Ralph Cola
Having a good time with Ralph Cola; photographed by Clara Nicolini.
A few DIY-pop heads out there might have already caught wind of the Ralph Cola party when the Coventry, UK artist released his National Zero cassette last summer, and today we deliver the good news that Little L Records dropped the Ralph Cola debut full-length album Cosmic Joke available now. Born Aidan Leather who took the RC moniker from someone else’s online user name; the world of Ralph Cola is one that bubbles & fizzes through the laid back lo-fi lens of slacker psych that recalls the inventive realms of Jerry Paper, the Sinderlyn family, Drew Price, and other international accomplished underachievers of great promise. For those that are late arriving to the Ralph Cola house party, we are proud to present the live video performance of the mind-illuminating “At Home” Fuzztones session filmed by Joni Butler, Kyla Weldon & Sam Lindley.
The intimate view & listen makes the audience feel as if they have joined Ralph Cola during a studio session. The group keeps the mood light with Aidan strumming and issuing his half-sung/half-deadpan delivery as the group brings about the sound of a derelict jazz group indulging in a laissez-faire approach to psychotropic sounds. “At Home” already is the sound of your favorite AM radio hit being played through an alarm clock speaker where the RC team creates an audio gem that could have been a long lost b-side from 1976, or a soft-pop 1986 cassingle of new romantics gone weird, or a super chilled-out take on 1996-era adult contemporary classics. The result of Ralph Cola’s “At Home” is partially a tongue firmly planted in cheek take on the tunes that ultimately lead to your conception (shout outs to mom & dad), with an arrangement that errs on the side of simulating that freshly awakened feeling that only certain hypnagogic sounds can fully resemble. Read our interview with Ralph Cola’s own Aidan Leather in an insightful interview session.
How did Ralph Cola first begin?
It was just a joke; an in-joke with myself. Then I accidentally kept going. Joke hat becomes real hat, as my pal Chaz would say. He plays the bass in that video.
What is the story behind the name?
He’s a real guy that I saw on the internet with a great name! So I stole it from him. Sorry Ralph Cola. He still hasn’t accepted my friend request.
Ralph Cola live; photographed by Jamie Keegan.
Tell us all about life in Coventry, UK. We’ve never been ourselves.
It’s probably just like every other city in England, kinda grey, kinda dull, and with a mix of some real nice and some real awful areas. It’s main plus for me is that it’s near actual nice places with grass and trees and stuff. There are some good spots for lunch though, there’s a place that does a fresh 1£ pizza and some whopper falafel, if ya ever come we can go for lunch together!
What were the Fuzztones sessions like, performing the home-body comforts of “At Home”?
It was a super lovely time. Super relaxed! A wonderful group of humans that do it all and we had an excellent craic. Would recommend to a friend. The number one key to having a good time is nice lighting, and I’ll tell ya, the lighting was great.
What’s next for Ralph Cola?
More good times! I don’t really know. I have an album done and I guess that’ll be out soon which will be kinda neat. Probably more noises. Maybe some shows? I’m just gonna be reading books and having a good time otherwise.
The diet soda life of Ralph Cola; press photo courtesy of the artist.
What are you super in-to right now?
Musically? Going onto Bandcamp’s nu-jazz section and just listening to that. Ruby Rushton are great. Mainly jazz and funk and stuff that’s really just having a good time. Non-musically; string theory, the potential implications of achieving a super-intelligent A.I., and The Partially Examined Life podcasts.
How in the world do you go about making that kind of super hazy, sleepy, & sweet sort of sound?
I did all that stuff that’s out when I couldn’t sleep too well so I felt like my life was super hazy, sleepy, and weirdly sweet. Also; pitch shift. It’s all pitch shift.
Parting words?
Nietzsche is a strange guy, man. But he had some cool ideas. When art dresses in worn-out material it is most easily recognised as art.
The new Ralph Cola album Cosmic Joke is available now courtesy of Little L Records.
