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Introducing… Sweet Baboo
"His indie-pop odes are distinguished by understated guitar chops and a droll rural vernacular..." - Mojo Magazine
Sweet Baboo is Stephen Black, a native of the North Wales countryside and a single-minded, idiosyncratic, contrary singer-songwriter who possesses an ear for a sparkling melody, a restless soul, and a gift for a deft lyrical turn; from darkly funny to piercingly tender, twinklingly boastful to deliciously self-deprecating. Following the release of his third album, I'm a Dancer/Songs About Sleeping, Black has returned in 2011 with his latest EP - Girl Under A Tree.
With myriad influences taking in The Beach Boys, Daniel Johnston and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Girl Under A Tree is characterised by tales of girls, loss, adventure and drinking.
If you can't see the waveform for EP track, "The Day I Lost My Voice", listen to it on the ABoF SoundCloud page.
Sweet Baboo - The Day I Lost My Voice by abadgeoffriendship
If you can't see the video for the track below, check it out on Sweet Baboo's Vimeo page.
The Day I Lost My Voice from Sweet Baboo on Vimeo.
Over the last twelve months Sweet Baboo has played at Glastonbury, Latitude, Green Man, SXSW and The Camden Crawl, as well as touring Germany with Johnny Flynn and the UK with Islet. He has also been invited to record sessions for BBC 6 Music's Marc Riley, Huw Stephens and Stuart Maconie. Notably, Black's song How I'd Live My Life (AKA The Bumblebee Song) soundtracked a series of TV spots for the Visit Wales tourist board campaign in 2010.
Black's productivity is all the more remarkable given his extra-curricular activities, which have seen him working with an ever-growing array of musicians. This year alone Black has played on albums by Cate Le Bon, Slow Club and H. Hawkline, and has been a regular part of the touring line-ups for all three bands. He has also performed with and produced Euros Childs, The Voluntary Butler Scheme and Spencer McGarry Season and collaborated onstage with Gruff Rhys.
Girl Under A Tree will be released via Shape Records on 19th Sept 2011 on limited 10 inch white vinyl / download.
Sweet Baboo: London show this Friday!
Sweet Baboo is a man in high demand. Not content with being one of the latest additions to the A Badge of Friendship roster, he has also just been signed up to the bill at The Lexington in London this Friday, 26th August.
If you've not had the chance to check out Sweet Baboo mainman Stephen Black's brand of folk-tinged indie pop as yet, then now is the perfect opportunity to hear him perform tracks from his new EP Girl Under A Tree in a more intimate setting before he heads out on tour with Slow Club next month. The evening's headliners, My Jeruselam, feature members of The Twilight Singers and The Polyphonic Spree and this is the only UK show on their current tour.
If you still need persuading to get down to The Lexington, you can check out the video for Sweet Baboo's The Day I Lost My Voice from the Girl Under A Tree EP on Vimeo.
The Day I Lost My Voice from Sweet Baboo on Vimeo.
The track is also available to download free from our Soundcloud page.
Sweet Baboo - The Day I Lost My Voice by abadgeoffriendship
Girl Under A Tree will be released via Shape Records on 19th Sept 2011 on limited 10” white vinyl / download. Tickets are availiable for Friday's show here.
If you'd like more information about this, our PR services or anything else, please email info@abadgeoffriendship.com.
Geeks.co.uk review Keith TOTP album track - I Hate Your Band
Keith Top Of The Pops & His Minor UK Indie Celebrity All-Star Backing Band have impressed yet another onine publication with a "bawdy" and "clamourous" track off his debut album -I Hate Your Band.
Geeks.co.uk had a listen to the song, and gave their readers a bit of a track breakdown, throwing in some history about the band's inception, the overall sound and they've even gone so far as to construct an acronym for them - KTOTPAHMUICASBB. We'll see what Keith says, but we'll probably stick to using the full name. Check out the full article over on their site.
If you can't see the waveform for the album track "I Hate Your Band" below, then check it out on the ABoF SoundCloud page.
Keith Top Of The Pops & His Minor UK Indie Celebrity All-Star Backing Band - I Hate Your Band by abadgeoffriendship
Keep your eyes peeled for more news about the debut album, and Keith TOTP's upcoming tour.
A Genuine Freakshow: UK Tour 2011
Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music
With one UK tour this year already wrapped up, and a new double A-side single Our Bodies / New Houses out in late September, Reading-based A Genuine Freakshow are ready to hit the road again for the remainder of their summer festival appearances, followed by a short UK headline tour.A Genuine Freakshow's sound marries a range of genres. Their songs capture quirky, catchy pop akin to Pulp in their pomp and grandeur – and even geeky charm. This ability to combine the poppier elements of indie rock whilst maintaining an intricate, delicate soul is what they do best. The band’s line-up adds trumpet, cello and violin to the standard four-piece guitar, bass, drums and vocals, making their live shows a blistering, orchestral treat.
The band's current seven-piece line up has been touring and recording together since the end of 2008, and late summer will see them perform on the BBC Introducing stage at the Reading and Leeds Festivals, as well as making appearances as far and wide as Solfest in Cumbria, Bournemouth's Musicosity, Lodestar Festival in Cambridge, rounding things off at Southsea Fest in Portsmouth.
Following on from the release of Our Bodies / New Houses on September 26th, A Genuine Freakshow's own headline dates start just two days later at the Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms, stopping at London's 229 and ending with a homecoming show at South Street Arts Centre in Reading.
The band are also iving away a four track sampler, taken from their album, Oftentimes. You can download it by visiting their official site and submitting your details.
- Festivals
- 26 August – Reading Festival – Reading
- 27 August – Leeds Festival – Leeds
- 28 August – Solfest – nr Aspatria, Cumbria
- 2 September – Musicosity – Bournemouth
- 3 September – Dog House Goes to Paris Gates – Halifax
- 4 September – LodeStar Festival – Cambridge
- 17 September – Southsea Fest – Portsmouth
- 26 August – Reading Festival – Reading
- Headline Tour
- 28 September – Wedgewood Rooms – Portsmouth
- 8 October – Playgroup (Hector’s House) – Brighton
- 13 October – 229 – London
- 14 October – The Vic – Swindon
- 15 October – Lock 42 – Leicester
- 29 October – Academy 2 – Oxford
- 11 November – South Street – Reading
Our Bodies / New Houses will be released on MP3 via Peartree Records on September 26th 2011.
If you'd like more information about this, our PR services or anything else, please email info@abadgeoffriendship.com - 28 September – Wedgewood Rooms – Portsmouth
The Unkindness Of Ravens write to Artrocker Magazine (Online)
The Unkindness Of Ravens have been busy living it up in Berlin for the last few months, but they're getting set to head back to the UK with a brand new single.
While they were over in Germany, they took the time to drop the folks at Artrocker Magazine (online) a quick postcard, giving them an insight into a night on the town with the electro clash duo. Check out the full article over on their site.
If you'd like more information about this, our PR services or anything else, please email info@abadgeoffriendship.com