2014 review by Kevin Harper

I've met some brilliant people involved in the Glasgow/Scottish music scene since I started this blog, putting on a few gigs and managing/advising bands. One of the nicest, funniest and most knowledgable guys (about music and films at least)  I have met is Kevin Harper, formerly lead singer and guitarist with Little Eskimos, sometime contributor to (Glasgow) Podcart and now a solo artist - check his incredible album Kingdom of Wires if you haven't already.

I have fond memories of a brilliant night at a youth hostel in Loch Lomond when Kev played  alongside Sonny Marvello and I DJ'd and we partied long into the night.

I caught up with Kev to see what music had been turning him on through 2014.

1. What singles/songs that have been released in 2014 have stood out for you?

Ahhh as much as I hate to say it, Swifty's 'Shake It Off' is pretty much perfect, (as perfect a pop song as Call Me Maybe and Heart Of Glass) but that's all I really wanna say about it. 

It's been a long time since he interested me (and I'm speaking as someone who used to be *obsessed* with his work) but I have to say, 'Gimme Something Good' by Ryan Adams is just a fantastic tune. I can't wait to get sick of it. And it's an apt title. When he's good he's great, but he seems to have no internal filter. If he was accidentally recorded farting in the next room I'm convinced he'd release it. The rest of the album bores me. He uses pretty much the same chorus on two songs. 

The main song from the soundtrack to 'Battered Bastards of Baseball', Man With A Broom by Brocker Way is my song of the year. And as a sidenote, if you haven't seen that film yet, do so at your earliest convenience. 

2. What albums released in 2014 have you enjoyed?

I haven't had a lot of time to listen to any albums this year, I'll be honest, but' Alvvays' by Alvvays took me right back to the glory days of the 90's (in fact you can apply this to all the music I like. If it's from or evokes the US indie tidal wave that hit just before Britpop happened then it's A-Okay with me). 

The new Deerhoof is as weird and wacky as is to be expected, but god damn it could possibly be their best album. 

'Complete Surrender' by Slow Club is just great. Songs which would make Goffin and King proud. Those guy are two or three years away from being HUGE. And by god they deserve it.  

I feel redundant including Sharon Van Etten's 'Are We There' despite it being beautiful, because everyone else has already sppken at great length at how great it is. That woman can seriously do no wrong.

3. What old music/bands have you discovered/gone back to in 2014?

I got re-acquainted with two of my favorite albums this year, Illmatic by Nas and Girls Can Tell by Spoon. Neither of them should require any introduction. If you haven't heard them, then you should totally do that. 

This year I came to the conclusion that there's no point whatsoever in trying to decide which is the best British space rock album between 'Northern Soul' by the Verve, 'Lost Souls' by Doves or 'Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space' by Spiritualised. So just listen to all three of them. At once. While on drugs.  Sorts the wheat from the chaff. 

Also, I've been hammering the hell out of everything Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra did. God they were nuts. There's something almost Vic and Bob about them.. But Hazlewood was a pioneering producer and not a bad songwriter to boot.

Realising how insipid and bland Tegan And Sara have become, I went back and listened to The Con to make sure i wasn't imagining a time when they were fantastic. I wasn't imagining it. It's a shame when that happens eh?  

4. What has been the musical highlight of 2014 for you?

Let's see... Sharon Van Etten utterly KILLED IT on Jools, Like i said, she can do no wrong. I have to say I felt a considerable bit schadenfreude when Beady Eye split up. Oasis without the songs: what's the point? 

I'm sure I'm forgetting something.....

5. What are you plans for 2015?

Well I soon shall be welcoming the birth of my son (congrats on the birth of Jackson), and everything that that entails, (developing a fear of sharp corners, beginning my sandal collection, all music instantly becoming 'noise') and if I get the chance I hope to record another album. Hopefully I get to do that but my focus is shifting on to other things anyway, things that take time, like writing, film making. Whatever happens, I feel it's time to stop writing songs about girls, definitely. It's already gotten me into too much trouble

Albums of 2013

I have bought and enjoyed a good number of albums in 2013, probably quite a bit more than last year.

I've only just discovered the Kurt Vile album and I have still to buy John Grant and Jon Hopkins.

I'll no doubt discover a few gems released in the last 12-months further down the line, but for the time being, here are my top 10;

Big Inner by Matthew E White
I blogged about this back in February and described it as 'poetic, beautiful, hushed, thoughtful and the playing, singing and production is just outstanding'. Nothing has changed other than the fact I have just fallen further in love with it. A work of beauty.

It's Not About War by Chris Grant
Recorded in his garage on an £80 laptop, this album contains some of the best songwriting and love songs that I have heard in a long time. Grant has complete confidence in his skills and songs and it shows. 'I Am The One' and 'Like A 45' are just stunning.

My blog upon release in October declared; 'It's Not About War is a fucking beautiful album. Chris Grant sings from the very bottom of his heart, the passion and truth in his vocals match the open and honest lyrics.'

Reflektor by Arcade Fire
An outstanding album, what would you want from one of the world's best and most ambitious bands? Some production by James Murphy? Check. Bowie backing you up? Check, a wide range of songs across a sprawling double album that lets the band explore their talent and sound? Check. Brilliant. Their show at the Barrowland will stay with me for a long, long time.

A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart by Bill Ryder Jones

Contemplative, gentle, melodic, rustic, homely, dreamy, lovely… this is a rather gorgeous album. 

Slow Summits by The Pastels
I don't think any band sound as comfortable with their sound as The Pastels. It's just so…them. They produce pop gems and glorious laid back grooves and just run with them. The joyous indie pop rush of 'Check My Heart' is glorious while 'Summer Rain' shuffles and flows.

The Next Day by David Bowie
This album was a surprise in many ways. The secrecy surrounding it created an almighty buzz, the songs offered great depth for the listener to delve into. Bowie was on form, sounding great and producing some outstanding material; reflective at times, biting at others.

Random Access Memories by Daft Punk
Could it live up to the hype? Well that would be difficult as the hype was incredible and the success of 'Get Lucky' probably overshadowed the album. However if you wanted some robots to make an album in 2013 then Random Access Memories delivered the goods; wildly eclectic and crazily addictive.

Understated by Edwyn Collins
A very soulful album; stomping at times, tugging at the heart strings at other. Edwyn's show at the ABC in the spring was a delight and his recent show at Mono was incredible. An artist who keeps on giving and long may that continue.

Kingdom Of Wires by Kevin Harper
A stunning self released solo album by one of Scotland's best songwriters. Kev's solo performance at King Tut's back in the summer was exceptional. The album sees Kev wear his heart on his sleeve and bare his soul. The guitar playing is sensational, echoing the Foo Fighters and classic American indie bands.

The Bones Of What You Believe by Chvrches
Hyped beyond belief, could Chvrches deliver? They certainly could. This is what I wrote in my blog review in September;

'The Bones Of What You Believe' is a fascinating album, extremely polished pop on the surface, often with darker, menacing undertones. The production is crystal clear, staying clear of the trap that many modern acts fall into - that of over-production. The songs have space to breath, there are hooks galore with synths (lots of them) beats and bass combining in a glorious manner and Lauren Mayberry's vocals are delicious; sweet at times, capable of anger, revenge, hurt and heartfelt emotion at others.

I listened to the album for the first time in a month or so this week and it actually sounds better. If anything I overplayed this when it came out. I am currently kicking myself for not buying tickets for their Barrowland show in March.

Kevin Harper at King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, 29th July 2013

Last night I ventured out to the legendary King Tuts Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow to catch Kevin Harper, one of my favourite artists, performing live as part of the venues Summer Nights run.

Summer Nights is a series of shows put on by Craig Johnstone of DF Concerts during the festival season, showcasing some of the best unsigned and DIY music from across the country.

I've been following Kev since I discovered his old band Little Eskimos. Kev's passion for music is evident through his recordings and performances, his talent is all too clear to see and when you meet him, or catch him live, then you can't fail to fall for his sense of humour. That also comes across on Social Media!

Kev took to the Tut's stage alone and I was initially a little disappointed that he didn't have a band backing him. That feeling soon evaporated as Kev booted up his laptop to back him and his guitar and launched into a little tirade about 'how f**king hard it is to sell tickets for a show on a Monday night'.

The crowd was pretty quiet but the sound of music soon sent people scurrying up the stairs from the bar below and before you knew it there was a decent crowd.

Kev performed a mixture of solo material from his album 'Kingdom of Wires' (reviewed here) (BUY HERE), some Little Eskimo's tunes and 'a cover of a traditional American folk song' that turned out to be The Pixies 'Monkey Gone To Heaven.'

After the opening blast of 'Couch' Kev seemed generally startled by the response from the audience and they easily met his encouragement to step forward to the stage, immediately making the gig seem incredibly intimate.

'Legs' from Little Eskimos was treated as long lost friends, both by Kev and a few delighted female followers in the audience who Kev described as his eskimo-ettes. 

'Start It Up' (also a Little Eskimos song) was delivered with ferocious passion, while 'Kingdom of Wires' was a real highlight, tugging on the heart strings.

'Jacqueline' closed proceedings (after the aformentioned Pixies cover) to roars of approval that caused Kev to admit to being genuinely taken back, the show was over. Sadly the chants for 'mmmmooorrrreee' and 'one more tune' were politely declined.

I hope there will be another show soon. Kevin Harper is a warm and natural performer - perfect for those quiet Monday nights and any other day of the week.

Kingdom of Wires by Kevin Harper

Once I loved a girl while i was broken hearted

So we were doomed from the minute it started

So begins 'Kingdom of Wires', the debut solo album by Kevin Harper, one of the most talented songwriters in Scotland.

Anyone familiar with Harper's work from his fondly remembered band Little Eskimo's will know that he isn't afraid to pour his heart out into his songs. 'Kingdom of Wires' takes things further, Kev has lived a life, he has loved and lost, several times, friends included.

Once I had a brother a friend for a lifetime
Until he left us, he suddenly left us

The title track flows superbly with guitars powering through and ringing true, much like Kev's lyrics.

Harper's love of American guitar music is evident throughout the album, perhaps displayed at best with 'Couch'. Catchy, personal and with an element of self depreciating humour, 'Couch' is brilliant.

In a year from now I will miss you still
If i could tell you I'm sorry, Jennifer i will

'Get Me Down' slows things down - well a little bit. There is a sense of urgency throughout the album, almost like these songs have been stored for a while and during recording (with Harper playing pretty much everything) they were just bursting out.

'Better Ways' rumbles into life and once again Harper is opening his heart to the world. The song fizzes into life like a classic Foo Fighters single for the chorus.

'I Was A Sailor' is a song I first heard many moons ago and it is great to hear it on record. I sometimes think that Kev must have lived in America in a previous lifetime. Real humour and playfulness on this track, although again there is that sense of hurt and looking for something new.

Gotta get some light in here

I can hardly see

I gotta get some air in here

I can barely breathe

'Said It All' has another soaring chorus and the guitars across the album sound fantastic.

A secret in the morning can be a ruin by the afternoon

'Glory Box' by Portishead can ruin the day for you

So begins 'Used It Well' before the chorus explodes into life - seriously, the way the choruses flow on this album are exceptional. The closing hook 'You gotta come back down' is the killer blow.

'Forgotten Girls' starts with just an acoustic guitar and drum machine and Kev's heartfelt vocals. Synths help power the chorus to this song, rather than the usual guitars. In that sense, it does break up the album quite nicely, offering something different and leading into some slower tracks.

The album goes off in a completely different direction with 'Oxygen' with Kev singing about another lost love who has a new boy who just uses her for 'idle entertainment'. The chorus on this song soars in a different way to others, there is barely anything backing up Harper other than emotional synth sounds.

The epic 6-and-a-half minute 'Jacqueline' closes the album in spectacular manner. There is a welcome increase in the speed and urgency of the song from the previous two songs 'Majorette; (ripe for an American sync deal!) and 'Gibraltar'. This is Kevin Harper and the Heartbreakers, acoustic guitars married perfectly to synths and electric guitar.

The guitar solo is scorching and Kev even allows a nice 'alright' during it, recognising the groove he has found with this tune. The song progresses into a real synth jam - brilliant.

Kevin Harper and his band play King Tuts on July 29th. The bands on after him better be on top of there game or he is going to blow them off the stage. See you there!

The making of an album

One of my favourite blogs is The Pop Cop and he recently wrote an excellent piece about the costs to musicians as they attempt to push forward with their music and their creativity to raise the money required to do just that.

Being in a band costs money; the equipment – guitars, bass, drums, keys, synths, amps, mics, strings, skins. And that is what you need before you even start. Then you need to rehearse so there is the costs of travel and the cost of rehearsal space in a practice room. Then there are gigs, at the start you’ll be lucky to get a few beers and some money towards travel. Then what about recording some songs? You could use Garage Band or something, but if you are a live band with drums then you probably want to go into a studio – more money.

You could release your recordings and sell them, but it also costs money to print up CD’s, even more to print up some vinyl. Pushing ahead with merch you could design and print some t-shirts, get some tote bags…..more outlay in the hope that you will recoup some money. So it isn’t easy.

Record companies have been fast to recognise the importance of the live circuit as record sales diminish – unless you are Adele or Lady Gaga. Young bands are not far behind. Putting on your own gig is a great way to make some money that can finance some of the above – equipment, rehearsal time, studio time, printing cd’s. I’ll talk about this further below.

It all takes time….and money.

I am currently very excited about one of the acts I co-manage, Sonny Marvello, getting close to completing their album. It has been a long road, you wouldn’t believe some of the things that have happened to the band in their personal lives during that time, never mind the band stuff.

 

Introducing the band

I started working with Sonny in May 2009 having first seen them in November 2008 in Sloans Ballroom at an aftershow party for Glasgow versus Cancer. They were the most exciting band I had seen in ages, tight as f**k on stage and off, a real chemistry, songs that made me want to dance, guitar pop with melodies and choruses that stuck in my head immediately.

I sat down with the singer and songwriter Stephen for 4 or 5 pints of Stella in the 13^th Note and learned about the history of the band. We talked about the aim and it was clear that Stephen wanted to get into a proper studio to record the songs that he had building up. The very next week the bass player Craig gave me 2 cd’s of demos of varying quality in terms of sound – some live round a mic, some at a cheap studio, some on to a laptop. There were a lot of songs. I immediately suggested putting out an album of demos as there was some cracking stuff.

In the basement of Oxfam Music, Byres Road, summer 2009

 What I have learned is that talented people don’t like to put out something that is unfinished or a product that doesn’t show their skills to full effect. There is a saying that a songwriter/producer never truly finishes something, they just get to the stage where they let it go. I understand that now.

Anyway, back to the story. I wanted to demonstrate my faith in the band and also some managerial skills, so I promptly booked Stereo for June to get some money in. There was a great crowd and after paying support acts and the hire/sound engineer we cleared £400. We booked Stereo again for August and cleared a similar amount, so we booked 2-days at Cava Studios in Glasgow, a top class studio favoured by Belle and Sebastian amongst others.

Sonny Marvello, Stereo, Summer 2009

  

More lessons were to be learned – we went in to smash 2 songs in 2 days. No problem in terms of the bands musicianship, they would nail them. However there is a lot of time spent on production after that and we were kind of relying on a little bit of extra work being out in by the lovely producer Brian McNeil. The two songs recorded were the incredibly catchy ‘Easy Boys’ and the epic ‘We’re All Cruel’, the idea being to show off two sides to the band – the ear for pop (that is evident in all Sonny songs really) and the ability to soar where other bands can only dream of. Sorted.

We then found out that the Bluesbunny blog would be interested in putting out a single on vinyl – magic. And he would get the songs mastered at Abbey Road – FAB! As Beatles nuts this was a bit of a dream.

 The cover of the debut single, released on glorious red heavyweight vinyl

More lessons to be learned – the masters didn’t sound as good as we had hoped. We really should have got them mastered at Cava. Also, we should probably have found the cash and booked another day at Cava just to tweak a few things.

However we wanted to get a single out, so we went for it.

Another lesson learned – it is great if someone who has a little record company as a hobby offers to put something out and getting that delivery of heavyweight red vinyl 7-inches put a huge smile on my face, however you kind of expect them to do some promo around the release. That didn’t happen and I wish I had been a bit more thorough in finding that out. I could have done it myself – sent some promo copies out etc etc.

Being in a band is like being in a dream a lot of the time, as is having your own little record company, or being a band manager for that matter. Sometimes real life gets in the way – illness, death, money matters, love, the loss of love, weddings, births…..

So no promo was done for the single.

We pushed on with plans to get an album together. I think we played Stereo twice again in 2010 and decided we didn’t have enough money to get the time required to record an EP at Cava. Thankfully a friend and fan of the band – Ross Hamilton, had set up his own studio, Rocket Science, above the Stand Comedy Club with his friend Michael Bannister. Ross and Michael love their pop music and the immediately ‘got’ Sonny Marvello and what they wanted to achieve.

The resulting ‘Pull Me Up’ EP featured – Pull Me Up, Made of Magic, My Lover and a reworked We’re All Cruel.  We released it ourselves and got a bit of promo with some blog reviews and an excellent Daily Record review;

"What a joyous, glorious tune. Like The Monkees doing ELO, Pull Me Up is just perfect to banish the winter blues. The five-strong group from Castlemilk, Glasgow, are ones to watch in 2011. Every track on their debut EP is a sure-fire winner. Made Of Magic has the joy of Beatle-era Paul McCartney, stuffed with harmonies. Then it's all change with the rock-out of My Lover. Finally, the electro-pop of We're All Cruel has the melodic catchiness that has deserted Brandon Flowers of late. A truly exciting prospect."  Daily Record review of the Pull Me Up EP, Nov 2010

The cover of the Pull Me Up EP

 All good stuff. What was the next plan? Well we had a big meeting in early 2011 to discuss ideas for more money to get more recording time. Sonny Marvello like to be a little different and I love a bit of a gimmick myself. We didn’t want to so Stereo again, that was the easy option. So I suggested forming a fanclub and came up with the idea of the 100 Club after the famous punk venue in London. 100 members paying £10 to join the club; they would get a mini-album, access to an exclusive show, a badge, chance to appear in a video, name on the website and a free download of the early Sonny Marvello favourite ‘Who Needs Somebody’ – Not bad for a tenner!

 

We sold out 70 memberships within a week and then over the course of 4-5 weeks we got to the magic 100. With a little bit of spare cash we booked into Rocket Science for 1-day and the band recorded the 100 club mini-acoustic album featuring; Welcome to the 100 Club, Invisible Girl, Hold Me Sway, Charlie Sheen (You’re Living My Dream) and the glorious Fire Went Out. Despite saying that these songs would never be released elsewhere we knew immediately that ‘Fire Went Out’ would be on the album proper. It was pretty much written and recorded in a day and it sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it.

 

In May the band played and spoke at the Apple Store in Buchanan Street and we decided to have the 100 Club party afterwards in the vintage clothes store Ruby Tuesdays on Bath Street (now closed sadly). It was a riot of a night, we bought beer, wine and cider in for everyone, someone brought Sambuca and the changing room ended up being ‘the sambuca room’. The band played a brilliant set with everyone singing along and trying on vintage hats.

It was one of the best nights out I have ever had. Thankfully I had booked the Friday off work! 

The mini-album is brilliant and I know the band favour that method of recording, just going in and getting it down.

With the 100 Club money and some money made from a King Tuts support slot to Florrie, the band went back into Rocket Science to record a new song ‘Tiny Little Sparks’ that they had played for the first time at King Tuts. It is f**king epic and I forwarded it round a few people as soon as it was mastered. Craig McGee decided to play it on BBC Radio 1 Introducing during his slot with Ally McCrae and it sounded brilliant coming out of the radio with Ally declaring 'I can see that (Tiny Little Sparks) in a festival field with people bouncing and bouncing.'

 

Other songs were recorded during the summer with quite a lot of goodwill being shown by Ross and Michael, who as fans of the band were now spending their own spare time in the studio with the band. ‘Land of the Lost Cause’, ‘Wishlist’ and ‘Whispering Song’ and ‘Paint The Sky’ were knocked out quickly with Ross and Michael then spending considerable time on the production.

The band and I had become friends with Kevin Harper – a songwriter, singer, guitarist, producer, walking encyclopedia of music and film and all round good guy. Kev asked to record Sonny Marvello for free at his studio. Stephen had a new song called ‘Young Offender’ written after hearing a story about a young girl his wife Hayley worked with. So the band went down to Kev’s studio and produced a glorious piece of guitar pop.

We decided to release another EP (Tiny Little Sparks) in October as work continued on the album and the band played Stirling, Perth, Inverness and Skye to promote it. We wanted to do something different again and after being overlooked by festivals, something I find quite incredible considering how talented the band are and how festival friendly their songs are, we decided to put on our own festival. I looked at campsites, but wanting to keep things simple and in the event of rain I booked Roawardennan Youth Hostel on the banks of Loch Lomond. 

With 75 beds we kept 15 back for the band, girlfriends and wife, sound engineer, a magician, photographer, me and Kev. We then sold out the rest and had an amazing day and night.

There was then a bit of a dip, as I think happens with most bands and people of an artistic nature. Energy can sap, especially after being involved in so many things – the 100 club, writing and recording, the mini-tour, putting on our own festival…After so many highs it was back to the reality of having no money and still needing to complete the album.

With the little money we had from the tour and EP sales we went into Rocket Science to record another new song called ‘Automatic’ – pop music in its purest form.

We then downed tools for a couple of months, skint and exhausted and emotionally drained after some terrible news suffered by two members of the band as loved ones were snatched from them in two very different ways.

I booked an over-14’s show for February, keen to get the band back on track. The band are genuinely loved by kids in Castlemilk and there had been a growing demand for them to play a show they could get into. At times I wondered (as did the band) if the show would take place due to everything that was going on outwith the band.

A first rehearsal since October and a few beers brought back the magic and the kids loved the show.

And after some bad luck came some good luck. ‘Wishlist’ was going to be used by the RBS in an advert, giving us (alongside the over-14’s money) a good chunk of cash to go back to Rocket Science and tidy things up and complete the album.

So there you have it – it has taken quite a while to get this album together and I am going off to Rocket Science studios tonight to listen to it with a few beers with 5 people who I have become very good friends with – sharing the trials and tribulations of being in a band, helping them with ideas and motivation to get to this stage.

I can’t wait to hear it. I wonder if we will come up with a title tonight...or if Stephen has one up his sleeve.

Then the next episode will be trying to get someone to release it, or going down the DIY route.