CLICK HERE FOR RUNNING ORDER
A female guitar prodigy, at fourteen Chantel was told by major
labels that she had a "great voice, but girls don't play guitar
like that!" Wisely ignoring the comments, she enrolled at the
Leeds College of Music and became the first student in the
college’s history, to achieve a 100% pass mark, with 18
distinctions. Chantel left with a First Class Honours degree in
Popular Music and a coveted prize, the college’s musician of the
year award.
In previous years, Chantel stepped out in the pro-musician world
and her stunning live performances demonstrated that she had the
ability to perform rock for the new age, played by a musician
born with an effortless virtuosity. Since then, she has built a
loyal and growing fan base who follow her every move.
If you measure an artist’s prospects by the company they keep,
then Chantel has been moving in the right direction. Early in
her career, Chantel was invited to perform with Joe Bonamassa,
on two of his UK tours.
When Chantel released her 2011 debut album, Like No Other, one
critic said, “Chantel McGregor deserves to be held up as a
messiah of blues-rock and given her own mountain. She doesn't
strum or pick her guitar but almost bends and distorts it, as if
she's channelling the ghost of Hendrix through her fingers"
The album was produced by Livingstone Brown, whose production
credits include Ed Sheeran, Robin Trower, and Shakira. The end
result was a beautifully crafted debut album that showcased
Chantel’s versatility and talent as a singer-songwriter.
Chantel’s follow up album, Like Control, again produced by
Livingstone Brown, was released in October 2015 to critical
acclaim.
All About Rock’s review of the album said: 'The album in its
entirety has a common theme running through of gothic imagery
which makes it almost a concept album but each track stands out
on its own. Chantel’s double tracked vocals are amazingly tight
& the production on this album sounds loose which is a
compliment to Livingstone Brown & Chantel who have obviously
spent a lot of time on the arrangements. The girl can obviously
shred but she does so in a very understated & despite the title
of the album, a controlled way. Recommended for fans of blues,
rock, Jeff Buckley, Marillion, Big & Rich, Country & Nick Drake.
This is a hard album to categorize & pigeon hole which in this
day & age of labels & boxes is a good thing.'
Planetmosh reviewed the album with the following comment: 'The
album is full of great guitar work, but Chantel McGregor isn’t
just a guitar player – she does the vocals too and they are
equally impressive. She’s got a great voice and the variety of
songs on the album allows her to demonstrate a range of styles
vocally. It really is a great album.'
The single, Take The Power, was playlisted for 5 weeks on Planet
Rock radio.
Chantel has recently been interviewed for features on Sky News,
BBC Radio Five Live and BBC Radio Four.
In December 2018, Chantel launched her own Podcast, which has
been very successful, earning a place in the iTunes Podcast
Charts.
Dana
Gillespie made her first record in 1964 and all these years
later she is still recording, and released her 70th album at the
end of 2019 called ‘Under My Bed’ for Ace Records. In the '70s
she was the first Mary Magdalene in the West End musical 'Jesus
Christ Superstar' and also worked with David Bowie as he wrote
the song ‘Andy Warhol’ for her and she sang on his ‘Ziggy
Stardust’ album. In the '60s and '70s she made many films but
Blues music has always been her first love, and she considers
herself as a song writer who sings! Her musicians are known as
The London Blues Band and they are considered to be the cream of
the London Blues scene.
Blues
and soul become inextricably entwined in award-winning
singer-songwriter, Kyla Brox, whose raw talent has seen her
described as “the finest female blues singer of her generation”.
Winner of the 2018 UK Blues Challenge, Kyla has the honour of
representing the UK in Memphis at the 2019 International Blues
Challenge, as well as the European event in the Azores. In a
huge nod to her ongoing stature in British Blues, the UK Blues
Federation made Kyla an official Ambassador of UK Blues in 2016
and she is one of only three British singers privileged to be
included in the 50 Women of the Blues Spotify playlist.
Daughter of cult blues figure, Victor Brox, the Mancunian
vocalist began her career as a teenager in her father’s band and
has now honed her own sophisticated sound, as heard on her
critically acclaimed 2016 album, Throw Away Your Blues and the
scintillating, multi-faceted new 2019 album, Pain & Glory. Her
voice; tender, urgent, gritty, blurring the distinction between
pleasure and pain, mixed with the enchantingly fluent guitar
work of Paul Farr, inspired bass playing of Danny Blomeley and
in-the-pocket drumming of Mark Warburton, combine to make a
unique and powerful, often joyous, always emotional experience.
Kyla also plays in duo form with her husband, virtuoso
acoustic guitarist, Danny Blomeley, whose playing, by turns
delicate and unrestrained, has earned him a following in his own
right. With many albums under her belt and many miles
covered on the road, touring all over the world, Kyla Brox is
widely regarded as one of the very best soul-blues singers the
British Isles has ever produced.
The
Cinelli Brothers
The Cinelli
Brothers is a project born out of a common passion for the
electric Chicago and Texas blues from the 60s and 70s, when
Marco (guitarist, singer and composer) and Alessandro (drummer,
backing vocalist and arranger) decided to form an explosive team
showcasing original repertoire in the style of Chess, Stax and
Motown. After a series of successful shows around Europe
(France, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal), the band
decided to take things to another level. Babe Please Set Your
Alarm was recorded at the Soup Studio in London and the full
live and analog recording was released in May 2018 on vinyl and
digital format.This album comprises original compositions as
well as a few covers, such as ‘Chain of Fools’ or ‘Back Door
Man’ – which stays true to Willie Dixon’s number, as well as
Prince’s ‘Kiss’, in a remarkable shuffle rhythm. The Cinelli
Brothers champion a new generation of passionate musicians
sharing in the love of Blues, Soul, R&B and the true authentic
sounds that have made the blues a cornerstone of music history.
The
Ryk Mead Band, are indeed a blues band but by definition a lot
more. A Stunning Power Blues, Jazz, Rock Trio. Through playing
many different styles of music it has always been the case that
the blues has had a deep influence on whatever type of material
I’ve played. As time progressed, so did the inclination to
select the more obscure and less trodden path of song and
material I wanted to play. It's hard to say whether this is my
influence on the other members of the band or if the others have
joined because they feel the same about the way music has
influenced them. Whatever the case my band has developed a style
of its own. When i play live the set may change from night to
night. We might suddenly change an arrangement or change
direction at any moment within a song. The basis of the song
stays the same but things change, imagination and feel for the
moment take over; something new is created. Not even the guy’s
in the band know when it's coming. This creates a tension and
excitement that means things evolve and develop night by night.
With hard work it becomes possible. This makes every gig
potentially electrifying and new. Ryk Mead, singer/guitarist,
songwriter, Musical Director; Heart and soul of the band. A
confirmed guitar virtuoso, started a gigging career on stage in
the late 60s, touring in Germany from October 1969, he has built
a reputation on solid experience gained alongside some of the
worlds famous names, such as: Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Annie
Lennox, Alison Moyet, The Pretty Things, Steve Waller (Manfred
Man's Earth Band), Paul Fox and Dave Ruffy (The Ruts), Elmer
Gantry (Stretch / Alan Parsons Project) Beverley Martyn (partner
of former icon John Martyn) and a host supporting musicians from
the professional arena. Working through many styles and genres,
as professionals often do, Ryk has paid his dues and now has a
world of experience to draw on. But if you listen you will hear
in all these styles the heart of the blues. Internationally,
this native Londoner is performing all over the world, from
China to the United States. Recently appeared in the USA as
supporting act for Willy Nelson, and in Europe often touring
France. A mix of new songs and traditional covers plus original
material. Genres are a spread over Rock, Jazz, melodic, and
ethnic blues. Featuring songs from the album “Chicago” the last
CD from Ryk Mead. And his latest EP “Pictures in a Gallery”,
due for release soon.
Since
bursting on to the UK Blues scene with their debut record ‘The
Uprising EP’ in April 2019 followed by their second EP
‘Innocence Of Youth’ in May 2020, Grace and Aaron have been
going from strength to strength. The British husband and wife
duo have an
ever-growing online fan base and have
gained the attention of Cerys Matthews’ The Blues Show on BBC
Radio 2.
Their unique
harmonic vocal-led approach to song writing, dirty electric
guitar, slide resonator mandolin and fiddle create a unique
distinctive and contemporary blues rock sound that echoes 1970s
classic rock with hints of the 1930s blues that inspire them.
Before
lockdown, the duo toured the UK in their self-converted VW
camper with an impressive tour schedule. Since the lockdown, the
duo live stream on Facebook every Saturday at 8pm BST for their
‘Rock The Lockdown’ series attracting hundreds of thousands of
views on a weekly basis. Fan engagement is second to none, while
WRM fans continue to organically multiply on Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter.
On November
20th, 2020, the duo released their long-awaited debut album ‘We
Fly Free’, to critical acclaim from the UK radio and rock music
magazine media.
|