Carne x Rankd
An unforgettable head-banging hard-rock debut
A new name featuring some familiar local faces – ‘Carne‘ emerged from the woodwork in late January with a clear manifesto, to shake-up Brighton’s current music offerings and lay-out something distinctly new. With plenty of experience under the belts of Carne’s line-up, their announcement generated an instantaneous buzz that carried them through to an impactful sold-out debut show on February 27th at everyone’s favourite sweaty shoebox venue – the Rossi Bar.
Featuring Carmen on vocals (ex-Belmondo), Emia on bass (recognised from grunge-pop outfit Rottweiler), Joe on drums and Milo on guitar (ex-Signature Gold) – this re-worked outfit combines the forces of faces well-adapted to the inner-workings of Brighton’s DIY backbone, which is resonated in their rapid growth since they first dipped their toes in the grassroots ecosystem back in January. With merch readily-pressed and a full catalogue of hard-rock anthems, the band had an infectious gumption that soaked into the conversations of the music-savvy.
Unsuspecting fans of their previous projects could only anticipate the sound of ‘Carne’, eagerly awaiting their debut show to answer their prayers and speculation. Steady teasers were revealed on their Instagram leading up to their live-launch, but nothing could beat the multi-sensory immersion of the real-deal – and it was certainly worth the wait.
Upon a rigid drum framework hung a thundering bass tone, and merging this with sweeping guitar and Carmen’s vocal overtones made for a sound that is distinctively ‘Carne’.
Ripping through the sardine-packed venue, a sound characterised by thumping rhythms and ringing guitar lured in an audience of alt-rock, yet opened the doors for new soundscapes and genre fusions to take shape. Blending backing tracks of reverbed piano and electronic kits facilitated a journey from start to dreaded finish – a show that didn’t fall silent for it’s entire duration, and when it did, the 4-piece were greeted with a roaring ovation.
Carmen pulled together over 40 songs during an intensive writing period in April ’24, and filtered her flowing creativity to a set that was executed to perfection – a strong sign of what’s to come from Brighton’s new hard-hitters. With an infectious chemistry, Carmen, Milo, Emia and Joe are certainly forces to be reckoned with.
'Carne is born out of my need to endure and persevere - It's my most introspective project and it's a version of myself that's honest and raw, something that I think is reflected in our sound' - Carmen
‘Carne’ return to the live stage with a newly-announced run of shows in Brighton – on Wednesday March 12th @ The Green Door Store for ‘Homegrown Festival’, and Tuesday April 4th @ The Green Door Store for ‘Josh Fest 3’.