Category: New album releases

The Fierce And The Dead Stream ‘Verbose’ – Second Track from ‘Field Recordings Live’

It is just under two weeks to go until Bad Elephant Music releases The Fierce & The Dead’s live mini-album, ‘Field Recordings’.

Taken from the band’s incendiary set at last year’s Ramblin’ Man Festival, ‘Field Recordings’ captures the band in their element – performing live on stage in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The album features two previously unreleased songs which may (or may not!) feature on The Fierce And The Dead’s third solo album, currently in production.

BEM’s CEO David Elliott:

“As a bit of Easter cheer on a rather grim Monday, we’ve released the stream of a second track, another new tune entitled ‘Verbose’. Get it in your ears – and if you like it, and you have £8 to spare, it would be lovely if you’d buy a CD. Mark Buckingham’s stunning artwork is worth the price of admission alone.”

The band reckon this album is the best statement to date of what The Fierce And The Dead are about. Even Matt (Stevens) himself has gone on record as saying “yeah, it’s okay” – which if you know him you’ll recognise as the highest possible praise when it comes to his own work.

You can listen to Verbose and pre-order ‘Field Recordings’ at the link below:

The Fierce And The Dead – ‘Verbose’

(Eggs-alike by Allyson Blue-Sky)

TFATD – Facebook

TFATD – Website

Website – Matt Stevens

 

Corroded – The new single – ‘Carry Me My Bones’ Out now!

Corroded are back! Swedish hard rock band Corroded; a band that topped the music charts in Sweden and whose songs are worshipped by fans around the world – is finally back, and this time the stakes are raised! After previously creating music for the Swedish TV show ‘Survivor’ (Expedition Robinson in Sweden) and the globally popular video game Battlefield, Corroded now enters ‘Defcon Zero’.

The band comments – “With the new single Carry Me My Bones, we proudly present a collaboration with Anders Friden, singer in the world-famous In Flames, as a lyricist. The track itself is a hard rock song and the lyrics are hard rock as well so that gives us the unexpected number of 200% hard rock. All well, no end! Shit good!”

CORRODED – ‘Carry Me My Bones’
Tracks:
1    Carry Me My Bones     ISRC: SEXTE1700701
2    Carry Me My Bones radio edit   ISRC: SEXTE1700712
Lyrics: Anders Fridén [In Flames]
Music: Jens Westin Per Soläng Bjarne Elvsgård Tomas Andersson

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/despotz/sets/corroded-carry-me-my-bones
iTunes: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/album/carry-me-my-bones-single/id1214717264
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0FO6j4lGiGM1MLWwjBWXq2

‘Defcon Zero’ isn’t just Corroded’s first new album in five years – it’s also their first release on Despotz Records. Signing to Despotz Records has opened brand new possibilities for Corroded and given them the firepower to further strengthen their position, both nationally and internationally.

‘The goal with this album is the usual – complete world domination!’ explains singer/guitarist Jens Westin explains with a smile.

The sound on ‘Defcon Zero’ is harder without losing any of the melodic focus. Five years might have flown by but ‘Defcon Zero’ picks up when the acclaimed ‘State of Disgrace’ left off; whilst sounding completely new at the same time! Above all – it sounds Corroded.

‘We worked solely within the band this time as we entered this process, with only some raw ideas without any preconceptions. From there on everybody contributed. The creative process was based on our live performances and we had tremendous fun while recording’ Jens comments.

Some Corroded history
Everything happened quickly after the release of Corroded’s debut album ‘Eleven Shades of Black’ back in 2009. The track ‘Time and Again’ was used in the Swedish version of Survivor (Expedition Robinson) and in 2010 the band won ‘Breakthrough of The Year’ at Bandit Rock Awards. When the next album, ‘Exit to Transfer’, hit the stores it went straight in at number six on the Swedish album chart. Corroded then wrote ‘Age of Rage’ for EA Games, a song that would be featured as the theme song for ‘Battlefield Play4Free’. ‘Age of Rage’ subsequently achieved Gold status, generating several million streams.

Five years may have passed since their last album but, during this period Corroded has kept on touring and their popularity has been constantly rising. Corroded pushed every limit and established themselves as one of the most prominent Swedish hard rock acts. Several of the new songs have become live favourites before they’ve even had a chance to be released, such is the dedication of the Corroded fan base!

‘We have more or less toured continuously and supported our previous album live for five years. In that sense we have been very lucky, but at the same time, we got the chance to play many of the new songs live and that proved to us they have an enormous strength’ says Jens Westin.

With the release of the new Corroded album, it’s time to reset the parameters and enter ‘Defcon Zero’!

Mew share new track ‘Twist Quest’

On the eve of their forthcoming (seventh) album ‘Visuals’ on 28th April, Danish trio Mew are pleased to share new track Twist Quest. Taken from the album and accompanied by a video that sees lead singer Jonas Bjerre assume the role of creative director whilst also coordinating visuals for the band’s forthcoming live shows.

Watch it here:

Following 2015’s + –  the band undertook tour duties around the world and on their return saw them enter the studio with demos that unlike previous works came to fruition comparatively swiftly in terms of writing and recording against a poignant backdrop of world events over the past twelve months

 As Bjerre explains; “This song took shape during a long jam session, like we hadn’t done in a long time. It’s a joyful song, with dark lyrics. I guess the song is about being confused, and unable to keep your mind still from all the stuff that floats around it. The expectations we put on ourselves. But also there’s a sense of celebration in it.

Mew’s 80’s tinged pop euphoria reigns supreme on ‘Visuals’ and Twist Quest follows that road, dreamy vocals courtesy of Bjerre and flourishes of saxophone feature and contribute to an album that’s both nostalgic and contemporary, that looks back whilst marching forward, the sound of a band seizing the moment.

Visuals is released on 28th April though Play It Again Sam and available on CD, vinyl and digitally and is available to pre-order here.

Mew play live at:

 7 May – Bangkok, Thailand – Voice Space

10 May – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – KL Live

17 May – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso

19 May – Paris, France – Point Ephemere

20 May – Antwerp, Belgium – Trix Club

21 May – Bristol, UK – Trinity Centre

22 May – Manchester, UK – O2 Ritz

23 May – London, UK – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

25 May – Cologne, Germany – Luxor

26 May – Hamburg, Germany – Knust

27 May – Neustrelitz, Germany – Immergut Festival

28 May – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Danish Theatre

25 Jun – Gothenburg, Sweden – Ullevi  Stadium *

26 Jun – Gothenburg, Sweden – Ullevi Stadium *

14 Jul – Joensuu, Finland – Ilosaarirock 2017

16 Jul – Salacgriva, Latvia – Positivus 2017

20-22 Jul – Tisvilde, Denmark – Musik I Lejet

20 Sep – Nuuk, Greenland – Akisuanerit Festival

 * supporting Coldplay

 website / facebook / twitter

Procol Harum – Novum – New Studio Album Releases 21st April 2017

New studio album “Novum” and 50th anniversary UK tour.

On 21st April 2017, Eagle Records release “Novum”, the brand new studio album by Procol Harum, on CD [Cat No EAGCD659] and 2LP [Cat No EAGLP661].  “Novum” is Procol Harum’s thirteenth studio album, and their first for fourteen years – following “The Well’s On Fire” in 2003. “Novum”is released in the band’s fiftieth anniversary year, which also sees the band undertake a very special UK and European tour. The album release is preceded by that of the single “Sunday Morning” on April 7th.

“Novum” features a stunning cover artwork by Julia Brown which references elements of the sleeve of the band’s eponymous debut album in 1967. With that album, half a century ago, powered by the huge and ongoing success of their debut single “A Whiter Shade Of Pale”, Procol Harum went on to help define the progressive rock genre in the early seventies whilst at the same time embracing their roots in blues and soul. “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” continues to be one of the best-selling singles of all time, one of the most recognisable and most played songs – ever.

Procol Harum has been an evolving musical force from the first performance in ’67, but always led by founding member, singer, pianist and composerGary Brooker. Most of today’s line-up has been playing together since the early ‘90s and it includes bassist Matt Pegg (Jethro Tull, Ian Brown), drummer Geoff Dunn (Jimmy Page, Dave Stewart, Van Morrison), guitarist Geoff Whitehorn (Roger Chapman, Paul Rodgers, Roger Daltrey) and Hammond organ player Josh Phillips (Pete Townsend and Midge Ure), but to all their fans, they are the real Procol Harum.

Gary Brooker said, “Our last studio album was in 2003, and with 2017 being 50 years of Procol Harum, something special was needed, which has resulted in a new album of new songs with the band as we’ve stood for the past decade, all contributing with producer Dennis Weinreich to make what I believe to be one of the finest Procol Harum albums ever – “Novum” – just listen.”

“Novum” sees a new direction for Procol Harum with the songs being written and created by the whole band, with most songs featuring words by Pete Brown, most famous for his songwriting collaboration with the members of Cream. This has given a different feel to the songs, retaining the thought provoking content for which the band has always been known but with a different slant and elements of humour.

TRACKLISTING

1 I Told on you / 2 Last Chance Motel / 3 Image of the Beast / 4 Soldier / 5 Don’t Get Caught / 6 Neighbour / 7 Sunday Morning / 8 Businessman / 9 Can’t Say That / 10 The Only One / 11 Somewhen

 2017 UK Tour Dates

3 March:     Royal Festival Hall with Orchestra [SOLD OUT]

6 May:        Edinburgh Queen’s Hall

8 May:        Manchester Bridgewater Hall

10 May:      Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

11 May:      Birmingham Town Hall

13 May       Shepherds Bush Empire

14 May:      Nottingham Concert Hall

16 May:      Bristol Colston Hall

“Novum” marks not only an incredible fifty years of amazing music, but also the next step for this seminal band. As ever, the music and musicianship within the band is of the highest level and this long-awaited collection of brand new songs is sure to be welcomed by Procol Harum’s devoted fanbase.

 www.procolharumnovum.com

@ProcolHarumBand

@TrueGaryBrooker

ANATHEMA PREMIERE FIRST TRACK FROM THE OPTIMIST -“SPRINGFIELD” Plus Album And Tour Details.

Anathema are premiering the first track from their forthcoming new studio album The Optimist entitled “Springfield”.

Daniel Cavanagh explains the song choice “Here we present the song ‘Springfield’, it’s actually the song that closed our unforgettable Wembley gig with Opeth and it seemed to be a track that just fell into place without much effort. It seemed to do itself. The song forms part of a narrative that runs through The Optimist album, it’s a narrative that begins where A Fine Day To Exit left off. The album is a journey. The songs are ambiguous. There is no right or wrong way to take them. Make of them what you will.”

LISTEN TO “SPRINGFIELD” HERE: http://www.anathema.ws/

Anathema’s eleventh full-length The Optimist is due for release on 9th June through Kscope, where the ambient rockers will reveal some of the darkest, most challenging and unexpected music the sextet have put their name to.

Anathema, led by brothers Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh, along with drummer John Douglas, singer Lee Douglas, bassist Jamie Cavanagh and drummer/keyboardist Daniel Cardoso began recording The Optimist in the winter of 2016 at Attica Audio in Donegal, Ireland and then finished at Castle Of Doom studios in Glasgow with producer Tony Doogan [Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian, Super Furry Animals] at the helm and was mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.

The Optimist will be released on the following formats and all are available to pre-ordered now here: http://found.ee/The_Optimist

Deluxe 12” hardbook featuring:

  • 40 page artwork book, with artwork from Travis Smith.
  • CD The Optimist  11 original album tracks 
  • CD featuring 6 bonus tracks – 3 demo versions and 3 live demo recordings from their November 2016 dates
  • DVD-V The Optimist  11 original album tracks 24/96 LPCM Stereo & 24/96 DTS 5.1 surround mix
  • Blu-Ray disc The Optimist  11 original album tracks 24/96 LPCM Stereo, 24/96 LPCM 5.1 lossless surround mix & 24/96 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless 5.1 surround mix

2 Disc CD & DVD Mediabook

24 page booklet

  • CD The Optimist  11 original album tracks 
  • DVD-V The Optimist  11 original album tracks 24/96 LPCM Stereo & 24/96 DTS 5.1 surround mix

Blu-Ray featuring

·       The Optimist  11 original album tracks 24/96 LPCM Stereo, 24/96 LPCM 5.1 lossless surround mix & 24/96 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless 5.1 surround mix

CD featuring:

·       The Optimist 11 original album tracks

Double gatefold 180g heavy weight LP featuring:

·       The Optimist  11 original album tracks (with MP3 download code) 

·       Limited Edition red vinyl LP version (with MP3 download code) available exclusively through the band’s webstore

Digital download featuring:

·       The Optimist 11 original album tracks with pre-orders receiving an instant download of “Springfield” 

Anathema are set to tour worldwide to celebrate the release of The Optimist and have now confirmed their headline shows in Europe.

They’ll be accompanied by French blackgaze pioneers Alcest ( www.facebook.com/alcest.official ). Looking forward to the tour Daniel Cavanagh says “It’s really good to be touring with Alcest again, continuing our relationship that began in America in 2013. They are superb melodists and have a beautiful and unique voice.”

Tickets on sale from Monday 3rd April from 10am local time – see www.facebook.com/anathemamusic for details plus all other confirmed shows and festivals 

 More dates to be announced soon

facebook.com/anathemamusic  instagram.com/anathemamusic.com  www.anathema.ws   instagram.com/anathemamusic

Band Image Credit Scarlet Page

Bader Nana to release new album ‘Devolver’ on April, 10 2017 – Reveals Artwork

If you are a fan of progressive rock and have not heard of Bader Nana then you could be doing yourself a great disservice! His earlier releases ‘Wormwood’ (2011) and ‘Anthology’ (2013) have been received with astonishment in light of them being home studio projects by fans and critics alike. Bader Nana is a one-man band releasing albums on which he plays/writes all instruments, produces, masters, and designs the artwork. His music has been featured on various rock/metal websites as well as getting radio airplay on several European radio stations. The level of musicianship and production has left many listeners dumbfounded that such a talent has not yet been picked up by a major record label.

‘Devolver’ has been in production for more than 3 years allowing Nana to explore new sonic and musical territory at his leisure to his complete satisfaction. The music remains on a progressive bedrock, as with previous releases, but is driven by a fresh message of hope. This hope is translated onto a diverse palette of musical arrangements ranging from cinematic orchestration, to soaring ballads, to dirty distorted rock anthems. This album features several guest appearances including guitar and vocal work by Ramzi Ramman (The JLP Show, Lebanon) and vocals by Omar Afuni (Omar Afuni, Dubai).

Track listing
Mercenaries – 7:42
Victorious – 5:05
Without a Backward Glance – 5:37
Full Circle – 4:38
I am Alive – 10:42
Dust Within Me – 4:49
Desperate Times – 6:14
Devolver – 23:03

Total Runtime: 66 min

Bader Nana’s previous body of work can be found at
https://badernana.bandcamp.com
including his previous albums and a variety of side projects.

Anathema reveal details for new album ‘The Optimist’ / Released 9th June (Kscope)

optimist /ˈɒptɪmɪst/ – noun: optimist; plural noun: optimists

1.      a person who tends to be hopeful and confident about the future or the success of something.
2.       a person who believes that this world is the best of all possible worlds or that good must ultimately prevail over evil. 

After Anathema’s 2012 award-winning album ‘Weather Systems’ and 2014’s spellbinding ‘Distant Satellites’, the ambient rockers are back with their eleventh full-length, ‘The Optimist’. Due for release on 9th June through Kscope ‘The Optimist’ will soon reveal some of the darkest, most challenging and unexpected music the sextet have put their name to.

Anathema, led by brothers Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh, along with drummer John Douglas, singer Lee Douglas, bassist Jamie Cavanagh and keyboardist Daniel Cardoso began recording ‘The Optimist’ in the winter of 2016 at Attica Audio in Donegal, Ireland and then finished at Castle Of Doom studios in Glasgow with producer Tony Doogan [Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian, Super Furry Animals] at the helm. Vincent elaborates on Doogan’s influence on the recording process “he suggested that we record as a live band, which we hadn’t done for years. Having played a few tunes on the last tour, we were ready for that. Tony wanted to capture that energy you can only get with everyone facing each other… it makes a big difference. He was a superb guy to work with and I learned a lot making this record”

The idea for ‘The Optimist’ was born from the front cover artwork of the band’s 2001 album ‘A Fine Day To Exit’. Daniel Cavanagh explains “I suppose you might say the album is semi-autobiographical because this time we used a surrogate,” he says, of the character that is The Optimist “We put sound, feelings and crucially, our own hopes and fears into another person and made him the subject of the songs then weaving my own internal monologue into the narrative of The Optimist. It was John’s idea to write a narrative, so I took A Fine Day To Exit as the starting point”. Vincent elaborates further on the earlier album’s artwork influence “The guy who disappeared – you never knew what happened to him, did he start a new life? Did he succumb to his fate? It was never explained. The opening track title is the exact coordinates for Silver Strand beach in San Diego – the last known location of The Optimist – shown on the cover of A Fine Day to Exit.”

To continue the theme further, the band brought back designer and illustrator Travis Smith to create the artwork for The Optimist. The artwork was created from a series of photographs Smith took on a West Coast road trip.

With the character’s unresolved destiny the three song writing members, meticulously brought the unfinished story to an end – and most strikingly of all – one which is decided by the listener.

32.63N 117.14W [01:18]

Leaving It Behind [04:27]

Endless Ways [05:49]

The Optimist [05:37]

San Francisco [04:59]

Springfield [05:49]

Ghosts [04:17]

Can`t Let Go [05:00]

Close Your Eyes [03:39]

Wildfires [05:40]

Back To The Start [11:41]

Anathema will be revealing more information on The Optimist very soon, album formats and further touring details.

(Band picture by Scarlet Page)

ANATHEMA LIVE

Summer Festivals & shows

11/06/17 – UK, Donington Download Festival (https://downloadfestival.co.uk )

16/06 – BE Dessel , Graspop Metal Meeting (https://www.graspop.be )

23/06 – NL, Nijmegen – Doornroosje

24/06 – NL, Valkenburg – Midsummer Prog Festival (www.midsummerprog.com )

01/07 – SP, Barcelona – Be Prog My Friend Festival (http://www.beprogmyfriend.com )

01-02/07/17 – GR, Athens – Rock Wave Festival (http://www.rockwavefestival.gr_)

The Optimist tour 

08/06/17 – Russia – Moscow – Yotaspace

09/06/17 – Russia – St. Petersburg – ClubZal

03/08/17 – Mexico – Monterrey – Café Iguana

04/08/17 – Mexico – Guadalajara – C3 Stage

05/08/17 – Mexico – Mexico City – El Plaza Condesa

07/07/17 – Columbia – Bogota – Teatro Ecci

09/07/17 – Chile – Santiago – Teatro Cariola

11/08/17 – Argentina – Buenos Aires – Groove

12/08/17 – Brazil – Sao Paolo – Carioca Cluba

23/09/17 – NI – Belfast – Limelight 2

24/09/17 – IRE – Dublin – Academy

Many more dates to be announced soon

Review – Flicker Rate – Reframe EP – by Progradar

“The flicker fusion threshold (or flicker fusion rate) is a concept in the psychophysics of vision. It is defined as the frequency at which an intermittent light stimulus appears to be completely steady to the average human observer.”

Flicker Rate is an Instrumental, Guitar based Progressive, Post Rock / Math Rock Solo Project that fuses progressive ambient guitar playing with strong creative melodies and riffs to produce progressive songs that keeps the listener interested throughout due to the cinematic build that each song holds. Spencer Bassett played and recorded all instruments on this record, which was also mixed and mastered by John Bassett from the project Arcade Messiah.

Since then Spencer Bassett has been growing his fan base on social media, finished school and written his second EP ‘Reframe’ Flicker Rate fans have been looking forward to what Spencer Bassett has in store for 2017.

I reviewed Spencer’s first eponymous Flicker Rate EP and had this to say about this talented young man:

“What Spencer has done though is mould it into his own creation and it is something of which he should be very proud. Keep an eye out for Flicker Rate, this is a musical project that is definitely going places.”

He’s an unassuming, affable young man and has always been unfailingly polite whenever I have spoken to him and this is reflected in the meticulous creativity of his music. The opening and title, track Reframe is a wistful, cultured piece of music that brings to mind days of sepia tinged nostalgia. The hazy days of high summer when you had not a care in the world. Let the sun warm your back and the wonderful music wash over you.

There’s more of an edgy tone to Summit with it intricate riffing and stylistic drums. Inventive and intelligent, there’s a questing tone to the insistent beat, one that gets under your skin and won’t let go. Spencer has all the chops and is happy to let us see that but is never pretentious in any way and is also content to ply his own trade and not hang on to the coat tails of his illustrious father. Where John Bassett has become king of the incredibly dense wall of sound, Spencer is a whole lot more subtle and understated in his style. There’s a lovely about-face towards the end of the song where the music takes on a more sombre tone and feel, bringing the ambience low down and laid back and the song closes with an air of mystery and unfinished business.

Spectrum has a real world music, jazzy character from the start, the staccato guitar and drums almost reminding me of Flamenco at times. An uplifting melody but also one that has a serious undertone, a performer who is playing through some unknown pain or tragedy perhaps, it certainly touched a nerve with me in parts. Clever and creative.

The final track on this EP is Airspace, a thoughtful and contemplative piece of music that could have been taken from the soundtrack of a science fiction movie. It may just be me but, at times, I was getting transported back to 1981 and ‘Ghost In The Machine’, released by the legendary The Police. The repeated rhythm of the guitar and the sober, serious deadpan delivery just reminded me of tracks like Spirits In The Material World and Invisible Sun. It is a song that shows the growing maturity of this excellent musician.

Spencer has, once again, exceeded my expectations with his latest Flicker Rate release. Improving on the debut EP but still keeping his signature character, ‘Reframe’ is a composed and self-assured piece of work that showcases his talent brilliantly, we just need more of it!

Released 10th March 2017

Buy ‘Reframe’ from bandcamp

 

 

NAPOLEON IIIRD ANNOUNCES FIRST NEW ALBUM IN 6 YEARS / SHARES VIDEO FOR ‘THE SCRAPE’

In the six years since his last album, ‘Christiana’, James Mabbett aka Napoleon IIIrd has covered a fair amount of distance, both emotional and literal. The culmination of that journey results in the release of his new album, ‘The Great Lake’ on 19 May 2017 (Hatch Records). A five track exploration of the possibilities of song structures within experimental soundscapes thematically wedded to James’ personal experiences of grief, ‘The Great Lake’ is paradoxically an album full of human warmth and emotion and a strident piece of abstract art, the collision point between the theory of Basinski and the melody of Northern Soul.
Now he has shared the first video taken from the album. James himself describes ‘The Scrape’ as ‘the point where sorrow becomes destructive’. The video for track was shot in a flood damaged, abandoned automotive silicon hose factory in Mirfield, West Yorkshire. The building was raised to the ground just weeks after this film was shot and a Lidl is to be built in its place.  He adds, ‘I think somehow and in some way, this might be kind of fitting. The price of love is grief and grief can be so hard we can forget what love is.I am a temporary carbon marker. I am merely conjoined space. Like death, the fight to survive consumes us.’
Watch ‘The Scrape’:
The genesis for the album came with James’ move to London from Yorkshire in 2011. Journeying through the centre of the metropolis by bus every day he found solace in immersion in ambient and noise experiments as a travelling soundtrack, recontextualising the chaos and thrum of the city around him into something more surreal and passive.
Returning to West Yorkshire and settling in the artistic enclave of Holmfirth, a town perhaps best known for light Sunday evening comedy but inhabited by a vibrant creative community, James set about reconstituting his band and inviting friends to join him on the recordings. The core group of Nestor Matthews (Menace Beach, Sky Larkin) on drums, John Leaman on guitar, Bob McDougall on bass and Oli Bentley on saxophone; an instrument that James had previously felt a strong aversion to but elected to place at the heart of the composition and use tonally to challenge himself, gathered together in March 2015 at Greenmount studios in Leeds and recorded the tracks in four weeks.
Additional contributions came from Joel Midden, aka Bastardgeist, on backing vocals, Tom Rogerson (Three Trapped Tigers) on piano, Neil Walsh (Smoke Fairies) on voila, Susie Gills on violin and Jasmine Neale on cello. Whilst James recorded the strings at Dreamtrak, a friend’s studio in London, the remainder contributed via the internet, their additions coming from locales as divergent as Berlin, New York and Brighton. The artwork for the album, an integral part of the concept alongside the films that will accompany many of the tracks, was created by Holmfirth resident Freya Stockford, a name on the rise in contemporary art and graduate of Glasgow School Of Art
The lyrical tone for ‘The Great Lake’ had been set during the demoing process in London but was brought into sharp relief by personal experience for James. Having settled on an album that dealt with the big themes of humanity, the death of his grandparents within one exact calendar year sharpened that theme into an exploration of the five stages of grief, travelling through denial, anger, bargaining and depression before arrival at acceptance. Which may not sound like the most fulfilling listen yet, from such dark subject matter, ‘The Great Lake’ creates a world replete with hope and transcendence.
Central to the album is track 4, ‘And the You in Between the Space’. Clocking in at 19 minutes and 25 seconds, this three-part piece embodies all the aspects of the album and is a stark example of the bravery of James’ approach to the recording, his desire to challenge both himself and listener. Dropping to almost silence at its midpoint before building to a glorious, joyful climax, the album’s markers of tone, structure, melody, ambience and mood are all displayed within its boundaries; a rejoinder to those who suggest that contemporary music has nowhere left to travel.
‘Channels influences as far-flung as Brian Wilson, Balearic house and space rock’ – The Guardian
‘Has the relentless, cycling industry and digital-soup density of Animal Collective’ – The Independent
‘Imagine if Springsteen’s soul had been captured by synth-wielding Europeans and sent on an odyssey by anarcho-syndicalists intent on breaking into Bletchley Park to hold a disco’ – NME
‘One of the most visionary artists in the world today’’ – Drowned in Sound

 

sleepmakeswaves share new track ‘Into the Arms of Ghosts’ / Added to ArcTanGent Festival

Post-rock trailblazers sleepmakeswaves have continued their massive start to 2017 by sharing another new track from their upcoming album “Made of Breath Only” set for release on Friday 7th April through Bird’s Robe Records. Speaking about ‘Into The Arms of Ghosts’ guitarist Otto Wicks-Green comments:
 
“This track was one of the last songs to come together on the record, despite comprising some parts that were amongst the first to be written (the lead melody for instance). It’s one of the darker and heavier moments on the album and deals more directly with feelings around loss and adjustment to that. The soaring lead lines made our producer Nick joke that it should be the soundtrack to someone jumping off a mountain in a parachute before landing in a stadium with a guitar. We should really try and get that happening.”

sleepmakeswaves recently wrapped up a massive sold out tour with reunited alternative rock legends COG, as well as touring extensively across North America and their own headline tour in Australia, clocking up 54 shows in support of the single and video ‘traced in constellations.’
The band’s busy schedule follows their epic 55-date, 22-country ‘Great Northern’ tour of 2015 and 10 Australian tours, 4 European tours, 2 US tours and shows across Asia and New Zealand since their release of their debut album ‘…and so we destroyed everything’ in 2011. In 2014, they successfully raised $30,000 in pre-orders to help fund the recording of ‘Love of Cartography’. Currently on tour in China the band have also been added to the line-up for this year’s ArcTanGent festival in August.
New album “Made of Breath Only” is out 7th April in the UK.
sleepmakeswaves China headline tour
Thu March 9 – Mao Livehouse, Hangzhou CHINA
Fri March 10 – Mao Livehouse, Shanghai CHINA
Sat March 11 – Yugong Yishan, Beijing CHINA
Sun March 12 – Ola Space, Nanjing CHINA
Tue March 14 – Nuts, Chongqing CHINA
Wed March 15 – Little Bar Space, Chengdu CHINA
Thu March 16 – Vox, Wuhan CHINA
Fri March 17 – Fei Livehouse, Guangzhou CHINA
Sat March 18 – B10, Shenzhen CHINA
Sun March 19 – Hidden Agenda, Hong Kong CHINA
sleepmakeswaves Australian headline tour
Fri March 24 – Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW
Sat March 25 – Max Watt’s, Melbourne VIC
Thu March 30 – ANU Bar, Canberra ACT
Fri March 31 – Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Thu April 6 – The Gov, Adelaide SA
Fri April 7 – Badlands, Perth WA
Sat April 8 – Max Watt’s, Brisbane
sleepmakeswaves Australia & New Zealand tour w/Devin Townsend Project (CAN)
Thu May 18 – Powerstation, Auckland NZ
Sat May 20 – The Triffid, Brisbane QLD
Mon May 22 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW
Wed May 24 – 170 Russell, Melbourne VIC
Fri May 26 – Capitol, Perth WA
Tickets for all shows from www.sleepmakeswaves.com
Pre-orders from www.sleepmakeswaves.bandcamp.com