Posts Tagged ‘ RingMaster Review ’

Houston! Interview

Italian rockers Houston! has steadily gathered up a growing amount of fans and glowing critical praise for their latest album Mechanical Sunshine on Tanzan Music. The acclaim for this impressive release coming far beyond their homeland and with successful shows and radio play the quartet has had a vibrant summer. We had the fortune to talk to the band about the album and about Houston!

Hi and welcome to The RingMaster Review, many thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Would you start by introducing Houston! and its members?

Hi and thanks to you for having us.

The band consists of 4 members. Niko, Nello, Phil and David. We’ve recently released our second album called Mechanical Sunshine.

How did Houston! start and its members meet? 

Well, we know each other since a while. We always had many musical projects going on and at some point we realized that it was just a good chemistry between us.

Your sound is a tight exciting blend of hard rock and metal with gothic horror flavourings. Is this a deliberately created sound or the result of individual member’s personal influences and loves flavouring your music?

I think most of the core ideas for the songs came from a member of the band, but no song was left just like this. We all brought in our ideas and styles, one of the reasons why every song sounds different.

How are your songs written, as a collective or by individuals?

The songs are written as collective.

You have recently released your album Mechanical Sunshine via Tanzan Music to great acclaim how does it differ from your debut Fast in Elegance from 2008 and how has the band’s sound evolved?

The approach for the album Mechanical Sunshine was much different. We recorded “Fast in Elegance” at the age of 19 and it was more like write music in a certain style. With the last album we took out what is our genre.

How has Mechanical Sunshine been received so far in Italy and beyond?  

Until now we have had only positive responses.

You have just released a video for the track ‘Planet Of Terror’ off the album, tell us about that.

Well, this is a put together of live shows and “life on the road” from the last European tour.

‘Sick, Sex, Six’ is one of the tracks getting radio play for the band, especially on The Bone Orchard at The Reputation Radio Show, the song an instant and almost anthemic blast of sound can you give us some background to it?

The song “Sick, Sex, Six” is reflecting what is the life on tour and all the crazy after party concerts we had.

Your live shows are a lively and memorable affair how hard was it to transfer that energy to the album’s recording?

We have a lot of electronica in our genre, but we play almost all live so that the energy of the song does not get lost. That’s our goal.

Bravely and it must be said successfully included a cover of the Rob Zombie classic ‘Dragula’ on Mechanical Sunshine, why did you go for that track or even any cover on the album?

Well, we started playing this song live and we immediately saw how much it got us as well as the people. That’s the moment in which we made it ours and decided the song had to be part of our album.

What is next for Houston!?

I think first of all we have to find a booking agency. We really need the live part to take new steps and to start up our creativity as artists.

I think it’s a bit unpredictable to say how the next Houston! songs are gonna sound like.

Many thanks for taking time out to talk to The Ringmaster Review, would you like to end with some last words for the readers and fans?

I hope to see you all at our concerts and I recommend you to buy our new album “Mechanical Sunshine”. Thanks so much for your support!

Lastly what are your current listening pleasures outside of your own material?

All kinds of music! Every music genre has something to teach you and listen to music helps your emotions to come out.

Mechanical Sunshine is out now via Tanzan Music. For more information, please visit: www.myspace.com/houstonband or http://www.tanzanmusic.com/artists/houston

Check out their music on The Reputation Radio Shows @ www.reputationmedia.net

Mechanical Sunshine review@ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2011/06/10/houston-%E2%80%93-mechanical-sunshine/

RingMaster Review 30/09/2011

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2011
09/30
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The Super Happy Fun Club Interview

The new album Go Fun Yourself from Chicago pop punks The Super Happy Fun Club has lit up music and the year with its irresistible and infectious feel good sounds. Like a poison its fun fuelled venom grabs hold and denies anything but pleasure to be the reaction as the release joyfully plays on the ear. We had the pleasure to grab Stubhy from the band to find out what makes The Super Happy Fun Club tick and learn more about their release and the band.

Hello and welcome to The RingMaster Review. Many thanks for chatting with us here.

Would you like to introduce the band and its members?

We are the Super Happy Fun Club!

Stubhy (pronounced Stooby) – Vox

Pat Gilroy – Keys/Vox

Phil Kosch – Guitar

Brad Chagdes – Guitar/Vox

Jeremy Galanes – Bass/Vox

Chris Mason – Drums

Could you give a history to the band?

We are all products of the Chicago Suburban Music Scene.  We were in separate bands that played shows together and had been eyeing each other’s talents for a while.  The timing was right, none of us were committed to other projects thus available to get together and “see what happens.”  We liked what we saw and heard and decided to take it as far as we could.  Throughout the short life of this band one common mantra has always resonated – “This is supposed to be fun!” – we try not to forget that.

The fact all members have been friends well before the band certainly comes out in the music and that friendship in many ways comes first. Would The Super Happy Fun Club have existed if that bond was not already there and certainly have sounded as it does now if it was just musicians coming together to make music.?

Well, that’s hard to say.  Sometimes magic can happen amongst strangers but I don’t think it would have come together as fast.  Us knowing each other and having a mutual respect and admiration for each other makes practicing and arranging much easier.  We all know where each other shines the most and give each other space to breathe artistically.

One of the main things that keeps this band going is our friendship – if we aren’t playing music together we are hanging out.  It’s so much easier to go through the trials and tribulations of being in a band when you know the guy sitting next to you in the van actually wants to be there – and more importantly wants to be there with you.

Tell us about the memorable mouthful of the band name, how did it come about?

Ha!  Well, we were tossing around band names and we had a few that were decent – the Whitneys, the Chicago Dropout Club, etc. but nothing that really popped out. When I brought these names up to one of my friends her reaction was – “Why are all your band names so damned depressing?!!”  I told the guys her comment and Jeremy, our bassist, responded with “What the hell does she want us to call ourselves – the Super Happy Fun Club?!!”  There was a pause and knowing smile all around and we realized that we had just come up with the most ridiculously awesome band name!

You are about to release your new album Go Fun Yourself on November 7th, what will people find within it? 

Pragmatic Anarchy!

The album has an impressive variety within it and tracks themselves, are the songs group written or by an individual?

For the most part I come up with the skeleton of the song – the melodies, lyrics and a general structure – and then we flesh out the song at practice and take in everyone’s opinions and ideas.  Arranging the songs is definitely a group effort and is one of the best parts of the band.  So many times the guys will come up with an arrangement that I would have NEVER thought of which makes the song come alive!

Did the finished album match or exceed your original expectations?

I cannot be happier with our debut release.  Jeremy, our bass player and engineer/producer, did an excellent job – he even mixed and mastered it.  The reaction from the people that have heard it has been amazing!

Within Go Fun Yourself our ears could find elements that reminded of the likes of Living End, Billy Talent, Bowling For Soup, Fall Out Boy even The Undertones, but what are your influences as musicians?

We all have so many influences.  We collectively grew up on all the classics like the Beach Boys and the Beatles, suffered through hair metal and now have found a new appreciation for it, tapped our feet and found our swagger to hip hop, embraced the punk rock and pop punk explosion and we are still being turned on by the newest genres coming out.  We are all music addicts and can’t get enough – anything and everything we listen to influences us – sometimes it just influences what not to do!

You come from Chicago, has the scene there given a strong definition to your sound?

Absolutely.  The scene we grew up in was very close knit and still is.  We are all in a very healthy and friendly competition with each other to impress one another with our tunes.  Every weekend either we are sharing the stage with our friends or we are their shows soaking in their sounds – in the crowd you will see all the other bands from the scene doing the same.  I’m very proud to be a part of a scene that supports and drives each other to keep getting better.

What is your view on the internet for especially new bands? Does it do more harm than good or vice versa?

It’s a great tool if being used properly.  There is a lot of overkill and it can get annoying.  At the end of the day, it is the music and the band member’s personalities that are going to get them attention no matter what promoting medium they use.  If the band is not spending enough time on the music and putting out a great product – no form of promotion is going to help.

You are soon to go on tour with Madina Lake in Europe including 10 dates in the UK, is this your first venture over here?

Yes!  None of us has ever toured Europe even in our previous groups!  Beyond excited!

What can fans expect and why should they go to your gigs?

We are going to give them a half hour of power!  We’ve been told that it is easy to see that we are all good friends and that we are having a lot of fun.  So expect a lot of smiles, drinking and manic energy!  We love to get the crowd involved so bring your best singing voices!

Given a choice in the future who would be your ideal bands to share a stage with?

I want to reach as many eyes and ears possible – so bands like Green Day or the Foo Fighters that play in front of massive crowds and who we collectively admire musically would be amazing. 

A big thanks for sparing time to talk with The RingMaster Review, have you any thoughts to leave us with?

We just want to express how excited we are to be coming out there to play for brand new people – we feel blessed to be given this kind of opportunity so early in our Super Happy Fun Club career!!

And lastly are you worried that The Dickies will sulk now you have a pop punk gem in ‘‘Billy The Entertainer’ that is shorter than their own classics?

Ha!!  Well, without them and bands like NOFX the song wouldn’t exist – so we tip our hats to the masters…

Go Fun Yourself receives its release on 7th November via THROOP Records.

For more info on The Super Happy Fun Club and their tour dates with Madina Lake throughout November go to http://www.thesuperhappyfunclub.com

Review of Go Fun Yourself  http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/the-super-happy-fun-club-%E2%80%93-go-fun-yourself/

RingMaster 27/09/2011
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2011
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Rose Funeral Interview

Already having gained more than a passing interest and acclaim from the metal world for their debut album The Resting Sonata in 2009 Cincinnati death metalers Rose Funeral are set to blow the senses with their brand new malevolent and black heartened album Gates Of Punishment via Metal Blade Records. With great pleasure The Ringmaster Review had the chance to grab one of the band to talk about the new album and Rose Funeral.

It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to chat with you and thanks for taking some time out to answer our questions, would you like to make an introduction?

Hey guys thank you for having me! This is Ryan the vocalist!

What is the history of Rose Funeral to this point?

We started way back in 2005-06. We worked out a deal with SOAR releasing Crucify. Kill. Rot. out in Europe. Toured a ton on our own D.I.Y. tours had a blast and caught the attention of Metal Blade Records! Inked a deal with them and released The Resting Sonata. Kept at the touring and made some new friends and fans! We took a break for a year to write the new album Gates of Punishment and we are getting ready to release it September 27th!

We will cut straight to the chase and as said you are just about to release your impressive new album Gates Of Punishment via Metal Blade Records on September 27th, is the feeling more of nervousness or excitement? 

You know I can honestly say both. It is definitely a new sound for RF, but yet we still have the old RF touch. We are nervous to the fact on how kids will take the transition to the more intense death metal side and very excited to release such a step up of an album for us! We just want to deliver some heavy, fast paced, bone crushing music and we think we do it pretty well on this album!

Gates Of Punishment is a monster of a release showing a big step forward from its predecessor The Resting Sonata. What would you say are the differences?

We did have a longer time period to work on GOP. We also have the new set members that helped add very nice touches to our new record. The differences are probably: Maturity, technicality, musicianship, and growth as a band. We think GOP delivers more of a brutal sound than TRS did. We have the old school feel of Rose Funeral but we definitely took it to the next level in the writing process to add a lot more!

How much has this new intensity and power of sound come from a new focus in the song writing and its realisation or from an organic evolution from the constant live shows and tours you do?

I think we just stepped it up on the musicianship scale. We did focus a lot more on an aggressive album. We think it turned out well. Touring with bands that were more traditional death metal did inspire us a bit on this album, but then again we all enjoy the old school headbanging tunes. So we took in consideration to make an album that appealed to the “Core” fans and the “Traditional” fans.

Did you approach the recording process in a different way for Gates Of Punishment compared to your last album?

I actually have my own studio in my place so it’s a bit easier for me to lay down ideas that pop into my head instead of sitting around at band practice hearing a wall of guitar back and forth. I worked with our guitar player Kevin Snook on the solo aspect of the album which TRS lacked in. I’m excited to have solos on all of the songs now and that is definitely a plus for us to add. When we hit the studio, we did hound over the engineer on what we wanted to happen or what we wanted to hear. Coming from the old album recording process for TRS we were more laid back and went with the flow, but for GOP we definitely knew what we wanted to have set in stone.

You said in a quote on the press release “All I can say is that with the guys I have in the band, it will be a huge climb in sound every album from now on.”  With the quality of Gates Of Punishment one just feels there will be better and better releases ahead but do you think knowing the media that  line that could possibly come back to haunt you? (quickly adding we will not use it, promise haha)

Haha I don’t think it will haunt us. I do have a great line up of best friends and family. These guys are all about the music and nothing else. With economy sucking more ass every day, people need jobs and I don’t blame any band(s) member(s) for wanting to create a life for themselves. Money is hard to come by playing heavy music and I think people get the wrong idea. They think if you tour you obviously bank and that really isn’t the case. We went through a handful of line up changes but then again if we didn’t we wouldn’t have created such a sick album in my opinon!

There is more intense venom and anger within the lyrics than ever before, what is the source you draw from to bring that out in the writing and delivery?

Usually I just think of really nasty stuff to write. I read in one review that my lyrics were embarrassing haha, but honestly how can you make non embarrassing death metal lyrics…. Its death metal! It’s about death, killing, destruction, naked chicks, blasphemy, and rebellion!  I really don’t think there is beautiful death metal lyrics haha. I mainly focus on the corruption in religion and the whacked out murders that take place all over the world!

You have guest vocalists on the album in the form of ex Morbid Angel frontman Steve Tucker and Cincinnati opera singer Kate Alexander. How did that come about and when writing the song ‘Malignant Amour’ was the intention always to have female vocals involved?

We met Steve through Joe Cowens the owner of TME Studios in Cincinnati. Me and Steve instantly made a friendship through music. I pretty much said “Dude…. You have to do a spot on the album”. Steve stepped right up and delivered his brutal vocal style and it came out sick! Kate was also a friend of Joe. I was sitting in the studio and listening to the spot where vocals were needed and I figured “You know what… I want female vocals on here” Joe pretty much said “Hey I know a girl who DEFINITELY can lay that down” and she added the perfect touch to add another dimension to the song!

Tell us about the excellent art work for the cover of Gates Of Punishment?

Our buddy Colin Marks created our album cover. It’s pretty much what you expect to see… The gates of punishment! What’s cool about it is when you open it up it tells a story. You can imagine the creepy, desolate, and decrepit feeling the artwork brings you. We are a fan of the more photographic imagery and we think this definitely added a whole new dimension!

How will the band be promoting the album, with live shows and can people see you over in Europe soon?

We will promoting with Metal Blade though online pages, magazines, radio, and interviews from all over. We have our calendars marked for a Euro tour very soon! So keep checking back with us for further details!

Many thanks for talking to us and every deserved success with the album. Have you any last thoughts to leave us with?

Thank you for the kind words! I wanna thank you guys for giving me the opportunity to answer some questions and talk with you! We hope everyone enjoys this upcoming release and we will see you all on the road! HAIL!

And finally…….can you clear up the name of the second track on the album as sometimes it is called Grotesque Mutilation and other times is seen as Grotesque Indulgence. On our review copy it had both haha, so please the correct title is….?.

The track is actually called Grotesque Indulgence…. for some reason there was a big mix up in between finalizing the album artwork and lyrical content… So many “Forwards” and “Replies” caused a mix up. So hopefully that settles it! haha.

Take care and thank you very much!

Ryan Gardner
Rose Funeral

Gates Of Punishment is released via Metal Blade Records September 27th for more details check out the band @

http://www.metalblade.com/rosefuneral

http://www.facebook.com/rosefuneralmusic

RingMaster 22/09/2011

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Anterior Interview

UK death metalers Anterior have just released their impressive new album Echoes of the Fallen via Metal Blade Records which is sure to grab strong attention and interest due to its potent power and inspired creativity. We had the pleasure to quiz guitarist Steven Nixon about the album and Anterior themselves.

Hi and many thanks for talking with The RingMaster Review.  Could you start with introductions to the band members and their roles with Anterior?

Luke Davies – Vocals
Steven Nixon – Lead/rhythm guitars
Leon Kemp – Lead/rhythm guitars
James Britton – Bass
James Cook – Drums

Could you give us a brief history of the band?

Anterior was formed by a group of friends in high school that started off playing local shows, we then started taking things seriously and that’s when we got in touch with Metal Blade who agreed to sign us.  We were then joined by Steven Nixon and James Cook after which we recorded our second studio album on metal blade. We have toured with various bands including, Himsa, Children of Bodom, Sylosis, Black Dahlia Murder and we even played some festivals in India. 

You have just released your new album Echoes of the Fallen and very impressive it is too. Did it emerge in its final form as you intended and imagined when entering the studio? 

Over all we are extremely happy with the way that the album went.  I think that it definitely came out the way that we hoped that it would but it sounds different in so many ways from when we started writing it and laying down demo’s, everything from the tone and sound of instruments, to the structure and composition of the songs.  Everything was ironed out and made as smooth as possible and we are all very proud of the way that it turned out. 

It is about 4 years since your debut album This Age Of Silence how would you say the music has evolved over those years between the two releases and how has Anterior changed as a band?

The transition from This Age Of Silence to Echo’s Of The Fallen has been a vast one.  We have all grown and matured as musicians and as people and we have become more of a collective rather than 5 individuals.  The music has definitely grown and evolved without becoming a completely different sound altogether but we feel that Anterior is one more step in the direction of finding that unique definitive sound that we are all chasing.

Was Echoes of the Fallen written on the whole before entering the studio or did it all happen within those walls?

For the most part the album was written before we entered the studio although there were a few things like some riffs, solos and vocals to finish and polish off.  Even though it was mostly written before hand, we changed so many things in the studio to make it all sound better as a whole and that has definitely been the difference between a good album and a great album.

A major positive to the music and the band is there is no one hogging the limelight in the songs like with many other artists; each member has an equal input and part and is heard that way in the finished results. Are the tracks written as a band bringing that aspect naturally to the music or is down to individuals?

When we are writing we try to think of everything we have at our disposal both technically and musically.  It’s great to be able to write songs without worrying about technical limitations that might hold you back. I think everyone brings their own personal flare to the table and each member has different strengths and tastes.  That being said it’s always going to be about how the songs sound as opposed to how they are played.

There feels like an even greater focus and intensity to this album than before, is that fair to say?

Yes, we have all matured as musicians, people and as song writers so it was only natural that this album would be a lot more focused.  It’s like we know what we want now and we know how to get it.

You had Scott Atkins (Behemoth, Gamma Bomb, Cradle Of Filth, Sylosis) produce Echoes of the Fallen, why did you feel he was the right choice for what you wanted to achieve? A choice that the end result proved was a correct one it has to be said.

Scott has a proven track record of getting albums to sound super tight without sacrificing the heavyness and that was one of the factors that we considered when asking Scott to record the album.  Our music can be technically intricate in places and we could not afford to lose parts of songs due to production issues.
Over all we are thrilled at the product that Scott has given us and we are eagerly awaiting feedback from the fans about what they think of it.

Is there any particular moment on the album that is your personal stand out part or track?

Off the top of my head I would have to say the harmonised sweeping section at the end of Blood in The Throne Room.  The sweeping section is actually played in one of the solos in the middle off the song and people are usually impressed but when we play it harmonised at the end they just don’t expect it.  It’s great to see kids turning to their mates as if to say WTF!

What is next for Anterior; dates in support of Echoes of the Fallen where people can experience the full force of your might?

Anterior will be embarking upon a UK  tour with Sylosis and Malefice in late September/early October and make no mistake we will be unleashing the full force of our might! Dropping some hot demon flavour on our ever faithful British fans!

Your live shows are renowned for their intensity but tell people nonetheless why they should go to and what they will get at one of your gigs.

You should come see Anterior because we are passionate about what we do, we love being on stage and we will always go nuts no matter what. It doesn’t matter if we are playing to 5 or 5000 people.  We are also now an official Jaegermeister endorsed band so you can expect some Jager swag to be dished out!  And maybe some shots if you are over 18.

Thanks for taking time to chat with us, very much appreciated. Would you like to leave with some final words about anything you wish for the readers?

Thanks for supporting Anterior we hope that you will go out and grab the album.  And watch this space! Nixon.

Echoes of the Fallen is available now for more information check out the following websites

http://www.metalblade.com/anterior

http://www.facebook.com/ANTERIOR1

For the review of Echoes of the Fallen go to

RingMaster 05/09/2011

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2011
09/15
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Deadfall Interview

The album New Light from US band Deadfall has undoubtedly been one of the most impressive and powerful releases so far this year. Laden with striking progressive distorted guitar chords and riffs intertwined with gloriously intelligent and complex melodies and throbbing grooves it is easily one of the best albums to come out of the djent genre for a while. We had the chance to talk with the Massachusetts duo about the album and Deadfall.

A pleasure to welcome you to The Ringmaster Review, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Would you like to introduce the band and members?

Sean Dusoe: Thanks for having us and it’s our pleasure to speak with you! First off, we are Deadfall. The band consists of myself on bass and Eddie Kim on guitars / drum sequencing.

How did you guys meet, your musical histories, and Deadfall come about?

Eddie Kim: I met Sean through the web back in high school. At that point I was living in Colorado and he was living in Massachusetts, so we would send each other little audio clips to record on. I ended up moving to Boston to attend Berklee and we had a prog metal band called Over Legend during that period. That band ended up dissolving after college but Sean and I stuck together to continue pursuing music because we had a great writing chemistry. Shortly after I started the writing process for my solo death metal record we began writing together again. The material we were writing at that point ended up on our New Light EP.

Your music is tagged as djent by most, for us label/tagged challenged souls could you describe your style and if you regard yourself in that subgenre?

SD: Djent as a genre really has quite a few different sounds and styles within itself. Our music definitely fits into the basic template of what we consider the genre to entail which are grooves, both simple and polyrhythmic, ambience and atmosphere, that signature djent tone, and for us, a lot of guitar layering effects. We are definitely categorizing ourselves as a djent band.

Your music is a stimulating and expressive instrumental tapestry of sound; this was the intention from the start for Deadfall, to be an instrumental band?

EK: Writing instrumentally was a very natural thing for us since we spent those years writing in that fashion with the prog metal band in college. But our ultimate goal is to get a vocalist to fill in our sound. Even when writing instrumentally, we always keep in mind where vocal parts can go and do.

Could the future possibly see the addition of vocals on some tracks?

SD: There will absolutely be vocals added on some if not most of our tracks. We are writing all of our music with intentions of having a vocalist as an important part of our sound.

How do you approach the songwriting, where does a song’s construction start?

EK: Essentially, it comes down to either having a groove or a melody that we want to expand on. Sometimes I’ll sequence a short idea and show them to Sean. If we both feel like we can take it places, we’ll both start playing around with ideas. And next thing you know we’ve got ourselves a completed tune.

Your brand new EP New Light had just been released to deserved acclaim, can you talk us through it and its emotive feeling throughout?  

SD: When we first began writing the album, we quite honestly did not really know where to begin. We just started writing riffs and grooves and that’s pretty much how Shades of Inception came about. Eddie came to me with a bunch of ideas for what is now New Light. When we had these two songs done, we noticed that the two had such incredibly different themes invoking very different kinds of emotions and images. We wanted to run with this concept. Then we wrote The Divergence and In Death’s Path. We wrote those two songs together so it seemed natural to have them flow in sequence. At this point we realized we could set up these tracks in a manner that would promote a theme. The Divergence is a representation of a split in the road. You have to make a choice, which is where In Deaths Path comes into play. In a sense, it’s kind of like the “bad” or “not ideal” choice with hardship and trials. New Light is exactly as the name suggests, after the hardship there is a sensation of hope on the horizon, which is where Utopia becomes very important. After all the hardship, trials and complexity, we have a song like Utopia that is seemingly very simple, but carries a lot of weight and gives a sense of relief to the listener. An image that all of the pressure and load that was being carried throughout the hard decisions is finally lifted, I really like the emotions that Utopia invokes.

You use programmed drums in your music, any particular reason as to why and what are the advantages with them over a live drummer for your sound?

EK: What’s nice about using programmed drums is that you can nit-pick at the most miniscule things without pissing anyone off. It’s also a really fast way to get all the ideas down and immediately hear it back. But you do end up losing the human factor in the feel of the drum parts so it’ll be interesting when we finally do get a drummer to start performing with us.

What are the influences that have flavoured your creativity and sound with Deadfall?

SD: Honestly I heard Icarus Lives by Periphery and approached Eddie and said something along the lines of “Hey…we should start doing stuff like this, this is absolutely amazing.” I’m pretty sure at that point I listened to that song and everything by Periphery for days and days on repeat. After that, I started getting familiar with TesseracT, Animals As Leaders, and Cloudkicker. Meshuggah is also one of our favourite bands as well, so really we are drawing on different aspects of each of these bands plus pulling through the progressive elements that Eddie and I used to write in as well.

Eddie, you also have just released your death metal solo work Before The Dead Fall, can you give us some insight to it and again its reference to the beginning of Deadfall?

EK: When Sean and I were in Over Legend, the writing was very much a collaborative style. Everyone had say and input on everything. After that band ended I wanted to explore writing on my own and that became Before The Dead Fall. Like I had mentioned earlier, in the middle of the writing process I thought about having Sean on board to play the bass parts for the recording and possible touring for the album. It didn’t take long before we wanted to start writing together again. I made the decision to quickly finish and put out the death metal record and then focus on the music that ended up becoming Deadfall. Since I knew the death metal album was going to come out first, I titled it Before The Dead Fall as a little play on words to hint at what was to come.

What is next for you Guys, any live shows for example?

SD: We have quite a bit planned that we are really excited about. We are still writing intensely and plan on releasing a full length album by the end of the year. We are looking at playing shows as soon as possible. We have been releasing videos as often as we possibly can. We are very excited to start playing live and really just want to perform and front of people and get our sound out there.

A big thanks for taking time to talk with us. Would you like to leave with some final words for the readers?

EK: If you haven’t already, go and download the New Light EP at http://deadfall.bandcamp.com. We’ve been working on some awesome new things that we’re excited to put out and you can keep up to date on those by checking out our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/deadfall1) and our YouTube page (http://www.youtbe.com/eddiekim). Thanks a bunch!

Check out the review ofd Deadfall – New Light http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/deadfall-%E2%80%93-new-light/

RingMaster 12/09/2011

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2011
09/12
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Mishkin Interview

UK band Mishkin, are one of the most exciting bands not only in England but in rock itself as shown by their recent EP Row Away From The Shore, it’s vibrant, intelligent and varied sounds a beacon for inventive songwriting. The RingMaster Review had the pleasure of talking to vocalist Ben Davy about the release, Mishkin and their music.

Hi and welcome to The RingMaster Review, many thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Would you start by introducing the band members?

Thanks for having us! The band is….. Ben Davy – Vocals, Ali Epstone – Guitar, Jimmy MacGregor – Guitar, Dave ‘surfs up’ Jackson – Bass, Bradie Nixon- Drums

How did the band members meet and the beginning of Mishkin come about?

Me, Ali and Jimmy met at music college many years ago, back then we had a different drummer and a different bass player. We gigged together for a few years until we had a big lineup change, which was when we found Bradie and Dave. We knew Bradie from gigs we’d played with his old band up in Middleborough; he was an obvious choice to wield the sticks. As for Dave well…. luckily there were no waves on Fistral beach the day we were in the area. Got chatting to him and managed to persuade him to put down his surf board and pick up his bass.

Your sound is an intelligent, varied and unique blend of melodic rock and metal to simplify it, but what are your influences that have in some way inspired your sound?

Ah man, all five of us are into different things; from Architects and Meshuggah to Devin Townsend, Iron maiden, Sikth and Mr Bungle. The melodic side of the music has its roots in early Incubus and Faith No More. The slight electronic touches you’ll hear owe a lot of to Thrice and the stuff they did on ‘The Alchemy Index’.

The distinctly varied bands you have supported including Enter Shikari, Skindred, and (Hed) P.E., all show your music wonderfully does not fit a set genre or style. As you write songs though do you find they naturally do not favour just a full on metal attack or a soft melodic flow or you deliberately keep that balance as songs evolve?

To be honest, the way the songs have ended up so far has been pure chance. I don’t think we ever sat down and said ‘right this track will be the monster opener’ or ‘Guys how about we write something atmospheric and a bit weird’. I think the best songs just happen naturally. The E.P is a good example of how up to now our writing methods have worked or at least did work at a time when there were just 3 of us.

 With the tracks ‘Good Day To Die’ and ‘Violation’ Jimmy wrote the majority of the guitars and I’d do vocals later. Whereas with’ Waiting’ and ‘On Your Sleeve’ I did most of the structure, basic music and  melodies then show them to the boys who’d do their own thing and make it super awesome, Which again is why the 4 tracks vary. We’re approaching the new tracks in a much more group orientated way, making the most of all five of our musical brain, which should in turn lead to a more united Mishkin sound!

The band is linked strongly with China, could you tell us about you work and adventures there?

Yeah we did some pretty incredible work over there. We toured in 2007, playing the Beijing midi festival which was an unbelievable experience for 5 lads from Leeds! That tour opened the door for a return in 2008; we played around 25 dates in cities all over China. Part of the tour was doing day time workshops with Kids of all ages, from as young as 4 up to 18 in local schools. We’d take them in groups of guitarists, drummers, singers etc and have some fun. Each day ending with an hour long set from us! Then in the evening we’d get driven straight to the main venue in whatever town we were in that day and play a show for the older fans. Most of those were sell outs which was just incredible!

While we were there we also recorded a song for the Beijing Olympics! Which is another story all together! And we recorded two tracks with the Shanghai conservatory orchestra. That was a personal highlight for me, seeing our music scored out by a professional conductor and having a full orchestra score written for us! Once in a lifetime stuff!

The music workshops you had for children across China were rock based or just music generally and did you find the kids open to your kind of creativity?

They were pretty much rock based by default. As rock was the reason we were there, and the kids didn’t care about scales and the ‘boring’ stuff they just wanted to know how to rock! We’d also focus a lot on song writing, taking them through how we write our songs and teaching them some of the basic parts. At every school we’d try and get 5 of them up to play a good section of one of our tunes and I’d sing with them. It made their day and ours!

Row Away From The Shore is your latest EP and the follow up to your acclaimed debut EP State of Mute Fear, how have you as a band and your sound changed and evolved between the two?  

I’d say we have developed a better understanding of how to write songs; lyrically they all have a lot going on and cover a lot more areas. The sound as a whole has naturally become richer and I suppose more epic. We’re also getting better and adding textures to the music with the use of the electronic elements and by having a better understanding of our instruments as a whole.

Justin Hill (SikTh) has produced Row Away From The Shore, how did that come about and why did you feel he was the right one to help bring your envisaged sound to life?

We have all been fans of Justin’s work with Sikth as a vocalist and as a producer in his own right. The production he and Dan Weller did on the second Sikth album meant he was a natural choice to work with on our E.P. vocally the guy has been a huge inspiration to me too, so having the opportunity to work with him was a dream come true.

The artistic giant Ralph Steadman did the art work for the new EP, again how did that link up come about?

We knew Ralph from when we did ‘State Of Mute Fear’. He had been kind enough to do the artwork for that too! So it seemed like an obvious choice to give him a poke and see if he’d do it again….for some reason he said ‘OK’. We’re so unbelievably lucky to have him work with us; we’re just waiting for the day when he asks for his £10,000 royalty cheque!

Your video for ‘Good Day To Die’, taken from the EP is an animated classic in our view and gaining great acclaim, can you tell us about it?

It was done by two good friends of ours at Grape Productions; it took them 8 months of slaving until the wee hours. Again we’re just so lucky to be surrounded by such talented people. They basically asked for a copy of the lyrics and brief description of what the song was about and then they came up with the story board…… 8 months later…BANG! We’re the proud owners of the most Epic music video ever made!

You have just been part of the first Metal Fringe 2011 in Leeds, a great charity event featuring local rock and metals bands, how did that go for you and the weekend as a whole especially with hopes it will become an annual event?

The Metal Fringe was a great thing for the Leeds metal scene. It proved that there really is life in the Leeds underground scene, where for so long there has been none. The organisers involved did an incredible job and put together a bill of seriously strong bands. We were just honored to be asked to headline! Hopefully we’ll be back again next year to destroy once more!

What is next up for Mishkin?

We’re currently writing, and demoing tracks for our debut album, also in the middle of booking a tour for October. Basically keeping busy and keeping the momentum going!

Thanks again for taking time to talk to us, any last words or your fans and our readers?

Thank you so much for the constant flow of support! This year has been the best yet for us so let’s keep it moving forward together!

P.s if you don’t know who we are, get yourself onto our band camp page to listen to the new E.P for free! http://mishkin.bandcamp.com/

Lastly what are your current listening pleasures outside of Mishkin?

There are a few awesome bands around at the moment that are doing some special things, TesseracT and Circles (Australia) also Devin Townsends new stuff is HUGE! All very inspirational stuff. We’ve also been getting into some old style Trojan records calypso…. so expect a Caribbean influence on the next record!

Check out the band at their official website http://www.mishkin.co.uk and get their EP for free from http://mishkin.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mishkin/9832875887

 

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The Cellophane Flowers Interview

London based multi-national quirky indie pop maestros The Cellophane Flowers burst to the fore with their ‘If I Was A Girl’ EP released in 2010 and this year’s single ‘Freeze Me’. Their eclectic kaleidoscope of influences and sounds weaved into music that is intriguing, engaging, and addictive. The ringmaster Review swooped to have the pleasure to ask the band about themselves, their music, and their impending debut album.

Hi and welcome to The RingMaster Review, many thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Would you care to introduce the band members of The Cellophane Flowers?

Hi, we are individually known as Fra (singer), Ian (guitar), Luca (bass) and Nick (drums).

All of you come from different continents in the world so how did you all meet and the band begin?

We all met in London, where Nick and Ian have lived for years – we met playing in a previous band. Luca and Fra both gravitated to London from Australia and Italy to get involved in the music scene. We found each other through the classifieds and checked each other out thoroughly in the pub.

Your music and individual songs are very distinct, how does the song writing process work?

Fra and Ian mostly write the songs on their own, check them out with each other to fill in the missing links and bring them into the rehearsal room where they’re put through their paces. Some come out of jams, like ‘Freeze Me’, and then one of us goes away to work it into a song.  But I don’t think you could tell which song came from which of us as the differences mostly come from how we as a band decide what to do with the track. The song usually has its own personality and it can take a while to figure that one out.

Your songs have been tagged with a very varied mix of references to other bands like Sonic Youth and here at The RingMaster Review we were reminded of the likes of Throwing Muses, Whale, and The Daisy Chainsaw. What are your influences and any bands you feel you may have a similar flavour to?

The influences are rarely intentional, although one exception is Sonic Youth on the chorus for ‘Belinda’, which you guys (The Reputation Radio Show) played a few weeks back. So I’m loving it when that gets spotted. But the drums on Belinda are, er, very similar to a Smashing Pumpkins track, which the drummer had never heard and we only realised months down the line.  A lot of the comparisons come down to the tone of Francesca’s voice on a particular track – I think that with female singers people find it easier to make connections with other bands as female voices are judged differently to male ones, it’s more about the tone.

We’re into melodic guitar bands with strong lyrics, whether it’s the Smiths, Stone Roses, Cure, Throwing Muses, but we consciously try not to copy them. We do get a lot of 80s comparisons though and have discovered a few 80s bands we really like through references in reviews we’ve had – Martha and the Muffins for example

The If I Was A Girl EP garnered strong attention and praise from fans and the media alike which is obviously a welcome thing but has that brought any new pressure or affected your approach to your forth coming album Staring At The World?  

No. We write what we like and happily enough, there are enough people who like what we’re doing. It’s a bit of a stock answer from many bands, but it’s true. If anything, the success of If I Was A Girl has given us the confidence that we can write intelligent tracks that people find interesting, and it’s challenged us to push things out a bit more.

Can you give us some hints to what we will find on your debut album?

You’ll definitely see ‘Freeze Me’, ‘If I Was A Girl’ and ‘Belinda’, and probably another three or four singles. But we’re having to squeeze 14 tracks down to ten or eleven, so beyond that no promises! There’s a really good mix of up and down, short and long, sweet and sour – we’re going to take you on a journey!

Your songs and lyrics are expressive and with Francesca’s stunning vocals emotive, the single ‘Freeze Me’ and the accompanying ‘Belinda’ being perfect and wonderful examples. This gives the thought that the songs are quite personal themes to the band maybe inspired from experiences, is this so?

Yes, the songs are usually personal and often have a theme of alienation running through them, of not quite fitting in. In fact, I think there’s only one track I can think of that isn’t based on personal experiences, fears or desires and even that’s about a very personal fury about what’s going on in this country at the moment.

Could you give some background to those two tracks in particular?

They’re very different tracks and we decided to release them together to give a bit of a flavour of the variety of what we do to a wider audience. Belinda was recorded the more recently, but both are being remixed from the versions you will have heard by Dave Allen for the album. We try our best not to say what the lyrics for any particular track are about; the meaning is in the ear of the beholder. But you can say that there’s a mortality theme running through those two. Or maybe the latest in refrigeration techniques.

You have recorded Staring At The World with Dave Allen (The Cure / Depeche Mode / Human League / The Charlatans), how did that come about and how has he helped your sound for the release?

We’d been stalking each other on the interweb for a year or two, and eventually we wore him down until he agreed to meet us. We spiked his drink and took compromising footage on our mobiles until he was forced to do the album for us.

He’s really helped us get across our live sound – the recordings sound like us, whereas some of our previous recordings sound like another band who has made some music that sounds quite familiar. He’s given it a real pop backbone as well. It’s been most fun when we’ve come in with a track that’s only half cooked and watched it evolve. We’ll definitely do that for the next album; go into the studio with tracks only taken to a certain stage, rather than the near-finished article. We’re incredibly proud of this album.

Your live shows are notable affairs, what can people expect when coming to your gigs?

Each one is very different and there’s always a fight to see who gets to do the set list, it’s like putting a puzzle together. We always put a lot of energy into our shows, they’re performances. There’s nothing worse than watching a band chugging along at the back of a venue. We’re working on doing something very cool with on-stage visuals and video loops, and there’s lots of swapping of instruments to keep things fresh.

What is next for The Cellophane Flowers after the album release?

World domination and a nice cup of tea, in no particular order.

Many thanks for spending time to talk to us; is there anything you would like to end with for your growing mass of fans and those about to discover your delights?

Yes, we hope you can join us for the ride. Get yourselves in early and come down to a gig – you can stay in touch with us through our website – www.thecellophaneflowers.co.uk – for music, gig listings, videos, photos, blogs and newsletter.

Lastly what are your current listening pleasures outside of The Cellophane Flowers?

Marina & the Diamonds, The National, The Charlatans.

 

The excellent If I Was A Girl EP and ‘Freeze Me /Belinda’ single are available now, for more info on those and the band go to http://www.thecellophaneflowers.co.uk/

Check out the ‘Freeze Me‘ review @ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2011/07/03/the-cellophane-flowers-freeze-me/

RingMaster Review 03/09/2011

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09/03
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Age Of Menace Interview

Australian rock band Age Of Menace from the moment they posted two demos online last year have inspired and received a growing swell of enthusiasm and acclaim towards them. September 9th sees the band release their impressive self titled EP which without doubt will cause an even stronger response and The RingMaster Review had the pleasure of talking to the band to discuss the impending release and the band itself.

Hi and welcome to The RingMaster Review, many thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Would you start by introducing the band and its members?

Pete Ross on guitar, Adam Breakspear on drums, Matt Lyon on bass, and Rob Smith on vocals.

How did you all meet and tell us about the beginning of Age Of Menace especially in reference to the immediate acclaim and attention you received upon releasing two demos not long after the bands formation.

ROB:  Matt and I have a long history together playing in Sydney 5-piece Heifer. Age of Menace drummer Adam Breakspear also joined Heifer late in the piece as did guitarist Angie Piscioneri.  Matt and I had already been working on new material with the new members which was moving in a different direction, so when that finished we formed a new band with those guys. We were looking for a 2nd guitarist and were impressed by Pete so asked him to join.

MATT: It was this line up that recorded the original two demos that were posted online last year. Rob’s sister was heading to MIDEM in 2010 so we thought it would be good to give her a demo to shop around. We got some honest feedback and took it back to the studio with us for the next recording.

Shortly thereafter Angie departed, and although we originally planned to look for another guitarist to join Pete, we subsequently decided to go back to being a 4-piece and have been really happy with how things have worked out.

Are your songs written as a band or generally come from one person?

ROB:  Both. To date the music/lyrics split has been quite delineated with myself responsible for the lyrics and the rest of the guys for the music.

MATT: With the tracks on the EP, the music for some were mainly written by individuals, e.g. “We Don’t Like You At All” primarily written by former guitarist Angie and “Shut You Down” by drummer Adam, whereas others are more collaborative such as “I Fall Down” and “In My Mind”, although all the tracks have had input to a greater or lesser extent from everyone.

Our drummer Adam is quite a prolific writer and a lot of the tracks in our set have come from riffs that he’s brought to the band. It’s great having so many contributors – I think it keeps things more interesting and it’s great for everyone being able to have input.

You are about to release your impressive self titled EP you just mentioned, how long did that take to come to realisation?  

ROB: It’s been over a year as we recorded it at two studios almost a year apart. We wanted to wait until we were really happy with the finished product and wanted to get a few live shows under our belt before launching it.

The tracks and your sound are a great blend of attitude loaded hard rock and stirring energised metal, what are your influences that have helped over the years to flavour your music?

MATT: The collaborative writing in the band has brought with it a wide range of influences, from just about every genre you can think of. There’s the various heavy music genres that drive it of course, but there’s a bunch of other influences there, old and new,  that, although not readily identifiable, I think contribute to the writing and the treatments of some of the tracks.

PETE: We all have quite different tastes when it comes to music. Collectively we listen to everything from Cypress Hill to prog to black metal. We are naturally a heavy rock band in that when we get together and write it’s always big fat chunky stuff.

Lyrically the EP has a dark and emotive feel, how personal are the lyrics in their inspiration?

ROB: I guess the first thing to mention is that it’s not all autobiographical. We wanted this band to kinda move between a rock and a metal sound so I needed to feed that dark and aggressive music but make it melodic sometimes too. Conflict was a pretty big theme and there are a few songs where that is played out. The songs, In My Mind and I Fall Down were more introspective, laced with regret, that morning after the night before feeling.

‘I Fall Down’ is the great new video from the release can you tell us about it?

MATT: Hedge, the director, had this vision of mixing live footage of the band with scenes from the 1920’s movie “Oktober” as a tribute to its director Sergei Eisentein, who he sees as revolutionary (in more ways than one). There are some bits in the clip that pay homage to the “montage” editing methods that Eisentein pioneered.

The EP has artwork as distinctive as and matching the tones of the songs, was the artist Scott Black someone you knew and what was it about his work that made you use his skills?

ROB:  Scott is a mate who used to live on the NSW Central coast where I’m originally from. He moved back to Scotland a few years ago and we got in touch again on Facebook. He was creating this very detailed digital art and one piece in particular, “Addiction”, just blew us away. We asked him if we could use it for the EP cover and he was stoked on the music so offered to do the artwork for the whole EP.  It just seemed like a great fit for the themes running through the songs.

 What is the rock/metal scene like in Australia currently and what support is there for unsigned and independent bands?

ROB: Australia is a small market for music in general so the scene for heavy music is small but dedicated. There are some opportunities there but it’s by no means mainstream

What is next for Age Of Menace and can audiences outside of Australia see the band live in the foreseeable future?

ROB: Matt and I had a fucking ball playing in Europe with Heifer on a couple of tours. It would be awesome to get Age Of Menace there in the future.

Many thanks for taking time to talk to The Ringmaster Review, would you like to end by giving us your current listening pleasures outside of Age Of Menace?

The Bronx, Cypress Hill, Karnivool, DevilDriver, Dimmu Borgir, and a bunch of classical and world music

The Age Of Menace EP is released September 9th digitally worldwide through all major online outlets, with the “hard copy” CD itself available only via the band’s website or at their shows www.ageofmenace.com
www.facebook.com/ageofmenace

Check out the EP review @ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/age-of-menace-%E2%80%93-ep/

RingMaster Review 28/08/2011

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2011
08/30
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S.O.S. Interview

Made up solely of individuals who each have a well-respected hardcore history, S.O.S recently released their impressive debut EP via Good Fight Music/Reaper Records ; I Owe You Nothing infused with the most intense and aggressive no frills hardcore. The RingMaster Review had the pleasure to find out more about the release and the band with guitarist Matt Henderson.

Welcome and thanks for taking time out to talk with The RingMaster Review. Would you give a brief introduction to the band members of S.O.S.?

Matt Henderson – Guitar
Scott Vogel – Vocals
Nick Jett – Drums
Sam Trapkin – Guitar
Chris Beattie – Bass

You all have rather impressive musical pedigrees with your ‘day jobs’ so how did you all meet and the idea of S.O.S. become a reality?

The idea started with Scott and Chris just hanging out one day thinking about getting together to jam, and eventually Sam, Nick and myself got involved. We are all friends through the hardcore scene as well as being fans of each others’ bands and we all got to talking and thought it was a cool idea

Your EP I Owe You Nothing has just been released to a great response, how long was it in the making?  

Well, from the time Scott and Chris started to talking to the time we actually got in the studio to record was about two years, but we only spent a few weekends writing and recording because that was all the time we could get together with everybody’s busy schedules. We only needed that much time anyway to make the record – it’s only 12 minutes long!!!!!!!!!!!! Any more time put in would have defeated the purpose.

Was it easy to find a mutual time from your other bands to work on S.O.S.?

No it was not.

I read it was a group effort down to the smallest detail, was it easy to agree or were there some tense moments that should never be revealed?

It was very easy to agree because we all had the same idea in mind of making some stripped down straight up hardcore, and we all have strong backgrounds in this music so we know what it should sound like. Of course, with five guys who all have good ideas there are times where one guy might have to work a little to get his point across, but that happens with any group situation.

How did the songwriting work, did you have ideas before entering the studio?

We all had some demo ideas that we passed on to each other over email for a few months, and then Nick, Scott and I got together over a weekend in CA to bang some stuff out in a rehearsal studio which we passed on to Sam and Chris. The next time we got together was in NY at the recording studio and we finished it all up.

I Owe You Nothing was produced with Dean Baltulonis (Goes Cube, Hold Steady, Sick of it All), an obvious match but how did that come about?  

Dean and I are old, close friends and have done some recordings together in the past, including Madball and Agnostic Front, so there is a strong connection there. Scott was actually the one to suggest it and I was all for it. Dean does great work AND he is great to work with so it went very well.

Your songs are powerful not only in sound but lyrical content especially concerning world and human politics. How easy do you find it to get your points and comments over without preaching to the detriment of the whole song?

Scott wrote the majority of the lyrics for the songs so I can’t fully speak for him, but I am pretty sure I know where he is coming from. I think the point of hardcore in general is getting together to scream out what we all have a beef with. It’s “I’m pissed about this and I know that you all are too.” it’s never about preaching, or at least it shouldn’t be.

What is next for S.O.S.? Gigs and plans for more recordings in the future?

There are no immediate plans for either but that’s not to say it won’t happen.

As a hardcore punk band that still retains the core elements of the genre what is your opinion on the state of the scene as a whole?

It looks to me that it is about as healthy as it should be, and I can personally go back to 1985, which is 26 years of history. I’m not the best guy to ask because I have limited exposure to it these days and only go to a few shows here and there, but when I go I see a good size crowd with younger people there as well as the OGs. I know that newer bands keep coming out and that there are labels that are ready to put the recordings out there.

Thank you so much for chatting to us at The RingMaster Review, have you any last words for the readers?

Thanks to everybody who appreciates what we did with the S.O.S. EP. It was a lot of fun for us to do and I think it came out great. To those who feel the need to over analyze it and are looking for something new or different you missed the point.

I Owe You Nothing is available now at several digital music outlets, such as iTunes with an exclusive vinyl EP available through Reaper Records

http://www.facebook.com/SOShclives

http://www.goodfightmusic.com/artists/sos.php

RingMaster 20/08/2011

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Prince Edward Island Interview

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND are just about to release their eagerly anticipated debut album This Day Is A Good Enough Day bringing eleven songs hewn with PEI’s trademark brand of melancholia and dark wit. The RingMaster Review managed to grab time with vocalist and guitarist Darren Bruce to talk about the band and album

Hello and thank you for sparing time to talk to The RingMaster Review. How did the band members meet and Prince Edward Island begin?

Hi.  Well…..Phil (Pearce) had a song in his head so he approached Faye (Davies) because she looked weird and because she’d never played an instrument in her life which appealed to his punk ethic sympathies. I (Darren) came in because Faye’s face is not really good enough for recording songs with. Then we poached Nick (Elleray), Jon (Hodges) and James from bands because they could play instruments properly and stuff which freed up Faye do her ‘look’. And here we are. We interviewed Jon the drummer in the Hawley Arms one night and were served by Amy Winehouse. She doesn’t work there anymore.

Let us get the obvious question out of the way please tell us about the band’s name?

Well, we’re not gonna lie to you. We stole it from Canada.

In your bio it states you accidentally won an Xfm Unsigned competition that you had unknowingly entered, how did that happen?  We are assuming you knew on the night right?

We’re not entirely sure some of us even know yet. To be honest, recording was always just a bit of fun for us, a bit of a precursor to a good night in the pub.  It was actually a radio thing with listeners voting and all that. We sent in a CD with our one song on it in the hope that Xfm would play it on their unsigned bit late at night (They don’t do it anymore since they got bought out and turned even more pish). We didn’t know it but that week they were running an unsigned competition for a place at 02 Festival, Hyde Park. We must have got chucked into the entries bag, were chosen by a panel of DJs for the listener vote thing which we then won. We were listening at work when they announced it. Our hearts sank. We only had one song.  Still, we got our name on the same t-shirt as The Flaming Lips so every cloud…

You have just released your very impressive debut album This Day Is A Good Enough Day with immediate praise and acclaim. As you were recording when did you realise this was something extra special in the making? 

Ta very much. Actually, from day one Phil kept telling us how brilliant it was, in his head. He is generally deluded though so Faye & I tend to ignore him as a rule. Annoyingly, it turns out he was kinda right. Still, I imagine we’ll put in a concerted effort to screw it up next time.

From the song titles alone to the lyrics and delivery the songs are very emotive, how personal are most of the songs?

  1. Very.  Which doesn’t put us or our previous relationships in a terribly good light.
  2. Not at all. They are about stuff common to us all.

There seems to be a melodramatic movement maybe even a new sub genre of indie rock, with yourselves and bands like Letters and Ideals. On your part is this a mere instinctive and natural direction or something inspired by life and musical influences?

Err…both?  Probably.

Well, we’ve not exactly hidden our inspirations under a bushel and you can’t help but be influenced by them. We’re quite happy if people want to keep casting up Arab Strap, except you didn’t. Damn. Anyway, Aidan Moffat is a certified genius. Faye wants his children.

Another thing which seems to be across this sound is the Scottish element, either vocally or in personal backgrounds. Has that any bearing on the music and sentiments you bring to your songs?

To be honest, I think the sentiments are probably true of any provincial backwater.  Maybe that’s what the appeal is. It just so happens this one’s Scotland, hence the Scottish accent.

‘The Keith Disaster Fund’ and the new single ‘You Look Like I Need A Drink’ are just two wonderful moments of many on the album, could you tell us about those tracks in particular and the wit that permeates throughout This Day Is A Good Enough Day which in our review we said reminded us of the TV comedies like Still Game and a social humour distinct to Scotland.

It’s gallows humour. ‘Funny’ songs are dull. Miserable is also dull. Mix the two and it starts to get interesting. The songs of the two great miserablists – Malcolm Middleton and Morrissey – are both funny as fuck.

When creating the songs which is the spark, lyrics or music?

Lyrics. Every time. Definitely. Though not so much on the instrumentals ones.

You are renowned for your work with Welsh quirk-pop songwriter John MOuse, backing him numerous times. How did that come about?

Oh, him. Frankly, he’s a man completely deluded about his own abilities. Somehow he managed to fumble together a little gem of an album, ‘Humber Dogger Forties’. To this day none of us have figured out how. Then, clearly, he realised he had to find real talent to help him promote it. And here we are.

or

He and Faye share the same surname. You decide.

What is on the near horizon for Prince Edward Island?

Nothing’s ever on the near horizon with us. It took us 5 years to get one album out for christsakes. Although, that said we’ve got the Green Man festival coming up soon with Mr MOuse which should be a bit of a hoot.

And Phil got some Weight Watchers Summer Camp vouchers for his birthday so I imagine he’ll be off to cash those in, in the near future.

 Thanks so much for joining us and good luck with This Day Is A Good Enough Day. Would you like to leave us with a final word for your growing mass of fans?

Sorry.

 

This Day Is A Good Enough Day is available through Crocfingers Record on Monday the 29th August. For more information check out the bands official website http://www.princeedwardisland.co.uk

RingMaster 12/08/2011

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