Randolph's Leap (band)

2006: Formation

Randolph's Leap were formed in 2006 when lead singer Adam Ross (originally from Nairn, Scotland) met Gareth Perrie (from Dunblane) at The University of the West of Scotland in Ayr. Around 2009 the band expanded to a six piece with the addition of Vicki Cole on bass (from Aberdeen, Scotland), Heather Thickey on violin (also from Aberdeen), Iain Taylor on drums (from Dumfries) and Andrew MacLellan on guitar and cello (from Crieff).

The band released their first EP, titled Battleships and Kettle Chips, on November 15, 2010 on Olive Grove Records. On May 16, 2011 they released a two-track single on Olive Grove as well, titled "Counting Sheep/Deep Blue Sea." In 2011 the band expanded from a 6-piece to an 8-piece with the additions of Ali Hendry (trumpet) and Fraser Gibson (trombone).

2012-13: First albums

2012 saw the band greatly increase its output, and just that year they released two full-length albums, three EPs, and the single "This Ain't It" via vinyl postcard. Their first LP came out on Peenko Records on February 20, 2012, and was titled The Curse of the Haunted Headphones. Peenko Records also released their EP As Fast As A Man that September, and in October 2012 the band released the EP Hermit on Fence Records. In 2013, Gareth Perrie left the band and was subsequently replaced by Pete MacDonald from the State Broadcasters. MacDonald had first hand knowledge of the band as he had helped produce their upcoming album Clumsy Knot in 2013.

In 2012 the band made the list of artists nominated for the Blog Sound of 2013 and in the same year they came 16th in the Hype Machine's UK Music Blog Zeitgeist which was announced on BBC 6Music. While working in 2013 on their new album, the band signed to Lost Map Records. Formed following the dissolution of the band's former label Fence Records in 2013, Lost Map is based in Scotland.

2014: Clumsy Knot

The band's "first official" LP, titled Clumsy Knot, was released on April 7, 2014 on Lost Map Records. Several of the thirteen tracks are re-workings of songs from on their previous lo-fi recordings, and while approximately half of the songs were home-recorded, Alfred Archer of FolkRadio.co.uk wrote that the album "as a whole sees a marked step up in production from their previous work." Archer further called the album "thoughtful, funny and uplifting," while David Pollock of The Scotsman gave similar praise, writing in a largely positive review that the album "is light of touch and cheerful of spirit." Susan Le May of The Quietus wrote that "the album moves from whimsical, earnest folk romanticism to introspection and Casio-frilled irony," and that it "marks the arrival proper of the next generation of witty Scottish indie pop."

While promoting the new album the band performed at several Scottish festivals in 2014, including Howlin' Fling on Eigg, Belladrum, and The Fringe. They also toured with other bands on the Lost Map label, including Kid Canaveral.

2014: Singles, sessions

The band have recorded two sessions for Marc Riley's BBC 6Music show, plus two for BBC Radio Scotland, one for the Vic Galloway show and one for Tom Morton. They have recorded numerous sessions for local radio including Moray Firth Radio in Inverness, plus the Daily Record newspaper. In June 2014 the band made a live TV appearance on the Riverside Show on STV Glasgow. They were interviewed by the BBC in 2014, also performing another live session.

In June 2014 the band's single "I Can't Dance To This Music Anymore," first included on their old album The Curse of the Haunted Headphones, was released through Lost Map's postcard series of mail-order singles. Clash Music called the song a "joyous folk-pop romp" and "deeply Scottish in its ability to turn melancholy into joy."

Style

According to FolkRadio.co.uk in 2014, "The band’s slightly ramshackle, whimsical, indie style, together with their Glasgow base, makes comparisons to Belle and Sebastian unavoidable, though, at times there are also hints of Camera Obscura, Polyphonic Spree and The Magnetic Fields. It is Ross’s lyrics, which manage to be both humorous and heartbreaking, that sets the band apart from these influences." About Ross's songwriting and vocals, The Quietus wrote that "The driving force and linchpin of the group, [Adam Ross] is a songwriter who is both honest and charming, combining the strut and humour of Neil Hannon, the sincerity, vulnerability and softness of Stuart Murdoch and the lyrical wit and musical playfulness of the DIY Daddy, King Creosote himself."

Members