Port Erin and Kettle of Kites v Camden Barfly
Kettle of Kites
'Kettle of Kites' is a musical project based on the compositions of Scottish singer/songwriter and guitarist Tom Stearn. During various incarnations of the group over a period of years -firstly in Vienna, Austria and then in his hometown of Glasgow- Tom developed the band's material; taking influence from and touring in fellow Glasgow bands such as Admiral Fallow, Bear bones and Open Swimmer. Now upon moving to Genoa, Italy, Tom has reformed the band with an all Italian line-up of talented musicians from the city's Conservatoire (Davide Mocini, guitar, banjo and vocals - Pietro Martinelli, acoustic bass- Roberto Tocci, drums) and they are currently in the process of recording their debut album which is set to be released in spring of 2015.
The band's musical influences and backgrounds are broad, taking elements from scottish folk, indie rock, and classical guitar to mention a few. The songs each have their own character and musical styles they dip into, and focus on clarity of the musical parts which come together as a whole. Melodic themes are transformed by the underlying arrangements and the vocals are emphasised by sparse phrasing. Lyrics are at times cryptic and dense or contrastingly frank and direct, with the subject matter ranging from love, to travel, to philosophical musings ; all from different view points, be it autobiographical or storytelling.
Port Erin
“(Ocean Grey) sounds awesome. The artwork could be from the opening credits of a Scandi-TV thriller and the music plays out in somewhat similar fashion. Tense, edgy atmospherics with lovely guitar textures on “Just Like TV”. Add horns and you’ve got the funky, rock-noir vibe of “Half Cut Moon”. It’s kinda prog, but cool prog, if you know what I mean.”
-David Sinclair, The Times.