Saturday 2 October 2010

Press Release

'Battleships & Kettle Chips' EP

The year is 2010. In a time of mass unemployment and civil unrest, Randolph’s Leap quietly go about releasing what is sure to go down in history as “an adequate 5-song EP”.

However, we must look back to the previous decade in order to fully understand the music you are about to hear. ‘Battleships & Kettle Chips’ was recorded in 2009 during a 6-day spell at Glasgow’s Green Door Studio with producer Sam Smith at the ‘helm’ (a clever Battleship reference there). The songs were recorded to tape, not due to a desire for a ‘vintage’ aesthetic but due to a complete lack of understanding of modern technology.

It must be noted that the band survived solely on supermarket meal deals for the duration of recording. This EP should therefore be considered a conceptual experiment created with the intention of exploring the complex correlation between performance and diet. As such, any unsatisfactory aspects found in the recordings (wrong notes, off-key vocals, tempo issues etc.) should be understood as unavoidable and crucial elements in said artistic experiment. It would be naïve for any journalist or critic to misconstrue these occurrences as anything other than beautiful and inherently meaningful accidents.

Randolph’s Leap are a 6-piece, Glasgow-based, super-hyphenated figment of your imagination. They regularly perform live, much to the delight and amazement of themselves.

‘Battleships & Kettle Chips’ is released through Olive Grove Records on November 15th. It will be available on download through all of the major download sites and on CD. A special limited edition super dooper CD will be also be on offer to ten lucky souls.

FUN FACT! The EP was almost called ‘While My Catarrh Gently Seeps’ due to the mild cold suffered by singer Adam during the recording process. However, this somewhat vulgar title was discarded following the threat of legal action from the Harrison estate.

Wednesday 28 July 2010

Belladrum 2010

We are lucky enough to be playing at Belladrum festival this year.

Well at least I think we are. According to this update, a band named "Randolfs Leap" have been booked. I think that means us. Unless someone has formed a tribute act... In fact, that site also suggests that Julia Doogan's evil twin sister 'Julie' has hijacked her band.

The festival tickets are sold out, but if you happen to be going we're on at the Seedlings Stage at 7.15pm on the Friday evening.

Thursday 15 July 2010

COMPETITION TIME!!!

We have 5 tickets 'up for grabs' (it's illegal to have a competition and not use that phrase) for our gig at the 13th Note this Saturday (July 17th).
The gig is hosted by bloggers Peenko and AyeTunes and the bill also features We’re Only Afraid of New York and Little Yellow Ukuleles.

In order to get your disgusting little paws on a ticket (RRP £5), you have to answer the following tricky question:

Which 3 Randolph’s Leap songs feature the word ‘skull’???

Send your answers to randolphsleap@yahoo.com
We doubt that 5 people will care enough to know the answer to the above question so please also get email us
a)the name your favourite film
and
b) a link to, in your opinion, the funniest clip on the internet

Winners will subsequently be judged on taste and sense of humour.

Facespace

Wowee, this social networking lark is the future

Monday 12 July 2010

Friday 25 June 2010

A Dream I Had

I dreamt last night that someone reviewed a Randolph's Leap gig.
I've embellished it a little bit but this is pretty much how it panned out:

Sigh.

Firstly, Randolph's Leap are not a band who will be winning any beauty contests in a hurry. Frontman Adam Ross displays a mouthful of teeth almost as crooked as his sense of rhythm. I struggled to keep my eyes on the rag-tag formation, finding their desperate and misguided attempts at 'stage-presence' nausea-inducing.

And as for the performance? More like perfor-mess. The band stumbled their way though the kind of meandering, lightweight melodies and rhyming schemes most of us abandoned at nursery school.

However, unbelievably, the pain was worth enduring for one song. 'Going Home' is the jewel in a desert of shit. A song that (keeping in mind the otherwise abominable set) I struggle to believe is not a cover. For 5 sweet minutes, it all comes together for Randolph's Leap as they bellow the glorious chorus to what is surely going to follow Auld Lang Sine, Loch Lomond and The Proclaimers' 500 Miles into the annals of Scottish DJ classics, a sure-fire foot-stomping disco staple for future wedding-goers the world over. Ecstasy.

Insider Festival

Splendiferous festival. Lovely location, friendly chickens.

A giant of a man, resplendent in kilt and Santa Claus hair+beard combo gifted us the most touching introduction we've ever received: "Ladies and gentlemen, mmmfghl harrrumph ggl, mumphumblas Glasgow rumphundm farvrushghlln RANDOLPH'S LEAP!"

We didn't arrive until the Saturday, thus regretfully missing Washington Irving and a few other folk.

A large dose of the thankyouz goes to Washinton Irving's Chris McGarry for joining us (our own drumsman couldn't make it) in what turned out to be a ill-prepared disaster / endearingly shambolic triumph in the face of adversity.

My personal highlights were Andrea Marini (though my quest for a baked potatiola distracted me for a song or two), Sir Alasdair Roberts (see video below) and Rachel Sermanni who I'd never heard before but boasted good songs, a cracking fiddle duo and a sense of self-awareness which I personally find refreshing when compared with some of the dullards who graze in not-so-dissimilar fields...

Alasdair Roberts - The Cruel Mother:

Battleships & Kettle Chips

An EP/mini-album is expected to be ready be September or so.
Gary Bolam is doing the pictures n that.
It'll have the following songs on it:

Going Home
As I Lie In The Mud
Cassie O'Tone
Back To Square One
Undergod

and maybe another.