calvin Harris and Marshmello; and Mancunian goth-pop four-piece Pale Waves, whose first two singles were produced by The 1975’s Matty Healy.

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Listen to tracks from the acts voted Top Five in this year’s Sound of 2018 via our Spotify playlist here.

Fore more news, views and music reviews, follow DervSwerve on Facebook and Twitter.

 

RTE Choice Music Prize – Album of the Year 2017 Shortlist Announced

RTE Choice Music Prize Album of the Year 2017 Shortlist Announced on 2FM’s Tracy Clifford Show by judging panel chairperson, Tony Clayton Lea.

The much anticipated shortlist for this year’s RTÉ Choice Music Prize, Irish Album of the Year 2017, was announced earlier today via 2FM’s Tracy Clifford Show by judging panel chairperson and renowned music & culture writer, Tony Clayton Lea.

The winning act, which will be announced at the Choice Music award ceremony in March, will receive a €10,000 prize fund (sponsored by IMRO/IRMA). All shortlisted acts will receive a specially commissioned award. 

The ten album shortlist is made up as follows:

Come On Live Long – In The Still (self released)

Marlene Enright – Placemats and Second Cuts (self released)

Fangclub – Fangclub (Universal)

Lankum – Beneath the Earth and the Sky (Rough Trade)

James Vincent McMorrow – True Care (Faction Records)

New Jackson – From Night to Night (All City)

Otherkin – OK (Rubyworks)

Fionn Regan – The Meetings of the Waters (Abbey Records)

Ships – Precession (Ships Music)

Talos – Wild Alee (Feel Good Lost)

While all ten albums can be enjoyed in full over at www.choicemusicprize.ie you can listen to a selection of sounds from all ten nominated artists on our Spotify playlist below!

To celebrate the announcement, RTE 2FM scheduled an All Irish Music All Day, and its presenters have been playing tracks from all ten nominated albums since 6am. They’ll continue to do so until midnight tonight. 2FM presenter Louise McSharry, will this evening host a two-hour show dedicated to the Album of 2017 shortlist. The show, which will run from 8pm to 10pm, will also feature interviews with this year’s nominees as well as some live artist performances.

RTE, in association with IMRO and IRMA, will host the RTE Choice Music Prize live event in Vicar St, Dublin, on Thursday 8th March – see below for ticket details. RTE 2FM radio will facilitate a simultaneous live broadcast in a special extended programme. The Choice Music event will also feature in a special RTE Choice Music Programme to be broadcast by RTE2 television. Broadcast details to be confirmed.

A highlight of the Irish musical calendar, the Choice Music Prize is awarded to both the Irish Album and Irish Song of the Year. Nominees and winners are chosen by a twelve-person panel made up of media professionals and industry experts, captained by Tony Clayton-Lea.

 

Once again, a body of international music industry professionals, funded by Culture Ireland, will be invited to attend the March live event. In addition, indigenous record chain Golden Discs, will host RTE Choice Music Prize nominee showcase stands during a special in-store promotion.

The shortlist for the RTE Choice Music Prize – Irish Song of the Year 2017, will be announced later this month on 31st January. On the same evening, a special Choice Prize themed event featuring performances by nominees from both award categories will take place in Dublin’s Tramline venue.

Tickets for the Choice Music Prize award ceremony in Vicar St., are currently available from Ticketmaster priced at Euro 28.00 incl booking fee – go to http://www.ticketmaster.ie .

RTÉ Choice Music Prize, Irish Album of the Year 2017, in association with IMRO & IRMA. Official partners Golden Discs, RAAP and Culture Ireland.

To keep up to date with news, views and music reviews, follow DervSwerve on Twitter and Facebook.

Trondheim Calling Set to Showcase Its Most Exciting Line-Up Yet

Trondheim Calling, Norway’s annual mid-Winter conference and new music showcase festival, will return at the beginning of February with what is probably its most exciting line up yet.

Trondheim Calling, Norway’s large music conference and second largest music showcase festival is getting ready for its 8th mid-Winter outing. The festival, which runs from 1st to 3rd February, hopes to improve on its staggering 2018 statistics. Last year, saw the festival draw an overall audience of 8,000, of which 1,300 attended its conference and, more importantly, on the live-music side, it enabled 100+ music artists to showcase their sounds to a mixed bag of fans, industry pros and media.

In addition to the Clarion Congress, multiple venues across Trondheim will open their doors to festival goers over the three-day period. Each year, as the festival grows in size, more and more of the local bars and music venues involve themselves in the ‘confest’ which has become the pride of Trondheim.

The conference, or business end of TC, takes place across multiple rooms in the local Clarion Congress, whose facilities are second to none, and which, having housed the conference for several years, has become almost a home from home for attending delegates. The laid back atmosphere and smooth clockwork-like running of all things TC related, is a testament to the seamless planning and organisational skills of both hotel management and festival organisers.

This year’s conference programme includes talks on topics such as setting up a PR team, how radio can work for music artists, and music rights and agreements, as well as interactive songwriting and studio engineering/production workshops. The programme will also see the return of last year’s inaugural Norway Calling.

This element of the programme gives five ‘export-ready’ artists the chance to pitch both themselves and their music to a forum that includes media delegates. Constructive feedback is provided by a carefully selected panel of international music professionals including media and management; this year’s panel includes Elspeth Merry from Island Records and Angelina Muth of 4 Music Berlin.

From a musical perspective, with venues set to bursting, and the most diverse line-up yet on offer, the festival should prove to be even more successful than its jam-packed, hyper-energised 2017 predecessor. “Our main purpose is to celebrate new Norwegian music, showcase artists who are on their way to a breakthrough and raise the level of competence in Norwegian music industry,” says festival chief Thomas Ryjord. And, looking at the artist line-up for this year’s festival, the organisers have well and truly excelled in bringing together the most exciting and diverse ‘mixum gatherum’ of homegrown talent to hit TC yet.

2018 will mark the return of fun lovin’ quasi-punkers Slotface, whose debut album Try Not To Freak Out and live performances shredded the 2017 international scene. It also heralds the return of the warrioresque Farao, whose latest album is set to drop this year. Other acts to note, are dark electro-pop band Ponette, shimmering Indie free-spirit Sol Heilo, experimental art-pop band Whales and this Lake, guitar-rockers Killer Kid Mozart and electronic act Atella, whose new EP features the wonder that is Aurora.

Shout outs also to Gundelach, whose recent collaboration with Ary, Games, was absolutely gorgeous, and also to Natalie Sandtorv, Daniele Reyes and Hanne Mjoen. All very different but equally wonderful artists.

Party Animals need look no further than Rick Ashtray. Hugely popular, this off-kilter quasi-grunge cum new wave outfit will leave no cobwebs un-blown. Get there early.

Check out our TC inspired playlist below. If you’re already booked to go to the festival it’ll help get you hyped, if not, well, it might just inspire you to book that ticket and hop on that train or plane. Whatevz, enjoy!

For full details on Trondheim Calling, both conference and festival, and information about how to get tickets/packages, please go to the official festival website, https://trondheimcalling.no/

To keep up to date with news, views and music reviews, follow DervSwerve on Facebook and Twitter.

Call Still Open for Music Artists Wishing to Play TGE18

Artist Registration still open for TGE18. All musical shapes ‘n sizes eligible to apply. TGE18 in partnership with Liverpool-based music publisher Sentric Music.

Hear ye, hear ye. It’s official. Artist Registration for The Great Escape 2018 is officially open. Well, actually it’s been open since mid-Winter; think of this as just a gentle nudge. Back at the end of November, organisers of the annual Brighton bash announced the first 50 acts to be included in the 2018 line-up together with the promise that a further 400 acts would be added to the mix in the New Year.

Well here we are, and 400 prime live lots at TGE18 are going begging! Registration, which will close on 12th February, 2018, is open to all music artists from DJs through singer-songwriters to collectives.

Included in the first tranche of TGE’ers for 2018 were:

Aine Cahill, Dream State, Jerry Williams, KOPS, Lewis Capaldi, M.I.L.K., Pale Waves, Sam Fender, Stereo Honey and Valeras. You can check them out on our TGE18 First Taste Playlist below.

If you’re ‘in music’ and wish to participate in TGE18, apply to play HERE. Applications are free. Submissions will be reviewed by the TGE bookings team and the lucky artists contacted directly after applications close.

This year’s festival which will run from 17th to 19th May, 2018, will be hosted in partnership with independent music publisher, Sentric Music.

For more details on The Great Escape 2018 go to the official festival website – HERE. Check out our Spotify TGE – FirstTaste playlist here.