WATCH: Ferris & Sylvester - 'Knock You Down' (Iive)

Loving this. There's nothing quite like live music, right? Finding myself missing gigs on a daily basis currently. It's been SO long. A live video capturing that live energy is a treat at the moment, that's for sure. Taken from their upcoming I Should Be On A Train EP, the ever-wonderful duo Ferris & Sylvester released single Knock You Down recently. They've just shared a live video for it, the second in a series recorded during lockdown at Streatham Space Project in London. They're due to headline at the venue as part of the Streatham Festival - just as soon as it can be rescheduled. Despite filming in an empty venue, the video captures the energy of a F&S live show perfectly. For now, this will just about quench that thirst for a live show. 

Pre-order the I Should Be On A Train EP here.

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EP NEWS: Ferris & Sylvester - 'I Should Be On A Train'

I've got a lot of love for this pair... Ferris & Sylvester just shared I Should Be On A Train and announced news of their upcoming EP of the same name, due in October via LAB Records. The EP sees them expanding on their signature blend of blues, Americana and folk, bringing in some psychedelic touches and a cover of With A Little Help From My Friends, inspired by weekly covers shared with fans via livestreams through lockdown.

You can watch the video for the track below - it features Super 8 footage shot by the pair during lockdown, interspersed between clips of their last headline show in Amsterdam's Paradiso. There's a really timely nostalgic feel to it and the song is ace as ever!

Talking about the EP, the duo explains that "the world is adapting to a new reality, and we’ve been determined to adapt with it and get creative. It can be difficult in isolation to know how to move forward. People are lonely, overwhelmed and yearning to connect. We were busy writing for future projects, trying to map out the next chapters. But we decided it was more important to give what we can now. All we know is we are happiest when sharing our music and we hope this brings joy to people.”

No strangers to the live circuit, Ferris & Sylvester have announced dates in the UK and US for early next year, including London's Lafayette on 1st March. Fingers crossed for them! Tickets and dates here. 

Pre-order the 12" limited edition vinyl release of I Should Be On A Train here.

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WATCH: Ferris & Sylvester 'I Dare You'

Having recently played shows around the country on their biggest headline tour Ferris & Sylvester are back with a newly released video for recent single I Dare You. While they're sometimes an understated duo musically, this track and video sees them passionate and loud, it's a bit of an explosive powerhouse of a track. Speaking about the video, they shared that "it felt right to create something bold and vibrant. We shot the video whilst we were on tour and wanted to capture how it felt to play the song night after night. The song is angry and aggressive and we were keen to throw all of that at it. It certainly shows a darker shade of us and we're proud to have it out there." 
 

With a set coming up in January (28th at Oslo) for the UK Americana Awards Showcase, the duo are then off to tour around Europe with Jade Bird - a brilliant pairing!

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LISTEN: Ferris & Sylvester - 'I Dare You'

It's hard to exactly pinpoint their genre, sitting somewhere amongst blues, folk, rock and soul, but easy to be aware that Ferris & Sylvester are truly something special. They seem to get better and better with each release and new track I Dare You certainly follows the trend. The track arrives just in time for the duo's biggest headline tour yet, which sees them playing the first of a 21-show run tomorrow night in Guildford.

Talking about the new track, they say that "we've gone over to our dark side with 'I Dare You'. It felt important to get this song out there. We made bold choices with it and it is very unapologetic. We think this song shows another side to us, it blends dark folk with explosive rage and is grounded by our live performance, as all our songs are. We can't wait to play it on the road."

If you like what you're hearing, full dates for the tour are below, tickets here. I saw these guys playing on a Brighton street at The Great Escape last year and if the energy and passion there was anything to go by, a full show from the band should be something quite special to witness!

September

3rd: Boiler Room, Guildford

4th: The Horn, St Albans

5th: Omeara, London
6th: Omeara, London

16th: Hare & Hounds, Birmingham

17th: The Bullingdon, Oxford

18th: Metronome, Nottingham

19th: Green Door Store, Brighton

20th: Think Tank?, Newcastle

22nd: Stereo, Glasgow

23rd: Mash House, Edinburgh

25th: Lost Lane, Dublin  

27th: Phase One, Liverpool

29th: The Wardrobe, Leeds

30th: The Portland Arms, Cambridge

October

1st: Deaf Institute, Manchester

3rd: Forum, Tunbridge Wells

4th: Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham

6th: Sin City, Swansea (Fringe Fest)

8th: Old Bakery, Truro

9th: Phoenix, Exeter

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WATCH: Ferris & Sylvester - 'Flying Visit'

Really love these guys. Having recently played the top slot at a Bushstock stage, Ferris & Sylvester are currently in the Glastonbury fields and are playing five slots across the weekend. It's been a busy year for the band with tours and new music aplenty, and they've just shared a video for recent single Flying Visit. The video, showing the duo performing to an empty village hall, mirrors the themes of loneliness and isolation that flow through the lyrics of the song, where they sing "please don't leave me, down here, on my own" (in gorgeous harmony, of course.)

The band describe that as they'd been touring the track for song, it "felt right to do a performance based piece. Simple and straightforward, in a run-down village hall. We wanted to let the song speak. We teamed up with Sam Parish-Rookes once again for this one and as always with Sam, the process from the storyboard to the final edit has been a total journey and loads of fun. We are so proud to have made a piece like this." 

After some upcoming festival slots, the band have a 20-date UK tour coming up later in the year - check out their website for tickets, dates below!

September

3rd: Boiler Room, Guildford

4th: The Horn, St Albans

5th: Omeara, London

16th: Hare & Hounds, Birmingham

17th: The Bullingdon, Oxford

18th: Metronome, Nottingham

19th: Green Door Store, Brighton

20th: Think Tank?, Newcastle

22nd: Stereo, Glasgow

23rd: Mash House, Edinburgh

25th: Lost Lane, Dublin  

27th: Phase One, Liverpool

29th: The Wardrobe, Leeds

30th: The Portland Arms, Cambridge

October

1st: Deaf Institute, Manchester

3rd: Forum, Tunbridge Wells

4th: Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham

6th: Sin City, Swansea (Fringe Fest)

8th: Old Bakery, Truro

9th: Phoenix, Exeter

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TOUR NEWS: Ferris & Sylvester (Autumn 2019)

With a sold out headline tour across the country already under their belts earlier in the year, the magical Ferris & Sylvester have just announced a 20-date UK and Ireland headline tour through September and October. They'll follow up a string of festival slots at the likes of Bushstock, Glastonbury and Boardmasters from June to August with shows in Oxford, Brighton, London, Manchester and many (many) more. 2019 is looking to be a pretty sweet year for the duo who have also taken their gorgeous blend of blues, folk and Americana to SXSW, The Great Escape, on a support tour with Billy Lockett and recently on the Under The Apple Tree tour with Wildwood Kin. Check out this stunning Maida Vale session performance of recent single Sickness to see for yourself just how superbly talented the pair are (also - that harmonica!)

UK tour dates below - check out their website for tickets (on sale today!) and a list of their upcoming festival appearances.

September

3rd: Boiler Room, Guildford

4th: The Horn, St Albans

5th: Omeara, London

16th: Hare & Hounds, Birmingham

17th: The Bullingdon, Oxford

18th: Metronome, Nottingham

19th: Green Door Store, Brighton

20th: Think Tank?, Newcastle

22nd: Stereo, Glasgow

23rd: Mash House, Edinburgh

25th: Lost Lane, Dublin  

27th: Phase One, Liverpool

29th: The Wardrobe, Leeds

30th: The Portland Arms, Cambridge

October

1st: Deaf Institute, Manchester

3rd: Forum, Tunbridge Wells

4th: Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham

6th: Sin City, Swansea (Fringe Fest)

8th: Old Bakery, Truro

9th: Phoenix, Exeter

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LISTEN: Ferris & Sylvester - 'Flying Visit'

Ferris & Sylvester have just released brand new single Flying Visit - trademark harmonies in tow alongside soaring strings and guitar, it is, the band say, "quite simply, a love song." A few listens in, the track is quickly joining the likes of recent single Sickness and (I Think That You Look) Better In Yellow as one of my favourite tracks that the duo have put out over the past couple of years.

"It's all the things that we often want to say - 'I love you, please don't leave me' - but we stop ourselves because we're grown up and grown ups don't do that. Children are much better at speaking their minds and that's what inspired this song - unaffected and unashamed love."

2019 is looking to be a pretty exciting year for the duo. Earlier in the year they played their first ever UK headline tour, selling out nine shows across the country, before heading to the US to play their first shows across the pond, including at SXSW Festival. Now, after a run of European dates with Billy Lockett they are currently supporting him around the UK, before playing the Under The Apple Tree tour with Wildwood Kin later this month. Not ones for resting up, they're heading to a bunch of festivals this summer, including the likes of Live At Leeds, The Great Escape and Boardmasters. Check out the full list of dates here.

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LISTEN: Ferris & Sylvester - 'Sickness'

New Ferris & Sylvester is always cause for celebration! The duo have been turning heads across the board for the last year or so with their beautiful blend of the sounds of folk and blues, supporting the likes of George Ezra, Robert Plant and Eric Clapton and garnering immense support from BBC Introducing, leading to the recent announcement of a show at the BBC Music showcase at SXSW Festival. It's been around a year since the release of their Made In Streatham EP, a self-produced and kitchen recorded effort that gave us the total tune Better In Yellow. Though I love that EP this new track is in my opinion their best yet - it's a slow burner to begin, but builds to deliver an incredibly powerful and intense second half.

Writing of the song, the band say that "Sickness was one of the first songs we wrote together [...] It's about human relationships - the power and the frustration - and the desire to throw it all away. We recorded the track on our last day in the studio with Michael Rendall (Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney & Echo & The Bunnymen) and continued into the early hours; it felt important to keep it raw and let the song speak for itself [...] a lot of it was recorded in one take, the guitar solo and vocals for instance. It's our proudest piece of work to date."
   

If you like what you're hearing, here's a friendly reminder that the duo head out on their first ever headline tour in February, with a nine date tour across the UK and Ireland, including London's The Lexington on February 11th. Find more details of that here.

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TOUR NEWS: Ferris & Sylvester (Feb 2019)

They've just finished up a support tour with Jade Bird, and Ferris & Sylvester have signed off by doing what any artist who loves playing music live would do... they've announced their first ever headline tour! They'll be heading out on the road in February, taking in shows across the UK including Leeds, Glasgow, Brighton and Dublin, as well as a show at The Lexington in London. They're a formidably talented duo and a brilliant live act - their set at The Great Escape in Brighton kicked off the festival for me back in May and I loved it! Check out their recent video for London's Blues below...

Tickets for the tour are on sale here, with full dates as follows: Oporto, Leeds (4th Feb); Poetry Club, Glasgow (5th); Eagle Inn, Manchester (6th); Cuban Embassy, Birmingham (7th); Cavern, Exeter (9th); The Lexington, London (11th); The Prince Albert, Brighton (12th); Joiners, Southampton (13th); Sound House, Dublin (14th).

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LISTEN: Ferris & Sylvester - '(I Think That You Look) Better In Yellow'

I don't need much of an excuse to share anything related to Ferris & Sylvester... but this is a perfect reason! They've released a new, spruced up version of their tune Better In Yellow and while it's just as beautiful as the original, it showcases a more confident, more powerful duo than the one which released the track earlier in the year. I loved their set at The Great Escape earlier in the year - if you want to catch them live, they're playing the September Communion Music Club Night at Notting Hill Arts Club on 2nd September - info here!

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WATCH: Ferris & Sylvester - 'Waterloo Sunset'

It was a joy to finally catch Ferris & Sylvester live last week as my first act of The Great Escape Festival - they were playing out on the main festival street with tons of people passing by (and lots stopping) during the set, and it was one of the highlights of the weekend! They're a really quality duo and I love their Made In Streatham EP, particularly the total tune Better In Yellow which it was also great to see them recording in a session for The Independent during one of my volunteering shifts!

Following the theme of the EP's name of sticking to their London roots, they've released a cover of The Kinks' classic Waterloo Sunset, itself an ode to London. Talking about their choice to cover the track originally on Radio 2 the duo said that "we think it absolutely encapsulates what it means to be young, lost and living in London. It ties in with all the themes behind our 'Made In Streatham' EP and pays homage to truly amazing, timeless songwriting." After the cover went down a storm on the radio, they've released it to Spotify with a live video filmed in The Streatham Space Project which you can check out below. Ray Davies himself (!) has complimented the cover, saying that "I like the way they approach the song [...] It makes me feel as though I could write for this band. Well done."

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LISTEN: Ferris & Sylvester release 'Made In Streatham' EP

I've had quite a soft spot for boy-girl duo Ferris & Sylvester since finding their track Berlin in my blog submissions inbox over Summer. They've just followed up their The Yellow Line EP from which the track was taken with the Made In Streatham EP, featuring the lively singles Better In Yellow and London's Blues alongside three more brilliant tunes. I love the faster tunes but I'm also adoring the strings of the slower tune Loser, which repeats the refrain "I always knew you were a loser, and now you're gonna lose her." If you're after some cheerful lyrics, you're probably not in the right place - but everyone loves some sad tunes, right?

Writing of the release of the EP online, Issy and Archie wrote that "it means a great deal to us that we can share these songs with you all [...] We wrote and recorded all the songs in our South London flat with our favourite people. We had a really strong vision of what we wanted it to sound like - we wanted it to be completely real and genuine. All live instruments, no funny business. So we did it our way. [....] Thank you for coming on this journey with us. We're only just getting started!" Here here...

Listening back to the older tracks, it's already possible to hear a huge improvement between the two releases, and to pinpoint a really exciting point in a promising career. The duo have recently been nominated for a couple of awards at the Unsigned Music Awards 2018 (best folk/country act and best songwriter) among scoring various other accolades, including topping Rolling Stone Magazine's 'Top 10 New Artists You Need To Know' feature, earning a spot in BBC Introducing's 'Best of 2017' list with Better In Yellow and earning support from the likes of BBC Radio 2, BBC Introducing and various Spotify playlists. It's all looking fairly promising for a brilliant 2018 for the young duo!

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LISTEN: Ferris & Sylvester - 'Berlin'

I'm a little late to the party and this track has been out for a couple of weeks now, but checking back through the PR emails I've missed over the last few weeks I knew I had to share this. It's from Ferris & Sylvester, the project of Londoners Issy Ferris and Archie Sylvester who met as solo musicians in the busy London music scene and started to make music together. The track Berlin is taken from their upcoming EP The Yellow Line, due next Friday (23rd), and combines some beautifully soft vocals, strings (always beautiful) and finger-picked guitar. About the single the pair say "Berlin' tells the story of a love coming to an end. The song doesn’t romanticise the situation or shy away from the stark reality of it; it shows the confusing, awkward and lonely journey of leaving someone and where that can leave you."

Be sure to keep an eye out next Friday for the full EP, also featuring their first single Save Yourself.