Kyla Brox

Kyla Brox - Gone - 2007- Pigskin Records

You may not be aware of the name, but Kyla Brox and her band have recorded several albums, all with classic R&B songs plus their own compositions. They have their own great bluesy, infectious sound, and they are doing a lot to keep the Blues alive. This is a good album with good songs, great vocals and a great backing band. A really quality recording from a lady who we should be hearing a lot more about. Buy her "Coming Home"album and promote this very talented lady, and her band.

TRACKS

1 Frustration
2 Gone
3 Always Looking At Me
4 Skin
5 One Step Too Far
6 This Is The Life
7 Loaded Gun
8 More Than Me
9 What's Left On The Table
10 Ride On
11 You Said You'd Be My Sunshine

BAND

Kyla Brox - Vocals, Flute
Phil Considine - Drums
Tony Marshall - Saxophones
Billy Buckley - Guitar
Danny Blomeley - Bass, Acoustic Guitars
Marshall Gill - Slide Guitar on 'Loaded Gun'
Victor Brox - Vocals, Keyboard, Trumpet
Phil Middleton

REVIEWS

The album was recorded in January this year in time for Kyla's tour of Thailand and Australia and is surely the band's finest offering to date. ’GONE’ is a combination of 11 brand new original acoustic and band tracks and features Phil Considine on Drums, Tony Marshall on Saxophones, and Billy Buckley on Guitar, as well as Danny on Bass and acoustic guitars. Kyla really shines on this album showing her real diversity with intimate performances on tracks like 'Gone' which will send shivers down your spine and 'You Said You'd Be My Sunshine' sung accapella, to the powerful funky vocals in 'Skin' and 'Ride On' As well as Danny's finger defying acoustic performances on 'Always looking at me' and 'What's Left On The Table' Kyla and Danny are joined by Marshall Gill on slide guitar for 'Loaded Gun'. ’Gone’ as usual features incredible Sax solos from Tony throughout, and a couple of ripping guitar solos by Billy including an amazing lap steel solo on Frustration. Phil and Danny provide the backbone to this album, and you can really feel their solid grooves, which come from playing and recording together for nearly 15 years! Listen out for a couple of guest appearances from Victor Brox and Phil Middleton too! © http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:XgHODdPrG0QJ:www.kylabrox.com/index.php%3FlinkId%3D6%26item%3D26+Kyla+Brox+gone&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=ie

Kyla Brox returns with another fine album. Her voice has been honed to a fine point and one wonders where next in her efforts to explore its limits? This is nowhere better exemplified than in the closing solo track where in the plaintive 'You Said You'd Be My Sunshine', she captures all the nuances and style of the Blues and jazz divas that have clearly influenced her. Brox was raised in Manchester in a highly musical family, and from very tender years sang in her father's Victor Brox Blues Train. From the time of meeting the equally talented Danny Blomeley her course was set, and this time around they have co-written all the tunes. This is both a strength and a weakness: a strength in the intensely personal nature of the lyrics, such as in the moving song of loss that is the title of the album; a weakness in that I miss the brilliant cover versions of earlier albums which almost inevitably brought life to the original. Thus my only criticism is that 11 tracks totalling 38 minutes surely left room for a couple of covers. However, the songs here are a heady brew of funk, jazz, acoustic Blues and a little rock, so the changes in shade and mood keeps one interested throughout. I love the invitational and acoustic 'Always Looking At Me', followed by the dancing and equally alluring 'Skin'. Instrumentally, a special mention must be made of Billy Buckley's sympathetic electric guitar work throughout, and Kyla as flautist in the gorgeous Sade-like 'One Step Too Far'. Kyla Brox has developed a maturity and power and yet delicacy to her vocal prowess, and does not abuse the vocal affectations or gymnastics, which so badly affect her peers. She is head and shoulders above the rest in the UK, and to anyone considering CDs by Amy Winehouse or Joss Stone, this I suggest is the real deal. © Noggin from BluesMatters Magazine

“...acoustic, intimate and powerfully emotive” © Alan Pierce, Editor, Blues Matters Magazine.

“Excellent!” © Paul Jones, BBC

"I haven't honestly seen a better British Blues band for quite some time." Kyla and the band have recorded five albums to date, with a repetoire drawn from classic R&B songs and their own compositions. The Blues runs deep through their original material, but they build on that to create their own sound. They are anything but your average Blues band, yet they keep the fundamentals of the Blues alive; they play with a feeling that is infectious. © Jenny Lyndsey, Blues in Britian Magazine.

"Destined to be Britians number one female singer." © Pete Evans, Dragon Blues Festival.

"What a voice, what a talent, what performances!!!" © Darren Howells, Blues Matters! Magazine.

"Kyla's voice is up there with the greats." © Chris Cordingley, Blues Matters! Magazine.

"...an authentic Soul diva!..." © Mike Butler, City Life Magazine.

"Kyla Brox Rocks!" © Northern Territory News, Australia.

BIO

Kyla was born to sing. She grew up in Manchester, England, listening to her dad singing the blues and her mum singing opera, not to mention the soul and rock exploits of her four older siblings, so it seems inevitable that she would be bitten by the music bug. By the age of 3 she had her heart set firmly on becoming a singer (even asking for Chaka Khan's clothes, hair and voice for Christmas!) and by 1993, at 12 years old, she had already begun to sing in her father's band, the Victor Brox Blues Train (which he originally formed way back in the 60s with Kyla's mother, Annette). It's little wonder that Victor, multiinstrumentalist and singer (who fronted the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, and has played/recorded with the likes of Alexis Korner, Little Walter, Graham Bond, Muddy Waters, Champion Jack Dupree, Jimi Hendrix, Doctor John, Peter Green and Sonny Boy Williamson II...) has been a huge influence on Kyla's musical career, encouraging her to learn to play the flute and guitar, as well as sing. Tours, numerous gigs and festivals, and a handful of cds with the Victor Brox Blues Train, have ensured that Kyla has had the proper schooling in her craft. Fate played it's hand in 1993, when Kyla met the equally precocious, 13 year old multi-instrumentalist, Danny Blomeley, when he began to play bass in her dad's band. Danny was a seasoned musician even then, having formed the first of his own band aged 10 (in which he played electric guitar). The pair spent their teenage years honing their skills together in the Victor Brox Blues Train (then affectionately known as the "Child Slavery Band" due to the extreme youth of the musicians!), until 1998 when Danny left the UK to travel the world with guitar in hand. His musical expertise was soon in demand from a diverse range of bands, playing jazz, blues, salsa and rock, on guitar, bass, mandolin and piano. When Danny arrived back in the UK in the spring of 2001, he and Kyla formed a duo. Danny's sensationally unique style on the acoustic guitar is the perfect complement to Kyla's incredible voice, and often leaves the audience wondering where the rest of the band are hiding! Their vibrant performances quickly made them a favourite in the clubs and venues around North West England, and the rest of the UK was soon to follow. With media interest, including Kyla featuring on the front covers of the UKs two biggest Blues dedicated magazines, Blues In Britain and Blues Matters! (who coined her nickname, "The Voice") and radio play, including a live session for BBC Radio 2 (the UKs most listened to radio station), their reputation has grown and grown. The pair make a strong song-writing partnership and recorded their first album, ‘Window’, in 2003, a mixture of original and classic numbers. Kyla and Danny put together an electric band in 2002, with Danny on bass, Marshall Gill on electric guitar, Tony Marshall on saxophones and Phil Considine on drums. The Kyla Brox Band have recorded three studio albums, ‘Beware’, ‘Coming Home’ and most recently 'Gone', and also a powerful live album, ‘Live at Matt & Phred’s’. With their own special mix of funky, jazz-tinged blues, and armed with the two different touring outfits, they have caused a stir all over the world, performing concerts, and often headlining at festivals though out the UK, Europe, Australia and Asia, such as, The Great British Rhythm n Blues Festival (Europe's largest blues festival), Copenhagen Blues Festival, Blues autour du Zinc, (Paris), The Great Southern Blues and Rockabilly Festival (Australia), Phuket International Blues Festival (Thailand), Edinburgh Festival (Scotland) and Limavady Jazz & Blues Festival (Ireland), to mention a few. © 1994-2008 CDconnection.com

MORE ABOUT THE BAND [ © http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:7KDGttaDSmcJ:www.kylabrox.com/index.php%3FlinkId%3D1%26page%3D1+Kyla+Brox&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=ie ]

Kyla first hit the stage at the tender age of three years old, performing with her father as part of the Victor Brox Blues Train. In the subsequent years, she has grown into an accomplished performer with a strikingly powerful voice and has toured the world with her band, leaving a lasting impression wherever she performs. If you want to get into her good books, she's fond of gemstones, flowers and alcohol. Failing that, a pink handbag will usually do the trick.

Danny Blomeley - Bass, Acoustic Guitar [Danny plays a mean bass and no mistake. As the tuneful half of the rhythm section he steers the band through their musical terrain, sometimes pushing hard, sometimes drifting along but never dull. You haven't seen a bass solo until you've seen Dan get busy with a glass ashtray. He also plays guitar, and piano, can get a respectable sound from just about any instrument he picks up and can keep a station wagon rolling using nothing more than gaffer tape and houehold cutlery.]

Marshall Gill - Electric Guitar [Motorbike collector and part-time superhero, Marshall is a six-string thing who can blaze like a bonfire or smoulder like a hot coal. Though he was born to rock, Marshall can coax a huge range of possibilities from his guitar and is a strong contender for the title of UK's quietest guitar solo. He has never been seen to turn down a drink and has an uncanny ability to lose and subsequently recover hats in unusual situations. Marshall is currently trying to master the art of flying without the use of an aircraft.]

Anthony Curtis Marshall - Saxophones [It's the quiet ones you have to watch. Whether it's a raging storm or a sweet summer breeze, Tony's sax is guaranteed to blow your socks off. Tony learned his skills playing for drinks in the seedy bars of Oldham, where audiences are tough and the musicians are tougher. If you offer him enough money, he can drink himself to sleep in under four minutes.]

Phil Considine - Drums [The clattering backbone of the band. Phil plays the drums with a flair and passion beyond that of the average tub-thumper,whether propelling the songs along at high velocity or delivering gentle kicks from behind. Phil claims his drumming is "an attempt to create the sound of a drum kit falling down a very long flight of stairs" but we suspect that Phil has a relaxed attitude to the truth and never believe a word he says. He also states that he is the current world record holder for 'most photographs taken whilst playing a drum solo.' Actually, that might be true.]