Each week we like to champion the music scene with ten songs in our playlist that all have a connection to the RaW (Reading and Wokingham) area and sometimes beyond. We’ve got three new entries this week, connected with the area. As always, we have a wide variety of musical styles, but we think they’re all worth a listen and we hope you find something new to enjoy as well as maybe getting out to experience the thrill of live music.
1. Dreamwire – LEFT HIM AT THE STATION –
The Purple Turtle continues to be a venue where you can see great new bands, from, literally, all over the world. We went along to see Sorry Darling, all the way from New York, and also enjoyed Dreamwire from London, who had stepped in as a late replacement for Shallowdaze. We loved Dreamwire’s set, especially this blues-infused number, and hope they come this way again. https://www.instagram.com/dreamwire_band/
2. Mr Pineapple – Insidious Gomphidius–
Mr Pineapple were one of the unexpected pleasures of the prog and classic rock day at this year’s Wokingham Festival, getting a special mention in many of the reviews for their fun approach to the often over-serious business of prog rock. This is a track from their brand new album Drawing Evil Eyebrows on Everything which they launched last week at the Face Bar, and the track features kazoos and other instruments rarely heard in prog or any other genres of music! https:// www.facebook.com/MrPineapple
3. Aircooled – Delirious –
We weren’t sure what to expect when we went along to see Aircooled at the Face Bar, but since it was a Future Transmissions event we were pretty sure it was going to be good. It turned out to be even better than good; they are a bit of an indie-rock supergroup, with members from too many significant bands to list here. Their superb musicianship was on display with a set of guitar tainted machine rock, tracks that were largely instrumental with a great groove, such as this example from their latest album, My God It’s Full of Stars! https://www.instagram.com/aircooled_music
4. Only The Poets – I Keep on Messing up – Live at O2 Brixton Academy –
We love local bands, and we love it when local bands make it big. We were privileged to see Only The Poets respecting their roots with gigs in the Purple Turtle and then Reading Uni, followed by a sold-out show at O2 Brixton Academy, with a special £1 ticket price, as well as getting a top-10 album. They’ve just started a European tour and released a live album from the Brixton show, from which this is the lead track. They’ve got some changes coming after the tour, watch this space! https://www.facebook.com/onlythepoets
5. Mull Historical Society – Dopamine Eyes –
Mull Historical Society is a project of multi-instrumentalist and writer Colin MacIntyre. His latest album, In My Mind There’s a Photograph, was a series of collaborations with well-known authors, where each author wrote about a photograph with significance for them, and Colin used that as the basis for a song. The basis for this track was what Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting, Filth) wrote about a photo that captured his first meeting with his now wife. Mull Historical Society performed recently at South Street Arts Centre, courtesy of Heavy Pop. https://www.facebook.com/ mullhistorical
6. A Better Life, Holly Taymar – Under the Setting Sun –
We’ve long been fans of the A Better Life project by Phil Daniels, which focuses on producing chillout electronic music, and in fact featured this track when it was first released in 2024. We’re featuring it again because Phil saw the opportunity to improve even further on the version released on The Light album, and he’s remastered this restful and relaxing track with languid vocals by Holly Taymar. https://www.facebook.com/abetterlifemusic
7. Perfect Beasts – Perfect Beasts –
Day 3 of Wokingham Festival has traditionally been MC’d by well known Planet Rock radio presenter Darren Redick and this year to add to his role, Darren had a very special treat for everyone. His band, Perfect Beasts, played a brilliant live set showing that Darren clearly has many talents. Playing bass, he was joined in the band by a super group of musicians. On drums was Steve Hales, who also played an amazing set with Kepler Ten, mega musician Nick Andrew played guitar whilst impressive new front person, Stuart Simpson provided vocals and guitar. The epic title track of their debut album, entitled simply Perfect Beasts closed the set in fine style with the band being joined on stage by dancing dinosaurs!- https://perfectbeasts.co.uk
8. Nicole Allan – Put ‘em Up –
Here’s another great piece of original Americana from local legend Nicole Allan, one of the tracks on her latest EP, Tomorrow Comes, her third release of the year. She’s also been busy with live gigs and organising events including the open mic at The Butler. In this track Nicole lays out a spirited manifesto of defiance, with boxing metaphors and freight train references alongside jangly guitar solos. You can see Nicole taking part in Sokafest around Reading on 10th October. https:// www.instagram.com/nicoleallan95/
9. Lab 4 – Concept of Love (Alex Mo Remix) –
This is a brilliant remix of the classic track from trance legends, Lab 4 (and entirely unconnected with the track below of the same name from Ibibio Sound Machine!). The original version stormed the clubs in the early 2000’s and this more recent remix enhances it even further! Future Transmissions recently hosted the latest in their series of incredible afternoon Day Raves featuring legendary DJ’s at Reading Facebar. – https://www.facebook.com/ftransmissions
10. Ibibio Sound Machine – Concept of Love –
Last month had perfect weather for Down At The Abbey, which returned to the Reading Abbey ruins after a couple of years off, to round off the festival season, and once again provided a great selection of music. Ibibio Sound Machine, from London, got the crowd dancing along to their fusion of styles, including afrobeat and drum-and-bass, with their aim to promote love, unity and resistance through music. https://www.facebook.com/IbibioSoundMachine
You can listen to all the songs featured in our Spotify playlist at https://bit.ly/rawsoundstoday
