Rag ‘N’ Bone Man’s music so much more than ‘New Blues’

‘New Blues’ is how Rag ‘N’ Bone Man’s music has been described. But this is selling him short. While blues is certainly the basis of his songs, the man known to his family and friends as Rory Graham encompasses so much more into his work. Hip hop, soul, pop and even electro-beats all play their part in Rag ‘N’ Bone Man’s sound.“I’ve had so many influences over the years,” smiled 31-year-old Rory. “The blues and soul records owned by my parents were definitely the major influence. I loved hearing these when I was a child and the delight in that style of music has never left me.“But I’ve absorbed other styles like a sponge as I was growing up. That’s why it’s so difficult for reviewers to categorise my songs. They contain so many different musical elements.”Rory was in his mid-teens when he made his first foray into the music world.“I was an MC at jungle and drum ‘n’ bass raves. Most of my friends were really into jungle. We even did our own terrible pirate radio station. I still have some of my old tapes and I have to admit most of the stuff was pretty awful. I didn’t have much to say in those days so I’d often just rhyme random words.“I’ve never had any musical training so I really learned to sing from listening to my dad’s Muddy Waters albums. I sung along with each track and found I could copy Muddy’s voice pretty much note for note. I was also able to reproduce this when I sung live.”Encouraged by his father, who recognised Rory’s talent, he self-released a vocal EP, Blues Town.“The record sales didn’t exactly make me a millionaire but it drew enough attention to get me some acoustic gig bookings including a support slot for Joan Armatrading in Brighton. This was very special because I grew up in Uckfield, which is near Brighton, so all my friends and family were at the show.”A move to Brighton saw him hook up with his producer, MC and DJ friend Gi3mo, pronounced Gizmo, in the Rum Committee.“Gi3mo put together a group of mostly hip hop local artists. We got together to create and perform songs, make records and film videos. I’m still part of the Committee. There are ten of us at the moment.”His work gradually attracted more interest from major players in the business. A publishing deal with Warner Chappell allowed Rory to quit his job as a care worker and pursue music full-time.“I’d already been working with producer Mark Crew, who most people will know from his production, programming and mixing work on Bastille’s number one album, Bad Blood. Mark co-founded Best Laid Plans Records and made me his first signing. My first release was the EP, Wolves, which also featured guest appearances by Vince Staples, Kate Tempest and Stig of The Dump.“We also made another EP, Disfigured. They both did okay and got airplay on BBC Radio 1Xtra but were underground rather than chart hits.”The same is certainly not true for Rory’s current smash hit single, Human. The title track from his forthcoming debut album, it has already reached number one in six countries and gone top ten in many more. The accompanying video is closing in on 40 million YouTube views.“All the chart success has come as a wonderful surprise. I love the song, I’m so proud of it, but I never expected this volume of sales. I did a lot of festivals in the summer and recently appeared on some highly regarded TV shows so I guess my music has been exposed to a much wider audience.”Rory has now become the most celebrated resident of a small village about 15 minutes’ drive from Brighton.“It’s a beautiful place, birds singing, green everywhere and really nice people. They’re not treating me any different, though some who know about music have congratulated me. I tried living in London for a while but that wasn’t for me. I find it much easier to be creative in more peaceful surroundings.”Rory is always asked about his stage name.“It came from watching an old BBC comedy show called Steptoe and Son with my grandad. This was originally made in the 1960s and early 70s. My grandad saw and loved it first time around and he introduced me to the repeats on UK Gold.“The Steptoes are rag and bone men. I don’t know if rag and bone men even exist now so younger people wouldn’t have a clue about my name unless they’d also seen Steptoe and Son. But the combination of loving both the show and the time with my grandad made it a great name for me.”IN BRIEFStone Temple Pilots/Scott WeilandIt is often said of a recently deceased person that they will never be forgotten. American rockers Stone Temple Pilots have proved, at least in their case, the truth of this sentiment.The band’s former singer, Scott Weiland, died on December 3, 2015. He passed away from an overdose of cocaine, ethanol and methylenedioxyamphetamine having never been able to fully overcome his drug addictions.Scott’s drug problems had caused him to be fired from the band in February 2013. This resulted in Scott bringing a lawsuit against his erstwhile colleagues over rights to the band’s name. It was eventually settled with the remaining band members retaining the right to perform as Stone Temple Pilots.Despite these issues, the band paid glowing tribute to Scott after his death. They have now followed this a year later with another heartfelt commemorative message posted on the Stone Temple Pilots website. Many people may use those words about someone never being forgotten all too lightly. Stone Temple Pilots obviously do not.CosimaLondon-born soul singer Cosima has been listed among the best new artists of 2016. Tracks such as Had To Feel Something, Girls Who Get Ready and Hymns For Him attracted critical acclaim and the attention of record labels. Cosima has now signed to Island Records and released her debut seven-song mixtape, South of Heaven.“The tracks were written at a time when nothing felt like it was ever enough,” Cosima explained. “I couldn’t work out how to be good to myself. I was waiting for someone else to love me so that I didn’t have to. It was a state of self-inflicted purgatory. Releasing my mixtape is like a selfish form of therapy but maybe someone will need to hear the songs as much as I needed to write them.”Each song can be heard in full at (no www.) soundcloud.com/cos1maVideos have been made to accompany Had To Feel Something, Girls Who Get Ready and Hymns For Him. They can be found at www.youtube.com/user/CosimaVEVO/videosThe xxEnglish indie-pop trio The xx issued their latest single, On Hold, around the middle of November. It is the first track taken from their third studio album, I See You, which is set for release on January 13.The song was initially promoted with an official audio posting on YouTube. But it is now accompanied by an official video which can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=blJKoXWlqJkDirected by acclaimed filmmaker and photographer Alasdair McLellan, the video was filmed entirely in the town of Marfa, Texas, where The xx wrote and recorded some of the songs on I See You. It artfully portrays the heartbreak within the song as a boy and girl who were initially besotted with each other gradually grow apart.Machine Gun Kelly/Camila CabelloRapper/actor Machine Gun Kelly, real name Richard Colson Baker, and Fifth Harmony singer Camila Cabello continue to climb Billboard’s Hot 100 with their joint single, Bad Things.This is Camila’s second major chart success outside Fifth Harmony. She co-wrote and recorded the duet I Know What You Did Last Summer with Canadian singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes. Released in November 2015, the song peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100 last January.Bad Things has become even more popular. The song looks like a certain top ten hit. It is by far the most successful single of Machine Gun Kelly’s career. Despite both of his studio albums peaking at number four on the Billboard 200, his only previous Hot 100 entry was 2011’s Wild Boy, which featured a guest appearance by Waka Flocka Flame. It barely scraped into the listings at number 98.The video for Bad Things is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpbQ4I3Eidg Camila’s video with Shawn Mendes for I Know What You Did Last Summer can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngORmvyvAaI while Machine Gun Kelly’s Wild Boy official video is available to view at www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_J7kEhY9sM