“A great songwriting talent from Scotland” – Bob Harris, BBC 

"Inspired...all the rainy loveliness of Belle and Sebastian" - UNCUT magazine 

"A heady combination of guitar riffs and pop melody has seen Ally Kerr become the next big thing on the British music scene" - Time Out          

“A sparkling tunesmith” – Metro

“Outstanding melodies and charm” – Rock Delux (Spain)

Viva Melodia is the third album from “beautifully melancholic” (Press Association) Scottish artist Ally Kerr, one of the country’s fastest-rising international singer songwriters yet “one of Scotland’s best-kept secrets” (Daily Record – Scotland’s biggest-selling daily newspaper).

Click HERE to buy the album. 

In the five years since his last album, the critically-acclaimed “Off The Radar,  this “sparkling tunesmith” (Metro) has developed and flourished, picking up fans and playing shows across Asia and Europe, with a growing fan base in China where he travelled to play festival shows in May. He is set to tour in the country this year after striking a deal with a major Chinese label and will be the first Scottish singer songwriter to tour China.  Thanks to the global exposure of a song used as the theme tune to a major Japanese TV animation called Mushi-shi, an active and enthusiastic fan base, as well as a hands-on approach, word of Kerr’s musical talent continues to spread further and wider.

Although echoes of fellow Glaswegians Belle and Sebastian (the Washington Post described him as “Gentle Scottish folk with a pop tinge. If Stuart from Belle and Sebastian did a solo gig…”), Nick Drake, Neil Halstead, Kings Of Convenience, Simon and Garfunkel and many other artists resonate, Kerr’s style is singularly distinctive and there’s a definite sense of growth and progression with Viva Melodia, an album title that Kerr states reflects a celebration of melody.  “Some of these songs were written in that misty, hazy time between deep sleep and slow awakening so I had to grab my phone to record or risk losing the song forever. Some came randomly, away from any instrument and I had to pick out the song on the guitar or piano later.”

There’s genuine warmth and a natural, human spirit engrained in these songs, but also a sense of darkness and foreboding, though shades of light are never far away. As it plays through, the album shows a deepening in both instrumentation and emotional punch as the listener embarks on a journey where the mood is constantly shifting. These are songs and melodies that will live with you long after you’re finished listening. Viva Melodia was produced by Biff Smith of Scottish critics’ favourites The Starlets and recorded in Glasgow by Marcus Mackay, best known for his work with fellow Scots, Frightened Rabbit. The album was mastered in Florida by KRAMER at Noise Miami (Will Oldham, Daniel Johnston, Galaxie 500).