44 ............... Sunday, February 26, 2017 1SM

Watch a clip of the band:thescottishsun.co.uk

RACHEL ALICE JOHNSONWHERE: EdinburghFOR FANS OF: Lana Del Rey, WolfAlice, The Black KeysJIM SAYS: After three well receivedsingles, Edinburgh’s Rachel AliceJohnson is back with her first EP.

The four tracks on 2AM expose hersultry vocals with an edgy alt. rockbacking. Her influences shinethrough, but creating a sound that’sall her own.

The 22-year-old explained: “RoyalBlood were a significant influence asthey are so fantastically blunt withtheir music, and their reliance onbringing versatility to their work withonly two instruments; bass anddrums.”

It’s all made possible with her band,first getting together as part of theVerden Studios Demo Project in 2015.

Tommy loves funk and Scott is intogrunge.” A graduate of EdinburghCollege of Art, Rachel discovered thather music could also have a part toplay in her studies.

She said: “I used to play clarinet inthe school orchestra and sing in theschool choir, but I became frustratedwith covering other people’s songs.

“I left music for a while and wentinto art as another creative outlet.

“However, I ended up picking up acharity shop guitar aged 16 andbegan writing my own acousticmusic. Although I taught myself tosing, play guitar and piano, I never didgrades, so music school wasn’t anoption. However, in attending artschool I learnt so much about myself,particularly the importance of retain-ing artistic integrity. There are defi-nitely relations between music and art

in terms of composition, exhibitingmy song Safe Island as my final piecewith relevant artwork alongside it.”

Her art also helped fund the EP.She added: “Originally, I was going torelease Lights On as a stand-alonesingle, however I sold some artworkin the ECA Degree show whichfunded the full EP.”

Rachel and her band return to thestudio next month to record a newsingle, a departure from the EP musi-cally. She revealed: “It’s still rock androll but with a jazz edge.”lRachel Alice Johnson plays theCabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh onMarch 18. See also facebook.com/RachelAliceJohnsonArtslJim presents a weekly showcase ofNew Music on Amazing Radio Sun-days 2-4pm. www.amazingradio.comwww.jimgellatly.com

The scheme, backed by CreativeScotland’s Youth Music Initiative,selected young people between theages of 15 and 25, giving them a firsttaste of the music industry.

Rachel said: “I was placed withScott on bass and Tommy on drumsto write and record with.

“I tend to write a demo of a song bymyself and then bring it to the bandfor arrangement, where they writetheir own instrument parts and wefind a distinct sound.

“This is how my music tends to becross-genre. I’m into indie-rock,

NEWMUSICBy Jim Gellatly

RACHEL IS BACKWITH A BANG

undaytheS MUSIC

ONE2SEEROCK duo Honeyblood are on the bill

for next month’s BBC 6 Music Festival

in Glasgow.But the girls are in demand all over

the shop. After Scotland, they’re head-

ing for Singapore and then on to Aus-

tralia for a string of gigs.

But they’ll be back on home soil for

a run of shows in Dunfermline, Aber-

deen, Inverness, Dundee and Edin-

burgh in April. Get in fast.

The band are on the rise. Go to

www.honeyblood.co.uk

POP sensation Youngrcan’t wait to cele-brate the best 12months of his lifetomorrow night.

The Manchester maverickhits Glasgow’s 02 ABC on his27th birthday.

And he’ll be basking in the suc-cess that’s seen him go from serialfailure to chart success.

His smash hit Out Of My Systemhas clocked up over 16millionplays on Spotify and has criticsraving about him.

He said: “I’m over the moon. I’vebeen grafting for long enough soto get something back is nice.”

Youngr — real name Dario Dar-nell — has been in several bandsand worked his backside off.

But it’s his solo project that hasmade the breakthrough after yearsof knocking at the door with littlesuccess.

Dario explained: “You put yourlife and soul into it.

“Carrying that drum kit aroundin your car for years, your mumdriving you to gigs. There are lotsof tough times.

“The easy option is to quit butyou persevere and keep going asyou believe in what you’re doing.

“Everything that’s happeningnow, I appreciate it so much.

“I understand how much hardwork it takes.

‘Dad is an inspiration..he still does the splits’“I think about these kids that go

on X Factor — do they appreciatethe love they’re getting?

“Do they appreciate doing gigsjust like that to thousands ofpeople?

“Maybe they do, maybe theydon’t. But I like my route.”

Dario also has some pretty bigshoes to fill.

His old man is disco legend KidCreole — who’s still doing the splitson stage at 67.

And Creole has challenged hisson to match him by forging alifelong career in the music indus-try by working hard to get ontop and then staythere.

Dario said: “I’ve takena lot from him.

“A lot of my influencescome from his style — andhis work ethic.

“He’s 67 now and still get-ting up on stage. He can stilldo the splits.

“He doesn’t smoke or drink.“He’s an inspiration and fully

focused on music.“And he always gives fans the

time of day.“It was an amazing thing to

have seen growing up.“Sometimes he tells me that he

had his first hitrecord at 28 andsays, ‘Hey boy,you’re getting tothat age’.

“It’s good tohave a bit ofcompetition.”

Dario has strucka chord with his

one-manband vid-

eos.

And he believesthat has been abig key to hisnew-found suc-

cess with Out OfMy System.Dario added: “I

love all the musicI did with myother bands.

“In my mindit’s all as goodas each other.

“I think whatconnected withthis was thevideo angle.“It was the one-

man thing.“We now live in a world

of social media and sharing.When I put out the one-take

things from my studio,people were more inclined toshare it than if a band had beendoing it.”

Despite making a breakthroughwith his go-it-alone approach,Dario will be bringing someback-up on tour to make sure heand his fans enjoy the shows asmuch as possible.

He said: “If I’m going to do agood headline set, I don’t want tobe trapped behind a drum kit allnight.

“It will get boring.“Maybe the audience wouldn’t,

but I would.“So I have got another two guys

with me.“Sometimes it’s just me, but

then the band come in to buildthe songs and I can be a bit

more free.” After finally gettinghis big chance to shine, Dario ishappy to enjoy the ride and isn’tputting too much pressure onhimself to emulate his famousfather, who scored three Top Tenhits in the Eighties.

He explained: “I don’t want toset myself any goals. What’s hap-pened already has amazed meenough.

“I’m going to take every day asit comes.

“I’ll just keep doing goodmusic, being the best I can be —and then see what the f***happens.”l For tour tickets and more info onYoungr go to: www.facebook.com/youngrofficial

chris.sweeney@the-sun.co.uk

ONE2WATCHBy CHRISSWEENEY

ONE2HEARICE T is back and he’s got plenty tosay about the current state of things.The legend has reformed his rock-rapgroup Body Count.And the first single No Lives Matterfrom their new album is a cracker. It’sangry, spiteful and pulls no punches.Ice T said: “Music happens in cli-mates. Now we have impending doomagain, racism is at an all-time highand it’s our season again.”Watch it now at: www.bodycount-band.com

ON TOUR . . .Youngr plays

Glasgowtomorrow night

Daddycool

LEGEND . . .Kid Creole

CREOLE’S KIDMAKINGBIGNOISE

ONE2CATCHAMY MACDONALD, the

Kaiser Chiefs and

Razorlight are among the big names

announced for this year’sMcEwan’s Party at

the Palace.Now in its fourth year, McE

wan’s Party at The

Palace has become a firmfamily favourite in

Scotland and was recentlyvoted Best Outdoor

Festival by The ScottishOutdoor & Leisure

Awards 2016. And Amy, 29, is looking forward

to taking top billing on the Sunday show this

August at Linlithgow Palace.

She said: “My band andI are very excited

about the show.” See partyatthepalace.co.uk.