interview

Singer-songwriter Mary Epworth released her debut album, Dream Life, to great acclaim earlier this year, having been putting out singles since 2008. Displaying more of a bite than many of her more folk-based contemporaries to whom she’s often compared, its mix of pop, rock and psychedelia has won her many fans and festival bookings alike.

Last weekend, the citizens of Gloucester were treated to their second free popular music festival of the year.  The Underground Festival, which took place at the city's Guildhall, featured an eclectic lineup of new and upcoming bands from all over the world.  Such was the anticipation and interest in this year's festival that a queue of over 100 had formed an hour and a half before doors opened on the Saturday, and the festival was at capacity within twenty minutes of doors opening.

Emily Barker and her band, The Red Clay Halo, have been steadily accumulating fans and winning plaudits these past few years. They’ve released three albums – Photos. Fires. Fables. (2005), Despite The Snow (2008) and Almanac (2011) – with each more successful than the last. Originally from Bridgetown, Australia, Emily has lived in the UK for over a decade and has been compared in the press to such luminaries as Gillian Welch and Laura Cantrell.

Those of you who follow us on Twitter (@noripcord) may have noticed a strong Bestival-theme to our tweets last weekend.  The reason?

Through countless albums under The Microphones moniker and more recently as Mount Eerie, Phil Elverum has seemed to be in a constant state of movement.  And though the music he makes as Mount Eerie seems to be very familial in regards to what he released as The Microphones, there is no sense of slowing down or acceptance of any one particular musical outlook.  Whether it's the harsher sounds from Wind's Poem or the relative calm of some of the tracks off Clear Moon, his records always

It's now been more than 34 years since folk icon Sandy Denny passed away. Her influence continues to live on, and this month sees the reissue of Denny's final trio of albums for Island Records as well as a tribute tour, featuring artists such as Thea Gilmore, PP Arnold and Joan As Policewoman.

Currently touring the U.S. in support of their second album, Portamento, The Drums have been haunting audiences and listeners with infectiously catchy pop songs about death, heartbreak, religion and, of course, surfing.

During my research for the review of Phèdre's self-titled debut there was very little information about the band available and that kind of helped in many ways. There were no prejudices or assumptions and I had no idea what to expect. All that I knew, or was told, was that the band morphed out of an attic among summer evenings dripping with cheap wine. I didn't know their names, and I, in fact, had never heard of them before.

Any fans of the Beatles out there?  Yeah?  How about David Bowie?  I thought so.  Maybe Elton John and Supertramp are nothing to sneeze at as well.  Well, here we have a new memoir by the man who recorded all of them: Ken Scott.  If you’re a rock fan you probably know the name, but do you know what he did and how he did it?  Why is the schoolyard chatter at the opening of Supertramp’s School so realistic it’ll have you

David Gedge of the self-professed, "semi-legendary Wedding Present", has been telling us about the pitfalls of love and attempts at love for over 25 years now, resulting in, as any John Peel fan would know, some of "the best love songs of the rock 'n' roll era". The latest collection, Valentina, is no exception. Gedge, the only original member of the group, has many of the same questions but a more mature perspective.