Latest News
Chris James reveals new single ‘Space In The Clouds’ ft DM Stith!
"...a beautifully compelling journey..."
- Gold Flake Paint
"...a bewitching, cinematic offering, that fuses folk tapestries with electronics." - Clash
Singer-songwriter Chris James introduces us to his unique blend of stunning cinematic-folk on his new EP Space In The Clouds, out on 9th December 2016 via AWAL and available to pre-order on iTunes.
Chris has now shared the title track from his EP Space In The Clouds featuring DM Stith (Sufjan Stevens) along with the video, which premiered on Gold Flake Paint and is available to watch via Chris James' YouTube channel.
Alternatively you can stream the audio for single on Chris' Soundcloud page now.
Chris' debut single Stairs Up To The Sun premiered on Clash and you can watch the video via his YouTube channel, as well as streaming the audio on Chris' Soundcloud page.
The EP is about overcoming a difficult, dark period in his life and musically James combines influences from his days as lead singer songwriter of electro-rock pioneers Stateless with folk and modern electronica.
Space In The Clouds begins with Chris talking to his younger self through a time lapse with DM Stith playing the counter voice. Throughout the EP, his compelling vocals take centre stage, complimented by the combination of intricate folk and synth sounds akin to the likes of Björk, with epic atmospheres reminiscent of Sigur Rós.
After living in east London for the past eight years, Chris met Lorna Rose (vocals) and pianist Nick Ramm (Cinematic Orchestra) on the London circuit. Through Lorna, Chris was introduced to the east London folk scene where he met bassist Arista Hawkes (Guillemots), Ben Trigg (cello) and Gillian Wood (cello). While touring with DJ Shadow, Chris met up with producer Suneil Pusari (Michael Kiwanuka), and he was introduced to Barny Barnicott (Arctic Monkeys) through long-time collaborator Jim Abbiss (Adele), and the Space In The Clouds line-up was complete.
As part of Stateless, Chris has received praise from the likes of Uncut, MOJO, Clash and Q Magazine amongst others and their music has also been featured on an array of film and TV shows including Film 4, CSI, The Vampire Dairies and Suits. Chris has performed at various festivals including Secret Garden Party as well as performing on DJ Shadow's world tour. Now emerging as a solo artist, Chris is ready to introduce the world to his subtle electronic soundscapes that will take you, as the EP aptly puts it, to a space in the clouds.
Space In The Clouds is out on 9th December 2016 via AWAL and available to pre-order on iTunes.
A Badge of Friendship Welcome Halina Rifai as Regional PR!
A Badge of Friendship are proud to officially welcome Halina Rifai to the team as head of regional PR. Based in Glasgow, Halina will be looking after A Badge of Friendship’s Scottish office representing our artists in Scotland and the regions.
Halina is very well connected to the scene up north and beyond. She has run Podcart since 2009 (a website and podcast that showcases music from Scotland and around the world), is also heavily involved with women’s collective TYCI, works with label Bloc+Music and recently stood in for Vic Galloway on BBC Radio Scotland this year.“I am very excited to be joining ABOF. Having worked in other capacities with the company, I love their ethos, their hard work and zero bullshit approach. I also think this will be a great thing for Glasgow and Scotland. To be based here with strong links to London will make this all the more exciting and will hopefully showcase in a greater capacity the talent we have on our doorstep.”
With ABoF founders Claire Lim and Paul McCallum originally from Glasgow, reaching press, labels and bands outside of London and maintaining connections to Scotland and beyond is an incredibly important part of their ethos.
Currently, ABoF’s roster includes an array of artists from all over the world including the UK, Europe, North America and Indonesia.
The Empty Page release ‘Wardrobe Malfunction’ video!
"...recalling Fugazi's righteous fury." - Clash
"...a powerful yet understated alt-rock sound." - Punktastic
"...a rather fantastic, mature sounding album." - Uber Rock
Manchester alt.rock three-piece The Empty Page have released the video for their third single Wardrobe Malfunction taken from their debut album Unfolding out now via Vociferous Records and available to buy on Bandcamp, iTunes and stream on Spotify.
The video has been unveiled to coincide with Trans Awareness Month after the band wrote the song as a sign of solidarity with their friends in the trans community who have suffered physical and verbal abuse. The video premiered on Diva Magazine and is now available to watch via The Empty Page YouTube channel.
You can also stream the track on Bandcamp.
An in-depth interview, as well as an exclusive stream of the album, was featured on Louder Than War following on from the unveiling of their video for single Big Wheel which premiered on Clash Magazine.
The band's single Turbulence further enhanced their burgeoning reputation and, once again, highlighted front woman Kel's captivating presence both vocally and visually. You can watch the video on The Empty Page YouTube channel and buy Turbulance along with the rest of their debut album Unfolding via the The Empty Page Bandcamp.
The band enlisted the skills of uber producer Garth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Biffy Clyro, L7, Melvins) to shape the sound of their debut record, creating their very own brand of pop/rock. Straddling the line between grunge, post-punk and noise-pop, The Empty Page have produced a sound that has an unerring ability to draw you in through it’s melodic choruses and fuzzy, driven guitar lines.
Recorded and mixed in just one week, the essence of a pure, live band can be heard on the ten songs that make up the album, stepping away from the overly produced music that has become synonymous with the pro-tools era of modern rock music. From the grunge-inspired sound of Hole on ‘Cracks In The Surface’, to the riot grrrl stylings of Bikini Kill on current single Wardrobe Malfunction and the the hooky, indie-rock, head bopping melodies of My Vitriol and Llama Farmers on the aforementioned Big Wheel, The Empty Page invite you to join them on their sonic journey through the full alt.rock songbook.
Comprised of Kel (vocals, bass), Giz (guitar) and Jim (drums), the band first came together as friends jamming cover songs, before realising that their chemistry dictated that they should write their own tunes. The results were immediate, fast forward one year and they now have a Gggarth Richardson produced album as well as picking up support from the likes of Louder Than War, Punktastic and Clash.
Unfolding by The Empty Page is out now via Vociferous Records and available to buy on Bandcamp, iTunes and stream on Spotify.
Outblinker release charity single ‘Hallogallo’!
"...Glasgow's standard quo rejectionists..." - Spin
"...as blissful as they are boisterous." - NME
"...it'll latch onto your lapels and drag you into a claustrophobic abyss." - The Line of Best Fit
"...slick, modern Kraut for an uneasy Britain...." - The Skinny
Glasgow’s Outblinker have released charity single Hallogallo, a cover of Neu's 1972 krautrock classic, out now via Human Is Not Alone and available to purchase via the Human Is Not Alone Bandcamp.
The video for the single premiered on Poule D'Or and is now available to watch via the Outblinker YouTube channel.
This single heralds the band’s forthcoming 5 week European tour and people will be invited to name their price for purchase, with proceeds going to Marie Curie Cancer Care to support their excellent work helping people and their families affected by cancer.
It's a cause inspired by the name-sake of Outblinker's recent EP The Remains Of Walter Peck and the suitably psychedelic video clip that accompanies it - super-cut from Koji Shima's 1952 B-movie favourite Warning From Space - is a playful reflection on the impending demise of planet Earth (quite probably at our own hands) and our inevitable need to one day set off into deep space to have any hope of surviving as a race.
The video and single riff on the wry nihilism of the aforementioned EP's weighty subject matter as well as taking an affectionate look at how artists and visionaries - like Japanese film-makers and German rock musicians - have mused on the mystery and majesty of the universe.
For anyone who ever spent their evening kicking back, skinning up and losing themselves in the repetitive cyclic beauty of Neu! and their krautrock peers, this sort of flight of fancy will be familiar.
Wed 16th Beziers, Nashville Pub
Thur 17th Grenoble, Le BAF
Fri 18th Livorno, Surfer Joe Tiki Bar
Sat 19th Modena, Bar Perla Verde
Sun 20th Perugia, Free Ride
Tues 22nd Frejus, Monster's Art
Wed 23rd Montpellier, La Pleine Lune w/ Total Eclipse
Thurs 24th Pau, La Ferronerrie w/ Total Eclipse
Fri 25th Madrid, La Faena II
Sat 26th Azkoitia @Festinale Bebarruko Jardunek @Matadero Ekintzak
Sun 27th Vitoria-Gasteiz, Gora Project w/ Los Nitxos
Mon 28th Barcelona, Sala BeGood w/ ZU
Tues 29th Toloso, Bonberenea
Wed 30th Bordeaux, Novo Local
DECEMBER
Thurs 1st Nantes, La Rumeur
Fri 2nd Tours, (venue TBC)
Sat 3rd Amiens, (venue TBC)
Sun 4th Bradford, Fuse Art Space
Thurs 8th Edinburgh, Leith Depot w/ DTHPDL
Sat 10th Glasgow, The Old Hairdresser's
Outblinker's charity single Hallogallo is out now via Human Is Not Alone and is available to purchase via the Human Is Not Alone Bandcamp.
When Tomorrow Becomes Yesterday share free track ‘The Ceasing’
Singer-songwriter Jo Mango has teamed up with an array of songwriters, academic researchers and sustainability organisations to create the When Tomorrow Becomes Yesterday project.
Jo has released the final track The Ceasing, featuring Jo Mango and Louis Abbot (Admiral Fallow), which recently premiered on The Skinny and can also be downloaded for free via Jo's Soundcloud page now.
The project’s aim is to bring together academic, musical, artistic and practical knowledge to imagine a future in a more sustainable world. They have released three download tracks along with a video documentary to help promote the cause.
The first two tracks If I Could Choose and Better Lands, premiered on The National and Folk Radio respectively and are also available download for free via Jo's Soundcloud page now.
You can also watch a shorter version of the video documentary on the new project via Vimeo.
When Tomorrow Becomes Yesterday (Short) from UWS Creative Media Academy on Vimeo.
Mango collaborated with a number of artists (Adem, Louis Abbott of Admiral Fallow and Craig Beaton of The Unwinding Hours), researchers (University of the West of Scotland’s Jo Collison Scott, the University of Manchester’s Angela Connelly, the University of Edinburgh’s Matt Brennan and Creative Carbon Scotland’s Gemma Lawrence) as well as organisations Manchester: A Certain Future and Julie’s Bicycle to create a project that would allow art to explore the emotional connections to nature and create a platform for change.
After working together on a research project called Fields of Green, looking at how the live music industry could reduce its carbon footprint, Jo Mango and a set of Scottish songwriters went on to write a stunning collection of songs (Wrack Lines). This was funded by The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) who then sent out a proposal to put on a festival of events around the country on the theme of Community Futures and Utopias (a Connected Communities Research Festival) that would see different communities using the arts to to explores issues related to their futures.
As a result, Jo Mango then took part in three songwriting sessions - in London, Manchester and Edinburgh - thinking about the future and the challenges that climate change brings. This resulted in three songs: The Ceasing (Jo Mango and Louis Abbott), If I Could Choose (Adem Ilhan and Jo Mango) and Better Lands (Craig Beaton, Louis Abbott and Jo Mango), which were first played at AHRC’s Futures and Utopia Fair in Somerset House, London. Coincidently, this event took place the day after the Brexit result so the atmosphere felt charged and extremely thought provoking.
Climate change is a difficult subject to tackle, which a lot of people find unapproachable or simply choose to ignore it. However, with When Tomorrow Becomes Yesterday, Jo and her collaborators hope to break down that barrier and bring the arts together to explore how we can change the future.