New Music - 2015 - Part 8 - Rae Morris - Unguarded

One summer Sunday morning, in North Yorkshire in 2012, I took this picture. There were not very many of us there to experience Rae Morris open the main stage of Deer Shed Festival 2012 as the ungodly hour of midday approached.

 It was clearly something special. I rarely make predictions like this. This could be one of the major label releases of 2015. 

Her début album 'Unguarded' is released tomorrow on Atlantic Records.

New Music - Part 20 - And why EPs really matter...

This was originally started as a follow-up to my previous post about new (to me) music that I saw at Sunrise Festival 2013. On the other hand things change and, at least in the case of this blog, I have the absolute freedom to follow my whim: Yesterday I filed that half-written post in 'Drafts' and started over with this one instead.
It is still about new music and three acts/artists as was its predecessor. On the other hand the only one of these three that I have seen live is the first and all three have only released EPs thus far in their respective careers. The importance of the EP (digital or otherwise) is something that I mentioned at the end of last year when compiling my 'best of 2012' lists.
Most recently that was at Sunrise 2013 but, despite being the youngest, we have crossed paths on several previous occasions. This is Ned The Kids Dylan.

In the 'Groovy Movie' film tent at Sunrise 2013 on Saturday evening.
There is not a cover version to be heard here --- of Dylan or anybody else.
  

That said, and it says a great deal I think, here he is closing End of The Road 2012 (at 3:15 on Monday morning) with Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes), and Hurray For The Riff Raff.

That is also true of the 'My Life EP', released in May 2013. If the quotes and comments in the link above seem rather surprising then all I can say is if you have a chat with Ned about music you will very likely find that you end up changing your mind! If you are still wondering what the fuss is about, and particularly if you are going to Glastonbury, then here you go:
http://www.virtualfestivals.com/latest/news/14019

Next up, and the longest established, is Oxford-based Swindlestock. I had never heard, or heard of, of them let alone seen them live until this week. It now looks good - live in Oxford and then live at Truck Festival 2013. They are in the throes of recording a new EP. This is the previous one - 'The Flood' - and it is a fine piece of cross-genre Anglo-Americana if ever there were one. (I just made that genre up, although I'm almost certainly not the first to do so.)

 A new EP is in the works. I wanna hear that live.

If you want a bit of 'The Flood' then here it is:

Free EPK from ReverbNation.com

So that brings us to the last of the three; North Somerset based Wolfhound. Now a trio with the addition of Anja Quinn in late 2012, sisters Sally and Natalie Joiner have been playing since 2010.
This is their début EP - 'Empty Lighthouse (2011). The second is imminent. Sometimes they also have a guest - a fourth player live - Bashema Hall on keys.

New Music - Part 18 - PJP Band - ...and so it goes

I can honestly say that, whilst most of my family live there, in the more than six years of writing this blog I have never once mentioned a band that is based in Plymouth.
Until today...
... and so it goes - PJP Band. I certainly didn't see this coming, so thanks to Amazing Radio for alerting me this evening. It is a fine album, indeed I have since spent too much time listening to it streamed. Better still it is available now either as download or as 2 x 12" LP contained in a gate-fold sleeve (limited to 250 copies).
It is not cheap but their bargaining chip is good...
"This is a deluxe run, and a beautiful product to own, even if you don't have a record player... yet." 
Well, at least that is not a problem for me and both have very recently been treated to a new stylus too. It is, as far as I can tell, the first release by Plymouth-based independent label OUF Records.
I hope to hear more music out of Plymouth, in any genre, sooner rather than later. To state it another way - Plymouth has a population broadly similar to the whole of Iceland...