Indie-rock quartet Ralph of London have released their fuzz-filled new single, Dotty.
The single oozes with attitude from the offset as frontman Ralph’s distinctively colloquial vocal style is able to soar effortlessly over distorted guitar twangs and woozy synths. Reminiscent of the likes of Super Furry Animals and Pulp, Ralph of London pay homage to their Brit-pop past, whilst also maintaining their own unique style and witty charm throughout. Talking about the single, Ralph explains, “is about a king falling in love with somebody completely unattainable and being driven to madness under the shadow of a fading illusion”.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with the band about their music, technology, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
A predominant sense of rebellion, brokenness, ill ease, or social contempt was present in a lot of the music that influenced me in childhood. My father was in a somewhat successful Rockabilly band from my earliest years, but my mother was a punk. So there was this crossover of aesthetic receptiveness encouraged in me that both appreciated the American origins of guitar music, but at the same time got shaken and thrilled by the coarseness and irreverent personality of what was breaking through in Britain right up to the emergence of grunge and trip hop, both of which pretty much fortified the rest of my musical dna.
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
I put a song on line in 2016 called ‘Shooting Star’, which was the first composition I had shared with anyone in what was to become the blueprint for this current project. There was enough positive feedback from the people within my musical circle in London, and outside of that circle, for me to follow this thread further and invite other musicians into the creative process. We have since been releasing tracks at every significant stage of development, almost as a stepping stones to our journey, probably an ill advised thing to do from a marketing point of view, but I think that growth and progression is one of the most interesting aspects of discovering artists.
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
Constantly looking for influences is a vocation to the trade I think. That is, unless you are only concerned with emulating one particular genre or musical style. I have always been hugely influenced by the Velvet Underground, but if we were only concerned with recapturing the zeitgeist of 1960’s New York avant garde rock, I would feel imaginatively underwhelmed, as would the band. Direct musical influences include Elliott Smith, Sparklehorse, Chrissie Hynde, Cass McCombs, Cate Le Bon, Pulp, Portishead and Sleaford Mods. Motivation comes from just looking around you at the mess of social structures and the casual cruelty people exact on each other on a daily basis. If you are able to contribute something beautiful to even fractionally counter this malaise then it is worth not only getting out of bed for, but maximizing every day for that sole pursuit.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
A lot of the lyrical themes explored in The Potato Kingdom are still quite rare territory for pop music. It is an exciting prospect to create a portal through which listeners can inhabit an entirely new realm. Particularly one where everyday perceptions are loosened up and momentarily distracted from the daily onslaught of information and opinion that saturates our awarenesses. A certain transcendence of genre makes for us the most interesting listening. It probably seems too ambitious, but this is something we have always gravitated towards in our own work as well as in other artists.
What was the last song you listened to?
‘Triumph’ by Wu Tang Clan
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Vinyl will always be the ultimate format for recorded music. CD’s are practical. Cassette was a wonderful moment, as was mini-disk. Mp3 is an unfortunately poor but necessary format for efficient sharing of your music.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
As a band we use Spotify to create and share playlists. Which is a very useful tool. But youtube is a great place for discovering the three dimensional aspect of an artist. Using Bandcamp is for the most part great, but having worked on a completely DIY release strategy for The Potato Kingdom, we have found in some respects this platform to be lacking innovation.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
I imagine there is a general shortening of attention span these days among music fans, with a particularly low threshold for new or undiscovered music. I think people are incredibly weary of music that emerges from the bottom up, where as they are much more likely to be immediately engaged or convinced by that which is being disseminated with extreme efficiency and marketing intelligence from the ‘mainstream’ or ‘major labels’. This is our biggest challenge, getting people to look into the places we have always looked for new and interesting work.
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?
For the last two years we have been focusing our shows around the North of France, Paris and London. In March our album launch tour was severed after our second gig in Paris due to the Covid pandemic and subsequent confinement. Since then we have been focusing solely on new material and consciously avoiding engagement in any kind of live streaming performance. As soon as the venues and bars open back up we will be out playing where our music is best experienced, through a PA in front of a live audience.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
I would say Facebook and Instagram to have news about us and latest content uploads. And obviously, Bandcamp to buy our music. But our music being available on every platforms, it depends on the experience you’re searching for. Youtube is maybe the best way of discovering our visual and musical aesthetic. And as soon as venues open, live is the best to share a moment with us.
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
Life is a potato.
