Introducing: Parker

Parker is a new post-hardcore band hailing from Belgium, featuring former members of the bands Campus, When Hope Escapes, and Her Concept. Parker is a five-piece band, and the full lineup is as follows:

Steven Praet – Vocals
Nick Rondou – Guitar
Yannick Van Den Langenbergh – Guitar
Michiam Van Den Langenbergh – Bass
Bert Craane – Drums

With a similar sort of sound to the likes of Architects, Bring Me The Horizon, and Oh, Sleeper, the band is currently working on a debut EP, ‘This is PRKR‘, with a view to release the EP in May 2013. ’This is PRKR‘ will consist of four tracks, and Parker will then be looking to hit the road in order to promote this new material.

You can keep up with the latest news from Parker via Facebook.

The following is a teaser video of Parker within the studio, working on the ‘This is PRKR‘ EP:

Introducing: Kurt Borutski

Kurt Borutski is a 23 year-old Canadian musician that has made quite a name for himself on YouTube where he has built up over 2400 subscribers and his videos have been viewed more than 732,000 times.

Kurt operates under the Youtube alias KurtsCovers, and predominantly posts Blink-182 covers (and other Blink-182 side projects such as Boxcar Racer, Angels & Airwaves, and +44). Kurt has also covered tracks by several other artists (including a number of Green Day covers), however his predominant focus has been on the work of the much loved pop-punk trio that is Mark, Tom, and Travis.

Kurt has been posting videos on his YouTube channel since April 2011, and in little over a year has already built up to 238 videos, posting videos frequently and keeping in touch with his fans through his Facebook page, and also through interaction with his viewers by commenting on the YouTube platform itself in response to those that leave him comments.

Having previously focused on covering single tracks on bass, guitar, and drums, Kurt has recently taken to uploading full album covers of Blink 182′s music, and has so far posted full album bass covers of ‘Take Off Your Pants and Jacket‘, ‘Neighborhoods‘, ‘Cheshire Cat‘, ‘Enema of the State‘, ‘Self-Titled‘, and most recently the ‘Mark, Tom, and Travis Show‘ live album.

A prolific poster of cover videos on Youtube,  Kurt Borutski is not just another lifeless cover artist; Kurt injects a great deal of energy and enthusiasm with his cover videos, and you can tell that he’s a prolific fan of the artist’s that he covers (and not just because he seems to own every Blink-182 signature model instrument known to man).

Kurt Borutski is most definitely a very impressive musician, and particularly if you’re a Blink-182 fan, it really is worth checking out his videos on his Youtube channel. There are a lot of people out there that cover the music of Blink-182, there are few that can put their personality and enthusiasm for creating music across quite like Kurt can however, and whenever Kurt adds a new cover to his channel, even if you’re not the biggest fan in the world of the work that he’s covering, you can rest assured that Kurt Borutski will still make it well worth watching.

Introducing: Bombs Into You

Bombs Into You is a band based out of Portland, Oregon in the United States of America and their songs will evoke a mix of euphoria, anger and determination within the listener. ‘Nearly‘ is the classic emotive tune that everyone will relate to and “feel something for”, while the sudden electro beats (and Jared Jensen’s soft vocals) on ‘Fighting Over Elevators‘ has euphoria dripping from every chord. ‘Been Your Art‘ is also worth a mention as a standout tune; its own cooly-delivered venom will have your anger handled and dealt with in a few easy minutes.

There’s something delicious about a band that can serve up something that appeals so easily to a range of emotions like Bombs Into You. The great thing is that, despite their reliance on tech in the studio, out live they come off as a full and proper rock band – something akin to how Depeche Mode might work if they were still lurking in basements.

The band is currently working on a new full-length album (their second), but in the meantime there are a number of quality live and studio recordings, alongside demos available to download for free via the act’s official website.

For more information visit: http://www.bombsintoyou.com

Introducing: Sharks

Influenced by all the best punk and rock greats – see Springsteen and The Clash (via Charles Bukowski’s raw and honest poetry), Sharks make music for the disenchanted and honest working man, and they do it very well.

Having supported Social Distortion over in the States, and in advance of playing with Tribes over here, the band has all the right scuzzy rock credentials to appeal to audiences across the great genre spectrum from rock to metal via pure punk and back again.

More importantly, this band has the drive and energy to make a real difference to punk music in 2012, and they’ve already been cracking on with that mission and touring the world.

This comes across perfectly on tracks including ‘Fallen On Deaf Ears‘ and ‘No Gods‘ – these are the types of career-defining songs that bear the passion and commitment of a band who you’d swear were trying to damage the idea of passionate and committed rock (sort of like The Clash… this lot really…really love The Clash). They’re not. They’re good, and you should listen to ‘em. Go on.

For more information visit the Sharks Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/sharksuk

Introducing: Zuby

Ever wondered what would happen if a body-building UK rapper collided with an Oxford University student. Well… Zuby is the answer. The 24-year old London-based rapper has sold more than 6,000 albums without record label support spending most weekends selling his music to fans on the street.

He is an anomaly in the world of hip-hop; having achieved an honours degree from Oxford University whilst building up a successful career in music, with three independent albums to date.

And in an era of somewhat mindless lyricism usually preaching about money, drugs and guns, Zuby’s music is powerful, raw and urban but without so much as a curse-word.

Zuby has a captivating sound fuelled by his hybrid accent, having moved to Saudi Arabia at a very early age and been educated at an American school before coming back to the UK. His voice sounds American at times, with a British twang.

His new track ‘Stay In My Lane‘ is Zuby’s first venture into dubstep; fusing sounds that make his music more tailored to dancefloor’s nationwide having already been picked up by a number of DJ’s.

It’s a winning concept that will be set to increase Zuby’s seemingly ever-growing army of young followers.

Watch the new video for ‘Stay In My Lane‘ here:

Introducing: Systemyk

This Hull-based lot have some very credible influences and contacts – not only can they count Paradise Lost’s guitarist Greg Mackintosh as the producer of their EPs and their forthcoming second album ‘Reward For Obedience‘, but throughout their long history the four-piece (made up of Danny Barr on vocals, Lu Dixon on bass, Lee Dixon on guitar and Phil Owst on keyboards), have maintained a high profile  by touring nationally and internationally, securing a record deal with independant label Casket Music in the process.
In their eight years together the core members of the band have battled many line-up changes and as a result the music has steadily evolved from an intense crossover of industrial sounds into a more gritty and raw electro-metal assault that has won them fans and media attention from right across the alternative spectrum.

Embedded deep within their debut album (2007′s ‘Cross Contamination‘) are classic hard-hitting goth influences like Gary Numan and the aforementioned Paradise Lost (see ‘Can’t Carry On‘) alongside the more contemporary work of cult industrialists Zeromancer and the keyboard-driven decadence of the Deathstars (check out ‘Ghost In The Machine‘). For their second album though, the band have stepped things up to a whole new level embracing heavier and more full-throttle metal influences like Killswitch Engage and Spineshank (the latter’s new material shows a progression away from industrial in to more metalcore territory).

Despite their brutal new approach to live performance and sonic delivery, thematically the group look to discuss personal relationships and emotions to an unusual depth, with the central aim being to appeal to every person no matter what age, or situation.

It is my opinion readers, that Systemyk are worth your attention because their music is affecting, unapologetically raw and totally direct. It does also help that they are one of the hardest working acts on Hull’s scene having played relentlessly throughout Yorkshire (they’ve also completed an tour of the Czech Republic most recently).

Indeed, their drive and determination is such that they have secured a dedicated and loyal fanbase and despite the gap between albums, over the last year they have been working hard to promote the new material on large and intimate stages alike.

The band’s second album ‘Reward For Obedience‘ will be out later this year.

Introducing: The Carpels

Birmingham-based five-piece The Carpels are about as eclectic as you can get, creating a merged modern sound from a vast array of genres including punk, dubstep, indie and electronica.

The band scored a record deal with local label One Beat Records last year which is owned and run by Jon Brookes (the legendary drummer of The Charlatans) and his business partner Ian Light which has exposed them to a huge influx of attention from the industry.

Last month they played at The Queen of Hoxton in London as part of the club night This Feeling with fellow Birmingham outfit Tantrums. There, they were snapped by Libertines photographer Roger Sargent, who has a reputation for shooting bands which are heading for the mainstream.

They were also fortunate enough to have their debut single, Sand, played on BBC Radio 1 as part of Rob da Bank’s show and by Mark Radcliffe on his show on BBC 6Music.

For a band that’s still in its infancy (most of the boys are only 18 apparently) they seem to be causing a sensational storm!

Their new track, called ‘Handshakes‘, was produced by Jim Spencer who’s worked with New Order, The Cribs, Doves and Shaun Ryder amongst others. It perfectly exemplified the clean sound that The Carpels are becoming known for with screaming vocals and catchy lyrics.

Introducing: Testtone3

Photo: Annique Albericci

Testtone3 should be hailed one of Leeds’ most exciting and innovative bands of the last decade, coming across like a phat (note, the ph…) mutant crossbreed of Pendulum and Hendrix, the group is made up of Adam Gauton (vocals), Andrew Precious (bass) and Richard Precious on synths and programming alongside the more recent addition of robo-armed drummer Matt Collinge.

As stated, the band’s music crosses genres in a way that few other acts in the North of England can confidently boast. Taking the heavier parts of Pendulum and mixing that in with the punk snarl of The Prodigy and the accessible guitar goodness of Mr. Hendrix, Testtone have afforded themselves a strong reputation on a local and national level for raucous-yet-technically-sound live performances and solid recordings. With a slew of well-received TV and radio appearances recently, the band is starting to see their hard work pay off with some nice festival spots over this summer.

The band formed in 2004 with a core mission to create a hybrid between electronic music and classic rock and roll sounds. The four have been credited in the past as one of Yorvik’s hardest working and most accessible live acts and they have toured extensively in the north which has afforded them dedicated followers in key areas like Hull, Leeds and Manchester.

The act’s first EP, ‘Fuelled By Substance’ was released in 2007 and central tracks like ‘Goin’ Down’ and ‘Get On The Dancefloor’ display the band’s feel-good attitude toward making music to enjoy and dance to. On the former, sky-scraping classic guitar riffs meet jackhammer beats inspired by The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers and Adam G’s Brian Molko (Placebo)-esque vocal stylings for a resounding and heavy-hitting combination.

The band has more recently released an EP, ‘Mind Graffiti’. Early indications are that the group has evolved from a scene standouts into a polished electro-rock juggernaut set to give the likes of Foals and Does It Offend You, Yeah? a decent run for their money. The thing that separates Testtone from the aforementioned big-hitters and other up-and-coming local crossover bands on the scene is their energy.

Call me clichéd, but honestly the live performance has to be seen to be believed. This lot are mental on stage and their approach is effortlessly entertaining. It’s like one massive rollercoaster night out, Testtone3 is pure skull-candy.

Introducing Alkaline Trio

Having featured FACT, Rolo Tomassi, We Are The Ocean, and Fireworks throughout the week, bringing an end to our Hassle Records Week of Slam Dunk bands is Alkaline Trio (although we do still have some non band specific Hassle Records activity planned for the weekend). Alkaline Trio is a band that probably doesn’t need too much introduction, introducing them we are though, so here’s what we have to offer about the Illinois three-piece.

After forming in 1996 it took the band just two years to record its debut studio album as ‘Goddamnit’ was released through Asian Man Records in 1998, and with its half hour album of punk rock the band was quickly able to establish quite a name for itself. A second album followed in 2000 in ‘Maybe I’ll Catch Fire’, again through Asian Man Records, and in 2001 it was time for the band to hit the mainstream with its Vagrant Records release ‘From Here to Infirmary’ which saw the band have two hit singles in ‘Private Eye’ and ‘Stupid Kid’.

With Alkaline Trio now well on the road to success, it was time for the band’s most popular album to date as ‘Good Mourning’ was released in 2003. With this release came further single success, and Alkaline Trio was now well and truly a force to be reckoned with within the punk rock world. With ‘Crimson’, ‘Agony & Irony’, and ‘This Addiction’ having now followed, Alkaline Trio is a band with seven albums worth of material behind it, and with such a healthy back catalogue the band has continued to grow and flourish.

2010’s ‘This Addiction’ has been Alkaline Trio’s most successful album to date as it has reached number 11 on the Billboard 200; a resounding success for the band’s very first release through its own Heart & Skull record label (joint released with Epitaph). With seven albums behind them, the future looks to be rather bright for Alkaline Trio, and if the band continues to run like clockwork then we can no doubt expect to see studio album number eight released at some stage in 2012.

The following is the official video for ‘This Addiction’, the title track and first released single from the band’s most recent release:

Introducing Fireworks

Fireworks is a pop punk band from Metro Detroit, Michigan that has been around now since 2006. To date the band has released a total of three different EPs, and in 2009 the band released its debut full length studio album through Triple Crown Records. ‘All I Have to Offer is My Own Confusion’ is the title of the band’s debut, and the album was produced by New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert.

2010 has been a great year for Fireworks as the band has toured in support of the likes of New Found Glory, Hellogoodbye, Four Year Strong, and Saves the Day, and in the last year the band also put to film its very first promo video for the track ‘Detroit’ (the video can be found here at YouTube). All in all the band has been making some absolutely massive steps, and heading into the future Fireworks is a band that is bound to make many more as it progresses and matures.

Although the band is signed to Triple Crown Records in the U.S. (the label that gave us Brand New’s ‘Your Favourite Weapon’ and ‘Deja Entendu’ albums), here in the UK the band’s music is released through Hassle Records, and on the weekend of May 29th-May 30th the band played the Slam Dunk Festival in Hatfield/Leeds along with fellow Hassle Records artists Alkaline Trio, We Are The Ocean, Rolo Tomassi, and FACT.

Having had a busy start to 2010, Fireworks will be spending the next couple of months writing with a view to getting an album out there in March/April 2011, and will then spend a few months headlining shows in the States as the band looks to add to its already incredibly impressive gigging history.

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