Thursday 9 March 2017

Eight questions with Holly Redford Jones

(c) Izzy Romilly Photography
1. First up, who is Holly Redford Jones? (a short introduction)

That’s me! After a number of bands with slightly questionable names (I’m reminded of the heady university days of ‘Too Much Pesto’) I’m keeping things simple and running with my actual name (alternative I know). I’m originally from Chesterfield, or Chesvegas to those who abide there, but I’m now hanging out in Oxford and soaking up the wonderful music scene here having graduated in 2016.   

2. How long have you been making music? Any special early influences?

When I was about eleven I developed quite a passion for Eric Clapton which started me down the guitar path… my interests have from quite an early age been slightly unorthodox, when I was younger I always revelled in outdoing my male peers in traditional ‘boy things’, I think picking up guitar was in some ways a natural extension of my antics on the football field. The music that I most associate with home though is Leonard Cohen. I used to love, and still do, listening to his live albums and the way his voice commands to be listened to. I think that’s what made me want to start writing songs, at least it’s certainly set the bar for what I’d like to achieve.

3. Your debut EP ‘The Future’ has been out for just over a week now - how has the response been so far and how does it feel to have it out there for people to listen to?! Feel free to big up everybody who worked on the EP!

The EP was a lot of fun to make. Initially it started out with an invite to record a few demos at the Abbey Road Institute over summer which is how I ended up putting together the band. I’ve been playing music with Chris Cottell for a couple of years now, mostly in the form of late night/early morning jazz, and he volunteered his drumming services and also introduced me to John Paul and Ed MacLean who are all current music students. We had a great time making the demos so just decided to have a go ourselves in the University Music Faculty over the Christmas vacation with John Paul producing, that’s how the EP came about. It’s been a bit of a DIY effort through and through with two of my other talented friends, Izzy Romilly and Paavan Buddhdev doing the photography and website respectively (www.hollyredfordjones.co.uk). I’m also indebted to my other non-musical friends who patiently proofread anything I put in front of them for my trademark dyslexic errors! Conveniently I now have five close friends who are either English teachers or studying English at postgraduate level, so that worked out well for someone who frequently misspells her own name!



4. You launched the EP with a sell out Oxford show… how was that?! For any artists reading this who might be thinking about organising a show with Tigmus or have one booked in already, do you have any tips for self-promoting a gig successfully?

Amazing! I couldn’t really believe it, even on the night when it was becoming obvious it was going to be quite a packed show I was still half expecting no one to show up! I think picking the right venue is key, Fusion Arts was perfect for us, well-located just off Cowley Road and a nice size and aesthetic. But we were also blessed with two fantastic support acts, Catgod and Calypso Hetherington (go check out their Facebook pages!!).

5. You’re carrying on the EP launch celebrations with a show in London at The Harrison in a couple of weeks with fellow Oxford artists The 52s and Zander Sharp - what can we expect from the show?

I’m so excited for The Harrison. Firstly London itself… I’m still very much a Chesterfield girl at heart and I can remember when we used to take family holidays to London when I was younger so entering the Big Smoke is still very exciting for me! And myself and the 52s and Zander Sharp go back a couple of years now. We met on the Oxford scene and I’m so excited to hook up with them again in London. We’ve so many mutual friends and people in London coming it feels almost like a big joint birthday party or something! For the show itself, we’re stripping the set back a little bit and playing just guitar, bass and drums and as we’re in a folk club I’m hoping to slip a few more folksy songs I love in too… but the plan is still have everyone dancing by the end of the night!

6. Who is your audience and how do you connect with your fans? Any crazy, fun, exciting stories are very welcome.

Quite a mix actually. Having only just graduated I’m still very integrated with the student community in Oxford so there’s always a good student turn-out at gigs and I still love playing at student nights where I can, but I also did a gig at Fatlils in Witney recently and I was the youngest in the room by quite some margin. The diversity is something I really love, that was one of my favourite things about the EP launch, seeing all the different groups of people I’ve played to over the past year come together under one roof.

As for keeping in touch, as of a few days ago I am now on all major social media platforms including Instagram which I’m actually loving! I’d been putting off getting it for a while but have now been prompted into doing it and I’m finding it much more dyslexic-friendly than Twitter and Facebook! So if you want to keep up to date you can follow me @hollyredfordjones, and then I’ve also got a good old fashioned mailing list.

7. What would your dream gig look like? Are there any artists, locally or further afield, that you’d love to play alongside?

Ooh good question! Well of course up until last November the dream would have been Leonard Cohen but now Len’s gone I think the next best thing might be Father John Misty or maybe Conor O’Brien from Villagers? But I also love the idea of collaborating with other female artists, I really enjoyed Laura Marling’s ‘Reversal of the Muse’ podcast series and her dissection of femininity and creativity, a duet with someone like Beverly Howard from Alabama Shakes would be very cool. I’m also really into jazz and big band music so I’d have to say joining Jools Holland for a number would be a dream come true!

8. After the London headline show, what does the rest of 2017 hold for you?

Busy busy busy! We’re playing our first festival at Wychwood in June which I’m super excited about, it’s just after the guys in my band finish exams too so should be BANGIN. Then a few days later I’m doing a solo set upstairs @ Ronnie Scott’s for TV Nights which again, the jazz nerd in me is freaking out about! I’ve also got a few shows coming up in the meantime in Oxford and London (catch me next in Ox on 25th March at Cellar) and in April I’m heading back to my hometown, Chesterfield, for a few gigs too. I’ve also just started out with a couple of living room shows which has been so much fun, so if anyone reading this would like an itinerant singer-songwriter performing for them in their front room I’m very open to invitations!

Holly Redford Jones headlines The Harrison in King's Cross to help launch her recent EP 'The Future' on Tuesday 14th March with support from The 52s and Zander Sharp - cheapest tickets available here.

Saturday 4 March 2017

Tig Digs: Harry Pane 'Fletcher Bay'

He played a couple of brilliant sold out shows for us last year and we're thrilled to be working with Harry Pane again on a run of UK dates to launch his latest EP, The Wild Winds. All the dates and ticket info are available through Harry's site, and early bird tickets for some of the shows are available through Harry's Tigmus page! The first track from the EP, Fletcher Bay, was premiered yesterday and it is getting us pretty excited to hear the rest of it! The track is about a place in New Zealand where Harry visited with his father whilst travelling some years ago, and returned last year to spread his father's ashes after he tragically passed away, with the EP as a whole detailing the journey of grief and acceptance. Listen below...



You can pre-order the EP on iTunes here and follow Harry on Spotify to be alerted once it is released!

Wednesday 1 March 2017

Eight questions with Tom Lowman

(c) Gilbert Yates Photography
1. Who is Tom Lowman and how long have you been making music? (a short introduction)

I’m me! I’m 25, born and raised on the South Coast of England. I’m a fairly nerdy and intense person and I love playing music and meeting people! I started creating music in bands from the age of about 15, but I was singing from pretty much the moment I could speak. I’ve been making solo recordings for quite awhile now, I did my first EP at university aged about 20 so I guess it’s half a decade of solo songs and solo shows now! I’m always dabbling in band projects too and I have the beginnings of some new band stuff in the works as we speak...

2. You recently released a live video for ‘Mine Is A Selfish Dream’ - how has the response been so far?!

The response has been good! I’ve been away from the UK for a few months living and working in Uganda so putting out live videos has been a nice way of keeping in touch with people back home and keeping people updated about what I’m working on musically. I hadn’t done a song on electric guitar in a while and that seems to have gone down well, as have the horrendous guitar faces I pull when I’m playing it!


3. The track is taken from your upcoming ‘Live and Lost’ EP, out on Good Friday. What can you tell us about the EP, any interesting stories about the people who worked on it and how you came to meet one another?

Live & Lost came out of some sessions I recorded with my good friend Jonny Breakwell, who plays in a London band called Chalk. I knew I wanted to put out some live videos whilst I was away from England but listening back to them I was so pleased with the slightly rough and ready way the songs sounded live on the electric that I thought it would be fun to put those versions out as an EP as well! I don’t know how long it’ll be til I can do album number two so it’s a good way of familiarising folks with the new songs before I take them out on tour. the songs are connected thematically in as much as they are all retrospective takes on situations from which I decided to break out, rightly or wrongly! Hence the lost part...

4. You’re launching the EP with a tour kicking off in Southampton on the release day (14th April) - what can we expect from the shows?

The last few months I have been writing constantly, so I have about 15 new songs ready to take out on tour. I’m hoping to trial most of these new songs in the live environment, probably bringing the electric guitar along! I will play a few of my older ones too. As soon as I get back to England I will start rehearsing with some of my old band members again so I hope to get a few other instruments along to some of the gigs, and I am supporting or bringing along some great musicians I know from playing shows as well. Expect intimate gigs with a truckload of new material!

5. The tour finishes up with a hometown Winchester show alongside Harry Pane and Hazey Jane - an incredible line-up if we do say so ourselves… have you seen those guys live before?

I haven’t and I’m extremely excited to do so! Meeting new artists and sharing a stage with them is one of my favourite parts of touring- you get to make new friends and there aren’t many environments that bring people together better than a gig! I’m excited to have Harry and the HJ guys along because my friends come out in force when I play back down south and it’s always good fun to introduce them to some brand new acts. Plans for a fairly scandalous post gig house party are in the works as well...

6. Who is your audience and how do you connect with your fans? Any crazy, fun, exciting stories are very welcome.

My audience is a fairly consistent blend of long-suffering friends and the fans and supporters that you only make through playing shows, putting yourself out there and being friendly! I’ve been doing this long enough now that there are always a few familiar faces at gigs in my favourite cities, which is amazing to see. Whilst I recognise how important it is, I struggle with this new age social media stuff as a means of connecting with fans- endless questions, talking about yourself etc kind of gets me down to be honest. I much prefer a drink and a chat before and after the show, nothing beats face to face interaction! The best shows end up winding down in someone’s kitchen at 4 am, with bad cover songs and slightly off-kilter conversation!

7. What would your dream gig look like? Any particular venues you’re desperate to play or artists you’d love to play alongside?

I would love to support musical icons of mine like Damien Rice or Will Varley, the kind of intimate gigs they thrive on suit my style as well, and getting to meet them properly would be awesome! I love the small local venues I have grown up playing and I’m still dreaming of that massive sold out hometown show, full band, huge mess, stories galore. So I guess I’ll keep working for those!! I also love the living room type shows offered by the guys at Sofar, and I’m always gunning to put another run of Sofar shows together too!

8. What does the rest of 2017 hold for you?

2017 is an interesting year for me! I’ll move back to the UK, hit the ground running with an Easter time tour, then try and get some of these new songs recorded! I’ve got a band project up and running and will work on that too, and then hopefully I’ll be able to take the band and solo stuff out on tour again later in the year. With any luck I will squeeze a few festivals in too, both as a performer and a punter!

Tom Lowman heads out on tour from 14th April to support the release of his new Live And Lost EP. Dates on the poster below! Tickets will be available through Tom's Tigmus profile!