Introducing Sun Rose

Sun Rose - great name, positive and warm - Everything Flows

Maximalist melodramatic funk-pop outfit from Glasgow - band description on Facebook

We like to take our time - Gus Wemyss, Sun Rose

For fans of Todd Terje, ESG etc - Maioux Miaoux

Sun Rose are a brand new band signed to Last Night From Glasgow (LNFG) who have just released their debut single Smirk ahead of their debut album later this year. Check the video below or head to iTunes to download or Spotify to stream.

Inspired by the likes of Talking Heads, Daft Punk, ESG and Kraftwerk, Calum Muir and Albert Kawmi began writing the songs which would form the basis of the Sun Rose debut album over the winter of 2013/14.

The friends had previously in a band together - Nevada Base - but then life got in the way. Things stalled a little until Gus Wemyss (also a previous member of Nevada Base) got involved in 2015 and by late 2016 Julian Corrie (Miaoux Miaoux and now Franz Ferdinand) was involved with production and mixing.

The completed album is an absolute gem - techno, electro, melodic, funky, disco, harmonies.... I'll be blogging about that nearer the time of release.

One of the beautiful thing about this band is that their only ambition was to release it on vinyl and play a couple of shows! It is all about the music - so much so that they have only recently set up a Facebook page. And the band name was only confirmed shortly before the release!

Smirk is fantastic - the guitar playing, vocals and changes in pace mean that there is an edge throughout. The piano break is sublime and then the synths and beat take things higher. The final 30-seconds take things even higher and leave you wishing for an extended mix. I can't wait to see and hear them play it live.

The Brian Sweeney produced promo video features members of the band and members of the LNFG label in a kaleidoscope style effect - keeping with the flow and changes of the song.

Check it out below.

Introducing - KVASIR

If you want to hear possibly the most sublime music being produced in Scotland right now then look no further than K V A S I R.

K V A S I R is a producer from Glasgow who, with the help of a fencing max and some funky lighting, has created a mysterious anonymous guise that allows him to live out all kinds of electronic fantasies.

I'm not privy to these fantasies but I imagine that they might include Daft Punk meeting Mylo to cruise along a highway at night with the Drive soundtrack blaring out and a vocoder sitting on the passenger seat.

There is much more to K V A S I R's self-titled debut EP than the influences mentioned above though. Four-tracks, the length of a good old fashioned EP, give K V A S I R space to play and the music plenty of opportunity to breath.

Motion is sublime; uplifting electronic pop, beautifully crafted and produced. Exchange is vocoder heaven - the kind of song that many modern day pop stars would die for. But hey, K V A S I R is a modern day pop star!

Lyon has a glorious sun-kissed chorus. It's electronic robotic love with a heart. You know the kind that Daft Punk are so good at?.... Well that.

Cause I can say I'm sorry

I can say I need you

And I can say I'll tear myself apart

But you don't even want this

You don't even hear me

Cause I can't face the truth it breaks my hear

The EP flows beautifully into First Throws, bubbling synths build and build into a true hands in the air moment and you expect the big beats to come in. Only the don't, things drop down and a Mylo-esqe sample from a Trader talking about 'dreaming of another recession' comes in, before the beats do kick in.

Summary - so good you won't believe it.

K V A S I R will be supporting Crash Club at St Luke's on 3rd December and announcing a January date in the very near future.

The Insomniac Project

In And Out (of My Head) is the debut single by new Scottish band The Insomniac Project and it deserves your attention - remarkably fresh and polished, upbeat and flowing superbly with euphoric male and female vocals.

The band themselves describe it as disco infused electronic pop - and I can't argue with that description and I probably can't top it either!

There is a sense of urgency to the verses that is taken further when the female vocals kick in, but then when you listen to the song a few times in a row it kind of feels like there are 3 or 4 different choruses - it is just constant; flowing superbly, building all the time and keeping things going with cowbell and little twists and turns - bringing in guitar, adding more synths. A brilliant debut.

The Insomniac Project play only their fourth show (and first real official show) at Nice n Sleazys on Friday 4th September, so if you want to get into a band with huge potential from the off then you could do a lot worse than The Insomniac Project.

If In And Out (of My Head) is the shape of things to come then I am in for the ride. It is available on i-Tunes and all the regular places on 31st August. Get a note in your diary.

Crash Club featuring Ian Mackinnon - Recondition

Crash Club are an electronic outfit hailing from Ayrshire that I have been aware of for a number of years. I've caught them live on a few occasions and I've always been impressed by the electronic soundscapes they create. Crash Club seem to have been building up a bit of momentum over the last 18-months or so - their live shows are reaching new levels, leading to them being nominated for best electro act at the SAMA's this year. They have also been keen (and clever) to introduce guest vocalists - mixing styles and keeping them on their toes.

Crash Club are predominantly based around the electronic musical talent and brains of Sammy Todd, ably assisted by Neal McHarg providing Mani circa XTRMNTR bass lines and his brother Aran on guitar. Guest drummers join them - powerhouse Calum Muir being one of them - well worth seeing live.

Recondition is their latest single, featuring the guest vocals of Ian MacKinnon from the promising Medicine Men.

Crash Club cite Leftfield and the Chemical Brothers amongst their influences and that certainly comes across in the intro to Recondition - pulsating electro is mixed with rock guitars, creating the kind of groove that makes people move. There is a brief pause before the vocals kick in;

show me pleasure if it's there to be had

a premonition

my recondition

Recondition has been released at the right time for Crash Club as they continue to build momentum into 2015 and they have to be looking to release an album as they have an ever growing song base to choose from.

Crash Club are supporting The Klaxon's at the ABC in Glasgow this coming Monday - 27th October. To fully appreciate Crash Club you have to see them live and they will sound superb through the ABC sound system.

Crash Club will also be helping Tijuana Bible and Medicine Men bring in the New Year at King Tut's on 31st December.

Five for Friday 13th January 2012

The end of 2011 and the start of 2012 has dealt some devastating news to very good friends of mine with the loss of loved ones. Michael, Lesley and Jim; this one is for you. 

 
I turned on 6Music last week and heard this joyous romp by McAlmont and Butler, a brilliant single that rises and rises, soars and glides with ease.

On the same show (I'm being lazy here) I heard 'Your Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher and Higher)' by Jackie Wilson. This is a real uplifting song, so simple, so effective. This was under strong consideration for the first dance at our wedding, eventually losing out to 'Baby I Love You' by The Ronettes.

Hmmm pretty hard to follow up such an exceptional song. So I'll go off on a bit of a tangent and go back to our friends Lesley and Jim and one of their favourite bands and one of their favourite songs. The Smiths output was nothing short of staggering; quality and quantity.

Closing this weeks Five for Friday is Electronic, the Manc 'supergroup' featuring New Order's Bernard Sumner with Johnny Marr from The Smiths. They produced some sublime singles and a good few albums during their time together. This has been getting some heavy play in my household recently after Greg Wilson did an extended re-edit that you can check along with loads of other great edits, mashes and mixes on his soundcloud page here.