It’s a question most musicians would be unable to answer in a positive manner as their ‘back catalogue’ is their family tree.

But for Broken Links their past is being “completely wiped from all existence” and remade in their current image as their front man Mark Lawrence explains:

“We decided to make an album of our best stuff to date, all re-recorded, re-arranged, and produced.”

The band have always released a few songs on EPs but as Mark pointed out: “the production of our 1st EP was poor, and our sound and song-writing has evolved over the course of our other previous EP’s.”

This slash and burn approach is admirable because most bands rarely admit they didn’t get it totally right.

But with the experiences of previous recording sessions under their belt, Broken Links have been able to enter the studio knowing exactly what they wanted and who was needed to achieve it.

Which is why they have picked producer Chris Coulter who is also working with acts like Arcane Roots, Subsource, Trails and Romans.

And used the Ranch Production House in Southampton.

Due out in May/June 2012 the album will actually be finished today and we’ll be playing tracks exclusively in Saturday night’s show (South by Southampton on 103.9 Voice FM) – which is exactly what radio should be – fresh and exciting.

Titled “Disasters: Ways to Leave a Scene” it should fully encapsulate the past three years of Broken Links’ excellent electro metal.

We heard it on New Year’s Day and the recording will be played in Saturday’s show.

Funnily enough my guest Paul Eastham has a coincidental connection to that sound and it comes via the album ‘The Turning Stone’ which his band Coast released in 2011.

Inspired by his daily commute on the Hythe ferry it’s a wonderful collection of Celtic rock songs flavoured with the spirit of Southampton.

The album has been doing brilliantly in Denmark where the band has a very strong following and will be touring in March.

And as Paul pointed out this is a big moment for them: “It’s our first trip where we are gigging with out the aid of festivals. They not only pay you but also give you an audience.”

No doubt this tour of large clubs will also bring them closer to the people who’ve hearing Coast daily on Danish national radio.

They will be playing major European festivals in 2012 but might not eclipse the filling of Paul’s childhood ambition in Germany last year, when Coast played Cologne’s Tanzbrunnen Park stadium in front of 14,000 people.

Not only did they follow Bryan Adams but, as Paul recalls, “it was weird to hear the crowd singing the second chorus of ‘Oceanos’.”

On Saturday night on 103.9 Voice FM you’ll hear why Coast have such a good footing in Europe, tracks from the new album and the connection between Southampton, Winchester, Coast and that sound. Show starts at 6pm.

Today I’m casting my steely glare towards the early months of 2012 in which we see ‘Band of Skulls’ releasing their much anticipated second album ‘Sweet Sour’.

Available on February 20th and eagerly anticipated, it will launch them into the upper echelons of the rock world.

Evidence so far points to the band adding another layer of polish to their impressive studio sound and all I’m waiting for to hear if they’ve retained their knack for songs filled with quality pop hooks.

As a free taster you can sign up to their mailing list at www.bandofskulls.com and get ‘Devil’s Rug’ an alternative version the single ‘The Devil Takes Care of His Own’.

Another free offering to look out for is ‘Nature Regulate’ a track from Birdpen’s second album.

Its a wonderful soundscape and is already in the playlist at Voice FM.

You’ll be able to download it from www.birdpen.com in January and it will be accompanied by a cool, artistic animated video.

Also in January Dlugokecki will be studio bound to add the finishing touches to their next album ‘Putting the Tracks in Front of the Train’.

It should be a cracker of an album, released on 12th March and you can pre-order from www.dlugokecki.net

Add to that the début début album from LST and already 2012 is looking like the year Southampton will be sticking its head above pops parapet and waving a flag of quality.

It was also a time when recording artists had it tough: especially in The Joiners.

So say Carole and Den, a couple who frequented this historic venue in 1967 and then experienced music’s waves of change as they swept through Southampton over the following decades.

I met them last Saturday evening during Grey Matter and they told me about the Joiner’s DJ who would destroy any single that the punters didn’t like.

He even had a special slot he could roll these offending items of vinyl down.

Its an amusing story and one which leaves you gasping to know which songs were literally a dance floor smash and if the DJ actually paid good money for these 45s of despair.

And to meet a couple still enjoying live music 40 years later is another reason to celebrate.

Although the slightly scary though that if you are 19 now, the equivalent will be going to The Joiners in 2051.

So will you fly by jetpack? And will the 80’s still be popular on every radio station?

Back in the present, there are two Christmas spectaculars for festive frolicking.

Delays are at The Brook supported by Sean McGowan and Oresteia.

Or you could check out Mintsouth’s Christmas party at Guava Bar and enjoy Heathward who recently won “Live Session Of The Year” on BBC Introducing.

Either way have a smashing Christmas!

The singer/songwriter was a resident of Botley, but born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, and lost his battle with cancer on Monday night.

Even though his career began in the 70’s fronting ‘Doll by Doll, and although he has about 30 solo albums to his name, Jackie was still being labelled a new act by BBC Radio 2 in 2010.

“I have long thought of Jackie as Britain’s lost rock star.” Says Neil McCormick, the Daily Telegraph’s chief rock music critic and one of Jackie’s biggest champions.

The young Jackie Leven had the same dangerous magnetism as Oliver Reed in that a drink and a fight weren’t far away. As Neil eloquently describes Doll by Doll: “They were positively scary live, you thought they might jump off the stage and punch the audience, but the toughness of Leven’s persona was counterbalanced by the tender depths of their songs.”

Leven’s voice sets him apart from almost any other performer and once you felt the emotion it never left you.

The frustrations of knowing that he should have had wider recognition are tempered by the fact that over the coming years many people will discover this ‘new’ artist called Jackie Leven.

As Neil McCormick summed up: “…to those who knew, he was the real deal. His work has incredible depth and resonance. I have a feeling we haven’t heard the last of him.”

You can hear an interview with Jackie Leven and Xan Phillips on Playdio.com

When there isn’t a specific genre you invent one, for example ‘cool/dark’ is how I’m summing up Robin Foster’s latest album.

Courtesy of the Southampton four-piece ‘Wolfe‘ a new genre “ChillWave” has been brought to my attention.

A term coined by blogger ‘Carles‘ which became ‘official’ when iTunes gave it a category and John Pareles in the New York Times summed it up as “recession-era music: low-budget and danceable.”

Wolfe dropped it into a conversation about professional acts they’ve recently supported.

Musicians such as ‘Tropics’ who headlined the club Pop in May: “Musically it worked really well and there was a mutual admiration between bands. It was great to support an up and coming band and one which is part of ‘chillwave’.”

Vocalist Gav Brook continued. “It led to a headline slot a few months later at the ‘Wednesday Night Live’ night at Pop which is a brilliant night for a more eclectic, electronic and left-field artists.”

Other acts they cite are ‘Suicide Party’ and ‘Bridpen’ because of… “the vibe that they create at gigs.”

Fronted by singer/bassist Laura Wolfe, with Paulus Fielder, Stu Rogers and Gav they created a brilliant ambiance, and very well balanced sound, when they supported ‘Maths and the Moon’ at Guava Bar in October.

Their EP “Cries” is available as a free download on Soundcloud and they’ll blow your house down.

First published in the Southern Daily Echo, Friday 11th Nov, 2011

Wolfe “Cries” by WOLFE

Its also the title of the second album from Robin Foster, a British musician living in France. [Cover photo by Benoit Pelletier]

You might not recognise his name but his music could have underscored your television pleasure as tracks from his debut “Life Is Elsewhere” have been used by Hugo Boss, Barclay’s and the US show ‘One Tree Hill’.

Robin’s latest mix of cool/dark instrumentals and songs features the south’s Dave Pen the singer from Birdpen and Archive.

Where do we go from here?

And as you’d expect Dave feels the same: “I liked his instrumentations and it felt natural to write lyrics to his music. Also the fact he was an Englishman working in France had a similarity with the musical projects I am involved in and we also connected as people which made working on these songs enjoyable and slightly mad.”

The most important aspect for Robin was the enthusiasm Mr Pen brought to the project: “I love Dave’s voice, he throws himself into it, he really brings a whole new dimension to the songs, it stops you in your tracks.”

The songs Dave has written lyrics for, and also poured his soul crushed vocals onto, are: “A collapsing light”, “Concrete Skies”, “Forgiveness”, “Black Mountain” and the almost
pop “Wait for her”.

I asked Dave if album’s title alluded to a global or inner perspective: “Its a more personal statement. The songs are about guilt, loss, hope and love, not about the state of the economy and the state of our beloved planet earth. That’s in another project you will hear about soon !!”

And many Birdpen fans around Europe are busting for news about that almost album finished!

However Robin takes us a little deeper into the background of the title: “It is also a personal statement regarding two very close friends who died while I was making the album, sparking that eternal question of “what’s next?”… It has many connotations really, it’s also a natural follow on from the first album’s title “Life Is Elsewhere”. This is the next step so to speak, though it’s not just a negative question, it’s also a hopeful one, the whole album has the recurring theme of a light in the dark. ”

For the record I think its a great listen. There is a fine balance between Robin’s instrumentals and the songs he and Dave have produced: they are like pauses during an evening’s conversation. And the answer to the album’s question? Onwards and upwards for both artists.

http://www.robinfoster.fr

Robin Foster’s upcoming live concert will feature special guest singers Dave Pen (Archive & BirdPen) et Ndidi O at the Transmusicales de Rennes, a major French music festival, Friday 2nd December.

Jean-Louis Brossard, organisateur du festival, dévoile son artiste «Coup de coeur», Robin Foster pour ces 33ème Rencontres des Transmusicales de Rennes, au Parc Expo Hall 4, vendredi 2 Décembre à 22h00.

You can visit the festival’s website : www.lestrans.com

Experience counts but it is far better to have youth on your side.

With Southampton’s latest alternative rock band ‘Fighting Tyler‘ they are lucky to have youth and also years of gigging and theatre experience on their side, rather than life’s cruel twists and turns.

They are fronted by classically trained Vikki-Jo Keens and the talents of Ali Koller (guitar), a strong rhythm section of Sam Towson (Drums), James Wills (Bass) and Christopher Pearce (guitar).

For stage presence Vikki can draw inspiration from her drama education along with her performances in a number of musicals, but like all singers she found rock was the answer: “I decided after a few years that as much as I love musical theatre, I wanted to work on my own original sound and image.”

The result is their first single ‘Alive’ which is full of heavy southern promise and recorded at the Ranch Production House, in Nursling.

As bassist James (formerly HourstilAutumn) told me “It was a great honour to get to work with Neil and the guys down there as they have a great reputation for working with signed and unsigned alternative rock acts.”

You can download the new Fighting Tyler single from iTunes and Amazon, or listen via Facebook and Spotify.

And if you missed Wednesday night’s gig they are back at the Talking Heads on the 24th November.

First published in the Southern Daily Echo, 21st October 2011

http://fightingtyler.com/

@FightingTyler

For example tonight there is an Oxjam event in Guava tonight.

“Where?” you might ask. Well, it used to be Hamptons and is now something fruitier.

I don’t know how long it took to pick that name but I do know that when it comes to a band’s some spend ages trying to think of something special.

So which of these band names grab you enough to see them in Guava tonight without listening to them first?

How about ‘Silver Spirts’ – its their debut! Following them is ‘Antigerone’ – started gigging in January with their punchy post-rock.

After them Wolfe – dual vocals over electronic beats who, according to PopFactory, are “arguably the most underrated local act around.”

And finally the headliners whose changed their name about a year ago:

“I had wanted to call our album ‘Maths and the Moon’,” frontman Andy Fielder explained. “Then Luke suggested we call the band ‘Maths and the Moon‘ instead. We all instantly agreed.”

They’ve also changed musical direction. Before it was high tempo: now it is more thoughtful.

“I guess it was time to write about what happens after the party,” is Andy’s philosophical response to the obvious question.

Musically they are trying something different, something almost conceptual. So maybe it is better to arrive incognito, rather than bringing your memories of their previous incarnation to the stage.

Natural stalwarts like the Daily Echo and BBC Introducing: The South on Radio Solent are consistently publicising and promoting.

Talent competitions such as ‘Live and Unsigned‘ have established themselves as a solid gateway for acts and do much more for grassroots musicians than the X-Factor.

However it is businesses who now need to consider bring music into their environment, especially if they have direct contact with the public.

The best example of this has to be Red Funnel Ferries who gave Charley Macaulay the opportunity to entertain passengers on their voyage between East Cowes and Southampton, following her success during ‘Live and Unsigned’.

“I met a lot of people doing the ferry gigs and I wouldn’t have done the half the things I’ve done
without meeting them,” Charley told me. “It’s been great for contacts and a completely different gigging experience altogether.”

In fact it led quite quickly to Charley supporting Anastacia at Osbourne House in the summer of 2009.

But rather than rush out a quick release she’s bided her time and will launch her debut EP at The Brooke on Saturday October 29th.

Surprisingly Charley’s got soul: full-band soul: “It was kind of a logical step to write music that I like and play it with a band that can create a Soul feel but with a modern edge.”

With a set of original songs waiting to be heard its time for Charley’s career to set sail.

First published in the Daily Echo Friday 7th October 2011