Alfie Butel – Mexico

I first encountered singer-songwriter Alfie Butel at Chaos 2018 when he and his band Mezra travelled over from Jersey to take part in the Sound Guernsey Battle Of The Bands, which they went on to win in convincing fashion. Having returned and impressed again the following the year, now, another year later Alfie has released his debut solo single proper,...

Dribbler – Beachside

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Every now and then a band crops up that becomes the talk of the metaphorical town and everyone you speak to says you have to hear them – the latest to fall I to this category are Dribbler, a no doubt interestingly named trio from Jersey (Boots on vocals...

Monty Taft – Sacrifice

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard After spending 2019 firmly establishing himself with a string of singles and live shows around the UK and the Channel Islands, including a very well received performance at BBC Music Introducing Live in November, Monty Taft is back with his first new single of 2020, Sacrifice. From the off...

BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands: February 2020 – Magic Moustache and Bubblebrain Records

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Greg and Joe of Magic Moustache RecordsClick here to listen to the show For my February 2020 edition of BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands we had something a little different as I spoke to a pair of record labels from the islands about events and releases they...

Parish 13 – A Rum Do

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard I first encountered the Jersey based five-piece Parish 13 at the Sark Roots Festival back in 2017 when I made note of their unconventional appearance and approach as looking like something from Royston Vasey in The League Of Gentlemen. While maybe a little extreme, that description still seems to...

Independent Venue Week with Beach Riot, Stone Cold Fiction, The Tarantulips and Case On The Base – St James Concert Hall – 01/02/20

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard The TarantulipsFor the past six years Independent Venue Week has been championing bars, clubs, pubs and, for want of a better word, music halls up and down the UK that are run independently of major sponsors and support grass roots music both from their own neck of the woods...

BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands: December 2019 – Live Session Special

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Click here to listen to the show For my December 2019 edition of BBC Music Introducing in the Channel Islands I presented a look back at some of the best of the live sessions we’ve featured across the year. Along with the sessions recorded in our studio from the...

The Recks at BBC Maida Vale Studios – 20/10/19

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard The Recks in Studio Four at Maida ValeThanks to BBC Music Introducing I have, over the past few years, had the privilege of visiting some historic locations, from BBC’s own Broadcasting House to Abbey Road Studios and of course Maida Vale Studios. This though was the first time a...

BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands – September 2019 – Nick Coleman and Coastal Fire Dept

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Nick Coleman on BBC IntroducingClick here to listen to the show For my edition of BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands for September 2019 I featured two up and coming acts from Guernsey with rather different styles. In session was Nick Coleman who’s made a name for himself...

Byzanthian Neckbeard – Extinction EP

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Five years ago Byzanthian Neckbeard dropped their debut album, From The Clutches Of Oblivion, the waves of which carried them as far as the Blookdstock metal festival in Derbyshire and The Underworld in Camden. Since then, despite the loss of one guitarist, the trio have continued to cement their...

Hot Plastic – Time Bomb

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Over the last year or so Hot Plastic have, in their current form, been steadily building their reputation both in their home base of Jersey and across the south of the UK with a few visits across the Channel and in August 2019 they released their latest and fourth...

Chaos 15 – Pleinmont, Guernsey – 28-30/06/19

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard After seemingly settling back into a winning formula last year, Chaos returned for a 15th time to the Pleinmont headland in Guernsey over the weekend of 28th to 30th June 2019. With two stages running for the three days it was possibly the most varied Chaos event yet with...

BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands – June 2019 – Arts Sunday and Sark Folk Festival

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Click here to listen to the show For my latest stint in the hot seat on BBC Music Introducing in the Channel Islands I had two features in amongst the music. First was a look back at three of the five artists who played the BBC Introducing on Arts...

BBC Music Introducing in the Channel Islands – April 2019 – The Recks and Atmoised

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard The Recks and AtomisedClick here to listen to the show This month BBC Introducing in Guernsey and Jersey have been combined so going forward its BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands, with me still in the hot seat for the final Saturday of each month. With that in...

Out Of The Box – Various Artists

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Every few years it seems someone strikes on the idea of releasing a compilation album celebrating something of Guernsey’s music scene. From the Guernsey Rock Album in the early 1980s through Twist Records GBG series they have acted as a glimpse into what’s happening in the island’s ‘scene’ at...