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LESS is more —that’s the formulahot new Lancash-ire duo Aquilo arefollowing. Currentsingle Losing Youis a gem of a trackwith a reallystrong melody.Listen to it nowat Facebook.com/aquilouk.

LESS is more —

ONE2HEAR

Surf’s upONE2HEAR

GEORGE The Poethas plenty to say.His delivery on topof dynamic music isa cracking combi-nation. Now he’shitting the road.His UK tour kicks

off at Berkeley inGlasgow on Febru-ary 19. Get ticketsat: iamgeorgethe-poet.co.uk.

GEORGE The Poet

ONE2SEE

SURF rocker Rory Wil-liams couldn’t afford abag of messages thistime last year — butnow he’s recording hisdebut album in Nash-ville with the SunsetSons.

It is an amazing turn-around for the Bournemouthboy who started last yearwith just €50 to his name.

The mad journey began whenRory headed out to French surf-ing town Hossegor. He said:“Surfing is massive now inEurope. I got dropped off thereby some mates who were drivingthrough.

“I wanted to have a bit of achange. I’d heard about Hossegorand I was lucky enough to meetthis Welsh guy who’s been therefor 25 years. He gave me a sofato sleep on.

Builds the character“The bar which our EP Le

Surfing is named after is where Imet all the boys in the band.

“It was like everyone’s livingroom, people were sleeping invans or couches — but we’d go tothe bar and have breakfasttogether, then go surfing.”

The band only formed to makesome cash through playing cov-ers. Rory, 26, said: “The plan wasnot to have a proper job, thatseemed like a good idea — and itstill does.

“The transition to doing ourown stuff was pushed by thepeople who came to the gigs.

“They kept asking, ‘Do youhave your own songs?’ So westarted doing them.”

They then began gigging in theAlps and attracting attentionfrom music industry bosses.

Rory said: “12 months ago, Ihad €50 to my name.

“Pete our bass player had tobuy my shopping. It was thatbleak.

“We’re all mates. You gothrough ups and downs, youargue, you have good and badtimes.

“Without that, you’re not reallya band. It builds the character,

without the stories it’s nothing.Like when we’d be in the Alps,we get snowed in on the roaddue to an avalanche — you’restuck in the van thinking if thepetrol runs out, we’ll freeze todeath. Stuff like that brings youcloser.”

The lads knew they were on tosomething when they passed themagical “three beer” test.

Rory added: “The French crowdare hard to impress so it was agood testing ground.

“We’d play in this Quicksilverstore next to the Quicksilveroffice.

“Everyone finishing work would

get two free beers. The guy inthe bar told us, ‘Look they’reonly here for the free beers, notyou’. But then he came over andtold me, they’ve all bought athird beer — and they never dothat.

“From there it just kept goingand now we’re in Nashville mak-ing our debut album.”

After finishing up in the studio,the group heads off on a UKtour. And they hit King Tut’s inGlasgow on March 8.

It promises to be a very bigyear for the boys, after the likesof BBC and MTV tipped them tobreak through. Rory raved: “We’re

really excited about playing KingTut’s — we’ve heard a lot about it.

“It’s a massive compliment tohave people talking about us.

“We’ve kept ourselves quiet andthe band has broken out, but tonow have BBC and MTV pickingus out — I’m blown away.

“If these people are pushing us,bring it on because we feel ready.

“We may fall at the next hurdlebut right now I’ve got no com-plaints.

“I want the pressure to mounta bit more. Bring it all on.”lTo order the band’s new EP The FallLine and get tour tickets, go to Face-book.com/SunsetSons

NewMusic Jim GellatlyDANIEL DOCHERTYWHERE: BellshillFOR FANS OF: Passenger,Bastille, George EzraJIM SAYS: Young singer-songwriter Daniel Dochertylaunches his first EP tonightwith a sold out gig at GlasgowO2 ABC2.This Holy Fire is a stunning

debut that bleeds emotion. Writ-ten from the heart, it just oozesclass.Daniel’s stunning guitar play-

ing coupled with some beautifulorchestration and ChrisGordon’s slick productionresults in something pretty spe-cial. Add Daniel’s voice, whichhas been favourably likened toJames Blunt, and you get a package ofthe strongest quality.It’s no wonder record labels are start-

ing to sniff around. The 21-year-old is thereal deal. Daniel is a familiar face on thestreets of Glasgow and across Scotland,where he’s been busking for a few years.He said: “I began to play guitar for

people in school, and started to sing andwrite songs when I was about 16. I wasalways eager to go out and try busking.“I’ve been very lucky to be able to visit

different cities with my music, and havehad some great busking adventuresincluding going over to Dublin.“Busking has given me a better under-

standing of an audience — how to knowwhen to change things in a set or if themood isn’t right for certain songs. When

I watch videos of me playingback in 2010, I really see ahuge difference.“Busking has helped

develop my confidence bothpersonally and as a musician.Stage presence and audi-ence interaction is something you workon without realising by busking.”If ever there was evidence that he’s

created a demand for his music, it waswhen he made his TV debut in Octoberon STV Glasgow’s Riverside Show.Shared on social media, his performancereceived an unprecedented number ofviews, likes and shares that establishedartists would struggle to get. Danieladded: “I got told it was the most sharedvideo, which is unreal. It was amazing to

see how many people hadwatched and shared it. Theguys at STV have been verysupportive.”When it came to financing the

EP, Daniel went down the crowd-funding route. Thanks to hisever-growing fan base, he easilysurpassed the target ahead ofschedule.He said: “I was very lucky with

my pledge campaign. Peoplehave been so generous.”Though he’s played plenty of

shows on his own, Daniel’s gigtonight at O2 ABC 2 will be the

first time he’s performed toa live audience with a fullband. Understandably, he’sa bit nervous. He admitted:“I am terrified! I just hope Ican get through the set. I’mstill trying to get my headaround it being sold out. Ispent a lot of time promot-ing the gig, and the hourshave paid off. I need to getinto the frame of mind of

‘looking forward’ to the gig rather thanbeing worried about it.“I suppose it’s natural to be nervous,

but sometimes it’s difficult to enjoy your-self when nerves get the better of you.”I’m sure he’ll be fine, and I can’t wait

to check out his set tonight.MORE: facebook.com/danieldocherty-musiclJim presents Drivetime on XFM Scot-land, Monday to Friday 4-7pm.www.xfm.co.uk www.jimgellatly.com