Coracle is a project by Leeds based producer and professional pianist and keyboard player Jonathan Doherty. He has written and performed for various original bands and played for tribute acts and theatre shows across the UK. He is currently playing summer festivals with folk / hip-hop band The Demon Barbers. He is also a composer and has recently completed his first feature length soundtrack for Australian thriller Vital Signs. Coracle is Doherty’s first solo project.
“Come Alive” is the debut EP from Coracle. This 5 track E.P is Coracle’s first official release and follow up to his first song also called ‘Come Alive, which became a Record of the Week on Amazing Radio and won a competition to be on the Summertime Compilation by Paris label So French Records.
Come Alive was supported by Tom Robinson on BBC6 and playlisted by various Radio stations including Mixx FM in Charleroi, Belgium. Subsequently, Coracle’s track Everything to Live For was given an exclusive first play during an interview with BBC Radio Lancashire’s Glen Hunt.
Another track “Running” also received similar blog attention and radio support and was released on So French Records’ Wintertime Compilation earlier this year. The EP includes also includes a new and unreleased song called Sun’s Coming.
Come Alive is an EP of summer-inspired escapist soundscapes, down-tempo house beats and quirky electronica. It is as much of an escape from reality as a depiction of real life and is semi-autobiographical in lyrical content. The EP is inspired by Coracle’s travel adventures such as his time spent as a student in the French Caribbean, as well as his recent work as a musician in Leeds’ vibrant music scene. The music is therefore optimistic in outlook but combined with a nostalgic and restless quality.
Coracle composes all the music and lyrics and collaborates with as many of his musician friends as possible in the recording process. Guest vocalists include Emma Lucy, Jen Armstrong, Rachel Cook and Matthew Addison, all from the Leeds area, and various live instrumentalists, including Tom Regan, who plays saxophone and flute on White Sand.
Other musicians on the project include Emma Lucy, who is a singer songwriter from Leeds, who has spent much of her recent life working internationally as a singer and entertainer, particularly in the UK, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. She is currently taking part in an Artist Development programme and her debut E.P. is due for release later this year.
Jen Armstrong is a vocalist, pianist and violinist who has toured with artists such as Billy Ocean, The Vaccines and Jools Holland. She is originally from Yorkshire, UK, but is now working in L.A. She won Rock The House in 2012 and has also been nominated for a Hollywood in Music and Media Award. Jen has over 300,000 hits on Youtube, has cuts on a recent Scandinavian platinum-selling, which charted at number 1, and she is endorsed by Nord Keyboards.
Rachel Cook is a singer songwriter from the North of England and a founder member of Scarlett Street – an all-female barbershop quarter who have supported artists including Ruby Turner, Mark Knopfler and the Sugababes. She was once described by BBC6’s Tom Robinson as ‘a Northern Lily Allen meets Ella’ and is due to release an E.P. with her solo project Ruby Lane later this year.
Matthew Addison is a vocalist from Beverley in the North of England. With a background in musical theatre, Matthew formed Hull Indie Rock band The Johnsons in 2005, and since their split has been focusing on tribute and function band work as well as solo writing projects.
“Come Alive” is out on 27 July 2015 on Matchbox Recordings with distribution from Universal Music Operations.
Come Alive can also be previewed on Soundcloud
More StereoBuzz Music News
A Fresh Perspective: How Complex Conscious Defines J. Harvey’s Signature Sound
Exploring the Celestial Love Story Behind “Rose of Venus”: An Interview with PAAB
A Spooky Soundtrack: ‘A Coupla Holiday Spirits’ From ‘Fans of Jimmy Century’ Dominates Holiday Music Lists