GALLERY CIRCUS

Artwork by @mystupidsketchbook

WHO are they?
“We are twin brothers Daniel and Graeme Ross – collectively known as Gallery Circus. We’ve played together all our lives since the tender age of 5. We’ve been part of various line-ups ranging from acoustic folk to big bands and between us must have played almost every instrument imaginable.”

“It wasn’t until recently that we realised we have the most fun simply rocking out and being as loud as possible.” The duo has recently released Holland On Fire on Killing Moon Records, the first track to be taken from their Chi-Town Dogs EP, produced by Dan Austin (Pixies, Doves, Mallory Knox), out later this year.

WHAT is the inspiration behind their songs?
“Gallery Circus is all about big beats, big riffs and quirky melodies! We love re-telling stories of some of the messed up situations we’ve found ourselves in over the years. We’ve escaped two burning buildings, an earthquake and a chase from the San Francisco police department so far”.

WHERE did they grow up?
“We grew up in Newcastle Upon Tyne. However, it wasn’t until we emigrated to Chicago, Illinois that Gallery Circus really took shape. Watching our friends bands play at underground punk shows and the strong DIY ethic they applied to their music really inspired us. We amped up our game and untamed our stage show to match their level of passion. We made sure to bring this new found energy back home to the UK with us.”

WHY are they called Gallery Circus?
“When we lived in Chicago we used to hang out at this cool open mic spot called the Gallery Cabaret. The first few GC songs were drunkenly born at this venue, so we decided to adapt its name a bit. If you watch us live, we are a bit like a circus!”

WHEN can I see them live?
“We should be playing a few festivals over the summer and no doubt a run of shows over the UK (and maybe even Europe). Make sure to checkout gallerycircus.co.uk or visit our Facebook page to keep up do date!”.

HOW can I get to know them better?
Listen & Watch: Website // Soundcloud // Spotify // Youtube
Like & Follow: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

PSYBLINGS

Artwork by @mystupidsketchbook

WHO are they?
“We are Greg Dixon (vocals), Dan Coleman & Sam Bullock (guitar), Jordan Lythgoe (bass) and Ellis Cullen (drums). We’ve all known each other for a good while and have been in and out of bands and projects with each other for years. Some of the guys met in school and the rest came together in college… fast forward a few years and we’ve all ended up living together through uni so it just kind of made sense to put all our heads together and do what we all want to do with our lives together, anyway, it was always fun strumming stuff and yelling at each other on kitchen floors to start with.”

WHAT is the inspiration behind their songs?
“A lot of our influence comes from bands like The Doors and The Beatles all the way up to Ty Segall and Uncle Acid. The general theme is about just accepting yourself and becoming comfortable with it. We all feel the same things and as much as everyone’s story is different, we do encounter the same things in the different parts of the same place. Everyone’s been happy or sad or annoyed or isolated or excited or all of these things together. It’s just about sharing that and how and what I’ve learnt from it so (hopefully) no-one has to feel quite as alone as we think we are in it. And then there’s Lemon Whiskey Herbal Tea… that’s about getting pissed on a boat.”

WHERE did they grow up?
“We all grew up and met in Warrington. It’s always had bands breaking out to Manchester or Liverpool like Dropscience, Exile Parade, SlyDigs, Winachi Tribe and obviously Viola who were just beginning to fly the flag for the town and really get it on the map. The scene in the town itself has had phases of getting bigger and I think the mix in that output over a few years and the fact there’s not a great deal of things to do otherwise meant we’ve all been really focused and set on what we want to do from an early age really…”

WHY the name Psyblings?
“It’s definitely not so people will pronounce it right first time that’s for sure… It does kinda drive home how it feels to be in the band though. As much as we are a ‘Psych’ band and it plays with that, we are all just one big loud sweaty slightly insane family, and when we get together its like we’re more connected than a group of mates playing music together, and with that kind of feeling between us it opens up paths for the people who listen to our tracks and come to our gigs to be just as involved as we are. Especially with some of the stuff that’s happened ‘Psyblings’ has become more than just a catchy name, it’s the ethos of what we want to do. Hopefully anyway…”

WHEN can I see them live?
The band plays in Manchester at The Soup Kitchen on 11^th March and at The Castle on 24^th March. “Big news and big announcements are heading your way soon too. Stay in touch, we wouldn’t want you to miss out…”. Keep updated here.

HOW can I get to know them better?
Listen: Soundcloud
Like & Follow: Facebook // Twitter

SAN FELU

 Artwork by @mystupidsketchbook

WHO is he?
San Felu is the solo project of P J Pearson. You may know him as one half of cinematic alt-rockers Liu Bei, he is also co-writer and featured musician on Grace Lightman’s Vapour Trails, and live performer with Waylor (Matt Taylor from Dry The River’s new project).

San Felu’s second single Sanctuary Blues, following debut Cape of Good Hope, was released February 29^th and produced by James Bragg (also behind Gengahr’s A Dream Outside LP).

But why did P J Pearson started playing music in the first place? “I think the question to why play music is a question I ask myself more and more as I get older” he tells. “It’s in no way a stable living, and it can be so pitifully cut throat. But I can’t help but think I have a duty to music. It’s consumed my life, given me a skill set, and spat out some priceless stories and friends. I’m incredibly lucky to be a working musician, but the rewards are most definitely in the detail.”

“Apart from why carry on being a musician, I started because my schoolmate on the bus made me a few mix tapes of Nirvana and Skunk Anansie and the Fugees. After that I never really thought of much else.”

WHAT is he singing about?
“Ha, singing is a nice way to put it, I’d say rambling but… Sanctuary Blues was the title of a failed attempt at a short story, I liked the concept, but thought the writing sucked, so I moulded it into a piece instead. I’d have to reference ‘Sirens of Titan’ by Vonnegut as an influence on the second verse, with a few true events thrown in. Essentially it’s an amalgamation of ideas that flip flop between fiction and fantasy, as well as being a continuation of the first single Cape of Good Hope.”

WHERE is he from and how have the places he’s lived in shaped him as an artist?
“That’s a thoughtful question and I often think how surroundings can affect your output. Personally, inspiration comes in strange waves, being on a mountain won’t necessarily make you write about being on a mountain, if that makes sense. Location is not the root of inspiration. I write a lot of lyrics in the car, or when I’m in bed, usually at moments when I have no distractions. Lyrics always come first for me. It’s the most important ingredient.”

“I can’t deny that I grew up in a beautiful part of the world, the South West of England is certainly a law unto itself, bohemian to say the least in its music. For me though, living here effects the way I approach writing, the sound and colour of the piece, not the narrative.”

WHY the name San Felu?
“Well, aside from it being a misspelling of the Spanish resort Sant Feliu, which translates as Saint Felix, it doesn’t really have any special meaning. I think it may have been a lyric in a Bullet Union track, and I poached it from that subconsciously, but I had no idea it was a town until I did some digging, hence the spelling. Pretty boring reason really. Sorry. ”

WHEN can I see him live?
“I’d love to reel off a string of headline dates, but currently there’s none booked. Anyone wanna see it, I’ll come play your living room….”

HOW can I get to know him better?
Listen: Website // Soundcloud // Spotify
Like & Follow: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

LYRICS I came down to earth on a satellite somewhere // Near the cape of good hope // And covered in rags they were taking your picture // You had cut all your hair // And I was there in the back of the church with Diana // If god gives you landmines // You hand him back flowers // It’s Sanctuary Blues // Sanctuary Blues // These Sanctuary Blues // Everyone stood like Halloween costumes // Pretending that death was a friend of a friend // So I rode for Jerusalem // With an artichoke heart // On the back of a fire engine // Handing out lemons // If anyone asks // It’s the church of indifference // And people // People are just like leaves // Moving in no direction // And I try not to read them all // And people // People are just like leaves // Left floating in the bottom of my tea // And I try not to read them all // These Sanctuary Blues // I was there on the edge drinking coconut water // And in glorious gesture you leant me your bible of Frankie O Hara // Where you’d marked out the pages with candy bar wrappers // And everything matters // It’s a matter of atoms

BLINDS

 Artwork by @mystupidsketchbook

WHO are they?
“My name is Brian Zaremba, and I began Blinds initially as a solo project. It really began at the beginning of the year when I released Dana Sue Gray, the lead single off the EP, back in February (2015). The project had been gestating though for a few months before that after a previous band had dissolved, and I had all this leftover material that I was working on. I decided to harness it for Blinds.”

“After I put out that single I got a pretty good response from my friends and decided I had something and should keep going. So I went into to record the rest of my EP with my friend Vian Zaayman, and as that was going on I started putting a band together. My closest friends were the ones who’d answer the call. Austin, Alex, and Antonio are all good friends of mine, pretty much my crew since I moved to Nashville a couple years ago. Sam who plays drums is the step brother of a girl I used to date. We’re all cool with each other. By the time the full EP dropped in September (2015) the whole band was together pretty much. Alex came a little later.”

WHAT is the inspiration behind their songs?
“The EP, thematically, is pretty much all about me trying to find love. I think every song on there is about a different girl except Void which is all about me quitting the job I had when I first started Blinds. I had been living that whole bachelor lifestyle for a while now, and I really wanted something stable. A lot of those songs are about my attempts at that and people just flaking on me. Kathryn is obviously about a girl, my last girlfriend that I had during that writing period. We actually broke up recently, but we’re ok. We agree that it was for the best, and I kind of realize now that I just need to be on my own for the time being.”

“Musically I always wanted to do something on the darker end of things. I’ve always been inspired by crime movies, or things on the darker side, art house stuff along with that. I get influenced a lot by visuals, and I wanted to be able to translate that musically. Melodies will come to me just by watching movies or driving around at night. Movies like Blade Runner had a really big impact on me. To me that is just one of the most beautiful movies in every aspect. Along with that I’m influenced a good bit by hip hop especially those beats that Drake raps on a lot or Pusha T. If I try to write something optimistic it just comes off too fake to me. It feels like I’m lying and not being true to myself. I think there is some of it in our music, but I think it’s more confidence than just riding off into the sunset on a white horse.”

Photo: Sam Polonsky

WHERE did they grow up?
“I grew up in Huntsville, Alabama. I don’t know how much of it really influenced me. I think if anything it’s more the people that I hung out with who really influenced me. Huntsville is like a small city. It’s nothing like a bustling metropolis so you end up just spending a lot of your time getting weird and hanging out in a friend’s garage. But that sort of nocturnal lifestyle is something I definitely draw upon for inspiration. Where some people may romanticize it as a punk rock life I always kind of viewed as a more “Fear and Loathing” type of lens, the slow decay of human society kind of thing.”

“My friend Steffan turned me on to a lot of the darker stuff that I dig now like rap and metal. I would say that my open mind to different genres and art is owed a lot to him. I can’t speak for the other guys, but I know that Alex, Antonio, and Austin all grew up in the same part of Florida, and I think they experienced a life similar to mine. Make your paycheck and blow it on booze. Sort of a circular lifestyle that can entrap a lot of people if you don’t keep your eye on a prize. Sam, our drummer, grew up in Nashville so he’s the true native out of all of us.”

WHY are they called ‘Blinds’?
“I wish I had a story behind the name but it’s completely nonsensical. I just looked around my room one day and stared at my window blinds. I just thought of the name on the spot and asked some friends what they thought of it. They thought it was “v cool” so I went with it. People seem to like the name and feels like it works with our style so I just kind of accept it now.”

WHEN can I see them live?
“We’re done for 2015, but we’ve already got some gigs booked for 2016. On January 13 we’re playing at Mercy Lounge and on February 18 at Foobar both in Nashville. In May we have a tour booked to go all around the south from Texas to part of the east coast.”

HOW can I get to know them better?
Listen & Watch: Soundcloud // Spotify //Noisetrade // Bandcamp // Youtube
Like & Follow: Website // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

STOCKLEY

Artwork by @mystupidsketchbook

WHO are they?
“Hello there, I’m Curtis from Stockley. We all have had extremely varied backgrounds in music, from orchestras, jazz ensembles and choirs to hardcore, metal and punk bands. After finishing school in 2009 I spent a year living in the UK and as that time drew to a close I realised how passionate I was about playing music and sharing my songs with my friends and family. Amazingly, my friends and family happened to be fantastic musicians and songwriters in their own right. A few of us began playing under a different name in 2011 but Stockley was finally cemented as the six of us in 2015.”

WHAT is the inspiration behind their songs?
“Since half of the band are actually related (my older bro Cam and younger sis Jenn) most of the lyrics come from a familial, nostalgic and relational place. I love thinking about how childhood and adolescence shapes us as adults, and the strong bonds you form with others, who aren’t related by blood but you are certain that they are part of your family (yes, this includes my other beautiful faux brothers in the band, Dave, Rhys and Al).”

“Our musical inspiration is probably the biggest divider in Stockley, but I love the effect this has. I have been listening to a lot of Ryan Adams, The Paper Kites, and Father John Misty recently whilst who knows what the others have been listening to! Cam and Dave as our electric guitarists have a great love for post-rock which translates well to the type of music we’ve been making.”

Our debut single Fishing Trip is a personal song, one which I wrote and almost immediately threw out because of its vulnerability. On one hand it’s full of sorrow reflecting on the affect that losing someone has on you even if you haven’t met them. On the other hand it’s full of hope, because even though I never met this particular person, I have learnt more about him and am confident we would have been mates. Fishing Trip is most simply and purely about family.

WHERE did they grow up?
“Myself, my siblings and Dave all grew up on the south coast of New South Wales in Australia. We’re all now Sydney based with Rhys our bassist still hanging out at the beach in Wollongong soaking up the rays while we soak in the city fumes like chums.”

“I mentioned how much family has an influence on my songwriting and so for me, family and hometowns go hand in hand. Swimming in the ocean, riding everywhere, playing knock-and-run, these were some pretty fantastic, stress-free days that I remember fondly. In a way I’d like people to hear Stockley and get them to remember some of these chilled out times, when there weren’t any bills and your biggest problem was deciding whether you’d like to have your birthday party at the skating rink or the bowling alley.”

“Now that we’re in Sydney life is a bit different, but the music scene is a bit more raring to go than our hometown of 30 odd thousand people. It would be easy to get bogged down in how limited the Australian market is, or how touring is just sooo expensive but at the end of the day we love playing music together. And there are some brilliant bands hitting the stages across Sydney with so much variety. It is a challenging time but still very exciting. ”

WHY are they called ‘Stockley’?
“Stockley is a family name, it’s my second middle name that my siblings also have. It’s been passed down for about three or four generations and as soon as it was mentioned it felt ruin and suited our vibe. I love my bandmates and feel as though when you create music together it really makes amazing bonds. Like a family, we disagree, fight, and make up with hugs all round. So, despite the family name being literal for only three of us, it really is appropriate for all six.”

WHEN can I see them live?
“We’ll be recording some new material in January so hopefully we’ll be able to spend some time on the road. Stay peeled for some shows were lining up in Sydney and Wollongong around February/March 2016.”

HOW can I get to know them better?
Listen & Watch: Soundcloud // Spotify //Youtube
Like & Follow: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

Watch the video for debut single Fishing Trip

Available on iTunes

FIELD STUDIES

Artwork by @mystupidsketchbook

WHO are they?
“Chris, Kasper, Charlie and Andrew – we’ve been friends since school, so for like 7 years or something. We’d always played music around one another in different projects but never really thought about forming a band, until we did, in 2012. It sort of just made sense.”

WHAT is the inspiration behind their songs?
“Lyrically, it’s up to other people to infer meanings and we’d rather keep it vague. Musically we’re inspired by everything we listen to, and we listen to a lot of stuff. Every year there’ll be a bunch of records that we all really love, and a bunch that we disagree about too, but we’re inspired by all of it – as far as consistent inspirations go, the American band Spoon are the most underrated band ever and we love ‘em. Long live Spoon.”WHERE did they grow up?
“We grew up in Nottingham, where we live still. It’s a nice place, it’s had this bubbling independent music scene for a few decades now that started to hit the mainstream just as we got together. We’re lucky to be playing music here at this time – people are waking up to the creative community in Notts in ways they didn’t before. Kasper is Danish though (shocker) so we have a few ties with Denmark as well – we drove 17 hours to play a festival on an island there last summer. Hej to all of our Danish brethren.”

WHY are they called ‘Field Studies’?
“Every time we’re asked this we rue that we don’t have a more interesting answer – it’s an EP by This Will Destroy You. It’s another example of that “working title that became the actual title” cliché that happens a lot with bands. If we could go back and change it we probably would, we get it misspelt on posters all the time.”

WHEN can I see them live?
“Apart from a show in early December with 8mm Orchestra, you might have to wait til the New Year. We tend to have long periods of doing loads of shows then long periods of no shows, and right now we’re hiding away to make a record. We just came off the back of a ton of travelling and shows so it’s quite nice to become bearded stinking hermits again over the winter.”

HOW can I get to know them better?
Listen & Watch: Soundcloud // Spotify // Bandcamp //Youtube
Like & Follow: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr

Watch the video for new single ‘Fear On The Rise’ (Denizen Recordings) filmed and directed by the band itself

JINGO

Artwork by @mystupidsketchbook
Photo: Angelo Grieco

WHO are they?
“Joe and I went to Brooklyn post university with our old band and lived amongst a DIY community of musicians for 6 months” recalls Jack Buckett, Jingo’s guitarist and vocalist. “Aside from being one of the most eye opening experiences it was also where I met Katie. We got married the following year and she has been living with me in London for 4 years now.”

“We’ve always played and written music together but avoided forming a band as they can be very high pressure situations and we didn’t want to put the stress on our relationship. However, once my old band split, we just decided to say fuck it and give it a go. Joe was an obvious choice as he knows Katie and myself very well and we all get along brilliantly. We’ve actually been through 3 different bassists now but have finally settled on our newest addition, Nima. He’s great!”

WHAT are they singing about?
“The inspiration behind the songs is learning how to love and become human. For the single Ghost in the Machine, this was the inspiration: “Science and logic of today points to the notion that biology, whether of the individual or society as a whole works and behaves like the cogs of a machine, but is there some invisible force, some “soul” for lack of a better word that drives us, something eternal and undetectable that makes us more than the sum of our parts?””

WHERE are they from?
“Joe and myself are from the shires of England, Katie was born in Ohio but spent a 10 years living in Brooklyn and Nima grew up in Gothenberg, Sweden but moved to London 4-5 years ago. London is a tricky place to be in a band, especially as a band that doesn’t fit into any particular scene/genre. The musical community in London is so saturated and it’s difficult to find your footing. However, we have a big taste for adventure in this band which usually results in us doing a lot of international touring. Last year we did a 2 week tour of Mid-West America with our Brooklyn buddies Not Blood Paint and this year we have been on several tours to Belgium, Germany and France. In my old band I even organised a month long tour throughout China. That was wild!”

WHY are they called ‘Jingo’?
“Jingo means blind patriotism especially in regards to foreign policy and unfortunately that’s what our countries (US and UK) seem to be operating by. ‘Earthling’ doesn’t seem to have as nice a ring to it.”

 WHEN can I see them live?
“Our EP launch is our next big show and we are extremely excited about it. It’s on 29th October at The Borderline in Soho, London. Tickets here!”

HOW can I get to know them better?
Listen: Soundcloud // Spotify // Bandcamp // Youtube
Like & Follow: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

MATT’S HOUSE

 Artwork by @mystupidsketchbook

WHO are they?
Joe Herman – Vocals and Electric Guitar
Matt Merriman – Drums
Jai Durban – Bass
Nick Babic – Electric Guitar

Matt tells us how the band formed.“I played in a band with a couple of guys about three years ago. We then recruited Joe, whom I was at school with to play guitar for us. Eventually that band disbanded and it was just Joe and I left. Nick was a friend of both of ours and he was one of the best guitarists we knew so we contacted him. We played as a three piece (without bass) for a couple of months. We did a gig which, looking back on it, was pretty catastrophic which made us realise how much we needed a bass player. Joe had met Jai at a party earlier that year so we got in contact with him and the Matt’s House line-up was complete.”

“We all started playing together and enjoying playing together because we are all so into music. Our tastes are very broad, we like some of the same artists and yet we all have our own personal favourites. I guess these similarities and differences in taste allow us to influence each other and recommend new music to each other. Overall though, we all just love playing music, whether it being at a gig or in my bedroom.”

Photo: Juliette Carton

WHAT are they singing about?
“In all honesty there isn’t one main inspiration for our lyrics. I guess we just take inspiration from our own personal experiences and feelings as teenage boys. We tend not to aim for a certain topic when writing a song but overall themes tend to develop as the writing process develops.”

WHERE are they from?
“We are all from various areas of West London. The area I have grown up in (Ealing) hasn’t really affected me that strongly as it’s a very standard middle class suburb. It’s the least cool place for someone in a band to grow up but I guess we’ve all accepted that now and realise that we have got to make our own opportunities further afield. There are a few bands in the area but the complete lack of music venues means there is no scene whatsoever. We played a local gig called The Strano BBQ with a bunch of bands from the area at a small café called The W7 Emporium in Hanwell which was a great night and gave me some hope that somehow we might be able to establish some sort of scene in our local area.”

WHY ‘Matt’s House’?
“Quite simply, that’s where we rehearse.”

WHEN can I see them live?
“We are playing at The Old Queens Head on 14th October. Also, the Facebook page will be updated with any gigs so keep an eye on that.”

HOW can I get to know them better?
Listen: Soundcloud
Like & Follow: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

KAMINO

Artwork by @mystupidsketchbook

WHO are they?
“We are Kamino, a five-piece UK alternative rock band. The band consists of myself (Ed) on lead vocals & guitar, Paul on lead guitar, Bec on synths, Dan on bass, and Chris on drums. We founded Kamino about a year ago, after undergoing a studio session and doing a lot of groundwork to prepare the band. Kamino has been active now for just over three months, with three shows and a debut music video under our belts so far.”

WHAT are they singing about?
“As songwriter for Kamino, a lot of different inspirations & influences go into the music that I write. At heart, musically and in terms of ethos, we have always aspired to be a rock and roll band, however we are no strangers to all genres of music – the five of us share a lot of common ground in musical tastes but also bring a lot of differing influences & favourite artists to the table. Therefore indirectly the influences upon Kamino are quite vast & varied, but in terms of the fundamentals to our sound & our stagecraft, we take inspiration from bands such as Muse, Enter Shikari, Queens of the Stone Age, Young Guns and Royal Blood.

Lyrically, my songs can be very personal – a huge part of myself, my feelings & past experiences, content from dreams, can be found lurking within them. The lyrics that I write mean a great deal to me and I try to keep this as personal as I can within my writing. What makes me happy is seeing and hearing listeners take their own views on what they hear – their interpretations could completely differ from what I know as the meaning, and that’s a great thing as far as I’m concerned. Alongside the personal I also like to write with a narrative in mind – songs concerning stories or characters from ancient mythology, political themes, conspiracies… But again, I try to keep these as open as possible, or hide a second, less-obvious meaning within them.” WHERE are they from?
“Within Kamino’s lineup actually resides two sets of siblings – myself & Chris are brothers and Dan & Bec are brother and sister. We became good friends through school and university – all of us spent our teens and still live in the same area just north of Bristol. As individuals we like to travel – myself and Chris also lived abroad at a very young age, and between us we have seen a lot of places, although so few when put into perspective in terms of the size of the world. We would all certainly agree that these experiences shape and inspire us as people and as musicians.

Bristol itself has a very vibrant and colourful music scene. There’s a vast amount of different weird and wonderful genres and artists scattered around every corner of the city. There have been a number of venue closures over the past few years, which is sad for such a musical city with a great unsigned scene. We live rurally just north of Bristol itself and even in the local area there is a great hype for music – there are a lot of bands and artists crafting a whole variety of different sounds there. A lot of our fans live close by to us too and have been wonderful in their support for Kamino so far, making the effort to come into the city for shows and giving it their all in the process.”

WHY ‘Kamino’?
“It was a long process in coming up with a name for our new project, which involved a lot of list making and reviewing, and repeat, and repeat, and repeat… But eventually we found Kamino from a list somewhere and it stuck with us. “Camino”, in Spanish, means a path, a journey. Our journey has just begun and we would love for you to come along this path with us.”

WHEN can I see them live?
“We are currently working on booking shows to see out the remainder of 2015 for Kamino, having just played our first three shows since launching in April, including Bristol Harbour Festival last weekend. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages for updates on when and where you’ll be able to see us live over the next few months, as well as many other exciting things we have in the pipeline.”

HOW can I get to know them better?
Listen & Watch: Website // Youtube
Like & Follow: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

Watch Kamino’s video for debut track Antidote