Band of the Month: Raptusound

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Our band of the month for February 2012 is: Raptusound

On this page: Biography | The Interview | Raptusound reviews| Forthcoming gigs | Music by Raptusound

The band

The members of Raptusound are:

Left to right: Tristan Owen, Jack Liquorish, Christopher S Brown and Leigh Dunning.

Tristan Owen (Drums )

Jack Liquorish (Bass)

Christopher S Brown (Vocals, guitars)

and Leigh Dunning (Synth,keyboards)

Biography

'Raptusound are four men from Leicester, UK, who for the last couple of years have been writing, recording, and rehearsing their own brand of alternative/electro rock. The powerful meld of searching lyrics, rugged guitars, driving bass, soaring keyboards and Herculean drums make Raptusound a formidable sound.'

'Having been played on BBC 6 Music by Tom Robinson, the passion of Raptusound is now on turning the recorded sound into a powerful live show. The band have spent many months locked away in an old water tower relentlessly rehearsing to achieve the live sound that the music commands. Raptusound are a band who are totally committed to their music and to their craft, and who now can be seen playing live in venues across Leicester.' - Facebook.

Influences: Nirvana, The Police, Muse, Counting Crows, The Dave Matthews Band, Biify Clyro, Radiohead, Simon and Garfunkel, Free, Tom Petty Band interests All forms of sport, film, poetry and other literature, most genres of music.

The Interview

artsIn: Hello Raptusound. Tell us about your band. Who is in the band and what do they do?

Raptusound Christopher: Well there is Tristan Owen on drums; Leigh Dunning on keyboards and synth; Jack Liquorish, yes that's his real name, on bass, and me (Christopher Brown) on vocals and guitars. We're all from Leicester, although Leigh has a little London blood in him since he spent his early years there and so that's the reason for him supporting Crystal Palace ... there's no other reason surely.

artsIn: How did you come together to form the band and when did that happen?

Raptusound Tristan: Christopher and I got together a few years ago after Christopher recorded and produced an album for the band I was in at the time. Christopher then asked if I would put the drums down to some songs he had written which went really well, not just on the drumming side of things but also production, and so we decided to get together proper and form Raptusound. I met Jack one night at a long-alley skittles game in a small dark Leicestershire pub. Jack stepped up to the mark and not being too familiar with the game hurled a wayward cheese down the lane that nearly took my head off. After the apology we got talking and it turned out he played bass. We all jammed together and that was that, Jack was in. Jack was friends with Leigh and so invited him along to a one-off gig we played as a trio. Leigh had done some remix work that appeared on the soundtrack to the film Cradle of Fear, and we thought he wouldn't be interested in joining us but thankfully he was and so here we are. We are still looking for a lead guitarist to add some additional beef and also play the more expressive and melodic guitar parts we've recorded. Once he/she has joined us, Raptusound will be complete.

artsIn: Tell us about your influences. What bands have had an influence on your songs?

Raptusound Christopher: As a band we have a very diverse mix of artists who we listen to, everyone has their own taste and that's great because we get to listen to music that we probably wouldn't listen to otherwise. Our taste ranges from metal to folk, punk to classical, and rock to jazz. In terms of the songs themselves the major influences would have to be Counting Crows, Nirvana, Biffy Clyro, Simon and Garfunkel, The Dave Matthews Band and Tom Petty.

artsIn: Who in the band writes the songs?

Raptusound Tristan: Christopher tends to write most of the songs, but there are many riffs and rhythms that we all contribute, and certainly the Raptusound sound is very much a team effort.

artsIn: What songs does the band have recorded and where can we hear them?

Raptusound Jack: We've recorded over 20 demos at our home studio and made six of those available on our website (www.raptusound.com) and our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/raptusound). One of those, Worthless Things, was played by Tom Robinson on his BBC 6 Music Introducing show, which was a great encouragement for us. We are currently in a Leicester studio recording our first EP which will be released in the spring, which we're very excited about.

artsIn: When was the band's first gig? How did it go?

Raptusound Christopher: Our first performance as a foursome was the Oxjam Festival in October last year. We opened the event at The Soundhouse, which was great because although we played at 1pm we had a good turnout from our supporters which made for a fantastic first gig. We're very grateful to Anna Webb for giving us that opportunity to play as we were pretty much a complete unknown and therefore a risk, but I think we played well.

artsIn: How many gigs have you played since you started? Which ones stand out the most in your memory?

Raptusound Leigh: We've only played seven gigs to date but we feel we have developed a lot with each one, and after each gig we are desperate to play again, which is probably a good sign. Supporting I Dream In Colour in November last year was a great experience and we learnt a lot from them, they're a great band, very professional. But I would have to say that our headline show at Sumo in December last year is our stand-out gig to date ... a great crowd, great supports, and a great vibe. We loved it. Thanks to Andy Wright for offering us our own show.

artsIn: What has the band got planned for next year? Are you aiming at any festivals?

Raptusound Tristan: As we've already mentioned, we've got the release of our debut EP in the spring, which we are recording right now. We want to increase our local and regional presence and also play the big cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, and of course, London. We are really keen to play the festivals because they are a great way to reach people who would not usually hear our music, and I also think we have a sound that is really suited to festivals ... big and anthemic.

artsIn: If you could wish to play a support slot with a bigger band, which one would it be?

Raptusound Jack: If you're talking realistic then we would love to support I Dream In Colour again, they are playing at Cargo in London this February and I think we're in with a shout, we'll have to wait and see. If you're asking dream support, then I suppose it would have to be Biffy Clyro ... we've asked but we haven't had a response yet.

artsIn: Tell us what you think of the live music scene in Leicester? Which venues do you like the most?

Raptusound Christopher: From what we've experienced I think there is a strong music scene here, there are great bands and promoters and it is well organised. I think Leicester could be perhaps more competitive in terms of attracting more top draw touring bands to the city so that we're on a par with say Nottingham and Birmingham, but I'm sure that will happen, there are many good venues in the city that have a great vibe about them. I think our favourite venue is Sumo at the moment, but we're supporting Spotlight Kid on Tuesday 28th Feb at the Musician, and we've always enjoyed that venue to see bands, so now we've got the opportunity to play it there may be a new no.1, we'll see.

artsIn: Is there anything else you want to tell us?

Raptusound: Supporting White Pilots at The Soundhouse, Friday 10th February Supporting Spotlight Kid at The Musician, Tuesday 28th February EP Launch planned for March/April Possibly playing London in Feb 16/17

Raptusound Live

The band headlined the artsIn Christmas Party at the Exchange Bar, Leicester, on 15th December 2011

2012 dates:

Raptusound are headlining the artsIn show at The Firebug on Tuesday 20th March. Details are on our gigs list.

The band is playing on Friday 10th February at the SoundHouse, Leicester (supporting White Pilots)

The band is to play Bar Solo in Camden, London, on Friday 17th February, 2012

Tuesday 28th February at the Musician in Leicester (supporting Spotlight Kid) - see our review of this

Video of Raptusound playing at The Soundhouse, 22nd October 2011

Video by Kevin Gaughan

Reviews of Raputsound

Raptusound at Lock42, 20th November 2011.

Performance at the Oxjam Festival, 22nd October 2011

Music by Raptusound

Hear recordings of demo tracks by Raptusound on SoundCloud

Find out more about the band

Raptusound web site

Raptusound on Facebook

Other pages you might like:

Singers of the Month

This year's festivals

Leicester bands at Surface Unsigned

The Original Bands Showcase