INTERVIEW: MODEL AEROPLANES

Over the weekend I was given the pleasure of interviewing Dundee band Model Aeroplanes at CloseUp Festival - this is what happened.

[G] = Grant Irvine

[K] = Kieran Smith

[B] = Ben Buist

[R] = Rory Flemming-Stewart

(  )  = My comments during editing


Let's get straight into it, how did you guys get started? How did you guys meet?


[B] Never been good at anything else.

[G] We met in high school, the boys were the year above me and in first year we started jamming.

[R] I think Kieran bullied Grant in the corridor once!

[K] 'Cause he was a first year and I was a second year, it's just what you have to do.

[G] Yeah, he'd step on my heel so my shoe would come off - he's a coward though. We're mates now though so it's fine. But yeah so we met at school and started writing songs, bunking off classes...

[R] Bunking off! (weird hand movement)

[G] Like to write - we're pretty bad ass just to let you know - so we'd go to the music rooms and just sit and write songs when we were meant to be in classes.


That's cool, so it happened naturally.


[All] Yeah, yeah

[G] Yeah it happened really naturally, didn't help our grades though!

[R] I don't even know what I got. I can't even remember what highers I got...I've lost the certificates as well, don't know how to find it online.

[G] I left school with less qualifications than I started with - somehow.

Bellevue Days: 'Sad Boy' EP

After seeing these guys live at a gig last week, I felt they had to be mentioned in this week's post. The immense energy and love for their craft presented on stage transfers to their music. This is Bellevue Days, the 'Sad Boy' EP.

Hailing from Croydon, UK, Bellevue Days are a four piece rock band with a unique sound.

'Down down down it didn't exist' - the EP kicks off with a strong vocal that demands attention.
Accompanied by a pulsing electric guitar, the thunder like crash of drums hits - this is 'Ripped Jeans'.

The first thing you notice about Bellevue Days' songs are the contrast between loud and quiet. After the initial drums comes a period of refreshing quiet, just a guitar and vocal providing an emotive twist to the song. A chorus of voices singing/chanting 'Ripped Jeans' then join even bigger drums than before to finish the track until only the faint clink of glasses can be heard, conjuring up a picture of a crowded bar.

'Ripped Jeans' seamlessly flows into 'Pepper Tea', a song that starts off with a relatively more mellow vibe than the previous track. A smooth guitar and determined vocal set the scene, ready for a build up of drums and guitar parts, only to return to the simple drum/bass beats seen at the start. This was one of the song's highlights in my opinion as you're expecting an explosive chorus, only to find out that this comes later. 'Pepper Tea' is one of those songs that makes you sway then lose your mind.

I particularly liked the start of this next track - 'Something New'. Beginning with a deep, clean guitar, three drum punches lead into the whispered vocal providing a different tone to the rest of the EP. Airy group vocals and guitars ring but don't quite prepare you for the explosion of drums that happens next. Favourite lyric: 'Amongst the anarchy we'll find something new'.

We're almost there, last track but one is 'Gratefully Gracious' - another track that starts off with a whole new tone of its own. A simple solo guitar introduces the track with hushed vocal phrases giving the impression of a chilled, quieter, perhaps more reflective track. This image is shattered a few seconds later when the familiar racing drums and clean guitar patterns return.

Finally, 'Made From The Devil, Heavy Metal' ends the album in typical Bellevue Days style but a much quieter version.

We hope there are big things to come from Bellevue Days in the near future.


Until next time...

@wewantgoodmusic


To find out more about Bellevue Days click here.

Chase Atlantic - 'Part Two'

If  you haven't already read our review of Chase Atlantic's 'Part One' you can find it here

In short, Chase Atlantic are an Australian twisted alt-pop trio now based in LA. After some time away, the band have come back strong with a collection of songs, 'Part One' and 'Part Two'.

'Part Two' begins with the band's debut UK single 'Triggered', a dark cinematic account of a young relationship. Building on the determined rhythms in 'Part One', 'Triggered' features pulsing beats with impatient vocals to detail a highly emotion charged, slightly reckless, drive to a girl's house in the middle of the night. A stand out part of the song is a moment of silence in the middle when you think things have calmed down, only to realise that this is the build up to an even more explosive chorus than the previous ones.

Introducing The Fall Of Ego

Picture Source: @TheFallofEgo1 on Twitter

Hailing from Nottinghamshire, Sven Fredriksson is the singer/songwriter for band The Fall Of Ego. With the release of a new album 'World In Disguise' coming soon we thought it would be a great time to introduce you to The Fall Of Ego by talking about two previously released tracks of the indie rock genre.

First of all, we have 'One of These Days' - a relatively slow paced yet uplifting track.

Cymbals and drum crashes punctuate the chorus with more mellow patterns providing a good contrast during the verses. The track starts off with these cymbal crashes mixed with the repetition of clean guitar patterns and bass lines to create an intriguing atmosphere. The raw, piercing, warm toned vocal enters with the line 'this is me' - a very striking beginning to the track.

Introducing INEGO

Picture Source: @inegomusic on Twitter

Hailing from Manchester, UK, INEGO are an alternative rock band with a knack for creating an infectious groove.

Today we're taking it back to 2015 with Inego's EP entitled 'What Are You Waiting For?'

A crash of drums, a flash of guitar and they're off - first track 'Talking To You' sets the scene for the EP with expansive vocals and an upbeat rhythm. This is definitely one to bop along to. Towards the end of the track sits a relaxed, clean sounding guitar solo which breaks down into a tribe like, pumping drum beat complimented by a rhythmic bass pattern. This finishes the track with an air of mystery that is built upon in the second song on the EP, 'Startin' Fires'.

'Ashtray Black' by Pete Gardiner

For fans of  Irish singer songwriter Pete Gardiner, this highly anticipated album has been a long time coming but let me tell you - the wait was worth it.

Featuring tracks mixed by Ash Howes and Mercury Award winning producer Tommy McLaughlin, 'Ashtray Black' builds on the success of singles such as 'Hollywood Lights' and 'Pretty Smiles' to create a collection of foot tapping, feel good tracks with emotive narratives.

The album kicks off with '11 O'clock', a relatively melancholic song with lonely lyrics layered over a conflicting uplifting groove.  The chorus of '11 O'clock' is infectious, with energetic drums and bright guitar melodies, combined with lyrics such as 'just got paid but it's 11 o'clock and I've drank it all away' that conjure up a picture of a crowd singing along in a bustling bar.

INTERVIEW WITH PETE GARDINER

Introducing Pete Gardiner, a talented singer-songwriter from Ireland. We asked Pete a few questions about his music and life in general so you could get to know the man behind the music ahead of his album release next month.

Let's start with a bit about you, what is your first musical memory?

There's a few that blend together. I remember Meat Loaf's ''Bat Out Of Hell'' album on cassette tape one Christmas and listening to it with my dad Saturday morning when I got up. I was only about six or seven but even then I had a strong sense that this was a great album to start the weekend to.

My older cousin let me hear the Guns N Roses album ''Use Your Illusions' when I was around the same age. I was captivated by that one for a lot of years after.

I can remember my parents playing Bob Dylan's ''Mr Tambourine Man'' and I was fascinated by the contrast between his version and the version by The Byrds. I would come back to Dylan many years later when I was ready to understand him...I never came back to The Byrds though. 

How did you get into music as a career?

Well I never really thought of it as a career, and I still don't. Songwriting was just something I got a high from and when I was in school it gave the class-clown smart-ass inside me an outlet that didn't get me into trouble - now it's just second nature, part of my identity. If I showed up to a party with a guitar people might think I was ill. Even if it did start to really pay off financially, I think I would always be too close to it to think of it as a career. 

How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it - in three words?

Worth a listen.

Where has been your favourite place to play and why?

The best nights don;t always transpire where you'd expect them to. I've played to five thousand people before and there's a certain trill attached to that, but then some of my most memorable evenings have been entertaining non more than eight or nine people in somebody's kitchen. A good night just depends on so many things that are out of your hands that you don't really know when it's going to come together. 

What is your writing process like?

It usually begins with a rhyming couplet racing through my head at a very inappropriate time, like when I'm busy or just about to fall asleep. Just one or two lines that are worth pursuing. When that happens, they'll be noted, and I'll look at them again the next time I bet a chance to sit down with the guitar. If I'm lucky it'll spark off a song. There's a balance and a compromise that happens because you have to sit and work at part of the song but another part has to be given to you from somewhere. There's a key component to a song that you can't find just from showing up and trying, it just presents itself when it wants to and sometimes it just keeps you waiting around.