The Roolz

The Roolz An eclectic, carefully dayparted mix of Indie, Rock, Pop, Dance & Chillout - played in real time. Great music for grownups who are young at heart.

The Roolz

An eclectic, carefully dayparted mix of Indie, Rock, Pop, Dance & Chillout - played in real time from SW France. "You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else"
(Albert Einstein)

08/07/2025

Midsummer sounds sorted.

There is no discount applied to time spent listening to a bunch of poor tunes, versus time which transports the soul to the summit of audio delight. Sadly, the former is the sum of this month’s listening. My mind wandered off to reasons why. Creative energy used to be split around 90% on the performer’s side of the glass and 10% on the producer/engineer’s. Now there is no glass. Anyone with a laptop and some free software can make a ‘record’. Musicianship is not necessary – AI will take care of that. Which piano would you like, Sir...? Steinway or Bösendorfer? And where would you like it positioned acoustically… La Scala, Milan or the Met, NYC? There are now 120,000 new tracks uploaded every day, which is more than the entirety of 1989’s. Does that represent struggle or conceit? I honestly don’t know. David Gray’s ‘White Ladder’ is an astonishingly good album. He recorded it in his bedroom in Stoke Newington on a nothing budget and released it on his own record label. But that was in 1998... have the ground rules changed? Probably not. Which makes sifting through the bedroom sand in search of the next golden nugget all the more rewarding.

So what’s new? Special mentions for the Cat Empire, an alternative 7-piece from Melbourne with ‘Going To Live’ and The Lumineers’ ‘Asshole’. Opinions are like as****es, everybody's got one and they all think everyone else's stinks.

‘And I know what you said to me was wrong. But kindness came and bit my tongue. I must admit, the taste of it is keepin' me awake’.

Two great tracks from a total of 20 added this month.

04/06/2025

My goodness! I’ve spent so much longer this month listening to new music... and I am astonished by the artistry and the commitment of these artists. It has to be a terrible way to make a living in the Spotify age, and the fact that these boys & girls are so driven, truly humbles me.

So where to start? You’ll know that we usually play one French tune in an hour, but roolz should be broken and there are some cracking French tunes out there at the moment. Anglophones must give way. Kendji Girac is joined by none other than Andrea Bocelli on ‘Je Vis Pour Elle’.

‘Marguerite’ is the French word for daisy. And Daisy has released her first single called ‘Les Filles, les Meufs’. Meufs sort of means girls as in the old fashioned sense of ‘chicks’. In the song, Daisy openly explores her own bisexuality. Variety is the spice of life, so they say.

There are many other French offerings, too – you are exhorted to listen.

And now to the Anglos, starting in Norn Iron. Voices date – think (without rancour) of McCartney, Dylan or Roderick. But Van Morrison’s instrument has defied aging altogether. He is now 79 and his new release ‘Cutting Corners’ might have been recorded 50 years ago. Truly remarkable. Pulp have released a new track called ‘Got To Have Love’. How true. I’ve edited out Jarvis’s talking bit in the middle, and the song really rocks.

Where would we be without Willie? The world will be a sad place when he’s gone. Lie back in the sun and enjoy ‘What a Beautiful World’. With hindsight, I now realise that I’ve so far mentioned artists who are best equipped to withstand the downturn in the music industry – but how about Harper Grace, Daniel Arison, Haven Madison or Zac Top? Not to mention Bonny Light Horseman or Caamp. There is some fantastic new Americana in the mix and overall I think we’ve struck the right summer vibe. See what you think, and don’t get burned.

By anyone.

06/05/2025

Humungous summertime changes at The Roolz. For once I’m not going to list them because it doesn’t really feel like summer here: it’s not often that the UK gets the better of the south of France on weather, but the last couple of weeks have demonstrated just that.

So let’s get topical. The whole trans rights thing has been a major issue on both sides of the Atlantic recently. In the UK a person’s gender is now defined as that of his/her birth. Apparently there is no longer any their (sorry Sam) and fist or handbag fights in public spaces have thus far remained unreported. In the U.S. Robert de Niro’s son Aaron is now a daughter named Airyn. Bob is apparently fully supportive.

Do you remember Ray Stevens? In the ‘70s he won two Grammies for ‘Everything Is Beautiful’ and ‘Misty’. He also plied a fair trade in novelty records: ‘The Streak’ was #1 on both sides of the Atlantic in 1974. Well – Ray is now 86 and still at it, with a release called ‘Since Bubba Changed His Name to Charlene’. Famously irreverent, I’ll give it a few weeks before it’s retired to the recycle bin.

I was saddened to read that Jill Sobule, composer of ‘I Kissed a Girl’ (a mega smash for Katy Perry) died in a house fire last week. Jill’s original version has been added.

That’s it for now. I haven’t scratched the surface of all the summer changes. You’ll just have to listen. And bring a friend.

08/04/2025

Spring cleaning at The Roolz: some great new sounds for you. As I write this, a piece of African gospel has just played: ‘We Will Be Many’ by Lawrence Oyor with the Sounds of Salem. Marvellous.

So let’s see what else God has granted to usher in the summer of 2025. The Stereophonics have a new single called ‘Seems Like You Don’t Know Me’. It’s up to their usual high standard. Who is Röyksopp? Answer: a Norwegian duo who seem to have been around forever – I was playing their stuff in Limassol way back in the noughties. On ‘Running To The Sea’ they’ve teamed up with vocalist Susanne Sundfør. It’s well worth the price of admission (which is nix). There’s some new Doobie Bros stuff out – they sound old & tired, which I guess they are, and I’ve taken a pass. I’ll bet they’d like to sound like Young Gun Silver Fox.This is a UK/US duo based in London who very much draw their inspiration from the likes of the Doobies and Steely Dan. ‘Stevie & Sly’ is brilliant.

I’ve added some excellent new Americana from Blake Shelton and Cody Johnson. There’s also some alternative listening from Jensen McRae and Yoshika Colwell.

We haven’t forgotten our host country – some fine new French tunes are in the mix, and I’ve mainstreamed ‘Ma Faute’ by Marine.

Because she’s worth it.

19/03/2025

All clear at The Roolz, but the job took longer than it should because of sh*tty installation of air extraction - which was presumed to have evacuated to the exterior, but instead emptied into the roof space. I wonder if we still have listeners... 🤔

19/03/2025

The Roolz down for a short while for rewiring

12/03/2025

Fixing bathroom electrics will cause temporary outages of The Roolz. Normal service ASAP.

Fab to know you!
19/02/2025

Fab to know you!

11/04/2024

Summer’s on the near horizon as temperatures in southern France reach the mid 20°s. Summertime blues are banished at The Roolz with a raft of new additions to make winter a distant memory.

I have to start with Gregory Alan Isakov and ‘The Stable Song’. Accompaniment is banjo with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Unusual? You bet... and sonically brilliant. I’ve added another track from Beyonce’s excellent country album. This one’s called ‘Protector’ and Beyonce is joined on vocals both by Rumi Carter and her baby daughter, who burbles enchantingly in the background.

Other outstanding music is provided by Iron & Wine with ‘All In Good Time’ on which the band is augmented by orchestra and the outstanding blues voice of Fiona Apple. There’s electroswing (always a favourite of mine) from Meghan Trainor, western tinged alternative music from the Old 97s, big fat funk from Greg Hudik and an interesting duet from Enrique Iglesias with country singer Miranda Lambert called ‘Space In My Heart’.

Lastly, a confession: like so many of my generation I’ve been holding out against what we perceive to be musical intrusion by lesser talents. But I’ve given in to Dua Lipa. ‘Training’ is a fab pop record.

Honestly, this is just a snapshot of the early summer shakeup at The Roolz. I am in constant awe of the wonder of music. It’s not going away and the talent/commitment of so many fine artists remains undiminished.

02/03/2024

Spring cleaning at The Roolz. Some titles have been rested; others added. How many? Loads.

So this month I thought I’d confine my thoughts to one topic: winners. Americans like to cheer winners, while Brits always (and unfathomably) root for the underdog... that is, until he/she becomes a winner (Ed Sheeran, Adele).

Beyonce Knowles has climbed to the top of every conceivable chart with a single track – “Texas Hold ‘Em”. She has reached the summit of Billboard’s Hot 100, Country, Global 200, Streaming and Digital Sales charts. Plus: iTunes, BBC Radios One & Two and too many others to count.

The song may not set your ear’oles alight, but - music snobs - go home.The lady and her team are to be congratulated on one hell of an achievement.

10/02/2024

First 2024 shakeup at The Roolz has taken place. It's always a good idea to wait a few weeks into the New Year until all the Christmas stuff has swirled down the lughole plughole.

Lewis Capaldi shows no sign of his health problems with his new single 'Strangers'. He is a remarkably good songwriter: on first hearing you think, 'meh'. But then after a few more listens it really gets to you.

A special mention, too, for Love, Fame, Tragedy and 'Don't You Want To Sleep with Someone Normal?'
No.
The sobriquet belongs to Matt Murphy - formerly of The Wombats. A touch of the Pet Shop Boys going on there.

Stephen Sanchez is going to have a smash with 'High'. Speaking of which, this week's UK top three singles are Noah Kahan 'Stick Season' (first played on The Roolz in December 2022), Sophie Ellis-Bextor 'Murder etc...' (for some reason revived from 2007) and Teddy Swims 'Lose Control'. That debuted on The Roolz back in last September.

Then there's more obscure stuff... lots of it. If you like electro swing (as I do) you'll enjoy French band Caravan Palace with their song 'Mirrors'.

Dig deep, friends. You'll never get to the bottom of it.

28/01/2024

2 days in Paris. Circuit breaker tripped while we were away: therefore no Roolz.

Mille pardons. Abnormal service has now been resumed.

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The Roolz An eclectic, carefully dayparted mix of Indie, Rock, Pop, Dance & Chillout - played in real time from SW France. Great music for grownups who are young at heart. "You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else" (Albert Einstein)

About The Roolz

The station is the lovechild of David Symonds, after fifty years' broadcast experience accumulated on three continents: Australasia, Europe & the U.S. David was a founder member of the first Radio 1 team; opened Capital Radio, London, 1973 and Radio Victory, Portsmouth, 1975; managed & programmed two properties in L.A. during the 1980's. In the 1990's he moved back to the BBC, then Capital Gold before emigrating to Cyprus. David designed, built & managed Coast FM in Limassol, which was sold to Russian owners in 2013. He now lives in Agnac, Lot-et-Garonne.

David's core belief is that art is either good or bad - there is no such thing as OK art. Therefore why restrict output to specific genres? If something is good it deserves to be heard, regardless of which pigeon hole it may occupy. So pigeons, yes, but no turkeys.