Kristy London and The Other Halves

KRISTY LONDON & THE OTHER HALVES

Hearts (Independent)

If you dig a little soul with your pop/rock, then look no further than Kristy London & The Other Halves, a local three-piece who are currently beginning to spread their love around town as you read this. The three songs appearing here represent the lighter, more mellow side of Ms London and are all simply stunning. ‘Beautiful Surprise’ begins the set and is a radio-ready heart string-puller that words cannot describe - it’s simply divine. ‘Free This Time’ and ‘The Boat Song’ both continue in this fashion, leaving you craving more. Stay tuned… (BP)



- Time Off- November 2006

KRISTY LONDON & THE OTHER HALVES

As refreshing as a cool breeze on a hot summer’s day, the voice of Brisbane’s Kristy London simply, seemingly effortlessly, oozes soul. While other singers hear a voice that that has been trained ruthlessly for many years, it would appear that this naturally-gifted singer-songwriter/guitarist has talent flowing through her veins.



“Music always came first for me,” she explains. “I played instruments before I sang, and I taught myself to sing so I guess it must have come pretty naturally - but I’m constantly working to improve it.”

After performing solo in high-profile support slots alongside everyone from Michael Franti to Marcia Hines, London decided this wasn’t for her and recorded a three-track CD entitled Hearts, adding a rhythm section into the mix. Enter The Other Halves.



“I didn’t want to be the girl with the acoustic guitar up the front forever,” she muses. “Supports can be weird gigs because nobody’s there to see you but you get to play in front of big crowds and see how the industry and artists work at that level. The newer songs I was writing, I could hear working better with a band, I wanted to create music that I would go out and listen to.”

Mostly influenced by jazz artists like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday as well as rockers like Jeff Buckley, Radiohead and Fiona Apple, London writes about life experiences, love and her relationships with people.

“Songs start usually with me and an acoustic guitar,” she reveals. “I get it sounding good on my own, and then I usually take it and play it to the guys in the band and see what they think.



“We’re all very passionate about music. We like to put that across in our shows - soul is our king.”



Kristy London & The Other Halves play Verve Café Thursday Oct 12 and The Alley Thursday Oct 26. Hearts is available at gigs and through www.myspace.com/kristylondonandtheotherhalves
- Time off - November 2006

Resplendent in vivid green bracers and a sparkling red tie, Kristy London eases her way into the evening with bluesy numbers full of drawling slide guitar. The reflective sounds the Other Halves create early on complement her mellow, dusky voice – a haunting folk song about a car crash proving one of the best. Pete Jones’ melodica weaves around the finger-plucked guitar, while London sings with an adorable Irish lilt. Near the end she and the band kick up a gear or three, injecting a touch of guitar thrash and catchy-as-fuck riffage to prove that there’s more than a touch of sting in the tail. - Faster Louder .com.au

Not content with already consuming Fortitude Valley’s entire entertainment district, the Valley Fiesta will this year expand to include the new Tooheys Extra Dry stage, which will close down Brunswick St. between Ann and McLachlan streets for the duration of the event (Friday Sep 14 to Sunday Sep 16). We assume you already know the out-of-towners blowing in for the weekend, but a bunch of local faces have just been added to the line-up, including Kristy London & The Other Halves, pictured, The Blackwater Fever, Yves Klein Blue, Yeshe and the World Citizens, The Informants, Schoolfight, Reverb, Potato Masta, Hanabi, Heidi Hibbard, Kissy Trouble Company, Holocene, Sugartown, Swaying Buildings, The Modes, Black Market Rhythm Co, The Faze, Scul Hazzards, and many more.

- Time Off August 2007

Singles - February 26, 2008
SINGLE OF THE WEEK
KRISTY LONDON & THE OTHER HALVES – Love Will Remain EP
(Independent)
After a busy 18 months of playing live shows and refining their songs, Kristy London & The Other Halves have openings
for fans of the singer-songwriter genre on offer. If you have experience in getting your heart broken, and a range of other
emotions, this could be the band for you! With a range of five mid-tempo songs, from the slight and pretty You Said, all
the way through to the rockier Obvious, the ideal prospective fans of this EP will have a broad appreciation of guitar pop
pathos, preferably with a demonstrated love of artists such as Missy Higgins and New Buffalo. Located conveniently in
Brisbane, a range of opportunities to advance your love of this band will be made available, with live dates approaching
and increased airplay on community and youth broadcasters, reflecting the high quality of production. Given this is only
London and associates’ second EP, this is an amazing entry level chance to become a fan of a growing band,
sure to increase your credibility for spotting talent early well into the future. Heartbreak has never felt so good! - Rave Magazine

After another short changeover time, Kristy London & The Other Halves took to the stage, with a projected backdrop and glowing love hearts for visual effect. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Kristy London was a red-haired Missy Higgins on guitar, as the similarities between the two voices and song styles is uncanny. That being said, Kristy and her band (well, a bass player and drummer) pulled out an energetic set of tunes from debut EP, Hearts, as well as their Summer demo, which the first 100 people received for free as they arrived at the venue. Musically succinct, the band marched through a range of stylistic flavours, including pop, soul, rock and alt-country. Their lively cover of The Beatles' Here Comes The Sun, was a nice precursor for their appearance at next week’s Beatle’s tribute show at The Troubadour. All too soon though, the clock struck midnight, and we were sent home to bed, because after all, it was a school night. - Faster Louder

This may be only be a unassuming three-track demo from this up-and-coming Brisbane trio, but it still manages to show exactly what we will come to love in the near future. ‘Not Just For Today’ opens the short and sweet disc with a slightly rockier affair then we may be used to while ‘I Ain’t Down’ slows it down to jazz-infused number that showcases London’s incredibly beautiful and ever-sassy vocal. Repeat-offender ‘The Boat Song’ rounds off the set nicely with a blissfully, dreamy slice of acoustic soul that leaves you wanting more. (JA) - Time Off Feb 2007

2007 is gearing up to be a huge year for Brisbane singer-songwriter KRISTY LONDON. She and her backing band THE OTHER HALVES kick off the year playing alongside Paul Mac in Sydney, before hitting the studio to lay down some new songs. TOPHER HEALY reports.

Fire-haired local songstress Kristy London has a lot be excited about – after ten years performing as an acoustic solo artist alongside big names like Michael Franti, Pete Murray, and Missy Higgins, her studio-formed ‘electric’ project with the The Other Halves (Pete Jones – bass, and Joachim Alfheim – drums) is coalescing into a formidable live prospect, with recording on a follow-up to last year’s well-received Hearts EP to begin in March.

“I love it. It’s such a great experience to be playing with other people,” says London of the relatively new three-piece configuration. “I did some amazing shows when I was playing solo, and I played with some amazing people, but my music lends itself to a more rock edge. So I’m really enjoying putting the acoustic down, playing electric and through an amp, and having bass and drums to fill out the songs – it helps the songs take on a new energy and a new impact. And it’s more fun! It’s more of a social thing.”

The band have also scored a coveted Australia Day concert gig at Sydney’s Darling Harbour, supporting the erstwhile Dissociative and solo dance producer Paul Mac.

“We were really lucky,” relates the grateful singer. “We had the opportunity thrown at us by the Harbour Agency – they invited us to play in Sydney, and of course we said yes (laughs). And then we found out it was gonna be with Paul Mac! We’re stoked we have the opportunity to play at that level so soon, because we’ve really only been together for six months. It’s an all-ages, all-day event, and apparently the venue holds 7,000 people.”

That could be daunting for a relatively new band, but London is confident and hungry for the chance to rock a big crowd.

“It’s gonna be great to have a chance for the band to play at full volume,” she enthuses. “In Brissie, we’ve played three gigs at Ric’s now – which is fab, I love Ric’s – but you’ve got the sound engineer on the side going ‘Turn it down! Turn it down!’ It’s gonna be really good to stretch our legs…”

There’s no slowing down for the trio after Australia Day either, with a Zoo headliner featuring a special giveaway taster CD (“It’s going to be new songs, and they’ll be raw live versions,” she says), followed by an appearance in QPAC’s Gighouse program (“QPAC has such a reputation for housing high quality performances. It’s fantastic that they’re appreciating what we have in Brisbane”), then a cameo as part of Bonefinger Records’ Beatles Tribute night at the Troubadour.

With her musical activities ramping up several notches, is there a chance Brisbane is going to be too small for London and her bandmates soon? Happily for the local scene, it’s not on the agenda yet – Darling Harbour gigs and interstate industry friends or not.

“The new digital formats have made it much easier to stay in Brisbane – you can be sending your music internationally from here,” says London, exhibiting a healthy local pride. “Of course there are more professional institutions down south, but with mobile phones, email, even flights – flights are so cheap now – you know, why not live in Queensland? Queensland’s awesome! (laughs) I’m a bit biased as you can tell.”

Kristy London & The Other Halves play Darling Harbour, Sydney on Australia Day; headline the Zoo on Wednesday Jan 31 (Hot Liquid Sex support); appear at QPAC’s Gighouse on Friday Feb 2, and contribute to the Bonefinger Records Beatles Tribute night at the Troubadour on Saturday Feb 10. Check out some songs from the Hearts EP at www.myspace.com/kristylondonandtheotherhalves


- Rave Magazine Jan 2007

With dashing aqua suspenders slapped over her petite shoulders, local gal Kristy London leads her three-piece band The Other Halves onstage and moseys into ‘Beautiful Sunrise’. A subdued mid-section of their set ends with the quartet being pared back to an acoustic/melodica duo for one particularly enjoyable folk number, before ramping the rock and roll up again with ‘Not For Today’.

With an afro that’s sprouted beyond the point of concern, Ohad Rein - the solo artist behind Old Man River - shows his appreciation for the modest turnout before opening with an at first unrecognisable, rocked-up take on ‘Sunshine’. After borrowing lip balm from one lucky and besotted fan in the front row, Rein leads OMR into ‘You’re On My Mind’ - an impressive new song that indicates they’ve had time to formulate new material despite being on the road for the better part of the year. The song features a call-and-response straight out of U2’s book, and the meagre crowd takes to the task with gusto.

In between all of their energetic jumping and bouncing (it’s almost as if they’ve got ants in their pants) there are some beautifully-delivered, touching ballads, including ‘Better Place’, ‘Wedding Song’ and ‘Table For Two’. Bringing the band back on, Rein dives into an extended, psychedelic version of the hypnotic blues ‘Time’, another track which has grown leaps and bounds from its original album version. After closing with another thoroughly enjoyable new song, OMR return for a brief encore, which ends with members of both of tonight’s support acts - and the audience - clambering on stage for the animalistic finale ‘La’.

JUSTIN GREY

- Time Off OCT 2007

Jacob Diefenbach jumpstarts tonight’s proceedings with a piano-only set of bouncy cabaret-esque pop, mixing beautiful melodies with acidic lyrics, the main theme being that people are bastards. With a strong sense of melody and humour, and a boyish smile that would land him a role on the Mouseketeers, the crowd show their appreciation, as the theatre quickly fills.

Kristy London is a vision in sequins and fiery-red hair, becoming a human mirrorball when in contact with the stage lights. That The Other Halves are the first ones to point this out to audience shows her backing band are not just a group of hired guns, but a tight ensemble with the ability to provide a solid accompaniment to London’s emotive and soulful songs about love and lust and all the things in between.

The venue is five degrees hotter the moment Kate Miller-Heidke begins to play, as a slow and smooth guitar, piano and violin introduction is soon bulldozered by the sinister Little Adam as the rest of the band joins in.

The bulk of the crowd seems to consist of girls and the boyfriends they’ve dragged along, trying their hardest not to look like they’re enjoying themselves. But with sweet and sassy songs like Make It Last and Dreams showing this sweet little girl, with a mouth and mind of a dock-worker (the latter song’s introduction ended with a certain ‘C-word’, THE BIG ONE), they’re not fooling anyone. A crowd favourite, her cover of John Farnham’s You’re The Voice, couples crushing dynamic changes with her vocal acrobatics to create a refreshing perspective on a song that will haunt FM radio for all eternity.

Goodbye’s and thankyou’s are sheepishly said, as the crowd are left wanting more. Always the consummate performer, Miller-Heidke knows how to keep the customers satisfied.

- Rave Magazine OCT 2007