My Tiger My Timing - 6 Music's Album of the Day

On the week of its release 6 Music are honouring what is being hailed by many critics as the soundtrack to summer (when the sun is out that is) and making My Tiger My Timing's debut album 'Celeste' 'Album of the Day', with a whole host of Twitterers sharing their love of the record - with one Tim Burgess tweeting that it "sounded great". 

'Celeste' is an album that can be - without hyperbole - described as anticipated, with a hotly on the front. After self releasing singles D.I.Y style through their label Snakes and Ladders, My Tiger My Timing had knocked up  - pre-album - press pieces in The Observer (One to Watch), NME, Clash, Dazed and Confused, plays on Radio 1, slots at Glastonbury, tours with contemporaries such as Metronomy as well as European headline tours -  and a whole lot more. 

The album - for those not tuning into 6 Music today - is an electro-pop gem where every track could be lifted as a lead single, it's the sound of summer, but one with the perfect balance, for its new-wave darker undercurrent keeps it just the right side of sweetly-poppy with its reggae influenced base-lines and front-woman Anna Vincent's sugary vocals telling tales of things less savoury.

For those that missed it, Clash streamed the full album last week, ahead of its release. Stream it here now: via the band's Soundcloud page: http://soundcloud.com/mytigermytiming/sets/mastered-album/s-NHzli

Some praise for 'Celeste' and My Tiger My Timing: 

“A debut that might well become people’s perfect July soundtrack”  - BBC Music

“(An) accomplished, and thoroughly engaging debut album” - Shout 4 Music

“The album oozes warmth throughout, melding shimmering guitars and lush keyboard tones with the vocal equivalent of a light summer breeze.”  -Artrocker 

"Celeste sounds like a greatest hits album" - 405

"('Celeste') speaks of  it speaks of making memories and living in the moment" - The Line of Best Fit

“The sun is shining, and this couldn’t be a better soundtrack” - This Is Fake D.I.Y

“Deliciously upbeat and groove-laden post-punk" The Guardian

“Alternative pop with a dark heart that’s bursting with desire” Clash

“Tribal electro like a south London Gang Gang Dance” NME

“On the verge of blowing up in both the UK and abroad” CMJ

“Tinkering with the trappings of 21st century post-punk” Drowned In Sound

"Sounding great, they never fail to deliver” - John Kennedy XFM

“Classic. Perfect. Pop” Artrocker

Catch My Tiger My Timing at the following UK headlining London shows and festival: 

Wed 18th July - Hoxton Bar and Kitchen, London

Sat 28th July - Farm Festival, Somerset

Sun 26th Aug - Bussey Warehouse, London

(6 Music homepage: http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/)  

Article posted by Musicmafia

MusicMafiaUK introduces...Captain Backfire

 

 

Actor and musician  Captain Backfire aka Robert Guilbert studied at LIPA and regularly plays gigs in the Liverpool area. He was kind enough to drop us an email asking if we would feature a short article on him and we gladly obliged. Find below Captain Backfire's bio for your viewing pleasure

 

 

I started playing music because of the album Take This To Your Grave by Fall Out Boy in my bedroom in Peterborough. I'd always considered music to be for people who studied it in school but when I heard about how they'd just started a band in their garage it made me feel like maybe I could to.
I've always been an actor as my main profession and I went on to study acting at Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts while there I met loads of different kinds of musicians and learnt a lot more about music and started gigging more regularly and seriously.
I left Liverpool when I finished and moved to London and have gigged regularly ever since. I've recorded three ep's two with Clark Phillips at Hyencide Productions and one with Lorin Perry at BasementBox Productions. I am currently working on material for some major label artists and films with Freak On The Line (www.soundcloud.com/freakontheline) as well as my next two ep's and collaborations with some grime acts and DJ's.
My acting credits include Gulliver's Travels with Jack Black and Sky's new show (2012) Sinbad.
I've got gigs coming up on the 26th of September headlining Camden Proud Galleries and 5th of October at Camden Head. Anybody can listen to and DL all my stuff for free on my SoundCloud. 

 

YouTube | Facebook | Soundcloud 

http://twitter.com/#!/captainbackfire

Southport Rocks 2011 review

This weekend saw us doing something I never thought we'd ever do............camping in Victoria Park in Southport. The reason why, for Southport Rocks formely known as the Jedi Festival. This festival first began to raise awareness for SADS, (Sudden Adult Death Syndrome) and initially started off as a one day in door event to the 2 day outdoor festival we know today. Co founded by Steve Haw, who lost his son Chris to this devastating condition, Southport Rocks is a festival with a truly worthy cause fuelling it on and it'sorganisers company Vital Sounds Foundation are now in partnership with Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital to bring a screening programme to the young people out there to get themselves checked out for undiagnosed heart conditions.

With a lot of unsigned North West talent, tribute bands and some big names gracing the main and alternative stage as well as a dance tent on offer there was something here to keep all musical tastes entertained. If I was to write about each band I'd be on a par with War and Peace so here's my highlights of the weekend.

One of the first bands we saw in the alternative tent were, Ratty Little Fingers, a quirky modern folk ensemble, who came dressed in onesies comprising of a cat, flying squirrel and a raccoon. With a guitar, violin, and a wooden crate, they provided an eccentric little set that filled the tent with toe tapping folk tunes and with their character's bouncing along just as much as the bubbles from their bubble machine did, you couldn't help go away with a happy smile on your face after listening to them.

Another fab band who made it to the main stage were Catfish and the Bottlemen, from Llandudno, They provided a very slick energetic indie rock set on a sunny Saturday afternoon and had the crowd hooked from the first song. With their cheeky characters coming out and clear love of music, I can only hope that they soon become a household name, unfortunately, the "compare" didn't think so and decided to cut their set short to make way for a 12 year old singing Lady Gaga!! The crowd seemed as dismayed as the band, who carried on strumming away behind him in a refusal to move till there allotted time was up. Good on you guys!! Personally I'd have liked to hear a lot more from them as I have to admit they were the musical highlight of the weekend for me.

Friday's headliners, the Lancashire Hotpots provided a highly entertaining set and I don't think I've ever laughed so much in ages. With flat caps and waist coats, they entertained us for an hour with comical musical musings about getting lost in Ikea, their own version of YMCA entitled "CHAV", bringing beer drinking to the Olympics, and yes I'd be up for that one, and a drum and bass fuelled ditty which the crowd had to do the conga to, as instructed by lead vocalist, Bernard Fresher, who became alter ego "B Fresh" especially for it. With most of the crowd twirling round each other arm in arm, this was definitely a great way to end the first day.

Back to Saturday again and Kid British once again played a perfect set, with their ska influenced tunes sliced with a bit of rock, they had the crowd bouncing away to, "Picadilly Gardens" and "Our House is a Dadless House" plus many more hits.

The alternative tent meanwhile was witnessing Stagecoach, who seeing as there were only three people in the tent at the time, decided to invite them up onto the stage with them and some of the band took to the audience part. As people drifted in they too were invited onto stage, the band refusing to play until they had. With a rather manic ukelaili player balanced on any speaker he could climb onto the tent soon filled up once word got round. I have to say Stagecoach provided the most entertaining set of the whole weekend.

Newly signed to Universal Records, Luke Bingham provided an R&B set, which saw all the teenage girls enthralled as soon as he came onto the stage, especially two who stared goggle eyed at him and lapped it up when he sang towards them. With songs like "Baby come closer", a very Taio Cruz influenced number, I'm pretty sure he will soon be the next heart throb for many youngsters.

The final highlight of the weekend was closing act, The Futureheads, who blew the crowd away with a full on rock set including favourites, "Heartbeat Song", "Hounds of Love" and show opener "Beginning of the Twist". I saw them at Kendal Calling last year and was a bit disappointed but I have to admit that this set was amazing from start to finish and exuded a sheer force of energy throughout. Lead singer Barry Hyde's character flowed out of him on Saturday just as much as his vocals and the whole band looked like they were really enjoying it as much as the crowd.

Other acts over the weekend you might like to check out are Sly Digs, Matt Belcher and Picture Book.

 

Only downsides to the weekend, for me anyway, was the sheer lack of promoting the Alternative stage by the compare, a DJ from Dune FM, who seemed to like his own voice more than some of the acts and the sheer amount of tribute bands on the main stage. It would have been nice to see more of the unsigned acts, who actually write their own music and lyrics, instead of copycat bands, who some sound and look nothing like. I understand that, for example, The Blue Meanies, are crowd pleasers and to be fair, they do make an effort to look like them, but if more festivals took that small step to promote these young talented acts, then maybe some of them might just get that break that they so readily deserve.

Overall though this was a fantastic weekend, even when the rain poured, and it's a festival that helps to raises an awareness to an extremely worthwhile cause.

Review by Alison Goggin

Festival pics in full can be found HERE

Morrissey - London Shows Announced

Following his sold out UK tour and performance at the Hop Farm Festival Morrissey is to perform two additional shows in London. These extra dates will see Morrissey visit O₂ Academy Brixton and London Palladium in August; dates as follows:

Sun 07-Aug-2011 - London O₂ Academy Brixton

Mon 08-Aug-2011 - London Palladium

Tickets are on sale - Friday 08 July at 9am

Tickets are available at www.gigsandtours.com 0844 811 0051

Morrissey continues his run of July dates this week at:

Tue 05 July - Stoke Victoria Hall (with support from ALL THE YOUNG)

Thu 07 July - Leeds O₂ Academy (with support from THE HEARTBREAKS)

Fri 08 July - Middlesbrough Town Hall (with support from KRISTEEN YOUNG)

 

http://www.itsmorrisseysworld.com

http://www.myspace.com/morrissey

Harvest Sun Promotion presents...The High Llamas in the WilliamsonTunels

Harvest Sun promotions keep on getting better with their line up as they bring The High Llamas to the Williamson Tunnels in Liverpool on the 14th May after a 15 year+ hiatus. The High Llamas epitomise great music. Sean O'Hagan the man behind The High Llamas has been curating his 60's based pop production for nearly 20 years now and still has plenty left in him if 'Talahomi Way' is anything to go by.

If for some reason you haven't come across The High Llamas yet, we seriously advise you to get involved. Starting with Talahomi Way and then going in which ever direction the music takes you

It's music to fall in love with, it's music that will take you on journeys...

The High Llamas return with their first new album since 2007's 'Can Cladders'. 'Talahomi Way' was mixed by Stereolab's Tim Gane, whom highest Llama, Sean O'Hagen has been contributing arrangements to besides similar work for Gryff Rhys, Vanessa da Mata, Sondre Lechre and Charlie Alex March. He's also collaborated with novelist Jonathan Coe, painter Jean Pierre Muller and Bossa Nova guitarist Goro Ito, as well as producing commissioned compositions for the Elysian Quartet and Wukulele (the first UK ukulele festival!) and collaborating on a soundtrack with Tim Gane for Marc Fitoussi's Copacabana.

8pm, Saturday 14th May @ The Williamson Tunnels, Liverpool

Tickets £14adv from: http://tiny.cc/seehigh - http://tiny.cc/llamasline
In person from here: http://www.probe-records.com/

Creamfields Adds Extra Day For Campers

Limited Tickets go on sale 10am Tuesday 3^rd May

  

Due to demand, Creamfields the UK’s No.1 dance festival have just announced a third day. The event which takes place in Daresbury, Cheshire on August Bank Holiday weekend will now open its gates for campers on Friday 26^th August.

Becoming a 3 day camping event will not only improve ease of access to the site for festivalgoers but there will also be an array of entertainment on offer within the main event site including a showcase of the Swedish House Mafia movie ‘Take One’ which charts the lives of the International DJ trio over 2 years covering 15 countries and 285 shows.

Friday also sees the debut of two ‘Silent Disco’ arenas at the festival, the first of which will be hosted by Size Matters, Steve Angello’s world famous party brand, with performances from Steve’s latest Size Records protégés Tim Mason and Third Party plus more to be announced.

Creamfields also welcomes Mixmag’s monthly party ‘That Mixmag Thing’ to host the second silent disco arena with performances from the Scratch Perverts, BBC Radio 1’s Jaymo & Andy George, Brookes Brothers, Futurebound, Clique DJ’s and more. The mag’s popular night began just over a year ago and has already seen a host of hot new electronic acts pass through its doors as well as the odd superstar DJ so expect no less from their Creamfields debut.

Campers arriving on the Friday will also be able to chill out at the festival’s on-site cinema which will be showing a collection of iconic clubbing films as well as enjoying all the fun of the fair, stalls and more.The main arena site’s food and drink stalls will also be open for the new arrivals.

Access to the event on Friday is limited and only open to festival goers camping at the event. Tickets will go on general sale 10am Tuesday 3^rd May.  Any existing camping ticket holders wishing to purchase a Friday ticket for £20 (standard)/ £30 (hospitality) will be contacted by their ticket agent with details on how to book.

Demand from fans to introduce a Friday opening has been high since Creamfields became a two day camping event in 2008.  Selling out in record time over the last 2 years, 2011 is already on course to eclipse last year’s success. This year Creamfields have secured one of the biggest dance line ups of the year which will see performances from the likes of The Chemical Brothers, David Guetta, Tiёsto, Swedish House Mafia, Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk to name a few.  

Creamfields spokesperson comments: “We are delighted to be able to announce a third day to the festival, which has been growing year on year. Those choosing to arrive on the Friday will not only benefit from improved access into the site, but they will be able to have the pick of the campsites pitching closer to the arena site if they wish. It also enables people travelling long distances the chance to pitch up earlier, saving a long journey through the night for many”

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Weekend Tickets:

Friday Standard Camping Upgrade        £20+BF (Existing Standard Camping Ticket Holders Only)

Friday Hospitality Camping Upgrade      £30+BF (Exisiting Hospitality Camping Ticket Holders Only)

Standard 2 Day with Camping                £115+BF*

Standard 3 Day with Camping                £135+BF*

Hospitality 2 Day Camping                    £200+BF

Hospitality 3 Day Camping                    £230+BF*

Standard 2 day ticket without Camping   £115+BF*

Early Bird Camping Tickets                    £100+BF **SOLD OUT ***

Day Tickets:

Saturday                                               £65+BF **

Sunday                                                 £60+BF **

Hospitality Saturday                              £100+BF **

Hospitality Sunday                                £100+BF **

*Limited Ticket Offer

** Standard Day Tickets only available from Ticketline & Ticketmaster

** Hospitality Tickets only available from Ticketline

Ticket Agents:

Ticketline:                      www.ticketline.co.uk / Tel: 0844 888 4401

Ticketmaster:                 www.ticketmaster.co.uk / 0844 847 2448 (24hr)

DSI:                              www.dontstayin.com

HMV                             www.hmvtickets.co.uk

Big Green Coach:          www.biggreencoach.com / 0845 463 8361

Tel: 0845 463 8361 (Enquiries only)

Outlets:            3B Records, Slater Street, Liverpool – Tel: 0151 353 7027

Please note 3 Day Tickets are only available from Ticketline / Ticketmaster / Big Green Coach / HMV / 3B Records.

Information:     www.creamfields.com / Tel: +44 (0) 151 707 1309 / info@cream.co.uk

We welcome back Big Green Coach who will be this year’s exclusive Coach operators for Creamfields.  Coach and Ticket packages are available.

Creamfields.  Coach and Ticket packages are available.

Creamfields Opening Times:

Friday 26th August

Campsite opening                     12:00

Entertainment (inaudible)            18:00 – 23:30

Saturday 27^th August

Arenas open (campers only)      12:00 – 04:30

Arenas open (day tickets)          14:00 – 04:30

Sunday 28^th August

Arenas open (campers only)      10:00 – 01:30

Arenas open (day tickets)          12:00 – 01:30

Monday 29^th August

Campsites Close                       12:00

Car Parks Close                        14:00

Groove on the Green at Liverpool Chavasse Park

Groove on the Green is an exciting new UK based project working in Liverpool, UK, bringing free live music to your ears!

Groove on the Green is a free music festival in Liverpool city centre. The festival will feature bands ranging from up and coming groups to more established bands. We are driven to provide cutting edge jazz artists, giving you a taste of some of the best current and future music on the jazz/blues urban and soul scene.

For the artists it represents a real opportunity to showcase their talent and get noticed. Groove on the Green brings the colour and excitement of live music to the streets, bringing the audience closer to the music, and the artists closer to the audience.

Groove On the Green runs from 30th April - 2nd May 2011

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=62455882173

http://www.liverpool-one.com/website/groove-on-the-green.aspx

Creamfields 2011 - More Acts Announced

 

Creamfields UK 2011

More Acts Announced

Day Tickets On Sale 9am Friday 25th March

With Summer soon upon us, northern dance fest Creamfields have announced more acts to this year’s festival line-up including Mark Ronson, Mark Knight, Chris Lake, Max Vangeli and The 2 Bears and revealed that day tickets will go on sale 9am Friday 25th March.

The Grammy and Brit Award winner Mark Ronson is an artiste who has dominated the charts over the last few years, he’s worked with some of the hottest acts around including Amy Winehouse, Adele and Lily Allen and remains one of the world’s most in demand producers.   After a 4 year hiatus he returns to Creamfields behind the decks and will be performing a very special DJ set in the Annie Mac Presents Arena.

Joining Tiesto and Diplo on the Clublife Stage is Toolroom Records boss Mark Knight, the Grammy nominated DJ/Producer is responsible for some of the UK’s biggest dance tracks and is a leading player on the DJ circuit.  Also joining the line-up is mau5trap signing Chris Lake, as an accomplished Producer he has topped the industry charts over and over again with tracks such as ‘Changes’, ‘La Tromba’ and ‘Only You’ and as a DJ, his ‘dark’ electronic sound fused with the odd ‘trademark’ cheeky edit has garnered him a huge global fan base.

Joining the Swedish House Mafia in their colossal Arena is one of the world’s hottest breakthrough artists Max Vangeli.  His appearance last year saw him perform an outstanding back to back set with AN21 and Kim Fai, this time he flies solo joining the likes of Calvin Harris, A-Trak and Norman Doray.   DJ/ Production duo The 2 Bears aka Raf Rundell and Joe Goddard are the latest act to join the bill, Joe spends his time away from The 2 Bears as a producer, remixer, solo-artist and fifth of the much loved Hot Chip.  Fellow south Londoner Raf divides his time between DJ outings as Greco-Roman Soundsystem and Hot Chip support DJ.  Signed to the Southern Fried label their unique 21st century take on house, disco and everything in between has attracted support from the likes of Gilles Peterson and Annie Mac, whom they will be joining in her AMP Arena.

With Camping and Weekend Non Camping tickets already on sale, Cream HQ have announced that Day tickets for this year’s event will go on sale 9am tomorrow (Friday 25th March).  

Creamfields returns to Daresbury in Cheshire on August Bank holiday weekend.  This is your final fling of the Summer – This is Creamfields!  

SATURDAY 27TH AUGUST

North Stage

The Chemical Brothers (Dance Festival Exclusive)

Magnetic Man

Katy B

Skrillex

Clublife Stage

Tiёsto (UK Festival Exclusive)

Calvin Harris (DJ Set)

Diplo

Mark Knight

+ More

Paul van Dyk Presents Evolution

Paul van Dyk (UK Festival Exclusive)

Ferry Corsten

Eddie Halliwell

Judge Jules

John O’Callaghan

Giuseppe Ottaviani

Marcus Schössow

Gareth Wyn

Pryda Friends

Eric Prydz

Sasha

Pete Tong

James Zabiela

Joris Voorn

Sébastian Léger

Funk D’Void

Jeremy Olander

Size Matters

Steve Angello

Dirty South

Alex Metric

AN21

Dave Spoon

Third Party

Special Guest: Benny Benassi

Annie Mac Presents

Annie Mac

Erol Alkan

Boys Noize

Fake Blood Live

Jack Beats

The 2 Bears (Joe Hot Chip & Raf Daddy / Southern Fried)

Flight Facilities

Special Guest:  Mark Ronson

BBC Radio 1Xtra

                     Andy C                       

Caspa 

                       Danny Byrd                          

                                                 

                      Goldie                          

                  Mistajam                     

                    N-Type                        

DJ Fresh

Hatcha

Crissy Criss

Chimpo

Joker

Digital Soundboy System Featuring:-

Shy FX / Breakage

B.Traits with Donaeo

Hype

Youngman + Stamina MC

MC’s:  Dynamite / GQ / IC3

Nomad / Rod Azlan / Tonn Piper

Hed Kandi Hospitality

Bambina

Phil Faversham

Sam Cannon

Sarah Louise

Alan Hartley

Percussion:  Steve Lewis

Saxophone: Yasmin

SUNDAY 28TH AUGUST

North Stage

David Guetta

Afrojack

Chris Lake

Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano

Alan

+ More

South Stage

Armin van Buuren (UK Festival Exclusive)

Example

Chicane

Kaskade

Feed Me

Swedish House Mafia

Swedish House Mafia (English Festival Exclusive)

Calvin Harris (DJ Set)

A-Trak

Max Vangeli

Norman Doray

Thomas Gold

Alesso

Cream

Above & Beyond

Gareth Emery

Markus Schulz

Hernan Cattaneo

Adam Sheridan

Rob Harnetty

Exclusive Special Guest:  Paul Oakenfold

Mixmag Presents Cocoon

Sven Väth

Marco Carola

Josh Wink

Onur Özer

Tobi Neumann

Super You&Me

Laidback Luke

Wolfgang Gartner

Carte Blanche featuring: DJ Mehdi & Riton

Sidney Samson

Congorock

Sandro Silva

Goodgreef Xtra-Hard

Showtek

Lisa Lashes

Kutski

Alex Kidd

Andy Whitby

Rob Tissera

Fausto B2B Phil York

Brian M Vs McBunn

Argy

Exclusive Live Debut: Organ Donors Live

Hed Kandi Hospitality

Andy Norman

Carl Hanaghan

Andy Daniels

Stephanie Jay

Alan Hartley

Percussion:  Steve Lewis

Saxophone: Yasmin

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

          

Weekend Tickets:         Standard Weekend with Camping           £115+BF*

Hospitality Weekend with Camping         £190+BF*

Standard 2 day ticket without Camping   £115+BF*

Early Bird Camping Tickets                    £100+BF **SOLD OUT ***

Day Tickets:                 Saturday                                               £65+BF **

                                    Sunday                                                 £60+BF **

                                    Hospitality Saturday                              £100+BF **

                                    Hospitality Sunday                                £100+BF **

*Limited Ticket Offer

** Standard Day Tickets only available from Ticketline & Ticketmaster

** Hospitality Day Tickets only available from Ticketline

Ticket Agents:              Ticketline:                      www.ticketline.co.uk / Tel: 0844 888 4401

Ticketmaster:                 www.ticketmaster.co.uk / 0844 847 2448 (24hr)

DSI:                              www.donstayin.com

Big Green Coach:          www.biggreencoach.com /

Tel: 0845 463 8361 (Enquiries only)

Information:                 www.creamfields.com / Tel: +44 (0) 151 707 1309 / info@cream.co.uk 

DESIGNER MAGAZINE PRESENTS...... SKINT & DEMORALISED

FRIDAY APRIL 1ST - DOORS 7PM
DRY BAR LIVE, OLDHAM STREET, MANCHESTER
£6 online from We Got Tickets / See Tickets (plus mobile phones from Ticketsense - Text skintmanchester to 82028)

* Tickets include a free Skint & Demoralised poetry zine featuring rare lyrics / poetry not available online - only available to advance online / mobile tickets *


SKINT AND DEMORALISED

When Wakefield spoken word artist Matt Abbott (now 22) formed a musical collaboration with Sheffield-based producer MiNI dOG on MySpace in May 2007, neither of them could have guessed what would happen next. After just 6 months they received national airplay on BBC Radio 1 from Steve Lamacq and Colin Murray, and within 9 months they’d signed a lucrative record deal with Mercury Records (Universal).

Their time with Mercury was a rollercoaster ride; from being flown out to New York to record their debut album with The Dap-Kings (who also played on Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black”) to playing in front of four disinterested fishermen in the Scottish Highlands, there hardly seemed to be a dull moment.

Singles “The Thrill of Thirty Seconds”, “This Song Is Definitely Not About You” and “Red Lipstick” gained wide levels of national airplay in 2008 and 2009, which allowed Skint & Demoralised to start building a following. They toured the UK in February 2009 (which included a date at the Roadhouse in Manchester) before being a success on the major festival circuit. However, when Mercury decided not to release their album it looked as though S&D’s short and hectic life was coming to a premature end.

Abbott always peppers their live performances with short bursts of spoken word; a testament to influences John Cooper Clarke and Jon McClure, which always adds a unique aspects to their gigs. He also performed a spoken word/stand-up gig at Manchester’s Night & Day just before Christmas which, apart from one Winehouse-esque heckler, proved to be a huge success.

Fast-forward to 2011 and they’re back on the gigging circuit; this time without a major record deal, but with a second album ready to launch and a live band ready to blow the socks off their audiences. Brand new tracks such as “The Lonely Hearts of England”, “43 Degrees” and “Fireworks” have proved to be popular on the band’s YouTube page, so make sure you bring yourself along to see what the band have to offer. As you already know...there’s never a dull moment.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/SKINT-DEMORALISED/10318141835
http://www.youtube.com/user/SkintandDemoralised

HL Music in Association with PRS for Music - Fenech-Soler - Hoxton Bar and Kitchen London

As highlighted by MusicMafiaUK last week HL Music hosted their first event in London and we are delighted to bring you some of the highlights and footage from the event itself featuring Fenech - Soler

Henri Lloyd and HL Jeans co launch HL Music

HL Music aims to be the newest and most credible platform for aspiring musical talent in 2011. This unique project will offer artists the opportunity to perform in front of key figures from the music, fashion and media industries.

Their 1^st Headline act will be Fenech-Soler at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen, London on the 25^th of January.

For the past couple of years Fenech-Soler have been on most muso's lists and have now caught the attention of the music industry at large. They first got noticed by legendary French DJ Alan Braxe, who asked to release their first single 'The Cult of Romance'. Radio 1's Annie Mac then featured the track on her 2009 compilation. Fenech-Soler vocalist Ben Duffy also featured on Groove Armada's single 'Paper Romance'.

Then came the glowing press, and the clamour for the band to do remixes for Marina and The Diamonds, Everything Everything and Example. With their song 'Demons' being chosen as Greg James's record of the week on Radio 1 and now signed to B-Unique, their eponymous debut album is here to inspire the sound of summer during the post Christmas blues.

They recently had the band down to their showroom in London to look through the new collection and recorded an interview for them, which can be found here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbyvPrUymXk

This is an exclusive invite only event but they have a few tickets up for grabs on their website over at - http://www.henrilloyd.com/hl-jeans/hl-music

Cream 18t Birthday - First event 2011

Cream @ Nation

Saturday 5^th March 2011

Above & Beyond / Laidback Luke / Wolfgang Gartner / Sidney Samson / Funkagenda / Chris Lake

Following an outstanding year which saw Cream come of age reaching 18 years young as well as celebrate an awesome year of sell out shows from its club events to Creamfields, everyone’s favourite clubbing pioneers Cream have pulled out all the stops for their first event of 2011, which takes place on Saturday 5^th March.

The Main Room will be hosted by one of the biggest DJ’s on the planet Laidback Luke, this leader of the nu-breed pack of DJ/Producers is renowned for his monster tracks and has worked alongside the likes of David Guetta and the Swedish House Mafia to name a few. He will be joined by US electro / tech house producer Wolfgang Gartner, who is one of the few US artistes to have achieved international success over the last few years. Joining these two heavyweights will be Sidney Sampson, famed for his uber successful track ‘Riverside’, Sidney makes his Cream UK DJ debut, having performed a stand out set at Cream in Ibiza last Summer.

The legendary Courtyard will be hosted by everyone’s favourite trance trio Above & Beyond. These global dominators of the trance sound are currently sitting at No.5 in the DJ Mag Top 100, with a hugely loyal following, expect the A&B army to flock to Liverpool for this very special 3 hour set. Joining the boys in the Courtyard will be Irish upstart John O’Callaghan whose fans include the likes of Armin van Buuren and who in 2008 scooped the award for ‘Best Producer’ and ‘Best DJ’ in the Irish Dance Music Awards.

Back by demand, and following their outstanding sets at Cream’s 18^th Birthday in October, we welcome Funkagenda, Chris Lake and Michael Woods who will be taking control of the Annexe. Also joining them will be D.O.D

Cream’s unsung hero residents Gareth Wyn, Andy Mac, Anthony Probyn, Lee Ellis, Rob Harnetty and Jemmy also join the bill.

Please note the next Cream Liverpool event will be Cream’s 19^th Birthday in October, so expect this event to be lock out. To avoid disappointment we advise you to purchase tickets early to avoid disappointment. Tickets On sale now: £23.50+BF / www.ticketline.co.uk / Tel: 0844 888 4401.

Cream @ Nation – Liverpool

Nation, Wolstenholme Square, Liverpool, L1 4JJ, 10pm – 6am, Info: www.cream.co.uk, Tel: 0151 707 1309, Tickets: £23.50+BF, www.ticketline.co.uk, Tel: 0844 888 4401.

Saturday 5^th March 2011

Above & Beyond

Laidback Luke

Wolfgang Gartner

Sidney Samson

Funkagenda

Chris Lake

John O Callaghan

Michael Woods

Gareth Wyn

Andy Mac

Anthony Probyn & Lee Ellis

Rob Harnetty

Jemmy

D.O.D

Twisted Wheel @ The Masque, Liverpool

Last time we reviewed Twisted Wheel it was at the O2 Liverpool and for a different publication. This time around they are playing the Masque Theatre and a lot has changed since then.

As soon we headed into the auditorium in The Masque all you could hear was the crowd chanting “Wheel!! Wheel!! Wheel!!”as loud as they could in eager anticipation for their beloved Twisted Wheel to appear. The excitement from the crowd, mainly young and indie, was intense and the feeling of urgency was almost tangible.

Pretty soon they arrived on stage to thundering applause and from the 1st note both them and the crowd exuded so much energy it was difficult to decide who to watch.

The band themselves were once again on their finest rock form as they blasted out “You Stole the Sun”, “She’s A Weapon” and “Lucy The Castle” with the crowd singing along to every word. This reminded me of the reaction to Oasis back in their hey day. These guys maybe young but have a maturity that is beyond their years but when it comes to a live gig they definitely know how to work up a crowd into a bouncing near mosh pit frenzy. Crowd surfing and dancing along side the band was not enough for this crowd and on their final song " Oh What Have You Done" the young fans stormed the stage and engulfed lead singer Jonny Brown in a sea of hormones so much so that he vanished from the stage leaving only the drummer belting out the beat and the crowd still singing along as they sang and bounced along.

Leaving with that image and the lyrics of Twisted Wheel songs going round my head has only strengthened my belief that this band are on the verge of great things and not before time.

Review by: Alison Goggin

http://www.thetwistedwheel.co.uk/

JIM NOIR @ The Static Gallery Liverpool

Its not easy to take yourself out on a cold,icy,snowy,windy and bitter Friday night but, like many of the people who turned up for the Jim Noir gig last night at the static gallery, I'm very glad i did. Harvest Suns promotions has laid on a number of gigs this year and this was definitely one of the most outstanding ones. I didn't expect much of a turn out, but was pleasantly surprised by the support for the gig and for Jim Himself. By the way if you are familiar with the name, its a homage to Vic Reeves whose real name is Jim Noir (just a factoid).
Jim's music is often described as psychedelic pop electronica and likened to the Beach Boys, The Beta Band and even Badly drawn boy but apart from the melodic, simple lyrics this is far as the connection went for me as the Static Gallery played host to one of the most enigmatic of musicians around. His enthusiasm seemed to physically pour out of him from the stage onto the crowd in front and with Jim and his band, playing at top neck speed and with such energy that it could have powered a city, it was easy to see why the crowd were infected by this and began to dance around like the possessed. And with the likes of "Eanie Meany" and tracks from his new LP Zooper Dooper on the play list it was easy to get caught up in the madness.
Ending on "My Patch" this saw Jim summon up friends from the crowd to accompany him on stage with harmonica and vocals and the whole event turned into one giant house party with Jim the host and all of us as the most welcome of guests. This was a gig full of energy,commitment and vibrance and this along with a feeling of fulfilment was taken with us as we braved the cold winter night air once more.

http://jimnoir.com/

http://www.myspace.com/jimnoir

Ringo Deathstar @ The 02 Academy Liverpool

Ringo Deathstarr. Sound like something out of Star Wars? Well nothing could be further. Hailing from Austin, Texas the trio consisting of singer and guitarist Elliott Frazier , Bassist Alex Gehring and Drummer Daniel Coborn have gone through numerous line up changes to end up at the O2 Academy supporting The Wedding Present.

Their sound is an amalgamation of Grunge, My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus and Mary Chain but with more of the intensity that Nirvana brought to the world.

The first thing you notice about the band is the contrasting figures within the band. Elliot with his intense, downtrodden and focused image along side Alex’s rock chick look and with Daniel on drums counter-acting the both of them with his almost bright and cheeky look the trio work because of the variation. As does the contrasting vocals from Elliot and Alex. His deep, disturbed sound as opposed to Alex’s high pitched approach which puts you a little off guard at times.

The music itself is full on. Elliot’s guitar thrashing and wailing reminiscent of Mr Cobain himself. Throwing himself into the guitar solos with total abandonment helped along by Alex’s more down beat bass playing.

Unfortunately it seemed the soundman at the 02 had not done his job as the bands vocals were barely audible and the music drowning out the lyrics of which I would have liked to hear and with not much consideration for the band itself in the form of still showing the upcoming events on screens either side of the stage did not help the band showcase themselves properly, which I felt was a shame as they seem to have a lot of potential and would likely attract a good audience of young and old due to their new yet old sound.

http://www.myspace.com/ringodeathstarr