Liverpool Sound City 2012 review - Day One

Get your Converse or  Doc Martins on as Sound City is back for its 2012 installment, and to get to see as many bands as possible there's some walking to be done. For us, this just adds to the excitement that it brings to the city. Nipping from one venue to the other as you can try to fit as much in as possible and envelope yourself in the wildly diverse music on off over the next few days and seeing the rest of Liverpool doing the same. So here's a few of our highlights from Day One.

Luke Fenlon at the Epstein Theatre 

This venue, the old Neptune Theatre for those who don't know, is a great venue for those laid back sets from singers or bands who excel so much in intimate gigs and have the capacity to create an ambiance that captures everyone's attention and Luke Fenlon is definitely one of those acts. With his Bob Dylan tones that have become synonymous to Luke's style but laced with the Scouse charm twinkling away, you can always rely on a brilliant time at one of his gigs and once again he was joined on stage by talented musician in his own right, Saul Godman.  

With a whirling twirling little folk rock number that has you swaying along and wishing you were dressed in Romany dress with a bottle of whisky in hand, thanks to the lyrics and followed by ,"Whats The Point In Trying" which showcased a different tone in Luke's vocals. Giving a deeper more mature sound with undertones of darkness which matched his lyrics. A song wracked with emotion which evolves to  a heady bass infused conclusion. He followed this with, "Wasting my time" despite the title is an upbeat rocking track. 

Luke once again pulled off yet another fantastic live set filled with on stage banter that we have all come to know him for, especially as it was his 1st sit down gig and in his words ,"pretty bizarre"!

TOY @ Kazimier 

The 5 members just about fitted onto a very packed stage. Good turn out already from the crowd. They provided a mix of rock with mellow indie vocals. Reminiscent of late 80 early 90s Californian rock in style. 

  With plenty of guitar reverberating across venue with a lot of heavy beat from the drum and a mild nod towards Jarvis Cocker from lead vocals at times, this was proving to be a fun early runner for the Kazimier. With plenty of head banging and tonnes of energy from the band, which in such a small space due to amount of instruments on stage I'm not sure how they stayed on it but thankfully they did.

Alkaline Trio @ o2 Academy  

Illinois based punk rock outfit headlined the very hot O2 Academy and quite literally rocked it to its very core. With a massive fan base all waiting in eager anticipation for them to appear, the buzz vibrating around the room was massive.

Finally, the trio took to the stage with Tiny Tim's, "Tiptoe Through the Window" brought back to life thanks to the film Insidious. They were met with rapturous applause from crowd as they came onto stage and went hell for leather straight into "We've Had Enough" a pounding rock number that set the tone for the rest of their set. The crowd were singing and bouncing along with plenty of air guitar and drums to go with the bands furious onslaught. They belted out many more equally high energy songs from their massive back catalogue including, "Time To Waste" and "Tuck Me In".

 Matt Skiba took time to head up to the crowd to shake hand the two front men took time to enthuse about Liverpool, it's people and The Beatles, after spending the day at the Beatles Museum. All in all, I've seen the O2 rocked before but not to this extent, a truly brilliant set from Alkaline Trio that the O2 is probably still shaking from

Death In Vegas @ Kazimier

We came back to a very packed out Kazimier, for our last gig of the night. With their psychedelic instrumental opening number to set, Death In Vegas, are a mainly instrumental band I discovered and when they did decide to vocalise a track, I have to admit, i have no idea what was being sang or maybe it was just vocal sounds to go with the Pink Flloydesque noises emanating from the stage. 

They continued with their futuristic synthetic sounds throughout set with what sounded like early 90s trance melted in with it and was extremely reminiscent of a Tangerine Dream soundtrack. Not really my thing but the huge crowd seemed to love it. Technically, they are very adept musicians but there was a certain lack of emotion or energy on stage and I personally found myself becoming very bored with the whole thing. I can only assume that they rely on their music speaking for them but in my opinion a lot can be said for on stage personality.

So there we have our first day round up of Day 1 and we can't wait to get out their for Day 2.........once our feet have recovered that is!!

Review by Alison Goggin

Photos Thomas Lennon http://www.flickr.com

Article posted by Musicmafia

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Matchstickmen to release new EP A Change In Season in July

Anthemic rockers include Michael Jackson cover on new release.

Matchstickmen have announced that they will release a brand new EP titled 'A Change In Season' in July. 

The band, who put out their debut album 'Through Hell...And Kept Going' late last year, will release the six-track EP which contains five brand new songs and a cover remake of the 1991 Michael Jackson song 'Give In To Me'. (See full track listing below)

The EP is intended to help tide fans over until the band releases their next full length album which is expected to be sometime in 2013.  According to Matchstickmen’s lead singer Lewis Wright “As soon as we finished ‘Through Hell...’ ‘Probes’ (Guitarist) decided to call it a day. As a four piece, we came together, got cracking and wrote five new songs and can’t wait for our fans to hear the slightly different approach we have taken with this EP”. Lewis ensures their fans “Don’t worry...the EP is still very Matchstickmen and still very much rocks!”

Matchstickmen are also set to tour the EP in the UK with six dates lined up starting with a show at The Tatton Arms, Altrincham on July 14 and finishing up at the Rock The Lakes Music Festival on August 19. 

Matchstickmen will play: 

Sat Jul 14 - Tatton Arms, Altrincham

Fri Jul 20 - Bowling Green, Bolton

Fri Jul 27 - The Talbot, Burnley

Sat Jul 28 - The Swan, Wilmslow

Sat Aug 04 - The Krazyhouse, Liverpool

Sun Aug 19 - Rock The Lakes Festival

Matchstickmen’s A Change In Season EP will be released through  MainLine Records /Code 7/Plastic Head LTD Distribution is available to pre-order on digital and CD formats at iTunes, HMV and many more digital and physical retailers.

A Change In Season Track Listings

1. Come In 3’s

2. Distorted Lullaby

3. Not Knowing

4. Lead Balloon

5. Make Mountains

6. Give In To Me

Article posted by Musicmafia

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Sound of Guns announce UK tour

Liverpool's own,Sound Of Guns, are pleased to announce a UK tour in Oct 2011. The band finished recording their second album with producer Dave Eringa over the summer and will be playing some of those new tracks on the tour.

Pre-sale tickets were made available exclusively to mailing list subscribers last week, tickets are now on general sale. Click here to visit the live page for dates and venues

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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

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Radio City 96.7 Live 2011 Review @ Echo Arena Liverpool

 

Well it's that time of year again for Radio City 96.7 to take over Liverpool's Echo Arena for another music fest. This year they have brought us, Scouting For Girls, Example, Ne Yo and Tinchey Stryder to name but a few, well the most well known anyway.

This year it was hosted by Rossie, from the Breakfast Show, who introduced the dance troupe, who crunked away to Beyonce's "Crazy In Love", which went down a storm with the audience.

Opening the music tonight was Scouting For Girls, last years closing act, who didn't seem as full as energy during the first track, This Ain't A Love Song, but soon came back to the great entertainers we know by second track, "Heartbeat". Maybe it had something to do with lead singer, Roy Stride, shouting "The louder you sing, the better we sing" as it definitely worked as the arena was filled with vocals from the crowd as well, with new track, "Love How It Hurts" and "She's so Lovely" Scouting for Girls clawed it back and finished their set to well deserved massive applause.

Next up came Parade, yep, yet another girl group, who came strutting onto stage to a bass so loud you couldn't hear them sing, still not sure if this was good thing, but they're apparently supporting the Black Eyed Peas so their management must be doing something right anyway. Still don't understand why they were dressed like a female Village People though. Their music style is basically The Saturdays with a harder dance beat and more choreography.

Then came Mike Posner, who had to have the strangest singing voice ever. Imagine someone who inhaled helium a minute before going on stage and you get the general idea. The biggest scream for him came when he took his jacket off on stage to reveal................a plain black t-shirt!!! With another dance beat to his songs, I can see which way Radio City are going with there night.

This was followed by Liverpool's very own Chelsea Grimes, who I first saw on stage supporting Kof and I have to admit, the girl has talent, fantastic voice and stage presence for someone so young, it's just a shame they only let her perform one song, "On TV".

Next up came Example. I have to admit I've only heard one song of his but he was amazing. With "Kick Start" as the opener the crowd were bouncing along to his set from the get go. With fantastic crowd interaction and a sleek set, Example certainly knows how to please the crowd, especially with, "Changed the Way You Kiss Me", an 80's influenced track with bass so loud, the hair on my arms vibrated and with the entire audience bouncing as one you could actually feel the arena shake. Got to admit, he was definitely the best act of the night for me.

Flame haired Nicola Roberts of Girls Aloud fame, performed her solo material and her new single, “Beat Of My Drum,” was well received by the capacity crowd.

American Electro hip-hop group LMFAO were on in the second half with Dry Ice covering everywhere and even giving away hundreds of luminous light sticks to the crowd in order for them to wave them about frantically.

And Ne-Yo. the Grammy award winner, closed the show with his chart topping hits including Beautiful Monster and Closer. 

All in all it was a fairly good night, especially if your 14 and love R&B/pop, but a word to the wise, there are different genres of music out there and I personally believe they should be recognised as well, maybe that was why Scouting For Girls looked slightly uncomfortable at the very beginning, they knew they were out of place in the line up. It would be nice to see a more rounded line up next time instead of just catering for one particular genre, go on Radio City break out the box and get some rock on there as well!!!

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Emmy the Great Live at Stanley Theatre Liverpool

 

 THE MUSIC CONSORTIUM PRESENTS

EMMY THE GREAT

Friday 7^th October 2011

Liverpool, Stanley Theatre, University Of Liverpool

160, Mount Pleasant, Liverpool, L3 5TR

Tel. 0151 794 6868 www.lgos.org

£12.50 advance doors 7.30pm

‘Emmy The Great was one of the highlights of last month’s Sound City festival’

 Jade Wright, Liverpool Echo, June 2011

Two years after her critically acclaimed debut First Love, Emmy The Great is set to release her second album Virtue on Monday 13th June 2011.

Written and recorded under very different circumstances to her first, Virtue began as a series of stories Emmy embarked on after her engagement to an atheist, but took on a very different shape when he left her for the church. 

Using symbols borrowed from fairy tales and mythology, Emmy added the icons that have replaced them in our modern consciousness – industrial buildings, mushroom clouds, West London’s Trellick Tower. This was Emmy’s personal collection of myths that she fitted to her music – a genre she refers to as digital medieval. She’d noticed that women only make it through the woods in big myths if they keep their virtue and she felt lost in the woods twice while writing the album, first when she got engaged, the second time when the stitches came apart.

When her fiancé left, Emmy had to pick up the pieces. She hid in the country, lost herself in books about saints, archetypes, and folk tales, trying to make the world work. But she didn’t want the album to be about her. It had to save her from what had happened, but be about everything.

Virtue was made in London and Sussex. This time round, Euan Hinshelwood, her long-term musical collaborator, and Emmy took the reins, rather than develop the songs with their full band in the studio. Euan came up with the guitar palette, strange, ambient, twisted and atmospheric, while Emmy wrote backing vocals for different characters she voiced herself. The ghosts of the Cocteau Twins and Suzanne Vega feature, as well as the stories of Margaret Atwood and Angela Carter, and the writing of cultural theorists like Marina Warner. Emmy wanted a cast for this album, to lift up the world she was trying to conjure, and kept albums in mind that have similar ambitions – Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea; Janelle Monae’s The Archandroid. While making it, she listened to girly pop like The Bangles, tempered with religious choirs, folk from the South Pacific, while Euan became obsessed with post-punk and Bulgarian choirs. They even spent a night Googling Enya. 

Producer Gareth Jones (These New Puritans, Depeche Mode and Grizzly Bear) indulged their romanticism, but understood their wish to make the music sound precise, rather than precious. Emmy also knew she had to let go – to confront things without fear, to throw her head high, say what she thought, things she couldn’t say to herself without music. It’s this record, she says, that’s made her feel like a person and that she hopes will speak to others who’ve endured and survived. 

 

www.emmythegreat.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Emmy-The-Great/49401939332

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

http://www.myspace.com/emmythegreat

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Review - Day Three - Soundcity 2011

The closing day of Soundcity is upon us. So,as not to feel to down-hearted, we started the day at the Australian free BBQ to feast on some gorgeous sausages and burgers whilst watching Seekae and experiencing some experimental, ambient sounds direct from their hometown of Australia.The 3 members transfixed in their knobs and buttons and switches and levers,hardly came up for air to deliver a well received set. Upstairs, in stark contrast to the chilled out sounds, The Brazilian Showcase was in full effect with Black Drawing Chalks beating out a testosterone filled set. With lots of hair whipping and guitar thrashing, this was good old heavy rock in the house and pretty darn great it was too, even though it left my already tender ears a little worse for wear.

The evening session of the final day took us firstly to Studio 2 to see Forza. The Norwegian band mix rap with indie with classical violin. This may sound like an odd mixture but it works.These guys are pretty big in Norway and I was glad to see them perform in Liverpool and good to see them in a venue like Studio 2. The stark comparison from the audience reclining on chairs and sofas to the intensity of the performance on stage was amazing. 

All too quickly though, it was off to the o2 Academy for the re-located Bella Union Showcase. We were there to see Marques Tolivier. This guy,not so long ago, was busking in the streets and sleeping on sofas and now he is playing Soundcity and you can see why. This talented young man commands the stage armed with his violin. His clear angelic voice drifting across the o2 causing silence to descend amongst the audience. His fingers plucking at the violin strings like his life depended on it. His set was 30 minutes long. I could have sat and watched him for 2 hours.

Then across to the St Georges Hall for the headlining act Sound of Guns. Supporting them were the excellent Fly with Vampires. Good to see homegrown talent being recognised and showcased in the glorious hall.

Fly with Vampires were in fine form. Playing a mixture of their old songs and some new ones they filled the hall with energy and enthusiasm. Without having to do anything,they had the crowd enraptured. Clapping along and stamping their feet. I have only ever seen the guys in small venues but they fit just as easily into a venue this size and probably bigger.Next year these guys have got to headline.

But not this year. This year belongs to Sound of Guns. Their meteoric climb, from when we first witnessed them in a small bar Manchester, has been rapid. The venue may have changed but the energy and talent we first saw in that bar has not. Lead singer, Andrew Metcalfe, taking control of the stage from the onset. Belting out the songs that the audience want to hear. Reaching forward to touch the hands of the fans and grabbing photographers cameras in order to take pictures of them from the stage. A true showman. Hearing "The Architects" being sung by the crowd was truly a spine tingling moment. The only question I have is why aren't these guys bigger than they are? Hopefully the up and coming tour supporting The View will sort out that once and for all.

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Review - Day two of Sound City

Day two is upon us and we're off to tread the streets again in search of bands dotted all over the city centre in venues wide and varied. Tonight's first port of call was to St Georges Hall for some pre Miles Kane music by Morning Parade, a five piece band from Essex. On entering the magnificent venue, you were blasted out with the sounds of guitar rock riffs and a very mature sounding lead singer, Steve Sparrow. All in all a very good start to what was meant to be a good night in the Hall, unfortunately, the bureaucratic security at St Georges Hall were to scupper us, as after popping out for some fresh air, they decided press had to re queue to enter and by now the queue was pretty big. So massive apologies to Mr Kane, but blame St Georges Hall for the lack of media attention from us.

So onto the Bombed Out Church instead for us, to catch Outfit, who were warming up for Clinic, I have to admit the first few songs were a little lacklustre for me and seemed to never end and I did find my attention wandering around the atmospheric surroundings. Once the lead singer had stopped staring off into space during songs and the upped the tempo with synthesised sounds and a catchy bass line, they did actually sound pretty impressive.

Then came Clinic, a band who apparently, rarely play Liverpool, even though they are based here, and who I've only seen on the Letterman Show, a few months back, so I was still fairly undecided about them. With rhythmic lyrics and heavy guitar riffs during the chorus of the opening track, "Lion Tamer" made me think this looked to be a promising set. The set carried on in this form, with lead singer, Ade Blackburn's vocals drifting across the Bombed Out Church in a crystal clear way that everybody in there was enthralled by them. I have to admit, I found them a lot better than anticipated but I really don't think the surgical look does much for them!!!

Unfortunately we didn't have time for the entire performance as we had to head of to one of favourite venues in Liverpool, the Kazimier, where the sounds bounce of the walls and reverberate around this fab little venue. First up were Pop Levi. I have to admit I really didn't know what to expect from these guys, but from the very first strum of lead singer, Johnathon Pop Levi, guitar, I was enthralled. I haven't seen such a showman in a very very long time. From the opening track, "WannaMama", which opening sounded like Led Zep's," Whole Lotta Love" I was hooked as where the rest of the crowd. With a mix of rock, funk, blues and psychedeliac thrown in for good measure, this set had so much energy it was contagious. Pop Levi cavorted around the stage like Mick Jagger, plays almost as well as Jimi Hendrix and cavorts with his guitar like Prince. With other little gems like,"Police Sign", "Blue Honey" and "Plastic Wrap" this had to be the best band of the night by far and I cannot wait to see them again.

After Pop Levi, came Kurt Vile and the Violaters, from Philadelphia, a four man collective that look like an early 1990's rock band or extras from Wayne's World. With a name like that and the look, i was expecting them to be sounding like Extreme or Pearl Jam, so it came as a bit of a surprise that appeared to more influenced by The Stone Roses or Inspiral Carpets. Even though they were plagued with sound issues during the set, which resulted in one member lighting up on stage to relieve his frustration, to the amusement of the crowd, they certainly did a stirling job and are a band full of musical surprises.

Here's hoping that the final day, will result in even more gems of music for us to let you know about and check out, but one final word, "Go and check out Pop Levi immediately!!!

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The Moons - Tales of The Unexpected Tour @ The Shipping Forecast

The Moons announce their eagerly awaited June tour taking in 12 dates including Liverpool’s Shipping Forecast on June 3.

A five piece from Northampton, The Moons were founded in 2008 by singer, songwriter and guitarist Andy Crofts, formerly the bassist in The On-Offs and today Paul Weller’s keyboardist and the group have just finished recording their second album, Tales Of The Unexpected, the follow up to 2010’s Life On Earth.
The album, a 14 tracker, was recorded over three weeks at Edwyn Collins’ West Heath Yard studio in London with Edwyn and Seb Lewsley producing four of the 14 tracks and it is signature Moons, defined by strong songwriting, delicious harmonising and tight musicianship. Influences range from Joe Meek and Syd Barrett to The Zombies and the high points are many, including the startling Jennifer Sits Alone, the garage nugget Double Vision Love, a frenzied reworking of live favourite It’s Taking Over and the duet Something Soon with Paul Weller.
The group have just appeared on the JD Set celebration of the Smiths as a guest of Primal Scream’s Mani, which was aired on Channel 4.
The Moons’ line-up is completed by keyboardist Tom Warmsley, bassist Adam Leeds, drummer Ben Gordelier and guitarist James Edward Bagshaw. As a member of indie band Sukie, James wrote a 2008 Number 1 indie hit Pink-A-Pade.
The Moons’ debut album 2010’s Life On Earth was an indie Top 30 hit and a HMV One To Watch. Paul Weller played piano on album track Wondering and played guitar on track Last Night On Earth.
Sold out headline slots at London’s The Borderline and 93 Feet East followed as did a storming show at the Isle Of Wight’s Summer Madness festival. The group also supported Ocean Colour Scene on a country wide tour culminating at London's Royal Albert Hall.

The Moons play
3rd of June – The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool

http://www.themoons.co.uk/

http://www.myspace.com/themoonsofficial

 

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Review - Day one of Soundcity 2011

On the first day Liverpool created Soundcity and they created over 300 bands at various venues around the great city and they saw that it was good. I started my 3 day pilgrimage at the bombed out church to see Ragz only to find out the she was no longer playing.

So it was with heavy heart, that I decided to head across to the Masque theatre to see the Wicked Whispers only to find an empty theatre and the band still setting up long into when they should have been playing. I was beginning to think someone had played a grand practical joke and no bands were actually playing the festival. Luckily in the Ink room I finally found a band that were on stage playing and this happened to be a London band called Jimmy's Parade, who turned out to be a little gem. For a young band they had a lot of confidence and the tunes were upbeat and infectious.

My spirits rose. So I headed over to Mojo to catch The Liberty Vessels, the Liverpool band making quite a stir on the scene and I can see why. There guys are about 17 or 18 but they sound and play like people twice their age. Lead singer's voice sounds like it should be emanating from a 30 year old man. The energy pouring out of him as he leaps and bounds around the tiny Mojo stage, kicking glasses across the stage and reaching out to the audience pleading for them to join him in his angst and them mesmerised at what they were witnessing. For me though.it was time for a quick dash over to the o2 to see another band getting rave reviews,The Rialto Burns. A great band that I've been meaning to catch for some time now.They played a storming set though far too short in my opinion.

Then it was time to hot-foot it to the Bombed out church to see The Kooks. I was greeted with the site of a queue going half way round the church Once inside the place was only half full. Not sure what the deal was there but I put it down to that old faithful, health and safety.
The Kooks though didn't fail to please. In the glorious surroundings of the bombed out church,Soundcity surely have a gem in a location here.The Kooks played a lot of their new album which they informed the the ravenous crowd was the first time they had played it live. Their were a few epic songs from the new stuff but overall a more sombre collection of songs. The old faithfuls were pulled out though in the form of Naive and Ooh-la-la much to the screeching pleasure of the crowd.

Last, but not least, it was over once again to The Masque Theatre for Steve Mason. The last time we saw him he played a storming set at the Kazimier and this time round only the decor had changed. Steve emerged in a heavily padded jacket to start off with a solo acoustic track and once completed the other members of the band joined him to kick into "am I just a man" and "Lost and Found" but not before urging the crowd to move forward towards him "come to water,come to water" he chanted. The crowd warmed up,Steve warmed up and I relaxed, knowing that day one had been completed and from a jittery start had been a great first day at Soundcity

To be continued......

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Sweet Jane at The Static Gallery for Soundcity 2011

IN 2008 guitarist and songwriter Danda Paxton asked Lydia Des Dolles to provide vocals on some songs he was writing, and with the addition of Danda’ s brother Ruairi on bass and Donagh O’Brien on drums, the project evolved into Sweet Jane, and the recording of an EP ‘ Blackboots and Blackhearts’. The EP was released to very positive reviews, and things developed more quickly when the band signed to Irish label Reekus at the end ‘ 09, and a Xmas release of You’re M aking This Hard, with Sweet Jane’ s own take on the Xmas classic Silent Night, brought a greatly increased media awareness of their music. Their debut album Sugar for M y Soul was released in Ireland last July, to superb reviews, and a slot at one of Europe’ s
leading festivals, Oxegen that month. Their live set has been described as an energetic roller coaster of sleazy guitars, achingly sexy vocals, split between Lydia & Danda, and topped off with their trade mark 'dream-pop rock 'n roll'. Sweet Jane are in their element in the live arena and have been touring furiously throughout the UK and Ireland and this includes a show at the Static Gallery in Liverpool  

Sweet Jane play Sound City Festival this coming Saturday 21st at 8.10, before heading back home for three nights in the Olympia next week with Suede (24/25/26), and then jetting off to Singapore for some prime gigs at Music Matters Asia, with support from Culture Ireland,  starting off  with an open air gig on the main stage in Fountain Square Clarke Quay, at 8.30 on Saturday 28th., playing a second MM show at leading club Se7en Inch later that night, TV, radio and press on Monday 30th, and playing Singapore’s leading live music venue The Tab on Tuesday 31st.   More dates are being added too! They are the first Irish band to play Music Matters Asia,  and vocalist Lydia Des Dolles has been asked to lend her voice to the Music Matters  ‘Band Aid’ type single which is being released  during the festival in aid of Japan.

http://www.myspace.com/officialsweetjane

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Kendal Calling teams up with Liverpool Sound City 2011

 KENDAL CALLING TEAMS UP WITH LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY TO SHOWCASE LOCAL TALENT

Cloud Control / Our Mountain / Picturebook / The Keys

The Shipping Forecast

15 Slater Street Liverpool L1 4BW

www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk

www.theshippingforecastliverpool.com

Friday 20^th May / 7pm – 10.30pm

Kendal Calling have joined forces with Liverpool Sound City for an extra special show, combining their booking skills to unearth some of the best new talent on the music scene at the moment. With their ever growing ear for talent Kendal Calling strive to support and provide a platform for regional talent and they are rapidly becoming renowned for their ingenious ability to cherry pick new, up-and-coming acts. This special gig is to be housed in one of Liverpool’s leading venues, The Shipping Forecast. The lucky acts to have been picked from the thousands that applied are; the three and four part ethereal harmonizing of Cloud Control, the poetic and nihilistic sounds of Our Mountain, Liverpool based electro-pop Picturebook and Welsh pysch-rockers The Keys.

Kendal Calling (29^th – 31^st July) is an award-winning, innovative, independent festival based in the Lake District. It features pioneering contemporary music and art alongside traditional rural entertainment. Possibly the most fun you can have in the countryside, with fields full of activities and attractions for everyone from families to stag parties! The capacity is small and intimate so you won’t be herded around like cattle or spend hours in queues at the bar. Feel the freedom of being able to move between the 8 performance stages in a matter of minutes and never miss an artist.

Liverpool Sound City (19th – 21^st May 2011) www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk is the largest music festival and industry conference in the North of the UK.  Now in it’s 4^th year, every May, Liverpool Sound City presents over 300 artists from over 20 different countries, in 30 city centre venues to an audience of over 30,000, making the city the place to be to see emerging talent around the world and a must for any aspiring artist or band looking to make their mark on the UK music industry and grow their fanbase.  Liverpool Sound City has established itself as the UK’s most creative and innovative city-based music events by combining an international perspective on the best in new music, art, film, photography, business, new tech, media and more with one of the world’s most legendary music cities. Bringing the best and brightest to Liverpool to discuss what’s at the cutting edge of popular culture, LSC looks to provide a fresh look at the future by challenging the conventional and constantly striving to discover the next big things - all while showcasing some of the best new music on the planet.

www.kendalcalling.com www.kendalcalling.com

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Oui Love UK tour including Soundcity 2011

IT’S A FRENCH INVASION!

OUI LOVE ANNOUNCE UK TOUR & EXCLUSIVE TRACKS

Team Ghost and Anoraak will tour UK 14 –20 May




Get ready for a sonic assault from across the channel - the annual Oui Love tour is back!
Committed to introducing us Brits to the most exciting acts of the New French Wave, Oui Love
has yet again put together an unmissable tour, coming to our shores in May. The formula is
simple: six nights in the UKs best venues with two of France’s hottest musical offerings - much
hyped coldgaze pioneers Team Ghost and electro new wave maestro Anoraak. A must for all
fans of new music.

Working on behalf of the French Music Export Office, Oui Love can always be relied upon to
expose us to the most important musical stirrings from across the pond. France boasts a rich
musical heritage and it is no secret that French bands and producers have been pivotal in
shaping an international sound that has been successful around the world for years. Mega stars
such as Daft Punk and Phoenix have paved the way for their fellow countrymen and labels like
Ed Banger continue to infiltrate the world of music with their distinctive Gallic flair. Never has
the French music scene been as dynamic, vital and bursting with talent as right now. Dig a bit

deeper and under the surface of the mainstream a whole host of new bands are also causing a
stir. Oui Love is on hand to bring these sounds direct to a British audience.

2010 saw Oui Love promote an extremely successful tour of the UK featuring French bands The
Shoes, Bewitched Hands on the Top of Our Heads, Revolver and Curry & Coco, along with
English student bands Bella Diem and Jimi’s Parade. The 2011 tour continues the tradition of
teaming French acts with emerging young British talent. Joining Team Ghost and Anoraak on
the bill will be the winners of a competition organised by Access to Music* to find the UK’s
best student band. The competition is currently underway with competitors thrashing it out in
centres across the country. The winners will be announced later this month and the coveted
prize will earn them a place on the tour. By bringing together the freshest bands from both
countries, the Oui Love tour aims to foster an exchange of ideas between the two budding
scenes.

A bit more about the French bands taking part…

Team Ghost is the new project from Nicolas Fromageau: founding member of M83, the
groundbreaking French outfit often credited with inventing chillwave. Bowing out of M83 in
2003, Fromageau left his native Antibes and headed for Paris to form Team Ghost with multi-
instrumentalist Christophe Guérin and producer Jean-Philippe Talaga.

Team Ghost’s debut EP You Never Did Anything Wrong To Me (May 2010) was released on
Sonic Cathedral to huge critical acclaim, with the NME even inventing an entire genre based
on their sound: cold-gaze. Its a fitting description, with the band citing 80s gothic bands such
as early Cure, Joy Division and Siouxsie & The Banshees as well as the electronic sounds of
Kraftwerk and Brian Eno, as influences. Team Ghost take the M83 blueprint of electronica and
shoegaze, add krautrock rhythms, post-punk and stark synth-pop, the result is atmospheric,
angular and oftentimes dark electronica. So far the band has earned praise from opinion
formers across the board including Pitchfork, Stool Pigeon and Drowned in Sound. Their
forthcoming debut album is one of the year’s most anticipates releases, with NME tipping it as
one to look out for in 2011.

Anoraak is the current guise of Frederic Riviere: producer, singer, multi-instrumentalist and
another major player in the French electro pop scene. Having started his musical career in a
series of indie-rock bands that never felt quite right, Frederic relocated to Nantes in Western
France where his present day sound began to take shape.

The first Anoraak EP Nightdrive With You (2008) was inspired by a mixture of influences ranging
from twisted disco to 80s synth. Debut album Wherever the Sun Sets (2010) saw Anoraak
continue to develop his distinctive sound, with nods to Italo-disco, Motown and funk, plus
richly-layered instrumental loops and the odd touch of nostalgic pop. Also heavily influenced by
Southern Californian rock outfits such as Weezer, Anoraak’s electronic take on all of these

musings results is a sound that makes you want to dance, as well as bliss out. After all,
Anoraak is an artist who likes Chic and Boney M as much as he does Pavement…

The Oui Love tour in May is the perfect opportunity to see both bands perform in intimate
venues before the inevitable boom. Team Ghost have previously supported the almighty
Crystal Castles and have some great festival appearances under their belt including Offset
(London), Stag & Dagger (London), RockNess (Scotland) and the UK’s answer to SXSW, The
Great Escape in Brighton, where they will be returning this year as part of the tour. Nicolas
says: "The Oui Love Tour is happening at a very special time for us: just two weeks
before, we're in the studio, recording our first album at last, so it's gonna be a great
opportunity to try our new stuff onstage. And, well, it will be my first time in
Liverpool! I'm really happy to share few gigs with Anoraak, I enjoy their music. And
of course, I'll get drunk every night. I love English tours!"

Frederic has brought together a group of musician friends to form a band for Anoraak’s live
incarnation and says: “We can't wait to start this tour around the UK! It's a great
occasion to present the live show to the British audience; we haven’t done much
there so far, though we know we have a strong base of followers in the country.
Playing live always provides stunning memories.”

Not content with just bringing us what promises to be one of the most exciting tours to catch in
2011, Oui Love have also joined forces with Sonic Cathedral Recordings and are releasing
an exclusive split 7”, which sees Team Ghost and Anoraak each remixing each others tracks.
The 7” is being released in accordance with Record Store Day (16 April 2011) and the remixes
will be available to download for FREE from Monday 14 March at www.ouilovemusic.com

7” Tracklisting:
A. Anoraak Dolphins & Highways (Team Ghost remix)

B. Team Ghost A Glorious Time (Anoraak remix)

Tour Dates,
Sat 14
Mon 16
Tues 17
Wed 18
Thu 19
Fri 20

Join the Facebook event here: http://tinyurl.com/ouilovetour2011

May 2011:
Brighton, The Great Escape
Bristol, The Louisiana
Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
Manchester, The Castle
Liverpool, Liverpool Sound City
London, CAMP (with after-party DJs until 4am)

Ticket Info:

Brighton http://www2.seetickets.com/greatescape, wristbands start from £45.00
Bristol http://www.seetickets.com/Event/TEAM-GHOST/The-Louisiana/539659, £5.00
Birmingham - TBC
Manchester - http://www.seetickets.com/Event/TEAM-GHOST/The-Castle/538229, £5.00
Liverpool - http://www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk/tickets, wristbands start from £40.00
London- http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=438715,

Free Oui Love compilation

 http://www.7digital.com/cms/oui/oui.aspx

www. ouilovemusic.com / www. anoraak.com / www.myspace.com/teamghostmusic / www. soniccathedral.co.uk

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Snub Fest at the Masque Theatre Liverpool

Baines Backs Snub Fest

Everton star Leighton Baines is combining his new community ambassador role with his love of music to support a local fundraising event.

The Blues defender was recently named as Everton in the Community’s Ambassador for Giving and has decided to kick-off this role by supporting the ‘Snub Fest’ music event, which aims to raise the profile of unsigned bands in Liverpool – as well as money for two charities.

This special event, which is being staged at The Masque in Liverpool on Sunday 22 May, will feature a host of unsigned musicians from across the region all performing to raise much needed funds for CALM, a men’s mental health charity and the Forum Housing Association, which supports homeless young people in Merseyside.

Leighton has recently started a very successful music blog on evertonfc.com, and event organisers were keen for him to lend a hand and recommend some of his favourite local bands in an effort to raise the profile of the event.

Leighton said: “Music is my biggest passion outside football. I listen to lots of different things from The Beatles through to the present day. The more recent stuff I listen to tends to be in the style of Alex Turner, the Arctic Monkeys and Beady Eye.

“I was really honoured to be asked to recommend some bands and help promote this event.  Two up and coming bands from the area I’ve been keeping an eye on are Dirty Waters, who have not been signed yet, and Dustland, who are generating a lot of talk around the city right now.

“Snub Fest sounds like a really good event which should raise lots of money for CALM – a charity I know Everton in the Community deal with through the Premier League Men’s Health programme, and the Forum Housing Association. I hope the event is really successful.”

Simon Howes, Development Coordinator for CALM on Merseyside said: “We are really excited to have Leighton on board and supporting both Snub fest and CALM. The money raised during Snub will allow us to keep the phone lines open, keep the website fresh and be on hand for when a bloke is ready to get something off his chest and sort his head out.”

Leighton and five of his teammates have been appointed as ambassadors for six key areas of work for the Blues’ official charity, Everton in the Community. The Liverpool-born defender is heading up ‘Everton Giving’, the arm of the charity which helps other good causes in the city.   

To find out more about Snub Fest visit masque-liverpool.com.  For information about Everton in the Community visit evertonfc.com/community.

Here is a list of the raffle prizes:
Leighton Baines signed shirt
Alma De Cuba meal and drinks voucher
A bottle of Lamb's Rum

A bottle of Whitley Neill's London Dry Gin

Free gig passes for the winner's choice of show at The Masque
Free pizza at the Peacock for two.

Here's the track listing for the Snub Festival Sampler CD:

Ratty Little Fingers – Leftovers

Spacegod – Disappear

The Salamanders - In The City

King's Huntsmen – Heartbeats

Dirtblonde - Snow White

Innuendo - It's All Love feat. Mr 2G

MC SAS – One Of Those Days

Nicky Talent - Funknsoul

Post Romantics - Ready To Fall

The Envy - Dark Lights

Hollow Dreams - Oak Ridge

White Heat - Judgement Day

Hippys On The Hill - Caught In The Crossfire

The Issues Raised – Track 1

Entropy - Gulf Of Misery

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Catalan Pop on Tour - Soundcity 2011

Catalan Pop on tour! The IRL is a public body whose aim is to promote Catalan culture and language abroad and we are supporting the Catalan bands Mishima (http://www.myspace.com/intomishima), Les Aus ( http://www.lastfm.es/music/Les+Aus/Haranna+Hann%C3%A9) and Aias (http://www.myspace.com/lasaias) playing at Liverpool Sound City.

If you want to see something different then pop along to the following venues and catch the acts!

The times and venues of our bands are as follows:

Thursday 19th May
- 19:00 at Hannah´s Bar (Mishima)
- 20:00 at Static Gallery (Les Aus)
- 20:20 at Heebie Jeebies (Mishima)

Friday 20th May
- 19:40 at Leaf Café (Les Aus)

Saturday 21st May
- 19:15 at Studio 2 (Aias)


People may have already seen some of the bands that played last year at TGE, London, LSC and Manchester such as John Talabot (http://www.myspace.com/johntalabot) and Mujeres (http://www.myspace.com/mujeresdebarcelona). There are other bands that you may have heard of, for example: El Guincho (http://www.myspace.com/elguincho) and Dorian (http://www.myspace.com/dorian_pop).

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Harvest Sun presents..Roddy Frame @ The Kazimier

Yes that's right you read it correctly

Harvest Sun Promotions proudly presents...


RODDY FRAME


8pm, Saturday 15 October @ The Kazimier

Tickets available here from 9am on Friday 20 May


We are extrememly proud to present former Aztec Camera front man and all round indie hero Roddy Frame,
back in support of his new album, for what could turn out to be a legendary night at The Kazimier

http://www.roddyframe.com/

http://www.myspace.com/theroddyframe

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Go West 3D live UK Tour

GO WEST

‘3D LIVE’

DECEMBER 2011 UK TOUR

Tickets on sale Friday 20^th May at 9am

0844 477 2000 / www.ticketweb.co.uk  

Tour announcement follows the release of ‘Frame By Frame’ featuring all of Go West’s videos on DVD for the very first time

Go West will embark on their 10-date “3D” UK tour on 7^th December, culminating at O₂ Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Thursday December 22^nd. The tour coincides with the release of their new studio album, “3D”, that will be released during the lead up to Christmas.

The duo, comprising of Peter Cox (vocals) and Richard Drummie (guitar), are best known for their global smash hit singles We Close Our Eyes, Call Me and The King of Wishful Thinking. The first two singles originally appeared on Go West’s 1985 eponymous debut album that sold over 1.5 million copies in the UK.

Legendary record producer Arif Mardin once described Go West’s sound as “Modern Motown.” The band also scored massive hit singles with the songs Goodbye Girl and Don’t Look Down.

Go West’s highly anticipated UK tour will see the band perform songs from their colourful career, including soul and pop classics from their critically acclaimed second album Dancing

On the Couch, including the Top Ten hit singles True Colours, I Wanna Hear It From You and The King Is Dead.

The winners of ‘Best British Newcomer’ at the 1986 BRIT Awards, Go West will also perform their massive 1990 hit The King Of Wishful Thinking, the opening song from the hugely successful Julia Roberts and Richard Gere Hollywood blockbuster ‘Pretty Woman’ (the soundtrack album sold over 12 million copies worldwide and the song was one of the most played songs in America from 1991-1992).

The forthcoming UK tour follows the release of Frame By Frame, a compilation DVD that features all the bands videos together for the very first time. The DVD recently charted #5 in the official UK DVD chart. 

Tour dates are as follows;

Wednesday 7^th December:     Robin 2 Wolverhampton

Box Office:                               01902 401211

General Admission:                 £20.00 in advance, £22.50 on the door

Book Online:                            www.therobin.co.uk

Address:                                  20-22 Mount Pleasant, Bilston, Wolverhampton, WV14 7LJ   

Thursday 8^th December:         The Stables Milton Keynes

Box Office:                               01908 280 800

General Admission:                 £20.00

Book Online:                            boxoffice@stables.org 

Address:                                  Stockwell Lane, Wavendon, MK17 8LU

Friday 9^th December:              The Stables Milton Keynes

Box Office:                               01908 280 800

General Admission:                 £20.00

Book Online:                            boxoffice@stables.org 

Address:                                  Stockwell Lane, Wavendon, MK17 8LU

Tuesday 13^th December:        O₂ ABC Glasgow

Box Office:                               0844 477 2000

General Admission:                 £20.00

Book Online:                            www.o2abcglasgow.co.uk

Address:                                  330 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow, G2 3JB

Wednesday 14^th December:    O₂ Academy Liverpool

Box Office:                               0844 477 2000

General Admission:                 £20.00

Book Online:                            www.o2academyliverpool.co.uk

Address:                                  11 - 13 Hotham Street, Liverpool, L3 5UF

Friday 16^th December:             O₂ Academy Sheffield

Box Office:                               0844 4772000

General Admission:                 £20.00

Book Online:                            www.o2academysheffield.co.uk

Address:                                  37-43 Arundel Gate, Sheffield, S1 1DE

Saturday 17^th December:        O₂ Academy Newcastle,

Box Office:                               0844 477 2000

General Admission:                 £20.00

Book Online:                            www.o2academynewcastle.co.uk
Address:                                  Westgate Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 1SW

Tuesday 20^th December:         O₂ Academy Oxford,

Box Office:                               0844 477 2000

General Admission:                 £20.00

Book Online:                            www.o2academyoxford.co.uk

Address:                                  190 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1UE

Wednesday 21^st December:    O₂ Academy Birmingham,

Box Office:                               0844 4772000

General Admission:                 £20.00

Book Online:                            www.o2academybirmingham.co.uk

Address:                                  16 - 18 Horsefair, Birmingham, B1 1DB

Thursday 22^nd December:       O₂ Shepherds Bush Empire

Box Office:                               0844 477 2000

General Admission:                 £22.50 

Book Online:                            www.o2shepherdsbushempire.co.uk

Address:                                  Shepherd's Bush Green, London, W12 8TT

Official ‘Go West’ Website

www.gowest.org.uk

Official ‘Peter Cox’ Website

www.peter-cox.org

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