The Baker's Dozen #37 Kaya Stewart

September 21, 2022 by David Vousden in Alternative Rock, Interview, Pop, Singer-Songwriter, The Bakers Dozen

Kaya Stewart will release her second album ‘If Things Go South’ on September 30th via Bay Street Records. Kaya released her first album via Warners while still in her mid-teens back in 2016 and is now an industry veteran at just 22. Co-written and produced with her father, Dave Stewart (Eurythmics, Daryl Hall, Tom Petty), it is Kaya at her most authentic, expressive self.“This record is one-hundred per cent who I am now,” she declares. “This is the Kaya I was working towards all along.” RGM caught up with Kaya to learn a little more about her and the influences that helped to shape the new record.

The Baker's Dozen #30 Dim Gray

July 01, 2021 by David Vousden in Alternative Rock, Folk, Prog Rock, Rock, The Bakers Dozen

Norwegian trio Dim Gray released their debut album ‘Flown’ digitally in 2020 and it is now available on CD or a 2LP set with four bonus tracks across the physical formats. The Dim Gray sound is difficult to categorize with modern progressive and art-rock rubbing shoulders with Nordic folk as the trio all bring markedly different influences to the table. Radiohead, Fleet Foxes, Steven Wilson, Sigur Rós and Susanne Sundfør all get a mention in the band bio, which should be enough to get the more discerning listener on board. RGM caught up with Håkon Høiberg, Oskar Holldorff and Tom Ian Klungland to discuss a wide range of topics such as those myriad musical influences. We also delved into why choosing a band name is not for the faint of heart, and that, underneath the surface gloss, reality TV can leave a positive impression when approached with an open mind.

The Baker's Dozen #28 Tim Bowness

June 23, 2021 by David Vousden in Alternative Rock, Electronic, Interview, Pop, Rock, Singer-Songwriter, The Bakers Dozen

Tim Bowness is probably best known for No-Man, the duo he formed in 1987 with multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson, but this is only a small part of Tim’s expansive musical CV that includes a solo career (six albums and counting) plus work with David Torn, Nosound, White Willow and The Opium Cartel etc. One of these many and varied projects is Plenty a band originally formed in the mid-80s as a trio with Brian Hulse and David K Jones. It would be thirty years before Plenty would actually release their debut album ‘It Could Be Home’ in 2018, but their brand of melancholy indie-pop/art-rock in the vein of The Blue Nile and Talk Talk has a timeless quality and the trio are back with a new 2CD set due for release on June 25th 2021 the press release refers to as “Something old, something borrowed, but all blue” which sums things up rather nicely. RGM was pleased to catch up with Tim for a chat about his songwriting approach and their emotional impact, his early career plus recommendations for good TV shows and a fair bit more.

The Baker's Dozen #25 BIRDPEN

March 03, 2021 by David Vousden in Interview, Alternative Rock, Electronic, Kraut Rock

The duo of Mike Bird and Dave Pen released ‘Discussing Robots – Dig That Hole’ in 2003 on 7” vinyl which was the first in a run of EP releases before their debut album ‘On/Off/Safety/Danger’ arrived in 2009. Over the years BirdPen have continued to release albums at a healthy pace with their sixth album ‘All Function One’ due via JAR Records on March 5th, 2021. RGM caught up with the duo for a chat about their various influences and the expected struggles of touring in a post-pandemic/Brexit world. Away from the music Dave shares his love of Ray Bradbury while, like so many of us, Mike really wants to get out for some fresh air and who could blame him. Many thanks to Dave and Mike for their time.