After fronting, writing and putting out three albums in three years with Role Models, Canadian born, London located songwriter Rich Ragany set out to expand his musical horizons and to find the right musicians to join him on that task. Finally settling on a line-up that includes Andy Brook (celebrated producer, SHUSH), Gaff (Glitterati, Dedwardians, Desperate Measures), Ricky McGuire (UK SUBS, The Men They Couldn’t Hang), Simon Maxwell (Role Models, Yo Yos) and Kit Swing (Mallory Knox, Seven Days And Doesn’t Die), the newly realised Rich Ragany And The Digressions released their debut album ‘Like We’ll Never Make It’ in April 2019, picking up some keen support from BBC Introducing. They packed out shows in London, sharing stages with the likes of The Lemonheads, The Men They Couldn’t Hang, Whitfield Crane and Warrior Soul, then confirmed as the main support for Status Quo’s 2020 Backbone UK Tour, before the pandemic put pay to that opportunity.
With time and talent on their hands, Rich and the band used lockdown to get creative and this month saw the release of their new album ‘Beyond Nostalgia & Heartache’, out now on Story Highway Records and Tapes. The album has been fantastically received by fans and media alike and today sees the release of new single and album opening track ‘Sometimes We Can Hear The Voices’, with a video that follows in a long tradition of ‘bands on the roof’ (The Beatles and The Replacements come to mind…), a heartfelt, inspiring song that is the perfect tonic for these unpredictable times.
“This song is written from the perspective of someone who is leaving a home or situation in which they had suffered abuse,” explains Rich. “I wanted the mood to be very cinematic from the get-go and really uplifting and euphoric in the chorus, giving it the feel of freedom from that place. To show that, yes, even though those voices can still haunt you, you are free now.
“The title came from conversations about my experiences with all this and how I kinda find myself fighting those memories and (guitarist) Gaff said, “Yeah man… sometimes we can hear the voices…” That conversation… the friendship and understanding in it, made me grab the guitar as soon as I could and write the song,” concludes Rich.
This video was directed, edited and shot by Craig Temple of Racketeer Pictures and really captures the feeling of the song beautifully.
There is much more to come. A new album is already very much in the works. Watch this space.
Rich Ragany And The Digressions are:
Rich Ragany – vocals/guitar
Gaff – guitar
Kit Swing – guitar
Andy Brook – keyboards
Ricky McGuire – bass
Simon Maxwell – drums
Rich Ragany And The Digressions online at:
