Shadow Captain is the brainchild of Liverpool singer-songwriter, musician and award-winning promoter Stuart Todd.

Hi, I’m Kar and I'm an indie-electro artist and producer.
 
Growing up in a musical household in Dundee, Scotland, I played in orchestras, brass bands and ensembles of seemingly-random combinations of instruments. 
 
I was a member of critically-acclaimed indie miserablists The Scottish Enlightenment, playing bass and cornet. My highlights were supporting Idlewild; making the Eyes video which was shown on MTV2 and VH1; and singing on the celebrated St Thomas album.

I'm now settled in the boldly-creative city of Manchester, England, soaking up its musical legacy.

Joe Symes, along with Colin White, founded the band, then recruited bass player Alan Welsh. 

The band’s self-titled debut album is a resume of their musical versatility. A record containing songs of the rock, psychedelic, dah-dah, easy listening, country and movie soundtrack variety. One international reviewer called it an indie rock classic and two tracks appeared on the Charity Compilation Shoulder to Shoulder alongside tracks by Paul Weller, Ocean Colour Scene, Roger McGuinn (The Byrds), Robyn Hitchcock, Noel Gallagher, Pete Noone (Herman’s Hermits) and Wishbone Ash. This collection was organised by David Quaife, whose brother Pete was the original bass player of the British rock legends The Kinks. Creation Records’ Alan McGee even praised the album in question, even adding Hollywood stars like Matthew Modine, and Michael Keaton to the fan-base.

This was followed by the energetic rock orientated double A side single Things Get Better/I’m Gonna Find Out Someday: two tracks that show their current heavy pop incarnation, and gives the listener a glimpse of the direction the second album will take them. The single was not only played during half time at Liverpool Football Club’s ground on several occasions,
but was a three-week feature on BBC Introducing. Not too bad for the band’s second official release, spurring into more recordings and shows.

Keeping with the desire to show people more of their musical versatility, the next two releases took a detour down the unplugged route with the release of the Acoustic Variations E.P and the Acoustic Variations E.P Volume two: twin extended plays that show a rock band can translate their compositions from heavy electric guitars and pounding drums to acoustic
guitars, but with various forms of percussion and other instrumentation.

During the time-scale of these releases the band have not only gained major airplay and radio sessions in their native U.K but all around the world; predominantly in the U.S, Canada, and Australia.

But what do Joe Symes and the Loving Kind do best? What is the thing they shine at the most? The answer, of course, is live performance. Like their publicity resume, the list of places they’ve played and the other bands they’ve shared the bill with is equally impressive. Headlining Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds After-show Party twice on the main stage of the Liverpool 02 Academy (the first time being their second gig as a full band), supporting The Blockheads, Dodgy, XTC, Republica, Alt-J, Bloc Party, Starsailor, and The Christians, being part of the Hillsborough Truth & Justice Concert at the Royal Court Theatre Liverpool, headlining the lovely Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon, and bringing joy to audiences at venues and festivals right across the U.K in Manchester, Glasgow, Cheshire, Sheffield, Wigan, Nottingham, Shrewsbury, Northwich, Leicester, Wigan, Crewe, Stoke, Blackpool, London, Stoke-on-Trent, and various parts of North and South Wales.

September 2018 saw the eagerly anticipated release of the band’s second album: a ten track rock classic that will leave the listener wanting more. The production of this album took place in several locations such as Peter Gabriel’s Solid State Logic Studios, Oxfordshire, the Motor Museum, Liverpool, Parr Street Studios, Liverpool, and Abbey Road, London. 

And finally coming up to the present, after taking sometime off from live performances, the band began 2020 by working on a new 4 tracks E.P, which is scheduled for release later in the year. 

So, to sum it all up: Joe Symes and the Loving Kind from Liverpool, U.K, One of the most exciting new bands to come out of Liverpool (according to the late Early Beatles manager/Merseybeat promoter Sam Leach, R.I.P.)
To quote Ryan Martin from Chicago based station Jammerzine:
“Take note if you are thinking of starting a band, or wanting to get your music heard. This is how it is done.”

Fresh On The Net is a music blog hosted by Tom Robinson and Team Freshnet, offering independent artists an open door and a level playing field for their music. Our inbox is open at http://freshonthenet.co.uk every Monday to Thursday morning - if you share a track with us there it will be heard by every member of our moderation team.

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Experimental alter ego of singer-songwriter @philcoopermusic & inspired by the likes of Soulwax, Beck & Gorrilaz

"At once contemporary and traditional." Northwest-based me + deboe are a duo consisting of singer-songwriters Mercy Elise and Sarah Deboe. Their work largely being rooted in the world of folk and alternative rock, yet equally defying the confines of genre. The duo met in the Northwest, and immediately thrived on their strong chemistry for live performance, touring it on a national and international scale. Mercy and Sarah have delved into the world of theatre as music directors in both Chester and Liverpool, inspiring a new approach to composition and collaboration. Their upcoming releases are performed live, a testament to what they are renowned for and the foundation of their songwriting.
 
 Their latest track "Woven" was recorded in collaboration with National Museums Liverpool for the "Museum Sessions" series, filming on location at the Walker Art Gallery.

West Coast warm vibes
Emotive nostalgic innovation
Liverpool

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