Welsh band, Peasant’s King to play The Cavern Stage at Soundcity 2015

Welsh band, Peasant’s King to play The Cavern Stage at Soundcity 2015

Welsh band, Peasant’s King are part of the BBC Wales Horizons scheme, a brilliant programme backed by BBC Radio Wales which supports emerging Welsh artists. As a result of this, they will be playing The Cavern Stage at Soundcity 2015 5.15PM on Sunday 24th May. 

Peasant’s King are fresh from supporting rising indie pop sensation Young Kato and are set to reveal brand new single Give A Little Love on 29th June, from forthcoming album David due in Autumn. 

Signing to Visible Noise in 2013 to release reissues of double EP bundle Kingdom and Four Walls Are Home, the soulful, dulcet vocals of Dan Evans combined with the soaring musical backbone of Rhodri Parry, Harry Lee, Lewys Mann and Josh Bowles instantly perked up the ears of BBC Introducing, resulting in airplay of lead track Antidotes from Fearne Cotton, Zane Lowe, Huw Stephens, Greg James and Scott Mills. Further backing from the programme landed PEASANT’S KING a sub-headlining slot on the BBC Introducing stage at 2013’s Reading Festival. They have since gone on to support Twin Atlantic, Catfish and the Bottlemen, and Gabrielle Aplin. VEVO also invited PEASANT’S KING to showcase their previous single Promised Land on their hotly anticipated talent platform DSCVR.

SoundCity Liverpool 2014 - Review

SoundCity Liverpool 2014 - Review
by Alison Goggin

Its May Bank holiday weekend in Liverpool, so it can only mean one thing.....Sound City has returned for another year, turning the city centre into a music lovers haven for three days. 

With a vast array of different venues, including the atmospheric Anglican Cathedral, the ever popular Kazimier and Duke St Garage to the smaller more intimates venues like Sound Food and Drink and Bold Street Coffee there was a place to suit everyone, and if you had your sea legs with you, you could even head down down to Mersey Ferry and listen to some fantastic bands while taking in the backdrop of the World famous Three Graces. 

I mentioned Sound Food and Drink being a small intimate venue so you can imagine our surprise when wandering past to hear a full on rock set from TieBreaker, a Norwegian based band who most definitely know how to rock. With a huge stage presence, powerful, raw rock vocals, a guitar player who was channelling Prince's stage prowess and a keyboard player whose fingers fly over the keys so fast & furiously to create a heady blur of rocked out funkiness, these guys to say the least were enthralling to watch and I can't fault there performance one bit, so much so, I'm hoping they're back in Liverpool soon so I can see them again. 

As we were on the rock trail, we thought, why not a bit of old school rock n roll and caught Hot Soles, a duo from Yorkshire, who brought the 50's crashing into 2014 with one almighty rip roaring, drums crashing, guitar frenzy wondrous mix. With all the energy on stage, it didn't take long for it to explode around Mello Mello especially when the lead singer decided to take an impromptu tour of the place mid performance, much to the delight and amusement of the crowd.

But Sound City isn't just about rock its also a perfect place to capture those intimate performances, where a solo performer lays themselves bare and delivers their life stories in such a way that it sends shivers up your spine and sends a silence over a venue in case even a single note is missed. This time that accolade had to go to "Amijal", a young singer/songwriter whose songs take you on a journey through his life, some good, some bad but all delivered with such finesse that even the most heart wrenching of songs has you enthralled and wanting to hear more of his beautifully melting vocals. 

East Village Arts Club paid host to two extremely talented solo artists on Friday night. Denai Moore, who was performing in Liverpool for the very first time, created a fabulous atmosphere with her silky soulful vocals which enveloped everybody into a warm musical ball of fuzz. She was followed with a fun upbeat set by ex Kid British member, Adio Marchant, who is now better known as "Bipolar Sunshine". Adio brought that taste of summer from the moment he came onto stage with his mix of lively funk, disco and house beats all intertwined with his fresh uplifting vocals. Behind this upbeat fun music lies meaning in his lyrics though and drawing from life experiences he fully encompasses the name Bipolar Sunshine....so long may he be shining down on us. 

Lizzo aka Melissa Jefferson on the other hand is far from calm and serene as she rocks the Shipping Forecast to its very foundations. Her stage presence itself was enough to make you want to move even if you didn't feel like it and the energy and raw power made it one of the acts that needed to be seen.

At Nation East India Youth did his stuff with a mix of electronic music and wild thrashing bass guitar sending some of the audience members into and almost trance like state as they sang the words in an almost tantric daze.

Chloe Howl, the sassy 19 year old made herself known at the Factory stage. Dressed in stripey trousers and a crop top she shimmied her way onstage. Her strong vocals and look accompanied with her look will see her go far although songs about teenage angst is not something I can associate with that much anymore.

Another solo artist to keep an eye on is Demi Louise, a 19 year old Australian, whose upbeat lyrics and happy mellow vocals drifted across the eclectic Moon Museum on a sunny Saturday afternoon. That along with the free Australian BBQ made for a great way to nurse that hangover.

For a bit a quirky venue we decided to head to Mersey Ferry's and go and soak in the retro fuelled performance of homegrown talented band, The Hummingbirds, who have been busy too say the least over the Sound City weekend. They brought a bit of the Merseybeat back to the city with their 60's influenced set with a few Beatles tracks flung in for good measure. With their own songs including Bankrupt Blues, a heady folk fused song and their signature song "Back In Liverpool", which was timed to perfection as we docked back in the city. Which was probably a good thing as Mic Kountis was starting to feel his sea legs desert him. 

For a truly unique, makes you go "what the hell!!" performance I can say without any doubt in my mind that it has to go to Jazz hands....a group of lads wearing matching football shirts, stripping to their Batman boxers and just basically doing what they love best....making music. I have no idea how many members are in Jazz hands, nor can I count how many drumsticks were flying about but my god these guys are so much fun. I'm not to sure whether it was a mad free styling frenzy or this was a perfectly coordinated gig but who cares, it was brilliant, weird, amazing, fun, insane ball of hedonistic noise that works and I love the fact I walked away with that feeling that you're not quite sure you have seen what you have seen. It may not be pretty..but it works.

Speaking of pretty, Kodaline headlined the Anglican Cathedral on Saturday. With lead singer Steve Garrigan looking in every way the rock/pop star that I'm sure these guys will become. Playing songs from their album "In a perfect world" they ensured the crowd got what they paid for. Polished and pitch perfect they cruised from one song to another. Steve interacted well with the crowd even if his little giggles in between sentences went from endearing to annoying after a while. 

The Shimmer Band at factory are not as polished and that isn't a bad thing. Tom's raw, in your face vocals come across like a man with something to scream about and his elongated figure strutting about made you reminisce back to the days of Primal Scream and The Rolling stones.

Ratking from New York, played to a packed house at The Kazimer. Laying down voracious lyrics with and their comparison to the Wu-Tang Klan doesn't go amiss. Mesmerising and totally ferocious in their style.

Then it was on to the Duke street garage, luckily I managed to avoid the massive queues which had formed earlier to get in and entered to a mass of waving hands and dancing crowds as the Tea Street Band did what they do best..bringing the room to its feet. I love watching the enthusiasm and all out love these lads have of playing and as Timo says "Its fucking boss in here" and it was. They provided the perfect support for the headliners The Kooks who immediately kept the crowd on their high playing the songs we all know and love along with a lot of the new album which most aren't familiar with (myself included) this didn't stop the people embracing every minute of the set and with the queue outside still trying to get in onlookers from the barriers watched and danced along with the punters inside. 

You could happily go from genres to genres and never skip a beat in between. In fact, I loved just wandering and let my ear do the choosing....it makes it more fun and Ive come across some amazingly talented musicians and a fair few weirdly wonderful ones in the past and this time was no different. If you normally plan it with meticulous precision then next year, throw caution to the wind and let your ears take the lead.

Soundcity 2012 - In Summary

Well folks, SoundCity 2012 is over again for another year and over-all its been another shining achievement for Liverpool. This year seemed even more busier than previous years and people from various walks of life have descended on the city again to experience the wealth of talent this city has to offer.

This year saw even more venues attached to the festival which provided more scope for the line up to grow and diversify in its content. Venues like the Epstien Theatre provided the unique approach of sitting down to watch artists and this provided the perfect outlet for the likes of Luke Fenlon, Thomas J. Speight and Michael Kiwanuka to shine brightly. Other new venues like Liverpool  Academy of Arts and the Red Bull Live Studios made use of what was essentially derelict buildings and turning them into urban theatres of noise and sound.

The old favourites like the Kazimier and Zanzibar showcasing the finest in new bands and new talent and bigger venues like the o2 providing a more mainstream alternative to the the festival.

Though its not all positive and like any other large scale festival it has its problems and from talking to other festival goers there seems to be 2 major areas for concern. 

The first is the size of venues and putting major acts on in them. The prime example for this was White Denim in the Kazimier. People who had paid good money for a wristband to see someone, don't expect to be stood in a queue in the rain because a venue has under estimated the amount of people wanting to see an act. I understand that at other festivals this occurs but its usually a large tent where at least if you cant get in you can still hear the bands. Bigger venues need to be used for large scale acts otherwise it wont work. The same happened for The Kooks last year at the bombed out church when gig-goers queued to get into the gig only to be disappointed. These are, I may add, one off occurrences. But as the festival continues to grow in both popularity and size, it needs to be taken into consideration in the future.

The second is the use of venue's that demand people to be scanned in or have ID on them (even press) to get in. Surely the point of buying a wristband should be enough. I wouldn't expect to turn up to the Reading festival turnstiles only to be told that I couldn't get in without having my passport on me.

The policies of HeebieJeebies and the Krazyhouse are in total contrast to the ethos of SoundCity and unless this changes bands who play these venues are not going to get the exposure or coverage they deserve. 

That aside, SoundCity is still one of the best inner city festivals and continues to get better each year and continues to provide the much needed injection of enthusiasm and vibrance into the city.

Article posted by Musicmafia

Liverpool Sound City 2012 review - Day One

Get your Converse or  Doc Martins on as Sound City is back for its 2012 installment, and to get to see as many bands as possible there's some walking to be done. For us, this just adds to the excitement that it brings to the city. Nipping from one venue to the other as you can try to fit as much in as possible and envelope yourself in the wildly diverse music on off over the next few days and seeing the rest of Liverpool doing the same. So here's a few of our highlights from Day One.

Luke Fenlon at the Epstein Theatre 

This venue, the old Neptune Theatre for those who don't know, is a great venue for those laid back sets from singers or bands who excel so much in intimate gigs and have the capacity to create an ambiance that captures everyone's attention and Luke Fenlon is definitely one of those acts. With his Bob Dylan tones that have become synonymous to Luke's style but laced with the Scouse charm twinkling away, you can always rely on a brilliant time at one of his gigs and once again he was joined on stage by talented musician in his own right, Saul Godman.  

With a whirling twirling little folk rock number that has you swaying along and wishing you were dressed in Romany dress with a bottle of whisky in hand, thanks to the lyrics and followed by ,"Whats The Point In Trying" which showcased a different tone in Luke's vocals. Giving a deeper more mature sound with undertones of darkness which matched his lyrics. A song wracked with emotion which evolves to  a heady bass infused conclusion. He followed this with, "Wasting my time" despite the title is an upbeat rocking track. 

Luke once again pulled off yet another fantastic live set filled with on stage banter that we have all come to know him for, especially as it was his 1st sit down gig and in his words ,"pretty bizarre"!

TOY @ Kazimier 

The 5 members just about fitted onto a very packed stage. Good turn out already from the crowd. They provided a mix of rock with mellow indie vocals. Reminiscent of late 80 early 90s Californian rock in style. 

  With plenty of guitar reverberating across venue with a lot of heavy beat from the drum and a mild nod towards Jarvis Cocker from lead vocals at times, this was proving to be a fun early runner for the Kazimier. With plenty of head banging and tonnes of energy from the band, which in such a small space due to amount of instruments on stage I'm not sure how they stayed on it but thankfully they did.

Alkaline Trio @ o2 Academy  

Illinois based punk rock outfit headlined the very hot O2 Academy and quite literally rocked it to its very core. With a massive fan base all waiting in eager anticipation for them to appear, the buzz vibrating around the room was massive.

Finally, the trio took to the stage with Tiny Tim's, "Tiptoe Through the Window" brought back to life thanks to the film Insidious. They were met with rapturous applause from crowd as they came onto stage and went hell for leather straight into "We've Had Enough" a pounding rock number that set the tone for the rest of their set. The crowd were singing and bouncing along with plenty of air guitar and drums to go with the bands furious onslaught. They belted out many more equally high energy songs from their massive back catalogue including, "Time To Waste" and "Tuck Me In".

 Matt Skiba took time to head up to the crowd to shake hand the two front men took time to enthuse about Liverpool, it's people and The Beatles, after spending the day at the Beatles Museum. All in all, I've seen the O2 rocked before but not to this extent, a truly brilliant set from Alkaline Trio that the O2 is probably still shaking from

Death In Vegas @ Kazimier

We came back to a very packed out Kazimier, for our last gig of the night. With their psychedelic instrumental opening number to set, Death In Vegas, are a mainly instrumental band I discovered and when they did decide to vocalise a track, I have to admit, i have no idea what was being sang or maybe it was just vocal sounds to go with the Pink Flloydesque noises emanating from the stage. 

They continued with their futuristic synthetic sounds throughout set with what sounded like early 90s trance melted in with it and was extremely reminiscent of a Tangerine Dream soundtrack. Not really my thing but the huge crowd seemed to love it. Technically, they are very adept musicians but there was a certain lack of emotion or energy on stage and I personally found myself becoming very bored with the whole thing. I can only assume that they rely on their music speaking for them but in my opinion a lot can be said for on stage personality.

So there we have our first day round up of Day 1 and we can't wait to get out their for Day 2.........once our feet have recovered that is!!

Review by Alison Goggin

Photos Thomas Lennon http://www.flickr.com

Article posted by Musicmafia

Liverpool Sound City debuts at The Epstein Theatre

Liverpool Sound City debuts at The Epstein

With days until Liverpool Sound City returns to the city, the organisers are proud to announce the artists taking to the stage at the city’s new Epstein Theatre as part of this 3 day art and music extravaganza.  From Thursday 17^th – Saturday 19^th May Liverpool will be home to an international music festival and conference, committed to bringing the best new music, film, art and creative talent from all over the world to venues across the city centre.

 With the recent unveiling of The Epstein Theatre as the brightest and coolest new venue in Liverpool  it’s only fitting that they play host to the best up and coming signed and unsigned talent from the UK and international music scene. Headlining each night in the opulent surroundings of The Epstein Theatre are Stephen Langstaff, Michael Kiwanuka and James Vincent McMorrow.

 General Manager of The Epstein Theatre, Christine Spriggs said 'We are very excited about the forthcoming Liverpool Sound City concerts that we are showcasing at the Epstein. They are all going to be cracking shows and we think that audiences are going to be thrilled to see them in our fantastic new theatre.'

It kicks off in a spectacular fashion on Thursday 17^th May with Stephen Langstaff, Electric Guest, Luke Fenlon and Dave Thomas set to perform. Portsmouth pianist and accordionist Dave Thomas will open Liverpool Sound City at The Epstein. Named “one of the most talented people on YouTube" Dave has already obtained a cult following through the social media website and is now set to take the first steps in forging a successful solo career. We are in no doubt that his performance at The Epstein will be the first of many critically acclaimed performances. With his songs touted as simple stories of love, life and death that have pervaded his life so far, Liverpool native Luke Fenlon has been endlessly compared to a young Dylan. Having previously supported The Wombats during Liverpool Sound City 2008 and a performance at the MUSEXPO Festival in LA Luke has received a worldwide publishing & recording deal in 2010. Electric Guest is the combined talents of duo Asa Taccone and Matthew Compton.  Hailing from Los Angeles Electric Guest excel  in soulful, funked up pop, creating ridiculously catchy tunes which are capturing the attention of those both sides of the pond.  Previously described as having “The voice of an angel with the power of a Tsunami” Stephen Langstaff is also set to headline the opening night. Citing Damien Rice, Tori Amos, Nirvana, The Beatles and Jeff Buckley as his influences Stephen will without a doubt set the mood for the remainder of the festival.

On Friday 18^th May, another great line-up, with acts Michael Kiwanuka, Jake Bugg, Thomas J Speight and Dead Cities gracing the stage.  Supporting emerging artist Michael Kiwanuka there are some equally fresh faced new comers to the music scene. Dead cities are a Liverpool based trio formed in late 2008 and their debut album 'This Killer Wave,' was released November of 2011 and received radio play from BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Merseyside. Having honed his craft sharing the stage with folk/acoustic royalty such as Johnny Flynn, Fionn Regan and Mumford and Sons Thomas J Speight has received critical acclaim for his latest EP from Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney.  Nottingham singer songwriter Jake Bugg has previously took to the stage at Glastonbury on the BBC Introducing stage. His previous songs and this current single “Lightning Bolt” received raved reviews on BBC radio 1, 2 and 6. Having already being catapulted into the limelight as the Winner of BBC Sound of 2012, Michael Kiwanuka will be headlining Friday evening’s performances.  Having previously worked with R&B superstar Labrinth Michael has had the privilege of sharing the stage with rock and roll royalty such as Bon Jovi and Rod Stewart and has even supported women-of-the-moment Adele on her 2011 tour. Being compared to Bill Withers, Van Morrison and the Temptations Michael embodies the very definition of promising new stars.

Drawing Sound City at the Epstein Theatre to a close on Saturday 19^th May is the best of up and coming acoustic/folk musicians in the form of James Vincent McMorrow, Dan Croll, The Night and Hey Carrianne. Fronted by the gravelly voice of singer/songwriter Carrianne Hayden and backed up by the beautiful melodic ramblings of Mike Halls, Oliver Hardaker and Jake Foord, Hey Carrianne will be making their live debut of 2012 at this year’s Sound City Festival .Hey Carrianne weave frank tales of heartache with memorable guitar motifs and an understated rhythm section, creating a brand of pop that's sugared with Folk, Indie and Blues. Next up is The Night who are expected to set the stage on fire with their brilliant musical talents.  Helping draw the closing night to an end is the winner of the Musician’s Benevolent Fund Songwriting Award Dan Croll. This Liverpudlian singer/songwriter has previously shared the stage with Friday’s headliner Michael Kiwanuka.  His single 'Home,' was picked up by Q and placed in their essential downloads list for 2012 and his upcoming debut album is set to be one of the most anticipated albums of the year. Rounding off at The Epstein we have an Irish folk music singer-songwriter who has been compared to Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, and Ray LaMontagne. European Border Breakers Award winner James Vincent McMorrow has performed on the prestigious stage of BBC Two’s Later... with Jools Holland and his debut album was released in February 2010 to widespread critical acclaim. James has the added accolade of having many of his self penned tracks making up the soundtrack to American television programmes such as Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf.

With wristbands available for both individual days and the entire three days Liverpool Sound City is the pinnacle event which brings the innovations in art, culture and music to the very heart of the city. This brand new unison with the Epstein Theatre will further cement the venue as one of the jewels in the Liverpool musical and cultural crown. 

LISTING INFORMATION

Liverpool Sound City @ The Epstein

The Epstein Theatre

Hanover House

85 Hanover Street

Liverpool

L1 3DZ

Prices

14+ Wristbands: £15

Thursday Wristband: £25

Friday Wristband: £25

Saturday Wristband: £25

3 Day Wristband: £55

LSC Delegates Wristband: £150

Thursday 17^th May

Epstein Theatre

Stephen Langstaff - 22:00-23:30

Electric Guest - 21:00-21:30

Luke Fenlon - 20:00-20:30

Dave Thomas - 19:00-19:30

Friday 18^th May

Epstein Theatre

Michael Kiwanuka -22:00-23:30

Jake Bugg - 21:00-21:30

Thomas J Speight - 20:00-20:30

Dead Cities - 19:00-19:30

Saturday 19^th May

Epstein Theatre

James Vincent McMorrow - 22:00-23:30

Dan Croll - 21:00-21:30

The Night - 20:00-20:30

Hey Carrianne - 19:00-19:30

For more information visit the new theatre website at

www.theepsteintheatreliverpool.co.uk

For more information regarding Liverpool Sound City visit the website at

http://www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk

Article posted by Musicmafia

Electric Guest in Liverpool on Thursday at SoundCity

ELECTRIC GUEST
 Album ‘Mondo’ 


Produced by Danger Mouse
Out April 23rd

Los Angeles own Asa Taccone and Matthew Compton collectively known as Electric Guest will release their debut album ‘Mondo’ on April 23rd. Produced by Danger Mouse, the duo are also pleased to announce their first shows in the UK in March (dates below).

With meditative lyrics, catchy choruses, and dance inspiring rhythms the band brings a feel-good experience direct to the eardrums. As to the name of the band, singer-songwriter Asa Taccone explains, “When I got kicked out of high school, I started hanging out at a Dunkin Donuts. An older woman who worked there was a weirdo like me, into a lot of new-agey, metaphysical shit and before I left she told me to always remember that I was an electric guest of the universe. For some reason it stuck with me.” Like the titular origin, the band and their music is a collection of people and memories Asa has picked up along the way of his long, circuitous journey towards completion of the band’s first album, “Mondo.” This nomadic quality is felt in their songs that take surprising, symphonic twists and turns that are never jarring as Asa’s rich, R and B-style vocals guide you smoothly, dreamily through their unique chord and movement changes

While studying various arts at Cornish College, Asa’s focus was always on music. He maintained a strong relationship with his older brother and would play him songs over the phone. His brother then based in Los Angeles, was so impressed with Asa’s compositions, he wanted his friend who worked in music to hear and placed him on the phone one day. This was Asa’s first fortuitous encounter with Brian Burton (better known as Danger Mouse, famed music producer behind Gnarls Barkley, Gorrillaz, Broken Bells, among many others). Brian liked what he heard and asked Asa to keep sending him stuff, which he wisely did. Over several years, the two formed a strong working relationship, Asa contributing his music production skills to many of Danger Mouse’s projects. Then one day – June 2007, Danger Mouse asked him to do a record.

Having moved by then to Los Angeles, Asa, as to be expected of an LA-based young artist, moved into a large house with several other musicians. The home provided him the mental and physical space to become extremely prolific, writing over a hundred songs in his three year stay. During his time there, he met his musical counterpart, Compton. The two instantly hit it off and musical collaboration came naturally. Together, with the help of Danger Mouse, they revisited and revised Asa’s many tracks, eventually whittling the number down to a realistic 10 songs that comprise their first album.

With such an eclectic mix of instruments and influences, it’s hard to nail down the sound of Electric Guest but Asa insists that it’s ultimately pop music, disclosing, “I have a sweet tooth for terrible music so I won’t even say what I’m influenced by.”

May

Mon 14^th – Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London

Tues 15^th – Deaf Institute, Manchester

Weds 16^th – Glasgow, King Tuts

Thurs 17^th – Sound City Festival, Liverpool

Article posted by Musicmafia

LSC Does Freshers and Band Submission Announcement

LSC is proud to present our first ever freshers party - an antidote to foam parties, fancy dress and all that nonsense that the smarter member of the student body tries so hard to avoid. Taking place on Thursday 22nd September at The Black-E, Radio 1’s very own DJ Target and Dev will be taking to the decks, joined by Yaw, Can’t Mix Won’t Mix, The Tea Street Band, DJ Deviant and more.

Liverpool Sound City Does Freshers:

DJ Target

Dev

Yaw

Can’t Mix, Won’t Mix

The Tea Street Band

DJ Deviant

...Plus more

Tickets £10, via www.ticketweb.co.uk 

Thurs 22nd September, 9pm-2am

at the Black- E, 1 George Street, Liverpool, L1 5EW  (directions here)

 

Band Submissions for LSC and Youth Live opening soon to young artists from across the North West

LSC are opening up their band submissions on 13th September for both Liverpool Sound City and Youth Live for 2012.  Bands having past successes at the ever-expanding Youth Live strand are Dustland, now managed by Liverpool record label Deltasonic records, Skeleton Keys and The Vigilantes.

 

 

For the first year Youth Live will be open to artists from across the North West region. So if you are a young artist/band/performer from any musical genre, aged 16-19, send your name, age and MySpace /SoundCloud links to youthlive@liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk

 

Liverpool Sound City 2012 takes place from Thursday 17th – Saturday 19th  May

Ticketing info:  Early Bird Wristbands available now, priced £2

Review - Day Three - Soundcity 2011

The closing day of Soundcity is upon us. So,as not to feel to down-hearted, we started the day at the Australian free BBQ to feast on some gorgeous sausages and burgers whilst watching Seekae and experiencing some experimental, ambient sounds direct from their hometown of Australia.The 3 members transfixed in their knobs and buttons and switches and levers,hardly came up for air to deliver a well received set. Upstairs, in stark contrast to the chilled out sounds, The Brazilian Showcase was in full effect with Black Drawing Chalks beating out a testosterone filled set. With lots of hair whipping and guitar thrashing, this was good old heavy rock in the house and pretty darn great it was too, even though it left my already tender ears a little worse for wear.

The evening session of the final day took us firstly to Studio 2 to see Forza. The Norwegian band mix rap with indie with classical violin. This may sound like an odd mixture but it works.These guys are pretty big in Norway and I was glad to see them perform in Liverpool and good to see them in a venue like Studio 2. The stark comparison from the audience reclining on chairs and sofas to the intensity of the performance on stage was amazing. 

All too quickly though, it was off to the o2 Academy for the re-located Bella Union Showcase. We were there to see Marques Tolivier. This guy,not so long ago, was busking in the streets and sleeping on sofas and now he is playing Soundcity and you can see why. This talented young man commands the stage armed with his violin. His clear angelic voice drifting across the o2 causing silence to descend amongst the audience. His fingers plucking at the violin strings like his life depended on it. His set was 30 minutes long. I could have sat and watched him for 2 hours.

Then across to the St Georges Hall for the headlining act Sound of Guns. Supporting them were the excellent Fly with Vampires. Good to see homegrown talent being recognised and showcased in the glorious hall.

Fly with Vampires were in fine form. Playing a mixture of their old songs and some new ones they filled the hall with energy and enthusiasm. Without having to do anything,they had the crowd enraptured. Clapping along and stamping their feet. I have only ever seen the guys in small venues but they fit just as easily into a venue this size and probably bigger.Next year these guys have got to headline.

But not this year. This year belongs to Sound of Guns. Their meteoric climb, from when we first witnessed them in a small bar Manchester, has been rapid. The venue may have changed but the energy and talent we first saw in that bar has not. Lead singer, Andrew Metcalfe, taking control of the stage from the onset. Belting out the songs that the audience want to hear. Reaching forward to touch the hands of the fans and grabbing photographers cameras in order to take pictures of them from the stage. A true showman. Hearing "The Architects" being sung by the crowd was truly a spine tingling moment. The only question I have is why aren't these guys bigger than they are? Hopefully the up and coming tour supporting The View will sort out that once and for all.

Review - Day two of Sound City

Day two is upon us and we're off to tread the streets again in search of bands dotted all over the city centre in venues wide and varied. Tonight's first port of call was to St Georges Hall for some pre Miles Kane music by Morning Parade, a five piece band from Essex. On entering the magnificent venue, you were blasted out with the sounds of guitar rock riffs and a very mature sounding lead singer, Steve Sparrow. All in all a very good start to what was meant to be a good night in the Hall, unfortunately, the bureaucratic security at St Georges Hall were to scupper us, as after popping out for some fresh air, they decided press had to re queue to enter and by now the queue was pretty big. So massive apologies to Mr Kane, but blame St Georges Hall for the lack of media attention from us.

So onto the Bombed Out Church instead for us, to catch Outfit, who were warming up for Clinic, I have to admit the first few songs were a little lacklustre for me and seemed to never end and I did find my attention wandering around the atmospheric surroundings. Once the lead singer had stopped staring off into space during songs and the upped the tempo with synthesised sounds and a catchy bass line, they did actually sound pretty impressive.

Then came Clinic, a band who apparently, rarely play Liverpool, even though they are based here, and who I've only seen on the Letterman Show, a few months back, so I was still fairly undecided about them. With rhythmic lyrics and heavy guitar riffs during the chorus of the opening track, "Lion Tamer" made me think this looked to be a promising set. The set carried on in this form, with lead singer, Ade Blackburn's vocals drifting across the Bombed Out Church in a crystal clear way that everybody in there was enthralled by them. I have to admit, I found them a lot better than anticipated but I really don't think the surgical look does much for them!!!

Unfortunately we didn't have time for the entire performance as we had to head of to one of favourite venues in Liverpool, the Kazimier, where the sounds bounce of the walls and reverberate around this fab little venue. First up were Pop Levi. I have to admit I really didn't know what to expect from these guys, but from the very first strum of lead singer, Johnathon Pop Levi, guitar, I was enthralled. I haven't seen such a showman in a very very long time. From the opening track, "WannaMama", which opening sounded like Led Zep's," Whole Lotta Love" I was hooked as where the rest of the crowd. With a mix of rock, funk, blues and psychedeliac thrown in for good measure, this set had so much energy it was contagious. Pop Levi cavorted around the stage like Mick Jagger, plays almost as well as Jimi Hendrix and cavorts with his guitar like Prince. With other little gems like,"Police Sign", "Blue Honey" and "Plastic Wrap" this had to be the best band of the night by far and I cannot wait to see them again.

After Pop Levi, came Kurt Vile and the Violaters, from Philadelphia, a four man collective that look like an early 1990's rock band or extras from Wayne's World. With a name like that and the look, i was expecting them to be sounding like Extreme or Pearl Jam, so it came as a bit of a surprise that appeared to more influenced by The Stone Roses or Inspiral Carpets. Even though they were plagued with sound issues during the set, which resulted in one member lighting up on stage to relieve his frustration, to the amusement of the crowd, they certainly did a stirling job and are a band full of musical surprises.

Here's hoping that the final day, will result in even more gems of music for us to let you know about and check out, but one final word, "Go and check out Pop Levi immediately!!!

Seekae at Soundcity 2011

 The force now known as Seekae are playing at Soundcity this year. The band have Just returned from a the Great Escape and the band were featured in the NME last week and in The Independent as one of the most blogged about bands last month. 

Seekae came together in 2006, when primary school alumni Alex Cameron and George Nicholas, then fresh out of high school, met again after eight years by chance. Alex introduced George to his then-bandmate John Hassel, and the three, who had all been conducting bedroom experiments with electronic music, decided to start making noise together. 

2011 will see Seekae take +Dome on the road, first in Australia and then in Europe, with the band planning a stint on the Continent later this year that promises to bring this remarkable band to much wider notice and you can get a chance to see them at soundcity 2011

Friday 20 - Kurt Vile afterparty at the The Kazimier - 2am

Saturday 21 - The Aussie BBQ at Heebie Jeebies  - 3.30pm

Void is from their first album and Blood Bank from their second

http://www.riceisnice.net/artists/seekae/

http://www.myspace.com/seekaemusic