RED KITES

Red Kites

Have you heard of Red Kites? I hadn’t until a friend of theirs approached me in a rain-swept car park and thrust a hand-made copy of their latest single, ‘Salt Water’, into my hands. Well, thrust is a bit melodramatic – she actually asked very nicely if I’d care to listen to it.

Red Kites got together at college in Guildford about five years ago but as guitarist and singer Moteh Parrott says, “our roots began in the Highlands of Scotland, where many of the songs were written. Inverness remains the band’s second home, and we frequently return north for festivals and to tour venues across Scotland”.

The other members of the band are guitarist Liam Trevor; Jan Cees Samsom who is actually from The Netherlands, not Scotland; drummer Andrew Reeves who comes all the way from Woking and  Craig Ferguson on bass.

Their self-released debut EP Beat in Time was released in April 2012 to critical acclaim, and the follow up New Life Ignites was released in June 2013. After a year spent gigging and writing, the band returned with their strongest single yet, ‘Salt Water’, which was released on December 2nd 2014, reaching no.19 in the iTunes rock charts and gaining them BBC 6 Music radio play. With another EP due this year, 2015 is set to be the band’s biggest yet.

To quote from their own publicity: “Red Kites’ music is epic yet intimate, combining emotive lyrics and sweeping melody delivered with a fierce determination. Balancing pop songwriting with raw Celtic-tinged alt-rock and an unpredictability which is entirely their own, the band’s unrestrained creativity lends a refreshing edge to their take on modern rock music”

That’s a pretty fair summation. They certainly pack a lot into their songs and imagination is never in short supply as their official videos show – check out ‘Threads’ and ‘Hold Fast’ on their website.

Dai Jeffries

Artists’ website: http://www.redkitesmusic.com/

‘Salt Water’ – the official video: