There is something in Southampton that helps create a sound in Winchester.
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.
At the year’s end do you look back or does your mind’s eye peer into the future?
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.
Admiration and grief have been given equal measure this week as people express their feelings about Jackie Leven’s death.
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.”
Even though bands hate being pigeon-holed music labelling is really helpful and easily defines an era: anyone remember BritPop?
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
