NEW MUSIC ADDED TO RAVN RADIO
The Journey of Rhett May
Rhett May owes his rare musical sound and style to the unique environment that he grew up in. Born in Calcutta, India, he was immediately immersed in a magical, musical melting pot. Carnatic and Hindustani music and instruments such as the Sitar and Tabla were always providing melody and percussion against a daily backdrop of lifting and soaring voices of Ragas. Ragas especially played a vital part of Rhett’s musical experience with their series of five or more musical notes forming melody. However, this environment of classical Indian music wasn’t the only sounds floating about Calcutta in the nineteen-fifties and nineteen sixties.
By the time Rhett had begun boarding school in the Himalayan foothills; western music had also begun an invasion. The cinemas featured musical movies from The Monkees, Cream, or Jimi Hendrix. Elvis and Ricky Nelson’s pop also pulsated through the airwaves – Sixties – Seventies – Success…
Rhett May – Rock and Roll Emotions – Part One
Rhett’s formed his first band, The Wooly Bullys, at the age of 15. Their first taste of fame came in 1966 when they won Battle of the Bands. They became such a hit that they performed many of the venues that were hot at that time, such as Trincas, The Park Hotel and Mocambo’s. The Wooly Bullys evolved into a band called The Flint Stones.
The Flint Stones became India’s most successful pop group, being featured on the cover of many of the music magazines. The Flint Stones recorded a successful single in “Be Mine (Happy by My Side)” with HMV/EMI and even attracted the attention of former Beatle George Harrison and Apple Records. The band was asked to come to the UK and was also double-billed with the likes of legendary jazz guitarist Charlie Bird.
This was a very successful time for Rhett who accompanied his band to play a private concert for the Queen of Bhutan and her family.
This was not the end of May’s musical growth, however, only the beginning.
The nineteen sixties were blossoming musically with the addictive melodies and varied styles that were precisely what Rhett loved.
Rhett states, “The sixties got me hooked on bands like The Yardbirds, Steppenwolf, The Beatles, Herman’s Hermits … and the list goes on!”
Rhett would carry this heavy influence of the nineteen sixties into his musical future as the underpinning of his musical style. A Saturday Night In “Oz”…
Rhett left his native India in 1969 and would start his music career anew in Australia.
As a solo artist, he would win the Perth Talent Quest whole performing backed by the Troubadours in 1971. However, he wouldn’t remain simply a solo artist; Rhett would recreate the same group success he had in India all over again in Australia.
Rhett states, “I got a totally new group of musicians together in ‘Oz’ – we were doing the ‘garage’ thing.” This garage band would develop into a successful band which evolved from the “Shakespeare Sarani” to “Prodigy”, and eventually, they changed their name to “Lucifer.”
As the decade of the seventies progressed, they opened for bands like Freddie Mercury’s QUEEN.
Rhett’s success was about to be changed forever by the “fever” of Saturday Night Fever. The Disco era came suddenly, and it would force Rhett and his bandmates to move out of music.
The gigs dwindled almost overnight from 13 a week to perhaps one a month and the dance floors became filled with DJs and Disco lights. Rhett’s musical career was about to be turned upside down.
Fast Forward Thirty Years…
Rhett is now a resident of Australia…living by the beach in Black Rock…Melbourne.
The passion and creativity has returned with a vengeance.
2013
Rhett teamed up with Platinum Producers of Musik and Film to create a new EP “Insatiable”.
There’s no doubt Rhett May is back to his best…with ’Cocktails and Cannabis’, ‘Insatiable’, ‘Hey Peter’ and his ‘Beatle’ sounding single ‘Jenny’….setting fire to music charts across the globe….the harbinger of a new era in music that is unique and a breath of fresh air!
2015
Rhett’s new album ‘Fast Cars and Sitars’…took you to another level of his passion and creativity.
His guitar led songs are infused with the sounds of the Indian streets, giving his music a different flavour to the majority of current, cookie-cutter rock music.
By blending classic sensibilities with a twist of Indian culture, he created a string of singles, the first being ‘The Violence of Ice’…(Grammy Award Nomination)…followed by ‘Rich Bitch’ …’ Drifting Dreaming’….So Delicious’….and the controversial ‘Keep off the Grass’……..WOW !!
As one scribe puts it…
”It’s hypnotic…it’s infectious…
ROCK songs with an edge
That go round and round inside your head….very Haight Ashbury”….
Classic Rock at it’s very best !!!
2016/2017
A new 13 track album bursts onto the scene…’ Creatures of the Night’…every song a single in itself.
The latest single ‘Back Seat of My Chevy’ is the second released off the album and is starting to attract attention from a broader and more discerning audience….with radio interviews in demand.
‘Latex Lady’…the first song released off the album in September this year…has achieved phenomenal acclaim and is still in the Top 5 on the Euro Indie Music Charts and other music charts worldwide.
The third single released in early 2017 of this 13 track album is the title track ‘Creatures of the Night’.
Once again…something unexpected that shows the diversity of Rhett’s songwriting !!
And now ‘Kiss Your Mama With That Mouth’…WOW !! This new release is taking people to another level of interest in Rhett.
Recorded in Melbourne with producer Domenic Pernasilici (Audio-Visual Media) this album takes Rhett’s music to another level again…showing off his diverse and wide-ranging songwriting skills.
October 2023
A NEW RELEASE – ‘ROCK AND ROLL PART ONE’
In the depths of emotion, where raw vulnerability meets defiant passion, lies the heart of ‘Rock & Roll Emotions’…a project that presents in the release of two EPs – Part 1 and Part 2
Rhett May invites listeners on a cathartic journey through emotional highs and lows of the human experience in this 6 Track EP – PART 1.
A journey through the soul-stirring world of Rhett May, an artist unafraid to explore the depths of human experience with unyielding honesty.
His voice carries the weight of a thousand personal battles, each word dripping with a poignant sense of truth.
He doesn’t sing to impress…he sings to connect…every lyric, a reflection of his journey through life and the relentless pursuit of artistic freedom.
A tapestry of emotions, reflecting the human experience in all its complexities…his lyrics peel back the layers of existence, exploring love, loss and resilience.
Through every chord and verse, Rhett invites listeners into his world…a world shaped by the vibrant streets of Calcutta India and the gritty multicultural backdrop that is Melbourne Australia
His music transcends borders and boundaries, resonating with audiences worldwide, who find solace and strength in his evocative melodies.
- https://twitter.com/rhettmay
- https://www.rhettmay.com/
- https://www.facebook.com/rhettmaymusic
- https://www.instagram.com/rhettmaymusic
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYsQmkhfNZtdeRdWiWC2EWA
- https://music.apple.com/au/artist/rhett-may/287901404
