Melodious, heartfelt, beautiful, and quirky are words that have been used to describe Kerr’s music . Although echoes of Belle & Sebastian, Ben Kweller, Kings Of Convenience and many other artists’ resonate, Ally’s style is very distinctive and he’s been tipped as one of “Scotland’s brightest rising stars” with two albums under his belt (Calling Out To You and Off The Radar) and a third to come…
In Detail:
“Inspired….jangles with all the rainy loveliness of Belle and Sebastian” – UNCUT magazine
“A great new songwriting talent from Scotland” – Bob Harris, BBC
“A heady combination of guitar riffs and pop melody has seen Ally Kerr become the next big thing on the British music scene” – Time Out
“A sparkling tunesmith” – Metro
“Beautifully melancholic” – Press Association
“Kerr’s songs meld the saccharin side of Belle and Sebastian with the kind of melancholy that Paul Simon’s cat must feel at the end of a day’s recording after milk and biscuits. They are beautifully written and wistful” – Sunday Herald
“One of Scotland’s best-kept secrets offers another magical mix” – Daily Record (Scotland’s biggest-selling national daily)
“Gentle Scottish folk with a pop tinge. If Stuart from Belle & Sebastian did a solo gig…” – Express (part of the Washington Post)
“Simply beautiful tunes” – Music Magazine, Japan
“Sweet pop gems”, “An undiscovered gem” – Sunday Mail (Scotland’s biggest-selling newspaper)
“Songs to go quietly wild for” - Maverick Magazine
“One of Scotland’s brightest rising stars” – The List
Just back from a headline tour of Asia, one of Scotland’s fastest-rising songwriters continues to flourish as an independent artist, picking up fans all across the world. Ally Kerr’s success initially began in Japan following the release of his critically-acclaimed debut album Calling Out To You, much of which was written as Ally travelled between the East Coast of the USA and the West Coast of Scotland. It was self-funded and recorded on a shoestring budget back home in Scotland and was first released on tiny Japanese label Quince Records. Its inclusion in a major Japanese music magazine’s list of “Top 20 Albums Ever To Come Out Of Scotland”, was testament to the strength of the songs and the album happily sat alongside the seminal works of Orange Juice and Belle and Sebastian.
During his first-ever-headlining tour of Japan, Kerr received word that one of his songs was to feature as the theme tune to a major new Japanese animated TV series Mushishi, based on a hugely popular comic book. The Sore Feet Song was released in Japan as a CD single and his fanbase in far-flung corners of the world is continually growing as a result of this exposure. New converts in the USA, South America and Europe have been eager to find out more. The series has been broadcast in several countries and was released on DVD in North America last year. A truly international artist, Kerr was also featured in the China Daily (the country’s biggest English newspaper) and has many fans across this country and also other parts of Asia. Second album – Off The Radar – was licensed to Universal Records in the Philippines and Japan in late 2008. The singer/songwriter’s international profile rose another notch after he was selected to play at the North by North-East music festival in Canada.
The home team finally took notice and Calling Out To You received a full release on Neon Tetra Records. Although echoes of Belle & Sebastian, Ben Kweller, Kings Of Convenience, Simon and Garfunkel and many other artists resonate, Kerr’s style is singularly distinctive. One of Scotland’s broadsheet newspapers – Scotland on Sunday – recognised him as “one of the most interesting and creative musicians working in the country right now” in its rundown of the “Hottest New Scottish Talent”. Melodious, heartfelt, beautiful, melancholic, and quirky are adjectives regularly used to describe his music. The release of the debut album followed the critical success of his limited edition debut EP, Midst of the Storm, which was released on 7-inch white vinyl by cult Spanish label Elefant Records (Lambchop, Camera Obscura) and garnered airplay around the world. Kerr continues to receive regular press and radio support from European DJs.
Kerr’s strongly received second album Off The Radar resulted in international airplay, festival invitations and live dates in Europe and Asia as well as continued support across the internet with fans, bloggers and reviewers agreeing that this new album is a real step-up from the much-lauded debut. A self-made promo animation for one of the album tracks (Amorino) was selected by the Washington Post online as their ‘music video of the day’ and continues to charm. As the record continues to filter out further and wider, interest in Kerr grows and grows. Touring in Europe and Asia will continue while putting the final touches to home demos that will eventually be realised in the studio. These songs will comprise the third, as yet untitled album, which Kerr feels is his strongest and most ambitious work to date.
For media enquiries please visit Ally Kerr’s electronic press kit. For high resolution promotional photographs please click here. For further information please e-mail music@allykerr.com or visit the contact page.
