Little King Interview

Jun17

Can you first introduce the band and give us some background to how it all started and what brought you all together?

Hey there, the pleasure is all mine!

Yes, currently Little King consists of Manny Tejeda (Bass and backing vox), Eddy Garcia (Drums), and me, Ryan Rosoff (Guitar and Vox). This is about the 11 millionth line-up for Little King in the last 23 years, but hopefully this is static for a while. Eddy has played drums on the last 3 records (Legacy of Fools 2008, OD1 2014, and Occam’s Foil 2019), so at least there’s some consistency there.

I started Little King back in 1996 when my previous band disintegrated. I was playing with a band called Tweed Quickly with two guys who are STILL among my closest friends (Scott Marestein and Shannon Brady.) In fact, Shannon played bass on Time Extension (1998) and Virus Divine (2003), and Scott and I have collaborated and toured many times in the last 25 years. But when Tweed went RIP, I had a bunch of songs that I had already written that we were gonna record together, so instead of folding up my tent, I found a couple other dudes and we went hard at rehearsals and on the road. Eventually, Transmountain was born (1997). It was, um, fun? Still can’t really bring myself to listen to is, but one song called “I-10” is still probably gonna make the cut for the live show.

How have those experiences impacted on what you are doing now?

Yeah, Scott was the main writer for Tweed Quickly, and he definitely had (and still has) a very eclectic approach to songwriting. We both share some primary influences like Rush and the Beatles, but he also really introduced me to Zappa and Parliament Funkadelic when we first starting jamming. Scott’s playing just SWINGS…and everything he writes is based on the up, so finding the one was a different experience with him. He also is not afraid of the chromatic, and I was new to that. I always considered it to be kind of a songwriting cop-out, if you will. I mean, anyone can slide up a scale one half-step at a time, but he really emphasized how that can lend drama or levity to a musical passage.

What inspired the band name?

After Tweed went AWOL, I had those songs and I needed a name. I’ve always been into hip-hop, and it seems like there are a thousand “Lil'” this and that in rap, so I thought it was kinda funny. And, of course, the name “Ryan” is translated in Gaelic to mean Little King, so that fit as well, as it was always meant to be a vehicle to showcase my songs and make records and tour with my friends. Here we are, almost 24 years later!

Was there any specific idea behind the forming of the band and also in what you wanted it and your sound to offer?

I was never interested in playing in a cover band. I did it for a minute when I was like 16 in a high school band called Green T’s (as in the first toke…get it?) We butchered some Police and Zep covers back in the day, but my heart wasn’t in it. I didn’t sit on my bed with my guitar for 10 hours a day to try and sound like someone else…I wanted to BE that someone else.

There are so many different ways to make an artistic statement. I have a college degree in Creative Writing, so I certainly appreciate novels and poetry and I’ve even written a couple screenplays. I love to draw and I’m not half bad (I actually illustrated the cover for the first album, Transmountain, back in 1997…mostly because I was too broke to pay someone to do it.)

But music called to me. It was the synthesis of words and melodies, which satisfies my right brain, and the counting and carefully planned measures in the songs to make a maximum impact…the left brain. Like Neil Peart wrote about on Rush’s album Hemispheres – The Heart and Mind Collided! I love that making records involves so much art, including the cover art, which of course I’m always active in producing. I am very proud of all of Little King’s album art, and the newest album (Occam’s Foil, 2019) is probably my favorite of all of them.

Do the same things still drive the band when it was fresh-faced or have they evolved over time?

That’s a wonderful question…thank you for asking it in such a way.

It’s always been about a creative outlet, but when my first album came out, I was 24. I’m almost 48 now, so that was quite literally half a life ago. When I was starting out, I just wanted to see if I could do it AND if people would like it. I Could and the Did, although the first effort and a half were pretty uneven, so to speak.

As I aged, had kids, and thought more deeply about the passage of time, the goals changed. I wrote the lyrics for Time Extension (1998) at age 25, and it’s basically a concept album where the protagonist is on his death bed and is looking back at his life and wishing he could go back and make some changes…every song is one of those points in his life. So even at a relatively young age, I was acutely aware of the passage of time.

As I went on, it became an obsession about leaving a legacy…for my kids, their kids, and the universe in general. As I said before, the creation of an album appeals so much to me on so many levels, so this is my chosen medium to make my statements to the world. Not sure who or how many people really give a shit, but I do! So the album Legacy of Fools came out in 2008 when I was teaching English in high school down in Texas, and I was very much thinking about the legacy I would leave as a teacher as well as a father (my son had just been born as well.) That concept, a wilful legacy of words and music, carries me forward to this day.

Since your early days, how would you say your sound has evolved?

Without question, I am a better writer, arranger, and singer. I was not classically trained, so as a self-taught player and writer I think there is a lot more trial and error. Mostly error at the beginning!

I am a fan of conceptual albums that tell stories, even if they’re not completely cohesive. Again, the melodies, lyrics, production, and artwork all combine to leave a milepost on the spiral of time. So one thing that I’ve always tried to do is play up diversity within those albums. Key changes, different tempos and time signatures, and evolving lyrical themes all within the context of a 3 piece band…that’s been the goal. On Occam’s Foil, and really on most of the records, there are a few special guests (the violin and cello arrangement written by David Hamilton for “The Skin That I’m In” is STUNNING). But the ethos of reproducing live a faithful representation of what you hear on the record is important to me, perhaps more than ever now after making 6 albums.

Has it been more of an organic movement of sound or more the band deliberately wanting to try new things?

Forgive the dodge, but a bit of both, I think. “Organic” may be an overused word in this context. It’s organic that I want to take some different directions. Is that forced? No. But maybe that’s a better word. I know what I am and what I’m pretty good at. I always have a notion to stretch out and try different things, but somehow it always ends up sounding like Little King!

Presumably across you guys there are a wide range of inspirations; any in particular which have impacted not only on the band’s music but your personal approach and ideas to creating and playing music?

I have gone on ad nauseum in other interviews about how much Rush has influenced me and how much I admired Neil Peart’s brain, work ethic, and dignity, so I will leave that as it is and talk about some less obvious influences.

I love Vivaldi and Mozart as much as I love Iron Maiden and Tupac and Peter Tosh. That really runs the gamut, doesn’t it? I am drawn to equal parts of passion, skill, and intelligence. those things transcend genre, for sure. So those guys all are in rotation in my car.

Is there a particular process to the songwriting?

It’s music first for me. I am the singer and guitarist, but not necessarily in that order! Little King songs are not all in 4/4 and are not all in the same key, so I have to really make sure I have the playing of each of them down to absolute second nature. That takes time and patience and practice. The goal is to be able, of course, to be able to sing and play them at the same time.

My songs are dictated by what I like to play FIRST, and then I fit the words to them. If a song makes sense to me in structure and melody without any words, then I feel like I can’t fuck it up by writing lyrics to it. Sometimes, though, the music is enough. I don’t ever really set out to write instrumentals, but sometimes when I fall in love with a riff or a song; it just makes sense to leave it as is. This also gives my voice a rest in a live setting! But I have 3 companion instrumentals from the last 3 albums called “Internal Smut” (Legacy of Fools), “The Leaded Beatdown” (OD1), and “Nerve #8″ (Occam’s Foil) that are just too much fun to play…so they didn’t get words. Poor, neglected instrumentals! Oh…””Internal Smut” is an anagram for the word “Instrumental.” I’m a massive dork.

Where do you, more often than not, draw the inspirations to the lyrical side of your songs?

Parenthood, current events, the squirrel invasion in my backyard, global pandemics, or just a failed relationship…they all make their way in, somehow. We recorded 4 little videos this time discussing with my friend Ashley Ruark each of the lyrical themes for the songs on Occam. I think they’re worth watching.

Give us some background to your latest release.

Occam’s Razor is a famous theory that originates with wise old Father William of Ockham, an area in Surrey, around 1300. He believed and preached that the simplest answer is usually the correct one absent of extenuating circumstances or additional information. I’m paraphrasing, but the Razor is a popular enough theory that it’s still regularly used, particularly in medical diagnoses, almost 700 years later.

My argument is the “Foil” to good Father William. The counter-argument, if you will. I think the Razor discourages deeper thought, healthy discourse, and it makes it less like that one will spend the requisite time to research and find an answer to a problem that may be much more complex that it would be at first blush.

Each song deals with that counter-argument in some way. But in a world of social media pontification, bellicose posturing filling the void of intellectual rigor, and instant gratification, I was compelled to address the Razor in my own way…through my music.

“Hate Counter” deals with the separation of migrant children and the border as a policy enacted by our current administration here in the USA. I always record Little King albums at drummer Eddy Garcia’s studio, Krank Studios, down in El Paso, Texas. El Paso is on the border, and these disgusting camps were front and center in July of 2019 when all of these lyrics were written. They were also sandwiched around the mass shooting at Walmart by a fucking racist from Dallas that killed 20+ people. I was pissed, and that music fit the bill to write an angry song.

“The Skin That I’m In” is my response to the song “Happy Home” that I wrote in 2014 as I was getting divorced and moving across the country to a place I’d never even been. It was a dark time, but I came out so much better 5 years later. “Skin” is my “marked safe from the shitstorm” song, and it deals with infidelity, paranoia, substance abuse, and triumph over these things.

“Forgotten Mile” is about turtles. Sort of… It’s also the name of the area I lived in when I wrote these songs. “The Foil” is sort of the title track and also references religious douchebaggery and also the Opioid crisis in Delaware and beyond.

Are you a band which goes into the studio with songs pretty much in their final state or prefer to develop them as you record?

The arrangements are DONE when we get in there. Eddy learns them on drums pretty much on the fly, although I send him demos beforehand. I don’t know how much he listens to them, though, and I don’t really care. The dude is INCREDIBLE, and his playing is so on-point and creative that I don’t care how much he has worked out ahead of time. I like that he brings spontaneity to arrangements that are otherwise meticulously crafted. The other things I totally improvise are the guitar solos. I am absolutely at my playing peak by the time I get to the studio to record, so I love to just unleash live, no rehearsal, and see where that takes me. Again, it’s cool when juxtaposed against these arrangement. The solos for “Hate” and “Skin” I think are the best I’ve ever done, especially “Skin” – and they were both in one take!

Tell us about the live side to the band, presumably a favourite aspect of making music?

Stay tuned, friend…all will be revealed soon. I can say that I’ve never performed with this particular line-up and I am beyond thrilled to be able to get this to the masses someday very soon.

It is not easy for any new band to make an impact regionally let alone nationally and further afield. How have you found it your neck of the woods? Are there the opportunities to make a mark if the drive is there for new bands?

Sure! How good are you? How willing are you to make sacrifices in time and money? Do you care enough to evolve? What DO you really care about? Is it money, fame, or just sharing your art? I think that there are a million different avenues to promote your music, but I would like to think that the best promoted band isn’t always the one who “Makes It.”

I still hope we live in a world where the cream rises to the top. Hope springs eternal, right?

How has the internet and social media impacted on the band to date? Do you see it as something destined to become a negative from a positive as the band grows and hopefully gets increasing success or is it more that bands struggling with it are lacking the knowledge and desire to keep it working to their advantage?

Again, it is what you make of it. If your music is shit, you may have a nice short run of people close to you who love it and fill your head up with platitudes. It’s cool to feel good about yourself, but it’s fleeting. How does one have lasting power? I think it’s evolution of the craft and a willingness to work hard, both creating and promoting. I grew up in an era of paper flyers for shows in parking lots. As that old meme goes, “You never flyered a show at a Walmart in the 90’s and it shows…”

It’s great that the playing field has been somewhat levelled. It’s certainly easier for bands to distribute their music and have it promoted and streamed for free. You can’t make a fucking living doing that, which sucks, but we never did really anyway. Maybe a few of us did, but not much of a living (I just got a check from our distributor today…let’s just say in HELPED pay for toilet paper that I need during the pandemic.)

Once again a big thanks for sharing time with us; anything you would like to add or reveal for the readers?

Please just go visit www.littlekingtunes.com and have a poke around. Hopefully you can get a sense of why I’m still doing this after almost 25 years. And I APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH…you can’t imagine how gratifying the reception to Occam’s Foil has been. Manny, Eddy, and I worked so hard on this record. Thank you for caring!

https://www.facebook.com/littlekingtunes

RingMaster Review 16/06/2020

Revealing Lucifour M with Mattia Dallara

Jun17

Hello and thanks for taking time out to talk with us.

Can you first introduce the band and give us some background to how it all started and what brought you all together?

All started after Marco and Michele first met in the backstage of a gig…then all developed naturally when I, Mattia, joined… we all knew each other a bit already because we come from the same area and we occasionally had the chance to do something together too…then the music just started flowing after the first musical meetings…jamming just playing live y’know…we don’t even remember the steps we made, we remember that we have been having so much fun since then…and we are here now

Had you been involved in other bands before? If so has that had any impact on what you are doing now, in maybe inspiring a change of style or direction?

All of us have been involved in other bands and projects over the years…I in Capucino or recently in Amycanbe, Michele in M+A and Marco in MACK or Orange Combutta or C’mon Tigre….everything we do influences us of course, but it is unconscious…

hummm….what we did so far in Lucifour M is mostly based on our common passion for R&B and Soul Pop Music…Jazzy pop… but this is only the start…and we are very open…and so next things will go in different directions maybe…who knows?! 😉

What inspired the band name?

It is partially based on Lucifer’s Sam song….we want an evil name…and also our names all start with M…so this is it.

Was there any specific idea behind the forming of the band and also in what you wanted it and your sound to offer?

Not any specific idea but the fun! We just do it because we enjoy it…well maybe we also fancy some cinematic stuff…we all love cinema…and yeah we often think to our music with some image connection…and it seems working too! 3 songs of our recent EPs will be a soundtrack to a new great short film by Robert Daniel Martin called “State Of The Game”…it will be out soon.

Do the same things still drive the band when it was fresh-faced or have they evolved over time?

We are evolving sure!…but in a very natural way…we don’t like to plan too much….we want to stay always fresh if possible! J

Since your early days, how would you say your sound has evolved?

We basically write pop songs… maybe the new ones are more psychedelic?…I don’t know honestly…but there is a part of what we do that now has more of it.

Again, more of an organic movement of sound or the band deliberately wanting to try new things?

We love the “new” in what we listen to and in what we do…we are attracted by new sensations…and sounds just follow that ….in a stream of consciousness.

Presumably across the band there is a wide range of inspirations; are there any in particular which have impacted not only on the band’s music but your personal approach and ideas to creating and playing music?

Stevie Wonder…Prince….The Beatles….Radiohead…Pino Daniele…Franck Ocean…just to name a few…Jazz…Italian Music…there are so many things….sometimes you hear something that is completely unknown and never heard that could make your day …and your music can’t help but be influenced by that…giving you different ideas, changing a bit your approach….no rules and no edges really

Is there a process to the songwriting which generally guides the writing of songs?

All starts with a jam….then when it becomes a mess! J we try to make order and then some of it could become a song.

Where do you, more often than not, draw the inspirations to the lyrical side of your songs?

Life in general…Michele (the singer) loves philosophy so maybe you can hear also that in his lyrics.

Give us some background to your latest release.

Our latest release is called DUE is our second ep, the first one is called UNO, simple isn’t? 🙂 They are 2 parts of the same project, recorded during the same sessions…we just split in two together with Sonarkollektiv Berlin and K7 Records London (our labels)

Give us some insight to the themes and premise behind it and its songs.

12 songs all together, all available in digital stores….and we are preparing also a vinyl release…themes are various…all inspired by little experiences, lived, or read…or dreamed….

Are you a band which goes into the studio with songs pretty much in their final state or prefer to develop them as you record?

We are so lucky that we can jam in our own studio, we are mainly based in a studio which is often our home….so sometimes things start at home, just an idea or a riff…but more often they start in the studio and end there as well.

Tell us about the live side to Lucifour M, presumably the favorite aspect of the band?

Yeah exactly! We are a live band…on stage we play often as four piece….we feel more comfortable. And the sound is far better…but sometimes for logistic reasons we are just 3…anyway…what you hear on record is what we do on stage…not very different…the biggest different is of course the experience…every live is a different story and the impact on us and on the audience is more powerful, and emotional

It is not easy for any new band to make an impact regionally let alone nationally and further afield. How have you found it?

We just play and play…enthusiasm brings enthusiasm, in us and in people around us, if they are fans or people of the music biz….anyway there must love in what you do, then it could be growing if we are good enough…we are keen of what we are doing, and we don’t want to stop.

There is always a chance, but you can’t think about it too much, if you want to have a chance you have to just what you do best: playing. The rest is secondary.

How has the internet and social media impacted on the band to date?

It is just the new way of listening, sharing and promote music….the problem is that there are too many artists, projects, songs etc…the good thing is the freedom….we are able to do what we want without pressure …and there are also opportunities…for example next may we will play The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, we just made and application online and they said yes – it would not be possible 20 years ago without internet

All is very fast and changing very fast…so there is always a lack of knowledge…we always have to learn every day every minute…but we like it.

Once again a big thanks for sharing time with us; anything you would like to add or reveal for the readers?

Thank you very much for having us.

Please find new EP DUE out now – link below.

http://www.facebook.com/lucifourm

http://www.youtube.com/lucifourm

http://www.twitter.com/lucifourm

http://www.instagram.com/lucifour

RingMaster Review 16/06/2020

Attrition Interview

Feb27

Can you first introduce the band and give us some background to how it all started?

I started ATTRITION way back in late 1980… I’d been running my punk/post punk fanzine “Alternative Sounds” here in Coventry from ’79 – ’81 and I knew I always needed to make my own music… it began with me and my then girlfriend Julia… added a drummer and my brother on guitar… soon changing to Julia’s brother Ashley on synth and I bought a drum machine…so we quickly turned from a traditional guitar/bass/drums/ vocals line up to a more electronic sound…

Have you been involved in other bands before?

I had always been a visual artist (painter/sculptor at art school) and knew nothing of writing music… so this was my jump in the deep end… see what came out of it… we just experimented with our sound over the first few years in particular…. But still do from time to time…

What inspired the band name?

It came from “War of ATTRITION” … after the first world war…I’d always been fascinated with it as my Grandad was wounded on the Western Front at Ypres in 1917…. And I had always heard about it as I grew up…. in 2015 I finally wrote an album of interpretations of WW1 poems, from all sides….”Millions of The Mouthless Dead” – something I always had to do… I wrote it with Anni Hogan (Marc and the Mambas etc.) and was happy to have a special guest reading in German from Wolfgang Flur on there (ex Kraftwerk)

Was there any specific idea behind the forming of the project itself and how you wanted it represent your thoughts and emerging your sounds?

A burning desire to say something…. There was too much going on I really needed that outlet…. I still do

…and that desire still leads the way?

A lot is the same… we can never recover our naivety and things have obviously got more professional over time…. And maybe I’m not the angry young man I was in 1980…but yeah… not so very different J

Since your early days, how would you say your sound has evolved?

I’ve always used technology a lot…it’s my instrument…I never learned a traditional one… and that has evolved massively over time… and that has made a difference to the sound. I’ve also taken on more musical influences… dance, classical etc… and have met so many amazing musicians over the years that have come on-board… added their talents… moved on…. It’s been an evolving project… which is how I like it..

Has it been more of an organic movement of sound or more you deliberately wanting to try new things?

A mix of both… I never know what I will come out with when I start a track…and I like to see where the twists and turns lead me… there are no real rules…. But I have written soundtrack scores so that is a different approach from the outset… and in instrumentation there have been times I wanted to try working with someone new.. .for example when I introduced real violin and viola and cellos on some songs… the old samples hardly got used again…. I think that experiment worked pretty well

Presumably across your years being involved in music there is a wide range of inspirations; are there any in particular which have impacted not only on the band’s music but your personal approach and ideas to creating and playing music?

Well ATTRITION is mostly me… but I take on influences from people I have worked with…and that is often as much an approach as it is the style… I love learning…. If I ever thought I wasn’t doing that any more then it would be time to stop..

Is there a process to the songwriting which generally guides the birth of songs?

In all of my work… regardless of the final piece or style… I start with abstract atmospherics… electronics usually… and gradually rhythms and melodies emerge… alongside the words if there are to be any…. Much like order from chaos…. I believe in that

Where do you, more often than not, draw the inspirations to the lyrical side of your songs?

From my personal life… philosophical and religious thought… political ideas… “sex, death and religion” as some would say..

Would you give us some background to your latest release?

The new single, ‘The Great Derailer’ , has just been released (on CD, download and streaming) and will be part of the forthcoming album, ‘The Black Maria’…much of my lyrical work is inspired by my subconscious thought…. And in a simple way “The Great Derailer” is my anarchist God…if you like…. I released it on Brexit day J

Do you go into the studio with songs pretty much in their final state or still provide room for them to develop as you record?

Since I put my own studio together in the nineties, The Cage, I work all the time on pieces of music and they gradually develop into an album… (and this is between my mastering and production work for many other bands and labels… so I never get enough time for me!…. but it is my day job so I am always surrounded by music…. And I love that) …but yes in the early days of the eighties we had very limited studio time paid for by the various record labels and we had to have everything pretty much ready to put down for the time we were in there…. Not always a bad thing actually…we learned a lot from that!

Tell us about the live side to the band, presumably a favourite aspect of the band?

I do love recording as much as live but yes touring is such an inspiration… I have a varying line up as I work with people all over the world, and I’ve been lucky to have toured on most continents at various points in my career… a wonderful experience… apart from my 2 beautiful kids I would say a highlight of my life…

It is not easy for any new band to make an impact regionally let alone nationally and further afield. How did you find it back in the day and see it now?

Coventry had a great live scene when I started… after the buzz of two Tone but as much for all the other acts… personally my experimental electronics was a bit too much for the local scene back then… so we moved away to London and later I moved to Holland for a while where there a much more receptive scene…. I’ve been back in Coventry for years and I’m pleased to see it really picking up for live music, especially music with more of an edge… I think it’s true everywhere… it’s such a big thing to do making a band work… and it’s hard… but it’s so worth it if you can dedicate yourself to it

How has the internet and social media impacted on the project to date? Do you see it as a necessary ‘evil’?

The internet in all its forms has been really helpful… having started with the fanzine I was always used to networking myself and the internet is such an opportunity for that…I can’t even imagine how I arranged tours in Europe in the eighties before email…. But maybe the reason I am still here is because I did… It’s never been easy…it never should be.

Once again a big thanks for sharing time with us; anything you would like to add or reveal for the readers?

…and thank you very much too. As I said, the new album will be out later in the year… and I am currently setting up dates for 2020… So far confirmed…

April 3rd: The Tin, Coventry, UK

June 13th: Woodgothic Festival, Sao Thome Das Letras, Brazil

June 17th – Gothic Ba, Buenos Aires, Argentina

June 19th – Producciones Mortem Collec-tions, Santiago de Chile

June 20th – Tumbas Eternas Producciones, Lima, Perú November

28th: Winter Ghosts Symposium, Whitby, UK

…and do check out our various sites…

http://www.attrition.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/ATTRITIONMUSIC https://attritionuk.bandcamp.com/ https://www.youtube.com/user/attrition https://twitter.com/attritionuk https://open.spotify.com/artist/5yAtVvdaWrTxW4GPC18643 http://www.thecagestudios.co.uk/

Thank you! Martin Bowes. Coventry. England. 2020

Pete RingMaster 27/02/2020

Lifecycle Interview

Feb27

Hello and thanks for taking time out to talk with us.

Our pleasure, thank you! By the way, my name is Scott Pustilnick (Bass, Keyboards, Vocals)

Can you first introduce the band and give us some background to how it all started and what brought you all together? LIFECYCLE is a hard-hitting Alternative Metal band based out of Jackson, NJ. LIFECYCLE features Asim Rizvi (4Karma), John Soden (Legion), Joe Viggiano (formerly Ataraxia), Kevin Hightower (formerly Noosphere), and myself, Scott Pustilnick (formerly MCA recording Artist Familiar 48).

Have you been involved in other bands before? If so has that had any impact on what you are doing now, in maybe inspiring a change of style or direction?

Everyone in the band has been in other bands to some degree. Personally, I was in a band signed to MCA records (When that label existed). All of us used our prior knowledge and hard work ethic to get the band off the ground. The direction is a million times better with this band than with other bands. Very focused!

What inspired the band name?

We actually had the song title “LifeCycle” picked out before we named the band, “LifeCycle”…A Black Sabbath – “Black Sabbath” kind of deal. As we wrote more music, we realized a lot of what we were writing focused around aspects of life itself. When we realized the motto of that song was on point with what we generally write about, a light bulb went off.

Was there any specific idea behind the forming of the band and also in what you wanted it and your sound to offer?

I wanted to play with musicians that had the same vision. The vision is to write great songs that can appeal to a massive audience. In addition, we love to entertain so finding a group of guys that are totally dedicated and are passionate about music was really important. The band writes 3-4 minute songs that are have heavy guitar riffs but offer melodic vocals.

Do the same things still drive the band when it was fresh-faced or have they evolved over time?

The band is very new. The debut single “Lifecycle” just dropped on all digital media stores. We all still love each other! Lol.

How would you say your sound is evolving so far?

Due to the band being new, the evolution is tough to call out. I can tell you that song writing is very easy with this band. There is NO shortage of material and we constantly have new content ready to release.

Has the growth of the band and its sound from birth been more of an organic movement or more the band deliberately exploring new things?

Completely organic, thank you tiny baby Jesus! We have 5 members with 5 voices. We write what is best for the song and if it isn’t broken, we don’t fix it! The sound is natural and nothing is forced.

The band has a real good formula for creating music. I think the inspiration is really working together. Everyone is very close and we really enjoy being around each other and having fun. Due to this inspiration, the band decided to make a YouTube series that documents this fact. The name of the YouTube series is called “A Day in the LifeCycle” and it can be found on our YouTube Channel. People seem to love it and we have way too much fun making it. New Episodes drop every 2 weeks.

Is there a particular process to the band’s songwriting?

Most of the time, our talented guitarists (Kevin, Joe) bring killer riffs to the table. We then sit in a room and work out the music portion. We feed off of each other’s ideas so I really believe we inspire each other during this process. At that point, once we have a legit framework of a song, we listen and listen and listen. It’s organic and it changes and gets tweaked. We let the song dictate the path. This is really important for us. If the song calls for a part, it’s getting done. If the song doesn’t need a blazing fast shredder solo……it’s not part of the song. Asim (lead singer) writes most of the words in the band and he is also a part of the creative process with the music. The method works and we are very happy doing things this way.

Where are, more often than not, lyrical inspirations drawn from?

As for what LifeCycle songs are about……Music in general can mean different things to different people. One person’s interpretation of lyrics/ song can be completely different from another person’s. That is part of the beauty of music. So Asim will not typically like giving a song a definitive meaning because the way he sees it and writes it, may be interpreted another way by someone else. Doesn’t mean anyone is wrong, it’s just their perspective. However, as a songwriter Asim typically likes to focus on aspects of life itself. Love, lust, greed, vulnerability, purpose, life and death are all common themes in our music, all served with a side of metal.

Give us some background to your latest release, that first single.

The debut single, “Lifecycle” dropped on 1/15/2020! It’s everywhere. You look at a digital store and it is there for the taking. You can also grab it on Sound cloud or YouTube if you don’t subscribe to one of the big four. The plan is to drop the acoustic version of “Lifecycle” at the end of Feb 2020 and then follow it up with the next single, “Burnout” mid-April 2020. Constantly new content coming!

Are you a band which goes into the studio with songs pretty much in their final state or prefer to develop them as you record?

We enter into the studio one thousand present ready to record. We don’t develop new parts during the recording process. Here is why: we have recorded our song prior every time we write a new part. Organically, we have a dozen or some versions from step 1 to the last step along with way , already recorded on someone’s phone. By the time we get in the studio , we are ready to work and no longer write.

Tell us about the live side to the band, presumably a big favorite aspect of the band?

We’ll do it live!!! The band is super high energy. No one just stands there and looks down at their instrument. We see it with other bands and it doesn’t work for us. The band is excited to play so when we hit the stage its go time. Constant movement and having fun. We do not take ourselves so seriously…..come see us. We will make sure you have a great time and are not bored to death!

Yes there are opportunities everywhere I believe. The secret is not only working hard but being smart about it. Don’t waste your time with anything that is not moving the band in the right direction. Think about it and have a plan. Without a plan or direction, there is wasted time and that is the most precious resource we all have.

How has the internet and social media impacted on the band to date?

In a world where we all live our lives through the internet, how has it particularly aided the band?

It’s great! It allows people we have never met an opportunity to see the band, hear the band, laugh at the band, and either like or hate the band. Our episodic YouTube Series, “A Day in the Lifecycle” is doing great and people seem to love it. Without YouTube, no one would be able to enjoy the comedy side of the band along with the behind the scenes footage of live shows.

Do you see it as something destined to become a negative from a positive as the band grows and hopefully gets increasing success or is it more that bands struggling with it are lacking the knowledge and desire to keep it working to their advantage?

If bands struggle with the internet and social media, I would assume that they don’t quite understand one important thing…..This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Once again a big thanks for sharing time with us; anything you would like to add or reveal for the readers?

Thank you! We love writing and creating and playing our music for everyone. If you REALLY want to learn more about the band, go to YouTube and pull up our YouTube series called “A Day in the Lifecycle”. I know I mentioned it prior, but it’s a great way to see why Joe hates white bread, why Asim is sponsored by Hi-Chew, why John doesn’t talk and on and on. Thanks for the opportunity to talk!

-Scott Pustilnick (LifeCycle)

Check Lifecycle out further@ …

https://www.lifecycleband.com https://twitter.com/lifecycleband https://www.instagram.com/lifecycleband https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN4sHHIMmtMno__3t9wl4eA/featured

Pete RingMaster 27/02/2020

The Sectile Interview

Feb27

Hi and thank you for sparing time to chat with us.

Gabriel Gaba (Vocals): Of course, the pleasure is ours!

Could you first introduce the band and tell us how it came to be?

GG – I am Gabriel Gaba, the singer of Sectile, 5-piece prog metal band from Dublin, Ireland. The band started in 2016 when Mark O’Reilly (guitars) and Cormac Hennigan (bass), who have been friends since school but had never been in a band together, decided to meet and jam some ideas at the beginning of 2016. The creative juices started to flow and once they had a couple of demos made, they started looking for potential band members online. That’s how they found me and then later on Zachary Newman (drums). Things started a bit slowly at first, with the four of us meeting occasionally to play around with the demos. The band only became an official thing in November of that year, that’s after we found a 2nd guitarist, came up with the name, recorded a home-brewed demo and created our band profiles on social networks!

How would you define not only your sound but the creative character of the band?

GG – Probably one of the hardest tasks for a musician is to define their own sound! We usually just do our thing without worrying much with labels and let people decide for themselves. That being said, we still think progressive metal is the best ‘easy way’ to inform others of what we do. We try to combine our various influences to craft tunes that have enough complexity in them to keep things interesting, but still have really cool and beautiful chords and melodies, hooky choruses and a good contrast between heavy and quiet sections. We generally focus a little less on technical displays (though there’s plenty of that for those who dig it) and more on simply writing tunes that we would love to enjoy as listeners. We are definitely a songwriting driven band, at the time of this interview, our first album is not even released yet and we are already hard at work at writing the second, and let me tell you, it is sounding very exciting so far!

Are there any previous musical experiences for band members and how have they been embraced in what you do now?

GG – All of us have had previous bands, in various subgenres of rock and metal, and that experience stays with you. Prog metal is the common denominator in our taste for music but each of us lets their influences seep into Sectile. Speaking for myself, I grew up enjoying heavy metal and hard rock in equal measure, bands like Aerosmith, Skid Row and Guns n’ Roses are among my favourites, up there with classic metal such as Iron Maiden and Savatage. I played hard rock in cover bands for years! Sectile doesn’t really sound like any of those bands, but I believe the influence comes through in the vocals, especially with the presence of high notes. I played in pop-rock oriented bands too, and I believe it gave me valuable insight in terms of writing good hooks, which is something we definitely explore in the context of Sectile.

Is there a particular process to the band’s songwriting?

GG – It varied over time, but it’s usually up to our guitarist Mark to do the bulk of the writing. We have an online drive where he saves the song ideas and the rest of us will listen to that and think of our parts. But the magic really happens at practices, when we put everything together and jam those ‘drafts’ with our drummer Zachary. Zach is more of a ‘in the moment’ guy rather than someone who does a lot of homework, and he comes up with unbelievable stuff on the spot, which in turn affect the guitars and everything else. So the process is very organic, with the five of us exploring a lot of ideas during those jams, guided by the song drafts Mark writes. For the vocals I will often mumble something over while the boys are playing to create the basic vocal melodies and later on write lyrics that fit those melodies.

Would you tell us about your latest release?

GG – Our debut full-length album is coming out on the 25th of February, it is titled ‘Falls Apart’ and it has 7 songs. One of the songs on it, ‘The Hunt’ was launched as a single about a year ago, and we have another single and video – ‘Black Cloud’ – ahead of this release, on the 4th of February. We are beyond excited to finally have a full album out, it is something that we worked hard to achieve and we’re very proud of the result! We hope people love it as much as we do.

What are the major inspirations to its heart and themes?

GG – The album covers a wide spectrum, from light to dark. The melodies that appeal to us the most tend to be melancholic, and the lyrics also reflect that, as we speak of themes that pertain to the darker aspects of the human psyche. I am a big fan of sci-fi and horror books and movies, but we try not to be too obvious about it in the lyrics, they’re more metaphorical. We also have a lot of savage riffs and big choruses in the songs, we like that contrast!

I am always intrigued as to how artists choose track order on albums and EP’s and whether in hindsight they would change that. What has been the deciding factor for you or do songs or the main do that organically?

GG – That’s a great question! On Sectile, as a new and largely unknown band, we strive to balance our artistic integrity with strategic thinking when making those kinds of decisions. A band with an established fanbase has more freedom, as they can count on people checking out the full album either way. An unknown band doesn’t have that luxury, so you have to make sure the first song will grab the attention of many different types of listeners from the get-go, because if it doesn’t, you may never get another chance. So the first few songs have to be some of your best, and the more ‘demanding’ songs can come later once the listener has already decided to give you their time. It’s also important to finish with a banger to leave a positive lasting impression!

What do you find the most enjoyable part of being in a band and similarly the most cathartic?

GG – There are many great things about being in a band! To me it’s always been a way to keep my sanity and blow off some steam, so I suppose it is not only a pleasure but it’s also ‘therapeutic’ in a way. When you’re in a band with people you genuinely like, and you’re creating music together, that’s an incomparable kind of satisfaction. As for cathartic moments, those tend to be when you play live and you see the crowd really getting into the music and what you’re trying to do. It’s a really phenomenal feeling!

For anyone contemplating checking you out live give some teasers as to what they can expect.

GG – A local reviewer said at one of our first gigs that “Sectile is a band that needs to be seen live”. We really work hard into putting on a great show. There are a lot of times where we let the songs speak for themselves but when things get energetic, so do we! It’s actually very hard for me to stand still on stage, growing up I was fascinated with that 70’s – 80’s type of rockstar frontmen who really owned the stage, and started to emulate that, even at practices to really get the hang of it. Bruce Dickinson is my number one influence there, he’s the number 1 metal frontman of all time for me.

What has been your most thrilling moment on stage to date?

GG – Just recently we decided to organise our own headline gig at a local bar that’s not exclusively a rock / metal venue, we had never played there before. Right before we started, the place suddenly got full, most people were total strangers who didn’t know they were at a prog gig. Anyway, we finished our set with an epic 13-minute long tune, and even so the crowd immediately started to chant “one more tune”! That was absolutely unexpected under the circumstances and totally exhilarating!

Do you have live dates coming up?

GG – Absolutely! We are back in Dublin’s Fibber Magees for Metal 2 the Masses again, and we’re really excited about it. We also have our album launch party in The Grand Social on February 28th with a cracking support line-up. That’s going to be a great night we think!

What else can we expect in the near future from you guys?

GG – 2020 is really going to be all about our new album. We plan to work our hardest to share this music with as many people as we possibly can, through promotion and through live performances. With this album in hand we are really aiming to broaden the Sectile name, and we really can’t wait to find out what people think of it!

What are the major inspirations to you sound wise and as a musician?

GG – This answer can change for any of the band members depending on what day you ask them! But, I find that there are a number of bands we always circle back around to when we’re songwriting or discussing musical ideas collectively. Bands like Opeth, Leprous, Porcupine Tree, Symphony X, Pain of Salvation and TesseracT would be some of them. To me personally, in addition to those I could mention Savatage, Iron Maiden, Skid Row, Angra, Marillion, Jeff Buckley, Devin Townsend, Guns n’ Roses and Jimmy Gnecco from Ours.

And finally what song or release would you say was the spark to your passion for music?

GG – It’s hard to say! I’ve been into music for as long as I can remember, rock and metal captured my attention early on. More than a specific song or album, perhaps I should mention the first time I saw a live gig, it was my brother’s rock covers band with his high school mates, that day really changed my life because I was absolutely blown away to see that it was possible to get on a stage and play a gig in front of people. I decided then that I would pursue the same thing, part of me is probably still yearning for the thrill I felt that day as a child.

Many thanks once again; anything else you would like to add?

GG – First of all, thanks for the interview! I would like to invite everyone to check out our new single and video ‘Black Cloud’ (available from February 4th) as well as the ‘Falls Apart’ album, out on February 25th. We love to interact with our audience so please drop us a message on social media telling us what you think of the album! You can find it on all platforms for streaming and / or for purchase on digital and CD formats – just look for Sectile on your preferred service. Thanks for listening!

check Sectile out further @…

https://www.facebook.com/sectile/ https://twitter.com/SectileOfficial https://www.instagram.com/sectileofficial https://sectileofficial.bandcamp.com/

Pete RingMaster

The RingMaster Review 27/02/2020

The Hubris Interview

Feb26

Could you first introduce yourself/the band and tell us how it came to be?

Jonathan Hohl (Guitar, composition, production) – We are hubris., a post-rock band from the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. Nathan, the drummer, and I have been playing music together for over a decade, but we first started in a metal band which was heavily influenced by post-rock. Eventually, we decided to give a proper “post-rock” band a go, albeit with our own music influences. On March 13^th of this year we will be releasing our third album.

How would you define not only your sound but the creative character of the band?

Nathan Gros (Drums, composition, production) – We try to incorporate literally everything that we listen to into our music. As mentioned, Jonathan and I started our first band in the metal genre but before that we both listened to different genres of music (e.g. my father is an African music percussionist). We end up with post-rock that quite clearly is not post-rock in the stricter terms because it is heavily influenced by so many other styles. What is post-rock is that we start all our compositions with a basic post-rock quartet (i.e. 2 guitars, bass and drums) and that the compositions aim to foster introspection. But then the drum patterns that I usually come up with sound very much like what you would hear in a hip-hop tune for example.

Are there any previous musical experiences for band members and how have they been embraced in what you do now?

JH – Well, yes as we’ve just explained regarding metal music. Also, Matthieu, Lucien – the two musicians that we always play live with – and I studied Jazz. Although they do not strictly have a hand in the composition per say, having played with them – personally for many years – has definitely had an impact on me and the way I understand music or compose it.

Is there a particular process to your/the band’s songwriting?

NG – So far, it’s been nothing but pure chaos. We’ve been trying to improve for every album, but there are always elements that we don’t pay as close attention as we should, and it ends up with us having to kill ourselves eventually to repair the small mistake. For the fourth album that Jonathan is composing at the moment, we are trying to stick to a strict plan, so we do not get caught up with an overwhelming workload towards the end of the production.

Would you tell us about your latest release?

JH – Metempsychosis, our third album is to be released on March 13^th of this year. It is very much in the lines of Apocryphal Gravity our second album, although we have tried to incorporate so more styles that we like or play into this genre of music. For example, the track Dionysus contains a disco-like drum pattern for the first riff.

What are the major inspirations to its heart and themes?

JH – The one and only big inspiration that I go dig up for is Greek Mythology. I have studied it at University (i.e. at the time when we first started the band) and it remained this way to this day. I like not to get lost in what is available to me in terms of inspiration and the fact that I can go back to a specific and definite source of inspiration is quite liberating actually. I am of course referring only to their stories or themes but going hiking for a whole day is as inspiring as anything else. I simply make sure that I cater this inspiration to myths.

NG – So far, we have always tried to have our albums be listened to in one go. It means that all the transitions between the songs have to be flawless and very much decided and/or worked on early in the production process. Sometimes Jonathan would compose a song and use the last few chords of that said song to compose the next one, which then makes the transition somehow create itself. It makes performing live a bit more difficult, because then we have to decide whether we play two songs or more from the same album one after the other or whether we abruptly cut one and place another song in-between.

What do you find the most enjoyable part of being in a band and similarly the most cathartic?

JH – Probably the experiences and emotions you share with your mates on stage. If I could choose to keep doing only one thing in music, it would 100% be to play live. What I think is the most cathartic experience as a musician is having had the best moments composing a song you love and then present it to an audience for the first time. Release parties are always so paramount because almost the entire audience discovers some of the songs for the first time, so you try your best to give out the best of experiences.

NG – I guess most enjoyable part as being in a band is to have something where you can express yourself and your feelings without being judged. I have so much respect and gratitude for my band mates because I know they give their 100% each time we play music, even for a simple rehearsal at 8am after a short night of sleep. I know I can trust them because they are like family, and I know they will always be here when needed. The most cathartic moment must be when our albums get delivered on my doorstep, simply because I know there is no more turn back on the mixes or anything else linked to the album. I mixed the last three albums, and this was probably my last, because I want to be more focused on the music and less on the small details (that actually gives you bad insomnias…) of the mixing aspect.

For anyone contemplating checking you out live give some teasers as to what they can expect.

NG – We try to stick to the album quite religiously, there is not much room for improvisation. The only difference with the album – with the exception that it is ten times louder – it that we usually add a lot more dynamics than the actual songs. Some of the lead guitars are also a bit louder, to make it more interesting live. Most importantly, we literally kill our necks on stage every single time. No exception. We always put ourselves in a performance mood and go as crazy as the music transports us.

What has been your most thrilling moment on stage to date?

JH – Our tour manager in India had been working day in day out to make the tour come to fruition and we did not really know how to thank him as we did not have much to offer except music. It was about 4-5 months before Metempsychosis was to be released, so nobody – except him and the label – had had a listen to any of the new songs. We made the decision the same day of the concert to actually perform one of our new songs live, just for him. We spent hours that same afternoon right after the soundcheck to make sure that all the backing tracks, click track etc. were on point. At about the end of the show, we took the opportunity to say a few words to him and then dedicated this song, Dedalus, to him before we started playing the song. It was the first time we played it live and we had not rehearsed it for weeks since we were not going to play it for the whole tour. Perhaps we did not play it as cleanly as we could, but the energy and emotions were so intense.

NG – I would say it was on our last tour in India when we played in Bangalore at Fandom. We had all the elements that makes a show a great show: good gear, good sound-system, good vibes and the best audience we could imagine. This was the first time I saw people imitating the drum parts, singing the guitar melodies and screaming when we ended a part (not even a song). We were tired and I was sick on that day, but as soon as we got on stage, all the pain went away and who knows how, we played one the best shows of the band’s history.

Do you have live dates coming up?

NG – Yes, a few shows here and there (April in Belgium, May in Germany), but most importantly we have our release party that will take place on Friday 13^th of March at Fri-Son in Fribourg, Switzerland.

What else can we expect in the near future?

JH – We are working on our tours for the second part of the year, but we cannot say too much about it just yet. Also, as mentioned earlier, I am already composing songs for the fourth album and we are really confident about the potential of these future songs.

What are the major inspirations to you sound wise and as a musician?

NG – I take a lot of inspiration from artists such as Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, The Contortionist, Moderat, Young Widows and so many other artists from many genres. This might sound weird, but I do watch a lot of YouTube or Instragram videos from drummers to get inspired. The drumming community is amazing because there are so many people eager to share their knowledge.

JH – The people that influence me the most soundwise are not from the post-rock scene at all. I am a big fan of Queen of the Stone Age’s guitar sounds, but I don’t think fuzz would match that well in our music – I haven’t tried it yet, but who knows. There is that guitar player from Nashville, TN called Jack Ruch who I have been following for quite a while. His tones and ideas are flawless.

And finally, what song or release would you say was the spark to your passion for music?

JH – All the songs that I have looked up that I thought sparked my passion for music where released after I believe my passion for music emerged. So, I don’t really know unfortunately.

NG – I started playing music at 6 because my dad was playing African percussions, and at this time he didn’t have any albums but only songs he would play live with his band in small venues in Switzerland. My parents bought me a drum kit when I was 7 because I transformed my plastic toy kitchen into a drum set (that got broken after a few days “playing it”). The funny part of this is that I didn’t try on purpose to transform this toy into a drum kit, I was just having fun with something that sounded cool to me.

Many thanks once again; anything else you would like to add?

JH, NG – A massive thank you to anyone who’s supported us over the course of hubris.’ existence. Perhaps our lives without hubris. would be a bit less stressful, but god knows how grimmer it would be too!

Check Hubris out further @

https://hubrisband.bandcamp.com/ https://www.hubrisband.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Hubrisband/

Pete RingMaster

The RingMaster Review 26/02/2020

The Atarka Interview

Feb24

Hi and thank you for sparing time to chat with us.

AB: Thanks for reaching out to us, looking forward to getting into this.

Could you first introduce the band and tell us how it came to be?

I’m Adam Bayliss and I play bass, and I’m with Dan McCarthy who plays guitar.

AB: Atarka came from a desperation to write our own music. I think that we both found that in our last band the writing process wasn’t as equal or open to everyone’s ideas. So we started writing our own music on our own for Atarka.

How would you define not only your sound but the creative character of the band?

AB: Our sound is just a culmination of all of the things that we love in music. Melody, groove, heaviness. We like to tell stories in our music, some fictional and some are allegories from life lessons we’ve learned.

You have already touched on it but how have those previous musical experiences for band members been embraced in or had an influence on what you do now?

AB: Between the 5 of us, we’ve all had previous musical experiences through education, bands and work. One thing I embraced for Atarka was the idea of “you get what you put in”. When you’re in bands at a younger age, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that everything will just fall into place as long as the music is good. But that’s just not true. You need to work hard and put the effort in, you need to look at every band that surrounds you and put in 100% more effort than they are. Not in a competitive way, but more as a means of raising your own standards.

Is there a particular process to the band’s songwriting?

AB: Well I think we had quite an unconventional process to writing our first album due to line up changes. Originally it was myself and Dan writing songs in his flat, using Logic as an aural notepad for ideas. We only had one goal: to write, record and release an album. We had about 15-18 ideas and fleshed them out into full songs. We also took on some lyric writing for a couple of our early tracks until Jamie (Vocals) became more involved. He took our ideas and edited them where he saw fit. When Alex (guitar) and Phil (Drums) joined, we showed them our tracks and they added new depth to the songs that we loved. So me and Dan came up with the basis, and the other guys added their personal stamps on each song we have.

Would you tell us about your latest release?

AB: ‘Sleeping Giant’ is our debut album and it’s available from March 27th. I feel there’s something for every kind of metal fan on this album. There’s melody, catchy riffs and vocal melodies, heavy breakdowns you can move your head to, and tracks to absolutely destroy someone in the pit.

What are the major inspirations to its heart and themes?

AB: I’ve been a huge fan of melodic death metal for about 15 years now, specifically the Gothenburg scene with bands like In Flames, At The Gates, Soilwork etc. But also a major influence for myself is Mastodon, the way they structure songs and use their riffs to explore the stories they tell is something I’ve always loved since I first heard ‘Crack the Skye’.

DM: The themes of ‘Sleeping Giant’ are based around different stories from our own lives and a few allegorical tales. Mental health, addiction and even history. We have one track called ‘Tollund Man’ – based around these perfectly preserved bodies found in a peat bog in Denmark. So it’s a real mixed bag if you don’t look deep into the lyrics. But they all come from desperate situations.

AB: I know that when it came to track order for the album, Jamie (vocals) had an idea straight off the bat. So we just put that into a playlist, went away and listened to it. I don’t think there were too many changes. It’s just about what feels and sounds right for the album. But you also need to keep the audience in mind. You need to keep them captivated.

What do you find the most enjoyable part of being in a band and similarly the most cathartic?

AB: I really enjoy the song writing process, creating new music and getting excited to hear the final product. It’s a rewarding process, from inception all the way to hearing a song you created, fully mixed and mastered.

Also, nothing quite beats playing a decent show. Feeling the music alongside the audience and your band mates, when the crowd are begging for one more song from you. I don’t think anything can match that.

For anyone contemplating checking you out live give some teasers as to what they can expect.

AB: Well, Jamie is a natural born frontman; crowd interaction just comes naturally to the guy. I mean, all the guys in the band can put on a great show. This is something I’ve not experienced before, there’s always been at least one guy that freezes up and can’t come out of his shell. We just want to put on a great show and party with the people that come out to see us.

What has been your most thrilling moment on stage to date?

AB: For me it has to be when we played KK’s Steel Mill in Wolverhampton. It’s a great new venue and we got the chance to play the big stage. The crowd were phenomenal, the other bands on that night played amazing sets. It was just one of those perfect shows. And it was also surreal to see KK Downing in the audience.

Do you have live dates coming up?

DM: Nothing we can reveal just yet, but keep an ear to the ground.

What else can we expect in the near future?

DM: We’ve got three upcoming singles, accompanied by music videos in support of the upcoming album, and some stuff that we can’t quite reveal yet.

What are the major inspirations to you sound wise and as a musician?

AB: Well, other than the bands I mentioned earlier, I’d have to list bands such as Behemoth, Enslaved, Alcest, Alter Bridge, Baroness, and Anaal Nathrakh. If it’s heavy or melodic – it’s probably going to influence me one way or another.

And finally what song or release would you say was the spark to your passion for music?

AB: I was raised on music from the 60s and 70s. So one of the first artists that really stuck with me was T. Rex. Marc Bolan was such an enigmatic character and quite a surreal song writer at times; something just clicked with me and inspired me to want to make music.

DM: I was raised on Zeppelin, particularly LZ IV. That was the initial catalyst in getting me into music.

Many thanks once again; anything else you would like to add?

Just to say thanks again for the chat, it was a lot of fun answering these questions, and to look out for ‘Sleeping Giant’ – available for purchase and streaming on March 27th.

Check Atarka out further @…

https://www.atarka.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/atarkaofficial/ https://twitter.com/Atarkaofficial

Pete RingMaster

The RingMaster Review 24/02/2020

The El Misti Interview

Feb24

Hi and thank you for sparing time to chat with us.

Could you first introduce yourself/the band and tell us how it came to be?

PB – I’m Paddy Bleakley, from El Misti. Me and Kieran Gilchrist met in Rio de Janeiro in 2010. We had numerous beverages, a jam on the beach, wrote a couple of songs and recorded them in a studio there in a matter of days! Lord knows where those recordings are now…or just how terrible they sound. We got together and went our separate ways a few times in the intervening years. At the moment, we live next door to each other and we have a studio above the bar that I own…which is next door again. All very incestuous really. We got together with Mike and Rory about 9 years later, but me and Mike have been friends for a fair while and have always been meaning to do some work together. He actually used to work at the bar. What a barman that guy was!

KG – Yeah me and Paddy have been through a few different incarnations of making music with various setups and people but we’re pretty self-critical and never really thought that anything we’d self-produced would add enough to what was already out there. Paddy’s bar, Kash 22, has brought some special musicians into our sphere and we’ve been very fortunate to have Mike and Rory, who were connected to the bar, as part of the project.

How would you define not only your sound but the creative character of the band?

PB – Our sound is just us. The four of us, as the core for this record, all come from very different places musically. The songs are already written before we start so we just get in a room and play them and stuff happens. Rory has to take a lot of credit for the actual sound though. The boy’s got proper ears.

KG – As Paddy says, the overall sound is the 4 of us in a room, plus Rory’s sonic wizardry in the studio. We all come from quite different musical backgrounds and are involved in other bands and projects but have a lot of common tastes which unite us musically. It was never going to be a one-genre album, that’s for sure. In fact, you could probably say some songs in themselves don’t even stay in the same genre.

Are there any previous musical experiences for band members and how have they been embraced in what you do now?

PB – I’m sure Rory’s other production work and the bands that Mike’s been in have been influential. Personally, I just feel I’ve always just been waiting for this to happen. Kieran’s had a much more interesting musical journey than me though.

KG – I spent 2 years travelling through Latin America recently and played with a mariachi band in Mexico and a Cuban street band in Santiago de Cuba. I’m really into dub reggae too so the Caribbean kind of felt like a pilgrimage to me. I suppose it would be hard for some of those syncopated rhythms not to have come out on the album, but it would be hard to say exactly how and where.

Is there a particular process to your songwriting?

PB – As far as the writing goes, that’s a pretty private process. But then the band get involved and they help me make sense of it all really.

KG – Paddy very consistently brings complete songs to the band but opens it up to the room. I am generally the first person to hear them so I add some riffs and help with arranging a bit. The band tends to try a few different feels approaches and the best rises to the top.

Would you tell us about your upcoming self-titled album?

PB – It’s our first release. It’s been a long road but we’re pretty proud of it.

KG – Yeah, it’s been 10 years and lots of things have got in the way but we were both determined to make it happen one day and here it is. We’re big fans of the concept of an album as a story and we enjoy listening to whole albums, in what is now kind of an old-fashioned way. We always wanted to be able to make one of our own and thankfully these days, that’s a lot easier.

What are the major inspirations to its heart and themes?

PB – Experiences.

PB – It was all pretty organic. I for one am a big believer in the album as a medium for expression. You can get much more across in ten songs than you can in one. All the songs speak to each other so the order just kind of revealed itself early on.

KG – Yeah, as Paddy says, in the end the order pretty much wrote itself.

What do you find the most enjoyable part of being in a band and similarly the most cathartic?

PB – Music is cathartic by its very nature and there’s nothing more enjoyable than being in a room with your mates making it.

KG – Yeah, that live creative process is the most rewarding.

For anyone contemplating checking you out live give some teasers as to what they can expect.

PB – I will endeavour to remember all the words.

KG – I will endeavour not to start a fire with my constant involuntary musical gesticulating.

What has been your most thrilling moment on stage to date?

PB – Personally, the thrill for me is in completion of a song.

KG – Playing with a mariachi band in Mexico was pretty special.

Do you have live dates coming up?

PB – We’re doing a release party for the album in my bar, Kash 22 in Frodsham on 24th March. Our mums will be selling the merch! Hoping to do a little tour later in the year, but more importantly we’re getting back to work in the studio.

What else can we expect in the near future?

PB – We’ll have another album out this year…maybe two.

What are the major inspirations to you sound wise and as a musician?

PB – Again, experiences. Also, background. I grew up in a house surrounded by music. Dad was always playing guitar and Mum singing. My sister is proficient on numerous instruments. There was always music playing. A lot of Celtic stuff, folk, country. I inherited my Bob Dylan and Van Morrison obsessions from my parents. Meeting Kieran had a big influence on me as a musician. I’ve also learned a lot by just playing with different people. There’s no substitute for that!

KG – Growing up in Toxteth, Liverpool, and around the Lark Lane area, I was exposed to a lot of sounds with international influences. My mum had great taste and had a big social circle with a good music scene, so there were lots of house parties and festivals we went to, and I was definitely infected by a lot of that.

And finally, what song or release would you say was the spark to your passion for music?

PB – A lot of the old records that were actually released before I was born. When I first heard them, they were completely new to me.

KG – Some people seem to have that eureka moment when they hear one record but, for me, music was something special from a young age. My spark has always come from the people I know – none more so than my uncle, who introduced me to guitar and the classics.

Check El Misti out further @…

https://www.facebook.com/elmistimusic/

Pete RingMaster

The RingMaster Review 24/02/2020

Within The Flames: Fires of Freya Interview

Feb18

Having been impressed with their debut single a good few weeks back, we had the chance to get to know the band and enterprise behind the striking introduction to Fires of Freya. So with thanks to vocalist Cheryl Reynolds we had the pleasure to stare into the flames of UK band and explore…

Hello and thanks for taking time out to talk with us.

Can you first introduce the band and give us some background to how it all started?

Hello! We are Fires of Freya and we are Cheryl Reynolds on main vocals and keyboard, Shaun Evans on guitar, James Withington on bass guitar and Dan Baldwin on drums. Initially, the aim was to create an all-female grunge type band but it was soon realised that it’s very difficult to find a female bassist, or at least it was at the time so we scrapped that idea and brought in a guy. The members have changed over the time the band’s existed and so the two longest and original members are Cheryl and Dan, Shaun joined in May 2018 and then James came in a year later. We didn’t know each other before forming the band, the beauty of music is that it pulls people together and now we’re like a little family!

Have you been involved in other bands before? If so has that had any impact on what you are doing now, in maybe inspiring a change of style or direction?

We’ve all been or are in different bands, most musicians have a sort of addiction to performing and creating so you do find this often. I was mostly in cover bands and so this was useful in building up my confidence and figuring out what type of sound best suites my vocals, but it came with the comfort of knowing people would like the actual music already!

What inspired the band name?

I love mythology and anything to do with Norse mythology in particular, “Freya” is the Norse goddess of Love and War, among other things, and the “Fires” had a nice epic ring to it.

Can you expand on that specific idea behind the forming of the band and also in what you wanted it and your sound to offer?

Initially yes, we were going for a gunge sort of sound, but when that didn’t work out it morphed with new members coming in, in the beginning we had a more punk rock sort of sound, Alkaline Trio sort of vibes but again our sound has changed from then. We are very eclectic with the music we write; we write what we think sounds good wither it fits a specific genre or subgenre matters very little to us, especially as we all have an array of influences. We aim to be a Rock band, but that title really does have many colours.

Do the same things still drive the band when it was fresh-faced or have they evolved over time?

I’d say the same things drive the band, the fact we all get on and enjoy each other’s company, the want to write new material, the want to tour outside the North East and create an album have always been there and still are.

Since those early days pin down how your sound has evolved?

Massively and it continues to evolve, we’ve gone from attempts at being a grunge band to adding punk rock type sounds to then adding soft rock/ballads and when Shaun joined we then took a more modern blues rock route. Now we all add whatever we think sounds good, we have heavier grungy songs, soft rock songs, blues rock vibes and we even have a couple verging on pop rock. Our gigs are never boring, put it that way! But it all seems to work and have a similar flow so we tend to get away with being so varied.

Always more of an organic movement of sound or predominantly the band deliberately setting out to try new things?

It’s the band wanting to try new things, infuse our own influences and keep it fresh. Our sound has definitely matured organically over the time we’ve been together though.

Shaun coming into the band added a blues style of play to our songs, blues rock isn’t something I personally listened to much before, but I’ve discovered an appreciation for it.

Is there a process to the songwriting which generally guides the creation of songs?

Sort of, we’ve got 2 methods we use. 1. The lesser used option, but we do sometimes just have a jam and see what we can come up with. I’ve got a bank of lyrics written with no allocated music as of yet and so I’d then go through these to check which ones fit the song we are jamming out! 2. One of the band writes the bones of a song, the initial idea.; then he writer will record this just on our phones, so if it’s me with an idea, I’ll record my idea on either guitar, bass or keyboard and sing it and send it into the guys. Shaun and James do similar but always leave me to add lyrics and vocals.

Where do you, more often than not, draw the inspirations to the lyrical side of your songs?

Emotions and situations in life. We have songs that are loosely based on heartache from failed relationships, the feelings generated from the way someone has treated me, love and past loves; some songs that are full of attitude and speak of not letting people put you down.

Give us some background to your latest release.

21st of February we release our new single “Complicated”, it’s rocky and bouncy and a little bit bluesy (although it may not be any of those as I’m not very good at naming genres!) with powerful vocals and a blinding solo! It’s partly based on touching base with the topic of mental health and the struggles of fighting the “demons” of your mind and how this can interfere in relationships and how showing a little support and encouragement can go a long way.

At the moment it’s just the one song, explained above, but it will form part of our debut album which we hope to release at the end of 2020. Our debut single “Take a Bow” was more about not allowing people put you down, it’s full of attitude and self-empowerment!

Are you a band which goes into the studio with songs pretty much in their final state or prefer to develop them as you record?

We go into the studio with the song pretty much in its final stages but are always open to idea and once we record the 1st draft we always listen through over and over to see if there is anything to add or take away. Backing vocals and layers are something that happens in the studio and they are done in the studio, not normally pre-planned.

Tell us about the live side to the band, presumably a favourite aspect of the band?

We love performing live it’s true. We’ve been told we suite a big stage in the past and that our stage energy is similar to that of bands like Bring Me the Horizon. If there is room to move around, we’ll make use of the entire stage, ever inch! If there is the ability to come off the stage and get amongst the crowd, I tend to like doing that. We are also able to calm it down and perform our emotional tracks and I hope bring the emotions across. I tried to bring big beach balls to a show once but I bought them online and they turned out to be massive! Way bigger than I expected. Ended up not using them as it was for a gig in a small venue and not only would this ball take up much of the room, if anyone got hot with it, it would probably have sent them flying! Live shows also give our Shaun the chance to break out his shit shirts! He has so many and each more awful than the last!

It is tough, I think because we are so eclectic, we do need to work hard to build a fan base because people won’t like us for simply belonging to a specific genre. We need to convince people to like us and listen to us because they like our actual songs, their messages and our performances of them. We’ve gigged a lot in the North East of England and in the beginning it was quite a challenge finding gigs to play but now we are more established and know so many other bands in the area it isn’t as hard now. It really is so important to befriend other bands, they will be your 1st fans and support and you theirs, you can make it if you support each other!

Social media is important, it’s the main way we can connect with our fans and let them know what we are up to. The pictures, music and videos we post on there build the band’s image. The more fans you have on there the more popular you seem and so more opportunities come your way for things like festivals which lets you reach even more people. It’s a tool and should be utilised to the best of your ability and used to stay connected with your fans. It’s not the be all and end all though; a lot of our fans discovered us by going to see another band we were billed with, the live scene is still the best way to gain true fans I believe.

Once again a big thanks for sharing time with us; anything you would like to add or reveal for the readers?

Look out for our next single “Complicated” released 21st of February; we’ll also have a music video to accompany this soon after! And check out or website http://www.firesoffreya.com or Facebook page for the next gig and get yourself along!

Check Fires of Freya out further @ https://firesoffreya.bandzoogle.com/home https://www.facebook.com/firesoffreya/ and https://twitter.com/firesoffreya

Pete RingMaster 18/02/2020

Bleeding Raven Interview

Jan17

BLEEDING RAVEN is the aggrotech/dark tek project from Dean Mason of Gnostic Gorilla. Recently he released its debut album via Cleopatra Records. We had the pleasure to chat with Dean about the album, his latest project, a career and life changing set back and much more…

Hello and thanks for taking time out to talk with us.

The pleasure is all mine man.

Can you first introduce the ‘project’ and give us some background to how it all started?

In a land…far far away…hahahahaha…Ok, but seriously… I first got the ‘itch’ to record music when I was a teen-ager in high school. Some buddies and I went into a little studio and recorded two songs for a single release. (Dark Hallway/Golgotha) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p05YqqTOS_M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=047Pk2GhPnY

Thanks to my lovely parents I released a vinyl 45 rpm as just “Dean Mason” with “Lonely Ghost Productions” as the name of the makeshift indie label. I got ‘itchy’ again in 2001 and began looking at music again, but did very little. In 2012, I got right into recording electronic music of a dark bent and scent and thus was born “Gnostic Gorilla” eventually. (I released stuff as The Lonely Ghost Project initially but changed the name to “Gnostic Gorilla”) In 2018, Cleopatra Records released “St. Basil’s Asylum”. (Gnostic Gorilla) In May of this past year, after releasing quite a few albums on different labels (KL Dark Records, Nowhere Now Records, Throne of Bael Records and LGP-ONE) I wanted to pursue something more ‘aggrotech’ in style. That’s when I initiated the “Bleeding Raven” project. Cleopatra released “Darkness Consumed” in October of this year.

How have those earlier impacted on what you are doing now, in maybe inspiring a change of style or direction?

As I mentioned earlier, I started off as just “Dean Mason” as a lad. In 2012, the Lonely Ghost Project was launched (so to speak) and then “Gnostic Gorilla” and from that evolved what we are talking about today…that is…the Bleeding Raven Project. My early music in these other projects was a mix of ‘Goth/Dark Wave/Dark Tek/Industrial’. I really wanted to do something more bizarre and almost literally more noisy and that’s when I initiated “Bleeding Raven”. It’s more aggrotech, but I also call it… “dungeon trash”…hahahahahahahahahaha I even have a shirt with that on it. https://www.dizzyjam.com/products/157830/

The image or character of the ‘raven’ is common in First Nations lore and even spirituality. The raven can either be a trickster or mischievous little critter or it can be sort of a symbol of the soul preparing for death of being taken back to the Great Creator. Different nations/tribes have different ideas and stories about the raven. The ‘bleeding’ part more or less speaks of suffering, of hurt etc. So, like my lyrics however, even with the image, I allow people to have their own interpretations. That said, I think always…DAILY…of my many sisters and brothers in the First Nations communities who suffer immensely because of a racist attitude towards them. There are many…MANY young Native women/girls who have gone missing and the effort to find them hasn’t always been fervent. As well, the suicide rate among First Nation teens is extremely high.

Was there any specific idea behind the forming of Bleeding Raven and also in what you wanted it and your sound to offer?

Well, in the Spring of 2019, I had to be on the road a bit and for some long drives, I acquired on my iTunes a few albums of a more industrial bent. That includes a couple of compilations of various bands. I discovered acts like Die Sektor and Psyclon Nine and I felt very inspired to go in this direction. I sort of started to go in that direction as “Gnostic Gorilla” but I wanted a new project that was mostly aggrotech in style. I came up with the ‘dungeon trash’ (LOL) I released in October and I am very proud of it!

Do the same things still drive you when it was fresh-faced or have they evolved over time?

Definitely evolved over time. So, when I first started off, I was more into a Gothic sound or industrial. And I still love a lot of that stuff. Always will. St. Basil’s Asylum is a classic and I’m just so sad that it’s still not discovered by many yet. But anyway, yeah…things do evolve. That said, I don’t like the idea of being in a ‘genre house arrest’ and being narrow minded in your approach to music. But either way, it’s all over for me in music anyway so…I’ve done what I could.

Since your early days, how would you say your sound has evolved?

Well, from the really early days, that is from the days of the Dark Hallway release, things really evolved dramatically. First of all, that 45 was like a mish mash of metal/punk pre-grunge I guess. I was heavily influenced by Gary Numan and yet, try as I did my vocal style was markedly different than his. It’s later that I appreciated that. But, see…I love ALL sorts of music. I mean, sometimes I’m just knee deep into The Doors and more psychedelic shit and other days I’m into Dio and Sabbath and Type O Negative and Ministry and Rammstein. Other days it’s The Cure or Smashing Pumpkins or of course, classic Numan and Japan or Bauhaus. So, a lot of what I do depends on where I’m at and I guess when it comes to music, I’m moody as hell. hahahahahaha

Do you find the changes have been more of an organic movement of sound or you deliberately wanting to try new things?

I’d say the latter, yeah.

Presumably , and you have touched on them already, there is a wide range of inspirations; are there any in particular which have impacted not only on your music but your personal approach and ideas to creating and playing music?

So, I make a distinction between that which has inspired and that which has influenced more directly my own style. The artists/bands that have been inspirations are many. Gary Numan, KISS, Type O Negative, Black Sabbath, Rammstein, Japan (David Sylvian) Ozzy, Manson, Korn, Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Bauhaus, Zardonic, Fear Incorporated, Frost Like Ashes, CRIX IIX and the list is endless. As for those who have been influences, while they include some of the names listed already, I’d say Ministry, Skinny Puppy, Psyclon Nine, Die Sektor. As I always do in any interview, the band that will forever be my absolute favourite is The Doors. The Doors and Gary Numan are both at the top of my own personal ‘chart’.

I also want to give a shout out to Tim Muddiman and NOT because of his connection to Gary Numan. Tim has ventured into more graphic arts in recent years and he is doing some amazing work. THAT very much inspires me…or better yet…I honour the man as an artist in every sense of the word…as a true artist.

Is there a process to your songwriting which generally guides the birth of songs?

Yeah, mostly I start off with a vague idea of want kind of song I want to do, Then I begin with beats and drum patterns and bass lines or even synth lines. (it depends) I get a general idea of the direction I want to go in before going far into the track. So, I begin to choose the different sounds and samples/loops that I want as well to give it a mood. More often than not, I manipulate these and distort or whatever to make them unique. Then as the song evolves, there’s the question of whether or not I want a traditional chorus (often not because that’s too pop) and I allow the track to sort of dictate to me where it’s going. Sort of like a First Nations wood carver who allows the ‘wood’ to speak to them as they say. Then when I have a rough demo, I begin writing lyrics and then record vocals. That’s the tough part for many reasons. Lots of hit and miss with that process. I’ve written an entire set of lyrics for a song only to discover that something else would work better and I have to (at times) chop out some of the lyrics. Hard to explain. Also, sometimes I record the vocals and it sounds like shit. I mean, there is a need for a different ‘style’ all together. After all the vocals are recorded, I go back and add more …sometimes a sample here or an FX noise there or whatever. I’m quite ADD so if there are any sort of ‘blank stare’ moments in a song…that’s unacceptable. It has to be busy. I’m told my music is VERY busy. Then there is the final mix which is a real pain in the ass. Sometimes even at that stage you decide… “nah…this is total shit”! It’s a bit of a drag when that happens though man because you’ve come all the way to a full song and you realize it isn’t happening.

Where do you, more often than not, draw the inspirations to the lyrical side of your songs?

First off, good for you for asking that because lyrics are important for me… I realize it’s not what the listener first becomes aware of…but for me, the lyrics are important. Anyway, so…I don’t write any lyrics with any sort of ‘agenda’. In other words, I don’t preach or dictate anything. I like a very poetic approach to the lyrics with lots of imagery. Now, that said, there are certain subjects that inspire me. I often write about religious themes or philosophical themes and often touch upon injustice and hypocrisy and hate and injustice for example. But I do so in veiled/poetic language. I want the listener to decide for themselves what it could mean.

Give us some background to your latest release.

“Darkness Consumed” touches upon a few subjects…again in veiled language. One of the tracks is called “Pontiff’s Nightmare” which is actually about St. Francis. He more or less spooked the Pope at the time with his authentically radical life style and that Pope had a dream about Francis. Francis challenged the corruption of the time by the way he lived. “Salem Vigil” is sort of… but not completely about the Salem witch trials. The song actually addresses the unfortunate phenomenon of ‘religious people’ oppressing and persecuting people who don’t fit their narrow definition of what it means to be ‘good’ or ‘decent’ and ‘righteous’. In the end, these arrogant and often ignorant people of so called ‘faith’ are the ones who are truly evil because of the harm they inflict on many borne out of their hatred and unenlightened worldview.

Give us some insight to the themes and premise behind it and its songs.

So, “Darkness Consumed”…that very title isn’t a nod to evil or the promotion of ‘darkness’. It’s actually about the fact that somehow, ‘TRUTH’ (light) will ‘consume the darkness’ and overcome it. That’s sort of the idea in brief. As I said, I want people to decide for themselves however what something can mean for them.

Do you go into the studio with songs pretty much in their final state or prefer to develop them as you record?

Going back to the very first single “Dark Hallway”…I had everything figured out (with lyrics) when I presented the tracks to the band. I wrote the lyrics in English class (Dark Hallway) while under the influence of benzodiazepines. Hahahahahahaha We were reading “Death of a Salesman” in that class and it was, to say the least, a rather dark story. hahahahahaha

Tell us about the live side to Bleeding Raven.

I have lost the hearing in the left ear completely and totally. It happened in October…Very traumatic actually. I have to protect the little hearing I have left in the right ear which is at half capacity. I want to be able to hear the voices of the ones I love and the more natural sounds in life. For all intents and purposes…I’m deaf. Music is no longer an option. Especially live music, even if I wanted to do something live with a band. Music has been such an important part of my life obviously…but that’s over. That’s the future.

It is not easy for any new artist/band to make an impact regionally let alone nationally and further afield. How have you found it your neck of the woods? Are there the opportunities to make a mark if the drive is there for new bands?

You’re correct. It’s very difficult to ‘break through’ in this day and age. There’s just too much out there. I mean, everyone and their cat is putting stuff out. There are so many genres today and so many…MANY indie folks (like me) who have stuff out there and are competing with the ‘big boys and gals’. You have to be creative to get known because sadly, younger people are not interested in new music aside from what they become aware of through video games or TV/Movies. I mean, I’m seriously over generalizing perhaps but it is true that, young people today don’t appreciate music the way people did in the past. They don’t grasp the concept of music as ‘art’ anymore. That’s not their fault. But because of the technology that we have today and with social media platforms…there is too much out there and for younger people, music is just “there for the taking” the way fruit on trees is there to pluck. So, you have to be creative in how you get people to notice you today. It’s not easy.

So, this is sort of a continuation of the previous question. Here’s the thing, the internet and social media and digital music etc. is here and it’s here to stay. We are still trying to adapt to this I suppose. Now, you could lament and dream of the “good old days” but that’s all it will ever be…a ‘dream’. Musicians/artists have to adapt. In many ways, it has been a blessing. Many artists would have never been able to put their stuff out there so to speak were it not for the kind of technology we have today. See, I picked up music again in 2012 but only as a hobby. I then, almost jokingly put some of my stuff out there as an indie/unsigned act and I eventually got a label deal with Cleopatra Records, which for me is phenomenal. I will have three releases with Cleopatra Records by end of 2020. (the last one is another Gnostic Gorilla album) I also have releases with three other labels. So, none of that would have happened were it not for the technology we have at our disposal. I guess it’s sort of what you make of it, like anything else.

Once again a big thanks for sharing time with us; anything you would like to add or reveal for the readers?

Thanks again to you for the great (and extensive) interview. Reveal?

Ok…I’m B A T M A N. Hahahahahahaha No but, seriously, I thank the many people who have been supportive of me in one way or another…be it family or friends and certainly Benny at Cleopatra Records. As I said earlier, because of the extreme hearing loss (actually deaf completely in one ear and the other is severely compromised) …I have to pack it in with regards to music. I will promote what I have and will have out soon (already recorded obviously) and perhaps a book of lyrics and that’s it. Cheers.

Dean

https://bleedingraven.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/bleedingravenofficial/ http://www.bleedingraven.com

Pete RingMaster 17/01/2020

The RingMaster Review

Introducing the unique and best of the independent scene

Category Archives: Interviews

Little King Interview

Revealing Lucifour M with Mattia Dallara

Attrition Interview

Lifecycle Interview

The Sectile Interview

The Hubris Interview

The Atarka Interview

The El Misti Interview

Within The Flames: Fires of Freya Interview

Bleeding Raven Interview