Cityscape Records

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Hi Alex, how are you?
I’m very well thanks, a tad worn out from too much gigging but that’s hardly a complaint.

Which instruments do you play?
I play acoustic guitar, vocals and piano as my main instruments but I dabble in mandolin, cajon and bass.

What made you decide to be a solo artist and not want to be in a band?
I’m not really to sure, I was originally in a couple of bands before I started doing things on my own. I still think that nothing beats the feeling of playing in a band and having a great time with your mates, but I just seemed to get more done on my own and the quality of what I was producing was much higher so I kind of stuck to it. I still have a band back at home but we spend far more time writing than actually playing.

Do you work with the same musicians when recording as you do when performing live?
I’m still a solo act live although I am thinking of getting some musicians to play with me for my next release, not too sure yet though.

How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t yet heard you?
Pop/Folk/Indie music. Heavilly picked guitar with catchy pop vocals but with an underlying feeling of alternative folk giving taking it away from being as main stream as say… Paulo Nutini.

What have you been up to recently?
Gigs, gigs and licking stamps to put on envelopes actually! My Debut E.P. (Which you can listen to on Somojo) is being released on July 12th (Digitally) and 19th (physically) so I’ve been working hard getting the press and promotion ready for  that, hence the large amount of sticking stamps on envelopes. As well as that I’ve just come back from my first year at LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) and so I’m busy getting my calendar chock full of local gigs now that I’m back home.

What can your fans look forward to in the next 12 months?
Firstly the release of ‘The Wood’ which I can’t wait for but also the release of another single ‘Dare’ which I should be getting back from mastering any day now as well as some big gigs that are coming up across the UK.

Photography by Gemma Harrison

Are you self-taught or did you have lessons?
Half and half, I’ve had electric guitar lessons since I was about 9 years old but my picking technique is self taught so my left hand has had lessons and my right one does what it wants!

Do you use the same equipment live as you do when in a studio?
Live, I use a small quantity pedals the main feature being a Boss RC-50 Loop Station. I’ve seen a lot of artists use these but I don’t use them as a gimmick or a drum machine, I record all my loops live both guitar, vocals and vocal harmonies as I play as well as percussion and a few other things to build the sound but within the song rather than taking ten minutes to set up the loop before launching into the track. For example Keep Chasing (Track 2 on The Wood) sounds almost exactly the same live as it does on the CD, minus the cajon percussion. It’s hard work and when it goes wrong it really goes wrong.

Would you sign with a major record company?
It’s the dream i guess, but I’m very happy with Cityscape Records who are doing a sterling job, check out the website www.cityscaperecords.co.uk

Do you have any new recordings planned?
Loads, got my next E.P. to get under way which will take up the majority of my summer… can’t wait .

Do you write songs/tracks only about personal experiences?
Yes and no. Some songs are derived entirely from personal experience. Drifting (Track 3 on The Wood) is about the effects of dementia happening to my Nana and about her literally drifting away from us on a mental level. Other songs like The Wood (track 1 on The Wood) aren’t really about anything in particular, they just capture a mood or a feeling that I’m experiencing at the time.
Do you find song writing easy or difficult?
As with anyone who writes, the best songs come in a matter of minutes. Some songs take longer at the moment I can’t seem piece one together I’ve got about 9 different ideas all of which I like but I can’t get a whole song out of them.

Is there anyone who you would like to collaborate with on writing songs or performing?
A superb local artist who’s making a name for herself everywhere she goes especially in Canada -Steph Fraser. I’ve been gigging with her nearly my whole solo career but we’ve never collaborated, something for the future I guess.

Do you use any websites like ‘Reverbnation’ or ‘Soundclick’?
I do have a Reverb Nation account but I more frequently use myspace and Twitter.
Here are the links.
www.myspace.com/alexhulmeacoustic
www.twitter.com/alexhulmemusic

Do you think such sites and the internet are good tools for independent and unsigned artists?
I like them but they suffer from over subscription, Myspace is going down hill a lot lately, but with places like Somojo, the future’s definitely bright.

Is there anything you’d like to add?
Thanks a lot for having me on and check out ‘The Wood’ at www.somojo.net/alexhulme

Bandcamp is basically another way of us uploading and selling our music quickly and easily. Getting things on itunes and the like takes a little while to sort but with Bandcamp we can have things up and moving really quickly. Here’s a screen shot/ link to our Bandcamp page which we’re using to initially release our new single Listen Up! (Sam Flanagan Rework). We keep trying these things to see what we like to use best but this one seems pretty simple to use – give it a go and let us know how you get on :0)

This is a remix/ rework of Listen Up! by Merchandise, the first track on our new album For the Masses. This rework was produced by Sam Flanagan who me and Con met on a packed train over a conversation about Northern Soul classic “Ghost in my House” by R Dean Taylor. Sam then made this great rework of this song. Enjoy!

Brad

I’ve included both the Bandcamp and Soundcloud players depending on which you like – the buy buttons both take you to the bandcamp page.

Merchandise-listen-Up!-Sam-Flanagan-Rework by brad-cityscape

By clicking the pics to the left you’ll be whisked to the weird and wonderful world of Random Brad. I kid you not but we met on a Facebook group called Brad Woods of the World Unite for we are both called Brad Wood. Funny old world . . .

I’ll let Brad introduce his show in his words from the site, “Welcome and thanks for checking out my new Radio show called The Random Feed with RandomBrad.
The purpose of this show is to highlight some interesting videos, blog posts, and news articles from different social media outlets. There will also be some music thrown into the mix. I hope you enjoy.
email any comments, questions, or suggestions about my show to: randomradiofeed@gmail.com
I’m also on twitter @randomfeedradio ”

You can also find Random Brad on Twitter posting as @randombrad.

It’s a weekly 15 minutes which is worth a bit of your time . . .

Brad

The second in my occasional series of blogs about creative friends and stuff I like finds me recommending 7reasons.org which is run by my good friend Marc Fearns (may as well admit the favouritism) and Jonathan Lee.

Marc made the Gate video featuring loving shots of his cat to the Merchandise tune The Last Stand of Pucho Vasquez from or last album Lo-tech Solutions to Hi-tech Problems which you can see here: The Gate

If you like Marc’s cat, and why wouldn’t you, his youtube channel features his classic experiment to see if his cat will walk on foil among some other amusing videos that could only be made by someone with too much time on his hands.

This time has now been put to good use though as the 7reasons blog seems to be taking off well for him. Every day Marc and Jonathan post 7reasons on a bewilderingly wide variety of topics and, just checking, today’s is 7reasons to like Andy Murray - shame he just lost . . .

I’m going to let them describe the site a little better: “Our website is chiefly concerned with providing humorous perspectives on a wide variety of topics.  We do this in the form of an argument, pro or anti something, providing seven reasons to support that argument.  We use seven reasons because it is the right amount to support an argument.  A smaller amount of reasons would be too few, and a greater number of reasons would be too many.”

And loads of people seem to agree with them with fans and followers galore visiting everyday to gain some of their skewed insight into whatever subjects take their fancy. The best thing to do is to just go there and have a read – here are a few picks – 7reasons to check out 7reasons you might say:

http://7reasons.org/2010/05/31/7-reasons-the-osmonds-were-right/
http://7reasons.org/2009/11/15/7-reasons-why-songwriting-is-easy/
http://7reasons.org/2009/12/02/7-reasons-to-write-a-song-about-rain/
http://7reasons.org/2010/03/05/7-reasons-the-new-radicals-should-have-done-their-research/
http://7reasons.org/2010/04/01/7-reasons-it-takes-7-songs-to-tell-you-who-you-are/
http://7reasons.org/2010/04/13/7-reasons-frank-sinatra-talked-nonsense/
http://7reasons.org/2009/12/19/guest-post-7-reasons-to-love-bolton/

I’ve got to admit to writing the last one as a guest post for them a few months ago ;0) Interactivity, that’s what you want! And then there are the promotional videos which I’ve book-ended this post with. Have a look, visit the site and when you’re reading their wisdom all over the place, you’ll remember where you saw it first.

Brad

Alex Hulme – The Wood by brad-cityscape

Here for you to listen to, The Wood will be available digitally on 12th July and physically on the 19th July 2010 – unless you attend one of Alex’s gigs where you can pick it up now :0)

Click the logo for the original review.

:: Merchandise ::
30 June 2010 / Cityscape / 13 Trk CD
By JA

Local stars and stalwarts of the ever present Bolton scene, Merchandise are back with a much welcome long player. Bolton is a place that deserves a bigger footnote for its recent contributions to great northern music and it’s bands like this that ensure that its reputation lives on. Brad B Wood and Conrad Astley certainly stir in various moods on this extensive collection of bright, melodic set pieces. Openers “Listen Up!” and “Sometimes” are pleasantly brisk, but respectably bustle and shuffle about their business. The slightly tougher “Enemy” remains laced in soft vocals, but has some infectious guitar loops to accompany the bouncy, almost ska tinged bass line – albums are worth the patience when they deliver up tracks like this. “Lonesome Beauty” serves up its own sublime mix of acoustica and pretty jungles, whilst “Lies Like These” thrives on smartly delivered American lo-fi pop footnotes. From here the album begins to slow down, picking up its heels only on “Travelling, Unravelling” before ebbing gently to its departure. “For The Masses” is an album of varying styles, somehow joined together with an intricate sensitivity and an underlying sense of fun.

MMM ½

Click the logo for original article.

:: Alex Hulme ::
30 June 2010 / Cityscape / 4 Trk CD
By Manuel Ecostos

Alex Hulme was born in Garstang but now resides in Liverpool, as a result of a placement at LIPA. On this solo LP there are plenty of multi-tracked elements at play, but the songs are derived from simple acoustic riffs. “The Wood” is maybe the most obvious cut, but just a little further on in the EP, “Keep Chasing” combines EMO twists and melodics with some un-missable whoops and well spun dynamics (check the alternative version which places all of this over some simple sequencing). The EP has a home recorded quality, which adds rather than distracts. “Drifting” is a pretty straight acoustic number, climbing and descending through picked chords as Hulme provides more of the well timed and well placed harmonic embellishments.

MMM ½

By Jessica Thornsby – Click logo for original

Merchandise’s ‘For The Masses’ album is refreshingly laidback indie-pop with plenty of good old fashioned, twee charm. The downside, is that this record’s refusal to slap you around the face with a shedload of shiny hooks, means that there’s nothing here that’ll hammer its way into your long term memory and have you hitting the ‘repeat’ button. The upside, is that this is a pleasant, bright and breezy antidote to mainstream pop.

Album-opener ‘Listen Up!’ is all shuffling drumbeats, breathy vocals and playfully clunky piano. Immediately, it becomes apparent that frontman Brad doesn’t have a particularly strong voice, and the strain is sometimes audible, particularly on ‘Substitute White Noise.’ You may even come to suspect that he’s cunningly crossed the border from ‘singing’ to ‘speaking in tune’ without it being immediately apparent. However, there’s a warmth to his voice that perfectly compliments ‘For The Masses’s dewy, watercolour soundscapes.

Second track ‘Sometimes’ is very nearly another perfect indie-pop heart-warmer, ala ‘Listen Up!’ but the female backing vocals feel a little too glossy for the rest of the song. Niggles aside, this is a mock-sorrowful tale about no-one calling you on the telephone, which soon takes a more optimistic turn amongst jaunty piano refrains and springy acoustic strumming.

‘Best Idea’ and ‘Substitute White Noise’ have a more folkish slant. With ‘Best Idea,’ a vague smile is audible in every tinkling piano note and random outburst of “bah-da-ba-da!” vocals. It’s song that’ll never rock the airwaves, but it makes you feel everything’s alright with the world. This folky charm is put to the test, as Brad repeatedly veers off course during ‘Substitute White Noise,’ but this song survives his occasional duff note – just.

‘For The Masses’ isn’t all a dreamy-eyed stroll through sunny cornfields; Merchandise hit a more sorrowful note with ‘Glitterati’ and ‘You Were Right.’ The former takes the usual Merchandise fodder of twinkly piano strains and wafting vocals, but the riff that bends back and forth across the song has a wailing edge, while the blurry-eyed alt-pop of ‘You Were Right’ has its own mournful guitar line. Two pretty and wistful tracks, wrapped up in twee bows.

When it comes to ‘Enemy’ there’s something reminiscent of Canadian indie-rockers Metric, in how Merchandise use distortion to pick up the pace without making unrealistic demands on their breathy-voiced frontman. ‘Enemy’ has an unusual backdrop of tinny riffs that jab and jag around a piston-like pump of drums and the occasional spasm of skittering synths. It should be an uncomfortable listen, but Merchandise seal these disparate elements together with a crunch of static. An album highlight.

Merchandise miss the mark on four occasions, with ‘Lonesome Beauty,’ ‘Hard To Sleep,’ ‘Sonora Dance Band’ and ‘Prescription.’

‘Prescription’ is one of those unengaging songs that works itself into a rut early on, and then rolls comfortably along, while ‘Hard To Sleep’ is a dragging, maudlin piano ballad, and ‘Lonesome Beauty’ very nearly gets there, but doesn’t quite fit together right. The skittering drums jar against the soulful vocals, and both jar against the random spattering of piano keys. If that vigorously skittering beat was softened, or if Brad traded his mellow tones for something a little more sparky, then ‘Lonesome Beauty’ would feel more like a coherent whole.

The less said about ‘Sonora Dance Band,’ the better. It may subscribe to the school of the ‘mid-album experimental interlude,’ but it’s still an irritating, and rather pointless, song where voices drone “ooooh-ahhhh-woooo-ahhhh-ah-ah” and blur in and out of hearing, and nothing much else happens.

It isn’t all bad news when Merchandise try something a little different. On ‘Travelling, Unravelling’ Merchandise pick up the pace – crucially, without losing cohesion. This time around, the pumping drumbeat is worked into the song with the aid of some lively starburst guitar-scratching. The sound of a band stepping out of their comfort zone, and making it work.

Merchandise’s ‘For The Masses’ is, at its heart, a pop album, but one that’s delivered with an unpolished charm. While a big chorus or a shiny hook would have made this record more memorable, a big chorus or a shiny hook would have also destroyed the mood of ‘For The Masses.’ Refreshingly laidback and understated, this is pop music that wasn’t written for the charts.

Merchandise For the Masses by brad-cityscape

merchandise-lo-tech solutions to hi-tech problems by brad-cityscape

Listen Up! by brad-cityscape

Listen Up! is the second single from Merchandise’s third album For the Masses. You can either buy the full album, the CD single or beautiful 7″ white vinyl here at the Cityscape shop – links to the top left. You cn also click the buy buttons which will send you to itunes where you can get it digitally. It’s also available from all the other usual digital stores.