KBPS Interview - Beauty Sleep

Beauty Sleep are a three-piece dream-pop band from Belfast, made up of Ryan McGroarty, Cheylene Murphy and Aimee Williamson. Starting up six months ago, they’ve just released their second single and we spoke to Ryan about ‘Living Right’ and how he would describe the track.

“It was probably the first song we’d written as a band and we’ve only been for six months so it’s all quite knew, so I guess it became the first song where we were discovering the sounds we were going to make and the type of band we’re going to be, so it’s a special song to us, and always will be.

“It’s just joyous and explosive, and so much fun to play. I’m glad people can finally hear it!”

We wondered if this single was different to their first release as a band.

“We’ve only put out one other single at this point so we’re just trying to give everyone an overview stylistically of the different areas we’re into. When you’re a new band it feels like you can surprise people.

“We’re getting there now. People at some point don’t know what to expect so it’s a fun process!”

Though Ryan said they didn’t have any plans for a video for this release there are exciting future ideas coming up. “We have bigger plans for our next release. We did get some beautiful artwork from a young artist called Jack Coulter. He’s interpreted the song as an image which is really interesting. But no plans for a video at the moment.”

Future plan? “It’s fun putting out a single but at this point it would be fun putting something more substantial out there, something that runs together. I think it will be an EP, that’s a good way to start it. So we’re going to track that pretty soon. The songs are there.

“After playing live, that changes you, so I guess we’ll be doing the recording in a more live-style, so I think that will come back again to it, and we’ll make sounds of microphones falling over and cymbals crashing, that kind of excitement is what we’re after!”

‘Beauty Right’ have so far done around a dozen live dates including recent festivals and they like to do different things to keep things fresh. “We have two different types of live set. We have one with a drummer, a friend of ours. He’s amazing and that excitement of playing small rooms where there’s loads of people, and it’s all happening and everyone’s moving, is really exciting, and we do like to do that.

“But we also have a more electronic set which has more computer elements to it, and has drums loops, and that’s a different feeling as well. I’m not sure which is best and sometimes we just call it depending on the show which one will be more suitable, so it’s good to give these two different sides and presenting the music in two very different ways.”

Gigs for the band coming up include Belfast on the 20^th August. “It’s like a big barbecue show in the Queen’s Students’ Union with loads of local bands we’re friends with and it’s going to be like a two-stage festival. If you’re in Belfast that day it’s going to be really fun!

“When people only hear recordings they never know what to expect. It’s hard to picture a rock band, or what it is. Aimee who plays bass in the band is a visuals designer as well so there’s a really big light show usually with lots of moving elements. It’s coming together!”

Visual elements are a big part of the band and how they like to put themselves across. “We worked with this artist called Maisie Cousins on the artwork for ‘The Dark’, our first single, which had lots of luscious shots of running colours. I guess it was almost psychedelic imagery. We wanted to present a visual that whenever you saw it you’d have an idea of what the band sounded like and you’d make up your own image of what it’d be.

“I think [music and visuals] is really important, and both complement each other, and it’s a big part of what we want to get across.”

And what are the future plans for the band? “A tour would be something to hope for. Personally it’s the main reason why I’m in a band as every time I’ve been before those experiences you have of going to places you’d never normally be, meeting people who’d never otherwise meet, and the stories that you get, are the things I treasure. It would be great to do these things with the band at this time, because it’s absolutely the most exciting part in lots of ways.

“So get out there, get on some planes and boats and play to some un-expecting public somewhere!”

Find out more about the band on Facebook and check out their Soundcloud where you can hear various tracks and remixes, offering different interpretations on their sound.

KBPS Interview: Gringo Star

Peter Furgiuele, Nicholas Furgiuele, Jonathon Bragg and Josh Longino make up band Gringo Star from Atlanta. With their album ‘The Sides And In Between’ out on 26^th August via NevadoMusic we spoke to member Pete, co-founder of the band with his brother Nick, on the eve of the band heading out on a massive two-and-a-half month tour to talk about their new album. Their longest tour to date, Pete was excited about their upcoming time on the road, coming twenty years after first writing music with his brother as teenagers.

Describing the band’s live sound as rock and roll with a bit of garage, he was keen to emphasise their diverse sound. “We try to incorporate more than one approach when we’re writing, so it’s a range of melodic rock and roll.”

Talking about the record Pete told us “It’s a continuation of where we’ve been going. We had a slightly different approach this time as we did it in our own studio which we’ve been building for the last couple of years. Last year on tour I got really lucky. We randomly went into a gas station which was out west in casino country and on a whim I put twenty bucks into a slow machine and won almost $6000 on the jackpot!

“We were heading to LA. We have a really good engineer friend out there who has worked on some of our past records. He helped me secure a couple of pieces of nice audio equipment and it really helped us solidify the studio and bring the quality up to a nice level.

“That really helped with the overall sound of the record. We’ve done things on our own before and it’s been a little dirtier. This one is still dirty, but it’s a little bit cleaner!”

The band have also been working on new arrangements and involving their friends, incorporating instruments like a violin, saxophone and mandolin into the mix. “We tried to be a bit orchestral and mix up the sounds.”

Gringo Star’s latest album was recorded in a couple of months in their home studio, a process Pete described as fun.  Featuring newish member Jonathon Bragg on drums, Pete saw the record as an evolution. “It’s progressed more. I feel confident, we all like it, and it’s our best album yet.”

Their own studio has given the band the freedom needed to really work on the album. “Just having more time and less pressure to really get things how we want them [is great]. Sometimes when you’re in the studio and you have a limited amount of time [to record vocals] and people are waiting for you, you sometimes have to be like ‘that’s good enough’, but with this we could spend enough time to get vocal takes as we wanted them, which is kind of a luxury.”

With more time for experimentation and getting a more instrumental feel thanks to getting their friends involved, the studio seemed to have given the band more freedom on the record, and Pete, when we asked him to pick his highlights from the album, seemed genuinely happy with lots of the tracks, mentioning opener ‘Rotten’ alongside ‘Heading South’, ‘Get Closer’, ‘Knee Deep’, which included the violin, and ‘Going Home’. “For me that’s a really personal song. I get a good feeling from it. It’s called ‘Going Home’ but it actually feels like home to me, as it’s an honest song.

“We tried to mix things up so no two songs were the same. It’s an approach we’ve always had, but we tried to make it so you’re listening to the same band but not the same song ten times. So each song has its own character.

“We like a lot of styles. We like to incorporate a lot of different rhythms and arrangements, but there is a certain way we do things. I think there’s a common thread they all have; it’s pretty cohesive even though we mixed it up.”

Pete revealed a video for ‘Get Closer’ has recently been filmed and is currently being edited ready for release soon. He talked to us about the video, created by the same director who did the promotional video for ‘Rotten’. “He has great ideas. He brought with him a 16mm camera, and we did it all on real film, which we were really lucky to have the opportunity for. The video has quite a dreamy look to it, and he used some older Kodak film and there’s still grain left on it. It’s not an effect, it’s the natural film. It’s pretty cool and his editing has been great so far, with some techniques to make things look slow and frantic, but going with the music. It was done on a really sunny day and is a really sunny video!”

And what plans do the band have for the future? “We really hope to come to Europe,” he told us, talking about early 2017. “Nevada Records have a branch in Europe so we’d really like to go and support the album there. And to keep pushing on this album.

“With our manager and label combined I feel like we have our most cohesive team together to go out and tour and be the best supported we have been.”

‘The Sides And In Between’ by Gringo Star is out on 26^th August via NevadoMusic. Find out more about them via their website.

Top 50 of 2016 So Far

As we are now well past the half-way point of the year, here is our current countdown of the best 50 songs of the year so far, as chosen by KBPS!

50 Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better (3rd June)
49 The Allergies feat. Andy Cooper - Rock Rock (25th March)
48 Jamie Lynn Spears - Sleepover (24th June)
47 Lola Coca - GQ (22nd April)
46 April Towers - Silent Fever (8th April)
45 Louise Aubrie - Winter Delour (21st January)
44 Skyler feat. Snoop Dogg - Fire (29th January)
43 Sia feat. Sean Paul - Cheap Thrills (11th February)
42 Richard Ashcroft - This Is How It Feels (1st March)
41 Coldplay - Up&Up (16th May)

40 Frances - Say It Again (30th June)
39 Justin Timberlake - Can’t Stop the Feeling (6th May)
38 Pink - Just Like Fire (16th April)
37 twenty one pilots: Heathens (21st June)
36 Taylor Swift - Out Of The Woods (12th January)
35 Josef Salvat - Paradise (8th January)
34 Rick Astley - Angels On My Side (9th June)
33 Busted - Coming Home (3rd May)
32 Holly Johnson - Ascension (18th March)
31 Hannah Trigwell - Another Beautiful Mistake (15th April)

30 Dagny - Backbeat (6th May)
29 Will Joseph Cook - Girls Like Me (12th February)
28 Walk the Moon - Work This Body (12th February)
27 Teddybears feat. Gorilla Zoe - Best You Ever Had (8th January)
26 Tegan and Sara - Boyfriend (7th April)
25 MIAMIGO - Everyone I Know (18th March)
24 Kirsty Churchill - Who You Gonna Call? (16th March)
23 Juno im Park feat. Hannah Trigwell - Never Gonna Give You Up (28th July)
22 Axwell Λ Ingrosso feat. Pharrell Williams - Dream Bigger (6th May)
21 Elle King - Good Girls (3rd June)

20 Florrie - Real Love (5th February)
19 Jazz Mino - Suffocate (24th June)
18 Ward Thomas - Guilty Flowers (29th July)
17 Christine and the Queens - Tilted (26th February)
16 Tiggs Da Author feat. Lady Leshurr - Run (12th January)
15 Zara Larsson - Lush Life (15th January)
14 DNCE - Cake By The Ocean (14th March)
13 Bright Light Bright Light feat. Elton John - All In The Name (1st July 2016)
12 Bastille - Good Grief (17th June)
11 Rat Boy - Move (12th January)

10 Tom Odell - Magnetised (15th April)

9 Kaiser Chiefs - Parachute (20th June)

8 Gwen Stefani - Make Me Like You (13th February)

7 Nina Nesbitt - Chewing Gum (11th January)

6 The Shires - Beats To Your Rhythm (29th July)

5 The Strumbellas - Spirits (11th January)

4 Aurora - Conqueror (11th March)

3 Elle King - America’s Sweetheart (22nd April)

2 Glass Animals - Life Itself (18th May)

1 Travis - Magnificent Time (22nd March)

What do you think of our selection? Post your comments below and we'll follow them up in our next edition!

We did ask a few of our fellow music lovers and there was love for some in our Top 50 including DNCE's 'Cake By The Ocean', Sia's 'Cheap Thrills' and Bastille's 'Good Grief' and lots for 'Tilted' by Christine and the Queens.

For the rockier amongst you we had votes for Raise Your Horns - Amon Amarth; Master of the Land - Grand Magus, Suckerpuch - Delain (which got multiple recommendations) and Born to Die - Black Stone Cherry, and Sia made another appearance this time with 'Unstoppable'. 

Jake Bugg appeared with 'On My Own' alongside Twenty One Pilots and 'Stressed Out', plus the collaboration between Mumford + Baaba Maa. Elsewhere was 'Once Again' by Mad Clown and Kim Na Young, Ruth B with 'Lost Boy' plus JME's 'The Very Best' and the eccentrically titled 'Party Metal' by Footprints In The Custard. 

So even you don't like many in my selection here are some more choices for you to check out!

KBPS Interview: Future Generations

Future Generations are an alternative /Indie Pop/ Electronic band from New York and we spoke to lead singer Eddie Gore and the other members of the band Eric, Mike, Dylan and Devon as they travelled up to Washington DC. The band have a great new single out called ‘Thunder in the city’.

So how would you describe the single?

It’s one of those songs that you listen to when you’re walking down the street and think, this is kind of narrating my walk! It’s just a feel good song, it’s an exciting song, it’s got a great hook. It’s all about the hook for us.

The song was written near the end of the album recording process; what was the inspiration behind the song?

I was on a commute back from the city out to Long Island and it was about to storm, and it was just a kind of surreal journey. At the time I was very happy and thought [the storm] was cool. I’d had a good day and I thought I’d write a song about the feeling I was having.

What was the album like to record?

The album was recorded over a long period of time. We recorded a lot of it in our dorm room at University. Then we played it back and a lot of songs we had, we added drums, synthesizers and other instruments in the studio. It was a longer, spread out process but when we were in the studio it was really nice as we had a positive mind-set and we were trying to be cohesive.

The album has some distinctive artwork. How did that come about?

It was something the record came up with. There’s another band on the label called Decoration and I believe it was their singer’s good friend [called Nicole] and she did a couple of different ideas, and we were drawn to this one particular idea with the vibrant colours and the mix between new and retro.

You recently played a record launch party at the Mercury Lounge in New York; how did that go?

It was great, so lit! We had a packed house and everybody was having a good time, especially us!

You have live dates coming up this month. How would you describe your live sound?

It’s definitely fuller, more guitar and bass-guitar heavy than the album. Like any album that’s brought to life is fuller and louder. We always say it has more of an edge and more energy to it live. It’s a different experience live, which is our goal.

So how did you all meet?

Four of us met at University. Myself [Eddie], Mike and Eric met in freshmen year in our dorm, and Dylan we met on Craigslist. We’re very thankful that he’s not murdered us yet. Shout out to not murdering people. And now we live together!

Dylan: I have murdered but decided I’m going to ride with these guys.

Speaking of living arrangements, I believe you all share a flat together. What’s it like making music together and living together?

It’s great. We’re always sharing music that’s inspiring us. We don’t have much time when we’re all in the apartment together but when we are we’re usually just hanging out and listening to music, and sharing with each other. Have you heard this, have you heard that. It’s been good to open each other up to different styles of music.

Do you have any big ambitions for the rest of 2016?

To come across the pond, we want to come and play for you guys! We just want to play as many gigs as possible and build our audience by playing those shows. Some festivals next year would be nice. We just want to play as much music as possible, that’s really our end goal. 

Find out more about Future Generations on Facebook.

Our first time with Sofar Sounds

I’m not sure how I ended up on their mailing list but this month I decided to try out Sofar Sounds. For those of you who are not familiar with it you basically pick your city – or the nearest city to you – and it shows you available secret gigs in your location and on what date. You can pick your chosen one, pay a small fee, and receive a ticket including a +1 if you want one. Then on the day before your chosen gig you receive the location and on the night, when you arrive at said place, you discover who is performing. It could be a surprisingly big band, it might be someone breaking through, or it might be a local artist.

I broke my Sofar Songs virginity in Leeds on Tuesday heading to The Riverside café in Leeds, a nicely sized bistro on, unsurprisingly, the side of the river that sells a mixture of ales and during the day what look to be nice sandwiches and smoothies. With a quick check of name on the day to ensure exclusivity we were in, ordering drinks and awaiting the acts. The venue was already pretty full with the audience stood by the bar, perched on chairs or sat cross legged on cushions.

At just after eight the organiser came on to reveal the line-up for the night, an impressive three acts on the bill. Without any microphone the compere was a little difficult to hear even when the audience was quiet, but there were no problems with the acts who at our location were going through a small speaker. The Sofar team were also on hand taking photos and recordings of the first song for each act so hopefully these will be online soon.

First up on our night we had Ben Maggs whose friendly personality between songs shone through. Bearded and telling tales of travelling around Scotland, his down to earth style and quickly loveable songs were a welcome introduction, his use of a loop pedal on two songs really adding to the depth of the pieces even if he was wary of the technology’s reliability. Soon to be supporting the Proclaimers he’s definitely an artist to look out for.

His set of around half-an-hour included some really great songs, old and new from his catalogue, which were of course new to the audience. Stand out numbers were ‘The Traveller’s Song’ and ‘Bread of Life’ which thanks to a strong live sound were even more vivid than on the recorded versions. Mixed in with his interesting anecdotes and tales of travelling and this was a great start to the show.

After a short break we got four piece local band Citrus Heights whose unamplified lead singer really captured the mood of the night, the funky basslines of their songs really resonating in the venue, combining indie sensibilities with the sound recently re-championed by artists like Nile Rodgers. Though outside it might have been raining inside it was sunny thanks to their warm, uplifting sounds.

With another short break following the headliners of the night came on in the form of the globe-trotting indie-rock band the Dunwells, who lifted the spirits even further with their set, with standout tracks like ‘Animal’ selling them for me. Combining three guitars and a small drum kit alongside some very impressive harmonies, their sound was big but not overpowering for the space, and they showcased their credentials as a tight band on the evening, newer material like the lighters-out ‘Light Up The Sky’ sitting well with their older material.

As the crowd slowly disappeared after two hours of music, there was time to focus on what had been a great night of music, and goes to show that taking a punt on an event in an unknown location with unknown acts can reap rewards and I’ll be certainly exploring Sofar Sounds again in the future.

Sofar Sounds in Leeds returns on the 11^th July and 21^st July.

Kaiser Chiefs return with new single, album, live date

Leeds band Kaiser Chiefs have released a new single online which is available to download now for 99 of your British pennies, or nothing if you pre-order the album on certain websites. You can hear their new single here.



The single, the first cut from their upcoming sixth album, is certainly a change in direction for the band. Produced by Brian Higgins, known for his work for Girls Aloud and Xenomania the single is certainly dancier than we've ever heard from the band. Here at KBPS we were initially unsure about it but after a few days of listens it's certainly growing on us. It perhaps lack the indie flavour of their big singles and 2014's 'Education, Education, Education and War' album (our favourite of their LPs) but the catchiness is still there, but it could prove quite divisive in terms of sound, sounding more David Guetta than Kaiser Chiefs.

The band's sixth album 'Stay Together' is due out on Friday 7th October and doesn't feature last year's non-album release 'Falling Awake'.

The expected track listing is:

• We Stay Together
• Hole In My Soul
• Parachute
• Good Clean Fun
• Why Do You Do It To Me?
• Indoor Firework
• Press Rewind
• Happen In A Heartbeat
• High Society
• Sunday Morning
• Still Waiting

The band are also performing live in July at the London Palladium and you can pre-order the album now in various flavours from their website.

KBPS Interview: Ben McKelvey

Ben McKelvey

Ben McKelvey is a singer-songwriter from London who has just released his new single ‘Morning I’m Gone’ taken from his debut album ‘Life & Love in England’. We caught up with him for an interview about his single and album, his plans for the future and how he likes to keep fit between recording sessions. First up was all about his single, which was the first he recorded for the album.

“It went down well on the tour with Wet Wet Wet; it’s a catchy one to get the crowd going. I’m delighted that the way it’s come out!”

Taken from the album, which was produced by Jake Robins, Ben was really positive about the recording experience, a time which is being captured in an album documentary which is due to be released before the end of the month. “We set up a load of cameras, a couple of GoPros, in the studio and recorded as much as we could.”

The album features a mixture of styles, with one song recorded as live, and other techniques to keep it fresh. Ben also plays all the instruments on the record, including drums, going back to a time when he originally played as the drummer in a punk band. We were keen to know how it was like to go solo. “I do not miss carrying the drums to gigs!” he confessed. “That was a good bonus point. Being a drummer you’re quite limited in the song writing process. Writing in the songs is my favourite part of music.

“The transition was quite natural as I enjoyed writing music, I just had to get better at guitar. So when the band disbanded I just taught myself a few chords and it was away from there!

“I like doing everything myself as I know exactly how I want it. It’s more work but there’s a greater reward in the long run."

Ben has also recently been touring with his band The Firebrands and recently supported Wet Wet Wet on their big arena tour. Ben told us about how it came about, receiving the phone call to join them when he was in a guitar shop. “I was buying myself a new guitar and I got a phone call asking if I’d like to play pretty much every arena in the UK supporting Wet Wet Wet and I was like definitely!. It was a career changing moment.

“We’ve done some really cool stuff before [like] playing in the States and great venues but nothing on the scale like that. It was just the professionalism of the crew, and everyone involved with a project that big were just so inspiring and great to work with.

“The boys and their management were so welcoming; they watched our show from the side of the stage. They were just brilliant and we had the time of our lives!”

Ben and his band tweak their live performance depending on the audience. For the Wet Wet Wet tour they did a full band set-up but semi-acoustic in style. “We try and fit it in with who we’re supporting, so if we’re with a heavier rock band then we might go electric guitar and drum kits, then for a poppier band we might strip it down a bit.

“[Most of] my songs are written on an acoustic guitar so normally if the song works on an acoustic then we can do it [many ways]. It gives us a chance to work with different dynamics and makes every tour slightly different for us and the audience, so keeps things fresh.”

Alongside being a musician, Ben also directed the promotional video for song ‘Somewhere Else’, showcasing his involvement in other aspects of the music process. “I’m probably a bit of a control freak I guess! The whole thing is like a big art project for me, whether it’s writing the song, or recording the song, or making a video for the song, if I can do it on my own I will.

“The videos we do now are run through my label and my producer helps me direct and we co-direct things together. I love being part of every bit of the creative process as I just enjoy it so much.”

When Ben is not in the studio he likes to keep fit, and is working on a website to showcase his training videos alongside his music. A typical day for Ben is getting up at 5am to train with a variety of exercises in his plan, plus evening sessions as well. “I find it really helps anchor my day and gives me a lot of energy to do everything I need to be doing.”

I quizzed Ben about his choice of music whilst training. Sometimes it’s his own music but often his playlist consists of upbeat music from Foo Fighters and Kasabian. But what are Ben’s future plans for his music?

“I’m in the process of moving to Brighton. I’m actually in a position now where I can do music full time which is fantastic. It’s a great city for music and full of bars!

“I’m also going for album number two in the summer and hopefully another couple of support tours, so I’ll definitely be out of the road again soon!”