On the radar: Randolph's Leap

Published on Wednesday 2 September 2009 14:02

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In the Glasgow music scene there's not always much to set a fledging band apart from the rest. Randolph's Leap are trying to combat this by bringing back "some of the romance of making music".

The band consist of Adam Ross (guitar, vocals), Gareth Perrie (casiotone, guitar, vocals), Vicki Cole (bass, vocals), Iain Taylor (drums, vocals), Andy MacLellan (cello, vocals) and Colin Ross on violin.

With their instrumental sound, the six-piece play nicely on the ear with their lingering melodies, not a world apart from a folk sound but still 'indie' enough to capture the mainstream.

Speaking to Adam Ross about the band's plans for world domination turns out to be an interesting conversation – he claims that he was known to "whistle in the womb" as he explains the roots of the name Randolph's Leap. "The name is pinched from a section of the River Findhorn near to my hometown of Nairn. Apparently a soldier leapt over the salmon-filled rapids in order to escape Randolph the Earl of Moray."

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The band in their current line-up have been around for about three years now, and even the quickest of glances at their MySpace highlights the creativity oozing out of their every pore, with a series of poetic stories feeding into their music.

Ross' exuberant style becomes clear when he goes on to explain his musical history: "My parents suspected potential musical aptitude so bought me a second-hand tuba," he says. "Unfortunately I kept falling inside. In school, a curious man named Calverto tried to teach me the cello but I didn't speak his language. I began writing songs at the tail end of puberty. I am now 21. The other band members have latched onto me like disgusting leeches over the last couple of years…"

It's nonsense of the best kind, and that pretty much sums up what you get with Randolph's Leap – instead of the usual new band mumbo jumbo, this group has charisma, charm and a very defined and confident personality of their own. They're nothing like some of the generic 'indie boy bands' we're over-saturated with – and they don't want to be either.

Citing The Divine Comedy, Edwyn Collins and Karl Pilkington as their influences, Ross explains that for him, "songwriting is one of the few things that my brain seems to be suited to."

"I'm usually happy enough with the results and don't really question whether I've done it 'right' or not as long as it's singable," he adds. "Whereas if I were to try and be a politician or a chef I'd constantly be doubting what it was I was saying or sauting."