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Dartford 3-piece Rosemary are influenced by The Jam, The Beatles and The Kinks, amalgamating in a perfect balance between modern indie and classic '60s pop - NME.

Releases | 40-40 | If I Had My Way | Benjamins Ego

Artrocker, May 2007

There's a classic quality to Rosemary - classy even. Rooted in some solid 60s influences, they combine clean cut charm and a discernible ear for melody that result in compact, confident pop songs as sharp as the overcoats they wear.


"The main influences we share are bands like The Beatles, The Stones, The Ramones, The Jam, The Kinks. But we also listen to a lot of old blues and folk so I guess our sound is just an am amalgamation of all of those things," explains Jon.

"I don't know if it's a clean cut sound... guess that side comes from the Beatles influence but it's actually quite dirty at times. Some people say that when they see us live they're surprised it's more of a bigger fuller sound than some of the recordings which we like because most three - pieces can't recreate the records live," adds Martin.

Formed in Dartford three years ago, bassist/vocalist Tim Hill, guitar/vocalist Martin Brett and drummer Jon Chamberlain looked to remedy the local Dartford scene with their own 'Suburban King' club night, scoring the odd point against yoof culture's finest as Tim explains:

"We've been together for about three years. Martin and I have been playing together since school, and then met Jon at the Miskin theatre (college for performing arts). It wasn't until we left that Martin and I were looking for a drummer to put a beat behind our songs, so we borrowed Jon for a while and from there it progressed into him becoming permanent"

"I hate lippy kids round Dartford can't stand them," adds Martin.
Initially reluctant to chase the 'big break in the city, the band instead chose to focus on one milestone at a time, and it's a plan that seems to be working.

"The single will hopefully be the band's biggest achievement so far, so everything is focused in on that at the moment. It's shaping up okay but the artwork has delayed things somewhat but that just gives us more time for radio and press so that isn't such a bad thing! 40-40 is a game that we played during our childhood. We've since found out it was pretty much JUST us that played it," continues Tim.




However, that isn't to say the band hasn't got any dreams, no matter how unrealistic or random. When quizzed on their perfect tour buddies, the response was comprehensively enthusiastic. "The Rolling Stones!" Tim and Jon exclaim in unison, however, Martin is a little more pragmatic if odd: "In an ideal world... Tom Waits. That is never going to happen! As if The Rolling Stones is realistic! I don't know ... the Chuckle Brothers? Realistically we respect what guys like Lupen Crook, The Young Knives, Good Shoes and Kid Harpon are doing, so maybe one of those."

Fresh from playing a recent art rockershindig, the Dartford trio has a host of dates pencilled in to coincide with the impending release of their new single 40-40, and if Martin and the old adage is to be believed; practice is making perfection.

"The shows are improving all the time," Martin explains. "We're now starting to feel really comfortable on stage. Everything seems to be running a lot smoother but I suppose that's only natural; we play music together everyday,"

"When it's there and the sound is good then playing live is like a knife through butter, which it is at the moment. The Artrocker night gig was brilliant. We love the Buffalo Bar as we've played there quite a bit and made sure we were at the top of our game for it. There was a big audience for us to feed from as well as get excited by. I think they were impressed," Tim enthuses.

With the single imminent, talk progresses onto the band's next step and prospects for an album release.

"We've worked lots with Jim Riley. He seems to get what sound we want, even without saying it. And he's into all the old blues stuff too so he knows where we're coming from. He can also talk for hours about the Rolling Stones, which is always an enjoyable way to waste some time," adds Jon.

"We'd like to basically keep the snowball rolling down the hill I mean ideally we want be recording an album, the songs are all ready it's just a case of dong it, when and how it comes out and who with we'll see," Tim concludes.

Rosemary - your new suburban kings.

Artrocker,
Web links www.myspace.com/rosemarymusic Artrocker www.artrockermagazine.com www.artrocker.com

Play Music, May 2007

Slowly, steadily growing from the heart of darkest Dartford, where the disinterested pub barflys stood passive to the North London venue where Playmusic meets the lads from 'our way', things have changed slightly.

''There's not actually any music scene in Dartford, or anything going on." says Maltin Brett, guitarist and co-vocalist with Rosemary.

"We played a gig at Infinity club a while back and there was no one there, except all promoters. Like 25 promoters." says Tim Hill, bassist and co-vocalist.

"If it sounds too predictable to is we'll odd it up a bit."

"They were asking us: 'Do you wanna play London? We were like 'London?"' says Tim, sounding confused even now.

"We just played everywhere. We even played Halfmoon in Putney, what a shithole."




These boys can afford to be picky now. On the verge of releasing their third proper single on Split records, 40140, it really gives an indication of their jaunty street-urchin pop. coming across as a slimmer, more gobby Young Knives.

"If it sounds too predictable we'll try and odd it up a bit," says Martin, in an attempt to get across exactly what they sound like.

It's probably true to say it's a lot more awkward then the usual fare. You only have to check out songs like Suburban Kings for some of the weirder brand of pop songs they continuously create.

Also these lads are taking it easy. Aware that things don't happen overnight, they've been building up on their songs, their growing fanbase and gigging consistently around the country.

Having just shot a new video for the single, and playing everywhere and anywhere, they may well be the spark for a Dartford scene.
Play Music

Artrocker, April 2007

This is a great little number from Kent's finest. After having them down the Artrocker club recently, they've left a very infectious hook in me.



40-40 is sweet, happy and incredibly poppy and why shouldn't it be? It's the aural equivalent of a run around a children's playground, culminating in a manic sugar-filled spin on the roundabout. The jaunty guitar riffs play off the cheeky vocals like kids playing patacake. Bobbing bass lines and the foot-tapping drumbeat make the song irresistible. Rosemary could well be the sound of the summer coming; and if this is going to be the case, I can't wait.
Lee Puddefoot, Artrocker www.artrockermagazine.com www.artrocker.com
 

NME, November 2006

Dartford three-piece Rosemary are influenced by The Jam, The Beatles and The Kinks, amalgamating in a perfect balance between modern indie and classic '60s pop.
As well as being championed by XFM's John Kennedy, the band have toured and played with The Buff Medways, The Long Blondes and Vincent Vincent and The Villains among others.



Web links www.myspace.com/rosemarymusic

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