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GIG NEWS: Pictish Trail live date at Brudenell Social Clubs Leeds 14th April

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Released in September on Lost Map Records with distribution courtesy of Caroline International, Future Echoes earned ★★★★ reviews from MOJO, Uncut, Clash and The Scotsman among others.

A twisted polyrhythmic psychedelic disco opus reflecting on reincarnation and life lived on repeat with a chorus sung in a Jimmy Somerville-worthy falsetto, ‘After Life’ is the latest single to be taken from Pictish Trail AKA Scottish singer-songwriter Johnny Lynch’s third long player.

Something of a sonic hermit, Pictish Trail has spent large parts of the past few years tucked away in his caravan on the Hebridean isle of Eigg, feverishly working on the follow up to Secret Soundz Vol. 1&2, his critically-acclaimed double album of DIY electronic folk-tinged croft pop, released in 2014. Future Echoes is the mesmerising result. Written in remote seclusion but recorded in the bustling heart of London, it reunites Pictish Trail with Adem Ilhan, who produces the majority of the record. Johnny and Adem previously wrote music together in 2010 under the name Silver Columns, releasing the hugely well received album Yes And Dance via London taste-makers Moshi Moshi. Future Echoes features additional production and mixing from Rob Jones (Sweet Baboo, Slow Club) and drumming from Alex Thomas (Fridge, Squarepusher, Air, Bat For Lashes) and was mastered by Guy Davie at Electric Mastering.

Throughout his career Pictish Trail has resolutely furrowed his own path, steadily creating a unique catalogue of recordings and performances through his own labels (Lost Map / Fence Records) while eschewing the blueprint of the predictable singer-songwriter in favour of something untidily intriguing. Born out of a compulsion to make infectious, melody driven music from a treasure trove of secret sounds, Pictish Trail’s spectral songs are filtered through a sun-warped pop lens, where heart-pumping guitar shriek-outs collide with sampled gurgles and fractured lyrics figure-skate over sine-waves of glacial synth.

A very personal musing on mortality, the death of friendships and the finality of things, Future Echoes represents the most confident, cohesive and pop-savvy collection of music Pictish Trail has written to date. The album’s opener and first single ‘Far Gone (Don’t Leave)’ takes its cues both musically and thematically from the Coen brothers’ Fargo, adding a tongue-in-cheek hip-hop beat, raspy Casio keyboard bassline and echo-slathered vocal over the top of a queasy sample based on that film’s theme tune. ‘Dead Connection’ is a dizzying and very danceable dispatch of ghostly electro all about attempted discourse with the dead and accepting that what is gone is gone. ‘Half Life’ slows things down at the album’s half way stage for a by-turns shuddering and twinkling take on decaying and yet somehow still interminable relationships. Its companion-piece ‘After Life’ brings Future Echoes to a head-spinning conclusion.

Get tickets for the Leeds date: http://www.seetickets.com/event/the-pictish-trail/brudenell-social-club/1057392

Links

pictishtrail.co.uk
lostmap.com

 

TOUR, ALBUM & VIDEO NEWS: Maximo Park 2017 tour, new video, album released in April

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The tour follows the April 21st release of blistering new album ‘Risk To Exist’. Bringing together their trademark hook-laden melodies and sense of urgency with off-kilter rock, soulful grooves and pop sensibilities, ‘Risk To Exist’ is a vital record for our times, raging against the dire state of world affairs in 2016 and crumbling political systems.

Frontman Paul Smith says: ‘The album is, ultimately, about empathy. Some songs are simple messages of solidarity and others are fuelled by anger at the elitist, established order of British society. There’s a questioning of power throughout and a feeling that there must be a different way of structuring our society in order to alleviate inequality. Musically, the songs reflect more soulful and groove-based influences, allowing more space in the arrangements than ever before. The central idea is to align great pop melodies with songs that reflect the state of the nation.”

These are pop songs that talk about big issues without talking down to the listener; an album where the political is also the personal.

‘Risk To Exist’ was co-produced by Tom Schick (Wilco, Beck, White Denim) and Maximo Park. Keen for the inspiration of unfamiliar surroundings after writing the album in their native North-East, the band decamped to Wilco’s studio, The Loft in Chicago, in Autumn 2016. Recorded completely live, the recording represents another bold stylistic step for the band after 2014’s Top 10 ‘Too Much Information’. Maximo Park have also enlisted Mimi Parker from acclaimed US band Low for the record, whose voice lends its inimitable warmth to five album tracks, including lead single ‘Risk To Exist’.

With 1,500,000 albums and four UK Top 10 albums under their belt to date, Maximo Park have once again shifted seamlessly into a higher gear. They have expertly crafted an infectious pop album for our time, confronting the crucial issues track by track, one monstrous hook at a time.

Pre-order the album: https://mp.lnk.to/RTEPR

Maximo Park are Paul Smith (vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar), Lukas Wooller (keyboards) and Tom English (drums).

Tour

Tickets are now sale from www.maximopark.com.

Fri May 05 Birmingham o2 Institute 1
Sat May 06 Newcastle o2 Academy
Mon May 08 Aberdeen Lemon Tree
Tue May 09 Glasgow o2 ABC
Wed May 10 Sheffield Leadmill
Fri May 12 London Royal Festival Hall
Sat May 13 Bexhill De La Warr Pavillion
Mon May 15 Cambridge Junction
Tue May 16 Cardiff Tramshed
Wed May 17 Falmouth Princess Pavillion
Fri May 19 Manchester Albert Hall (10pm curfew)

 

ALBUM & TOUR NEWS: She Drew The Gun announce album out and tour in March

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Released March 17 on Skeleton Key Records and produced by James Skelly (The Coral), ‘Memories Of Another Future’ contains the singles ‘Poem’, ‘Pit Pony’ and ‘Since You Were Not Mine’. A new version of the Liverpool quartet’s 2016 debut ‘Memories Of The Future’, the album features three brand new recordings – two original new songs, ‘Sing’ and ‘You’, plus new single ‘No Hole In My Head’, a cover of a 1960s protest song by US folk singer Malvina Reynolds.

“Malvina Reynolds is someone who’s really inspired me,” says She Drew The Gun’s singer-songwriter-guitarist Louisa Roach. “I love her music and her story. She only started her music career in her late forties, but wrote all these meaningful songs and became a legend of the folk song movement.”

Following the album’s release, She Drew The Gun will embark on their biggest headline UK tour to date. The tour includes London’s Oslo on March 24, their first headline show in the capital since selling out The Moth Club last October. Ahead of the UK tour, the band will make their debut appearance at SXSW Festival in Austin TX, where they play the BBC 6 Music Stage on March 16.

2016 was a breakthrough year for She Drew The Gun, who won Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent competition. Festival co-organiser Emily Eavis said “they stood out in the most brilliant way – spiked indie with biting lyrics. Intense and great.” She Drew The Gun’s subsequent appearance on the John Peel Stage drew the biggest morning crowd of the weekend.

Roach began by performing solo in 2013, gradually building the band around her. Her career began to take off after a mutual friend introduced her to James Skelly, who signed her to his Skeleton Key label in 2015. Working from the bare bones of her songs – poetic narrative lyrics set to haunting riffs and melodies – they built up the tracks, developing an electronic element into Roach’s sound. The result is a dark but dreamlike collection of stories which have seen She Drew The Gun win fans all over the country, including DJs at Beats1 (Zane Lowe), Radio 1 (Huw Stevens) along with Radio X and BBC 6 Music who have both playlisted their last three singles.

After spending last summer performing at festivals across the UK, She Drew The Gun were invited to perform at Zandari Festa in Seoul, South Korea, as part of the Liverpool Sound City Takeover, and finished the year on a high, supporting The Coral on their UK tour.

She Drew The Gun are Louisa Roach (vocals, lead guitar), Jack Turner (bass), Siân Monaghan (drums) and Jenni Kickhefer (keys).

She Drew The Gun live, March 2017

Thu 16 SXSW Festival, Austin TX – BBC 6Music Stage
Thu 23 St Albans, The Horn
Fri 24 London, Oslo
Sat 25 Liverpool, Central Library
Sun 26 Newcastle, The Cluny
Tue 28 Bath, Komedia Arts Café
Wed 29 Bristol, The Exchange
Thu 30 Manchester, The Deaf Institute
Fri 31 Hebden Bridge, Trades Club

Tickets on sale now http://www.shedrewthegun.com

GIG NEWS: #RaiseTheRoof Islington Mill Salford Fundraiser secret headliner revealed – Spring King

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Born and bred in the Manchester scene, and being firm fans of the venue, Spring King front man Tarek Musa said of their slot:

“The Islington Mill is a very important artistic and musical hub for Salford and Manchester. I have a few friends who are based in the Islington Mill, including Dr. Me who designed our EP artwork for “They’re Coming After You” as well as the single artwork for “Who Are You?”.

He added: “I remember being around 19 or so and seeing Lightning Bolt play one of my favourite ever shows there too. I think it’s important to raise the necessary funds so that the building can expand, so that the community can grow and so that the Mill can continue to be a force of creativity.”

For the ‘What’s New?’ (a section that celebrates new and upcoming music) part of the night, first up will be Leeds-based Team Picture who released three outstanding tracks in 2016. This will be the first time that the band have played on this side of the Pennines and all at TMB are delighted that they have chosen to visit Manchester for their first event. – Here is some of what they do.

Also from Yorkshire, Leeds three-piece Caro. Too Many Blogs have been vocal about the band over the last twelve months and are delighted to be able to showcase their brilliance. Described by DIY as having “enough going on here to set pulses racing at dangerous levels” they are a band who really come to life in a live setting. Catch them now and then brag to your mates that you saw them before everyone else. Check out the live session video for Smorgasbord.

Travelling from Brighton and completing the lineup for the first ‘What’s New?’ event will be Our Girl. People may recognise the band’s front-woman, Soph Nathan, thanks to her work as ace guitarist with The Big Moon, but don’t let that fool you into thinking you know what they’re about. Our Girl are, as NME put it, “A thundering yet intimate delight”. They released their debut EP, Normally, in November of last year with ‘No Big Deal’ being our pick of a very strong bunch.

To bring the fundraiser to a close, Everything Everything’s Jeremy Pritchard will be followed by Spring King’s James Green on the decks to spin some of their favourite top tunes and get the party started.

About the event, founder of Too Many Blogs, James Hughes, said:

“Islington Mill is one of our favourite local venues and because of the situation they find themselves in, it felt like a no-brainer for the debut of our night. With 3 brilliant upcoming acts as the main attraction, we wanted to make the night really special by bringing in a guest headliner to round it all off”.

‘What’s New?’ creator, Elli Brazzill, added:

“Promoting and sharing new music is something we care about possibly too much at TMB, so to be showing off some of the best new acts we love at the Mill is a really exciting prospect”.

Tickets are available now for just £10 (Advance Discount tickets are sold out).

http://fatout.skiddletickets.com/event.php?id=12889570

TOUR NEWS: Dawson Reigns and The Rising tour dates March 2017

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2016 saw the British country scene grow not just steadily but it exploded. With Country2Country, Buckles & Boots and FSA Fest all seeing their audiences swell, the chart impact of record breaking acts Ward Thomas and The Shires has really seen the country sound break into mainstream.

Championed by Bob Harries, Baylen Leonard and Chris Country, Nashville based singer/songwriter Dawson Reigns kickstarted his UK campaign last year with the rock-tinged infectious radio hit ‘Love Way All You’, which was co-penned by The Shires tour-mate Canaan Smith. With his eponymous EP receiving glowing reviews and his brief UK tour in September alongside Holloway Road winning him an army of British fans, Dawson can’t wait to return to the UK.

Belfast based quintet The Rising launched their revamped line-up in 2016 with the stunning ‘Last First Love’. Having been holed up in the studio for the majority of the year, the group can’t wait to share their new songs with audiences as they build towards their sophomore album. With famous fans including Graham Norton, Gaby Roslin and Alex Lester, the group have opened for Ward Thomas, The Shires and Jess & The Bandits.

Joining them on the road is 4 times British Country Music Award winner, including 2016’s Best Male Vocalist, Gary Quinn. 2016 saw Gary release his acclaimed EP, I Remember, which was headed up by the chart topping single Shame. Having worked with Phil Vassar on his Songs From The Cellar, and recently spent time in Nashville co-writing with Steve Wariner, Gary is excited to showcase his material old and new with his fans.

Throw in a special guest at each night of tour and you have a truly unforgettable experience that showcases the true diversity of country music.

Dates

GLASGOW: Broadcast Wed 22nd Mar
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE: Jumpin’ Jack’s Thu 23rd Mar
CARLTON: The Doghouse Fri 24th Mar
LEEDS: Eiger Studios Sat 25th Mar
MANCHESTER: Gullivers Sun 26th Mar
WINCHESTER: The Railway Wed 29th Mar
OXFORD: The Cellar Thu 30th Mar
LONDON: Upstairs at The Garage Fri 31st Mar

https://www.wegottickets.com/dawsonreigns

EP & TOUR NEWS: Barry Adamson releases ‘Love Sick Dick’ EP, UK tour dates announced

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The new release will feature ‘Sweet Misery’ which premiered on Mark Radcliffe’s 6Music show in the UK and on Henry Rollins’ KCRW show in the US.

Listen to the track here:

LOVE SICK DICK has the superb combination of the classic Adamson we’ve all come to revel in plus some fresh new twists, as he takes us on a journey and probes the inner workings of one lovelorn guy in all of his downhearted, paranoiac, grieving, hapless and helpless self! From the pulsating futuristic blues of ‘Sweet Misery’ where Adamson circles his condition, knowing there isn’t any other place to go, to the vampiric, prowling roam of ‘They Walk Among Us’, where parasites joylessly feed off each other and dance macabre.

Throughout the recording, Adamson says it all with a vocal that is on point and as strong as it has ever been. The other tracks offer no less than sheer forensic testimony to the central theme and condition he is examining. ‘One Hot Mess’ unashamedly dances forcefully into an intended’s ego to tear it apart and claim it, with a confessional punchy bass and thematic disco swagger. ‘I Got Clothes’ is a manic poem that begs mentor Nina Simone for guidance as it rips and spits out the opening; bluesy and dark and fat at the low end, running and chasing down the object of the character’s desire. ‘People Like Us’ acts as a contemporary pit stop, like Adamson has turned on a nineties radio station while he fills up on fuel and considers the situation at hand before driving off into the distance. ‘On Golden Square’ is where Adamson digs into his soul to find nothing but a dull, pathetic ache, laid bare by a promise that he can never deliver, his endless optimism (and oddly, his mother’s!) convincing us and himself that what is ‘all right’ is also ‘so right’ as synths swirl around and tease an old school fifties style riff.

Just like the singular central character in Adamson’s new record, Barry recorded the whole project solo, living up to his multi-instrumentalist hallmark by programming, playing live and sampling and stealing every note you hear on each track, exploring some really interesting techniques in doing so and using modern technology to make an old wail.

To quote Adamson: ‘The blues is the blues and if the heart aches then that’s the sound that will come out whether you are playing guitar, a synth, a piano or playing futuristic guitar solos on your iphone!’

Barry Adamson embarks on a solo tour in April, full details below

Barry Adamson 2017 Tour Dates

22 April – Manchester, Ruby Lounge
24 April – Glasgow, King Tuts
26 April – Bristol, Thekla
27 April – London, M.O.T.H Club

Tickets are on sale from http://listings.ticketweb.co.uk/barryadamson

Love Sick Dick pre-order available from: www.barryadamson.com

 

ALBUM & TOUR NEWS: Happyness release new album in April, tour dates announced for April 2017

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When Happyness first burst into the public conscience with 2013’s debut single ‘It’s On You’, their spirited take on US college rock was as big a surprise as it was an instant hit. The resulting full length, Weird Little Birthday, went on to feature in many of 2014’s End of Year album lists. Worldwide tours, an NME Award, a re-issue on the much-loved labels Moshi Moshi Recordings (Bar/None in US), and millions of Spotify plays later, it is with some anticipation now that the band finally set about releasing the follow-up into the world.

‘Write In’ was self-produced in the same space (their own affectionately named “Jelly Boy Studios” above a now-abandoned bookshop) with the same gear and the same mixer, and is a confident and ambitious move forward. Later mixed with Adam Lasus at his LA home studio, ‘Write In’ sets its stall out as an outward looking, inventive, and thoughtful progression from their debut. Laced with their deeply English sense of awkwardness and self-effacement is integral to the process (says guitarist / vocalist Jon EE, “if we weren’t self-deprecating we’d get a lot worse very quickly”), this is clearly a band no longer afraid of big songs and the crucial moment of connection with a wider audience.

Where ‘Weird Little Birthday’ took its cues from the likes of Sparklehorse, Wilco, Yo La Tengo, and Pavement, artists including Roxy Music, The Beach Boys, Randy Newman, Sonic Youth, Big Star and Pierre Cavalli are cited as influences here. Existing fans will no doubt pick up the remnants of Teenage Fanclub and Velvet Underground lurking in there too.

Live dates

Tuesday 18 April The Hope & Ruin, Brighton
Wednesday 19 April Lousiana, Bristol
Thursday 20 April Buyers Club, Liverpool
Friday 21 April Upstairs at Whelan’s, Dublin, Ireland
Saturday 22 April The Hug and Pint, Glasgow
Monday 24 April Think Tank?, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Tuesday 25 April Gullivers, Manchester
Wednesday 26 April Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
Friday 28 April The Dome, Tufnell Park, London
Saturday 29 April Happyness with Twin Atlantic Leicester
Saturday 29 April 2017 – Sunday 30 April Handmade Festival 2017, O2 Academy Leicester

EP & TOUR NEWS: BEARCUBS announces ‘Underwaterfall’ EP and tour dates

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Hot off the back of his rapturously received ‘Chroma’ EP which dropped late last year, London based artist/producer BEARCUBS has today announced a new 4 track EP ‘Underwaterfall’, due for release on 10th March via All Points.

Bearcubs is the immersive, electronic project of 25-year old Jack Ritchie. He’s been putting out material for the past 2 years, and has honed in on a distinctly unique blend of emotive electronic, future garage and lo-fi house music, which has seen him heavily championed across the radio airwaves, with ‘Chroma’ added to the BBC Radio 1 Introducing Playlist and getting spun by the likes of Annie Mac,Zane Lowe, Danny Howard and Monki. Further support has come from FADER, i-D, Noisey, Mixmag, Majestic Casual, The Line of Best Fit and more. The ‘Underwaterfall’ four-track collection showcases the diversity of Bearcubs’ sound, from melancholic, introspective gems to intelligent, club-ready cuts.

In tandem with the announcement, the title track premiered via Mistajam’s Power Down Playlist on BBC Radio 1 and FADER, who said “”Underwaterfall,” is a precise exercise in tension and release: one moment, it’s sparse melody, the next it’s an immersive swarm of synths and layered vocals”. Listen to the track in full below:

Having already performed at prestigious festivals such as Glastonbury, Bestival, Dimensions and Amsterdam Dance Event, Bearcubs is embarking on his debut headline UK and European tour this Spring, in partnership with tastemakers Majestic Casual.

Cementing their support, Majestic Casual are presenting the forthcoming run of live dates across the UK & Berlin, which sees Bearcubs headline the following dates:

20.03 – The Crofters Rights, Bristol
22.03 – Headrow House, Leeds
23.03 – The Garage (Attic Bar), Glasgow
24.03 – Mono, Brighton
28.03 – Birthdays, London
5.04 – Badehaus, Berlin

LIVE REVIEW: Antony and friends, Central Methodist Church Todmorden 28 January 2017

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The concert opened with flute music by Gaubert, Rutter, and Taktakishvili, all unfamiliar to this reviewer: serene and lovely melodies, ably played by Carisse White, with sensitive accompaniment by Antony Brannick on piano. A solo by Antony followed, an assertive and powerful performance of Beethoven’s sonata 26 “Les Adieux” (op 81a); a piece of varying moods on the subject of parting and reunion.

The second half was devoted to the violin of Andrew Rostron, leader of Todmorden orchestra. It opened with Kreisler’s dramatic and intricate “Prelude and Allegro”, and concluded with Brahms’ sonata in G major (op 78). This began seriously and then moved from flowing to chaotic, concluding in a warmer mood. Both performances were strong and expressive.
One of the best Antony evenings so far, and the refreshments were delicious. February must go by without another, but the next two are on 4th March and 1st April.

VIDEO NEWS: John Reed video for ‘The Sun Goes Round The Moon’

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John Reed has released a video for ‘The Sun Goes Round The Moon’ from the EP ‘Dry The Life’. We’re also awaiting confirmation of a gig in Todmorden – watch this space for news on that.

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