YLOTANA “Micro MIR”
YLOTANA
“Micro MIR”OUT NOW
TIRED of listening to the same old songs on the radio and seeing the same Barbie dolls heading up the music scene? Then YLOTANA are the band for you! A unique mixture of art, literature and music, Ylotana promises a 4D experience unlike any other.
The Ylotana project brings together a blend of styles and voices - from the literary to the visually artistic to the musical - into one focused whole, in an effort to combat the bland offerings currently being served to people who crave creative diversity within the arts.
The music itself is a lush arrangement of instrumentation that will lull you into a trance while taking you to another spiritual realm that will expand your mind and consciousness. There are currently no fewer than five separate albums/projects, each telling their own unique tale, in the Ylotana repertoire that give an
idea of the movement’s wider message. Micro MIR is the latest of the five, and begins as a literary tale that is then expanded by music, contemporary art and comic book illustrations. As the storyline explores the adventures of a genie who loses his powers, the accompanying music gives a real sense of magic and wonder, providing a perfect backdrop for the narrative.
Renowned Russian entrepreneur Anatoly Podkopov is the mastermind behind Ylotana and passionate about every aspect of the band - largely because he left extremely successful business Optigen LTD behind to bring his lifelong artistic vision to life. Pouring all his creative experience into the endeavour, he enlisted the aid of several well-known DJs and musicians - including percussionists and sound engineers who have worked with the likes of Oasis, Babyshambles, Basement Jaxx and Rufus Wainwright - along with writers, authors and illustrators to facilitate his goal.
Micro MIR is available digitally via iTunes and other online distribution firms, while a hard copy CD is available in an attractive digipack package via the Russian Federation.
You can sample the tunes and see the revolutionary body of work this amazing group has to offer by visiting www.ylotana.com
Be among the first to discover the magical ride that is Ylotana and see for yourself where the future of entertainment lies.
This City: We Were Like Sharks
B-Lo Review Written by Gavin Hill
I’ve been a This City fan for a couple of years now, having heard “Kids With Fireworks” featured as unsigned track of the week on the Rock Show, managing to track down their independantly released singles, and catching them live a couple of times. This, their debut album, has been a long time coming as I’ve been counting down the days since recording started early in the year. Expectations were high then and I approached my first listen prepared to be disappointed.
The fact that my iPod is telling me that I am currently playing this album for the 13th time with the CD having arrived a little over 24 hours ago (I have slept and done a full day’s work in that time too…) suggests that “We Were Like Sharks” has not only met my high expectations but exceeded them. It grabs you from the opening riff of lead single “We Move” and doesn’t let go throughout its 34 minutes. That may seem short in this day and age but it is perfectly judged. No fillers or sappy ballads here. Every song is short, direct and punchy.
Existing fans will be on familiar territory. 4 of the 5 songs released on independant singles so far “We Move”, “With Loaded Guns”, “Romantic” and “Kids With Fireworks” are rerecorded here (the fifth “Just Because” is available and a downloadable bonus track from some outlets) but happily the band and producer Matt Bayles have not messed too much with songs that were great to start with: a few lyrical tweaks and slight rearrangements all improve on the original recordings. “Colours” has been knocking around on MySpace for a while now and “Middle Ground” with its extraordinary intro is a live staple.
The less familiar songs do not stay unfamiliar for long. “Black And Blue” is a bruising, pacy post-hardcore monster. “Picture This” with its (brief) quieter sections show vocalist Chris Purr is far from the one trick pony some reviewers have suggested. “No Hero” and “Moving Parts” have the strong riffs, duelling lead guitars and anthemic choruses that make this album stand out.
A stunning debut deserving of great success.
THIS CITY - BIOGRAPHY
To put it simply, the difference between This City and other melodic post-hardcore bands is this – you can dance to This City. It is truly the thing that sets this group apart from the other bands operating in this realm, the thing that opens up a world of possibilities for their music.
“Obviously melodic post-hardcore is a big part of what we do,” says Grant Coleman, the band’s lead guitarist. “But there’s more to it than that. We’re not just a run of the mill MPH (for short) group. I would say that the thing that sets us apart is our beats. It’s possible for some bands in our genre to sound a bit similar to one another. But we definitely try not to fall into that trap.”
It all began not with music but with tattoos. In 2006 two strangers met on a train on the way to a tattoo convention in London’s Brick Lane. These two people were Chris Purr and Arran Day. Brought together by a mutual friend who had also tattooed them both, on the journey north from their hometown of Brighton Chris and Arran began talking about music. They discovered they had a lot of common ground.
Within a couple of months they were in a band together, and soon enough that band became known as ThisCity. Chris Purr is on vocal duty and Arran plays guitar; the group’s line-up was completed with the addition of Grant Coleman, bass player George Travis and drummer Nick Burdett. Between them, the group, This City, have a slew of original sounding songs as well as a small mortgage worth of tattoos. “We are quite literally a very colourful bunch,” says Chris Purr.
Not only this, but they are also a very busy band. Since forming, the quintet have played literally hundreds of shows, both large and small…..designed all their own artwork and t-shirts and covered themselves in impressive amounts of ink. As well as performing under their own banner, the group has shared stages with, among others, Rival Schools, Kids In Glass Houses, Ghost Of A Thousand, Sparta, Taking Back Sunday and Biffy Clyro.
This hard work paid off earlier this year when ThisCity signed an enviable new record deal. After releasing a handful of independent singles in 2007 and 2008, in January they joined forces with the Epitaph label for a worldwide contract spanning three albums.
“It’s such great news that Epitaph opted to pick us up,” says Arran. “It’s a real honour for us all too.” “We all grew up listening to the awesome bands that signed to Epitaph Records and never dreamed that one day we’d be able to be part of that great legacy”
He’s not wrong. He’s not wrong. Epitaph Records, owned by Bad Religion’s founding member Brett Gurewitz, has become one of the world’s most acclaimed and successful independent imprints. Epitaph owns the record for the biggest selling indie release of all time (with the Offspring’s Smash album of 1994) and today boasts a roster that features acts as diverse as Tom Waits and Converge.
Then again, This City’s courageous and colourful brand of melodic post-hardcore with danceable beats fits well with Epitaph’s left-field mentality. Although as proof that accidents will happen when designs often won’t, the nature of this sound came about in a most unplanned manner. The guitars were playing punk rock power chords when, just for a laugh, the drummer laid down the type of beat one could dance to.
Everyone stopped. Hang on a minute, they said, there’s something kinda cool about that mix.
“It was a proper Eureka moment,” says Arran. “We were like, hang on, this is a brand new sound for us. And then we got to thinking about it, and we couldn’t think of anyone else who did what we were doing; who does what we are doing, actually.”
Which is something that you can decide for yourself all throughout 2010, as the band plan on spending as much time as they can on the road. Chances are they’ll be pulling up in the van at a town near you sometime soon.
They also have released their debut album ‘We Were Like Sharks’ This City spent the first two months of 2009 in chilly and rain swept Seattle recording with legendary producer and erstwhile Minus The Bear member Matt Bayles. Bayles’ past credits include such names as Blood Brothers, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Pearl Jam, The Fall Of Troy, Soundgarden and Mastodon.
This City’s debut album includes newly recorded and reworked versions of limited edition releases such as We Move and Romantic and also new births such as Black & Blue, Moving Parts and No Hero. “There’s a unique blend of hardcore laced with some classic pop sensibilities on the album and I think it’s a sound that has definitely found its own audience,” says Arran.
“We’re ready to get out there,” says Arran. “We’re getting ready to work hard and we want to make an impression. We want to play to as many people as we possibly can, and to be heard by as many people as can hear us. We want to tour the States, go to Japan, play for all the fans in Europe who message us constantly, visit Australia…..in fact I have a mate that has a record store in Brisbane. I want to us to be well known enough that we can do a signing at his shop.
“I’m serious,” he says, sounding very serious. “I know the idea of wanting to play a small shop in Brisbane sounds silly, but I want our band to be heard. We’re good enough that if people hear us, they’ll like us. I’m sure of that.”
Future Of The Left: A Brief Tour
FUTURE OF THE LEFT UK TOUR
Following packed European and US dates, including shows with the legendary Jesus Lizard, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Cardiff’s Future Of The Left return to the UK for a brief tour, with support from Tubelord, before leaving for Australia and New Zealand shows in December and January.
2009 has seen the band release their creatively exceptional and critically acclaimed Travels With Myself And Another around the world. Frontman/inhouse genius Andrew “Falco” Falkous also took time out of touring to stick his neck out on the whole file-sharing merry-go-round debate. His comments prompted Feargal Sharkey of the Undertones (and more recently, UK Music) to take out a full page ad in the Guardian reproducing Falco’s original blog post, based on his reactions to the news that his bands album had been leaked and shared weeks in advance of release.
Travels With Myself And Another is the second album from Future Of The Left, following Curses. The band evolved from the seminal Mclusky who split in 2005.
Here are full dates:
28 Nov Arts Centre - Norwich
29 Nov Bullingdon - Oxford
30 Nov Wedgewood Rooms - Portsmouth
1 Dec Academy 3 - Birmingham
3 Dec Garage - London
4 Dec Freebutt - Brighton
5 Dec Thekla - Bristol
You Wanna Be A Radio Star!
The National Broadcasting School launches “The Talent Project” at GMG Radio in Salford Quays.
The NBS has launched its first Talent Project programme which will be held at the studios of GMG Radio in Salford Quays from Saturday 28th November 2009.
The Talent Project is a weekend only presenter training programme aimed at people who want to get into radio, and who previously haven’t had the time, money, or opportunity.
The project consists of 20 modules delivered over 10 weekends, which cover every aspect of the presenters’ art, from the basics, right through to advanced presentation techniques. Priced at only £99 plus VAT per day, it is both affordable and accessible, and it will hopefully bring a new generation of talent onto Britain’s airwaves.
The programme will run over 10 weekends and then repeat itself. Students can complete the programme in any order over a two year period in order to gain their NBS Diploma. Each module includes a two hour presentation stint in one of GMG radios’ state of the art studios and the training is carried out by battle hardened industry professionals with many years of experience.
Rory McLeod, Director and Founder of the NBS said “This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to get into radio and television, and I would like to thank GMG for allowing us unprecedented access to their top of the range facilities at Salford Quays. The Talent Project covers every aspect that our one month intensive programme does, except you can now train at times convenient to you if you have a full time job, and it is now more affordable as it is on a pay as you go basis. If this programme is a successful as we think it will be, we will then roll it out across the UK”
Andrew Carter, MD GMG Radio North West said “This seems to be a great way to utilise some of our spare studio capacity at weekends and to put something back. The NBS are the UK’s leading radio trainers and the Talent Project will no doubt unearth some of the stars of the future. It will be great to give the big break to young people who deserve it and up till now haven’t had the change to take part in a professional training programme”. For more information please go online to www.realtalentproject.co.uk www.smoothtalentproject.co.uk www.rocktalentproject.co.uk
NBS & GMG in partnership.
The emphasis of our course is on the practical. Radio managers seldom have the opportunity to train people these days. And second chances are rare if you can’t do the job. So, the School is all about getting you to a skills level that makes a real impact when you arrive for work.
We want you to spend as much time in front of the microphone as possible. Our courses are intensive, comprehensive and practical. As soon as you arrive at the NBS, you’ll join a team of presenter and will, by the end of the first week, you’ll be on air. The limit on student numbers means that you will be closely supervised all the time.
GMG Radio is one of Britain’s leading radio businesses encompassing the Real Radio, Smooth Radio and Rock Radio brands.
The group now has 13 stations across London, Wales, Scotland, Yorkshire, East and West Midlands and the North East and West of England providing GMG Radio with the largest regional footprint in the UK.
The company is owned by the Guardian Media Group Plc, which houses a number of well known media brands.
The Talent Project courses are held at GMG Radio’s offices in Salford Quays, Greater Manchester.
The full address is
GMG Radio
Laser House
Waterfront Quay
Salford Quays
Manchester
M50 3XW
The Talent Project Courses are run by the National Broadcasting School.
The National Broadcasting School
The Innovation Centre
The University of Sussex
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 9SB
Telephone: 01273 704 510
Creed: Full Circle: Live DVD
Fans of multi-platinum power rockers CREED are in for a special treat this Holiday Season as CREED LIVE, the first-ever live DVD from one of the most successful bands of the past decade, hits stores and all major online retailers in the UK on Monday December 7th (US release date is Tuesday December 8th).
CREED LIVE, captured during the band’s long-awaited “Full Circle” reunion tour, includes the Creed favorites - “Higher,” “My Sacrifice,” “With Arms Wide Open” and “Bullets”, plus new songs such as “Overcome” and “A Thousand Faces” from Full Circle, the band’s first studio effort in seven years.
I have just watched this DVD twice (back to back) and it’s one of the best live concert dvd’s that i have ever seen, the visuals and sound are simply stunning, This is not a money making reunion, this is a full on f**k off rock show by a band that’s got unfinished business. Creed were and still are one of the best rock bands you can listen to and judging by what i just saw on the TV screen, they are still cutting it live… I just hope that 2010 sees them come over to the UK, they would be perfect for a festival such as Sonisphere…
Full Circle recently debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 Charts second only to Michael Jackson’s This Is It. The DVD includes a revealing documentary that follows Creed throughout “Full Circle” tour with exclusive band interviews and behind-the-scenes, and a photo gallery with over 100 photos from the 2009 Summer tour.
Directed by Daniel E. Catullo III (Rush, Nickelback, Alter Bridge, Smashing Pumpkins, Godsmack) and produced by Catullo, Lionel Pasamonte, and Peter Bowers, the 239-camera, state-of-the-art high definition shoot was filmed in front of a fanatical audience of 18,000 screaming fans in Houston at The Woodlands - Cynthia Woods Pavillion” on September 25, 2009.
Creed gave the performance of a lifetime, setting four World Records - including most cameras utilized in a live concert recording - and using first-time technology in a live concert environment, highlighted by the “Big Freeze” effect immortalized in the hit film “The Matrix.” The concert audio was mixed by Andy Johns (The Rolling Stones, Chickenfoot, Led Zeppelin) in 5.1 Surround Sound and also features Standard 5.1, Stereo and DTS audio streams.
“Making this DVD was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us,” says CREED lead singer Scott Stapp. “Daniel Catullo and his staff not only set a world record filming this, but set a whole new benchmark for filming the live show with unprecedented vision and creativity. I have never seen anything like this, nor have our fans. I am so excited to finally give CREED fans something they will never forget. I know this is something that will keep us connected at all times through the live experience. Honestly, I am blown away!”
In addition to an arsenal of High Definition TV Cameras, jibs, cranes, etc, the “Big Freeze” technology required over 200 Nikon still cameras to create and entirely new concert viewing experience in scenes which will be made available in the “Deluxe Edition” of “Creed Live” coming out in early 2010. The “Deluxe Edition” promises to be a true collector’s piece. The limited edition set will include a full feature-length film about the history of Creed, a live audio CD and special collectors’ items such as a T-shirt, poster and a backstage pass from the “Full Circle” tour”. Keep checking www.rockpit.com for an announcement soon for the forthcoming release date for the “Deluxe Edition” DVD.
“Being able to have access to so many different forms of technology and equipment for this shoot not only allowed me to capture Creed in a way never done before, it gives the viewers angles they would never otherwise be able to see,” says Director/Producer Catullo. “This project was definitely a highlight of my career and I am sure that Creed fans will appreciate every bit of hard work and energy we put into this.”
Scott Stapp- Lead Vocals
Mark Tremonti - Lead Guitar/ Backing Vocals
Brian Marshall - Bass
Scott Phillips - Drums
With Eric Friedman- Guitars (Touring Musician Only)
To preview clips of CREED LIVE, please visit the following sites -
www.rockpit.com,
www.creed.com
www.myspace.com/creed
Photo Credit: © Donna Marshall © Don Seidman
Creed is one of the most successful rock bands of the past decade. Since their formation, Creed has sold close to 35 million albums and millions of concert tickets. The songwriting team of Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti is considered one of the most prolific in rock history. Their collaborations have delivered numerous chart-topping records that are a testament to the enormity and success of Creed. The band was the first act to have seven consecutive Number One rock radio singles, four of which came off of the debut album. Their third album, Weathered, tied The Beatles Anthology for the most consecutive weeks at Number One on Billboard’s Top 200 chart (eight weeks since the beginning of the SoundScan era - 1991). Their new CD Full Circle, debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart on October 27, 2009. Band members include Scott Stapp: lead vocals; Mark Tremonti: guitars, backing vocals; Scott Phillips: drums, percussion, keyboards; and Brian Marshall: bass. Visit www.creed.com
Rockpit.com is the premier rock music destination offering music fans exclusive live streaming concerts and DVD downloads of their favorite rock bands scheduled to launch in late 2009. Providing the latest rock music content, news, and community access, Rockpit.com has the latest backstage scoop, interviews and up close and personal footage of the leaders in rock and roll. The site’s recent live stream of “Creed Live From Houston” was seen around the world and was broadcast to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan through the USO Network. Visit - www.Rockpit.com
Catherine MacLellan 2-4-1
STOP PRESS …
CATHERINE MACLELLAN WINS SOLO ARTIST OF THE YEAR AT THE CANADIAN FOLK MUSIC AWARDS
NEW ALBUM ‘WATER IN THE GROUND’ WITH BONUS ALBUM ‘DARK DREAM MIDNIGHT’
A young Catherine MacLellan did not have to look far for inspiration and insight into the creative process. She’s the daughter of Canadian music legend, singer/songwriter Gene MacLellan, the writer of such huge international 70s hit songs as “Snowbird” (the Anne Murray classic) and “Put Your Hand In The Hand” (Ocean). He died when Catherine had just entered her teens, but his influence was profound. “I grew up watching him write songs in the living room with pen and paper or with a guitar on his lap. That was what I thought you were supposed to do, and eventually I started doing it. Before I could even play guitar, I wrote these awful songs about stupid things and I’d sing melodies.”
Gene helped wean his daughter away from an early infatuation with bad 80s pop. “He’d buy me tapes of the Beatles, Eric Clapton, and The Band, going ‘you have to listen to this.’ I’m glad he did. I am really proud to be his daughter and to be able to follow a little in his footsteps. He was a fantastic songwriter and that’s really cool.” Catherine closes Church Bell Blues with a loving and deeply moving tribute to her father, “Long Time,” a song of which Gene would be mighty proud. After high school and a year in Australia, Catherine moved to Toronto, and began following her muse, playing open mic nights in folk clubs. On relocating back to Prince Edward Island, the passion gradually became a vocation. “That was facilitated by a folk club that had started up at the same time. There was a whole crew of people my age or a little bit older, and we all wanted to share what we’d written. That’s where I met James and other people I’ve played with, so I just started doing it, working part time jobs and playing gigs.” Through The New Drifts and then old-time country group Saddle River (also with Phillips), Catherine honed her skills as a performer. With the release of Dark Dream Midnight, she ventured into the Quebec and Ontario markets, to a very positive response.
For me, great female singer/songwriters are like goldust as they are able to capture the most intimate emotions and observations in music, beautifully and movingly. Canada’s Catherine MacLellan is yet another such artist from that geographic hotbed of singer/songwriters, and certainly one of the most interesting I’ve heard in the last couple of years. This is her latest record, however, contained within this package is her first record DARK DREAM MIDNIGHT (only previously available via direct mail order) which is a stunningly moving collection of songs. In fact it’s better than her latest release by a fair margin, and is one of the finest contemporary folk records I have ever heard. ‘Dark Dream Midnight’ opens the record with a dark guitar strum that sets the scene for this edgy song. Along with its powerful melody, MacLellan’s voice (think Joni Mitchell…) treads a fine line
between detachment and expressiveness, and gets it so right. Gorgeous. ‘Don’t Need No One’ is a deeply reflective song about relationships and in its stripped-down guise hits the mark like few other songs I’ve ever heard. ‘Journeys With You’ could be about the relationship with her father and I can promise you it will move you to tears. The melody is such that it hasn’t left my head since I first heard the song; the vocal performance is moving, sincere, heartbreaking. ‘House Of Love’ introduces multi-layered vocals, an upbeat and lighter vibe with another strong melody. Standout tracks pepper this collection including the upbeat country vibe of ‘Until One Of Us goes’ with its wonderful instrumental arrangement, ‘The Line Between Us’ with its wandering vocal, the ghostly ambience of ‘February Song’and the wistful, and very beautiful closing song ‘Packed My Bags.’
This is a stunning gem of record recorded early in MacLelland’s career. It could also be her best…
4.5/5
WATER IN THE GROUND is an altogther different record with its more mainstream, light country sound. First track ‘Take A Break’ is a prime example with its upbeat, lighter vibe. ‘Water In The Ground’ is one of this album’s standouts with its rolling style and very strong melody. It’s a charming love song that is both distinctive and beautifully performed. ‘Hotel Stairs’ has a magnetic, nostalgic feel while ‘Isabell’s Song’ rolls along gently
and ‘Something Gold’ snares you with its sweetness and light. An element of darkness and regret descend with the superb ‘All These Years’ that reminds me of a couple of songs from the previous album. The vocal rises and falls with emotion but is never over-indulgent. It’s another one of those songs that swills around in the head, and just won’t let go. ‘Sorrows Drown’ is another reflective, standout song with its gentle country vibe and excellent lyrics. ‘Not Much To Do (Not Much To Say)’ is more firmly down a country road with typical guitar
passages, and a vibe that is bouncy and mocking.’Everything’ll Be Alright’ is an optimistic tune that meanders along with an understated vocal that is perfectly judged, with just a touch of doubt just below the surface. The darker and moving vibe of ‘Flowers On The Grave’ includes a piano that deepens the drama and the sense of loss in the song’s dominant message.
3.9/5
There is no doubt that MacLellan is a new star on the contemporary folk horizon. However, my vote is powerfully behind DARK DREAM MIDNIGHT as the undisputed star of this wonderful package. And for me it remains the key reason to buy WATER IN THE GROUND.
Cruxshadows Are Coming!
THE CRÜXSHADOWS - (http://www.cruxshadows.com )
www.myspace.com/cruxshadows / www.cruxshadows.de
Hardly any band has touched the European scene as THE CRÜXSHADOWS did within the last years. Emotionally touched… in the truest sense of the word cause barely another band has reached to animate their fans this way to dance. THE CRÜXSHADOWS achieve to create a personal and emotional connection between them and their audience which is of course part of their show.
No doubt: their live-shows are breathtaking and still unrivalled. THE CRÜXSHADOWS have performed since June 2001 more than 300 concerts in more than 30 countries. This is a great example which shows us that success can be realised indeed with honesty, talent and persistence aside the industrialised music market.
Live, love, be, believe - THE CRÜXSHADOWS
THE CRÜXSHADOWS Biography
One of the most popular Darkwave bands internationally, The Crüxshadows started in the early 1990’s in a little town in North Florida. Over the last 15 years their success among the gothic, ebm, new wave, & dark electronic genres has earned them a near legendary underground status. The band’s dark electronic rock and introspective lyrics quickly earned them a fan base beyond the United States, particularly in Europe.
With a constant and ambitious release schedule, and a dizzying live performance itinerary, they have turned conventional wisdom on it’s ear & maintained their position among the scenes elite from each year to the next. They have played many hundreds of shows worldwide including concerts in Norway, Sweden, Scotland, Ireland, England, Belgium, The Netherlands, Poland, France, Hungary, The Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Canada, Spain, The United States, The People’s Republic of China, and many, many more. They were one of the first Western acts to play in Romania & Serbia following the cold war.
During 2006 and 2007 they undertook a year long tour that covered North America, Europe, and even parts of Asia. The Crüxshadows were the first band from the Gothic genre to receive permission to play in China, and in 2007 they became one of only a handful of western alternative bands to perform at the Greenpeace Midi Open-air Festival in Beijing, China.
In recent years they have had several alternative chart toppers in Western Europe and their festival shows have drawn audiences in excess of 20,000 people to the front of the stage during their performance. In fact in 2005, The Crüxshadows headlined the free 4-day Bochum Total Festival in Germany, which drew a total attendance of just under one million people.
In the United States, the band has had two Billboard 1 hits; the late 2006 release of Sophia (1 Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Chart, 7 Billboard Hot Singles Sales Chart), and more recently in September 2007 with Birthday (1 Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Chart, 2 Billboard Hot Singles Sales Chart). Both songs appear on the 2007 album release “Dreamcypher”.
A blend of new wave, gothic, pop, rock, and electronica, the band’s unique and often catchy songs have become staples of the darkwave, ebm, and electro- alternative scene. Notable tracks from The Crüxshadows include Leave Me Alone (the all time highest charting “goth” song on the now defunkt mp3.com), Eurydice (it spent over 2 years in the top 10 New Wave charts of mp3.com), Deception (originally part of the Vampire the Masquerade - Music from the Succubus Club disc, it has been recorded in both English and German), Winterborn (this Sacrifice) (2 DAC*), Dragonfly (2 DAC), Tears (2 DAC), Helen, Return, Resist/r, Foreverlast (4 DAC), Monsters (2 DAC), & of course the legendary Marilyn, My Bitterness (2 DAC).
The band’s uniqueness transcends the realm of dance or club music. The rich and romantic flavor of the electric violin, mixed with crunchy and sometimes biting guitar lines, gives the Crüxshadows a wide berth of musical possibilities. This is juxtaposed with the cold digital world of electronic textures and synthesis associated often with synth-pop and EBM. Add the moody musings of front man, composer, founder, and lead singer Rogue, and you have a guarantee that this band is anything but typical. Songs by The Crüxshadows are immediately recognizable. Lyrically, they draw heavily from ancient mythology, and tend to focus on themes of responsibility, loyalty, passion and faith. The band’s motto is “Live, love, be, believe,” and it serves as a reminder that while The Crüxshadows may write catchy songs, the band has depth that extends beyond the dance floor.
That depth has earned the band many fans among the literary crowd, including notables Caitlin Kiernan, John Ringo, and New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman. The Crüxshadows wrote a song based on Gaiman’s movie, Mirror Mask called Wake the White Queen, which Gaiman included on his CD, Where’s Neil When You Need Him? With over 14 CDs, a DVD, and more compilation appearances than you can count, The Crüxshadows have made themselves synonymous with a new breed of electro-goth music.
Their energy and intensity on stage led them to be called “the best live band in Europe today” by the host of Hamburg’s popular Crazy Clip Show and their performances have been aired regularly on German national television. Songs by The Cruxshadows have appeared on ABC World News, National Geographic Television, The Style Channel, MTV and many others including some in Europe and Asia. In 2005 The Crüxshadows was voted the 5 best band in the EBM, Darkwave, Gothic, & Industrial scene (all time) in a recent international poll hosted by the Wave Gothic Treffen in Germany. If you have an opportunity to see them live, don’t pass it up.
Known for Over their 15 year history, The Crüxshadows have performed with a broad range of bands including some notables like The Cure, Bjork, Ladytron, Apoptygma Berzerk, Placebo, Sisters of Mercy, Skinny Puppy, VNV Nation, Mesh, Bad Religion, Clan of Xymox, Tool, The Jesus & Mary Chain, 69 Eyes, Covenant, Project Pitchfork, and many, many more.
Current band members are: Rogue (vocals, songwriting, programming, lyrics, keyboard programming, some violin, front man), Cassie Marie Luger (guitars), Jen Jawidzik (AKA Pyromantic - keyboards / back-up vocals), David Wood (violins), and JoHanna Moresco (violins). Current dancers are Jessica Lackey and Sarah Kilgore (dancer / back-up vocals). In 2009, Valerie Gentile (guitars) retired from the band.
The Ayria style incorporates elements of: industrial, anime, glam, 80’s, gothic Lolita, cyber, punk. Canadian singer/songwriter Jennifer Parkin has become a true icon on the electronic music scene with her unique writing and performing style. In 2003, she began her project Ayria and shook the foundation of the electro-industrial scene by mixing striking feminine visuals, straight old-school minimalistic industrial music with harsher, aggressive sounds and songs, while still maintaining elements of electro-clash and 80’s new wave.
Ayria has been intensively and successfully touring across the globe over the past 3 years gaining a very solid reputation for putting on energetic live performances. Ayria has recently toured the U.S.A., Europe & U.K. opening for the legendary VNV Nation (summer & fall 2009), as well as the supporting act for the THE CRUXSHADOWS (both in 2007 & 2008, over 80 shows) and supported COMBICHRIST in 2007. Ayria has also toured and performed in Japan, the U.K., Europe, Russia and Mexico. Not fitting into any one musical category has allowed Ayria to gain a very broad fan base of underground goth, electro, dance, and various underground club scenes as well as more mainstream audiences who are all addicted to Ayria’s infectious hooks.
Ayria has released three full length CD’s on Belgium label Alfa Matrix (FRONT 242, LEATHERSTRIP, etc.), including the highly acclaimed “Hearts For Bullets” released in September 2008. This release brings 12 hard hitting, tightly written and produced tracks each track uniquely evolving the AYRIA sound. “Hearts For Bullets” was produced in Canada by none other than Sebastian R. Komor (ICON OF COIL, ZOMBIE GIRL, BRUDERSCHAFT, etc.)
Ayria hits straight and hard with Jennifer’s in-your-face sonic approach hanging between minimal electro, gritty bass synth lines and forceful stomping beats while never straying from the extremely feminine side of the project. Extravagant, provocative, bitchy and edgy yet all gut wrenchingly emotional and lyrically insightful, She hits a target somewhere between influences of NITZER EBB, M.I.A., MISS KITTIN and LADYTRON.
Portico Quartet Live ‘09
Portico Quartet: 23/11/2009, The Kazimier, Liverpool.
Check out the endless procession of 2009 Best-Of lists and you may struggle to find an entry from the Portico Quartet (and several other
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Nic Harcourt: The Best Radio DJ Ever?
In 1988 Nic Harcourt knocked on the door of the local FM radio station on Tinker Street in Woodstock, New York. With no experience of being a DJ, the Birmingham-born Harcourt told WDST FM that he had been living in Australia and had come to the old hippie town with, among other things, a collection of Australian records he wanted to play on the air.
Umpteen years on and Harcourt was host of Los Angeles’ influential show, Morning Becomes Eclectic, and the musical director of the show’s parent public-radio station, KCRW. From his basement studio lair in the grounds of the Santa Monica College campus, Harcourt’s range extended from the Los Angeles basin to the high desert beyond to Santa Barbara, and, thanks to KCRW’s internet streaming service and satellite relay, further still.
In fact, he’s becoming a small-sized media mogul. He published his first book, Music Lust: Recommended Listening for Every Mood, Moment and Reason, essentially a compendium of Harcourt-approved music with descriptions and history. It’s a mixed bag and it’s meant to be.
There’s an essay about bands that have taken their names from cats and dogs and a chapter about the Rat Pack. “I’m not saying if you don’t know Songs for Swingin’ Lovers you’re an idiot,” he explains. “I am saying if you want to explore this part of the musical heritage of America, then here are the albums from Frank, Dean and Sammy you should, in my opinion, listen to.” Further, there were Harcourt-organised KCRW shows at the Hollywood Bowl and KCRW-endorsed showcases of new bands.
In Liverpool during May 2009 for the annual Sound City music festival, the man attracted a surprising amount of attention for a DJ on poor, non-commercial radio. “Nic Harcourt is the country’s most important disc jockey” and “a genuine bellwether”, recommended The New York Times. He is stopped in the street by young musicians offering demo CDs and courted by labels trying to get their acts the prestigious Harcourt endorsement.
Harcourt, it’s clear, enjoys every second of it. In a very British way, he simultaneously puffs up and demurs at attention and praise. “Let’s face it, it’s fun being an English guy in America. I’m a lot more exotic than I was when I was in Birmingham.” At the same, he says, “You still have to deliver.”
Harcourt left school at 16 and soon enough became a singer in a post-punk, pre-New-Romantic band called The Red Cassettes. The band got as far as bringing some demo-tapes to London and no further. In Australia, too, he had a band, an avant-garde outfit called Kissing Frogs. His rock dreams lived on into the years in New York State’s Hudson Valley, itself a virtual retirement community for has-been and never-will-be musicians. “When I arrived, the only thing I knew about Woodstock was that there was a festival there when I was 12,” he says. “I found out when I got there that it wasn’t actually there anyway.”
It was in Woodstock that Harcourt’s own frontman aspirations finally petered out when he got sober and started choosing other people’s music to play on radio. Being a successful DJ, he says, is a very good alternative to being an unsuccessful musician. “Everyone in radio is a failed musician,” he points out.
He came to KCRW in the spring of 1998. There he has become champion of what one rock critic calls the “semi-popular.” In LA, the entertainment business listens to Morning Becomes Eclectic. Harcourt takes pleasure in the fact that he’s very often the first to play music that becomes popular and, even if it doesn’t become popular in the mainstream, wins critical approval. He was the first in America to play Norah Jones and Coldplay on the radio; he played Damien Rice, Sigur Ros, Jem and David Gray when they were unsigned.
One of the best examples of Harcourt’s star-making is Dido. Her manager gave him a copy of her demo CD; he played it; the TV drama Roswell included one of her songs; Eminem heard her and sampled her for “Stan” and she took off. “There’s something rewarding about being a part of her story,” he says. “If I’m known for anything it’s for helping British artists and for helping Latin alternative artists,” he says.
Of course, there are always music mysteries: why Coldplay worked in America but Travis didn’t; whether Americans will get James Blunt, (”I don’t get it,” Harcourt says) and what happened with Robbie Williams (”He’s so English. I never saw him working here”).
Same but different with Oasis. “Everybody in England loved that they were loud-mouthed drunks but it didn’t work here. Nobody here’s got the time.
We’re bombarded here with choices and options. If someone’s going to be a dick and insult you, it’s like, ‘Next!’.” As Morning Becomes Eclectic becomes an institutionalised stepping stone for bands on the way up, Harcourt doesn’t much like it when bands he champions forget to credit him later. He’s got the hump with Arcade Fire because they thanked his arch-enemy KROQ for helping to break them in America, neglecting to mention that KCRW championed them and played them in rotation for months before his commercial rock-orientated rival.
Radio is important in the City of Angels because everyone spends so much time in cars. He is positioned in a line of famous disc jockeys, among them B Mitchell Reed (who inspired Joni Mitchell to write “You Turn Me On (I’m a Radio)”) and Rodney Bingenheimer, the English disco legend who launched Blondie, X and Hole among others. Nowadays, he has the ex-Sex Pistol Steve Jones on Indie 103.1 (Now on 6 Music on Sunday afternoon’s in the UK) playing Mott the Hoople and, on strange days - at least for Americans - Benny Hill’s “Ernie (the Fastest Milkman in the West)”. “My show was really about the music and not about me,” he says. “I’m the guy who plays the cool music and Steve’s the funny, irreverent fucker.”
For a media career that started at 32 with a knock on the door of WDST FM, Harcourt’s trajectory in the media is enviable. And while the station is non-commercial - it survives on gifts and subscriptions - Harcourt takes jobs as a music supervisor on movies, including The Dukes of Hazzard, and television advertising campaigns such as Victoria’s Secret. He had a reciprocal arrangement with Steve Lamacq on Radio 1: Harcourt used to send him a 10-minute show on what’s going on in music in America , and Lamacq did the same for him for LA listeners.
It’s no wonder that Harcourt, who has maintained some aspects of his early Eighties rocker look, looks like the cat that got the cream. In my opinion there are only two names that are synonomous with American radio, one is Howard Stern, you should be able to guess the other! *Clue it starts with an N…
Ruth Seymour: KCRW: Respect!
KCRW General Manager Ruth Seymour Announces Retirement
After 32 years as General Manager of Santa Monica College’s public radio station KCRW-89.9 FM and www.KCRW.com, Ruth Seymour has announced that she is retiring at the end of February.
“I am leaving a station that is strong in its identity, a station like no other in the country,” says Ms. Seymour. “It’s been an extraordinary privilege to serve as KCRW’s General Manager - a joy and source of great pride. That’s a pretty good note on which to say goodbye.”
She arrived at the station in September 1977 as a consultant and was formally appointed manager several months later.
Ms. Seymour has overseen the transformation of a station originally located in a middle school playground, with the oldest transmitter west of the Mississippi. Today KCRW’s 13 transmitters deliver its broadcast service to much of Southern California.
Online, the station has one of the largest audiences of any American radio station, providing three discreet program streams 24/7 at KCRW.com. KCRW’s 26 podcasts are downloaded 1.2 million times monthly.
Ruth Seymour also serves as the station’s Program Director. KCRW is recognized for its original award-winning programs in news, music and culture. The station’s schedule features its signature music show Morning Become Eclectic and its daily news-based broadcasts of To the Point and Which Way, L.A.?.
KCRW produces more national programs than any other public radio station. Its six series are broadcast collectively by stations throughout the country, including New York, Washington, D.C and Seattle.
Ms. Seymour is also a familiar voice to KCRW’s listeners. She often hosts The Politics of Culture and has led the station’s on-air Subscription Drives.
She credits KCRW’s large and loyal subscriber base for enabling the station to engage in ambitious productions and important digital ventures. “We have forged a strong bond with our listeners, one of trust and affection. They have come through for us time and time again.”
Santa Monica College, the station’s licensee, will engage in the selection process to choose Ms. Seymour’s successor. The College expects that it will take several months to complete.
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