Played 21 times

Sunshinecast Ep 51 - Animals with Amazing Disguises, Two Blondes and a Threesome 

Broadcast on Gashouse Radio Tuesday 5th June 2012
You can subscribe to the rss feed for the show, grab it with a bunch of podcatchers, you can get it with iTunes, or from right here, right now. 
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Animals with amazing disguises, two blondes and a Threesome in today’s show, as I chat with the manager of scottish band Stanley about their forthcoming 7” vinyl release, interview beautiful Leeds based singer-songwriter Jen Armstrong about her EP, due to be released this Friday, and play tracks by the lovely Kentish singer-songwriter Kelly Stanley.

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In today’s Sunshinecast, I’ll be chatting with the manager of awesome Scottish band Stanley about their album ‘Animals With Amazing Disguises’ and playing their song ‘Threesome’,  about which manager Steve Amos told me yesterday:

“This song is NOT available on the album “Animals with Amazing Disguises” but will be on our 7” single re-release of “Sandwiches & Tea”.  You can go down in history as playing it first :)”

Well, huzzah! I’ve played tracks from the album, and I especially love ‘Edit The Night’ as regular listeners will know, but I am a teensy bit excited (okay, very excited) about playing ‘Threesome’ in today’s show. With all the wit of Jarvis Cocker, the charm of The Divine Comedy, an exceptional lead vocalist and lush arrangements, Stanley will inspire and entertain the most discerning of listeners.

You can buy Stanley’s music on their website : www.stanleytheband.com And visit their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/stanleyaberdeen

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Also in today’s show, beautiful Leeds-based singer-songwriter Jen Armstrong will be back for a chat about her forthcoming EP ‘Cyber Girl’, which is to be released on Friday 8th June.

I interviewed Jen on May 15th about her adventures in LA and her plans for her music, and today I’ll be asking her how the visa application is going and playing some tracks from the forthcoming EP. The title track is being released on Thursday 7th June as a single. Here’s a teensy taste of the new single:

You’ll be able to buy it from Jen Armstrong on Bandcamp 
Check out Jen Armstrong’s website: www.jenarmstrong.tv 
And visit her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/jenarmstrongmusic

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I’m pleased to be able play some tracks today by young singer songwriter Kelly Stanley, who I met recently when I payed an acoustic set at a Jubilee weekend music festval that she organised.

Visit Kelly Stanley’s facebook page:  www.facebook.com/pages/Kelly-Stanley

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Played 70 times

Sunshinecast Ep 37 - Mr. Payne 

This ain’t just noise, this is music 

Broadcast on Gashouse Radio Tuesday 28th February and Saturday 3rd March 2012
You can subscribe to the rss feed for the show, grab it with a bunch of podcatchers, you can get it with iTunes, or from right here, right now. 
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Mr. Payne is a UK rap artist from Folkestone in south east England with a passion for rhymes and flow.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYjEVrDzbms&version=3&hl=en_GB]

I met Mr. Payne back in October last year, when I was privileged to attend an event organised by the lovely Di and Louie Burns of Bluesky Pie Promotions at England’s finest cheese grater, the Quarterhouse Theatre in Folkestone, Kent.  This being an unsigned artists showcase night, I’d been expecting sensitive singer songwriters perched atop  bar stools nervously exposing their souls,  guitarists playing enthusiastic acoustic cover versions of the latest chart hits and bands showcasing new original material. There was all of that and it was all pretty good.

Some of it was excellent (be sure to check out the outstanding songwriting and musicianship of contemporary acoustic trio Arcelia, who played on the night, if you haven’t already), but Mr. Payne was like nothing I expected. I used to think I didn’t like rap,  but this guy blew me away - his lyrics are witty, charming, insightful and compassionate, lyrical and musical in equal measure, and delivered with measured power and rhythmic grace. Yes, really.  Listen to him rap live and acapella in this show, and see for yourself.

C3U records is a small independent label run by and for students at Canterbury Christ Church University. This year’s signings are Elle Rayenne and Patrick Channon.

This show features the the new singles ‘Celestial Navigation’ by Elle Rayenne and ‘Holding Out’ by Patrick Channon (due for release in march 2012). Read more here.

This was a very good week for new music - Sunshinecast favourite Funké and the TwoTone Baby officially released his  second EP at midnight on Monday 2th February

and I’m excited about having been able to play some of it in this show.  The six-track EP Injustice and Queen  is available from Bandcamp and will be on iTunes and all the usual suspects shortly. Here’s what the official press release says:

Once again enlisting the production talents of ex-Death in Vegas guitarist, Ian Button, ‘Injustice & Queen’ features six all-new tracks from the beatboxing, stompboxing, loop-inducing contemporary bluesman. Although still reliant on the traditional staples, guitar and harmonica, Funké’s new offering presents a modern technological twist to engage blues fans old and new.

Yurrs. Truth, that. He also bashes the blazes out his guitar when he’s performing live, strumming so hard that he snapped a string last time he played live in the sunshine studio, such is the raw energy in his playing. Funke will be back to play live on the show again on Tuesday 10th April. 

Go buy the 6 track EP Injustice and Queen on Bandcamp: http://funkeandthetwotonebaby.bandcamp.com

and Find out more about Funke on his website: www.funkeandthetwotonebaby.co.uk

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I’m pleased to report that the show features Gig-X-Change’s Song of the Week again this week.  This week’s track is The Place Where Sounds Awake by Bob Dean.

There’s also new music from a whole bunch of other talented artists, including:
Jen Armstrong (my new favourite female singer-songwriter, a Leeds girl currently on a musical adventure in LA), Abezilla (from the Pied Piper Promotions radio submissions syndicate), Edwin Miles (I’m a still a bit swoony about his music at the moment), Suicide Si (acoustic punk poet), The Undercurrent (rock, and quite a bit heavier than I usually play, but really rather good), Rosco Levee (debut album released on 17 February), Emily Sargant (amazing sixteen year old singer songwriter) and my band DaylightSaving.

Played 41 times

Sunshinecast Ep34 - Eclectic Electric with added Picturebox

Broadcast on Gashouse Radio Tuesday 7th February and Saturday 11th February 2012

You can subscribe to the rss feed for the show, grab it with a bunch of podcatchers, you can get it with iTunes, or from right here, right now.

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This week, my plans for the show changed suddenly,  so I asked the good people of Facebook what they thought I should play this week. However, the good people of Facebook were all out  having  a dirty weekend in Google+ so the only person who answered me was Robert Halcrow from the band Picturebox. He said that I should play a bit of everything and (this part shocked me) “especially some Picturebox. They’re so groovy”. I’d already decided not to play acoustic stuff this week, because I’ve played a lot of that lately, so there you have it then. An eclectic electric playlist, with added Picturebox.

Picturebox describe their sound as lo-fi pop, melodic music from the cathedral city of Canterbury. They have songs about hedgehogs, football, French pop, tennis, girls, tennis girls, cakes and tea parties. I don’t know why.

As an extra treat, here’s Picturebox’s latest EP ‘YouSay No’, to brighten up your day. You Say No EP (now available to download at Bandcamp) by Picturebox for the bargain price of £2 ($3.16)

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Sunshinecast Ep33 - Girls Go Wild!

Well, perhaps not quite wild. In fact, we might have just played some acoustic tunes and chatted a bit about stuff. Y’know.

Broadcast on Gashouse Radio Tuesday 31st January and Saturday 4th February 2012

You can subscribe to the rss feed for the show, grab it with a bunch of podcatchers, you can get it with iTunes, or from right here, right now.

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In this episode of Kate’s  Sunshinecast, there’s a chat and some tunes from Suffolk-based singer-songwriter Ellie Jamison, who’s working on her first EP at the moment. I chatted with Ellie on Thursday of last week, via Skype and it was rather a grown-up, sensible presenter and musician talking about music type of interview (albeit with a little bit of me cooing over the fact that Ellie has twin toddlers) and all in all, fairly dignified.

Then, on Monday night, Katy Haymer came over to the studio to play an acoustic session and ‘have a little bit of a  chat’. H’mmn.  This picture (left) is of Katy playing live. See how sensible she appears to be?  And they say the camera never lies…

I chatted with Katy about her new acoustic EP which is due for release in the next month and the album she’s currently working on, and she played a few songs. Then we set the world to rights, as you do. 

There’s also new music from sixteen year old singer songwriter Emily Sargant, female-fronted alternative acoustic band Hook and superb jazz and blues vocalist Claire Simone. It’s got some songs by bands featuring the male of the species, too,  because not all boys are smelly.

Love and sunshine!

Played 100 times

Sunshinecast Episode 32 - New friends and old favourites

Weee! Two podcasts uploaded in one day! The (seemingly insurmountable at the time) electrickeral difficulties I encountered last week mean that there’s no podcast for that week, but fear not, Ian Button (the musical hoe) has promised to come back on February 7th. The week before last I was all, “Boo-hoo, my life s a wasteland of misery” and this week I’m a bit more, “Wa-hey, my life is a paradise filled with good friends and good music”. You know how it is. There aren’t so many miserable songs in this week’s podcast, consequently, and I’m please to report that all technical gremlins appear (for the time being being) to be sleeping, if not dead. Yes, I know - I waffle too much and you just want the podcast, right? Here it is then:

Sunshinecast Episode 32 - New friends and old favourites

Broadcast on Gashouse Radio Tuesday 24th and Saturday 28th January 2012 You can subscribe to the rss feed for the show, grab it with a bunch of podcatchers, you can get it with iTunes, or from right here, right now. Download (right-click & save as) It’s got some super-shiny new songs in it and some well-worn, cosy comfy old faves. Yummy.

Played 110 times

Sunshinecast Ep 31  - Whenever you’re down, mate

Broadcast on Gashouse Radio Tuesday 10th and Saturday 15th January 2012

You can subscribe to the rss feed for the show, grab it with a bunch of podcatchers, you can get it with iTunes, or from right here, right now. Download (right-click & save as) Songs for when you have no fizz.  In this show, as well as the song that gives the show its title: ‘Whenever Your down Mate’ by Endeavours,  there’s jazz-rock from The Reign of Kindo,  exquisite guitar-picking from Troy Faid, hauntingly beautiful vocals from Emily and Simon, downbeat electronica from Mooli and rock for tearing your hair (and your heart) out to from Machine OEM, and more.

Played 41 times

Best of 2011 Part 2

Podcast - Sunshinecast Ep30 - Best of 2011 Pt2

Broadcast on Gashouse Radio Tuesday 3rd and Saturday 7th January 2012

You can subscribe to the rss feed for the show, grab it with a bunch of podcatchers, you can get it with iTunes, or from right here, right now. 

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This is part two of the Best (well, my favourite) of 2011, filled with rock, pop, acoustic, ska, nova-romantic,  anti-folk, stripped-down punk, electronica, easy-listening, alternative rock,  a tiny bit of random jazz and some tunes that just defy categorisation (my favourite and my best).

Next week, we’ll start to explore some of the newest independent music of 2012. The week after (on January 17th) we’ve got Ian Button in the studio (Thrashing Doves, Death in Vegas, David Cronenberg’s Wife and about a dozen other bands) to chat about his adventures in independent music as a musician and a producer.

Complete playlist for this show (and last week’s show) with links to artists’ pages/websites to follow.

Good luck with those New Year’s Resoultions!

Love and Sunshine, from Kate. x

Played 61 times

Best of 2011 Part 1

Podcast - Sunshinecast Ep29 - Best of 2011 Pt1

Broadcast on Gashouse Radio Tuesday 27th December and Saturday 31st December 2011

You can subscribe to the rss feed for the show, grab it with a bunch of podcatchers, you can get it with iTunes, or from right here, right now. 

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Did Santa not leave you anything nice? Never mind, take this - in the last week of the year, a mixtape of all my favourite of the tunes by independent artists played on Kate’s Sunshinecast during 2011.

There was WAY too much awesome tuneage to cram into one show, so the ‘Best of 2011′ show turned into a two-parter and this is part one, filled with rock, pop, acoustic, ska, nova-romantic,  anti-folk, stripped-down punk, electronica, easy-listening, alternative rock,  a tiny bit of random jazz and some tunes that just defy categorisation (my favourite and my best) and another two hours of the same excellent stuff to look forward to next week.

Complete playlist with links to artists’ pages/websites to follow. Love and sunshine and best wishes for a brave new year, from Kate. x

Christmas Sunshine!

Podcast - Sunshinecast Ep28 - Christmas Special

Broadcast on Gashouse Radio Tuesday 20th December and Saturday 24th December 2011 You can subscribe to the rss feed for the show, grab it with a bunch of podcatchers, you can get it with iTunes, or from right here, right now. Download (right-click & save as) It’s Christmas! This cracker of a show is packed with Christmas songs from UK independent artists (plus a couple from the US and one from Oz) - songs you’re not sick of, unike the usual festive fare blasted at you by every mainstream commercial station on TV & Radio and on the PA in every shop in your local mall and high street. It also has jokes from sparkling co-host of the show, crown princess of comedy Niamh Lynn-Devere.

Next week’s show will be a ‘best of 2011’ Special, on the last Tuesday of the year. I’ll be playing all my favourites of the artists I played on the show during 2011, but I’m open to listener suggestions - leave a comment here or on the facebook page for the show.

*News Flash*

There’s no poetry segment in this week’s show but - drum roll - there’s a new monthly poetry show called ‘Ode to Nowhere’ starting right here on Gashouse Radio in January 2012. English poet Simon Smith will be along for a chat about all things poetical in the first edition of the show, there’ll be guest readings from Joe & Bliss of The Blissful Mop, we’ve got digital beat poetry from Poet and the Loops and contemporary spoken word tracks from To love Sophia, as well as a host of other exciting contemporary poetry from unpublished or less than widely known poets.

In the meantime -

Merry Christmas, love and sunshine!

Played 61 times

Sunshinecast Episode 27 - Getting Jingly With It

Podcast (made to replace the technical glitch afflicted live show broadcast on Gashouse Radio on Tuesday 13th November)  aired on  Saturday 17th December 2011, 1 - 3pm Eastern/6pm UK.

You can subscribe to the rss feed for the show, grab it with a bunch of podcatchers, you can get it with iTunes, or from right here, right now. Download (right-click & save as)

This show is full of new tunes from UK independent artists and more than a few Christmas songs to get that tingly, jingly feeling started. Next week’s show will be non-stop Christmas and party tunes from independent artists. If you’re looking for Christmas party music and you’re bored of the same old Christmas numbers that get played to death on mainstream radio and TV and in shops, year after year, you’ll want to take  a listen to the show, this week and next week.