I NME-Europe Battle Of Bands: Let's Hear It For The Winners

The dust has settled, but the show goes on for The Little Hydes, winners of the I NME-Europe Battle Of Bands contest. Despite a heavy schedule, which includes an unplugged set this Wednesday with Ian Prowse at Mojo in Liverpool and studio work on a new single, the 'next four lads to shake the world' managed to find the time to have a quick natter to NME-Europe and tell us all about being champions and what's happening in Hydesville at present. Here's what they had to tell us:

NME-Europe: Well lads, you were the first band to be interviewed on this page and now you're the winners of the I Battle Of Bands. What are your impressions on having beaten some really excellent acts to win the title?

TLH: Yeah I saw a Number Of Fires (who were second) ran us pretty close. When you do BOTB's (and we've done a few! One that we won took us on a mad tour of Europe gigging), you enter if you know you have a good chance of winning it.

NME-Europe: For those who are still thinking 'The Little Who?' (God forgive 'em), tell us a bit about yourselves.

TLH: We've been together about two years now. Myself and Tony (drums) have been playing in bands round town since we were 14/15. It was in my last year of school when things started taking off. Our first recordings had a nice poppy 90's feel, they started getting played on local radio and started a bit of a buzz. These first demo's set us up well and we got a slot at the Mathew St Festival and Creamfields (on the same day!). The first year set us up great, and since we've been working hard on just fine tuning our sound really. We've got an album's worth of new material that we're dyin' for everyone to hear.

Well, I saw The Little Hydes at that Mathew Street Festival (you can see a small excerpt of that set in the video below - there's even a cameo role from me!) and was really impressed by the stage presence of such a young band (in fact, they were part of the reason for starting this site).



You can also hear two tracks, 'Absolute Youth' and 'Dear Diary Days' on the NME-Europe Battle Of Bands contest page and an additional song, the delightful 'As Back When' on their myspace page. Only a fool would not give them a chance and it certainly is an exciting prospect that the lads have an album full of tracks raring to go.

NME-Europe: Apart from being an NME-Europe Battle Of Bands winner, what else does 2010 hold in store for you lot? Any plans for a release or tour?

TLH: We're actually recording our first single at the moment. All of our other recordings are sort of rushed, due to the amount of time and the amount of money it costs to rent a studio even for a weekend. We wanted to do it absolutely properly this time, in terms of a pop single. We have a great pop song that you wont be able to get our of your head (im told this is our trademark) and we'll be releasing it in a few weeks time. We've all got a good feeling about this one. Keep an eye out. 

We certainly will be! It's always a pleasure hearing from this band. They seem to go about things in the right way; quietly confident without loosing sight of reality and above all producing some absolutely sublime tunes.  While you wait patiently for more news on The Little Hydes, why not read some more about them from previous NME-Europe articles? In particular, a special piece on the three aforementioned tracks and the original Myspace Magic interview.

If you're in or around Liverpool, you can see them for free at Mojo on Wednesday, where they'll be playing an acoustic set with local legend Ian Prowse and they're also on at the O2 Academy on March 7.

Last, but not least, many thanks to David, Mick, Ste and Tony for taking the time to speak to NME-Europe. Looking forward to the single, gents!

I NME-Europe Battle Of Bands: The Fat Lady Sang

Well, the polling station closed on Friday and the whole world (ahem) has waited with baited breath since then.

First things first, CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU to all the artists who have participated in the I NME-Europe Battle Of Bands contest. If anyone reading this hasn't heard their music yet, then do it now!

Secondly, respect goes to everyone who bothered to place a vote in the contest. Over 1,500 votes in 15 days is a fantastic response and certainly means NME-Europe is looking forward to future events already.

Anyway, let's cut to the chase and see who's Top Of The Pops. The voting was carried out in two parts; the public vote, where each vote was given 1 point, worth 70%; and the 'jury' vote (special thanks here must go to my friends Second and Pipers who have taken time from their hectic schedule to listen to all the acts), worth 30%. Both members of the jury ranked the artists from 1st to 6th, where 1st place gained 1,000 points, 2nd 800, 3rd 600, 4th 400, 5th 200 and 6th 100.

So, where does that leave us? Are you ready? We'll do it in reverse order, just like Miss World.

3rd place goes to Overspill Poets, with 464.8 points. The 'Poets' were relatively weak on the public vote, but did comparatively well with the jury, pulling in a 2nd and 3rd place.

2nd place is for A Number Of Fires, with 784.9 points. A Number of Fires were going like the clappers for a while in the public vote, before having to settle for 2nd place with 607 votes. The jury ranked them 2nd and 4th.

And finally....

1st place (cue the drum roll) is for.....

The Little Hydes





A whopping 993.3 points for the latest scousers to 'shake the world' sees The Little Hydes claim victory in the I NME-Europe Battle Of The Bands. Let's face it, they are worthy winners; a late spurt saw them end as leaders in the public vote with 817 (more than 50%) and the jury ranked them 1st and 4th to ensure they take the glory this time.

Congratulations to A Number Of Fires and Overspill Poets and thanks to the rest of the artists - Cybiont, Inner Voices and P.A. Meirelles for having the guts to take part - I sincerely hope this has been a positive experience for all concerned.


You'll be hearing more from the winners in due course.....

I NME-Europe Battle Of Bands: They Think It's All Over....

Hi everybody. The I NME-Europe Battle Of Bands is entering its final stage. There are just 4 days of public voting left and at the moment there are two bands fighting it out for top spot. Here's the plan:

1. Check out the six artists who are competing (each has two tracks). Click here.

2. Decide who is your favourite.

3. Vote on the public poll in the sidebar. (You have until Friday).

The quality is unquestionable so give yourselves a little musical treat and help one of them on the way to glory.

The final result will be announced on Sunday, once the professional jury (Second and Pipers) has submitted its decision.

Have fun!

I NME-Europe Battle Of Bands: Start Your Engines

Much to its delight, NME-E is able to announce there are six (with a seventh possibly getting in at the last minute) entries in the I NME-Europe Battle Of Bands contest.

Participants
The following bands/artists have decided to take the plunge:


A Number Of Fires (Liverpool, UK)





Cybiont (Auckland, New Zealand)







Inner Voices (Bolton, UK)






The Little Hydes (Liverpool, UK)








Overspill Poets (Cumbria, UK)






P.A. Meirelles (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)




What happens next then? Well, as you can see by the geographical diversity of the acts a live event is pretty much out of the question (unless EasyJet can sort out a few Airbuses to Rio!) so the contest will be online. A profile for each band/artist will appear over the next few days, complete with some essential information, links to their websites and a couple of tracks for readers to get an idea of what they're all about.

Voting
In January, a poll will allow an online public vote which, combined with the assessment of our guest jury - Second and Pipers (see more below) - will result in a winner being selected.

NME-E would like to express its gratitude to all concerned for supporting this inaugural event. Please remember that the artists who are competing are unsigned and are looking for a little exposure. I'm sure readers will give them all the backing they deserve.

More to come, meanwhile a couple of videos from our jury to get you in the mood:

Second are from Murcia, Spain. Since winning the European leg of the 2004 Global Battle Of The Bands contest they have gone from strength to strength. Currently one of Spain's top indie acts, they released their critically acclaimed fourth album 'Fracciones De Un Segundo' in January 2009 and are currently in the thick of a sell-out national tour.




Naples-based Pipers are arguably the best thing to come out of Italy since Ennio Morricone. They too know how to win contests and appeared at the 2008 Mathew Street Festival after coming good in the Streetwaves competition. They have just released their debut album 'No One But Us'.

Special Feature: The Little Hydes Back In The Studio

Those of you who read NME-Europe on a regular basis will know that the page's main aim is to promote up-and-coming bands. The regular section, Myspace Magic, was one of the main reasons for the birth of NME-E and the first band to enter its wall of fame was The Little Hydes, who had first caught my eye during the 2008 Mathew Street Festival.

Since then, the Hydes have been hard at work fine-tuning their sound and this weekend went into the studios to record three new tracks. NME-E are pleased to be able to preview those tracks here (you can also hear them on their myspace).

So what are you in for then? Well, 3 wonderful tracks basically. When I first saw TLH at the Mathew Street Festival I was taken aback by such a confident onstage presence from this Scouse foursome. Since then, their music has evolved more than favourably and the sound shows a maturity beyond their years. This triple helping sees them offer us two rather 'deep' tracks, 'As Back When' and 'Dear Diary Days', which grow on you every time you hear them, while 'Absolute Youth' is a delightful pop track, with wonderful guitar arrangements and powerful harmonies.

Anyway, enough of my tittle-tattle. Check it out for yourselves

Not bad, eh? Here's what the lads have to make of it....

"Well, 'Dear Diary Days' is a really personal song that we had to be very subtle about. 'As Back When' is another one with a quite serious tone so we wanted to experiment with other intruments to catch the ear. 'Absolute Youth' is really quite an angry song, but it's still more in the vain of our older, poppier stuff, the "single" if you like..."

"Our sound has changed a bit this year but we all feel it's much for the better, we learnt a lot last year and had a great time touring and picking stuff up along the way. We have a bit of experience and now we feel confident in what we can do."

While I was on, I also asked the boys whether there were any releases on the horizon and what they had planned for the immediate future. Mick explained:

"There's nothing for release in the near future although we do want to record a single next.
We'll be giving out free copies of the demo (Dear Diary Days, As Back When & Absolute Youth) at our gigs (you can check out their schedule on the calendar).

For now we're just gonna have fun pushing these recordings as far as they can go. We've worked really hard this year to tighten up our sound and prove to people that we're not just a throwaway pop band and that we've got something to say. We've got a taste for it now anyway so we'll be around and with a lot more new material to come!"

Naturally, NME-E will only be too pleased to keep you posted.

What know more about The Little Hydes? Read their original Myspace Magic interview here.

Weekly Round Up (16 Mar 2009)

Hi and welcome to another weekly round up of all things musical.

Top Stories
Little known U2 are working hard on getting some press coverage to coincide with their album release. This week Bono has been spouting off about how much he earns and told us exactly how we should feel about illegal downloading of music.

His outburst against p2p file sharers is, according to him, in defence of less well-off musicians (i.e. everyone else) and, of course, nothing to do with him maintaining the status of mega-rich rock star.

In an interview with USA Today, he said "People think people like me are overpaid and overnourished, and they're not wrong. What they're missing is, how does a songwriter get paid? It's not the place for rich rock stars to ask for more money, but somebody should fight for fellow artists, because this is madness. Music has become tap water, a utility, where for me it's a sacred thing, so I'm a little offended [by illegal downloading]."

"The music business has been thrown to the dogs legislatively," he said. "[That will change when] file-sharing of TV shows and movies becomes as easy as songs. Somebody is going to call the cops."

This statement adds fuel to the fire of file-sharing, which would surely be an interesting topic for debate on this blog. In recent months, I've heard opinions from both sides; Bono's proclamation collides head on, for example with what new-comers The Dirty Turns told me in a recent interview (which will appear in full in good time). Their spokesman, Zach, was adamant that "music shouldn't cost to hear" when explaining that the band's forthcoming release would be available on a free download.

I'm quite happy to act as a moderator if anyone wants to spark a debate.

Elsewhere, and still loosely on the download theme, two of the major players - Apple and YouTube - have enjoyed mixed fortunes this week. On the up side (for them at least) Apple has launched a new iPod shuffle, claiming it's the world's smallest music player.


The new model is around half the size of the previous shuffle, and includes a new feature that has song and band titles spoken to the listener. With a capacity of 4gb, leaving space for up to 1,000 songs, the American giants have shown they're not taking anything for granted in these troubled times.

At the other end of the scale is YouTube, who have removed all premium music videos from the UK site after a dispute with the Performing Rights Society (PRS), who are seeking a better pay deal for artists whose videos are available to watch on the video site.

With Google-owned YouTube refusing to meet the PRS's "over the top" demands, they have opted to remove the implicated files until a deal is made.

Patrick Walker, Director of YouTube's Video Partnerships explained his company's stance by stating that "We feel we are so far apart that we have to remove content while we continue to negotiate with the PRS."

The PRS, meanwhile, are a little bit cheesed off with the whole affair. Not surprising when you think that instead of increasing revenue, they have effectively bitten off the hands that feed them. As far as I see it, serves 'em right for being greedy!

Back in the real world in the midst of a myriad of album and festival line up announcements, the free bit of publicity of the week goes to The Maccabees who have revealed that second album, entitled 'Wall Of Arms', which has been produced by Markus Dravs (Bjork, Arcade Fire) will be out on May 4.

It might seem a bit strange to single out one band, but The Maccabees debut album 'Colour It In' was one of my favourites of the year. And anyway, it's my blog so I choose he, he.

Myspace Magic
I feel the urge to do some Myspace promoting this week, as some top, top bands try and move up a level. In case you didn't know, the V Festival is holding a contest called Road To V which aims to get up and coming bands a chance to play on the main stage during this year's festival. So far, scousers The Little Hydes and Metropolitans and new buddies The Scholars, from the Midlands (article to appear soon) have received the kiss of death of an nme-europe vote. It doesn't take ages to register, so why not check things out here and give people some support.

Another Brum band, Page 44 (I seriously recommend reading about how they got their name when I feature them!) are also in need of some votes, but this time on bandbacker.com

Obliging as I am, they have my vote. Now, all they need is YOU!

Releases wise, relative veterans, So Shush, let fans sample tracks from their forthcoming album, 'Wistful Wanders', over the weekend. I am lucky enough to have received some promo tracks from Ian and Carole and will offer a full article and review around the time of release, scheduled for April 20.

Last, but by no means least, Italian pop-ites, Pipers, have announced that their debut album is ready to go. All they need is a label to distribute their material. Calling all companies, have a listen to 'Sick Of You' and take it from there. With so much rubbish flying around (Lily Allen, anyone?) it would be a crime not to give these gents a chance.


And finally.....
No major reviews this week, although the new Starsailor album, 'All The Plans' has just hit my iPhone and will no doubt end up on here. I also intend to summarise all important releases on a monthly basis. Watch this space!


One thing I DO recommend you hang around for is a quality interview with Overspill Poets. Some time this week you can read and learn. I already did.

Cheers.

Read all nme-e news.

Weekly Round Up (09 Feb 2009)

Hello and welcome to the latest batch of news....

Been a bit of a slack week for me, I'm afraid, so no review this week. However, with a series of releases to be listened to (including Lily Allen, The View and The Rifles) added to THE release of the year so far out next week - that's Morrissey in case you hadn't figured it out for yourselves - I promise to do better come next Monday.

Myspace Magic
Once more, several friend requests this week. Settle The Score surprisingly looked me up; if you're in to good old fashioned hardcore you'll love this bunch of Germans (but, why me?!). Another Italian band, The Lapsus, are right up my street and are definitely worth a look. Portuguese Rasaloba is strange in every sense of the word. Don't know how to even begin to classifly him (them?, it?). Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, we have It's a Buffalo, a quartet from Manchester who have recently supported The Courteeners and will release their debut album on 16 March. The Courteeners are championing their cause, so who are we to argue? I'm sure there'll be more to say about this lot in weeks to come. For now, check their myspace.

Elsewhere, featured bands Pipers and The Little Hydes have uploaded new tracks. 'Don't Ask For More' (acoustic version) will feature on the Italians' debut album to be released (hopefully) in the near future. Another melodramtic song to keep us satisfied until the LP is available. Have a listen here.

With 'Dockers Son', The Little Hydes take one more step to maturity . Having originally been taken aback by their upbeat sound and on stage presence, I now find myself drawn towards the accomplished sound of tracks like 'Firedancing' and now 'Dockers Son'. Check it out yourselves, here.

Finally, we have The Novocaines and 'Swing It Shake It'. If you like your music with a bit of balls, then you're gonna enjoy The Novocaines' sound. As Welsh as The Automatic and with something of a similar sound at times, Swing It Shake It rocks from start to finish.

Festival Fever
So, the wait is finally over. After a lot of messing about with clues and guessing games, the SOS 4.8 2009 organisers have confirmed for real a series of bands (whether this is definitive remains to be seen) for the festival which will take place in Murcia over the May Day bank holiday weekend.

I must admit I was getting a bit fed up with all these guessing games, but have been compensated with a line up which, in my opinon, surpasses last year's and takes the festival onto a higher level. There were even a couple of unexpected surprises (and not a Pet Shop Boy in sight!).

Needless to say there'll be plenty more about the festival on this page in weeks to come, but for now I can confirm the main acts who'll be in Murcia during the first weekend in May. I am particularly excited about The Wombats and Underworld, but the whole list is quite impressive:


1 May
The Prodigy
PJ Harvey & John Parish
Babyshambles
Spiritualized
Those Dancing Days
Peaches
Los Planetas
Klaus & Kinski
Miki Puig
El Guincho
Boyz Noise

2 May
Underworld
Keane
The Wombats
2ManyDJs
Matthew Herbert
Ladyhawke
Russian Red

More news next week. Check out a special on The Rackets in the next few days.


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Myspace Magic: The Little Hydes

Having seen the light on myspace and, in particular, having come across a series of new bands, today sees the Myspace Magic section develop even further with the first of a series of interviews with the bands I feel deserve a chance to shine in the near future.


The honour of being the first band to be featured goes to The Little Hydes, a pop quartet from Liverpool. Now, to say they were the inspiration behind this blog is to probably overstate things a little. However, it was whilst I was at the Mathew Street festival (Liverpool, August 2008) that I started thinking that I should have a go at this Blog stuff, with music being the obvious field to delve into. The Little Hydes were one of the bands I first checked out on myspace, having seen them on the Streetwaves stage stage during the aforementioned festival.

Initially I was impressed by their stage presence. There was a definite swagger and air of confidence about them, which surprised me even more when I found out they were all aged 16-18! Screaming fans and a short, but intensely guitar driven set of five songs later, I remember feeling proud of the fact that my home area is capable of producing such quality and decided to find out some more.

Having pestered them a little, the lads were kind enough to answer a few questions for me the other day. Here's what Mick Campbell (guitars/vox), who acted as spokesperson, had to say:
So, who are The Little Hydes?

Well, they are Mick Campbell & David King on Guitars & Vocals, Stephen Gillon on Bass Guitar & Backing Vocals and Tony McPartland on Drums & Backing Vocals and their list of influences is as long as my arm, ranging from The Beatles, through to Bob Marley, The Jam and then onto Editors and The Arctic Monkeys. They currently have no releases, but you can (and should) listen to 5 of their tracks on their myspace.

NME-E: Who are you and how did you come about?
TLH: We've been together for a year now, we're all aged 16-18 and just met through school and mates, just initially started as a hobby but we've been taking it really seriously lately and it seems to be paying off.

Judging by what I saw in Liverpool, this is certainly true. The boys received a riotous reception as they took the stage. I felt SO old when I found out their age!

NME-E: What are your releases to date?
TLH: We've never really had enough money to finance releasing a single but we've recorded a few times. One at Whitby Studios in Ellesmere port last April where we recorded 5 tracks (Summer's Over, Lions Mane, As Back When, KMC and Build) then we won a competition and recorded 2 tracks at Elavator Studios (Little Ideas and The Docker's Son) which is our first properly published work, available on a Streetwaves compilation CD. The last demo we recorded was at Crosstown studios, which is the place where we practise. We did two tracks (Firedancing and Give Me Some Time) which we didn't really intend to put up on the space, but as we've taken some time off gigging we put them up in the end

And thank God they did. 'Firedancing' really surprised me - this band is really maturing fast in their range of style.

NME-E: If you could choose a band to support you, who would it be?
TLH:Hmm thats a hard one because we're only up and coming ourselves. I'd love to play as a support band for either the Manic Street Preachers or Starsailor though.

NME-E: What was your favourite album of 2008?
TLH: My favourite album of 2008 was 'Arm In Arm' by Amsterdam by an absolute mile. A local band I've been following for years because my dad was a fan of the frontman's last band, Pele. Loved the new album and think it's by far his best work to date!

An excellent choice and one that shows a sound knowledge of music. 'Arm In Arm' is also one of my top 10 albums of 2008, it's hard to believe Amsterdam aren't making more of a name for themselves. Everyone should listen to them!

NME-E: What are your objectives and prospects for 2009?
TLH:I suppose taking the next step and really pushing to get signed, although it's really not that easy at all. If we can't do that I'd like to record a promo album to send around all the big labels!

Every up and coming band's dream and why shouldn't they follow it up? The talent is certainly there.

Another "Four Lads Who'll Shake The World"? Keep your eyes on this lot, I definitely will.


My sincerest thanks to Mick, David, Stephen and Tony and best wishes for the future. If you haven't done so already, please visit their myspace page and give them some well earned support. All the best, lads.