FIRST CUT – The Ruskins Online Premiere

Here’s the latest video from Converse “First Cut”, which sees the pairing of talented new directors and up-and-coming artists. This time round sees aspiring young director Andy Little working with The Ruskins on the video for their forthcoming single Old Isleworth. It took months of preparation, lots of train journeys, phone calls, site scouting and a day filled with rain, but check out the results for yourself! You may even recognise a few of the characters and friends of The Ruskins in there too!

The track is out on the 26th April so head over to their Myspace www.myspace.com/theruskins to find out more and check out all the details on when and where you can get your hands on the single.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR UNDERAGE EASTER SPECIAL COMPETITION

To tie in with the release of The Ruskins’ new video we are giving you the chance to tell us what you think of the video. In return you will be in with the chance of winning tickets to the Underage Easter Special on the 9th April and reviewing the night for Converse.

Its almost time to bring you another Converse Music exclusive First Cut video, which will be going live on Monday afternoon exclusively at conversemusic.co.uk.  Its been a more than hectic and busy time with Andy the director in York and the band in London and everywhere else gigging regularly and not to mention the snow over the Christmas period!  But last week on the streets of Isleworth Andy, The Ruskins and some very special friends (you will have to watch the full video to find out who!) finally got filming underway and despite the rain got some amazing footage.

This was one of the clips that didn’t make it into the final cut but we still love it! So check out our little cheeky teaser above and a few stills from the video below…you may catch a glimpse of one of the main characters, who you may just recognise….

Its a brilliant track and a great video, but when it goes live we want to know what you think too so we will be giving you the chance to review the video for yourself and be in with the chance of winning some tickets to the Underage Easter Special too!

READ THE FULL BIO ON THE RUSKINS, ANDY LITTLE & FIRST CUT HERE AND THEN SEE YOU ON MONDAY

Picture – Freelance Whales

Its another month and another line up of New Blood bands for you to feast your little ears upon!  We are inundated with loads of great music so New Blood is a neat round up and chance to share with you just a few of the bands we have picked up on over the past month.  Aiming to bring you some of the most interesting artists and bands from across the board, you may not like some of them, you not like any or you may love them all…but we suggest you just give them one moment of your time.  Check the streams below and then you can head over to the DOWNLOADS section to read a short bio and get the full free tracks from each band!
Vandelles / California Killer by Conversemusic.co.uk

Snowman / Hyena by Conversemusic.co.uk

Philadelphia Grand Dury / Going To The Casino (Tomorrow Night) by Conversemusic.co.uk

Gold Blood / Don’t Waste My Time by Conversemusic.co.uk

Shabby Rogue / My Life as a Secret Agent by Conversemusic.co.uk

Ono Palindromes – Black Lungs by Conversemusic.co.uk

Freelance Whales / Generator 2nd Floor by Conversemusic.co.uk

Club Smith / Courtyard by Conversemusic.co.uk

Airship / Kids by Conversemusic.co.uk

Admiral Fallow / Squealing Pigs by Conversemusic.co.uk

Mansfield Holiday / Priorities by Conversemusic.co.uk

Click here to head to the DOWNLOADS SECTION now to get your tracks and don’t forget you can read the full profiles in Artrocker Magazine which is out now!!!

Hailing from Suffolk and originally born into music as Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds, these five cheeky chappies have since changed their name to The Cheek.  Whilst the guys upon recording their debut album last year in Belgium changed their name and did a little musical maturing, they are still bringing us a good smack-you-round-the-chops get up and go punky pop music.  Championing the sounds of early Britpop and the likes of Roxy Music and The Velvets, The Cheek should not be mistaken for being a musical photocopier – instead they are here to bring us all a little reminder that pop music is more than just the chart trash its become to be associated with.  The Cheek combine the many facets of great british band music whilst drawing on an electric mix of their own flavours, experiences and sounds to bring us something wholly their own.  You may love it or hate it, but one thing we do know is that they do what they love and they do it well.

With their forthcoming single coming out in May and a forthcoming album for summer 10, we caught up with The Cheek to find out a bit more about what makes them tick and what we can expect from them this year….

Give us a picture to sum up The Cheek?

Who are The Cheek and what do you do? The Cheek are Ali, Rory, Christian, Charlie and Tom and we make loud music pretty much every day.

You used to be called Cheeky Cheeky and The Nosebleeds, why the change or does it just irritate you when people ask that? We called ourselves that when we were fourteen years old, so it was quite funny when our main interests were things like top trumps and sweets. We would have been pretty stupid not to change it though.

Do you think your sound has changed since the name change? We went off to Belgium at the start of 2009 to record our album. We had the intention of recording a bunch of old songs, but started to write new stuff which got us all excited and hot under the collar. We realized for the first time just what we could do and the name change was a product of that.

You were popular at Underage Festival 08 and Christmas Special in 2008, do you prefer playing to an underage crowd?      The Underage crowd is probably the most excitable crowd we’ve ever played to, they’ve got so much effing energy. It is nice when people dance from start to finish, and I think we play better for it.

You’re all from Woodbridge in Suffolk, has this played any part in influencing your music…if not what does? It definitely has had an influence in that it’s very quiet, which helped us to spend quite a long time sharpening our own sound, without being influenced by any trend or scene. We focused entirely on what we love about music and set off to make music that we wanted to hear at the time, cos no one else was doing it for us.

What’s your creative process when it comes to making music? It depends from song to song. Sometimes it can come from a lyric, sometimes we will work out a rough chord progression and go from that, sometimes it’s just working around a groove.

What’s the most embarrassing moment you’ve had as a band? When we all turned up to band practice wearing identical outfits.

Your planning to release an album later this year, can you tell us a bit about what we can expect? It’s a celebration of everything we love about life and music and a reaction against the slew of dull, plodding, grey guitar bands of the last few years.We’ve got Any Mackay from Roxy Music playing saxophone on it, which is cool.

Musical vice? At the moment it’s Arthur Russell, can’t get enough of that guy and everything he did. That and other loft disco stuff.

Pet Hates? That noise that speakers make when phones are near them.

Favourite Music Moment (in picture please)

Tell us something completely random that we may not know about you?  The most watched DVD in the van is almost certainly Home Alone.

Sum up The Cheeks in 3 words. Heavy pop music.

Finally what are your top tips in life and or music for 2010? Music tip would be watch out for the Night Slugs folk, L-Vis 1990, Mosca, Roska and Bok Bok.

THE CHEEK: Hung Up Everything Everything Remix by Conversemusic.co.uk

WE HAVE BEEN VERY LUCKY and THE CHEEK have given us to give to you, a little present. You can get your free download of The Cheek’s track HUNG UP remixed by Everything Everything now over in the download section. SO HAVE A LISTEN ABOVE AND THEN DOWNLOAD AND ENJOY.

Their forthcoming single ‘JUST ONE NIGHT’ is out 17th May, head over to their Myspace to find out forthcoming dates and all the latest news

“In cities and suburbs around the world, another generation of young musicians is emerging. Inspired by the underground music of the last 30 years, they are unencumbered by the restrictions on style and attitude that traditionally divided genres. Cities that once tried to emulate New York or London are coming to the forefront, newly confident in their unique local blends. The youth are coming into their own, cheering the home team, celebrating wherever they can stay out late and telling their stories with cracked software and cheap guitars. To praise the metropolises of the world for their diversity seems quaint – it doesn’t seem worthy of self-congratulation if it’s all you’ve ever known”

An exert taken from Bonjay’s bio it couldn’t have set the scene better for this new arrival and latest taster on conversemusic.co.uk.  Drawing their name from spice island slang for “Good God!, Bonjay originally formed in the basement of a pub at Ottawa’s legendary disorganized parties and from what originally began as a crowd pleasing lark, has now quickly developed into something so much more.

For Bonjay making music is about more than reacting to the now but drawing on an eclectic blend of influences, sounds and cultures.  Beautiful, soulful and powerfil vocals are driven from Alanna on the mic  (who along with a striking voice, packs one hell of a punch live) and Pho turning up the tempo and bass behind the turntables with tribal twists and turns.  It’s an interesting combination – not quite a duo or a band, just one brilliant coming together of two very different but very talented artists who mix high energy sound system bass, beats with some raw, authentic soul.  Dancehall innovation, indie sentiments, and R&B hooks – Bonjay draw on dancehall music, the raw and pure energy that is bursting out of Toronto at the moment and making sounds all of their own.  The result, is finally after storming Toronto as one of the best live acts around for a while and injecting people with their party full-of-life,love&soul music they finally released their debut EP ‘Gimme Gimme’.  Released late last year and having received rave reviews for their own music, Bonjay have also remixed for labels like Mad Decent, NinjaTune and Ghetto Arc (XL Recordings).

Brought to our attention by the keen ears and eyes of Sunny of Slingshot london, Bonjay are yet to fully take on the UK however our little source tells us they will hopefully be arriving over in the UK this year.  Here is a little taster of what to expect in the form of a remix for Thunderheist (Ninja), and then head over to the downloads section here to get your free track ‘Gimme Gimme’.  Keep your eyes and ears peeled because Bonjay are coming!

Bonjay.net

Thunderheist – LBG (Bonjay Remix) by Ninja Tune

Last week i finally managed to catch this band live as Mirrors played at The Borderline, London as part of the ‘Next Big Thing’ line up of gigs.  It was definitely worth the wait.  On record these guys sound great, but what they do best they do live.  They are an interesting make up of four dapper young lads who are dressed like they have stepped off a period drama set, but surrounded on stage by a network of laptops, keyboards, synths and wires! Bringing together strong and powerful vocals, flashing , synths and frantic keyboards, Its a brilliant visual showcase of just what these guys do and why they may be worth checking out.  We have brought you the Mirrors before, but finally we managed to grab them for a few questions so instead of us telling you just what they are all about here it is in their own words….

Who are Mirrors and what do you do? Mirrors is a receptical for the musical and aesthetic ideas of Ally Young, James New, James Arguile and Josef Page.

How would you describe your sound? Mirrors’ sound is expansive, and painstakingly contructed. We aspire to create a kind of electronic soul music.

Tell us a little bit about how you guys came about and formed mirrors? Mirrors forged their aquaintances with each other slowly, during a long, cold winter spent sheltering in various Moscow cellars.

What’s your creative process when it comes to making music? The music is built in the studio, constructed carefully, piece by piece like a jigsaw puzzle. Recently, however, the band have experimented with composing as a group, playing together, live.

What inspires you in music and in life? Inspiration can arrive in many forms. Mirrors are just as likely to find inspiration in elements of architecture, gastronomy, physics, or chess, for example, as in the music of others.

Musical Vice? Vintage synthesizers.

Pet Hates? Complacency and narrow-mindedness

Favourite Website? www.caughtbytheriver.com

If you weren’t making music what would you be doing? This is difficult to answer.

What does being in a band and making music mean to you? The creative process is a way of growing the soul. Art is what makes us human.

If you could design a pair of Converse to represent “Mirrors’ what would they look like? unfortunately, they wouldn’t exist, so they would not look like anything!?

What can we expect from you in 2010…??? In 2010 Mirrors plan to record and release their debut album, and hope it will be loved and appreciated by many people and Mercury Prize judges.

Tell us something completely random or a secret….something that we don’t know about you? Mirrors have no secrets to reveal, but one rarely appreciated fact is this: Mirrors are all highly skilled trout fishermen.

You can head over to the downloads section to get a free Mirrors track and you can check out more from the band on their Myspace.  With some exciting gigs and releases in the pipeline, 2010 looks like it could be a good year for Mirrors.

www.myspace.com/mirrorsmirrorsmirrors

Napoleon In Rags

Good Shoes, Two Door Cinema Club, Hockey… with all these new boy bands sprouting up around the place we’re getting the hint that what the world needs now, after the millionth Lady Gaga single, is guys with guitars. A decade after The Strokes first left an impression on Earth, Swindon, of all places, has produced a band to join in battle against the mainstream. Enter to the ring: Napoleon In Rags.??Comprising of four friends who amalgamated after a few failed attempts in different electro bands they soon went about writing some jerky, elbow-and-knee friendly indie. What they lack in originality they make for with visceral live sets, and as the saying goes: great artists don’t steal, they borrow. ‘Dirty Hands’ is a 5am, summertime, sunrise kind of tune. Power chords battle with crashing high hats as front man Ben Altieri breaks out into a passionate, “I was looking at the Sun, and it was staring back at me… it’s about time you realised that this is the real thing.” It’s ‘Don’t Let It Out’ though, their set closer with the refrain of the tracks’ title which blasts out like The Cure with a grungy twist. These guys are one of many who give a fatal blow to the sickly charts of the previous year.

GET ‘DON’T LET IT OUT’ FROM OUR DOWNLOADS SECTION NOW!

Having recently released their latest album ‘ No Hope, No Glory’ a few weeks ago, Goodshoes in an effort to bring you something a little bit different to the normal ‘album launch party’ put on a four day mini festival – playing separate gigs for both their underage audience in matinee gigs and overage fans later on in the evening.   The result was 4 amazing days of live music, 8 different gigs (two a day!) over 20 different bands and DJs and most importantly some brilliant live music and very happy people.  Prior to the launch we caught up with the guys from Goodshoes to find out a little bit more about what makes them tick and why they love doing what they do….

Where and what are you guys up to right now?
I’m in a van with the guys listening to these new puritans record on our way to play on instore at resident records in Brighton

‘No Hope, No Future’ is out on 25th January, what can we expect from your new album?
It’s heavier and a bit darker than before it’s all about break ups so that changes the lyrical mood and musically it’s faster and recorded a bit rawer.

What is ‘Goodshoes’ ethos/philosophy when it comes to making and creating music?
Well we only answer tonorselves musically. We just want to make music we like ad for the things that go with that like artwork and videos to stand out compared to other bands

Has there been anything different in the recording and writing process this time round?
We recorded it track by track which created a different sound but it is still just recording songs that are shaped by playin them live.

Different genres of music are always coming back into (I hate to say it) ‘Fashion’ but what music are you loving at the moment?
I really like a lot of American music at the Moment old and new like grizzly bear, dirty projectors. Jay Z. Darondo. Karen dalton. Darwin deez single.

To celebrate the release of your new album you guys put on a four day mini festival in London, how did the idea come about?
It was our managers idea and we asked to do it at this pub we like called the stags head. We only really like playing small raucous intimate gigs and the idea was to do a few of them round the album

You were brilliant at underage festival and even have matinee performances for the underage, what made you decide to do these underage performances as part of the mini festival album launch?
It’s unfair to exclude such a large part of our audience. The laws not letting kids into gigs are ridiculous so we tried to not be part of that and include all our fans. We wouldn’t discrimate against race so why age?

…..best gig to date?
Underage which you mentioned was really good! Ulu in November was great!

If you could design your own ‘goodshoes’ converse, what would they look like?
Probably have my drawings on it! If you want one done I’ll give it more though

What are your tips (for music or just life in general) in 2010?
Fiction. is tropical. mystery jets new album any gig of ours! Tips are swim more and cycle everywhere!

Since the launch, the guys embarked on a full on European Tour and here is the first of their updates to give you just a little glimpse into what they have been getting up to while on the road…Enjoy.

As Tall As Lions / Claw of Panther / Japandroids / Jukebox The Ghost / Airwaves / These Monsters / Jarmean – these are the latest of our New Blood bands and are some of the latest upcoming talent we have picked up on on our radar over the past few months.  Its seems like ages ago since we last brought you our bumper downloads before Christmas and so for February and our first New Blood instalment for 2010 we have got an eclectic line up of acts and tracks for you to feast upon and download .  Check out a short little piece on each band and then you can head over to the DOWNLOADS section to get the full free tracks from each band!

As Tall As Lions – Circles
Jukebox The Ghost / Hold It In by Conversemusic.co.ukHailing from Long Island, NY, this four-piece band have just completed a full US tour with Mutemath promoting the release of the thired studio album ‘You Can’t Take It With You’ which comes out in the UK in Spring 2010

Claw of Panther – World Masters
Claw of Panther / WORLD MASTER3 by Conversemusic.co.ukLowestoft has gone and done it again.  First Came the Darkness, and now it’s given us Claw of Panther.  A frantic garage punk metal beast of a band , If you’re a fan of a good rocking guitar riff or two then this bunch will probably be right up your street.

Japandroids – Young Hearts Spark Fire Japandroids / YoungHeartsSparkFire by Conversemusic.co.ukAfter a string of brilliant debut shoes in teh UK last year, Vancouver breakouts, mayhem makers and riotous garage rockers, Japandroids, are back on our shores at the end of February to celebrate the release of their new single March 1st.  If you love mayhem

Jukebox The Ghost – Hold it in Jukebox The Ghost / Hold It In by Conversemusic.co.ukWe are awash with American bands at the moment but this trio who hail from Washington DC, are definitely worth a a small moment of your time.  Their first single was BBC6 record of the week and they sold out infamous London venue KOKO.  Their debut album is out on the 15th March and the guys along with a host of forthcoming gigs in Europe and the States will be at SXSW this year.  Expect happy, hectic , piano pop.  Dramatic and entertaining? your decide for yourselves…

Airwaves – Lightening
Airwaves / Lightning by Conversemusic.co.ukWhen Pitchfork’s Guest List asked Dan Deacon what his favorite new band is, his reply may sum up Nicole Schneit’s of Air Waves music best, “The music she writes is like a favorite blanket wrapped around you.  Finally making ‘Air Waves’ to Europe this month this Brooklyn based act will warm you up through these cold winter or should we say spring days…

These Monsters – Call Me Dragon These Monsters / Call Me Dragon by Conversemusic.co.uk

With a love for large vintage amplifiers, big drums and high energy, passionate performances, These Monsters are on a mission to deliver a huge live and loud sound.  A great noise band, These Monsters release their debut album on 1st March.  If your one with delicate ears – BE WARNED, these guys know how to make one big awesome racket…

Jarmean – Mind The Gap Jarmean / Mind the Gap by Conversemusic.co.uk

Described by one member in the Converse Music office as sounding a bit like Blur meets Jack the Ripper , A four piece band from London, Jarmean ‘would like to take you to a parallel world.’ – a place where the fun meets the spooky and the dancing never stops….have a listen and see where you end up!

OVER TO THE DOWNLOADS SECTION HERE NOW TO GET YOUR NEW BLOOD TRACKS!

Remember you can read the full articles in Artrocker Magazine – Out Now, and don’t forget to send us your feedback on this months New Blood by leaving us a comment below!

King Antics are London’s new recruits to the new wave scene; and they’re taking no prisoners. Their sound isn’t for the faint hearted, echo heavy, reverb hugging. The drums pound away like a time bomb, ready for the expected bombastic crescendo of crash cymbals circulating around protractor-angled guitars. Similar to Wild Palms in their aesthetic, reference points lead to all the right places. ‘Low Heat’ is PiL fuelled madness, ‘Liars’ is a synth orientated track with heavy bass line and with spoken word reminiscent of The Fall at their bleakest. In short, post-Punk darkness played by two English lads and an Italian.??Originally two members were in another band which imploded after some messy inter group relations, yet they’re back in a three piece now, ready to take on the capital again with their slogan of: “we just start fires and then we run away.” After some digestion of Spice Girls records, vocalist cum guitarist ‘J’ soon came across his parents’ copies of ‘Graceland’ and Talking Heads records, soaking in the African rhythms of the former (tribal artefacts are used in place of band photos on their MySpace), and the industrial feel of the latter. With only a handful of gigs under their belt it’s still early doors for King Antics, but they’re a band which help sum up the current sound which has blossomed across the country; dark, epic and brutal. You’ll surrender yourself to life imprisonment, if forever surrounded by the haunting tones of ‘Lights Over Left’.

GET KING ANTICS’ ‘LIGHTS OVER LEFT [BLUE TONGUES REMIX]‘ FROM OUR DOWNLOAD SECTION NOW!

Nick Burman, is a young, aspiring and talented writer who from an early age has been keeping his ear to the ground finding new and interesting acts and perfecting his writing skills. The first of his updates in 2010 Nick  gives us his review on one of the latest bands he thinks you should give a moment of your time: King Antics, but watch this space as next up from Nick is his low down on Napoleon Rags…coming soon.