Tag Archive for 'folk'

Roses, Kings and Castles - How Very English

Published
by
rylan
on October 30, 2008
in MP3, alternative and new music
. 1 Comment

“I play drums in Babyshambles but don’t let that put you off.” Good thing it didn’t, because whilst I adore Marmite, I’m not a fan of Babyshambles. 

Adam Ficek, performing under the monicker Roses Kings Castles, is a DJing songwriting multi-instrumentalist whose talents would leave any baby in a shambles.

 Adam says Bletchley, Milton Keynes, where he was born is an, “odd satellite suburban juxtaposition of a place, it doesn’t quite know whether it’s farmland or city“. This perpetually British suburban conundrum has clearly impacted Roses Kings Castles eponymous debut album.

I admire music that connects with the context in which it is created. Take for example the superb The Imagined Village or Jim Moray - both acts successfully unite British folk and urban music.

Roses Kings Castles initially started as a filler during Babyshamble’s break (see The Sun, The Mirror or the Daily Star for more details). It soon spiralled into much more, and Ficek’s home made Lo-Fi has been received with much deserved praise.

The debut album is available from Amazon, but you can preview Roses Kings Castles either with the remix of Entroubled by Boy + Girl from Fried My Little Brain.  Or you could simply listen to the exclusive to holeytonal radio edit:

Roses Kings Castles - Entroubled (mp3)

Rod + Thomas = Y

Published
by
rylan
on October 24, 2008
in MP3, new music and video
. 0 Comments

Apparently I’m of “Generation Y”. This means I’m a geeky yuppie born after 1979. Yeah - can’t complain with that.

It also means I lived through the 80s, but being brought up in Hong Kong I missed out on all the psychedelic British kids TV. Rod Thomas clearly got a fair dose as his video for Same Old Lines shows:

This folkster from Wales played at a few summer festivals, including Glastonbury and Latitude. His music is accessible yet distinctive - I guess what being “Generation Y” is all about - standing out from a crowd of many talented people.

My parents fed me a diet of Tears for Fears, David Bowie and Roxy Music with their cheesy synthetic beats as a side, and you can hear them garnish Rod Thomas‘ songs - although James Taylor is definitely a main ingredient. 

Interpretations of music are often revealing, and James Yuill picked out the 80’s from the Rod Thomas sound palette when he remixed Same Old Lines.  Oh, and here’s the mp3:

Rod Thomas - Same Old Lines - James Yuill Remix (mp3)