Archive | May, 2016

Single Review: Noah Noah – Champion

In Feast’s opinion Scotland has produced quite a variety of musical talent over the years which includes quite possibly the most successful of the moment, Biffy Clyro.
Scottish melodic rock quartet Noah Noah are looking to continue that trend, slowly building a reputation through supporting Kirsten Adamson on her recent UK tour. With confidence high following the support they got for their track ‘Lips’ from Amazing Radio’s Jim Gellatly among others, Noah Noah will be launching their latest single, ‘Champion’ at Feastival – Feast Records annual blog party, which takes place at Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s on Thursday 2nd June.
With the spritely and uplifting ‘Champion’ the band plays with dynamics; at times being very full on; at other stripping the track back to vocals, a little drum and some finger picking before swelling into heavy beats and more intense vocals. This effective use of dynamics also helps the band convey the emotion of the song more effectively and this combined with it’s catchy anthem-like driving chorus means this track will be stuck in your head.
Lead singer Fraser Fulton displays an impressive vocal range which demonstrates a great ability to connect with the listener and he is joined by equally powerful backing vocals from the band. It is the song’s conclusion which is it’s real highlight as it culminates in a dramatic, powerful, raw finish which erupts with such precise timing into a hook so raw and emotive, it leaves the listener wanting more.
‘Champion’ promises to be on many playlists this summer generating a great interest regarding what’s to follow from Noah Noah.

Noah Noah headline Feastival at Sneaky Pete’s on Thursday 2nd June 7pm-10pm.
Tickets £4 (in adv), £5 (on the door)
Tickets here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/feastival-tickets-24588971275
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/285517215119970/

‘GIMME DANGER’ – the story of The Stooges

Feast notes that the Cannes Film Festival is going to get ‘loose’ next week, thanks to a special midnight premiere of Jim Jarmusch’s Stooges-centric documentary, “Gimme Danger.”
The film aims to “presents the context of the Stooges’ emergence musically, culturally, politically, historically, and relates their adventures and misadventures while charting their inspirations and the reasons behind their initial commercial challenges, as well as their long-lasting legacy.”
gimme-danger
Of the project, Jarmusch has commented: “No other band in rock’n’roll history has rivaled The Stooges’ combination of heavy primal throb, spiked psychedelia, blues-a-billy grind, complete with succinct angst-ridden lyrics, and a snarling, preening leopard of a front man who somehow embodies Nijinsky, Bruce Lee, Harpo Marx, and Arthur Rimbaud. There is no precedent for The Stooges, while those inspired by them are now legion.”
I think this is what Jarmusch means:


Hopefully, we’ll get to see the film this Summer!!

Fatherson

Given the release yesterday of Fatherson’s new single, ‘Just Past the Point of Breaking’, we thought we’d show a FEAST session they did for us many moons ago. With the release of the new album on Friday 3rd June, you can still get the last few remaining tickets for their forthcoming Glasgow show on Saturday 4th June.

Here’s the first video from the series of studio sessions we are doing with SAMA (Scottish Alternative Music Awards). This is the awesome Fatherson, with First Born for me, an acoustic mashup of two of their regular songs.

NOAH NOAH Q&A

With only weeks to our annual Feast ‘blog party’ at Sneaky Pete’s on June 2nd, we thought we’d have a wee word with Fraser from NOAH NOAH who happens to front one of the most exciting bands around Edinburgh at the moment. So excited they agreed to perform at our forthcoming party!! Part of Edinburgh College’s Glow Festival.

NOAH NOAH press shot
How long have you been making music together?
NOAH NOAH formed in Autumn 2015 under the name ‘Grampa’ however the drummer, Rowan and myself have been playing in various bands together since we were 13 years old. The idea for NOAH NOAH came about while I was running an open mic at the Edinburgh pub The Blind Poet where I met our keys player Matt a few years ago. We have since played many acoustic gigs together in various pubs and clubs and eventually we decided it was time play some electro-pop. We saw Neil play in his other band Beckett and decided to steal him.


Is there a story behind the name?
I was chatting to a friend where I said “I don’t know a Noah, do you?” and so NOAH NOAH was born.

(Matt also reckons that as the last few animals boarded the Ark, there were a pair of unicorns running late who shouted “NOAH…NOAH!!!” to try and get Noah’s attention. However, they missed the boat and that is why there are no Unicorns. I am unconvinced.)

Who are your musical influences?
We come from a diverse and eclectic musical background but share a love for bands like Chvrches and Prides. With that electro-pop sound in mind we use other influences such as Biffy Clyro, the 1975, The Killers, Future Islands etc to try and create a sound that is a wee bit different. Influences are constantly changing however and can sometimes come from really unexpected places.

What process goes into the way you write songs?
Songs develop in so many different ways. Some of our set are songs that I had written on an acoustic guitar, or Matt had written on the keys then as a band we develop the sound. Other songs start as riffs or ideas that we jam in the studio and let them take shape. Currently we tend to write and record demos first then show them to the rest of the band, a pattern that Rowan started with our newest song. This system seems to work well but there is no rules!

What can people expect from your live shows?
We put a lot of effort into our live show to try and make sure the sound is as big as possible. People can expect a really energetic show that (hopefully) sounds great and looks great.

Funniest thing that’s ever happened at a gig?
We are just back from our first UK tour and although there was much hilarity there are some things we probably shouldn’t report…Although we have recently played a few shows with Glasgow band Start Static. No incident in particular however these boys are the definition of Glasgow banter and are always a great giggle. They are so Reckless!!

What can we expect to see/hear from you in the future?
We are planning to release a single with a B side in the very near future (stay tuned) and are also poised to announce a host of summer and autumn 2016 shows with a view to tour the UK again before the year is out. Head over to www.facebook.com/NOAHNOAHband and give us a ‘like’ to stay in touch or sign up to our mailing list at www.noah-noah.com

NOAH NOAH headline FEASTIVAL (FEAST’s annual blog party) at Sneaky Pete’s on Thursday 2nd June. Tickets here http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/feastival-tickets-24588971275

TEEK Q&A

With only weeks to our annual Feast ‘blog party’ at Sneaky Pete’s on June 2nd, we thought we’d have a wee word with Sam from TEEK who happens to front one of the most exciting bands around Edinburgh at the moment. So excited they agreed to perform at our forthcoming party!! Part of Edinburgh College’s Glow Festival.

How long have you been making music together?

TEEK have been making music since around December last year. I came over from the Isle of Man to do some recording but was so goddamn impressed with this little musical collective I found – the band, the producer, the promotion team and management and stuff – I literally packed in my job and relocated. The moment I decided for sure was actually during the first jam we had down at Banana Row. We freestyled this one entire track in particular (which we’ll be gigging) – kind of a deep house kind of sound – it was magic. We had such good chemistry, I was buzzing. So yeah, that’s when it all officially kicked off, I guess.

Is there a story behind the name?

Haha, of sorts. We had originally decided on “TEAK”, like the tree. We had a tree themed logo made up and everything. But then we found out some random dude in London had already registered it. I was pretty bummed as I’d already become quite attached, so Manuel – our lateral thinking lead guitarist – suggested we just change the spelling. Genius! I like this name loads more now. Plus it’s a weird little furry creature from the Star Wars universe and on urban dictionary is defined as “a person who is able to lift more than a standard human being. This guy is so teek he can deadlift his own Tacoma out of a parking stall.”

Who are your musical influences?

Oh man that’s a tough question, especially as it’s fairly early days for us and we’re still kind of carving out our sound. But I suppose it’s like some eclectic mix of Radiohead, Snarky Puppy, Gorillaz, Cherub, Bombay Bicycle Club, Gramatik …. if that even makes any sense whatsoever. Just come listen to us it’ll be easier.

What process goes into the way you write songs?

We’re definitely a jam band. I think our best stuff has definitely just come from when we’re warming up or closing down at the end of a session. We always make a point of spending at least half an hour or so at our sessions just organically jamming. There’s always music in the madness. Alternatively I bring my previous pretty simple loop pedal based songs to the band and they vastly improve them with their musical expertise. It’s a good workflow.

What can people expect from your live shows?

A whole lot of feel, five guys getting real, not much sex appeal.

Funniest thing that’s ever happened at a gig?

Well we have our first gig as a full band at Henry’s Cellar bar for our single launch on Friday the 13th (unlucky for some) this May. So somethings bound to go horribly wrong and we’ll get back to you.

What can we expect to see/hear from you in the future?

We have an awesome studio and producer to work with down in Cowdenbeath (straight out of Cowden?) called McGuti’s Productions (http://www.mcgutis.com/), a bunch of really talented, dedicated musicians, tons of material to work on and a great support team. So the sky’s the limit. All we know for sure is that we’re going to make a whole lot of music and have a butt load of fun. Come get involved with the journey.

TEEK launch their new single ‘Draw A Map’ at Henry’s Cellar Bar Friday 13th May 7.30pm

https://www.facebook.com/soundsliketeek/