Introducing...Horse Guards Parade

YMC chats to Archie from Horse Guards Parade

YMC: How did the name come about ?

James came up with it , horses seem to crop up in conversation a fair bit for no real reason.

YMC: How many are in the band, where did you all meet?

There are five of us, James Waudby [guitar and vox] and me {Archie ,guitar] have known each other for a while and both played together in a band from Hull called The Sorry Loves and when that finished we carried on working on tunes and recording them in my attic . In March 2009 we released a four track e.p and decided to get a full band together bringing in Carl Hogarth on keyboards who has played with James in Salako and Marble Valley and also Rob Marrs on drum and Chris Evans on bass who I had played in bands with before .  

YMC: How would you describe your music? Who are your main influences?

It’s hard to pin it down but there are elements of Folk, Psychedelia, Rock, and Country or so I’ve been told, mixed with a darkness that  only Hull could bring . As for influences too many to mention really  if you listen to us  I’m sure you can hear anything from Prince Fari  to Quo

YMC: Last year you played on the introducing stage at Leeds/Reading, was this a good experience?

Yeah we had a great time , plenty of capers and we got to play as well , this was down to Katy and Alan from BBC Raw Talent who put us forward for it and have supported us from day one . We were also lucky enough to support Pavement at Glasgow Barrowlands last month and we played at All Tomorrows Parties in Minehead which they curated which were both fantastic .

YMC: You are currently recording an album, how's it going?

We finished it at the beginning of May , the mp3’s are up on our Myspace site now and it should be out by August . We did it ourselves with lots of help from Vincent Van Huit who captured us well .

YMC: Do you have any plans to tour this year?

We are just sorting gigs out now for over the summer to promote the album, so they will be up on our Myspace very soon.

Find out more:

www.myspace.com/horseguardsparade
www.horseguardsparade.com
http://thenorthernline.com/2010/05/28/horse-guards-parade-ten-songs/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRfwmJB7vKc

Introducing...Electric Fan Death

YMC: You are currently living in South Korea, do you have plans to return to the UK?

EFD: We plan to return to the UK in early 2011 and gig/tour. We really want to play some good venues in Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield to name a few places. This should be about the time we release our second album.

YMC: Have you played any gigs in Korea, what's the reaction to the British indie sound?

EFD: We played some gigs in our local (Korean) expat bars and Korean clubs last year. We went down well with both the expats and Koreans. Ste played some acoustic versions of our tracks around London on a month trip to the UK, everyone loved the tracks especially ‘Landmine’ from the ‘Yeosu Dangerous’ EP and ‘A Sense of Things Less Fragile’ from our new unreleased recording.

I’m not too sure what Korean people make of British Indie but there are some cracking Korean indie bands who are really taking off. Korea should be proud of its own emerging indie scene which we hope to be a part of in the time we are here.

 YMC: Where did the name come from?

EFD: Well fan death is a Korean belief that if you sleep with an electric fan on in your bedroom and the windows closed you will die. Apparently the fan creates a vacuum or splits oxygen atoms or something crazy. Because we formed in Korea and the myth of fan death is so amusing we thought Electric Fan Death to be a fitting name.

YMC: What are your main influences and who are you listening to at the moment?

EFD: As with most bands we have an abundance of influences. For Ollie he grew up listening to Sonic Youth, Idlewild, Fugazi and My bloody Valentine, I (Ste) grew up on Nirvana, Boards of Canada, Placebo, The Pixies, Joy Division, and Aphex Twin. I think our sound is nothing like these bands, being a duo and sharing 100% of writing, production and recording has given us a very unique sound.

As for what we are listening to now; Ollie’s listening to Catherine Wheel, Jawbox, Future of the Left, Blonde Redhead, Twin Atlantic and His Name is Alive and I (Ste) am listening to Idlewild, Shellac and Autechre.

YMC: Do you have any recorded material, if so where is it available?

EFD: Yes we do, our debut EP was released on the AMStunes label in late 2009, it’s called ‘Yeosu Dangerous’ and it’s available to buy from iTunes (http://bit.ly/dzywF9), Amazon and loads of other stores. We have free tracks up to listen to listen to at our myspace http://www.myspace.com/electricfandeath, and our website http://electricfandeath.co.uk  amongst other sites.
 

If you haven’t heard our stuff and you like alternative indie give us a listen.

YMC: What are you plans for the near future
 

EFD: We are currently writing and recording our second album and getting ready to start gigging around Seoul and Korea. This is all preparation so we can hit the UK in 2011 with the best possible live sound and a 2nd great sounding album. We can't wait. As well as this we DJ the AMStunes alternative podcast where we play some of the best tunes from Myspace and beyond the third installment should be out soon so keep your ears peeled.

Introducing...The 48Ks

YMC chats to the 48Ks from Doncaster

YMC: Tell us something about the band, how did you get together and how long have you been playing.

We are the 48ks, a 5 piece band from Doncaster. We've been in a band together for about a year but our mutual love of the Beatles, The La's, the Rolling Stones, The Who, The Specials made us get together. We love vocal harmonies and hooks so try our best to put them in our songs. The band are Ryan-vox, Kato-rhythm guitar and vox, Steve-lead guitar and vox, Ad-bass and vox, Tilly -drums and vox.

YMC: Who writes the songs?

We all contribute to the writing of songs but mainly its Ryan, Steve and Kato who bring the ideas to rehearsal but we all bounce of each other.

YMC: I notice that in addition to the lead vocalist, three of you provide backing vocals, are harmonies very important to you?

Harmonies are important to us. We like experimenting and adding different parts to keep it interesting for us and for the listener. We try to put our influences together and mix them around to create our own unique sound

YMC: You have an EP out, where can people get it? What is on it?

Our e/p "Flick em the v's" is available now and we are handing it out for free at gigs or you can mail us and we will forward a copy. It ,will soon be able to download. On the e/p is Gotta Get Out, Flick em the v's, Falling Down, and Cotton Wool.

YMC: Is there a lot of support for local bands in South Yorkshire?

Doncaster doesn't have much of a scene at the moment and we don't really get involved in a clique like most other bands do but the scene in Sheffield is good and there are plenty of places to play so we;ll keep gigging and plugging away.

Find out more on www.myspace.com/the48ksband

Introducing...Alice Nicholls

YMC chats to Huddersfield based singer-songwriter Alice Nicholls

YMC: How long have you been writing music?

AN: I've been writing lyrics, or attempting to, since I was about 9 years old. Needless to say all my songs back then were awful - I like to think they've improved since! I've always been musical but I didn't start putting the two together until a few years later - I wrote my first proper song, words and music, when I was 12.

YMC: What instruments do you play?

AN: Anything I can get my hands on. Violin's my main instrument, I played it at University during my music degree - but I also play piano, guitar, bass, drums, viola, Irish whistle, and descant and treble recorder. I really want to learn mandolin and saxophone as well, they're two of my favourite instruments. And, of course, I've been singing for as long as I can remember!

YMC: Did you find it hard to build up the confidence to play solo?

AN: Definitely. For the first few years of doing music I couldn't play my own songs to anyone, it was way too scary. But once I got past the nerves and realised that this was what I was good at, confidence came easily. I think that with performing, as with any artistic discipline, confidence comes from experience. You're always gonna be scared at first.

YMC: Do you always play solo?

AN: Mostly I play solo nowadays, though during my years at Uni one of my friends would usually play guitar for me at gigs. I would like to do more work with other people, but because most of my mates are musicians, they're always playing gigs when I am so it's impossible to get hold of them!

YMC: What music are you listening to at the moment?

AN: Right now, this second? Lighthouse Family - Ocean Drive. They're one of my musical guilty pleasures. Recently though I've discovered a bunch of new artists and bands, in particular Krezip, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Emiliana Torrini, and The Swell Season.

YMC: Have you recorded any material?

AN: I recorded my debut album 'Resonance' when I was 16, and followed it with a second one when I was 18 called 'the Coffee Songs'. I don't tend to count 'Resonance' as a proper album, more a demo nowadays, because I don't think it's very good compared with my newer stuff. 'The Coffee Songs' is much more my current style, and is now on sale at Wall Of Sound in Huddersfield. I'm currently in the process of recording a new EP as well - it's been ages since I was last in the studio so it's been good to get back into it.

YMC: Any plans for the near future?

AN: I'm moving back to my home county of Lincolnshire in the next couple of months, so I'll be looking for gigs there, and working on material for the next full-length album. I've got a few projects lined-up and I'm hopefully going to be working with some very talented musicians, but nothing's set in stone yet. It's all rather exciting!

Find out more on www.myspace.com/alicenichollsmusic

Introducing...South View Juniors

YMC chats to Ben from South View Juniors

YMC: Tell us something about the band, how did you meet, how long have you been playing together?

SVJ: We named the band after our former junior school which sadly has now been knocked down. We were all good school friends and decided to form a band in late 2007. We started out as a 3 piece playing acoustically in and around the local area, but soon became a full 5 piece.

YMC: How would you describe your music? Who writes the songs?

SVJ: Old school 60s & 70s Rock & Roll with a slightly modern sound, influenced by the Brit Pop Era. We put a modern twist on an old formula. We all write songs for the band, but Jon seems to write the most!

YMC: What are you listening to at the moment?

SVJ: Courteeners, Doves, Twisted Wheel, Paul Weller, Foo fighters, (Too much to list all on here - we are all music

mad!)

YMC: What can people expect from a live show?

SVJ: A very entertaining evening with great music and a great atmosphere/vibe

YMC: Do you have any recording plans?

SVJ: Currently recording our 2nd EP, which should be ready sometime in June, plus hoping to release a single in the summer.

YMC: What are your plans for the near future?

SVJ: To support well established acts and play at larger venues. We are headlining the large main room at The Cockpit on 20th Aug.

Find out more on http://www.myspace.com/southviewjuniors

Introducing...Platinum Blind

YMC chats to Tom from Platinum Blind

YMC: You started playing together early 2008, is this your first band?

PB: Sort of, it started out as Theo with other people as the band. They needed a bassist, myself (Tom), to complete the band. Relationships changed, people left, we needed a new drummer, and the only one we knew was Joe. From that day on it was us three as Platinum Blind.

YMC: Do you write the songs together?

PB: Theo is the main writer. He writes all of the lyrics, comes up with the structure of the song etc. but me and Joe come up with the drums, bass, and give our thoughts if we think something needs changing. The main ideas come from Theo, but its a band effort essentially.

YMC: Do you think it is harder for a three-piece band?

PB: To a certain extent, yes. The extent being that we have less instruments than most other bands, so its harder to produce a full sound, but I think we pull it off quite well.

YMC: You are a pop punk band, do you think you might try something different in the future?

PB: Only time will tell, we intend to stick with pop punk, but Theo writes other songs in his spare time which sound completely different to Platinum Blind. They're more of an ambient, experimental sound, which I don't think we could pull off properly as Platinum Blind, but I think it may be possible to make a heavier rock version of those songs.

YMC: Who are your main influences?

PB: All the bands we like really, we could list them all but then there's also other influences from people we don't necessarily listen to on a regular basis, but still admire for their musical abilities. I guess you could say our biggest influence is pop punk bands such as Blink 182.

YMC: Your have recorded an album called Implosion, when will be available and what can you tell us about it?

PB: It'll be available at the end of this year, we're just making finishing touches to it. It's going to be our debut album, so we're trying to make it as good as we possibly can!

Find out more on http://www.myspace.com/platinumblindmusic

Introducing...Three Sheers T'Wind

YMC: Tell us something about the band, how did you meet, how long have you been playing together?

I met Liam (Drums) and Rik (Mandolin) on nights out in Pontefract about 5-6 years ago we formed soon after. Sam (Accordion) is younger than us so we met him when he was 17 on a night out and Pat (Bass) our new recruit, we met in Wakefield at an open mic night.

YMC: Do you have any recorded material, where is it available?

We have an EP and an album, both can be bought at our gigs very cheap and we can post out!

YMC: Do you write your songs together?

I normally write the music and lyrics but for around half of our songs it is a joined effort on lyrics. Though a few new lyrics for the next record are written by Pat, so a new direction lyrics wise.

YMC: What can people expect from your live show?

Our shows tend to be fast, energetic and very engaging with the audience. If anyone in the audience wants to interact were more than happy to start a conversation or debate!

YMC: Who are your main influnces?

Without mentioning other band names were mainly influenced by 70's and 80's English punk and traditional music whether it be English, Irish, Turkish etc...

YMC: Which are your favourite venues?

Definately a festival in Somerset we play every year, always great fun and people but we like intimate pubs with ale mostly!

YMC: What are your plans for the near future?

New record next year which should get distributed by Geekpie records and a bit of a tour!

Find out more on www.myspace.com/sheetstothewind