R&B/Hip Hop/Trapsoul/LoFi/House/Acoustic/

Displaying strong-hearted, beat driven acoustic rock, inspired tracks. Having been compared to Richard Ashcroft, Jim Morrison and Nick Cave with a hint of Doves and Elbow, Stroud has attracted attention from music media, BBC Introducing/BBC 6Music's  Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 2 (Dermot O’Leary show), BFBS Radio, XFM, NME and Q Radio. 

*GIG DATES*

7th Feb - York House Concerts  "one of the top 10 venues for up and coming acts" BBC6 Music Poll

15th Feb - Oporto Bar Leeds supporting JP Cooper

1st April - The Bedford London

17th April - The Wardrobe Leeds (EP Launch show)

27th June - Apollo Festival York - Main stage

12th July - Oakwell Festival (West Yorkshire) Main stage supporting The Feeling and Stooshe 

*DATES STILL TO BE CONFIRMED*

He was discovered by eminent British producer Will Jackson (The Kaiser Chiefs, Embrace, The Cribs, The Music) who adamantly brought Rupert into his studio to record his second album ‘Chasing The Night’.

The plaudits kept coming and they soon saw Rupert performing with his band on the festival circuit sharing the stage with artist such as James Blunt (opening the show at Dalby Forest N. Yorks on 26th June '14) Gabrielle Aplin, Ocean Colour Scene, Chris Helme (Seahorses) Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Marcus Foster, ASH , The Dunwells, Mark Morris (Bluetones) and Scars on 45 to name a few.


Last year Rupert also released a charity single, entitled "Always", in memory of his grandmother, with 100% profits in aid of Alzheimer's Research UK, for whom he has now been made a Champion Spokesperson for the charity. He has raised £6000 so far. In February 2013 Rupert was invited down to The House of Commons, as their Yorkshire media spokesperson, for a reception, hosted by The Speaker of The House The Rt Honourable John Bercow. This was a cross party initiative to announce ARUK’s new research strategy. In June 2013 Rupert was also asked to give a speech at Leeds University for the ARUK Leeds Public Meeting.

Rupert’s career has gone from strength to strength and his most recent releases “Never Back Down” and "Morning Light" have caught the ears of national radio, receiving radio play and plaudits from the likes of BBC Radio 2's Dermot O'Leary, Whispering Bob Harris, BBC Introducing and 6 Music's Tom Robinson, BFBS Radio and XFM. This led to Rupert and the band being invited by BBC Radio London and BFBS Radio for live sessions and interviews. Rupert also received his first US radio airplay on KX 93.5FM Laguna Beach California. His music video for “Never Back Down” won “People’s Choice Award 2013” at The 27th Leeds International Film Festival, beating 31 other artist entries and gaining 25% of the votes cast.

As a “Champion Spokesperson” for Alzheimer’s Research UK, a cause close to his heart, Rupert has raised over £6000 to date through various campaigns and events including his charity single “Always”. The single was written in memory of his grandmother who suffered with Alzheimer’s.

As a media spokesperson for the charity, Rupert was recently interviewed by The Guardian newspaper talking about the tragedy of the illness and why he became involved. Rupert was also interviewed on Al Jazeera International News programme “Inside Story”, where the video for his charity single “Always” was broadcast.

Rupert is back in the studio with Will Jackson working on his third album due for release in 2015. You can hear some of the new unreleased material at www.rupertstroudmusic.com 

Other successes include TV sync of his track "No Love Lost" from the "Chasing The Night" album, on Channel 4's Hollyoaks and Faith Guitars inviting him to become one of their featured artists http://www.faithguitars.com/faith-guitars-artist-profile.asp?id=57&sa&sb



<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a>This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.
What follows is a review by an online music blogger who, at the time of writing, did not know the band personally:

 Under A Banner  Jan 14
 by Themistocles 
Under A Banner are a wonderful discovery. The dream of traditional England flows through the work of this Midlands outfit, blending folk-styled music with the ideals of punk – a haunting, ethereal throwback to real English folk traditions mixed with the revolutionary fight and inspiration of bands like New Model Army.

The themes differ – from the evocative and powerful “Inseperable”, gentle melodies of the guitar subtly underscored with the sombre interludes of the violin and all topped with soaring, mysterious vocals in a tale of love and loss – to the passionate and idealistic self-proclaimed drinking song: “First Light” – ‘Into the city we go, Straight through ’til we see the first light of tomorrow’. In this case, the words assisted with clanging electric guitars tinging the idealism with aggression, a call to arms, almost.

However, the real joy for me lay in “The Scream”, an impassioned cry for freedom, to break loose and live: “Now raise your head from the shadows and scream, just scream; They kept you so quiet for so long… The sound of your beautiful scream” – primacy, anger and fascination with the fundamental elements of human nature, finding joy in simplicity and the release. Combined with the rapid acoustic guitars and pulsing rhythm of the drums, along with the dark natural imagery (“the storm” and “the noise”), the song becomes an insistent repeat, a rallying cry against stagnation and repression:“We love to create to destroy” – our freedom is most important.

Under A Banner are a breath of fresh air in a music scene stagnating and dying with manufactured pop, here is a band calling back to the earliest days of musical expression and bringing it back   in a whirlwind of acoustic guitars, poeticism and passion. A band you can stomp your foot and sing along to, and to whom you want to follow forward, as they so wisely put it, with “beer, wine and song” – an admirable sentiment indeed.

Rachael Hannah McCaul is a singer/song writer who has risen from the depths of Leeds, lived in the land of London and brings with her a mixture of Yorkshire, Scottish, Irish and Israeli ancestry to surprise you with the sound of her fiery soulful voice and her acoustic guitar. Her music is powerful, passionate and soulful, adding a pinch of blues, a touch of northern spice and some husky rock and roll, like a layered cake, each revealing a different flavour, story and sound to her music. Her influences span from old school R’n’B and Motown to current artists such as KT Tunstall, Arctic Monkeys and Lianne La Havas that continue to inspire her and her lyrical creativity.

Rachael began her music journey in 2009, her life experiences very much central to her music, yet it has been these last couple of years that Rachael has really begun to focus on pursuing her music career. She aims to create refreshing and original sounds that will really resonate and connect with her audience, tugging at their heart strings, while capturing their imagination with her songs.   

Take a look at the following links to listen and find out more about her: 

Website:
 www.rachaelhannahmccaul.co.uk

Facebook: 
www.facebook.com/rachaelhannahmccaulmusic

Youtube:
www.youtube.com/user/RachaelHMcCaulMusic/

Twitter: 
www.twitter.com/RHMMusic

Tumblr:
www.rachaelhannahmccaul.tumblr.com/

Rachael Hannah McCaul is an unsigned artist and is about to release her debut EP ‘Gone in a Blink’ early this year. ‘Grace’, ‘Blink’ and ‘Foolish Expectations’ have already been aired on BBC Introducing West Yorkshire since January and ‘Grace’ has also been played numerous times on Box UK Radio. It has been a great start to the year, but there is a lot more to come from this determined acoustic soul singer, so make sure you watch out.

Augustin - Singing, Fender Rhodes, OSCar Synth, Roland Space Echo, Rotary Speaker
Nanette  - Singing, Fender Precision alike Fretless Bass,
Bradley   - Drumming

Ghosts of the following -Kraftwerk, Deerhoof, Very Early Steely Dan, Captain Beefheart, Yes, Robert Wyatt, Kimberley from Girls Aloud, The Fall, Yellow Magic Orchestra,  McCartney 2, Pink Floyd, Bradford, Mucky Sailor, Grimper, Aha, Assorted Wilsons, tape delays.

✖️ JESS KEMP ✖️

Having grown up on the Manchester Music circuit, 27 year old acoustic singer/songwriter Jess Kemp is a keen favourite of BBC Radio 2, BBC Introducing, Clint Boon + many more. 

Clint Boon, 2017: “I was knocked out the first time I saw Jess Kemp perform live. She’s not just a world-class songwriter; she’s a fantastic performer.”

Jess’s debut single was launched in 2015 and immediately hit a high note with BBC Radio 2 and BBC Introducing. The demand then brought her debut EP [Camden] in 2016 which introduced a much bolder and more exciting sound to tracks already featured by BBC Introducing & BBC Radio 2. Off the back of the EP release, Jess went on to release [VondelPark] which tells the story of her 2016 tour of Amsterdam. Since, Jess has hit the stages as a headline act at the likes of Manchester Academy 3, The Deaf Institute, Sacred Trinity Church, Gullivers, The Eagle Inn and Factory Manchester. From here, came the release of [No Shouting], [On The Ground] and [Leave a Chair Out] - the rare feel of a festive, emotional piano ballad.

A regular on the festival circuit, Jess has joined the line up for many including; Kendal Calling, Bluedot Festival, Manchester Pride, Irlam Live and Blackthorn Music Festival. 

In Summer 2018 she hit the road to embark on her UK Pride Festival Tour to perform in; Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Northumberland, Kent, Chester and Bolton.

As a nominee for ‘Best Unsigned Female’ in the Best Of British Unsigned Music Awards, Jess’s music is a well known token of the Manchester emerging scene. Other achievements include being named a finalist of Indie Week Europe and Key 103’s Futurestars.

Jess's brand new single [WE WERE FALLING] is out now and can be found on Spotify, iTunes and YouTube.

There's more excitement in store for 2020 as Jess is set to release yet more new music along with some other exciting things happening!

Keep an eye on Jess's social media channels @JessKempArtist for more updates!


✖️ Industry Quotes ✖️

⚫️ Bittersweet Symphonies Blog: “The power of her performance really is testament to her seven years dedicated work on the Manchester music scene.”

⚫️ Sonic Bandwagon (Pure FM): “The epitome of what an element of ‘pop’ and chart music should sound like. The catchy nature of her songwriting would surely capture the hearts and minds of a nation. Her voice is quite unique, switching between a bluesy and soulful snarl, to something more gracious and velvety.”

⚫️ Natalie Eve-Williams & Michelle Hussey (BBC Introducing in Manchester): “A definite favourite of mine, her music just makes you happy.”

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