The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse is an indie folk artist from the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

(born Ray McCartney on 1 February 1981 in Paisley, Scotland).

History

Ray McCartney started writing music under the moniker, The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse, towards the end of 2009 while recovering from brain surgery. He had previously performed as Little Beard in The Kazoo Funk Orchestra from 2005–2008 and as Sir Fred in El Jugador from 2002–2005. The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse cites his influences as the

Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 200 ...

, Beck, Hank Williams and

O'Death O’Death (stylized as o'death) is an American gothic country band from Brooklyn, New York. They combine elements of folk, bluegrass, punk, metal, gothic and Americana music. History All the members of O'Death met between the years of 2000 a ...

. While mostly a solo artist, The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse occasionally performs with a backing band. Caliente Mellonhawk (Cailean Macleod) plays drums and Keef (Keith Pearce) plays bass.

''One Zero One Zero One Zero''

Ramisco released his debut album, ''One Zero One Zero One Zero'', on 10 October 2010. The ten track album was recorded in Ayrshire, Scotland. ''Papel Y Creyonnes'', which was written in Spanish, was included on episode 223 of the Three From Leith podcast. About a month after the release of ''One Zero One Zero One Zero'', Ramisco was interviewed for the Kowalskiy Scottish Music Blog.

''Fajita's Basement''

On 28 March 2011, Ramisco released, ''Fajita's Basement'', a four track EP recorded in Mississauga, Canada. The Waiting Room Radio Show broadcast the opening track "Blame You, Blame You" on Houndstooth Radio, Radio Phoenix,

Xpress Radio , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

and ErrorFM. ''Fajita's Basement'' received a review on the Kowalskiy Scottish Music Blog. Last Years Girl blog included "Won't You Sleep" in a mix and provided a short review.

''Mr Asterisk + Fajita's Basement''

Ramisco also released a compilation on CD and cassette tape entitled, ''Mr Asterisk + Fajita's Basement''. The compilation featured "Never Stop", "The Shrinkin' Railroad Shtomp", "Eatin' On My Memories" and "My 'Orns" from ''One Zero One Zero One Zero'' in addition to the four tracks from ''Fajita's Basement''. This was Ramisco's first release on CD and/or cassette tape, as earlier releases were only available as digital downloads. The Curious Joe blog posted a review of the compilation.

The Acoustoblaster Tour

On 2 April 2011 Ramisco went on a one-day tour of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland with fellow artist Tragic O'Hara. The tour moved across the city as the day progressed with short sets performed at nine venues including

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts. The Glasgow live music venue takes its name from a ...

. Each performance was recorded onto cassette tape and handed to a member of the audience at the end of the show. The tour also included a live flip chart art show by Harvey GreenDog.

The Roadside Attraction Tour

The Roadside Attraction Tour took place in August 2011. The tour included stops at various roadside attractions in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Most notably, a giant rocking chair in Austinburg, Ohio, a field of giant corn cobs in

Dublin, Ohio Dublin is a city in Franklin, Delaware and Union counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 49,328 in the 2020 census with a census estimate of 49,037 in 2019. Dublin is a suburb of Columbus. The city of Dublin hosts the yearly ...

and

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park is a designated U.S. historic park preserving two separate farm sites in LaRue County, Kentucky, where Abraham Lincoln was born and lived early in his childhood. He was born at the Sinking Sprin ...

Hodgenville, Kentucky Hodgenville is a home rule-class city in LaRue County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. Hodgenville sits along the North Fork of the Nolin River. The population was 3,206 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Elizabet ...

. Ramisco performed a short set at each stop.

BBC Session

On 10 November 2012, Ramisco recorded a session for BBC Television with his backing band The Wat Wat Kings at BBC Scotland in

, Scotland. The session featured three tracks and is due to air as part of series 6 of

Rapal ''Rapal'' is a BBC Alba music television programme and radio show on BBC Radio nan Gàidheal recorded at BBC Scotland's Pacific Quay HQ. ''Rapal'' broadcast its first programme on the radio on 28 May 2001, presented by Niall Iain McDonald. It ...

on BBC Alba. The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse and The Wat Wat Kings performed "Seas Air Do Chorra-bhiod" on episode 3 which aired on 7 March 2013. "Danger Danger" and "Blame You Blame You" on episode 10 which aired on 25 April 2013.

''Squawk!''

The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse released ''Squawk!'' on 4 March 2013. The EP features eight tracks including "Danger Danger", which made its radio debut on

BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

during the

show on 31 January 2013. ''Squawk!'' also features "Seas Air Do Chorra-bhiod" which is Ramisco's first and only Gaelic track to date. "Seas Air Do Chorra-bhiod" was named Gaelic Song of the Year 2012 by BBC Alba's

. "Danger Danger" was picked as a Fresh Fav on

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

’s website Fresh On The Net (1 April 2013) and was play-listed on the

BBC Introducing BBC Music ''Introducing'' is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. It gives artists the opportunity to be played on Local BBC Radio and nationally on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, ...

Mixtape on

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

; "The Shrinkin' Railroad Shtomp" was played by Baylen Leonard on his show,

The Front Porch "The Front Porch" is the 17th episode in the fourth season of the television series ''How I Met Your Mother'' and 81st overall. It originally aired on March 16, 2009. Plot After Robin gets upset about the gang not watching her show, they all ag ...

(9 November 2013); Following that, Ramisco performed an acoustic version of "Under the Sky" for Traxx Radio's Top 50 of 2013 (2 February 2014). Tom Robinson later play-listed "Under the Sky" on the

Mixtape (15 September 2014), played it on The Tom Robinson Show (20 September 2014) and featured it in the

''Best of 2014'' Mixtape (28 December 2014).

Living Indie TV

Ramisco was shortlisted and performed at The 100 Club in London as part of the Living Indie TV Road to Santa Maria final, the show was broadcast live on Living Indie TV and archived on their website.

Hoofography

On 30 September 2015, Radio Kaos Caribou broadcast an exclusive 2-hour audio biography of The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse, which was otherwise known as the Hoofography. The Hoofography featured the majority of songs recorded by Ramisco as well as tracks by The Kazoo Funk Orchestra, El Jugador, Weapon Of Choice, Lindsay Llewellyn and Oak Hero, all of which have been associated with Ramisco at some point in time. During the show, Ramisco also spoke of his brain surgery, his time with The Kazoo Funk Orchestra and his more recent production work for Lindsay Llewellyn and Oak Hero. The broadcast was accompanied by an interview facilitated by the independent music blog, Ralph's Life. The interview received over 3000 hits during the initial broadcast of the Hoofography, which sent it straight to No. 1 in Ralph's Top Ten Blogged Band Chart.

''Possessed by the Gods of Cowbell Oblongata''

''Possessed by the Gods of Cowbell Oblongata'' is a 4-track EP, recorded by Ramisco between 29 July and 5 August 2015. On 23 August 2015, the lead track, "And We Will Dance", was debuted on

Jim Gellatly Jim Gellatly is a Scottish radio presenter and DJ. He presented Drivetime on XFM Scotland until its closure. Currently he hosts Breakfast on BFBS Radio in Scotland, and does a weekly New Music showcase on Amazing Radio. Biography Educated at ...

’s

Amazing Radio Amazing Radio is an international radio station first broadcast originally on digital radio in the United Kingdom. The station plays new music from a number of music genres including pop, rock, indie, hip hop, electronica and jazz. The st ...

show and was played again on 6 September 2015. "And We Will Dance" was also featured on Radio Kaos Caribou; playlisted for The First 45 on Sine FM; playlisted on The Roddy Hart Show on

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scotland, Scottish radio station, radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same na ...

(14 September 2015) and included in Tom Robinson's

Mixtape on

on 21 September 2015. "Holy Barnacles" was debuted on Baylen Leonard’s

show,

on 5 September 2015.

Discography

* ''One Zero One Zero One Zero'' – Planet Groucho Records (2010) * ''Mr Asterisk + Fajita's Basement'' – Planet Groucho Records (2011) * ''Fajita's Basement'' – Planet Groucho Records (2011) * ''Squawk!'' – Planet Groucho Records (2013) * ''Possessed by the Gods of Cowbell Oblongata'' – Planet Groucho Records (2015)

References

External links

*
The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse
on Soundcloud {{DEFAULTSORT:ramisco maki maki rocking horse Scottish folk musicians Scottish rock musicians Scottish songwriters 1981 births Living people Scottish multi-instrumentalists Indie folk musicians One-man bands