offramp
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Posts posted by offramp
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some pretty cool live tUnE-yArDs vids from KEXP in Seattle
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Also done, including t-shirt. Can't remember the last time I bought a band's T-shirt. I have a feeling you should have done Extra large!
Thought you only wore grandad shirts?
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I know most people going to this gig will be focusing on Merill, but I wanna stake my claim to importance...
And so you should... well looking forward to this gig. Really strong line-up.
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interesting music promotions and vocoustics present No More Soundchecks - the latest in a series of unplugged shows featuring...
WOODPIGEON + EAGLEOWL + ROB ST JOHN
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Peacock Visual Arts, 21 Castle Street, Aberdeen AB11 5BQ. Phone 01224 639539
Doors 8pm
Entry 6 on door
http://www.myspace.com/interestingmusic
http://www.peacockvisualarts.com
WOODPIGEON - is more than just the most beautiful word in the English language, although thats precisely why it was chosen by songwriter Mark Hamilton as the moniker for his pretty-pretty-pop project. Encompassing a kind of ersatz collective orchestra, dispersed across a couple continents, rising and falling in number with the demands of song life and real life, Woodpigeon creates music much the same way a bowerbird crafts a lovenest: the right space is chosen and the bower goes up twig by twig, berry by berry, embellishing a basic construction thats already sound and lovely.
Occasionally, when all goes well, a mate is attracted.
Woodpigeons preferred habitat is slightly spooky places (friendly ghosts only) with natural reverb, with nearby vintage mellotrons and echoing stairwells, and perhaps a gaggle of singing children when feeling maudlin. They rock out on harpsichords and wrench tears out of guitars before playing them damp. Bells, whistles, handclaps all the aural tchotchkes are enlisted to serve the song, wherever they can brighten a melody or limn a mournful line. Girlish voices become instruments, while Marks lonely choirboy vocals somehow, impossibly, lodged in a lumberjack-ish bear of a man sound uncannily like theyre being sung directly into your ear. You can almost feel his warm minty breath.
Mark mostly sings about the Unbearable Mark-ness of Being: secret love ninjas, imaginary segregated private schools, stolen kisses, confounded passion, windy days and city streets, thoughtful walking, the kind of longing that is wonderful, and the kind of longing that is sorrowful. He pushes aside the fabric of reality to create a fantastic musical realm where truth is found in fiction, and fiction is found in song.
Long live music. Long live Woodpigeon.
http://www.woodpigeon-songbook.com
http://www.myspace.com/woodpigeon
EAGLEOWL are a lo-fi post-folk ensemble from Edinburgh. The Scotsman said they sound like "the soundtrack to the saddest, most beautiful art-house film you've never seen." The List once described them as "simply beautiful". Song, By Toad described them as being "torturously slow" which they regard as a huge compliment, as they believe in doing things right, rather than doing things fast.
Described as sounding like Hood, the Dirty Three, Spiritualized, Neil Young, Red House Painters, Tindersticks, John Cale, Sigur Ros, Sparklehorse, Mogwai, Graham Coxon, Low, "The White Stripes without the tits", "like the Jesus and Mary Chain had wandered into a folk club", "proof that you can cross Nirvana with the Proclaimers", "70s bastard grandchildren of doom" and "really atmospheric. Like Braveheart".
http://www.eagleowlattack.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/eagleowlattack
ROB ST JOHN - is an awesome chap, according to Song, by Toad Records. And with his debut album due to drop later this year on the Edinburgh-based label, who are we to disagree?
As well as playing with eagleowl, Rob has recently joined Meursault and describes his sound as folk-based songs using interesting and unusual acoustic instruments (saw, harmonium, autoharp etc), highly influenced by minimalist, ambient and post-rock music, citing his musical influences as Bill Callahan, Will Oldham and Leonard Cohen, as well as the orchestration of Nina Nastasias records and the minimalism of Steve Reich, Boards of Canada or Amiina, though I couldnt ever claim we get anywhere near any of that!
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interesting music promotions and vocoustics present No More Soundchecks - the latest in a series of unplugged shows featuring...
WOODPIGEON + EAGLEOWL + ROB ST JOHN
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Peacock Visual Arts, 21 Castle Street, Aberdeen AB11 5BQ. Phone 01224 639539
Doors 8pm
Entry 6 on door
http://www.myspace.com/interestingmusic
http://www.peacockvisualarts.com
WOODPIGEON - is more than just the most beautiful word in the English language, although thats precisely why it was chosen by songwriter Mark Hamilton as the moniker for his pretty-pretty-pop project. Encompassing a kind of ersatz collective orchestra, dispersed across a couple continents, rising and falling in number with the demands of song life and real life, Woodpigeon creates music much the same way a bowerbird crafts a lovenest: the right space is chosen and the bower goes up twig by twig, berry by berry, embellishing a basic construction thats already sound and lovely.
Occasionally, when all goes well, a mate is attracted.
Woodpigeons preferred habitat is slightly spooky places (friendly ghosts only) with natural reverb, with nearby vintage mellotrons and echoing stairwells, and perhaps a gaggle of singing children when feeling maudlin. They rock out on harpsichords and wrench tears out of guitars before playing them damp. Bells, whistles, handclaps all the aural tchotchkes are enlisted to serve the song, wherever they can brighten a melody or limn a mournful line. Girlish voices become instruments, while Marks lonely choirboy vocals somehow, impossibly, lodged in a lumberjack-ish bear of a man sound uncannily like theyre being sung directly into your ear. You can almost feel his warm minty breath.
Mark mostly sings about the Unbearable Mark-ness of Being: secret love ninjas, imaginary segregated private schools, stolen kisses, confounded passion, windy days and city streets, thoughtful walking, the kind of longing that is wonderful, and the kind of longing that is sorrowful. He pushes aside the fabric of reality to create a fantastic musical realm where truth is found in fiction, and fiction is found in song.
Long live music. Long live Woodpigeon.
http://www.woodpigeon-songbook.com
http://www.myspace.com/woodpigeon
EAGLEOWL are a lo-fi post-folk ensemble from Edinburgh. The Scotsman said they sound like "the soundtrack to the saddest, most beautiful art-house film you've never seen." The List once described them as "simply beautiful". Song, By Toad described them as being "torturously slow" which they regard as a huge compliment, as they believe in doing things right, rather than doing things fast.
Described as sounding like Hood, the Dirty Three, Spiritualized, Neil Young, Red House Painters, Tindersticks, John Cale, Sigur Ros, Sparklehorse, Mogwai, Graham Coxon, Low, "The White Stripes without the tits", "like the Jesus and Mary Chain had wandered into a folk club", "proof that you can cross Nirvana with the Proclaimers", "70s bastard grandchildren of doom" and "really atmospheric. Like Braveheart".
http://www.eagleowlattack.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/eagleowlattack
ROB ST JOHN - is an awesome chap, according to Song, by Toad Records. And with his debut album due to drop later this year on the Edinburgh-based label, who are we to disagree?
As well as playing with eagleowl, Rob has recently joined Meursault and describes his sound as folk-based songs using interesting and unusual acoustic instruments (saw, harmonium, autoharp etc), highly influenced by minimalist, ambient and post-rock music, citing his musical influences as Bill Callahan, Will Oldham and Leonard Cohen, as well as the orchestration of Nina Nastasias records and the minimalism of Steve Reich, Boards of Canada or Amiina, though I couldnt ever claim we get anywhere near any of that!
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interesting music promotions present
THE SECOND HAND MARCHING BAND + RM HUBBERT + THE LAST BATTLE
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Caf Drummond, Belmont Street, Aberdeen AB10 1JR, Phone 01224 619930
Doors 8pm
Tickets 6+bf in adv / 8 on door
Available from One-Up Records, Belmont Street, Aberdeen. Phone (01224) 642662 or http://www.ticketweb.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/interestingmusic
http://www.myspace.com/cafedrummonds
THE SECOND HAND MARCHING BAND
The Second Hand Marching Band are a group of 16+ members from Glasgow and around about. They play untraditional folk with a mixture of dance, pop and post-rock influences on a variety of instruments including brass, woodwind, accordion, guitar and drum.
They started performing in December 2007 and have been up and down Scotland playing venues, tea houses, parks, festivals and fields and now make a very welcome return to Aberdeen.
http://www.myspace.com/thesecondhandmarchingband
RM HUBBERT
Following the demise of the highly respected El Hombre Trajeado, RM Hubbert stopped playing live and started studying different musical forms: more specifically flamenco, samba and taiko. The outcome was a series of guitar compositions which are based around flamenco rhythms and structures, but which are simultaneously melodically traceable to both his previous work and more contemporary styles. Recently picked up by our friends at the wonderful Chemikal Underground records.
THE LAST BATTLE
Formed in the summer of 2009, The Last Battle, named after the novel by C.S. Lewis, play low key folk pop. Featuring one pair of sisters, two couples and three school friends, they sing songs of love, death and longing. So far theyve shared stages with the likes of The Unwinding Hours, First Aid Kit, Peggy Sue, Dawn Landes, Meursault and Eagleowl. Vic Galloway made their debut single Ruins one of his future anthems on his BBC Radio Scotland show in June 2010. Debut album Heart Of The Land is now available through Scottish indie label 17 Seconds Records.
http://www.thelastbattleuk.co.uk
Jenny Soep (poster image credit)
Graeme - "I first encountered the drawings of Jenny Soep while searching the internet for pictures of The Second Hand Marching Band to use in a poster to advertise a forthcoming gig in Aberdeen. I was immediatley taken with the pictures I found, not only of The Second Hand Marching Band but many other of my Scottish Music favourites. Her drawings capture an intimacy of the artists she draws in a unique and colourful way."
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interesting music promotions present
THE SECOND HAND MARCHING BAND + RM HUBBERT + THE LAST BATTLE
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Caf Drummond, Belmont Street, Aberdeen AB10 1JR, Phone 01224 619930
Doors 8pm
Tickets 6+bf in adv / 8 on door
Available from One-Up Records, Belmont Street, Aberdeen. Phone (01224) 642662 or http://www.ticketweb.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/interestingmusic
http://www.myspace.com/cafedrummonds
THE SECOND HAND MARCHING BAND
The Second Hand Marching Band are a group of 16+ members from Glasgow and around about. They play untraditional folk with a mixture of dance, pop and post-rock influences on a variety of instruments including brass, woodwind, accordion, guitar and drum.
They started performing in December 2007 and have been up and down Scotland playing venues, tea houses, parks, festivals and fields and now make a very welcome return to Aberdeen.
http://www.myspace.com/thesecondhandmarchingband
RM HUBBERT
Following the demise of the highly respected El Hombre Trajeado, RM Hubbert stopped playing live and started studying different musical forms: more specifically flamenco, samba and taiko. The outcome was a series of guitar compositions which are based around flamenco rhythms and structures, but which are simultaneously melodically traceable to both his previous work and more contemporary styles. Recently picked up by our friends at the wonderful Chemikal Underground records.
THE LAST BATTLE
Formed in the summer of 2009, The Last Battle, named after the novel by C.S. Lewis, play low key folk pop. Featuring one pair of sisters, two couples and three school friends, they sing songs of love, death and longing. So far theyve shared stages with the likes of The Unwinding Hours, First Aid Kit, Peggy Sue, Dawn Landes, Meursault and Eagleowl. Vic Galloway made their debut single Ruins one of his future anthems on his BBC Radio Scotland show in June 2010. Debut album Heart Of The Land is now available through Scottish indie label 17 Seconds Records.
http://www.thelastbattleuk.co.uk
Jenny Soep (poster image credit)
Graeme - "I first encountered the drawings of Jenny Soep while searching the internet for pictures of The Second Hand Marching Band to use in a poster to advertise a forthcoming gig in Aberdeen. I was immediatley taken with the pictures I found, not only of The Second Hand Marching Band but many other of my Scottish Music favourites. Her drawings capture an intimacy of the artists she draws in a unique and colourful way."
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interesting music promotions present
TWO WINGS + ARBOREA + THE KITCHEN CYNICS
Thursday, 23 June 2010
The Tunnels, Carnegies Brae, Aberdeen, AB10 1BF, Phone 01224 211121
Doors 8pm
Tickets 6+bf in adv / 8 on door
Available from One-Up Records, Belmont Street, Aberdeen. Phone (01224) 642662 or http://www.ticketweb.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/interestingmusic
TWO WINGS
Expect vocals spanning Kate Bush, Grace Slick and Stevie Nicks, guitar solos spanning Richard Thompson, Peter Green and Lindsey Buckingham, harmonies a la Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Wings, and a rhythm section which may be the missing link between Steeleye Span and Led Zeppelin.
Borne of a song-writing collaboration between singer/multi-instrumentalist/visual artist Hanna Tuulikki (Nalle, Scatter, The Family Elan) and guitarist/singer Ben Reynolds (Baby Dee, Trembling Bells, Alasdair Roberts, Tompkins Square Records), Two Wings draws upon both musicians' thematic fixation with love, death, spirituality, as well as a passion for the song-writing craft in its myriad forms from its roots in folk tradition, forward to the advent of rock'n'roll and beyond.??Two Wings' line-up is completed by vocalist Lucy Duncombe, bassist Kenny Wilson and drummer David Hayward. In this form (with the addition of a brass section) the band have recorded an album produced with John Cavanagh, songs from which are available for listening here -
ARBOREA
Alt Folk Rock duo from Maine. Formed in the summer of 2005 by husband and wife team Buck and Shanti Curran, their music follows in the progressive folk rock tradition of artists Led Zeppelin, Tim Buckley, Chris Whitley, and The Doors. Buck plays guitar, slide guitars, bowed strings, flutes, banjo, and vocals. Shanti provides lead vocals, banjo, ukulele, bowed strings, harmonium, and percussion. Arborea is often joined by Helena Espvall on cello. Their songs are, as described by George Parsons of Dream Magazine, "Low key intimate spellcasting affairs; the fact that they are a couple might help to explain the seamless organic blending of their music together. Conjuring truly transportational magic out of the simplest ingredients. Their songs might be a hundreds of years old, and theres little here to lock them into any moment other than forever.
Since 2006, Arborea has released 3 CDs, performed shows and festivals in the U.S., U.K, and Europe...including a session for the BBC World on 3 program in London in 2009. Their 4th album 'Red Planet' was released on April 26th by the Oregon label Strange Attractors Audio House. Equal parts psychedelic and backwater folk, inspired by Smithsonian field recordings, Arborea succeeds in creating a new folk form of breathtaking originality.
http://www.myspace.com/arborea2
THE KITCHEN CYNICS
"The Kitchen Cynics isnt so much a band to enjoy, as a member of the family you havent visited for a while. The charming, eccentric cousin you are amused, beguiled and often moved by. Dont wait to visit so long next time."
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interesting music promotions present
TWO WINGS + ARBOREA + THE KITCHEN CYNICS
Thursday, 23 June 2010
The Tunnels, Carnegies Brae, Aberdeen, AB10 1BF, Phone 01224 211121
Doors 8pm
Tickets 6+bf in adv / 8 on door
Available from One-Up Records, Belmont Street, Aberdeen. Phone (01224) 642662 or http://www.ticketweb.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/interestingmusic
TWO WINGS
Expect vocals spanning Kate Bush, Grace Slick and Stevie Nicks, guitar solos spanning Richard Thompson, Peter Green and Lindsey Buckingham, harmonies a la Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Wings, and a rhythm section which may be the missing link between Steeleye Span and Led Zeppelin.
Borne of a song-writing collaboration between singer/multi-instrumentalist/visual artist Hanna Tuulikki (Nalle, Scatter, The Family Elan) and guitarist/singer Ben Reynolds (Baby Dee, Trembling Bells, Alasdair Roberts, Tompkins Square Records), Two Wings draws upon both musicians' thematic fixation with love, death, spirituality, as well as a passion for the song-writing craft in its myriad forms from its roots in folk tradition, forward to the advent of rock'n'roll and beyond.??Two Wings' line-up is completed by vocalist Lucy Duncombe, bassist Kenny Wilson and drummer David Hayward. In this form (with the addition of a brass section) the band have recorded an album produced with John Cavanagh, songs from which are available for listening here -
ARBOREA
Alt Folk Rock duo from Maine. Formed in the summer of 2005 by husband and wife team Buck and Shanti Curran, their music follows in the progressive folk rock tradition of artists Led Zeppelin, Tim Buckley, Chris Whitley, and The Doors. Buck plays guitar, slide guitars, bowed strings, flutes, banjo, and vocals. Shanti provides lead vocals, banjo, ukulele, bowed strings, harmonium, and percussion. Arborea is often joined by Helena Espvall on cello. Their songs are, as described by George Parsons of Dream Magazine, "Low key intimate spellcasting affairs; the fact that they are a couple might help to explain the seamless organic blending of their music together. Conjuring truly transportational magic out of the simplest ingredients. Their songs might be a hundreds of years old, and theres little here to lock them into any moment other than forever.
Since 2006, Arborea has released 3 CDs, performed shows and festivals in the U.S., U.K, and Europe...including a session for the BBC World on 3 program in London in 2009. Their 4th album 'Red Planet' was released on April 26th by the Oregon label Strange Attractors Audio House. Equal parts psychedelic and backwater folk, inspired by Smithsonian field recordings, Arborea succeeds in creating a new folk form of breathtaking originality.
http://www.myspace.com/arborea2
THE KITCHEN CYNICS
"The Kitchen Cynics isnt so much a band to enjoy, as a member of the family you havent visited for a while. The charming, eccentric cousin you are amused, beguiled and often moved by. Dont wait to visit so long next time."
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If anyone fancies a listen to Julian Lynch's new album Terra you can have a go here:
ALTERED ZONES - Zoned In: Julian Lynch: Terra
Might be worth mentioning on other threads too.
OK, I will.
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If memory serves me correct, it was only their 2nd ever live show. Would have been much better in The Tunnels.
It was (first was at The Venue if my memory serves me correctly - need to check my ticket stubs). And aye it would have been much better at The Tunnels.
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Next imp show is a wee while away, but let's keep on top of it eh? 8-)
Latest Julian Lynch review from Pitchfork >> http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15307-terra/
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I would suggest following/befriending The Tunnels, Drummonds, AGP and GFN on Facebook as a start, as they regularly update their pages with gig information.
And imp!
Link below...
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A good night, some sublime moments from LP amidst the chaos. Looking forward to the promised Aliens reunion next year. Any chance they'll play Aberdeen I wonder??
I spoke to Gordon about The Aliens. They didn't play Aberdeen on the last tour due to what he perceived was a poor response at their previous show. I think that was their very first run of shows which included Moshulu and wasn't well attended at all.
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What a fantastic night that was cheers for interesting music promotions for putting that on, All 3 was excellent. Big surprise was how good Iona Marshall was, hope promotors get her back up again. Will be buying her stuff from De-fence records.
Good to meet you milners.
Yeah, I really enjoyed that. All three acts were great.
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nah, I said the 'scope of the festival' i.e. choose bands that play the kind of music that aligns with the promoters' vision.
put it this way:
Free at the Dee - doesn't matter who comes to play. Any old michelle mcmanus or whoever is popular at the time. As long as people show up.
This festival - Decent enough bands, some less good (in the opinion of who's booking) but popular, some really good but less popular. A good mix basically to cover a lot of tastes and still maintain the credibility.
A niche festival where big crowds aren't expected - then it really matters what the quality is like and what the promoter's tastes are.
Am i alone in thinking this? i.e. to get crowds promoters must surely sacrifice personal taste to a certain extent. I dunno the first thing about it so tell me if im wrong.
I see where idol_wild is coming from, but I'd pretty much agree with this, in this instance.
I reckon this festival really needs to concentrate on getting good numbers behind it in the first year, in order to perhaps have more scope for growth (and possibly more niche stages) in future.
I don't really see the need for local showcases as I'm pretty sure the guys running the festival will know who is most suitable. We could all easily come up with 5 or 6 local names who would fit the bill and I'm sure there would not be many in disagreement.
Anyway. Well done everyone in getting this far. Big thumbs up.
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http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15321-w-h-o-k-i-l-l/
8.8 from Pitchfork
The stylization of the name tUnE-yArDs in print is a bit off-putting, but it at least gives people fair warning: This is not an act with any interest in politely conforming to expectations. tUnE-yArDs is the music project of Merrill Garbus, a songwriter, vocalist, percussionist, and ukulele player who has fused elements of acoustic folk, R&B, funk, Afro-pop, and rock into a bold, uncompromising hybrid all her own. Garbus is blessed with an extraordinary voice, and she wields it with great confidence, always coming off in total control of her phrasing while seeming totally uninhibited in her expression. There's an authoritative quality to her voice-- she often sings with a commanding, full-bodied boldness, but even at her softest, Garbus sounds assertive and forthright.w h o k i l l, Garbus' second album as tUnE-yArDs, delivers on the promise of her 2009 debut, BiRd-BrAiNs. Unlike that album, which she recorded almost entirely on her own using a digital voice recorder and the sound editing program Audacity, w h o k i l l was mostly made in traditional studios in collaboration with bassist Nate Brenner, engineer Eli Crews, and a handful of other musicians. The music benefits from the increased professionalism, but Garbus has not abandoned her lo-fi aesthetic. As on BiRd-BrAiNs, Garbus layers sound to create a patchwork of contrasting textures. This time around, the greater clarity allows for more exaggerated dynamics. This is most apparent in "Gangsta", a carefully arranged track that evokes danger and fear with bluntly abbreviated blasts of horn noise and sounds that cut in and out erratically like a set of headphones with a busted wire or a cell phone that can't hold its signal. On the opposite end of the spectrum, she creates an almost unsettling intimacy on "Wooly Wolly Gong" by mixing the ambient hum of room sound with closely mic'd arpeggiated chords and vocals.
Brenner's presence on bass is the biggest difference between w h o k i l l and BiRd-BrAiNs. His style is loose and jazzy, with fluid, melodic lines that add dimension to Garbus' compositions. She sounded so isolated on BiRd-BrAiNs, but suddenly her music is like a conversation, with Brenner's parts bouncing off her voice and rhythms like thoughtful banter. He brings a janky funk to "Es-so", a zippy groove to "Bizness", and a delicate weight to the airy "Doorstep". On "Powa", his lead lines slink around Garbus' slo-mo rock riff as if in a subliminal duet with her expressive vocal performance. That song builds steadily over the course of five minutes until it reaches a stunning climax in which Brenner's bass bounces gently as Garbus hits a glorious high note like a feral Mariah Carey.
Throughout w h o k i l l, Garbus confronts thorny issues of race, gender, body image, and privilege in ways that are pointed but nuanced. She mostly sticks to personal narratives, suggesting big ideas and complex tensions in her subtext while emphasizing the urgency of small moments and concrete details. She's most direct in the opening cut "My Country", in which she wrestles with guilt over her own privilege, but she's more thought-provoking when in murkier, more ambiguous territory, like when she sings about a sexual fantasy involving the brutal cop who arrested her brother in "Riotriot" or when she wonders aloud why she does not have more black male friends at the end of "Killa". Garbus is particularly fascinated by violence; most of the tracks on w h o k i l l deal with power struggles that arise from inequity and lead to further cruelty and injustice. Her lighter moments are still quite complicated-- she playfully wrestles with negative body image in "Es-so", while that same lingering disgust and self-doubt brings a moving subtext to "Powa", an ode to a lover who can get her to momentarily let go of stress and insecurities.
Back in 1983 Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon wrote an essay for Art Forum that suggested that when we go to rock performances, we pay to see other people believe in themselves. A lot of what makes w h o k i l l and tUnE-yArDs' excellent live performances so compelling is the degree to which Garbus commits to her ideas and displays a total conviction in her personal, idiosyncratic, high-stakes music. This, in and of itself, is very inspiring and empowering. This unguarded, individualistic expression encourages strong identification in listeners, so don't be surprised if this record earns Garbus a very earnest and intense cult following.
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One Up now sold out.
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This is tonight!
One ticket left in One Up.
Cash sales on door.
Yas.
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Lone Pigeon speaks...
On a wing and a prayer - Herald Scotland | Arts & Ents | Music Features
On a wing and a prayer
On the verge of fame Gordon Anderson was struck down. Now, as Lone Pigeon, hes reclaiming his future and his past.
By Barry Didcock
10 Apr 2011
I can see the stars.
I can see where I am in the universe at any time. I can do art.
Im sitting outside a cafe in St Andrews with 39-year-old musician and songwriter Gordon Anderson. Hes actually talking about his iPhone but he could equally be describing the powers of his other-worldly alter ego: Lone Pigeon, the most fragile and mysterious member of the fraternity of Fife musicians which makes up the Fence Collective.
If Anstruther is Fences HQ, St Andrews is its spiritual home. It was here that Anderson grew up with twin brother Ian and older brother Kenny, who runs the Fence label and records as King Creosote, and where he formed the schoolyard friendships that birthed The Beta Band, of which he was a founder member. And it was to St Andrews he returned when he became too ill to function, just days after the band had signed to EMI. Or, as he puts it, when he suffered a demonic attack on my personality and on my soul. Whatever it was, it wiped out his twenties. But more of that later.
Right now the only thing being attacked is a large cappuccino. Notionally Im here because of Time Capsule, a seven-CD collection of Lone Pigeon recordings released this week by Domino, the label Arctic Monkeys call home. But there are other subjects to be covered, too. As well as The Beta Band itself, theres the Fence phenomenon and The Aliens, the group Anderson formed in 2005 out of the ashes of The Beta Band.
I was lying in bed, this thing was gnawing into me, creeping through my soul every day, taking over my thoughts. I changed to something else that I could not explain.
Time Capsule is a decades worth of Lone Pigeon recordings, mostly homespun and captured on an arsenal of devices which include cannibalised karaoke machines and high-end 16-track digital recorders. There are songs whose titles seem more like coded messages between lovers Sdlmnm (Organs), Lonely As Shxt and others, such as Summertyme Beeswing, Oceanairy and Heaventree, which conjure up the lanes, lairs and inlets of Andersons East Neuk stomping ground. One of the albums is simply called 28 Secret Tracks and, naturally, it has no track listing at all. One composition, Waterfall, may be the most beautiful song youve never heard.
Kenny Anderson thinks his brother has around 1000 recordings. The man himself isnt so sure. I think its far more than that. I should go back and count them. I have so much stuff there. He does know he has many computer hard drives and that most of them are full. Some he cant even access any more.
Given that, trying to unravel his songs provenance or impose timelines on them is a little difficult. We do know that, as Lone Pigeon, Anderson has released one previous album on Domino, 2002s Concubine Rice. Most of the other albums were issued by Kenny Anderson on the Fence imprint. There have also been EPs and even a B-side to a track by fellow Fence artist James Yorkston. A few of the songs in the Time Capsule collection also ended up on the first Aliens album, 2007s Astronomy For Dogs, though in very different versions.
You could say The Aliens was Gordon Andersons second chance at The Beta?Band. That group had originally come together in London in the mid-1990s as The Pigeons, formed around a nucleus of him, schoolfriend and fellow Edinburgh College of Art graduate John Maclean, Robin Jones and another St Andrews friend, Steve Mason. Maclean, Jones and later Mason lived in a squat in Shepherds Bush. Anderson lived nearby with a girlfriend. It was her, fatefully, who handed a tape of what would become The Beta Bands Champion Versions EP to a friend at EMI.
The group was signed almost immediately. Equally sudden was the onset of Andersons illness. Now a committed Christian who attends church regularly, he doesnt accept labels like schizophrenia. He did take drugs to excess, he admits, but doesnt think that was what caused the breakdown. Whatever it was, it hospitalised him and robbed him of six years of his life. The Beta Band were forced to continue without him.
I got 144 electric shocks to the head, he says. It was a horrible time. A time thats so dark that I barely go back there in my memory. Its like stepping into a pool of black oil.
He was also put on medication. It made him shake. At one point, he was paralysed down one side. I was lying in bed, this thing was gnawing into me, creeping through my soul every day, taking over my thoughts. I changed to something else that I could not explain. So I lost everything: I lost my band, I lost my girlfriend, I lost my future.
The lost band he made up for when he formed The Aliens, at least in part. And with a wry smile he tells me about the girlfriends galore he had in the years after he came out of hospital, when he was living in St Andrews, performing music and watching brother Kenny get the Fence label off the ground. I had a period when I just needed to be young, he says. He even wrote a lyric about it: I was a boy when they locked me away and strapped me to the empty chair.
Drug-free and healthy, he found a future, too, though its now become his past: a decades worth of strange, whimsical, psychedelic recordings. And what will the coming years bring Gordon Anderson? Hed like to write a classic album, he says, but beyond that, who knows? Not even his iPhone can answer that one.
Time Capsule is released tomorrow by Domino, priced 50. Lone Pigeon plays St Pauls Church Hall, Edinburgh on Thursday and The Blue Lamp, Aberdeen on Friday
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interesting music promotions present
LAETITIA SADIER (STEREOLAB) + STEVEN MILNE + IONA MARSHALL
Sunday, 24 April 2011
The Tunnels, Carnegies Brae, Aberdeen, AB10 1BF Phone 01224 211121
Doors 8pm
Tickets 6 + bf in adv / 8 on door
Available from One-Up Records, Belmont Street, Aberdeen. Phone (01224) 642662 or http://www.ticketweb.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/interestingmusic
LAETITIA SADIER
Ltitia Sadier is a French musician best-known as the singer of the post-rock band Stereolab. Until the band's hiatus in 2009 Sadier was the main contributor of lyrics, written in both English and French. Sadier also plays keyboards, percussion, guitar and trombone.
She has also contributed vocals to various other groups and projects, at times along with the late Stereolab member Mary Hansen. Sadier was also involved the band Monade with Pram's Rosie Cuckston. Among her other contributions were, adding French backing vocals on "To the End", a top 20 hit for Blur in 1994. In 1995, Sadier recorded the Serge Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot song "Bonnie and Clyde" with Luna. She and Hansen contributed vocals to the recordings of the High Llamas (the project of sometimes-Stereolab member Sean O'Hagan). She sang lead vocals on "Haiku One" from Sigmatropic's 2004 album Sixteen Haiku & Other Stories which was an album based on the poetry of Greek poet George Seferis. In 2009 the French label Deux Mille released an ep which features Laetitia Sadier singing with Momotte, a band out of Toulouse. Throughout the years, Sadier has occasionally collaborated with German electronica group Mouse on Mars.
In 2010 she released a solo album called The Trip.
http://www.myspace.com/laetitiasadier
STEVEN MILNE
A lynchpin in Aberdeen's music scene, Steven Milne wears many hats; musician, promoter, DJ, booker, you name it. Hardest working man in show business. Perhaps best-known as lead singer in respected Scottish indie-pop band The Little Kicks, he's now branching out with solo material including recently release album Chasing Phantoms on Bedford Records which is a shimmering slice of pop/folk goodness full of the kind*of gems which are making ears twitch around Scotland and far, far beyond...*
http://www.myspace.com/stevenmilnemusic
IONA MARSHALL
Iona Marshall is now based in the West end of Glasgow, becoming recognised there for her original live performances, fusing melodic folk with experimental synth parts, delicate harmonies, found samples and acoustic guitar hooks. Her beautiful songs are Celtic tinged and her solo performances are heartfelt and enigmatic. She sings about landscape, love, travel, spirituality and whatever sounds come out in a stream of consciousness. Her unique song-craft has been honed over many years, blending life-long influences with modern interpretations and experimentation, exploring her passions, emotions and philosophies through sublime, haunting sound-scapes.
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interesting music promotions present
LAETITIA SADIER (STEREOLAB) + STEVEN MILNE + IONA MARSHALL
Sunday, 24 April 2011
The Tunnels, Carnegies Brae, Aberdeen, AB10 1BF Phone 01224 211121
Doors 8pm
Tickets 6 + bf in adv / 8 on door
Available from One-Up Records, Belmont Street, Aberdeen. Phone (01224) 642662 or http://www.ticketweb.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/interestingmusic
LAETITIA SADIER
Ltitia Sadier is a French musician best-known as the singer of the post-rock band Stereolab. Until the band's hiatus in 2009 Sadier was the main contributor of lyrics, written in both English and French. Sadier also plays keyboards, percussion, guitar and trombone.
She has also contributed vocals to various other groups and projects, at times along with the late Stereolab member Mary Hansen. Sadier was also involved the band Monade with Pram's Rosie Cuckston. Among her other contributions were, adding French backing vocals on "To the End", a top 20 hit for Blur in 1994. In 1995, Sadier recorded the Serge Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot song "Bonnie and Clyde" with Luna. She and Hansen contributed vocals to the recordings of the High Llamas (the project of sometimes-Stereolab member Sean O'Hagan). She sang lead vocals on "Haiku One" from Sigmatropic's 2004 album Sixteen Haiku & Other Stories which was an album based on the poetry of Greek poet George Seferis. In 2009 the French label Deux Mille released an ep which features Laetitia Sadier singing with Momotte, a band out of Toulouse. Throughout the years, Sadier has occasionally collaborated with German electronica group Mouse on Mars.
In 2010 she released a solo album called The Trip.
http://www.myspace.com/laetitiasadier
STEVEN MILNE
A lynchpin in Aberdeen's music scene, Steven Milne wears many hats; musician, promoter, DJ, booker, you name it. Hardest working man in show business. Perhaps best-known as lead singer in respected Scottish indie-pop band The Little Kicks, he's now branching out with solo material including recently release album Chasing Phantoms on Bedford Records which is a shimmering slice of pop/folk goodness full of the kind*of gems which are making ears twitch around Scotland and far, far beyond...*
http://www.myspace.com/stevenmilnemusic
IONA MARSHALL
Iona Marshall is now based in the West end of Glasgow, becoming recognised there for her original live performances, fusing melodic folk with experimental synth parts, delicate harmonies, found samples and acoustic guitar hooks. Her beautiful songs are Celtic tinged and her solo performances are heartfelt and enigmatic. She sings about landscape, love, travel, spirituality and whatever sounds come out in a stream of consciousness. Her unique song-craft has been honed over many years, blending life-long influences with modern interpretations and experimentation, exploring her passions, emotions and philosophies through sublime, haunting sound-scapes.
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A wee bit about Ziggy...
LOMOND CAMPBELL, as christened recently by King Creosote, is the lo-fi solo guise of FOUND frontman Ziggy Campbell. Seeing as FOUND have previously played 4 imp shows, with Ziggy also having performed solo sets, he really needs no introduction.
Ach well do it anyway.
FOUND is the brainchild of art college buddies: Ziggy Campbell (lead vocals, guitar), Tommy Perman (bass guitar, synth) and Kev Sim (electronics, percussion). The band create an unusual mix of garage rock, melodic pop and glitchy electronica, which has just lead to them signing a publishing deal with the highly respected Domino Records and record deal with Chemikal Underground, who released the bands third long player factorycraft in March.
Well let Chemikal take up the story.
'A psychedelic explosion in the factory', explains FOUND frontman Ziggy Campbell when asked to explain the unifying theory that binds 'factorycraft' together and who are we to argue? It's been over two years since FOUND released an album's worth of material (in January 2009 they brought out 'Snarebrained', essentially a fund raising exercise to finance their impending trip to SXSW), so the anticipation for this, their third album - and first for Chemikal - has been slowly reaching boiling point.??At the risk of blatantly pilfering the tagline for a famous drink brand, it has been worth the wait though. 'factorycraft' (don't you dare capitalise the 'f') is a schizophrenic, kaleidoscopically inventive piece of work, flipping breathlessly from urgent, programmed drum machines to languid Joe Meek inspired 'space-pop' in the space of a few bars, nevermind a few tracks.??Having worked in a factory in the Borders, singer Ziggy observed that "the most exotic ideas are often FOUND lying amongst the swarf of the factory floor. We liked the idea of turning manual labour in to fine art, hence 'factorycraft'." Recorded at (you guessed it) Chem19 studios with Paul Savage manning the controls, 'factorycraft' is FOUND's first full-blown 'studio' album and manages to capture all the eccentricities and musical invention that set FOUND apart from many of their contemporaries. While the songs repeatedly reference industry and the process of manufacturing, you'd be wrong to think this was the limit of Ziggy's lyrical reach, as his bandmates point out: Typically he'll write about his provincial, low-life up bringing in the Scottish Borders or the extremes of relationships. Sometimes though, he'll write about gangs of giant seagull queens or wrestling granite saints in order to gain access to heaven.??OK then.
imp: tUnE-yArDs (4AD) + Thousands (Bella Union) + Foxhunting @ The Tunnels, 14 June
in Gigs & Event Announcements
Posted
Some nice comments here, thanks folks.
It really was a lot of fun. I don't think I've ever smiled so much throughout a gig.
Hopefully everyone will come back and play another time...