bwd magazine - july 2014

A POP STAR’S DISCOVERY

INFECTIOUS

THE RESONANCE OF RHETT

KAROLINE RHETT

HEARTBEAT &

THESOAPGIRLS

HEART-THROBS IN

THE WORLD OF MUSIC

THESOAPGIRLS

KAROLINE RHETT

JULY 2014 Vol 17#1 Variety Magazine - A Worldwide Puclication

OVER A DECADES WORTH OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE

2 • BWD Magazine • www.bwdmagazine.com

FEATURES

04 Jermaine SmithEverything From Sports, Modelling To An Musician

06 No Loose Ends (Book Review)Author: Ramsey Venner

10 Blue Touch Paper Building Empire Of Sounds

16 Sons Of Kal-elLegendary On Their Way To Immortal

18 The Peckham Cowboys Song-slingers Armed With An Absolution Of Music

20 Robot Space Love (Album Review)Artist: The Void

22 Karoline RhettA Pop Star’s Discovery To The Resonance Of Rhett

24 DJ Nino Graye Brilliance Behind The Mic, Confidence Of A Composer

26 PhilCastRadioEncouraging The Scene That’s Cultivated Their Growth

COVER STORY

12 The Soap GirlsInfectious Heartbeat Of Both Music And The World

LIFESTYLE

08 Put It On My TabAn Avenue Of Avarice With 3 Free App’s

14 5 Tips For Creating A ‘Wicked’ Set-listAffording The Pleasure Of Music To Your Audience

ENTERTAINMENT

7 Buffalo Bites (Monthly Feature) Over 20 Years’ Experience In The Creative

Audio And Music Production World

http://www.bwdradio.com/get-your-music-on-our-playlist

BWD Magazine • www.bwdmagazine.com • 3

Editor In Chief V Keach

Associate Editor

J Addams

Lead Contributing WriterJ Addams

Contributing WriterV Keach

Art DirectorV Keach

Graphic Artist(s)V Keach, BWD Graphics

Circulation/Sales Officer(s)V Keach/J Addams

BWDMAGAZINE.COMBWDRADIO.COM

FACEBOOK.COM/BWDMAGAZINE

TWITTER.COM/BWDMAGAZINE

FACEBOOK.COM/BWDRADIO

TWITTER.COM/BWDRADIO_

TWITTER.COM/BWDPROMOTIONS

LAST ISSUE

In a world where a swipe across the virtual shelf has supplanted the

casual stroll down the aisle, content driven media has become the golden

chalice of promotion; fresh content delivered with the minimum of fuss

constantly throughout the day has become the key to ensnaring the public

interest, of reaching the plateau of fame and recognition you deserve to

be standing upon.

Without an audience to listen no-one can hear you talk. Without a pair of

eyes to observe no-one notices when you achieve greatness and without

a market waiting on pins to learn which direction their latest fascination

will be coming from no-one will be holding the banners of congratula-

tions when you finally step up to the limelight.

With an empire of insiders working tirelessly away to bring you the big-

gest, best, and breaking news across the entire landscape of the media

BWD Magazine has built a reputation as being one of the leading names

in the industry.

When we speak, others listen.

With a worldwide audience of subscribers downloading and learning

which name to look out for, which band they should be following, who the

next Big Thing is going to be, BWD Magazine speaks to millions of awaiting

ears each and every month.

With the world as an audience BWD Magazine puts you firmly in the

spotlight.

BWD Magazine- ‘Leading Whilst Others Follow’

FROM THE EDITOR

http://www.bwdmagazine.com


Proving the adage of ‘brains and

beauty’ isn’t the sole preserve of

the female side of the species

Jermaine Smith is bringing the

chiseled good looks of a

Parisian exponent with an intellectual insight

those who meet with him consider company

worth investing in.

Though dig a little deeper behind the eyes and

we find another adage of books and their being

judged solely on their covers being equally

applicable; a Floridian native Jermaine’s outer

deportment of confidence and assurance hides

a less than enviable upbringing. Born to parents

who saw ‘family’ as something that had sides to

be taken Jermaine withstood the constant point

scoring and slurs each parent would speak of the

other as only the blessed ignorant of one who

knows no different could.

It speaks much of Jermaine’s inner strength,

however, as from this car-crash of emotional

mis-trust and embittered battling he was able

to discover the joy of music from his father, an

unintentional gifting mayhap but one that set

him on his path to adulthood with a steady-

ing hand. As he buried himself within his now

estranged father’s collection of over five hun-

dred LP’s and albums he discovered a tapestry

of textures that spoke to him, connected with

the inner artist and began a life-times obsession

that would see him become a magician in music.

Nourished by the sounds of Motown and the

stylings of Marvin Gaye his inherited collection

delivered a broadening perspective of sounds,

eventually leading him to exploring what other

genres and musical worlds hid within their digi-

tal worlds.

As he matured so too did his tastes, his focus

turning to the world of rap and the blank can-

vas it afforded its exponents; the cats-cradle

of emotional out-pouring and poetic license

inherent within the genre may have appeared

completely different to the artists he initially felt

drawn to, but it proved to be the bridge between

the sounds of his inspirations and the emotional

tsunami wrought from his experiences of life.

It was within the world of rap he found solace

as the promise of a ‘normal’ childhood was once

again denied him during his high-school years;

a step-father as unfortunate a human being as

his own father had been Jermaine now had the

A truly happy person

is too busy living in

the moment to dwell

on the past or worry

about the future.“


JERMAINE SMITH

“TODAY IS

YESTERDAY’S MEMORY

AND TOMORROW’S

responsibility of enduring the untenable whilst being a positive

male role model for his sister Marissa.

Stepping-up to the challenge he became a star athlete at school,

the basketball court becoming his own land to rule. Knowing now

that he pitted his might against such current NBA stars as Louis

Williams of the 76ers and the LA Clippers forward Al Aminu and

the advanced placement and honors he received only add to his

legendary status within Meadowcreek High School’s history.

College saw him on the sporting field and extend his intellect

majoring in psychology, and it was shortly before this current leg

of his successful scholastic career was drawing to a close, the

dawning of a move to the University of Oregon lighting his path,

that his natural musical talents made themselves known. Diving

into the worlds within words Jermaine found an unending flow of

lyrical complexity pouring from his pen, the essence of emotion

as detailed as it was hypnotic when drawn from the well of his

experiences.

Charged with a renewed vigor there seemed no obstacle too big

nor challenge too large to stop the determined Jermaine, and to

that end he now stands as being not just an incredibly gifted musi-

cian, but also businessman, husband, and model contracted to the

notable Sports and Lifestyle Unlimited Agency.

‘Today is yesterday’s memory and tomorrow’s dream,’ he philosophi-

cally reveals to us when discussing his BWD Magazine feature win,

‘thus live one day at a time, as they are given. A truly happy person

is too busy living in the moment to dwell on the past or worry about

the future.’

For those who lay the blame of their present on the troubles of

their past Jermaine Smith offers us a chance to see a better future,

to hold perspective to the light, be encouraged by the view, and use

as the mantle to become the role ‘model’ Jermaine has proven to be.

Contact Information:

Website: myspace.com/isaiahmessiah

Twitter: @Jsmithatown26

Photo Credits: Jermaine Smith - All Rights Reserved

DREAM.”


ritten from a first person perspective No Loose

Ends by author Ramsey Venner tells a millionaires

tale on a street hustlers budget; what begins as a

self-sacrificing act of voluntary incarceration for a

crime he didn’t commit soon sees lead character

Travis Smith - aka Contraband - refusing to fall like his contempo-

raries to the enticing clutches of drug addiction, but falling heavily

for the alluring charms of the cash that comes from introducing

‘product’ to ‘consumer’.

Set within a brightly lit backdrop of Reno, Nevada No Loose Ends

maps out the course of our leads mis-adventure with an engorge-

ment of detailed minutiae, placing you firmly behind the eyes and

within the emotions of Contraband as what begins as a two year

prison sentence undertaken on another’s behalf quickly turns into

a businessman’s understanding of supply and demand, revealing a

world where admiration becomes envy, respect become revenges,

and sin is available 24/7 and to suit your bill fold.

Though never offering excuses for actions undertaken nor apologies

for an avarice of indulgences Ramsey instead paints a picture of

simple open honesty; these are the things that happened and this is

why they happened, and it’s up to the individual to remonstrate or

rally against the injustice beset against our lead protagonist as he

chooses a side to stand on.

Like a confessional for what lies behind Hollywood’s plastic glam-

our there’s an attractiveness to Contraband’s character that ingrati-

ates with ease; the detailing of hours spent in the company of ladies

whose affections are negotiable and by-the-hour, the high level

meeting of fellow ‘business men’ in a low level strip club, and the

rush of adrenalin coursing through the writing on the page as we

descend into the madness and are forced to choose just whose side

we are on; ours or theirs.

A fastly flowing foray into the depth of humanity and the lengths it

must go to when pressed through the voice of a man clearly supe-

rior to those he must call his contemporaries, No Loose Ends is a rare

treat of a read; one that doesn’t glorify the ugliness and force us to

look, but instead allows us as much of a viewing as we think we can

manage, with open arms for when you come back for a second and

third helping.

5 Stars out of 5


Website: www.ramseyvenner.com

Instagram: No_loose_ends

Facebook: Ramseyvennernolooseends

Photo Credits: Ramsey Venner -All Rights Reserved

W

Greetings Buffalo! This month I bring you the little adventure I call ‘Getting

a studio space’. It started a few months ago when I asked a friend of mine,

doing a similar home recording vibe, if he’d like to join forces as I was look-

ing for a partner to build a studio. To my utter astonishment Ross agreed!

We listed all the gear we had between us and except for a couple of mic’s

and a mixing desk we had more than enough to mic a band, one at a time,

for what I call ‘studio standard practice’, everyone taking their turn layering

tracks down to a click or some sort of guide. As fantastic as Foel Studio

have been over the last couple of years, it’s tricky trying to convince a band

to travel into mid-Wales to record especially the younger bands with limited

transport. (Something to consider when building your studio) As I’m based

in the midlands it’s a trek for me too but fortunately the studio is awesome!

So, back to the story…We found a few units up for rent and started to view

them in person. The first unit we found was huge. 2,500 square feet; one

very large room! It had formerly been a pole dancing club so had a definite

feel to it... Mainly due to the stage still being there, unfortunately the poles

had been removed! As wowed as we were the roof was 100 years old and

leaky, the access was limited being up narrow stairs, and we’d have had to

build a substantial amount of construction before even considering sound

and wiring. So we searched on. The next unit was in an old converted car

park. The man called it ‘the cave’ and holy crap it was grim. The previous

tenants had left plenty of evidence of their cannabis trading and distribu-

tion. They’d transported it out in refrigerators and freezers for anyone who’s

interested, most of them piled up in a wall of appliances still there. The

place wasn’t for us, darkness and damp, a homely studio does not make it!

The search continued and somehow the stars lined up when we found

what had previously been ‘Crown Nail Works’ a Wolverhampton nail making

company. There was a young couple still in there who’d started to convert

the 1,250 square foot unit into a studio and it was split into a large room,

a small room and a wide corridor. The smaller room had a window which is

great in the control room and the live room was 12.5 x 7 metres so plenty

of room there for bands and their gear. After a second visit with my partner

‘in studio crime’ we decided to go ahead! Time was ticking by and if you’ve

ever looked into building a commercial recording studio the amount of

research is phenomenal. Mind-bending. Now bear in mind that our budget

is quite low for a project of this scale. The build and equipment have to

come in under a certain cost and that is not very flexible, as it should be.

It’s all about planning. Or at least that’s what we thought. In the next two

weeks I spent a little time and money making some improvised acoustic

diffusers, speaker stands and amp risers, basically anything I could do that

I knew we’d need later but not really have time to build on site. It’s amaz-

ing what you can do with railway sleepers, decking, old speakers and a few

sheets of ply wood with a little google-searched inspiration.

By the way, I’ll make my apologies for the scatty-nature of this month’s Bite

now, my head as you can possibly imagine is brimmed full of electrical cur-

rent phases, floppy brick walls and basically inadequate infrastructure ie;

no running water or toilet! So there you go. Brain fried.

Eight days ago on Monday 16 June we collected the keys to what will be:

Crown Works Studio!! Aaaarrrrrgggghhhh!! Sleep? Nope, not on Sunday

night. It’s hard to put into words the feeling of being on the brink of build-

ing your first non-home studio, a dream I’ve held for years and scary. Scary

in a good, butterflies in tummy anxiety kind of way. I think?? In the last

week and a day we’ve sorted two wobbly walls, started soundproofing,

arranged electrical work, had steps built outside, bars over the window,

plans for a new and insurance friendly front door, a toilet has started to be

installed, planning for electrical and audio distribution, windows ordered

for the control room and live room for visual communication, cut a hole

in a wall for said window, materials ordered and delivered, studding for

plasterboard sheeting (including acoustic damping), rock wool installation

in places most desperate, met the neighbors in other units on site, met the

building owner, (who also happens to be one of the people involved in the

building of Trident Studios in London!), and prepared the floors for paint.

I’m tired, my body hurts and still we carry on! This is a labor of love and we

will not stop until we finish. Over the next couple of months I’ve limited

my recording sessions so I can be as involved in the build as possible (a

great way to reduce your labor costs) and get to know the place from the

ground up. So I’ll be trying to walk you guys through some of the joys and

some of the hurdles too (next month). When I started writing this column

I honestly had no idea if we’d be building a studio so soon. It just goes to

show that if you put the work in and are incredibly lucky, great things can

happen. Can’t wait to bring you all with me! For now I’m going to wrap it

up and get back to the third layer of plasterboard on the first wall. There’s

a few gaps to fill yet, I’m learning new skills every day, and not a single one

of them music related! Happy Tracking dear Buffalo! And remember: “I know

a song that’ll get on your nerves, get on your nerves, get on your nerves.....”

Buffalo Music Production - www.facebook.com/gazz.rogers

Foel Studio - http://www.foelstudio.co.uk/

Photo Credits: Buffalo Bites - All Rights Reserved

MONTHLY FEATURE


BUFFALO BITES


PUT IT ON MY TAB


Known throughout the world as the single

most unbiased and reliable source of cur-

rent and breaking news the BBC is the

leader in its field of news-bringers to the

people; presented with a staid hand its

reputation for delivering the facts as they

are sans any religious or political bias the British Broadcasting

Corporation’s tiny app centers squarely on the information at hand,

minus speculation or finger-pointing or condescending overtones

of ‘if you’re not with us, you’re against us’ lesser news agencies are

famed for.

Covering all the crucial areas of interest - including but not limited

to world news, the latest top stories, sports, politics and business

developments - it also offers the probing prodder a chance to learn

what’s happening in the crucible bowl of science.

Delivering the facts and information from the four corners of the

globe as they happen and customizable enough for you to order

which area of interest takes precedent it is the Gossiping Google

of news-gatherers for those who fingers need to be kept firmly

on the pulse of what’s going on where and why and what-for and

whatnot; read as you wait in line for some shopping or download

for a quiet catch-up when dropping the kids off at the pool, it also

includes video clips of the top headline stories for those wishing

to witness the events ‘first-hand’.

With a generous 15GB of free storage and

the ability to access its bits-and-bytes

innards from any Android based doo-

hicky with an internet connection Google

Drive is the big back pocket for your life.

Allowing you to upload and view a range

of formats from across the wealth of Word/Office styled programs

there’s very little you can expect to chuck at Google Drive it can’t

handle. PDF’s or presentations, doodlings or .doc’s, jpeg’s of an

amusing cheese favoring feline or a scan of a receipt for your

proof-of-purchase when arguing with the money-monkey jockey-

ing the refunds till taken by your camera and instantly stored, it

takes the lot with a quiet reserve of humble usefulness and an

unspoken surety of retrieving your info of import when asked.

Share entire Drive’s or a single something simply with a swish or

delve into the Drive through your desktop if desired, as an app it

feels designed to fit your own personal demands, whether busy

hard-core cloud-connoisseur constantly on the move or occasional

puddy-piccy pusher collating a captioned kitty collection.

Keeping a handle on all the ins and outs

of modern life is as tricky as explaining

why any of the Kardashian’s are famous.

Fortunately, Google steps up to offer

assistance for the first part of that open-

ing sentence - as for the latter, even Google has its limits.

Hit by an inspirational thought or caught up in the most amazing

sun-set, write it down, take a snap, or verbally sing the praises of

the moment and have it saved as text for rumination anon before

saving the lot in this essential easy breezy app.

A digital secretary on your device Google Keep presents your files

and fancies in a nicely clean, evenly spaced and placed presenta-

tion of all your intellectual insights and Bailey-esque brilliance.

Add a splash of color to the file for defining what-whatnot-is-what

and sync the whole gosh-darn lot across all your digitally designed

devices for fulsome integral intuitiveness and all hour’s access to

your info. A picture taken to remind you what futon you want as

a wedding gift, a few lines informing your future self to get your

kids vaccinated, a short sentence of spoken wordy wonder that will

probably turn out to be the ramblings of an internet idiot once

revealed to the patrons of your preferred forum of choice, it’s your

pixelly pencil and paper pal and plug for your Swiss-cheese brain.

You can even make a memo to pick up some beans, vodka and

‘cigarette’ papers from the store, and set a location based reminder

to retrieve and display your shopping list of largess upon wobbly

footed arrival through the hallowed portal of that blissful marriage

of convenience and consumerism.

Write it on Keep, upload it to Drive, and be the first to say ‘I called

it! Here’s proof!’ when the BBC finally announce the Kardashians

were a science experiment to disprove God by making the most

self-entitled idol for society to worship.

BBC NEWS

GOOGLE KEEP

GOOGLE DRIVE


fter the incredible awakening of sound and score

that was Blue Touch Paper’s debut album release

Stand Well Back the prospect of re-igniting the

flames anew with another crafting of composi-

tions would have seen lesser artists balking at

the thought.

Attempting to capture lightning in a bottle twice is often the down-

fall of many a group, the inevitable follow-up hoping to ride the

coat-tails of the furore from the first; pushed into production and

shoved onto shelves, most-times the album will be received with

an over-riding arch of initial euphoria that quickly gives way to

ambivalence and disappointment.

Written by a committee of

invested parties whose eyes

are firmly on the bottom-line

too many fall foul of cookie

cutter safe songs designed

purely for the quick-buck

cynicism of returning-to-the-

well of the first album whilst

offering enough mass appeal

on the new works to sell-

sell-sell before public inter-

est wanes and the well has

been wrung dry.

So with two years of their lives set to one side, over sixty demos laid

down and pulled apart and recorded and ruminated upon, with the

resulting tracks chosen to go on the album setting plaudits tongues

wagging and audiences clamoring Blue Touch Paper perfectly dem-

onstrates the old adage of ‘perfection takes time’.

Lead by noted composer and respected musician Colin Towns and

complimented by saxophonist Mark Lockheart, Stephen Maass on

percussion and electronics, Chris Montague taking duties on gui-

tar and Edward Maclean rounding the group out on bass, Drawing

Breath represents one of those rarer of releases; an album that

takes what you know from their previous work and builds empires

of sounds upon them.

Mixing their almost trademark style of being able to fuse jazz, rock,

and classical elements into cinematic soundscapes with the enthu-

siasm of an unbridled creative mind Blue Touch Paper is lead once

again through by the embarrassingly talented Towns through new

scores that sees the group expanding the landscape further than

their first release and more than any other.

Delivering textured emotion through the medium of sound as

moments of contrast pique your attentions and drive your desire

for more, and producing an

animated film to accom-

pany the track ‘Fair is Foul’

- animator Michael Tang

- ; BWD Magazine tracked

leader and composer and

creator extraordinaire Colin

Towns down to discuss Blue

Touch Paper and the album

Drawing Breath, his works

within the industry as both a

musician and composer, and

whether Hendrix licks beats

Beethoven.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

BWD: Hello, and thank you for this interview; if you would like to introduce

yourself..?

My name is Colin Towns of Blue Touch Paper and I’m a composer for film,

television and theatre. I also compose and arrange for several European big

bands such as Hamburg’s NDR Bigband and Frankfurt’s HR Bigband and have

written for artists such as Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham, Norma Winstone, Nils

Landgren, etc.

ABLUE TOUCH PAPER


My philosophy is simple - I follow my heart. I have two bands, The Colin Towns

Mask Orchestra presenting some of the greatest and most important new and

established musicians today and Blue Touch Paper a six piece electric band that

explores everything so long as it grabs your ear and takes you on a journey!

Blue Touch Paper is Mark Lockheart (saxophones), Benny Greb (drums), Chris

Montague (guitars), Edward Maclean (bass), Stephan Maass (percussion/elec-

tronics) and myself Colin Towns (keyboards/sound design/composer).

BWD: Your first album Stand Well Back birthed almost an entirely new

genre in itself, receiving critical acclaim and really pushing the boundaries

of music.

The first Blue Touch Paper album was the result of my belief that Weather Report

was unfinished business and the writing approach by Joe Zawinul (compositions

not just a head and off we go!) was my starting point. Yes some influences show

their heads but my musical journey has been more extreme and I don’t carry

rules in my head so the music came out in all directions. I do not ‘fuse’ music

as this does nothing for me. I look upon today’s technology with joy, spreading

out all the possible sounds and colors, much like an artist would on a palette

and make new pictures. I composed and demoed about 30 pieces and finally

worked on 15, cutting it down to 13 for the album. The guys in the band were

chosen very carefully as I always look for ideas and vision (not copying). Whether

it pushes boundaries or not is not for me to say, but composition fascinates me

and we owe it to the musicians who have made a difference to explore - not

follow. All the guys see, play and explore this music in their own individual way.

BWD: After such a reception from your first album how did you approach the

recording of Drawing Breath?

The second album, Drawing Breath, was born out of 60 demos I created. Some

tracks we recorded together and others in small groups. For instance – Benny

(drums) Stephan (percussion) and Edward (bass) were recorded together. The

electric percussion we recorded with Stephan over 3 days. He has a great

understanding of ‘sound’ and came to the studio bursting with many great ideas

which we explored together. Chris’ guitars took about 4 days and I am always

excited and blown away by his incredible playing and ideas. Mark’s saxophone

was again overdubs and took about 4 days. Always respectful of the musicians

‘sound’, it’s great that he’s happy with exploring effects that my engineer Toby

Wood and I would experiment with. I’m also a lover of no effects and silence

when the moment is right.

Benny’s drums have a great ‘sound’ and it’s crucial to get this recorded right. He

will also experiment with his sound, colors, time etc. He is a master drummer of

course. Everything that happens during the mix is Ok’d by the guys.

Edward is our rock and never misses a beat, regardless of what chaos is happen-

ing around him. He has a natural melodic feel to his solos, which worked great

on ‘Juggling with Strangers’. The keyboards/samples/sounds are played in on the

original demos. As the track comes into shape I usually take a long hard look at

what I’ve done and alter/edit my sounds in order to make the composition work

and keep the surprises coming. I’m very rarely satisfied with my solos and usually

settle for spirit over technique.

On the album you will be taken on a journey from wild dance (Isadora) to wilder

tango (Suddenly a Tango), fun (The Joke) does music still make you smile? Well

it should, sound design and Shakespeare (Fair is Foul), middle east/electronic/

wild powerful heavy riffs (Drawing Breath), abstract and uplifting happy finale

(48 Prefabs and Forks No. 60) and many other roads - but never the same road

twice. The playing and solos also never repeat themselves and are played within

the world of the composition, not on a self-indulgent trip. Some reviewers have

said that there may be “too many ideas on one album” - is this possible? What

does this say about other albums?

BWD: Is the life of a musician enough to tempt you away from your life as

a composer..?

I started my working life as a shipping clerk working in bands every night and

weekends. I started composing when I was fourteen and always knew that this

was my goal. I played as a keyboard player in all kinds of situations but my com-

posing is where I feel I have ‘something to bring to the table’. It took 10 years to

get out of the shipping office and start to realize my dream of becoming a film

composer. I’m continually fascinated by composition and never tire of the long

days spent looking for ideas. I’ve been lucky. I wish I had the time to develop

my piano/keyboard playing but have to accept that falling asleep in front of the

computer or piano at two in the morning (or earlier) is a sign that the piano

development will come later.

My film credits include: Maybe Baby (starring Hugh Laurie), Vampire’s Kiss (star-

ring Nicolas Cage), Space Truckers (starring Dennis Hopper) and The Puppet

Masters (starring Donald Sutherland), My Angel (starring Vanessa Paradis) and

Crimson Rivers 2 (starring Jean Reno). I’m not a great fan of television drama

today although there’s still some great drama appearing in the States, UK and

Scandinavian that keeps the flame alight. I’ve been lucky to work on many

wonderful German television films over the past few years and I’m very happy to

work with certain adventurous directors in Germany that allow me to continue to

develop my scoring ideas. I always give 100% to every project I work on and I try

to balance the TV/film/theatre work alongside the concerts/gigs. Because of my

scoring work, it’s difficult to take Blue Touch Paper out on the road as much as

the critics and fans would like. So I feel that when we do play live, the concert is

always extremely special and something that we as a band will take home with

us – it’s not just another gig.

BWD: And finally; what does Blue Touch Paper have in store for us next?

Blue Touch Paper will slowly record their third album. It will need a strong and

clear vision. It will not be rushed so will arrive when it has something new to

say. Before that, there will be the film from our recent gig at Band On The Wall

in Manchester which will appear online. I’m currently up to my neck but I will

edit it soon - sorry to the fans but it is on its way. Tracks that we decided not to

include on the recent album will also become available. Check out the guys in

the band who all have great gigs/projects/albums coming out. Later this year I

will record a new Mask album which I’ve been working on for three years!


Website: www.bluetouchpaper.com

Twitter: @BlueTouchPaper1

Facebook: BlueTouchPaper1

Photo Credits: Blue Touch Paper - All Rights Reserved


THE SOAP GIRLS

he exotic heat-haze strewn landscape of gorgeous South

Africa leaves an indelible impression of nirvana on

Earth, a backdrop to a thousand beginnings and the

very birthplace of life itself.

A dreamscape almost, once bathed within its atmosphere of nothing

being impossible and problems as something rarely encountered,

there is a peerless sense of positivity throughout the continent;

casting visions of promises fulfilled, ambitions met, and challenges

conquered.

Mixing a visionary heritage with the very French air of confidence and

focus The Soap Girls are forerunners in bringing the infectious heart-

beat of both music and the world to your play-list in a harmonious

intensity and incomparable passion defined as the TSG Movement.

Running full throttle towards their destiny Mille and Mie - aka The Soap

Girls - are a brace of beauty and brains, bedecked in blonde, delivering a

primal and raw, powerfully emotional sound that is as genre-changing

as it is life-changing; affording the depth of pop to the energies of

rock The Soap Girls have birthed a universal language of musical treats

and entreaties.

Having forged a unique bond that sees both stars sharing and express-

ing the same sentiments and insights on a very-near psychic level The

Soap Girls have become more than just another act to acknowledge or

sound to sample some of; a dedicated hard-core fan base has seen the

girls’ ground-breaking music travel around the globe, their audience

now to be found upon every square inch of the atlas.

Sharpening the edge with an over-lull of punk draws attention to

the time spent crafting their compositions, the genres sensibilities of

music without emotion is a hollow joke to the soul endearing the listen-

ers ears to The Soap Girls’ honest delivery of complicated themes and

tones, written in a universal tongue and speaking to the happy gland

in coquettish whispered screams.

With our reputation for being number one in music BWD Magazine pol-

ished the brass plaque that proudly speaks of ‘...not just being ahead of

the curve but being the curve others follow!’ and set off and out into the

wide blue yonder, in search of The Soap Girls and the answer to such

questions as how they create the style witnessed across over thirty five

compositions, what keeps them so high in their fans and audiences

estimations, and other weighty musings.

BWD: To The Soap Girls we are very pleased to say; would you care to introduce

yourselves..?

Hello! I am Mille pleased to meet you. I’m the louder, bossy, bass playing, spontane-

ous Soap Girl!! I’m often described as the devil and my sister Mie as the angel haha-

hahaha! By the way: I’m the one who has to work hardest to get my hair straight!!

T

Website: www.TheSoapGirls.com

Twitter: @The_SoapGirls

Facebook: TheSoapGirls

Photo Credits: The Soap Girls - All Rights Reserved

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Hallo all! I’m Mie the prettier one hahahahaha (Just kidding)! I’m humorous,

moody, the reserved one and definitely the thinker, perfectionist and (flutter-

ing eyelids) the angelic one”!

BWD: All corners of the world have been wanting an answer so come on;

what can you reveal about your new album..?

Our new album is an eclectic fusion of many genres with a definite raw, street,

bold sound without corporate influence!! It’s an album reflective of who we

are as writers/performers and inspired by our journey in the industry!! We

wanted an album that sounds exactly as we do and with as little polish as

possible where the performance and energy emanates so that when people

come to a show they will get what they have fallen in love with!!

The album gives a peek into our lives as we write about things that happen

around us. There are some real angry songs that were a great release for us.

Some of the songs we wrote were actually as a result of a fight we had with

each other!! We usually write when we feel a strong sense of emotion, whether

it’s anger, frustration or disappointment. We also have a few we’ve written

about other people we know - like our jerk hole neighbor - and even one about

a “know it all” in the music scene here in SA!! We are extremely grateful to

have been brought up listening to the music our mom exposed us to; music

Cover Story

THE SOAP GIRLS

The


from the 60’s all the way to the mid 90’s, it definitely has had an impact on our

musical tastes and direction!! The beauty of combining our diverse styles is that

we create our own sound!! It wasn’t something we consciously started doing… it

just sort of evolved into the way we write, and although we don’t write with the

thought in our mind of, will people like/relate to this?? We know from the crowd’s

reaction at our shows that people do indeed connect to the songs, they’re a bit

surprised at first but then they really get into it!!

BWD: There doesn’t seem to have been such a unique fusing of sounds and

styles in recent years, so you could say ‘The Soap Girls’ sit alone at the top of

the mountain..?

We believe it’s impossible not to be unique as long as you stay true to yourself

and your music. For us that means totally blocking off from anything and every-

thing that is out there music wise whilst we write. We are always careful of what

we allow ourselves to be exposed to!! We weren’t at all sure how people would

react to our music at first, but as we perform the music we can immediately see

and feel people reacting to it. We are often completely blown away by how much

people feel for our music, there is no better feeling than being as 1 with your au-

dience; it’s like being on a never ending high!! We write songs as soon as we feel

something, which is obviously very often. Life is like a game of snakes and ladders

because we love capturing our emotions through music!! We often go 3 days in

a row doing almost nothing else but writing until we’ve said what we needed

to say!! Sometimes when we felt like writing a song but weren’t getting it (Mie)

would try to provoke me into fighting with her, as we usually write our best songs

when we’re fighting!! (Girl Next Door, Hold on Tight) Most of the time though we’ll

be playing around and then from a riff we end up with a new song. It’s always

different and whatever we read also has an impact on our songs whether it’s a

Gothic Vampire novel or a horror story!! One of our songs Rolling Stones for ex-

ample we wrote after smoking our first “green” experience so it’s a rather mellow

take on life and what it takes to get where you’re going!! LOL

We have a different sound because we don’t look around us trying to see and

hear what everyone else is doing, we shut ourselves off, do our own thing and we

also have a very warped sense of humor so we’re pretty sure that affects how we

view life and people!!

We never consciously sit down and work out how we are going to write or go with

a sound in mind, we just write it’s as simple as that. We don’t write with radio/nor

people in mind and we cannot say we are fitting into any specific genre and

who or what we sound like which makes it rather difficult to explain our sound!!

Sometimes Mie will be playing around on the acoustic/electric and she gets mad

if she feels I’m hijacking a mellow song and I come in with hard aggression so

we will then marry the two (example: Voodoo Child. There is a song called Real

which I love and she hated for example) we fought over that song for weeks!!

Some music execs will say “jeez but those tempo changes need to make more

sense and we will laugh and say NO take it or leave it. Our music isn’t written

from “formula’s that are expected!!” What you see, what you hear, is what you get.

BWD: Do you feel the richness of your heritage helped draw inspiration and

strength during the beginning of The Soap Girls?

Definitely. As kids from ages 9 and 10 we were street performing to sell our

handmade soap for different charities; we did that 365 days a year for 8 years.

From that we learned total dedication. We always feel that if you’re going to do

something then put your heart and soul into it. It also prepared us for life and

how to deal with rejection and disappointment, and also that there are some

really amazing people in the world that’ll stand up for what you believe in and

they’ll be with you all the way!!

We first got into a recording studio when we were 12 and 13. A man we met

while street performing invited us to record a song. Looking back on that time we

cannot help but roll on the floor and laugh untill it feels like we’re going to die.

Our first trip to the studio was like some messed up modern day version of the

Addams family. The producer and his family were all a bit cooked, but we gained

some experience with a few mental scars and moved on to the next step finding a

better producer with a decent studio so eventually a few years later (aged 15/16

yrs. old) we were signed to a major label. We spent 4 years in the dance pop/

electro genre which the label pushed for and we had some hit songs that charted

however we couldn’t marry ourselves to neither the music nor our performances

to the music and so a battle eventually ended in us parting amicably with the

label (our favorite parting was the MD of the Universal Music SA telling us to

go home and burn our wardrobe and we were to wear/perform exactly how he

dictated…..enough said!!) We were outta there!!

(Continued......Page 25)


So you’ve practiced and prepared, pushed it to the limit and sweated pure

effort in your rehearsals to the point of being able to identify every last

beep, boop, or bass solo from your musical catalog and having successfully

booked a gig or six to demonstrate your beepy-boopy-bass brilliance to your

adoring fans now comes the time to think about which songs you will afford

the pleasure to your audience - and, more importantly, in what order they

will be revealed.

With a view to delivering the best set on the night each and every night,

being the best performer on the list each and every time, this month we are

focusing our attentions on delivering a killer set.

No matter how many tracks make up your set-list

the first should be thought of as your introduction

to the audience, and thus needs to be an attention

grabbing slab of sound; impact and impressions

are required here, with a view to leaving both all

over the attentions of your audience.

Though rarely the very bests of best from your musical goldmine it

should nevertheless be a strong opening number that sets out your stall

as to what your music is ‘all about’ without question over genre, theme,

or overall tone. It should give a broad sense of what style/genre you are

purporting to represent, along with the sound that makes you unique to

all the other acts out there of a similar bent.

5 TIPS FOR CREATING A ‘WICKED’ SET-LIST

BUILD UP THE ENERGY

Think of it as a sample or taster for aural rumination, a track that

comes in just under the length of the others on the list to give

a quick dose of brilliance without over-dosing on indulgence. If

your style will allow go for a quick-paced, motivating number that

drives the listener along; you’re looking to hook as many ears as

possible as quickly as possible so keep long winded solo’s and

over-complicated middle eight breakdowns for later on in the list.

Once hooked it’s now time to reel those ears and attentions in,

so...

Now you’ve got the eyes and ears of the

crowd pointing in your direction it’s time

to build - momentum, that is!

Pick a track that follows the momentum

and flow of your opening number and

generates more; if you think of it like gears in a stick shift auto-

mobile we want to be going from First to Second without loss of

revs. Choose something that carries the feel and atmosphere the

first track created and adds a broader stroke of sound and depth.

If your first track got their attention the second should feed

their interest and add a little garnish to the offerings; perhaps

something that goes deeper in composition but not too deep

as to leave the audience wondering if someone else has started

playing.

START BIG

1. 2.


Like the opening number it should be punchy and powerful, reeling

in those early ears and casting for those still standing on the cusp

of en-catchment.

You’re looking to underline the image/sound the first song set out

to establish, re-affirming the belief in your audience that what they

heard is what they’re hearing and settling them into the comfort-

able embrace of your sound.

Though tempting, keep those avant garde and grandiose numbers

for a little further into the set. Speaking of which...

Not really, of course - unless you’re playing at

a bizarre FolkFest For Tea Appreciators and it’s

your turn to ‘be mother’. This is the point in your

set where you can slow down apace, relax into

the groove of your performance, and bring out

the more laid back, less than mainstream sounds

of your set.

A lone song or sonnet are the traditional fillings in the set-sandwich; alter-

natively, if you have more than one genre within your mighty musical grasp,

here would be the opportune time to launch your kaleidoscope of sound

upon the captivated crowd.

The benefits of keeping the tracks less representative of your style/more

‘out there’ in scope are many, the least of which being able to showcase

the entire range of your sound with feedback from ears already listening to

what you are trying to communicate.

It doesn’t have to be limited to just the one number; if your time on stage

allows you can incorporate as many or few as you wish. A slow paced intro-

spective song followed by a decrying of your love for a lady of uncertain

past, a moody introspective missive that segues into a call for a joining of

arms and swaying together will keep the mood level whilst allowing you

to move into other areas of aural inspection.

Inevitably the silence of a collective heart sighing in unison will greet the

fading of the last few bars of song, gifting you the perfect opportunity to...

Now we’ve done with the laconic and/or indul-

gent artistic expression it’s time to raise the

temperature again; and what better than swift a

return to form with a bombastic dropping of the

hammer and hailing the gods of all things loud

and celebratory!

Bring out the brilliance and back the banging beats, the chanting choruses

and riffs that get under the skin like a parasite requiring a healthy dose of

aural medication via the medium of your music.

Much like the opening number you should be mindful of ensnaring the

audience anew after the brief respite, generating that rush of adrenalin that

first signaled your appearance on stage and their radars.

Don’t go too full-on, however; after a lull the sudden shift in gears may be

a jarring juxtaposition for a crowd lost in the contemplation and lamenta-

tion of their very soul.

As the last song of your set it will be the one

people will be most likely to remember, so here

is where you get to pull out your biggest of big

guns.

Barring encore or similar the last song on your set should be the one that

gets the sweat flying and floors heaving with bodies.

If there’s a chanty bit that will get people interacting in a call-and-repeat

fashion then so much the better; you’re looking to be leaving with your

sound ringing in their ears and bouncing around in the forefront of their

mind, your name tripping off their tongues as they stand queuing up for a

double booked taxi or under cooked pizza.

Go big, go bold, but above all go bravely into that last song with all the

energy and enthusiasm of a thousand armies converging in the middle

of battle. You are the ring master in your own personal Cirque de Sound,

so crack that whip and send them home happy, high on adrenalin and in

absolutely no doubt which artist they’re going to be talking about tomor-

row when the sun has washed across the crust of alcohol sweat peppering

their brow and they’re wondering what happened to their left shoe and why

they have a half-eaten pizza in their pocket.

Addendum...

Above all, the most crucial point to remember is nothing is ‘set’ in stone;

build a virtual set list on your PC and listen to the songs in the order you

feel works. Move them about and re-listen to how it all hangs together; it

may be a bit of a chore or even seem superfluous - after all, you know what

your music sounds like; you created it. But therein lies the rub; once a gen-

eral running order has been established very few bands or musicians look

to changing up the order of their performance until a new song is written

and needs to be fitted into the current playlist. It doesn’t make you wrong

or somehow less of a musician if you choose not to; it’s just a lot easier to

hammer out these little details in the privacy of the rehearsal studio than

before a paying audience whose starting to lose interest, thin out, and

seem to be giving the impression of a crowd of people discreetly trying to

organize a mass exodus through the window in the toilets.

GET THE BLOOD PUMPING

TIME TO PUT THE KETTLE ONLEAVE THEM WANTING MORE, MORE, MORE!

3.

4.

5.


o you know what makes the good bands great

and the legendary, immortal? It’s a difficult

question to broach when considering the subject

matter of what is music being one personal to

the tastes of the individual ear. What one con-

siders to be the very Bach of brutal metal others may balk at the

notion of proffering the word ‘music’ to when describing the dirge

that left them with a permanent ringing in their left ear.

So allow me to clear some confusion and let clarity rain down like

a refreshing tsunami to drench your ‘drums by introducing you to

the UK band Sons of Kal-el, a five strong group whose status as

legendary on their way to immortal looks set to be a small step

indeed. However, should we have expected any less from a band

comprised of members

who have toured the

stages of the world,

shared a spotlight

with guitar gods

like Steve Vai, and

earned the respect of

their contemporaries

through their critically

acclaimed previous

works?

By bringing their com-

bined talents together

as the formidable

uber-group Sons of

Kal-el, Chad Sunderland, Aaron Beeken, Lee Churchill, and Maciej

‘Magic’ Nawrocki reveal the band as musics’ very essence, an aural

embodiment of the spirit sent soaring into the air and onto your

playlist with their all new and unfeasibly awesome release Songs

From The Phantom Zone; officially released on May 17, 2014.

Deporting an extravagance of sound and understanding across a

meaty ten tracks Sons of Kal-el first step on the path to the top is

a mighty big one, for sure; so big, in fact, it was blocking out the

sun we usually hide from as it annoys its way through the win-

dows here at BWD Magazine. Checking the dates of the equinox

against the number of fish in the bay, divided by the number of

stalks that fell outside, the chalk circle we were standing in and,

certain Google was probably right about it not being time for a

solar eclipse just yet, we trotted off to ask Sons of Kal-el some

questions about them big boots of theirs, their latest release and

upcoming plans, and what it is about the British and their love for

tea...and chimps.

BWD: We kneel before the Sons of Kal-el and request you please; introduce yourselves..?Hi my name is Chad Sunderland and I’m the one wailing away over

the beautiful music. Alright, I’m Aaron - the one riffing my heart out

on guitar. Hi I’m Lee Churchill, I am the bass. Hi I’m Maciej (Magic) and I’m the man with the sticks.

BWD: From your individual works in bands such Red Cow Down and The More I See, how did the four of you bring your talents to form Sons of Kal-el..? Chad got married in 2011 and already knew Aaron and asked him

and Lee Churchill (former

The More I See) to be

part of his wedding band.

After three chords, his-

tory was made. Chad and

Aaron decided to take

everything from their past

musical loves and make

the idea into something

real. Looking at bands like

Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam,

Soundgarden and Ozzy

Osbourne, we then created

demos of early songs whilst

also drinking Aaron’s fine

selection of Oakham Ales.

When writing, Chad and Lee developed their thrash metal influ-

ences from the More I See’s ‘The Wolves are Hungry’ into more of a

‘hard rock’ style for Sons of Kal-el. Chad was also the main lyricist.

Aaron comes from a heavy rock and metal background with the

band Proto Inferno and has a Degree in Music from The Academy

of Contemporary Music. Aaron was invited to compose and arrange

the music and add his virtuosic guitar skills to the musical blender!

Magic helped us out on drums for a festival last year and after the

demise of Red Cow Down, he has recently joined the band full time.

BWD: With favorable comparisons to A7X and Audioslave how would the band define their quintessential sound to our readers..? Our sound on this album is very much influenced by bands of the

90’s alternative scene but with the guitar sound of the early 1980’s

(Rhandy Rhoads, Vai, Malmsteen era) and lyrically we come from a

very honest and personal point of view. The lyrics and music commu-

nicate social, political and emotional issues – things that a lot of true

D

SONS OF KAL-EL

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

SONS OF KAL-EL


rock fans can listen to and relate to. We are also very much fans of the

heavy riffs from bands such as Soundgarden, Metallica and the ‘own-

ers of the crown’ Black Sabbath! But quintessentially all our influences

have come together into one big mixing pot to create the sound of the

spawn of superman.

BWD: Appearances live throughout the UK seem set to take the band even further into the public’s consciousness..? We are going to do a UK tour in the late summer that will range from

the depths of Brighton to the peaks of John O’ Groats. This is going to

also coincide with a video release for our next single in the upcoming

months. For now, we will concentrate on hitting all the festivals we

have applied for – as seen on our website and a few shows that will

be organized in London.

BWD: From a world stage to a bar stage and everything in between, what’s been the most memorable appearance for the band (either in Sons of Kal-el or before)..? Chad and Lee – has to be appearing on top of a bar, in a bar at the

Reeperbahn in Hamburg for the More I See band where the Beatles

had allegedly performed before and also singing with Bones from

Stuck Mojo at a festival in Italy.

Aaron – has to be with Sons of Kal-el, a small town in Lincolnshire

called Bourne at The Corn Exchange. The whole crowd that night were

incredible, singing along to every song from our album! Also playing

with Steve Vai in Guildford and Portsmouth Guildhall were pretty

memorable experiences.

BWD: And finally! We all know Britain’s particular fancy of imbibing a full bodied leaf from the tree known as Tea is one of cultural as well as historical significance, but tell me; why do you have chimps pretending to be removal men moving pianos about in your tea adverts on television? Surely elephants would be better as not only could they lift more but could probably fit more in their trunk as well..?Simple. An elephant doesn’t look as good in a flat cap whilst drinking

PG tips.

Contact Information

Website: www.sonsofkal-el.com

Twitter: @Sons_of_Kal_el

Facebook: SonsofKalEl

Photo Credits: Sons of Kal-el - All Rights Reserved


ooking out across the expanse of the charts from

our easy chair upon the porch at BWD Ranch it’s

with a tear-filled eye we find our gaze resting on an

Earth scorched with the fires of an industry intent

on trying to grow sustainable crops from cheap

corporate fertilizer.

Having ravaged the land like a plague of locust’s clutching the

handles of some mighty big forks the churning wheels of a real-

ity-show tractor gouges divots of determination from what’s left,

destroying the possibilities of anything new or substantial growing

in its place.

As more and more tearful

finalists turn the process of

song craft and appreciation

for the art into a ‘who-has-

the-worse-sob-story’ contest,

erupting like weeds across

store shelves and download

charts and fed on hype and

invasive advertising that

slowly suffocates the com-

petition and makes the dry,

stilted air of re-hash and

me-too music a seemingly

permanent fixture, deliverance has been found in a most unlikely

of Western lands.

The land of London, to be precise, in the jolly ‘-Isles’ of ‘British-’

itself; from wherein a quaint suburb town steps forth The Peckham

Cowboys, six strong jawed song-slingers armed with an aural abso-

lution of a track called The Debt Collector for our grateful mercies.

Delivering a nourishing dose of blues based rock tempered with

the talent of a band whose members have previously worked with

such artists as Guns N’ Roses, Primal Scream and Hanoi Rocks the

cross pollenating of such powerfully adept performers passions has

taken the band from its inception in 2010 to the worlds attentions in

2014 - even prompting most notable of guitarists in the field Slash to

commend vocalist Mark Eden as being ‘...one of the world’s best rock

and roll singers.’

After a storm of successful single releases the recent unveiling of

the bands second album 10 Tales From The Gin Palace means The

Peckham Cowboys have yet again shown the world that whilst the

Devil has the reputation for owning the best riffs, ol’ Red clearly

needs to beef up the

security guarding

them from the dex-

trous hands of the

dedicated artist.

Hearing talk of a tour

schedule in 2014

that will see them

winding things up in

August with a head-

lining slot in the

world famous and

widely revered 100

Club in London BWD

Magazine fortified ourselves with three shots of finest sippin’ whis-

key, tipped our Stetson in thanks to the serving wench, and mozied

our way along to The Peckham Cowboys homestead to discuss the

bands deeply rooted musical history, the future for the growth

of new talent in the musical field, and find out more about their

eagerly anticipated latest single and Cargo Records release ‘The

Debt Collector’.. .and possibly some things about steak.

L

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

THE PECKHAM COWBOYSTHE PECKHAM COWBOYS


BWD: To you we say ‘howdy’ along with ‘please; introduce the band..?

Well, there’s myself (Dale Hodgkinson – guitar), Marc Eden – vocals, Timo Kaltio

– guitar, Ryan McCormick – drums, Duncan Mackay – keys and trumpet and last

but certainly not least Nigel Mogg – bass.

BWD: From working with some of rocks biggest names individually to

releasing your own compositions as a collective, a band; how did it all come

about..?

The band began as an impromptu jam at Guy Bailey’s house which we happened

to record. Over the next few months when me, Marc and Guy would collide we’d

jam and record for the heck of it – an excuse really to get loaded, have a laugh

and make some music together – no-one had any thought of forming a band at

that time. The recordings continued and Marc nick-named the recording venture

“The Peckham Cowboys” because it all happened in Peckham just off The Old

Kent Road, and later on the members of the first incarnation of the live band

were all living in that area. This recording venture resulted in the debut album

“Flog It!” which garnered critical praise and baffled a lot of people with its mind

blowing recording levels and resulting distortion.... to the point where the record

company asked: “Is it meant to sound like that?” The line-up we have now has

simply evolved... Guy left to do other things (he’s been writing material for Chris

Kimsey’s artists and playing guitar for Tyla amongst other stuff ) and Marc and

myself wanted to carry on so we got in touch with musicians that we knew and

whom we thought would be up for this travesty – and they were, so here we are

at! All the lads have “done a bit of previous” – the collective CV includes work

with Guns n Roses, Hanoi Rocks, Primal Scream, The Quireboys, Slash and Duff,

Mott The Hoople and about 86 billion others.... but that is generally something

that the press focuses on (and I understand why – it’s a hook to hang yer hat

on, as it were) but the fans aren’t so bothered by all that and it means very little

to us as a band – we’re all about what we’re doing together and now. The new

album “10 Tales From The Gin Palace” came out on Valentine’s Day of this year

and has been lauded as “a masterpiece”, a “modern rock n roll classic”, “the best

album by any UK band in decades” and has been compared to The Stones’ best

work amongst other such lovely stuff. It’s out on Livewire/Cargo Records (like the

debut) and is available HMV, Amazon, iTunes, Spotify etc etc etc.

BWD: The latest single release The Debt Collector is like a breath of fresh

air in the tired old lungs of recent industry releases...?

Well I’m very proud of the whole “Gin Palace” – we all are – it’s been described

by a few reviewers as “all killer, no filler” and I’d have to agree with them. “The

Debt Collector” is a particular high point though (and predominantly down to

the genius of Marc Eden); very catchy whilst simultaneously being somewhat

off-the-wall, and with a witty lyric (as all his lyrics are) that I think most normal

people can relate to (politicians and bankers etc aside) – everyone is in debt and

has got these people knocking at your door. You haven’t paid your exorbitant

phone bill/rent/energy bill – so, oh look here comes some horrible wanker who’s

going to take food out of your kids’ mouths because you’ve owed some other

bunch of wankers 4 pence for the last 2 weeks. Shocking business and like the

rest of our material, there isn’t anyone currently in music that is addressing such

everyday stuff – no one else sounds like The Cowboys so I think that is why, as

you’ve said, the music is a breath of fresh air.

The critical acclaim that the band has got is obviously very nice and very encour-

aging. We’ve always known what we were doing was good simply because it was

different to what the herd is currently up to, but of course it is flattering to get

the level and the amount of positive reaction to it all that we have..... and it is

somewhat bemusing at times because you’re in the middle of it all and you don’t

really realize that it’s “happening” as much as it actually is.

BWD: Though a band still early into its career how does it feel to receive

accolades from established and respected musicians as well as the fans, and

how does it affect the band..?

None of this was done by design.... the band was formed by accident and we’ve

just pushed on in that same vein.... as soon as we saw that people liked what we

were doing we knew it would be foolish and selfish to stop, so we’ve ploughed

on despite the hard road it has been to crawl along on your knees with no

money. It has cost Marc and myself the larger part of our souls and more money,

time, energy, effort, blood, sweat and tears than we can ever truly justify to our

loved ones who’ve had to deal with the fall-out. But there you go..... Accolades

from established musicians are nice but the band is all seasoned veterans so

that is only really acknowledgement from peers rather than a grand blessing

from “the grown-ups”.... far more important is the wonderful reaction from the

ever-growing fan base.

I think the “inclusive” attitude of the band is what appeals to the fans – they

come along and laugh and enjoy themselves with us and know they’re going to

be entertained by a band that gives it their all but at the same time has left

rockstar-type pretensions at the door.... too many bands of recent years have

been so far up their own arses and so self-important and serious (despite uni-

versally wearing crappy clothes!) that it is unbelievable..... I mean this is rock n

roll for cripes sake – not cancer research (as in the science and the shop...) get

some perspective here, y’know?

BWD: From the looks of 2014 it seems to have The Peckham Cowboys writ-

ten large and deep across it..?

Yes, this coming year and I imagine even more so next year will be The Year(s)

of The Cowboy.... it’s all very encouraging to be getting somewhere after the

Herculaneum amount of graft that we’ve put in – just desserts and all that.

The single is out and there should be a promo video for it very soon. We’ve just

completed a tour and we’ll be doing a string of one-off dates over the summer

and then we’ll tour the UK again at the back end of August, and hopefully get

out to Europe – fans on the mainland are screaming at us to get over there,

which we’d love to do – and the States as well – but all that takes planning and

money which should be in place after the summer. Next year – the big festivals,

a new album and...... Who knows what else? As long as we can earn enough to

put fuel in the tour bus, buy guitar strings, booze n food (and enough to stave off

The Debt Collector when he comes knocking) we’ll be at a venue near you soon!

Contact Information

Twitter: @_PeckhamCowboys

Facebook: Thepeckhamcowboys

Photo Credits: Beki Cowey - All Rights Reserved


ock was officially declared dead the moment

Sharon Osbourne put her lot in with the Cowel-

cash-cow and became responsible for the homog-

enized dilution and decimation of all things one

could reasonably bang one’s hat-rack with devil

horns thrown high to.

Since then anything entering the charts has come across as cynical

high-street repro-rock, each band a check-list of clichéd cookie-

cutter clones referring to their How To instruction book to ensure

man-scara is correctly applied and the couldn’t-care-less slouch of

dis-interest is affected in the proper manner.

Now more commercial than an advert for Macey’s sponsored by

Coke, it is to the internet those who seek a fat-free slice of fried

gold spinning on the digital decks of their iPods, with a gladdening

of the heart and hopefulness of the soul we find the exponents of

rock’s soon-to-be greats in the substantial palatial offering of some

mighty meaty music by rockers and rulers of the riff The Void.

Having kicked the teeth out the mouth of moribund music with

solo offerings Play. Make. Believe and Acoustic/This Record Is Not

Blu-Ray ‘Void founder and vision maker Jon Vornbrock turned what

had been mere side-project musings into high-gear greatness, the

album Robot Space Love bringing Dean Wilson, Jonny Little and Rob

Cooper into the world of wonder; Vornbrock revealed and reveling

the freedom within. Filling each of the eleven tracks on offer with

enough hooks for a dozen amateur re-enactments of Peter Pan

‘Robot Space Love’ immediately draws you in with a curious sensa-

tion of insinuation-through-song, the drawing out of a single note

feeding back building to a crescendo that puts you firmly on the

edge of a desirable frustration.

Measured and drawn there’s a sense of The Void preparing you for

even greater things on album opener Wave Machine, a considered

pacing of rhythm and occasional explosions of vocals the perfect

toe-dipper song; it shows everything the band are about to drown

your senses with without overplaying their status as musicians nor

attempting to fit every good riff into the first number on the album.

Temptation assured and desire acquired the album then hits you

with Planets Will Fall, an exceptional slice of the old fried gold; for

those who favor the flavor of Aerosmith anthemic awesome sans

high-street cheese Planets Will Fall grabs the number one spot on

my personal playlist and refuses to let go.

Double-stops, incidental riffage, and cymbals the drummer isn’t

afraid to hit when the occasion demands, it’s songs such as this the

band will still be playing when embarking on their 20 year anniver-

sary world tour.

Everyone brings the emotion of a charging army and unjustly

spurned lover to deliver a soundtrack for the next revolution. The

drums rolling a beat seemingly designed to coincide with the rush-

ing feet of a mass body aimed at the bulls-eye of injustice, the

vocals perfectly timed to empower the force of the ruler’s fall at the

hands of his estranged subjects with each imaginary blow landing

square and true.

Robot Song From Robot Son calls for calm in the proceedings, a

laconic delivery hinting at brooks babbling on the edge of freshly

cut fields, reflection on the mind and consideration of the heart

soothing the troubles of the soul. Such troubles that soon become

apparent, the mood darkening and becoming a passionately electric

release, turning the babble into a swell and the fields into scarred

battle-grounds, the listener now a witness to all that has fallen and

been turned to waste.

Summer and Knife To The Heart are pure crowd moving manna, the

surge of the guitar building the mosh pit and screaming vocals

delivered with a commanders certainly almost guaranteed to get

the elbows and knees flying ‘midst the devil horns and hair.

R


What begins as an apparent ode of solace to the songs namesake Lucy is to Robot Space Love what Don’t Cry was to UYI; a smorgasbord of

deeply emotional extravagance, nothing held back nor apologized as the band deliver what is simply captivating genius. Cries and chords

ring out and proud, a mushroom-cloud enveloping the audience and smothering the landscape with a saturation of sound. Self-indulgent?

Maybe; but I would wager you would be hard pressed to find a reason why that is such a bad thing for The Void to be accused of once

hearing the track for yourself.

Love and Distortion and Free are more melancholic musings, the former an acoustic driven dalliance decorated with electric punctuation, and

the latter a moodier tempering with a drawn out beat, a soupcon of Smashing Pumpkins, and a chance to hear the depth of range vocalist

Jon holds under his chordal control.

My Days Are Numbered has a more indie-rock feel, verging on grunge in places with punctuated vocals, raw guitars and cymbals breaking the

background down into a shoe-gazing gravitas, hints of Jimmy Page lurking around the edges of the guitar and controlling the whole nicely.

Ending on Love Trips sends us off with a encouraging farewell and an open invitation to return, a very Soul Asylum inferring sound that closes

the album with just the right level of charged emotion to leave us feeling satisfied and fulfilled yet replete enough to consider finding

room for another helping.

With the lyrics ‘I need you’ reminding us of the open-arms that await us upon our return Robot Space Love draws to a close, your ears already

missing the music and your thumb twitching toward the repeat button.

It’s sometimes hard to see what’s missing until someone takes the time to point it out, and for the rock genre we should be thankful of The

Void and Robot Space Love for being that much needed reminder.

5 Stars out of 5


Website: myspace.com/musicisvoid

Twitter: @Musicisvoid

Facebook: Musicisvoid

Photo Credits: The Void - All Rights Reserved


Encapsulating the altruism of an angel with the adroit air of

an artist some may see Karoline Rhett as a singing Svengali of

the Soul, a twenty first century Saint in song with an understated

altruism that, whilst widely acknowledged as being beyond the

efforts of any of her contemporaries, is never held by her or her

audience as reason for her shining example to be followed by all.

Rather than just delivering a captivating voice and enchanting

releases that deliver an intoxicating breadth of melody to cleanse

and redefine excellence upon your aural palette, her charitable

works and others-first approach has seen this Charleston, SC born

bringer of joy and melodic imperatives rise to be the cream of the

current crop of singer/songwriters.

Since aged three and the beginning of what is surely set to be a

fruitful and illustrious singing career Karoline has set fires under

the seats of the industry and worried wannabe’s alike, the pop star

‘Amy Grant’ being the first to discover the resonance of Rhett after

encouraging the young starlet on stage to perform and subse-

quently captivate her audience.

With a path to the top seemingly awaiting her tread Karoline took her

first step with an introduction to Joe Taylor, a veteran producer for

RCA Victor and Moonwatcher. The ensuring debut release Stirring

Rainbows featured a cavalcade of artists, writers and studio engi-

neers clamoring to perform with the starlet, her own self-penned

songs on the album shining as brightly as the voice behind them

.

Acclaim and audience adulation followed the release, and with it

an emboldening of the voice and character that lay behind such

stunning works.

That first tread having quickly raising her step to a pace Karoline

started work on her follow-up second full album release, Melody

finally giving a second helping of the sumptuous talent revealed

on her previous album of March 2013 and cementing the founda-

tions Stirring Rainbows had laid down.

Within a month of the release Karoline turned her sights to the

munificence her music could afford others, the Teen Nation Spring

Anti-Bully Tour seeing her volunteer her talent and passion for

charity towards others with the group as they took their anti-

bullying message finding of inner strength and speaking out into

schools and venues across the ‘States.

As the year was drawing to a close Reverbnation awarded Karoline

the honor of being one of their 5 Fresh Picks Featured Artists in

October 2013, with The Nashville Universe further adding to her

armor with a Female Artist of the Year nomination. Not for nothing

but her New Year Celebrations deserved to begin early, with the

single release Save Your Heart also receiving nominations as Song

of the Year.

With an invite to become a part of what is set to be the biggest

benefit concert series seen in history with the Festival of Hope

in 2015 which will see hundreds of global charities benefiting

directly BWD Magazine sat down with Karoline to discuss the

September 2015 event, her almost spiritual studio releases, and

which CSi do I see..?

BWD: To the star Karoline we say ‘hello, thank you’ and ‘please, introduce yourself..?Hi, I’m Karoline Rhett and I’m a singer/songwriter from Charleston,

South Carolina.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

KAROLINE RHETT


BWD: Before we discuss your unbelievable music career thus far, tell us

a little about the 2015 benefit festival; how did you get involved in such

an outstanding event..?

I was contacted by the organizers of The Festival of Hope. They asked if I

would be interested in being a part of their Battle of the Artist Segment, and

if I was, send them all of my information to be considered. They contacted

me soon after and let me know that they would love for me to be a part of

the festival.

The Festival of Hope 2015 is a benefit concert that will be a lot like “Live

Aid” but LARGER. There will be over a dozen live concerts taking place over

one weekend and as I mentioned it is a benefit concert so many people will

benefit from this festival. As a matter of fact, 100 charities will benefit direct-

ly. As they put it, “Tens of Millions will get a Hand up not a Hand out”. The

festival will take place beginning Saturday, September 5, 2015 and will end

Monday, September 7, 2015. I will be singing in Dallas, however concerts

will take place in Doha, London, Johannesburg, and Rio de Janeiro. You can

find out everything about the festival at www.thefestivalofhope.org.

For me, being a part of this festival is one of the most exciting events I have

ever been a part of. Not only because I will have the opportunity to enter-

tain so many people, possibly make a ton of new fans, but the thought of

being part of an event that its purpose is to help others, makes me so happy

and I feel so incredibly blessed to be a part of it.

BWD: It isn’t often we hear of an artist as generous in her charity to oth-

ers as she is in her voice and song..?

I feel that when something is important to you and also affects others, as

an artist, you have a great avenue in getting your message out and bring-

ing awareness to an issue. Like my song Big World, off my album “Stirring

Rainbows”. The song is about not letting others get to you, to keep your

head up and stay strong. When I was recording this album, I experienced

bullying. Luckily I have such a strong support system around me that the

problem was taken care of pretty fast. Anything I can do to bring awareness

to bullying and put an end to it, I am all for.

My album “Stirring Rainbows” is more on the pop side, and my second album

“Melody” is more pop/country. I discovered that I really love both genres and

to be able to incorporate both in my music is awesome. You will notice that

on my album “Melody”, it definitely has a pop/country feel to it. I have found

that my fans really like the mixture of pop and country, so I am ecstatic that

they love it as much as I do and, by the way, I have the world’s best fans.

They are such an important part of my life. They are with me every day and

show so much love and support. I am so lucky to have each and every one

of them.

I am so proud of “Melody”. One of the songs off this album is “Save Your

Heart”. It was nominated for Song of the Year with The Nashville Universe.

As a matter of fact, I was also nominated Female Artist of the Year. Two

nominations I am really proud of.

The songs that I have written or co-wrote were about my life experiences or

experiences of my friends. I think it’s much easier to write about things that

you know about or you have experienced. The older I get, the more situa-

tions I will encounter, so who knows what I will be writing about next.

You can purchase both of my albums directly from my website or on iTunes.

BWD: Have you ever thought/been able to speak to Amy Grant about that

first ever impromptu performance..?

No I haven’t, however I would love to. I would love for her to know the posi-

tive influence she made in my life. I know my mother tried a few years ago,

to see if it would be possible to have a meet and greet with her. Her team

really tried so hard to make it work, but we weren’t able to make it to where

she was performing. Maybe one day I will get the chance to see her again

and let her know what impact she made in my life. I think she would like to

know, that inviting me on that stage changed my life.

BWD: What can you tell us about the Unstoppable Charity Album; from

what we hear it’s looking to be quite something..?

Oh it is going to be amazing. The album, which is titled “Unstoppable” will

consist of young unsigned artists from all over the world and all proceeds

from the sales of the album will go directly to anti-bullying charities. As

everyone knows, bullying is a global problem and too many lives have been

affected permanently by it.

The album will be released on August 11, 2014. There will also be a huge

launch party that will be held in Nuneaton Warwickshire, UK on August 12,

2014. You will be able to purchase the album on all music download sites.

You can find out more about the album and the launch party by going to

www.bigpuretalent.com.

BWD: And finally! Which is better; CSI Las Vegas ...or...NCIS?

CSI Las Vegas or course!

Contact Information

Website: www.karolinemusic.com

Twitter: @KarolineMusic1

Facebook: Karolinemusic

Photo Credits: Karoline Rhett - All Rights Reserved


Standing on the plateau and seemingly filling the space reserved

for the very cream of their kind DJ Nino Graye stands alone atop

the mantle of being the one opponent fellow battlers don’t wish to

come up against.

Brilliance behind the mic and carrying the confidence of a composer

before the crowd Nino dominates the world of hip-hop with an iron-

fist; countless invites to appear on tracks by such legends of the

lyric as the Wu Tang Clan’s Cappadonna and Wisemen’s Bronze Naz-

areth sit comfortably within his own repertoires of rhyme, a catalog

of a collection that delivers powerfully emotional music as defining

of its concepts as it is descriptive in its missives.

A constantly shifting aural landscape undulating within our ears

Nino captures the very essence of life’s experiences, distills them

to their most insightful, before firing them back out to a world un-

prepared for the sheer musical magnitude of force heading in their

direction.

With a mental might as fierce as his verbal one Nino has turned

talent into attention, infamy to furor and inevitable fame with an

entirely self-made career; lending his razor-sharp mind to the

business-side of ‘the business’ his acumen behind the mic has been

matched by his fearlessness in promotion, his efforts revealing four

solo releases alongside numerous collaborative ones, his reward

the aforementioned invites falling through his mail-box as he ce-

ments his reputation as being one of the greatest of greats.

Though undoubtedly a legend-in-his-own-lifetime Nino Gaye dis-

plays a surprising humility when discussing his BWD Magazine fea-

ture win; ‘I am always happy to connect with new outlets and grab

that audience to connect with you know?’ Nino tells us when press-

ing him on his feature win. ‘It feels good that in the digital age we

still have outlets willing to give indie the time it deserves in the

light. Excuse my hiphop!’

As requests for his time sees him appearing on releases all over the

globe there is little doubt in our mind that Nino Graye is settling

nicely into his future position as one of the best Emcee’s the world

of hip-hop has ever produced.


Website: www.f4emusic.com

Twitter: @NinoGrayeF4E

Facebook: Nino.Graye

Instagram: Nino2TheGraye

Photo Credits: Justin Warner & EXI Media - All Rights Reserved

.

DJ NINO GRAYE


(Continued From Page 12-13)

We then had a stint with a group from USA. Flew to NY, recorded, and new

singles were released; however, this too wasn’t the right fit and especially the

frustration of waiting for more than a year to even hear the mixes and finding

out the crookedness in the deal (hence the songs; Hard Road and Are You Happy).

We came back and realized that nobody was getting us so we put our heads

down and started writing fresh & found a producer who was prepared to record

raw and as we are while not interfering with our arrangements nor our songwrit-

ing/sound (Charlie Hamilton You rock!!)

We must admit that when we walk out of the studio with some songs just freshly

written and recorded that we’re at times super nervous as to what the reaction

would be once uploaded!! We were overwhelmed and almost shocked when our

song Girl Next Door started getting over 100k in plays and even more when it

hit the million mark; we almost fell out our underwear. We were sweating…..

Unsure of how to respond to the rather overwhelming response and it became

a little more difficult thereafter as we uploaded new music. We are never sure

of what the reaction will be!! We must say we love the positive and the hateful

responses. In fact, we have to give a shout out here also to all our haters; we

dig them because they keep the fires burning and we love the opportunity to

give as much back. We are humbled and driven by people like BWD Magazine

who through opportunities like this cover feature enable us to move forward.

We would also like to mention Swam Music Player a Canadian band who have

fallen in love with us (and vice versa) and find every opportunity to let us know!!

We are extremely fortunate in the team we have behind us notably PoshSam

our personal manager who has always led the fight in order for us to keep on

regardless of circumstances and who has a passion for everything we stand for

and who goes to the ends of the earth to keep us on our road!! Steve Harris (for-

mer MD of UM SA is our business manager and having traveled the journey with

us is as passionate and completely gets what we will or won’t do, as well as, an

amazing publisher John Fishlock who we think enjoys our quirkiness and stands

passionately and proudly behind our unwillingness to compromise who we are.

There are many people/artists/indie stations/journalists who we meet along the

way and we send a massive amount of thanks to them for their unwavering sup-

port!! The most important lessons we have learned is what we will or won’t do!!

The most important too was making sure that whatever song we write that we

never have to wait for a mix in order to perform so nobody can ever control our

music… we are our music.

BWD: From the heart of South Africa to the eyes and ears of the world;

what’s next on your uncompromising agenda..?

The SoapGirls ‘team’ are currently in negotiations with Major Independents

and Major Labels, both in SA and the UK, as the rollercoaster continues to

gather momentum. Whilst the “machine” to take The Soap Girls worldwide is

a necessary requirement, even in today’s technological world, we are also cog-

nizant, from past experience of Labels in SA and the USA, that whoever is to

be our partner from this perspective, has to be 100% in tune with who and

what The Soap Girls phenomena is all about. Until then the ‘team’ rolls on-

wards and upwards, ensuring that the fans continue to enjoy the journey we

are so enjoying ourselves on, i.e. Soundcloud, Twitter and Facebook. Addi-

tional avenues of The Soap Girls are going to be rolled-out over the coming

weeks and months, which includes the imminently available YouTube Show,

giving true insights to whom The Soap Girls really are. We are in the pro-

cess of finalizing live shows in SA, to then be extended to include a few Eu-

ropean dates and possibly the USA. All in all it is a journey, not to be missed.

A HUGE thanks to BWD Magazine for giving us an opportunity and the voice.

For The Soap Girls, it is these opportunities that are humbling and exhilarating,

helping strengthen our resolve ‘to be who & what we are’. THANK YOU!!

BWD: And finally, which is the heaviest;

A ton of feathers...

...or...

A ton of bricks..?

Well they’re both a Ton aren’t they? ;);) But we imagine it would be a hell of a lot

more difficult transporting the feathers!!


Do you remember the moment you discovered that one band, that one artist

that made the world of music - something you had thus far been aware of but

not particularly interested in - and changed it forever?

Suddenly the dirge of distraction and detritus of warbling fools transformed

into an explosion of emotions; a landscape of musical metaphor solos and

similes, beats and break-neck bass battering down your ear-canal and kick-

ing you straight in the adrenalin.

The rush of excitement and unbridled passion for these new sensations

through sound that sent you off to the music-store, throwing money at the

till-monkey before sharing the haul of tuneful treasures with your contem-

poraries and friends, pouring over the playlists and gorging on even the

smallest tad-bit of tattle or info you could glean from the available media.

Nelson Beroin certainly remembers, and seems determined to keep that

initial injection of unearthing new musical manna in a constant state of

happening, spreading it to the pierced ears of the people around the world,

sharing the sensational feeling for all who wish to partake with as much - if

not more - enthusiasm than the ardent followers of said sounds. It is through

the self-same passionate drive of embracing the moment that PhilRadio-

Cast was built, a radio station dedicated to delivering the surge of unsigned

talent rising from the garages and gig-venues to the millions of ‘fans’ and

‘soon-to-be-fans-of-’ that collectively tune in to rock out.

With the awfully adequate mainstream content on homogenizing itself into

nothing it’s a stark contrast when compared to the riches afforded by the tal-

ent and diversity of bands the unsigned scene espouses. With a base to call

home and launch themselves from PhilRadioCast has become the de facto

station for acts looking to show their mettle and metal on a global stage.

Launched in August of 2012 PhilRadioCast began as a rather unassuming

webcast streaming songs onto the internet. It quickly caught the attentions

of an audience, and soon an increasing fan-base regularly tuning in helped

turn the station into a leviathan launching new bands into the ether and

across the world-wide-web’d.

With growth comes expansion, and now PhilRadioCast sees itself compet-

ing with streaming services fighting for their own slice of the audience ear-

’oles. However, like a perpetual motion machine the energy that fueled the

stations first steps have continued into a canter, their steadfast stance on

bringing a stage for all to step upon and deliver a line-or-two maintaining

the stations reputation as the first place to go when sourcing new sounds.

Encouraging the very scene that has helped cultivate their growth PhilRa-

dioCast enjoys a uniquely symbiotic-like partnership with the bands they

showcase, a huge audience on offer and awaiting the musician’s efforts to

turn them into fans of their singles and sound. Sharing and connecting by

way of social media encourages awareness through airtime, cross-promotion

perfection played past ‘11’. Though the likes of iTunes and Spotify have far

deeper pockets and much fatter wallets PhilRadioCast maintains itself as an

equal to those with financial excess, its position within the ears and minds of

true music discoverers solidified by its rock-hard reputation, its unequalled

emotion, and - of course - it’s unrivalled playlist. As they themselves advise;

“You have the right to remain silent but we don’t recommend it.”


Website: www.philradiocast.com

Twitter: @philradiocast

Facebook: philradiocast

Photo Credits: Philradiocast - All Rights Reserved

bwd magazine - july 2014

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