Alan Tang
Musician and Music Teacher
Bocca
Echolocation
Kenneth J Nash
Ka Safar
"Bands can be so boring, so faceless..rock is either dead, or dying..but then something as inspired as BOCCA restores my faith. Introspective figures bathed in projections that were integral to the intense moods of the music. A frighteningly powerful drummer, hynotic basslines and soaring electric violin contrasted with calm, deep lead vocals. Very serious, very great..seriously great in fact." Kevin Hewick BBCi
"A very powerful release......Cd Baby has turned me on to many bands in the past, but Bocca is by far my favorite.I have listened to this cd everyday, at least twice, since I received it. The music is increasingly powerful everytime I hear it. Do yourself a favor and buy this, support this band. And to the band, when is the next release coming out?" Aquaman
"To start off, they're self-described as, "smoldering, gloom-drenched intensity, and stuck somewhere between Filbert Street and Filmore West." Their dry, hanging, desolate vocals and liquidy, electronic/acoustic instrumentation, complete with what they like to call "spooky keyboards," violin, and drums, makes for an almost film score-like moodiness coupled with the grit of rock. Don't be surprised if their sound stirs up memories of Donnie Darko, Nightmare Before Christmas and then spins your head with a suprising jaunt into a Doors flashback, followed by jagged riffage. This is an album that goes way beyond genre. Give it a listen. It's the perfect Winter Moooood Music." CDBaby
"Who'd have thought that a Leicester-based band could unleash such apocalyptic bluesrock? Bocca are smoldering, gloom-drenched intensity, and stuck somewhere between Filbert Street and Filmore West. Desolate vocals and sombre instrumentation - namely spooky keyboards, violin, and sturdy drums - are coupled with swaggering riffage. Moments of gentle reflection lighten the albums darker moods - and the overall, incredibly refreshing effect is of a band just doing their own thing. And why not?" Dean Noonan City Lights September 2002
"...Echolocation embellishes the traditional template of jangling guitars and pulsing bass lines with filigree of trumpet, accordion, cello, piano and Peter Ingram's distinctive spoken word style delivery. The vocals have earned Echolocation comparisons to The Fall, not inaccurately, but Ingram seems a bit more positive and constructive than Mark E. Smith's trademarked misanthropy. I would add to this conversation the hardboiled, working class hip-hop of the Sleaford Mods for a more contemporary approach...." J.Simpson www.nomoredivision.com
"...there's some regional delights for our tastebuds. First up are Echolocation, a band with more members than songs on their setlist. I count seven of them on stage tonight but mathematics was never my strong point. With electric cello, brass, keyboard, bass and a vocalist in a flat cap, Echolocation make a glorious cacophony. The singer snarls at us as he peddles his poetry. In fact to call him a singer is somewhat missing the point he doesn't sing, he spouts words, mantras and political outbursts with backing from a miniature orchestra. He's Leicester's answer to Mark E Smith and it's the Fall with a dash of Happy Mondays that I'm most reminded of if a comparison is required. There's also a mighty fine self deprecating humour running through this set. "If you could all move forward because there's some kids getting crushed at the back" announces the guitarist as the keyboard player picks up an accordion and the singer a megaphone to snarl at us with more volume. "Welcome to our world. We are Echolocation and we hate you!" is a sampled refrain that fades into nothing as the audience show their general appreciation at the end of the set. One suspects that Echolocation don't hate us at all...." www.egigs.co.uk
"...Kenneth J Nash is a singer songwriter in the troubadour tradition, at least in terms of how he puts his songs together, finely observed and with the relaxed pace of someone that has managed to step outside of the rushing stream of the rat race and found a more meandering way between a and b.
The songs follow a relative simple pattern, with the focus on Nash and his guitar, it's the way he adds the flourishes of backing vocals and fiddle that really give his songs an edge. I admire his subtlety in their use, delicate arrangements that almost take on an ephemeral quality. Vocally there is a really good match between his laidback mellow vocal and the clarity of Fran Taylor.
Nash has a good relationship with melancholy, you can feel the bitterness in his voice on songs like "Falling" where he knows that he is, inevitably, going to repeat mistakes of the past, because he has particular demons that just can't allow him to let go..." Neil King http://www.fatea-records.co.uk
"...Here is something rather special. Thirteen original songs by an excellent artist playing with a virtuoso band. There are delights in the brewer & the dealer that match anything I’ve heard all summer, be it at gigs or on the radio. And I have listened to a lot of music. Let me tell you what it is that has me purring like a well-fed cat every time I put the album on.....
....Nash’s gentle but expressive voice is perfectly suited to these mature songs of love. He can paint a lot of pictures in many different emotional colours without seeming to do much at all. And when backing vocalist Fran Taylor weaves her beautiful voice around his the effect will stop you in your tracks. Listen to them sing together on ‘we all belong’ while Alan Tang creates violin figures around them. If you’re not moved to tears, my friends, then you are a hell of a tough crowd..."
https://shoetownsurrounds.wordpress.com
"One of the most awe-inspiring and transcendent bands I have ever seen... they are all insanely talented and come together to form such a beautiful harmonious sound. Definitely not to be missed!
Benjamin Dady
'Hugely talented musicians playing music that defies categorisation and gets hugely positive responses from audiences'
Tony Booth
'Beautiful cosmic sounds from a crack crew of tone scientists'
Robert Thomas