The View: Bread & Circuses
Having been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2007 with their debut ‘Hats Off To The Buskers’ and then followed that up with their critically-acclaimed sophomore album ‘Which Bitch?’ in 2009, The View will release their third album ‘Bread And Circuses’ on Monday 14th March.
Featuring the free download ‘Sunday,’ complete with a synth/drum machine opening that was made available in November to coincide with the band’s sold out UK tour as well as first single proper ‘Grace,’ a raucous and anthemic tour-du-force that is sure to soundtrack the summer ahead, ‘Bread And Circuses’ sees The View back to their most gripping and exuberant best.
Overseen by producer Youth (The Verve’s ‘Urban Hymns’) – the first two albums having been produced by Owen Morris - this album saw The View decamp to London’s Britannia Studios for the first time with a whole batch of songs ready to go. “Youth had us recording strictly 11am-11pm,” says vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Kyle Falconer. “With Owen [Morris] we created the album in the studio. This time we went in with 30 tracks to work with. We’ve also got an addition to our band in Darren Rennie who’s a childhood friend of ours. He plays keyboards and sings which has enabled us to work with 5 part harmonies on the record. We’ve dreamt of being able to do that.” This is none more evident than on ‘Blondie,’ a thrilling, jaunty, Fleetwood Mac-esque whirl or the final track ‘Best Lasts Forever’ that, as well as including a spoken word intro from the 60s activist, poet and ex-MC5 manager John Sinclair, also finds the band harnessing those vocal harmonies and bringing them to the fore.
It’s not only the addition of a keyboardist to the ranks and vocal harmonies that have changed for The View on this record. With a new producer came new guidelines to the recording process that had previously been absent. Says Kyle: “Youth picked us up on the articulation in the lyrics which beforehand - when we sounded more punky - we didn’t care about. People complained they couldn’t understand us on the second album and so he kept us on our toes with the pronunciation.”
“We’ve been experimenting with sobriety and consciousness on this album, the rest of the band are singing more and the piano has become one of the main instruments of the song writing which opens up a lot of doors,” adds Kyle. “There’s a more consistent sound than ‘Which Bitch?’ as a lot of shit was going on during the recording of that album. Everything just seems to be clicking in the studio, we never had to search for inspiration.
“When we were writing the album we had the idea of being like clowns in a circus, maybe in the same way Kasabian were ‘lunatics in the asylum’ for their last album. This came about when we realised that everyone we meet sees us as entertainers first and normal guys second. It seems obvious now but it’s not something you grow up thinking about necessarily.”
The centre point of the album is ‘Life,’ an epic, orchestral ballad – with the string arrangement coming courtesy of the London Royal Philharmonic – that is undoubtedly the most poignant yet uplifting and heartfelt song the band have ever written. With a sublime and tear-jerking chorus, it shows a tender side to the band that has never been seen before. “That’s dedicated to my mum,” says Kyle. “I actually wrote that before she passed away. My dad died when I was 16 and I used to torture myself with thoughts of my mum meeting another man. When she passed away I got the song back on the go.”
Referring to the title of the album, Kyle explains it came from discovering Tropicalia and the bands associated with the genre whilst on holiday. “They were talking about how politics was affecting their writing and what was allowed to be written about, what would appeal to the masses, what the government allowed. Some bands felt like they were just being used as clowns by the government to get a particular message across to the people and stop them asking any important questions about how the country was being run. The phrase ‘Bread and Circuses’ comes from Roman times. If the powers-that-be can keep the masses well enough entertained and fed then people will generally just get on with dally life and not think too much about how the world around them works.
“We were going to call the record ‘The Best Lasts Forever,’ meaning that no matter what message is in your music, if it’s good enough then in five, ten, 100 years time people will still like it no matter what is happening in the world. There was a thing about having an album track title as the album title so that’s why we decided to have the last minute switch. We can only apologise to the fan that got ‘The Best Lasts Forever’ tattooed on him last week before we changed our minds!”
The tracklisting for ‘Bread And Circuses’ is: Grace / Underneath The Lights / Tragic Magic / Girl / Life / Friend / Beautiful / Blondie / Sunday / Walls / Happy /The Best Lasts Forever
The band head out on a major UK in April and will play the following shows:
Monday 4th April – Dundee Caird Hall
Tuesday 5th April – Aberdeen Music Hall
Wednesday 6th April – Glasgow Barrowlands
Saturday 9th April –Sheffield Leadmill
Sunday 10th April –Leeds Cockpit
Monday 11th April –Manchester Academy 2
Friday 15th April – Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Saturday 16th April – Birmingham O2 Academy
Sunday 17th April –Norwich Waterfront
Monday 18th April – Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Wednesday 20th April - London Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Thursday 21st April – Bristol The Fleece
Friday 22nd April – Coventry Kasbar
Glamour Of The Kill: Live At Last!
A few years ago I got an EP from a band called Glamour Of The Kill, who seemed like they were going to follow F4AF/B4MV into the higher league of rock. Then the band just toured everywhere but no album turned up… Well, that’s been put right in 2011 and it’s going to be a contender in 2011 for one of the rock records of the year. The band also headed out on the road in Feb/March. About fuckin’ time…
We caught up with them in a sleepy North Wales town called Wrexham where they were playing at ‘Rebellion’ which is a 14+ event that has seen the Blackout, Young Guns, Metro Station and more pass through its doors. Tonight GOTK show just why they are one of the names on everyone’s lips when it comes to ‘One’s 2 Watch’ as they straddle the stage with a presence and style and are confident enough to believe they own the joint.
They perhaps need a little more time on the road to get right back into full flow as at times tonight they look like they are struggling to get out of 3rd gear. At times tonight the crowd is so quiet they could not be here, but given this road trip and the chance to really hone in on what they do I expect by the summer and through festival season the band to really get up to speed. And by the autumn/winter they wll be in full flow and will deserve your attention. Meanwhile read about and get onto the links to buy/DL a copy of the bands album, it will suprise and excite you… Jj
York metal mob GOTK revealed details of their debut album, entitled “The Summoning”. Released January 2011 via the band’s own “Afflicted Music” label, the highly anticipated debut holds 11 songs of incredibly powerful and catchy metal that will no doubt see York on the international metal map.
“The Summoning is all of our best work to date put into one album” says frontman Dave Richmond. “We all had big ideas for this record and when that happens we’ve learnt it’s best just to do things our own way. Some of the deal offers we received from reputable labels were wanting a cut of absolutely everything, which is the norm these days, so rather than hand over our souls for very little in return, we decided it would be in the bands best interests to create our own label, ‘Afflicted Music’, and release the album out on that. I can’t wait for everyone to hear the new material, it’s exactly what we wanted and couldn’t hope for a better debut.”
The good news for GOTK fans is that to hear something because if they go to www.gotk.co.uk they can download the track ‘Supremacy’ for free!
To support the release, the band also confirmed a 29 date tour of the UK taking in England, Scotland and Wales. Dave continues: “We’ve really shown our true colours on this album and the live show is definitely going to back that up! My personal highlight of our new live set is going to be the lead track from the album ‘Feeling Alive’. It’s an in your face party song, which I feel sums up the whole vibe of Glamour of the Kill. We’ll get out onto the road and let ‘The Summoning’ begin!”
GLAMOUR OF THE KILL posted their first music video. Shot at The Soundhouse in Bolton, “Feeling Alive” was directed and produced by Sitcom Soldiers, the team responsible for videos from Young Guns, Fightstar, Ghost Of A Thousand and many more. An energetic performance video with a twist, “Feeling Alive” sees GOTK provide the soundtrack to a brutal wake up call as they inspire the video’s main character to shape up.
Guitarist Chris Gomerson explains the highs and lows of the filming: “The best part of the video… tasty bird in little clothing. The worst part was that it was a cold day, which as a bloke, doesn’t do you any favours… oh yeah, and some poor sod spent about 8 hours painting each individual square on the chequered floor the day before the shoot! “ This video is the first chapter in what will be an exciting success story.
All Time Low: Liverpool Uni: Live!
Young Guns: Gustav Wood - Vocals John Taylor - Guitar Fraser Taylor - Guitar Simon Mitchell - Bass Ben Jolliffe - Drums
High Wycombe quintet, Young Guns, have announced that the video for the final single, ‘Stitches’, from their critically acclaimed, ‘All Our Kings Are Dead’. The video, shot in London, with director Tim Mattia (Biffy Clyro, The Dead Weather, Cage The Elephant) at the helm, is the band’s most impressive to date. Shot in Hi-Def black and white, the clip features the band battling the four elements, a piano in flames, as well as a hawk named Fern.
The single release (on March 28th) comes towards the end of an incredible campaign for the Buckinghamshire based five-piece, who’ve since played hundreds of shows in over a dozen different countries, with highlights including daytime radio playlists, magazine covers, appearances on the main stage at the Reading and Leeds festivals. They also supported Bon Jovi at the first night of their O2 Arena residency and their forthcoming slot at Japan’s Punkspring festival in Toyko in April.
They are the ‘opening’ band on the All Time Low British dates and we join them in Liverpool tonight where quite frankly they are ‘on fire’. It’s been a while since I have seen the band (before their debut album), but back then they showed enormous potential and tonight they showed it for sure. The band simply own the stage and play as if it’s their show, the crowd reaction suggests that it won’t be long until it is…
They tell us that they will not be around for a while as they go into the studio to record a new album. They look and sound ready to return with a killer record that will most definitely take them up at least one level and maybe more. But rest assured you are going to be hearing a lot more of these ‘young guns’ and I for one simply cannot wait. Jj
Yellowcard: Ryan Key – vocals, guitar Sean Mackin – violin, vocals Ryan Mendez – guitar, vocals Longineu Parsons III - drums Sean O’Donnell- bass, vocals
This is a great band. I like what they do and their output thus far has been great - the new track from forthcoming record certainly keeps their flame burning… BUT… tonight they are wrong band, wrong tour, wrong crowd… What this lot need tonight is a Black Veils, Fine Young Firecrackers, even the Blackout would have been more suited. Yellowcard would be great opening for Jimmy Eat World, for an audience 20+ but tonight they play to a mostly femal audience, mostly under 20 and nobody in the room wants to sleep with Yellowcard. The quiet between songs as we depart for the bar makes us think more than twice that they have finished, only to hear them start another song… Not wrong, just not right! Jj
After two-and-a-half years the music that provided a soundtrack for rebellious-yet-sensitive, coastal-dreaming pop-punk kids of the early 00’s is back. Yellowcard have put the break to rest with the announcement of a brand new record on a new label and tearing into life on the road again.
Returning to their pre-major label indie beginnings, Yellowcard have recently signed with Hopeless Records for their seventh studio album, the first since 2007’s Paper Walls. For round seven (and after 3 million records sold), Ryan Key (vocals/guitar) and original members Sean Mackin (violin) and Longineu (“LP”) Parsons (drums) continuing with Ryan Mendez (guitar) will be joined by longtime friend of the band Sean O’Donnell (bass), whose addition has been described as a “natural fit” for the current mindset and progression of the group.
“Hopeless seemed to be the right place for us; they were really interested in working with the band, very proactive, and had a lot of great ideas for us,” says frontman/guitarist Ryan Key. “They’re giving us the opportunity to do exactly what we want with it, and we’re thankful to have an established fanbase that is already interested in what we have to put out.”
“We have all been big fans of Yellowcard since their early days” adds Hopeless Records President Louis Posen. “Our team is having a great time working with the band and we are thrilled that there is going to be a new Yellowcard album soon. We know the fans want new music and we are honored and humbled that we get to play a part in helping such a great band write the next chapter in their career.”
Key said the writing process has been like picking up just where they left off, that they “feel like kids again, having fun and driving around listening to the music we just created, no words yet, just the music over and over again.” They will soon begin recording with their tried-and-true producer Neal Avron - “the sixth member of our band” - and are aiming for a spring release, enough time to take new material and the classic benchmarks out for a refresher.
“We’re talking about a ton of different ideas, and we’re itching to start as soon as possible,” Key said. “Ultimately, we want to make something the fans will love. What we love to do most, is look out from the stage and see people exploding with energy, and I think we keep that in mind while we are writing. We miss being out on the road playing for Yellowcard fans all around the world, and without their support we wouldn’t have a career.”
Robin Beck: The Great Escape
Robin Beck Album Title: The Great Escape Label: Her Majesty’s Music Room
Web: www.robinbeckrocks.com www.facebook.com www.myspace.com/robinbeck
Produced by James Christian Co Produced By Tommy Denander Mixed by James Christian
Tracklisting: 1- The One (Beck/Denander/Christian) 2- Got Me Feelin Sexy (Beck/Denander/Christian) 3- Inside Of Me (Beck/Denander/Christian) 4- That All Depends + (Denander/Beck/Christian) 5- Baby I’m Not A Bitch* (The Elements) 6- Everything Is Alright (Beck/Denander/Christian) 7- The Great Escape (Beck/Denander/Christian) 8- Don’t Think He’s Ever Coming Home (Beck/Denander/Christian) 9- Cross My Heart (Beck/Denander/Christian) 10- All The Rivers (Beck/Denander/Christian/Kent) 11- Till The End Of Time** (Denander/Jidhed/Bjorn Lindbom)
Musicians:
Lead vocal : Robin Beck, Joe Lynn Turner+, James Christian** Guitars: Tommy Denander, Dai Smith*, Paul Jones* Drums: James Christian / Tommy Denander Keyboards : Tommy Denander Piano: Katherine Ownes* Bass: James Christian/ James Jamal Vocal production: James ChristianBackground vocals: Robin Beck, James Christian, Liv Beck, Katherin Ownes*
Originally from Brooklyn, New York Robin’s career started long before anyone had ever heard of her. “I dreamed about being an artist and a song writer since I was about 9 years old”. “The first song I ever wrote was at 10 years old and it was called “The Key To My Heart”. I was so proud of it. It sounded a bit country actually”. But it wasn’t Robin’s fate to be a country singer. “I grew up on the Beatles and the Supremes, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. I even went to Wood Stock and at 12 years old I was already addicted to the sound and the stage. But in my home, there was Barbara Striesand on the radio morning noon and night since I was 5 years old. Naturally some of her rubbed off on me. I gained a lot of strength imitating other singers. I was a bit of a Parrot . This became very useful later on in years.“There was very little music in my house while growing up with only a old static clock radio to listen to” she recalls.
Basically she had no formal vocal training. Growing up in Brooklyn in the 70’s Robin learned a lot about R&B, and the Beatles and Carol King, right there on the stoops and corner of her block. “There were a few boys that used to gather on the corner with a guitar and I was drawn to the sound like a moth to a flame… they always invited me to sing and I was loud!”. Robin was just a kid when she left home to find herself in Daytona Beach Florida searching for her dream to sing in a rock band. She was discovered by a local musician (Alex London) who got Robin her first professional job with guitarist Johnny Conklin. Robin learned the art of singing standards, before she moved on to local cover bands singing hit songs before she was finally asked to go out on the road at 17 to sing in a band called Deep South. Soon after that, Robin landed her first recording contract for a single entitled “Still In Love”, after being discovered while playing in a Detroit club.
Back in New York, Robin started to work on different projects including the Broadway musical “Got To Go Disco” and finally started a proper recording career with the release of her first album “Sweet Talk” in 1979 with Kenny Lehman of the famed “Dance, Dance, Dance”. While living in the Big Apple, she started to become involved in the jingle business and it was during that period that she got to work with some of the greatest musicians in the world. It was thanks to a certain jingle that Robin’s name came to prominence in 1988 when the song “First Time” (a Coca-Cola theme tune) became a huge hit worldwide. In fact, the song held the number one chart position for three weeks in the UK, which meant Robin had to make a live appearances on the BBC’s ‘Top of the Pops’ program.
This was the springboard to a new start in her recording career. The subsequent album “Trouble or Nothin” featured contributions from such luminaries as Steve Lukather (Toto), Paul Stanley (KISS), Diane Warren, long standing writing partner Jeff Kent and Desmond Child to name a few. Robin has never stopped being regarded as one of the premier female AOR singer/artists ever! Robin’s follow up album, “Human Instinct”, was released on the D.S.B. label in 1992 and featured once again the cream of the session world (Jeff Porcaro, Kim Bullard, Tim Pierce, Michael Landau, Lee Ritenour, Michael Thompson etc.) and songwriters (Mark Spiro, Jeff Kent, Journey’s Jonathan Cain, Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson, Sue Shifrin, Glen Burtnik etc.). “Can’t Get Off” dates back to 1994 on East/West and once again she proved her qualities as a fine singer with songs offered by the likes of Clif Magness (Avril Lavigne, Steve Perry), Steve Kipner, Michael Bolton, Ole Evenrude,Marc Jordan.
A break from the music industry was in the cards and it was during this time that Robin met and married James Christian, record producer and singer with the rock band “House of Lords.” Together they had a beautiful daughter, Olivia. Despite her new role as a mother, Robin couldn’t stay entirely out of the limelight and in 1998 she recorded a duet with Italian star ‘Pupo’ which required that she travel throughout Italy and Germany to promote it with nine month old Olivia at her side In 1999, Robin released the singles “Jewel in my Crown” and “Shut up and Kiss Me” (Vocal producer James Christian, music produced by Chris Flanger and Ingo) which saw her return to recording aftera five year hiatus and in 2003 she released the full album “Wonderland”. This adventurous new recording with a contemporary sound showcased the passion, power and versatility of Robin’s voice better than ever and with a technically bang up to date production, proved that she was able to move with the times whilst remaining true to a sound that her long time fans would appreciate.
Robin’s solo career and writing has always been the most important part of her focus. However, through the years her talents have been called upon many times for session work alongside some of the music greats of 20th century. She has performed with Patty Austin, headlined with Tina Turner and Richard Marx and recorded with top artists such as,David Bowie, Michael Bolton, Deep Purple and Cher to name but a few.
Her long awaited return to melodic rock happened finally in 2005 with “Do You Miss Me”, a beautiful piece of melodic rock music with superb original songs offered by Marc Jordan (Kansas, Cher, Amanda Marshall), Amy Sky (Heart), Desmond Child (Bon Jovi, Kiss), Michael Bolton and Chris Pelcer (Peter Cetera, Van Zant) and was right up there with her most rocking efforts like “Trouble or Nothing” and “Human Instinct”. “Living On A Dream” was released in 2006 by Frontiers Records. This record was acclaimed by Melodic Rock Magazine’s Andrew McNeice a Rock Classic Album earning 97 points out of 100, and a new status in the Melodic Rock World.
The classic ‘First Time’ was also back in the spot light and during that same year as Robin was asked by Universal to re create the vocal along with a new dance mix of “First Time” with the famed Sunblock mixers. This too proved to be an instant success and Robin performed on Top Of The Pops. Robin once again topping the chart with a spot on the UK’s official Billboard Charts at #9 and selling to date over 3, million units.
In February 2009 Kicking off her new label “Her Majesty’s Music Room”, Robin gave her fans a real treat by releasing the 20th anniversary Silver Edition “Trouble Or Nothin’ CD. Every note was newly recorded , with a host of killer new songs included. This was something Robin had wanted to give her fans for a long time.By now you may be wondering why Robin has ventured off on her own and starting her own label Her Majesty’s Music Room. Well true to form as life goes, we will all at some point or another go back to where we started from. For Robin it’s about her dream of becoming a songwriter who sings her own songs and travels to the beat of a different drum. While others may be waiting for their big break to come and get out of the straggle hold of fear, Robin is breaking down all the barriers.
Here comes the good stuff… After a long 2 years of writing and performing along with managing a new young band from Wales named Kane’d, and running her own record label, Robin has completed her long awaited follow up to “Trouble Or Nothing” 20th Anniversary edition. The new cd is due out February 11, 2011 on Robins own Label “Her Majesty’s Music Room” and championed by Sony/Neo, this is sure to be another winner.
Get ready for “The Great Escape”! 11 original songs, no sleepers all keepers! Passionate and tough, sensitive yet cutting lyrics and melodies that will resonate and find a home with the rock n’ roll classics. Never underestimate a true Rocker! Robin never gives up and she never gives in… “I waited a long time to do a duet with one of my favorite male rock gods, Joe Lynn Turner of Rainbow and Deep Purple… “That All Depends On What You Do Tonight”… The wait was well worth it!” Then of course to sweeten the deal Robin and James Christian share a duet on the appropriately titled “Till The End Of Time”. it’s undeniably truthful and with soaring vocals that are commanding and memorable”.
“The whole album is based on reality”! Cross My Heart (and hope you die) was written about Tiger Woods and is dedicated to all the woman out there who have been through it and came out the other side ALIVE AND MUCH BETTER OFF! A Long way from “Your Cheatin’ Heart” or “Cry Me A River” This song takes care of it all, ladies should bone up! With titles like “All the Rivers”, a twisted and inverted look at love lost but nothing learned and “Don’t Think He’s’ Ever Coming Home” the tear jerker of the album will stick to your bones… Cross that with “Everything is Alright”, “You Got Me Feeling Sexy”, “Inside Me”, Baby I’m Not A Bitch“, and finally “The Great Escape”… simply all killer songs!
“The Great Escape” released on February 11th, 2011 By Her Majesty’s Music Room, Label Management: Fastball Music.
Foo Fighters: LP: Single!
FOO FIGHTERS TO RELEASE NEXT SINGLE FROM PLATINUM-PLUS ALBUM WASTING LIGHT “ARLANDRIA” OUT 5th SEPTEMBER
‘Grohl Owned The Summer!’—NME / ‘A Masterclass In Stadium Rock Dynamics’–Kerrang
Foo Fighters are set to release the majestic “Arlandria,” the third single from the monster selling ‘Wasting Light’ album, which hit the coveted #1 spot in the UK, the USA and 10 other countries upon its release in April. “Arlandria” is already an established crowd pleaser, showcasing the band’s musical flexibility and power throughout the Summer of the Foos that has seen them enhancing their already universal reputation as one of the greatest rock bands the world has to offer.
Having just headlined two MASSIVE sold-out shows for over 130,000 fans at the Milton Keynes Bowl, the Lollalpalooza festival in the States and every major festival across Europe, Foo Fighters’ gilt edged, laser-guided riffage ringing out for 3 hours has provided a staggering master class in the finer points of rock etiquette and in how to shake a stadium to its foundations and leave the audience begging for more. “Arlandria” has already proven a key weapon in a world class arsenal including Wasting Light cuts “Rope” and “Walk,” all of which stand up to and fight perfectly alongside the cavalcade of hits from the band’s 16-year-and-counting career.
Wasting Light was recorded entirely in Dave Grohl’s garage, on analog tape and was produced by Butch Vig. Foo Fighters are: Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear. www.foofighters.com
WASTING LIGHT was released April 11 on Roswell. The band recently unveiled the artwork to its seventh full length studio opus, which features the core Foo Fighters quintet of Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear.
Produced by Butch Vig and mixed by Alan Moulder, WASTING LIGHT was recorded entirely on analog tape in the garage of Grohl’s home in California’s San Fernando Valley. The no computers/no software back to basics approach has resulted in arguably the strongest and most cohesive effort of the band’s 15-year-plus career: WASTING LIGHT is a singular triumph: a band that’s headlined arenas, stadiums and festivals the world over stripping itself down to the bare essentials.
Concurrent with the album’s release, Exclusive Media Group’s documentary division Spitfire Pictures are producing a feature documentary about the Foo Fighters directed by Academy Award winner James Moll (The Last Days, Running The Sahara). Co-produced and co-financed by Exclusive Media Group and RCA Records, Moll’s documentary chronicles the entire history of the Foo Fighters, from the cassette demos Grohl recorded during his tenure as Nirvana’s drummer through their ascent to their Grammy-winning, multi-platinum, arena and stadium-headlining status as one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. This chronicling of the Foo Fighters’ triumphs and tragedies culminates in an in-depth behind the scenes perspective on the making of the new album: A process in which the band pushed itself forward by returning to its roots and recording in Grohl’s garage completely on analog tape.
Tracklisting:
Bridge Burning / Rope / Dear Rosemary / White Limo / Arlandria / These Days / Back & Forth / A Matter Of Time / Miss The Misery / I Should Have Known / Walk
The Vinyl Factory: Concept Store!
The Vinyl Factory launched its temporary “concept store” in London on March 10. The new shop and gallery is located in the Front Room of the St Martins Lane Hotel, and represents The Vinyl Factory’s first foray into displaying and selling its art and music limited editions in a physical space, new releases, exclusive artworks, limited vinyl
The new retail residency will last three months, during which time there will be a series of new editions launched and changing exhibitions. Among the new additions to the portfolio is a limited edition box set of music from The Most Incredible Thing, the forthcoming Sadler’s Wells ballet scored by the Pet Shop Boys in collaboration with choreographer/director Javier de Frutos. Also set to see release this Spring is a limited edition of Duran Duran’s latest album, All You Need Is Now, with artwork by the acclaimed British artist Clunie Reid, in collaboration with Pop magazine art director Rory McCartney.
The temporary store/gallery also offers the public the rare chance to find previous Vinyl Factory editions available for sale offline, including Massive Attack’s Heligoland, Michael Nyman’s Cine Opera and Bryan Ferry’s Olympia (from which the above photo of Miss Moss is taken). “For the three months it is open, the space will become an homage to records and the relationship between music and art, celebrating the unique, the tangible and the rare in an age of rapid digital consumption.”
Opening hours are 11-7pm Tuesday to Saturday, 12-6pm on Sunday. The store will also stock Art Vinyl frames - Art Vinyl Ltd celebrates the concept of taking existing visual and functional objects like vinyl records and making them new and fresh again. Using their unique patented Play & Display frames, music fans are able to celebrate the synergy between graphic art and music. The Vinyl Factory is suitable for exhibitions, presentations, trade and fashion shows, press days, launch parties and much more.
Music is a physical experience. The Vinyl Factory embraces this and helps crystalize music into unique spaces and products, through a unique process. Products that take the shape of finely crafted limited edition box sets, as the ones produced for The Pet Shop Boys or Damon Albarn. Vinyl + Digital editions that marry music and art. Spaces like the VF Galleries in Soho, Berlin and up and coming NY. The Vinyl Factory through its label, is also changing the way music is funded and produced. It’s getting professional investors and fans to empower their favourite artists with the funding necessary to materialize their projects.
The music domain is increasingly polarized. On one end we have digital, on the other end specially crafted editions, where music becomes art, because music is art. The Vinyl Factory understands that music is art and should be treated as such. The Vinyl Factory Ltd was established in 2001 as a music and arts enterprise. The company now provides a range of services to the music and creative industries: These include studio facilities (TV and audio), design, manufacturing, distribution (physical and digital), retail (physical shop and on-line), marketing, publishing, workspace and professional services.
The company curates and promotes exhibitions, provides and manages event spaces, publishes FACT magazine both bimonthly and on-line (www.factmagazine.co.uk), owns Phonica Records, London’s leading record shop in Soho London (www.phonicarecords.co.uk) and Portalspace Records (www.portalspacerecords.com) & Vinyl Factory Australia (www.vinylfactoryaustralia.com.au) which provides vinyl record manufacturing, distribution and fulfilment).
In addition the company acts as a record label (both independently as Vinyl Factory and in joint ventures) and provides funding through various vehicles for independent bands and labels. Recent joint ventures include Damon Albarn (of Gorillaz and Blur), Primal Scream and the Pet Shop Boys. The resulting art / music products are sold through galleries, events and directly through the Vinyl Factory Editions Shop (www.thevinylfactory.com/shop).
Vinyl Factory will operate 3 galleries and commercial event spaces in London, Berlin and New York. Exhibitions and event concepts developed and provided by the Vinyl Factory gallery to date in London include those for Adidas, Agnes b, Diesel, MTV, Nike, Nokia, O2, Orange, Reiss, Sony Music, Smirnoff, T Mobile, Universal Pictures, Versace, Warner Music, Yves Saint Laurent and XL recordings. In May 2009 the London gallery hosted the Island Records 50th anniversary and included a month of performances, exhibitions and events (www.vinylfactorygallery.co.uk). Revenue is derived from the sale of art and music products and from the organisation of events and exhibitions and its on-line web sites, events and activities.
Since it’s opening in 2003, the following impressive line-up of companies have used the Vinyl Factory: Adidas / Agnes B / All Saints / Argos / The Arts Council Of England / ASOS.com / BAA / BBC / Blyk / Boden / Boxfresh / BHS / Caterham Cars / Caterpillar / Channel Four / Courvoisier / Current TV / Debenhams / Diesel / Dockers / Dyson / Eastpak / Freemans / Gillette / Glastonbury Festival / Habitat / Harveys / House Of Fraser / Island Records / John Lewis / Kookai / Lands End / Lee Jeans / L’Oreal / M&C Saatchi / Margin / Marks & Spencer / Monsoon / Mothercare / MTV / Nike / Nokia / O2 / Oasis / Orange / Osman Yousefzada / QVC / Reebok / Reiss / Schuh / Silent Night / Sony Music / Smirnoff / SpaceNK / Sure Girl / T-Mobile / Tesco / Tiger Beer / Tommy Hilfiger / Top Shop / Trouble TV / Uniqlo / Universal Pictures / Urban Art Official / Vauxhall Motors / Versace / Waitrose / Warner Music / Wonderbra / Woolworths / Yves Saint Laurent / XL Recordings
Talking loud and saying something, FACT magazine uncovers and showcases the best in new music and youth culture from around the world. Fact Magazine is the fastest growing Music Magazine in the planet, with 2 million discerning readers per year in the UK alone.
The printed edition of Fact Magazine has become a collectors item. Sized after the 7” vinyl and mixing edgy graphics with blunt reporting, it has acquired a cult status amongst those who continue to believe that new music matters. Opinionated, informed, passionate and ever so slightly subversive, FACT isn’t like anything else around… It caters to a discerning, eternally unsatisfied eclectic music lover that needs blunt, honest music reporting.
Wake Up! It’s Sixx:A.M.
MÖTLEY CRÜE’S NIKKI SIXX SET TO RELEASE A NEW BOOK “THIS IS GONNA HURT”. SIXX:A.M. DELIVERS ACCOMPANYING SOUNDTRACK. THE MULTIMEDIA PROJECT IS THE FOLLOW UP TO NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLER, “THE HEROIN DIARIES” AND THE DEBUT ALBUM THAT PRODUCED THE “MOST PLAYED ROCK TRACK OF ‘08”
Rock Icon and Syndicated Radio Show Host Nikki Sixx will release “This Is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography And Life Through The Distorted Lens Of Nikki Sixx”, a follow up to his New York Times bestseller, “The Heroin Diaries” in April. The book, part photo chronicle and part journal, will be accompanied by the release of an original soundtrack from SIXX: A.M., an 11-track companion piece to the book, which will be available from May 2nd.
Nikki says “I’ve always had an eye for the oddities in life. Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and magical. Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting and weird. . . . People say I have a distorted lens. I think I see things as they really are,” said SIXX. He continues, “I felt the need to bring my visions to life. This project is raw, it’s what I see and feel through writing, through photos, through video and through music.”
“This Is Gonna Hurt” is part photo, part journal - a collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage, love, optimism, darkness, and determination that shape his work. Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller “The Heroin Diaries”, “This Is Gonna Hurt” chronicles Sixx’s experience, from references to his early years filled with toxic waste to his success with Mötley Crüe, his death from an OD and rebirth to his addictions to music, photography, and love along with the journey of photographing these images over the past couple of years.
The accompanying soundtrack from SIXX: A.M., which consists of Sixx, Dj Ashba and James Michael, is a chilling, heavy take on the concept of the book and photography.
“This Is Gonna Hurt” will include dozens of Nikki’s images and will be the first public viewing of his photography. The book and soundtrack both incorporate the stories behind the pictures and how they came to be, including interviews with the subjects so readers can see “what life is like for those whom society has labeled as freaks.”
The first single from Sixx:AM - “Lies of the Beautiful People,” will be released in April, the video can be viewed here: www.SixxSense.com “This is Gonna Hurt” the book, will be released through Harper Collins imprint William Morrow and the accompanying soundtrack through Eleven Seven Music.
To follow Nikki please visit: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nikki-Sixx/96943760335 / http://twitter.com/NikkiSixx
The Sound Of The ‘North Rising’
The ‘South is Shining’ and this is the sound of the ‘North Rising’: At Shake Online we recently hooked up with a raft of new talent and help bring to the surface all the great new ‘un-discovered’ where we live in North Wales! The last 18 months has seen so many new bands emerge that we thought
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My Chemical Romance Live
Manchester M.E.N. Arena, 18 February 2011
As I headed off for my third Manchester journey to see My Chemical Romance (twice at the MEN, once at the Apollo) I wonder why these marvellous young rockers don’t give Liverpool’s newish arena a work-out. Maybe it’s because the band’s abbreviated name - MCR - is the same as Manchester’s. Who knows…Who cares… But as the UK’s home of rock the band should consider gracing it with their presence. I arrived in good time at the MEN and park across from the entrance at the NCP car park that on my last visit cost just £3. Now I know we’re suffering a major bout of price inflation at the moment but NCP now charge £6 for MEN events which is robbery with violence…
I arrived at the MEN concourse at close to 6pm to find a couple of thousand (mostly young female) fans eagerly awaiting doors with offical poster sellers enjoying a bonanza at £6 a pop. A massive collective scream thundered through the place as the doors opened and fans headed for the most frontal standing position they could achieve. Judging by the mounds of litter left behind by them I reckon some of the fans must have been waiting for several hours to ensure they were as close to Gerard as possible…
The spoken commentary of ‘Look Alive, Sunshine’ opens the new album and the show as the band ready themselves behind a massive curtain, in front of 10,000 screaming fans. The curtain rises moments later to the album’s second track ‘Na Na Na Na Na…’ with the band hitting the ground like a speeding train. No need for warm-ups, no nervous intro, just spitting musical venom and sounding every bit as good as the studio track. This is My Chemical Romance, surely one of the very best live bands around at the moment - hell, the band’s an object lesson to any band with aspirations to rock-rule.
I’m not the greatest fan of DANGER DAYS, although it houses a few killer tunes, but I do admire the breakthrough THREE CHEERS FOR SWEET REVENGE and it’s where the band heads next with ‘Give ‘Em Hell Kid’. In fact My Chemical Romance’s setlist covers their best songs from their best albums and delivered with minimum chat save for Gerard’s plea to the audience early in the piece asking for fans to watch out for other fans in trouble -several had been taken out prior to the band’s appearance needing medical attention.
The band doesn’t go in for fancy, expensive props but do rely quite heavily on lighting effects which frankly disappointed on the night. Gerard looked like he had a liver complaint while the band generally were difficult to see. It was the only blot on a wonderful soundscape of great songs, great performances and a great audience that waved, swayed and sang their hearts out. The band looked way more casual than usual - gone were the uniforms, in came rock-casual.
My Chemical Romance is one of the best live bands around and on the night, during a show that seemed to fly by, they seemed to up their game another notch - something I wouldn’t have thought possible.
For me and thousands of fans, a night to remember.
The Band
Frank Iero - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Ray Toro - lead guitar, backing vocals
Gerard Way - lead vocals
Mikey Way - bass guitar
Michael Pedicone - drums (Touring)
James Dewees - keyboards, percussion, backing vocals (Touring)
Setlist
Intro: Look Alive Sunshine, Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na), Give ‘Em Hell Kid, Planetary (GO!),
Hang ‘Em High, Sing, Vampire Money, Our Lady of Sorrows, Mama, The Only Hope For Me Is You, Summertime,
I’m Not Okay (I Promise), Famous Last Words, The Ghost Of You, Destroya, Welcome To The Black Parade,
Teenagers, The Kids From Yesterday, Helena, Cancer, Bulletproof Heart
Liverpool Live: Spring 2011
Amsterdam Live
Liverpool, O2 Academy
Pele’s Fireworks in full + Amsterdam classics
Saturday 5 March
_________
Liverpool band Amsterdam will start recording their third album for CIA Records this spring. Also on CIA roster are The Stranglers and The Bluetones.
This year the band are aiming to better 2008 which saw them duet with Elvis Costello on EMI Records, storm Glastonbury and release 2nd album Arm in Arm which ended up being voted 14th best ever album out of Liverpool by the local press which when you consider the Beatles released ten is some feat!
The bands most famous song Does this train stop on Merseyside (the previous single ‘The Journey hit number 32 in the UK charts) was John Peel’s second favourite song, John would regularly be too emotional to speak on the radio after playing it.
The song itself got a further lease of life as one of the centrepieces of Irish legend Christy Moores latest album which spent five weeks at the top spot in his home country.
The gang have also performed live four times for Janice Long on her BBC 2 show. Ian Prowse the engine room behind Amsterdam also enjoyed previous success in the 1990’s with his band Pele who recorded three albums for Polydor/M&G.
Amsterdam are currently a riot of a seven piece band whose real forte is in the live arena. 2011 will be twenty years since Ian Prowse’s first band ‘Pele recorded the debut classic celtic pop album Fireworks for Polydor.
Fireworks only clocks in at a fast and furious 37 minutes so Amsterdam will also perform a set of great tunes from the Noughties as well as tasters from the new album.
The album spawned four singles with hits in the U.K. Portugal, France and even a number one in South Africa. It’s one …of those great hungry debut albums from a young band eager to take on the world, there isn’t a weak song on it. The seven piece Amsterdam extravaganza aim to do real musical justice to the spirit of this great record.
If you have any old friends from University in the early 90’s who remember those fantastic nights in Loughborough, Warwick, Wolverhampton, Kent, Glasgow, Nottingham, Stoke, Portsmouth, Leeds and many others then let them know their fav. album is being performed in full for TWO NIGHTS ONLY.” Liverpool show info: http://www.o2academyliverpool.co.uk/event/21194/amsterdam-play-pele-s-debut-album-fireworks-in-ful-tickets/Details
All up to date info and lively discussion at: http://www.amsterdam-music.com
Or listen at: http://www.myspace.com/amsterdamhq
Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf2QNDZpeTw
Wednesday 9th March - Death Vessel plus Rozi Plain
Static Gallery, 23 Roscoe Lane, Liverpool L1 9JD
Tel: 0151 707 0770
£7.00 advance
“Thibodeau is blessed with a strikingly androgynous voice” **** Mojo
“Thibodeau’s voice is the most striking instrument on the album” ****Q
“While the versatility of the band is impressive, they’re fighting a losing battle if they think they can divert your attention for long from Thibodeau’s voice and its unearthly melodies.” **** The Sunday Times (cd of the week)
Death Vessel is a neo-traditional folk band from Rhode Island, signed to Sub Pop and ATP Recordings, headed by Joel Thibodeau. It is unlike anything you’ve ever heard. People will call it many things. Few will get it right. This is Death Vessel.
Joel moved from Boston to Providence in 1998, later spending a few years in Brooklyn around 2004 before settling back down in the outskirts of Providence last year. In the mid-‘90s, Joel and his brother Alec formed String Builder—a musical partnership that would produce several albums (Mortar & From the Curb, String Builder) and a few singles. As that came to an end, Joel began writing songs under the name Death Vessel, working closely with Erik Carlson, whose songwriting input and unique guitar tonality helped shape the band’s early sound. Death Vessel’s debut album Stay Close was released in 2005 to critical acclaim.
His last album Nothing Is Precious Enough for Us was recorded with longtime producer/collaborator Pete Donnelly (The Figgs) at his New Jersey studio, and various locales across the northeast with no steady band. Joel himself plays acoustic, electric and steel guitar, as well as drums, harmonica, mandolin, percussion and keyboard parts.
But the core and heart of the music belongs to Joel. His latticework foundation of acoustic finger-picking, paired with his unexpectedly high, peaked vocals, alternately keening, carousing and utterly captivating, is more than enough to sustain and propel this record to an otherworldly exuberance. In fact, for the past few years Joel has toured primarily as a solo performer, and the songs are inarguably mesmerizing and relevant in that setting. But on record they take on a new life, thanks to his and Donnelly’s inspired, and often unusual, arrangements. The songs careen from triumphant and rejoicing (“Circa”), to sweet and sparse (“Jitterakadie”), and sometimes affect a sly, cornet-drizzled jazz feel (“The Widening”) or the warm air of banjo-laden campfire songs (“Obadiah in Oblivion,” “Fences Around Field”). Elsewhere, vaguely sinister songs are punctuated and often slashed about by searing electric guitar lines (“Exploded View,” “Peninsula”) and bursts of sound that are as satisfying, and rocking, as they are dire.
“Now I am versed in silence/my throat hurts, not from yelling but from holding back,” Joel sings on “Block My Eye,” the album’s opening track. And that’s ok, because the music speaks for itself. And nothing ever sounded so loud, and so clear.
The musical reach is fully extended—deep into the past, grounded in the present and nodding to the future. Owing to the gritty avarice of Joel’s singular spirit, voice and musicality, the songs—though rooted in a more traditional feel of folk and early Americana—sound as progressive, experimental and modern as they do antique and old-world. In fact, his hyper-tuneful and wholly spellbinding melodies seem to owe as much to ‘60s pop, rock and jazz as they do to bluegrass, old-time or country. The music is haunting and spiritual, mysterious and kind, ageless and contemporary, soulful and psychedelic. In short, it’s where the requiem meets rock ‘n’ roll.
Behold the wonderfully intimate and human songcraft of Rozi Plain, born Rosalind Leyden in the leafy-greens of Winchester 25 years ago. Having moved to Bristol, set up the Cleaner Records collective with a collection of musical friends and family and released her debut album “Inside Over Here” on King Creosote’s Fence Records in late-2008, Rozi has been busy bringing her beautiful, enchantingly brittle and understated music to the people. Whether alone with guitar or joined by an assembly of her regular co-conspirators (including François & The Atlas Mountains, This Is The Kit and Sleeping States, all of whom she also joins for their sets in a glorious musical swapping shop), her songs possess a certain fragile magnetism that can hush the gabblers in the drawing of a breath, and make any room seem like home. The rare and humble pleasures of Rozi’s live show have led to tours across Europe, the UK & USA with notables including Devendra Banhart (who fell for “Inside Over Here” and named it one of his albums of last year), James Yorkston and Viking Moses, and appearances at festivals such as Green Man, End Of The Road, Shambala and Fence’s flagship event Homegame. Recordings have been tied to tape and tinkered with for her soon-to-follow second album, with a 7” due imminently on Need No Water Records. In the meantime, she’d like to come and play for you…
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Shakenstir Photo Supplement |
DPK: Digital Press Kit |
Depeche Mode '09 |
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