The Dissidents. You know who you are. READ OUR BLOG HERE.
Influences
Oh, you know...Dylan, Arcade Fire, Lennon, Death Cab, Radiohead, Springsteen, Waits, Drake, Michael Chapman, Leonard Cohen, The Clash, The Doves, Bright Eyes, Elbow, Paul Simon, John Martyn, Martin Carthy, Nick Cave, Nic Jones, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, The Stones, KofL, Warren Zevon, John Prine, Ray LaMontagne, Ricky Lee Jones, John Lee Hooker, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Steve Earle, The Band, Little Feat, Rick Danko, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Steeleye Span, Pavement, DJ Food, Mercury Rev, Thea Gilmore, Bonnie Prince Billy, Joan Baez, Joni, Velvet Underground, Reed, Bish, Neil Young, CSN, Black Crowes, Lemonheads, Gretchen Peters, James Taylor.
ROB COWEN & THE DISSIDENTS create a type of epic-folk that sounds timeless yet couldn't be more timely. Part poems and part sing-a-long anthems, theirs are swaggering rock ‘n’ roll songs of passion and hope; infectious tales of survival and social observation that come straight from this country's heartlands.
The story of this elegiac, epic sound starts with singer/songwriter Rob Cowen who hails from a small town on the Yorkshire moors. Rob recorded a solo album that drew insanely positive reviews from everyone from Q to Radio 2, but money was tight and only promo copies were ever produced. Working for a spell in a tannery and amateur boxing on Wednesday nights turned out to be a less than glamorous existence and Rob headed to London in 2006, broke and bruised, but with a guitar case full of stories.
Relentless gigging drew devotees demanding records of the sagas he was carving out on stage every night. Enlisting the considerable skills of Charlie Westropp (guitars) to produce, Rob started documenting the tales of ‘mill town girls with thin white legs’ that live amongst ‘frozen tarns’ and ‘concrete cathedrals’. Landscapes where ‘working late on the industrial estate’ means driving home past carnival lights that ‘shimmer like a window in a jewelry store’. In the same way true folk music was used to spread news through song, they recorded anthemic tunes that are peppered with catchy hooks and killer lines, but still hold a mirror to the world with a heartbreaking poetic accuracy.
With the sound blossoming, it was a natural step to bring on board the epic talents of John Stevens (bass), Danny Williams (synths) and Olly Samuels (drums) to complete the line up, officially forming ROB COWEN & THE DISSIDENTS in January 2009. Since then, any audiences lucky or clever enough to catch them at this summer’s music festivals and their continuing showcases at London venues have been treated to jaw-droppingly passionate performances of righteous rock ‘n’ roll ripped through with raw emotion and depth, earning them comparisons with Arcade Fire, Bruce Springsteen, The Killers, Elbow and Neil Young.
“Excellent, creative and fully-fashioned songwriting with lyrics worthy of John Betjeman” **** - Q Magazine
"The debut single of Yorkshire-born singer-songwriter Rob Cowen and his band The Dissidents, is a Bruce Springsteen one indeed. Not that there's anything wrong with that, far from it. The pounding and big guitars of Heartache, like The Boss circa Born To Run, are layered underneath big choruses, bigger harmonies and a well-placed glockenspiel on this heartfelt track of stadium-sized, singalong-friendly and intoxicatingly engaging open-road rock." - Q website 'Track Of The Day'
“A masterful intensity. From now on, when the band turns up to play, it’ll be something to tell your friends; ‘I was there’.” – Maverick Magazine
“A rollercoaster ride across the English landscape seen through a keen eye and a poet’s heart” – BBC Radio 2
“These stunningly beautiful and powerful tunes stick in your head. True, quality playing and songwriting” – Classic Rock
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ROB COWEN & THE DISSIDENTS's Friend Space (Top 16)
Hi ! tuned into Tom Robinson last night, track sounded better than ever... and Mr Robinson said "you should put your (email) address on your website/myspace to make it easier for record companies to get intouch".. though that was a hugely significant thing to say!!!! : D x
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