newcastle

For over thirty-five years Kevin Ridley has been involved in all aspects of music production, as a singer-songwriter, musician, engineer and record producer. He's now based in Gateshead but started out performing as a teenager in the pubs and clubs of his native Northumbria before moving to Newcastle in the 1980s. Here he trained as an engineer/producer at Impulse Studio – the home of NWOBHM label Neat Records – and worked with a range of artists from Lindisfarne to Venom; while continuing to write, record and tour his own material.

Guarded By Robots are: Miranda Harding – Bass/Vocals Lowell Mills – Guitar/Vocals Matt Smith – Drums/Vocals Guarded By Robots are a Newcastle-based post-hardcore/alt-rock band formed in 2005. The band cite Biffy Clyro, Hot Chip, Arcade Fire and Explosions In The Sky as equally vital influences Mills met Smith when he became bassist in Lowell’s first band Jacknife in 2002. When the band split, Matt took over drum duty and the pair began playing and writing together again in autumn 2005. After pulling a handful of songs together they set about looking for a bassist.

Crab Smasher are a Newcastle, Australia based group of improvisational sound sharks crafting a frenzied hodgepodge of weirdo psychedelic noise rock and experimental pop delicious. The band formed in 2002 as a cheesy electronic novelty noise act and have since mutated through a number of confusing formations into the sellout rock-and-roll hydra that exists today. The lineup currently consists of Grant Hunter, Nicholas French, Marnie Vaughn, and Nathan Martin.