NOT SO WILD IN THE COUNTRY?

Sadly, the highlight of my July has been cancelled.
And i apologise for the awful title of this blog.





Stately Events Ltd is extremely disappointed to announce the cancellation of the Wild in the Country festival at Knebworth Park on Saturday 5th July.

The cancellation is due to lower than expected ticket sales and a key investor withdrawing at the last minute, leaving the event in an unsustainable position.

This is a very sad conclusion to our passionate efforts to develop an interesting and credible addition to the UK festival market. Unfortunately, Wild in the Country has become the latest in a series of festivals that have suffered from a unique and well-documented set of market forces this summer.

We did everything possible to make the event happen and would like to apologise to all those who have purchased tickets, and for the inconvenience this cancellation may have caused.

The Organisers will make every effort to ensure that ticket purchases will be refunded.


I can't say i'm at all surprised, even before both Bjork AND Battles cancelled, there was no secret about the lack of ticket sales.

A massive shame, but here's to Field Day!

TEEN CREEPS I'VE SEEN YOU ON MY STREET.

No Age is a noise/experimental/punk band from beautiful Los Angeles, California.
As if this wasn’t a comfortable enough existence on its own they’ve gone about becoming one of the hippest bands of their kind about.
Firstly, they're a two-piece, something I’m lucky enough to share in common with them.
On top of the coolness that comes with being a Los Angeles 2-Piece in '07 they brought out five limited edition singles and EPs on 5 different labels, with each sleeve plastered with a different letter. When the collection was complete, the sleeves would spell No Age. There's nothing like stealing marketing ploys from a certain infamous series of Mr Men books....
On top of this they’ve played in the middle of Los Angeles River, a vegan grocery store and Los Angeles Central Library. So before I’d even heard their music, they’d thoroughly earned my admiration (and jealousy).



Being the favourites of the blogosphere I guess I should have latched on earlier. But with my birthday coming up I thought ‘NOUNS’ would make a lovely birthday present. And surprise surprise - it has.

I wouldn’t say I’m massively into the Punk/Noise Rock sound but there’s something about the distorted, trebly, punk, fuzz-pop of this album (sorry, I’m not big on simple descriptions) that draws you in. The songs fit together perfectly, with moments of ambience to give your ears a wee rest between tracks. Although there aren’t any songs that really stick out for me as hit singles, the album as a whole works perfectly. A far cry from the uniformed, uninspiring, ‘indie by numbers’ albums that are currently covering the HMV shelves, ‘Nouns’ offers a pounding, raucous, headache-maker of an album. Although lacking hooks, the album cuts from song to song easily with tracks such as ‘Eraser’ and with ‘Here Should Be My Home’ seeming the most likely to get radio airplay.

Somehow I don’t think karaoke and chanting fans are high on this bands list of priorities, and it’s just as well because the regulars of an inner-city Gloucester pub couldn’t do this album justice.

Download No Age - It's Oh So Quiet MP3
Download No Age - Eraser MP3

No Age Myspace

- Christian (a regular of an inner-city Gloucester pub.)

THIS IS A BLOG ON THE BAND ADEBISI SHANK (& THE VINNY CLUB)

Sounding like a jam session between Death From Above 1979 and The Fall Of Troy, Adebisi Shank (brilliant name, I know) are a 2/3rds Irish, 1/3rd English band based in Wexford, Republic of Ireland.

To say that their music was normal would be a lie. To say it was a particular genre would, again, be a lie. To say they were conventional.... well, you get the pattern. While Adebisi Shank create some of the most peculiar and mind-boggling music I've heard in months, it's fair to say that it's also some of the most captivating.

Songs are constructed using complex and mathematical song structures, creating unpredictability in the music. When listening to Adebisi Shank you can't help but wonder what's going to come next, as they possess the unique ability to surprise and shock you mid-way through a song. While producing music that is not only melodic and catchy, the occasional prog-esque guitar wig-out will sneak in to show off just how insane and brilliant the band is.

Mysterious bass player 'Vince' is also the mastermind behind his solo project The Vinny Club, producing 8-bit chiptune electro with a disturbing obsession with the Rocky films. The music scene may be awash with chiptune at the moment, but The Vinny Club manages to shake off the usual pitfalls to produce amazingly catchy 80's infused electro pop.

Simply put, the songs sound like the cross between a Commodore 64 and 80's synth pop, and the creators of Street Fighter II will be kicking themselves that such a slice of fried gold was not around when the game's soundtrack was being finalised. Some chiptune electro that's around at the moment can sound dated and quite frankly annoying, but it's artists like The Vinny Club who are propelling electro into the 21st Century.

Download Adebisi Shank - Horse MP3
Adebisi Shank Myspace

Download The Vinny Club - Whatever He Hits He Destroys MP3
The Vinny Club Myspace

- Chris

PLEASANT & FRIENDLY IN DISPOSITION.

The Good Natured is:
A solo artist: Sarah Mcintosh from Berkshire.
Instrument of choice: a Yamaha keyboard.

Armed with her trusty keys, she creates beautiful electro-pop melodies which are complimented by a soft vocal, backed up by punchy drum beats.
She willdefinitely be featured in my summer soundtrack. (Look forward to the tracks that we believe will define our summers in the next few posts! - Lea x)
Stand out tracks for me include "Heart of Stone" and "How Can I Believe In You?".

How long have you been playing music for?
Well, i used to play the recorder, everyone played the recorder... it is a good instrument i think... and i did four grades in violin when i was little.
So i guess i have been playing music for a while! That's always the classic response to this question....

How long have you been performing as The Good Natured?
Not that long actually, about 5 months?
I set up my myspace at christmas 2007, and i think i have done about 6 gigs so far!

What are your influences?
I love beefy drum beats, my organ, summertime, memories, falling in love, falling out of love, spaceships, happiness, sadness, anger, hopes and fears, secrets...

What can people expect from your live shows?
Expect to see a visually exciting keyboard, me being really shy, oh yes and lots and lots of dancing!!

Any plans to release any records soon?
I am recording an ep at the beginning of July, so keep an eye out for that.
I am really excited about it, containing four songs: three brand new ones plus "Heart of Stone".

Download The Good Natured - How Can I Believe In You? (M4a)
The Good Natured Myspace

- Bec x

REST NOW WEARY HEAD, YOU WILL GET WELL SOON.

Get Well Soon is the musical project and band founded by German multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Konstantin Gropper. Spending 3 years in his bedroom creating debut album 'Rest Now, Weary Head! You Will Get Well Soon', Gropper's talent and abilities are slowly being noticed and appreciated across Europe.

The album, released June 1st in the UK on NUDE Records, is already tipped to be album of the year in many music journalists' eyes, something of which is completely understandable after just one listen. 'Rest Now, Weary Head!…' is one of the most refreshing yet bewildering albums I've heard in a long time. The amazing ability of this album to make classical, folk and electro walk hand in hand seamlessly is something to not only be respected, but also thoroughly enjoyed.

While the music is one thing, Gropper's frighteningly wide-ranging voice adds such depth and character to the whole ensemble; it's difficult to accept these sounds are coming from one man. His voice bears a Josh Homme-esque quality, at times also sounding like Johnny Cash, all wrapped up in complete baritone splendour.

Every single song on the album has something wonderful and wholesome to offer, but it's the slightly odd inclusion of a cover of 'Born Slippy' by Underworld that has to stand out as a true testament to this man's genius. Described by Gropper as 'the Smells Like Teen Sprit of the techno generation', the familiar and recognisable pulse of the original is completely stripped and replaced with delicate pianos and abrasive drums, leaving his version twinkling and pirouetting like a 1920's music box.

Enough bumming from me, check this out right now so in the future you can say with pride in your heart 'I heard this before any of you', as it would be a crime against nature for Get Well Soon to not go galactic real soon.

Download Get Well Soon - Born Slippy (Nuxx)
Download Get Well Soon - We Are Cannibal Corpse

Get Well Soon Myspace

- Chris

BIG SHOES WON'T YOU COME WITH ME IN THE RAIN? I WANT YOU.

So whilst we're talking about Modular, let's briefly talk about Van She.

This August sees the release of the long, long awaited debut album 'V' from the Sydney four-piece.

Modular People/geeks are on tenterhooks, waiting for any sign of a leak across the vast musical abyss that is more commonly known as 'the internet'.

Here presents the video for Strangers, which will be the follow up release from 'Cat and the Eye'.




Still can't wait until August to get your Modular dose?
Why not have a little gander at the tour dates below...


22 Jun - Bumblebeez @ The Lock Tavern, London
27 Jun - The Presets @ Barfly, Brighton
27 Jun - Cut Copy @ Rose Tree Jam, Chippenham
28 Jun - The Presets @ The Cockpit, Leeds
28 Jun - Bumblebeez @ Atch, Aberdeen
28 Jun - Cut Copy @ La Musique, N. Ireland
29 Jun - Cut Copy @ The Sub Club, Glasgow
30 Jun - Cut Copy @ Night and Day, Manchester

01 Jul - The Presets @ Thekla, Bristol (I will be attending!)
02 Jul - The Presets @ Kamikaze! 444 Club, Birmingham
02 Jul - Cut Copy @ Concorde 2, Brighton
03 Jul - The Presets, @ Scala, London



Purchase What's Left Of Van She's Self Titled EP (released in 05) HERE
or
From The Modular Site HERE.

Van She Myspace

Modular UK Myspace

- Lea x

I REACH OUT TO YOU TONIGHT.

In case you've had your eyes and ears closed for the past 3 months, Cut Copy, after a very long wait, are back.

This is the video for the re-release 'Hearts on Fire', which is out on Modular on 4th August.



Download Hearts on Fire remixed by Joakim Here
Download Hearts on Fire remixed by Midnight Juggernauts Here



- Lea x