2 hours of mixed Music, usually with a theme – genre, decade, facts & history, instrument focus, pioneers & game changers.
A dedicated slot featuring new artists & bands, gig updates and announcements across this show and the station.
Get in touch via:
derek@smileradio.onlie to be featured on the shows & station!
My name is Emily Ewing a singer/songwriter, originally from Birmingham. Now living in Worcester. I’ve been on the Music circuit for many years now. I’ve had a number of plays on radio such as BBC Introducing, which also includes being Artist of the week with BBC Introducing Hereford & Worcester in 2017. I’ve recorded and released several EPs. I have and do collaborate with other musicians.
I have also recorded, backing vocals for Ginger Wildheart and his albums – ‘Ghost in the Tanglewood’ and ‘The Pessimist’s Companion’, as well as various songs for Ryan Hamilton. My brand new EP ‘Value of Love’ is out now on all digital platforms. It is my fourth EP released. Amongst some singles and collaborations.
‘Somebody’ – Co-written and produced by Dave Draper. Artwork by Chris Davies
Purchase on Bandcamp, link below.
It all started on a Council estate somewhere in Hampshire when Dev was given a second-hand bass guitar as a birthday present. Three days later, after being overheard playing it in his bedroom by his sister’s boyfriend, a fourteen-year-old Dev found himself on stage playing for Wyrd Air. A band now lost in the annals of time.
A few short months later saw Dev move onto guitar and start to experiment with his own musical style. From thrash metal, punk, angular surreal noise, death metal, country punk, electronic industrial metal, even a touch of rockabilly and back again. It’s been noted that when listening to early records, Dev was never quite satisfied with one particular sound.
More songs and a bet followed, and ‘Little London’ was conceived. A notorious and riotous live act that went from no songs and some alcohol fuelled rehearsals to full show in the space of two weeks. With a steady fanbase and regular shows the band’s reputation for aggressive ‘metal riffs, catchy choruses and whisky soaked regrets’ grew further. Allowing them to reach new audiences and win prestigious support slots with many of Dev’s musical heroes.
‘Little London’ culminated in two massive slots at Sonisphere UK and Knebworth. The band imploded in a blaze of rain-soaked glory, having reached far beyond the original expectations of some members. The sudden and unexpected loss of original bass player Ryan ‘Rizla’ McDermott led to substance abuse, line-up changes and torturous personal demons. Heartbroken, Dev has never quite recovered from this painful period and references to Rizla, a rare and beautiful soul with a love for leopard print creepers, are often prevalent throughout his work.
Moving away from performing, Dev followed his keen interest in audio production into the live sector, becoming an apprentice for the prestigious Britannia Row Productions where he enjoyed a career that took him all over the world providing his services for some of the biggest musical acts in the industry.
Never the sort to manage a comfortable life, Dev found himself homeless in Johannesburg and ended up returning to the UK, battered, bruised and in need of a new direction. A brief and joyous reunion with Little London provided an outlet for Dev’s creative spark and work began on a project that would come to define him musically for many years to come.
While in Morocco (Dev does not quite know why he was in Morocco either) Dev learned of a military practice known as the Punishment Essay from two equally burned out and displaced intelligence officers. Having lived several lives by the age of thirty the term struck a deep and personal chord with Dev who defined his life as a series of soaring highs followed by dark and empty pits of never-ending despair.
On reaching home, Dev immediately began writing the first lyrics for what would become ‘Punish Yourself’ which appeared on Punishment Essay Volume 1. A process of detailing what went wrong, how he failed to act correctly, evaluating the true nature of the events, how he could have done better and most importantly, how he will be better in the future.
Work began on creating the demos for the project, with songs often coming faster than he could get them down onto his Tascam 8 Track recorder. The unflinching honesty of these songs allowed Dev to accept that maybe he was not always the victim and was often to blame for much of his tragedy.
The demos became known as ‘sonic barbed wire’ to those lucky enough to be handed a copy. A blistering listen which was only intended for Dev’s personal collection. Warren Grimsley, a gifted live engineer, and electronic music producer, came by one of these rare copies who asked Dev if he would be interested in making the record again with his own interpretation of the sound. Two months later, Punishment Essay Vol. 1 was born.
Eschewing label interest, Dev moved on to form the eclectic ‘Watchdogs of Farron’. An experimentation with synthesisers, female vocals and furthering his love of sampling speech and real-world noise. [Editor’s note – Dev is extremely fond of video games in what little spare time he has.] The record, ‘Man:Made’ was based upon a short synopsis of ‘creating a perfect android female vocalist, who proceeds to become enamoured with cocaine, the outside world and murder’. Despite more critical acclaim, a non-existent budget and the real world scuppered the band’s chances of success.
A demoralised Dev fell prey to his old demons once more, leading to further introspection and the resulting demos for ‘Punishment Essay Volume 2’. Regarded by Dev as ‘the best thing I’ve ever done but the hardest to listen to’. Recording sessions were long, stressful and carried out in complete solitary confinement. Failing health and lack of energy led to a complete refusal to promote the record apart from a muted Facebook post announcing the release on Spotify. Unable to see himself worthy of his underground cult status, Dev buried himself in work once more.
Dev began documenting his degrading mental health during the Covid19 pandemic through The Anxious Mind EP. The record being a gentler production with more focus on melody found a larger audience than his previous work. Dev found himself releasing to an audience that were receptive to his musical ideals and a new sense of purpose was established. The track ‘I wanna make this personal’ from Anxious Mind is the first acknowledgement from Dev that his songs were now being shared with people rather than purely for his own therapeutic needs, it was received with praise and critical applause.
Following the success of The Anxious Mind EP, Dev began working on Punishment Essay Volume 3, with more emphasis on promoting the resulting record. A live band has been put together to ensure as many people as possible are able to experience the experience of one man’s struggle to survive amidst trauma, grief, and an unforgiving world.
In-between the release Anxious Mind and Volume 3, Dev formed his own production company ‘Keep it Evil Productions’ where he has produced and mixed records for various artists, providing his own unique interpretation of their material. Artists include Crashing Cadence, Lazywall and many others.
2022 looks to be the most exciting year for Dev yet and now is the perfect time to explore his back catalogue.
Need Sleep Records
Sean Jeffery is a singer, songwriter and musician based in Worcester. He has been compared to The Flaming Lips, The Dandy Warhols, Mercury Rev, Elbow, and Beck, and his songs have been featured on BBC radio. After releasing two EP’s since 2020 on Bandcamp, he is now working on his debut album.
You can sign up for two exclusive songs on his website. Links to web site & Bandcamp below.
An entire hour dedicated to showcasing Music from brand new and established independent artists and bands. Original and covers from both in the UK and Internationally. An opportunity for one of your tracks to be Smile Radio's 'Track of the Week' with your track played across multiple shows for an entire week! To feature on this or any other show on Smile Radio, simply get in touch via the emails […]
