the art of...

ISLET :: UK tour dates for May and June announced

theartofagency — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:03:00 +0000

Download Tidal Barrage remix for ‘This Fortune’ here // http://tinyurl.com/thisfortune-tidalbarrageremix

“Illuminated People overflows with ideas and adventurism” Q

“they’re a model of how a left leaning rock band ought to conduct themselves in 2012″ NME

“’Illuminated People’ is a shining triumph” Clash

“beautifully beguiling” The Fly

To celebrate the release of their debut album ‘Illuminated People’ last week, Islet are delighted to announce their first live tour for 2012, bringing their incredible live show across the UK throughout May and June

Live they already have a burgeoning reputation. Spending the summer of 2011 playing festivals including Primavera, Leeds & Reading and Bestival, they beguiled onlookers with ritualistic chants, sometimes delivered away from the song being played on stage; at other times they were seen meandering off into the crowd. In person as in music, they seek to break down walls.

Islet’s vision appears to be that of limitless possibilities, not in the sense of the po-faced pedal hoarder, but in the simple joy of exploration. That’s what Illuminated People is; an album that drips with pride and the refusal to stand still, and ultimately one that fizzes with a sense of sheer enjoyment that came through making it. Islet are a group of people completely in charge of their own destiny, through their music you can tell that’s an extremely liberating thought.

MAY//

25 // LIVERPOOL, Kazimier

26 // GLASGOW, Captains Rest // ticketweb.co.uk/captainsrest

27 // NEWCASTLE, Cluny 2 // seetickets.com / netickets.net

28 // LEEDS, Brudenell Social Club // seetickets.com

29 // SHEFFIELD, The Harley // harleylive.co.uk/ticket-shop

30 // LONDON, Cargo // atpfestival.com / seetickets.com

31 // CARDIFF, Clwb Ifor Bach // swnpresents.com

JUNE //

1 // BIRMINGHAM, Rainbow // birminghampromoters.com

www.isletislet.com // www.turnstilemusic.net

ERRORS :: New album ‘Have Some Faith In Magic’ released today

theartofagency — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:59:45 +0000

After a brief but hugely-influential time away Errors return with ‘Have Some Faith In Magic,’ on Rock Action Records; their third album, it counts as far and away their greatest shift in sound yet, heralding in a sound of serenely cosmo-gazing sugar-tipped pop; previously hinted at with Spring single ‘Magna Encarta,’ a further preview is provided with free download ‘Earthscore.’

A group who emerged at the tale end of a period when anything purely-instrumental and guitar- based became lazily tagged “post-rock,” Errorshave now distanced themselves from that loose genre so much that any fleeting comparison to it is now completely redundant. ‘Have SomeFaith In Magic’ is an LP of sprawling pop, with delicious hooks applied liberally across post-electro scatterings; a complete turn away from previously lauded albums ‘It’s Not Something But It Is Like Whatever,’ and last year’s ‘Come Down With Me’ – not least with vocals now being included prominently for the first time.

“It was just something that naturally happened,” comments the group’s Steev Livingstone, “we had the idea to put vocals in the music a while ago but we always intended that they should be treated as another instrument. We’ve used them in a way that sits really naturally so the music and the vocals don’t feel like separate entities.”

Fresh from a summer supporting label mates (and bosses) Mogwai in the US, Errors can announce that they’ll again be supporting the band at a dual homecoming gig at Glasgow’s famous Barrowlands on December 22nd with a headlining tour taking place in February. Errors’ fans have long had their faith rewarded by the band; their third album only looks set to continue that trends.

February Tour 2012:

9 // Newcastle, The Cluny

10 // Manchester, Islington Mill

11 // Liverpool, Kazimer

12 // Birmingham, The Rainbow

13 // Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach

14 // Bristol, The Fleece

15 // Brighton, The Haunt

16 // London, XOYO

17 // Leeds, Cockpit 2

18 // Dublin, Grand Social

24 // Dundee, Doghouse

25 // Aberdeen, The Lemon Tree

MAY//

11 // GLASGOW, The Arches

ERRORS – HAVE SOME FAITH IN MAGIC - Tracklisting:

1. Tusk

2. Magna Encarta

3. Blank Media

4. Pleasure Palaces

5. The Knock

6. Canon

7. Earthscore

8. Cloud Chamber

9. Barton Spring

10. Holus-Bolus

www.havesomefaithinmagic.com

WILD NOTHING :: ‘Nowhere’ 7″ to be released 21st Feb on Captured Tracks :: Download ‘Nowhere’ now

theartofagency — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:02:07 +0000

Download ‘Nowhere’ now // http://soundcloud.com/ctracksbk/nowhere/s-CfkxV

Wild Nothing are set to release a new 7″ through Captured Tracks on February 21st , the first new recordings from the band since 2010′s critically acclaimed album ‘Gemini’.

Where ‘Gemini’ was the product of 23-year-old Jack Tatum’s home recordings, “Nowhere” finds Tatum in a recording studio for the first time. With live instrumentation and vocals from Andrea Estella of Twin Sister, “Nowhere” is a notable departure for Wild Nothing and captures the sound of a maturing songwriter exploring different moods.

The 7″ is currently available through pre-order on the Captured Tracks website with a limited run of 500 on white vinyl.

Gemini and the follow-up EP, Golden Haze landed the band on numerous year-end lists in 2010 including Pitchfork, Stereogum, Under The Radar, Rough Trade, Complex & USA Today.

The band are currently hard at work on their next album, expect to hear it in 2012.

Here’s what the press said:

“While Tatum’s words can edge on maudlin, his delivery is more romantic than dreary, and there’s a sly, understated, and subtly addictive melody that gorgeously frames his sentiments. And melodies like that one, which the album features in spades, are ultimately what make Gemini more than just another indie pop record, and often more than the sum of its parts.” PITCHFORK, BEST NEW MUSIC

“Tatum makes these lovely little musical postcards of all that music, and I can drift off without being pissed at Reagan and stuff.” SPIN MAGAZINE

“Wild Nothing specialise in humming, soft-focus garage indie. But the tunes come gleaming through immaculately in tact, teeming and longing. Every song on the album is a keeper.” NME

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Captured-Tracks

https://twitter.com/#!/capturedtracks

http://capturedtracks.com/

http://capturedtracks.com/artists/wildnothing/

http://www.facebook.com/wildnothing

PULLED APART BY HORSES :: New album ‘Tough Love’ released today :: ‘Borrow’ the album app launched

theartofagency — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:45:13 +0000

To celebrate the release of their new album ‘Tough Love’, Pulled Apart By Horses are lending fans their new album via a unique facebook app: www.facebook.com/pulledapartbyhorses. Anyone visiting the band’s page can borrow a stream of the album, which they can listen to for an unlimited amount of plays over the course of seven days. As even more of a thank you for their fans awesome support, they can also receive an exclusive free download of V.E.N.O.M’s b-side ‘PWR’. More exclusive treats will be added to the app over the upcoming months, which looks to be an incredible year for the Leeds quartet.

Direct access to the app here // http://tinyurl.com/PABHToughlove

The band’s self-titled 2010 debut was a sonic maelstrom of hard disco riffage; here was heavy music that you could shake a tail feather to, pop music at its most corrupted. Dance music played by wiry punk weirdo’s. Essentially, the band’s much-talked about live show captured on plastic, early singles such as ‘Back To The Fuck Yeah’ and ‘High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive’ somehow ended up being played repeatedly by Radio 1, on whose playlists they gleefully sat like the mad tramp that’s gate-crashed the toff’s tea party. Fuck yeah indeed!

But things move fast. Pulled Apart By Horses have already moved way beyond those early days. The Leeds quartet have put meat on the brittle musical bones of their debut and with their second album have created a monster. It’s a much more muscular creature than its kid brother, one that could go toe-to-toe with titans like AC/DC, Nirvana or Queens Of The Stone Age and still come out looking pretty after twelve rounds. “Our debut was powerful, but it was done in no time at all,” says Lee Vincent. “Really it was an attempt to capture the energy and chaos of our live show. The new recordings sound fuller, bigger, more focused, the playing is better, we’re moving forward all the time. It’s got more balls too. Bigger balls. It’s direct and to the point. We’ve left nothing to chance.”

FEBRUARY 2012 live dates//

13 // GLASGOW, King Tuts

14 // ABERDEEN, Tunnels

15 // NEWCASTLE, Digital Other Rooms

16 // SHEFFIELD, Leadmill

17 // MANCHESTER, Club Academy

18 // BRISTOL, Fleece

20 // BIRMINGHAM, Library

21 // NORWICH, Waterfront

22 // SOUTHAMPTON, Talking Heads

23 // LONDON, Electric Ballroom

www.pulledapartbyhorses.com

WHALES IN CUBICLES :: New single ‘We Never Win’ released today on Young & Lost Club Records

theartofagency — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:10:12 +0000

Released today through the renowned Young & Lost Club label is ʻWe Never Win,ʼ the debut single from London-based alt-rockers Whales in Cubicles.

The track initially bubbles like a cauldron of hypnotic frustration before spilling over into a freakout anthem as fierce guitars and rumbling drums coalesce to devastating effect. ʻWe Never Winʼ is a call-to-arms for the forgotten and downtrodden; an anthem that, in equal parts, finds hope in pessimism andvalidates the underpowered. The song is made all the more amazing by the fact it was home- recorded.

With a band name taken from an Andrew Bird song, itʼs clear to see the boys in Whales in Cubicles have done their research. Musically, the band evoke a huge variety of influences from American greats such as Guided by Voices and Sebadoh, to songwriters such as Neil Young and Stephen Malkmus, all the way through to British heroes Black Sabbath, Blur and Radiohead.

Having grown up in his native Italy, frontman Stef Bernardi developed a fixation with Anglo-American culture and, as such, took a pilgrimage across the English-speaking world, taking in as much music as he could before finally settling in London. Playing in numerous UK-based bands since arriving on Englandʼs shores, Stef found musical-kindred spirits in Leo, Alex and Jamie, and Whales in Cubicles was born. The band created the trackʼs accompanying video themselves, a further example of their DIY attitude.

Upcoming live dates//

3rd February – 93 Feet East

8th March – Ocassional Love Club night at the Amersham Arms

ISLET :: Debut album ‘Illuminated People’ released today

theartofagency — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:03:57 +0000

“Illuminated People overflows with ideas and adventurism” Q

“they’re a model of how a left leaning rock band ought to conduct themselves in 2012″ NME

“’Iluminated People’ is a shining triumph” Clash

“beautifully beguiling” The Fly

Video for ‘A Bear On His Own’ now available - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fi76ldbBSY

Islet release their debut album today via Shape Records (Turnstile). Illuminated People follows 2010’s rapturously received pair of EPs – ‘Celebrate This Place’ and ‘Wimmy’ – which the NME described as being “a sonic boom in the face to anyone who might have thought they had something to hide”. A group who work under a strict autonomy, this is – as a result – their most cohesive sounding work to date.

It’s an album forged out of the Cardiff-based collective’s strong ties to a DIY sense of thinking and more outré passions in the arts. The subsequent ten tracks stand as a bold opening statement from a band that have quickly proven themselves masters of finding the common thread between at-first seemingly disparate influences.

That they’ve had the confidence to do this lies on an early decision to take control of their entire aesthetic – releasing on Shape Records, an entirely independent label run by the group’s Mark Thomas. Islet have always sought to maintain direct contact with people in a less oppressive manner than the constant internet bombardment others pursue. Self-made zines, with artwork and layout all done in house provide the group’s main mouthpiece, a device that harks back to the 80s golden age of DIY. But one which has become relevant again as music lovers seek to find more personalised and unique ways to connect with their favourite acts. Crucially, the zines are available only on request, the thought being that if you like their music enough you will come to them.

This doesn’t mean the group are closed to outside influences. Illuminated People marks a first in that they’ve allowed someone other than themselves to take the reins on recording, with producer Drew Morgan stepping in to bring together what amounts to a montage of sprawling, searching sound.

On this record the group’s third-eye opening mix of Gang Gang Dance-leaning rhythms and Kraut-reaching instrumental breakdowns can breathe, something that’s illustrated perfectly in the hugely ambitious nine minute opener ‘Libra Man’. There’s the still a clear sense of free abandon, of group members swapping instruments and songs forming from the nucleus of jams, half-ideas and fleeting thoughts re-visited and built on to take on entirely new meaning and structure. ‘Entwined Pines,’ for instance starts out with ghostly choirs and wisp-on-the-wind vocals, skipping through noise rock and ending up ferocious post-punk though – and this is the key part – without feeling overly forced or tacked on.

www.isletislet.com // www.turnstilemusic.net

JESSE RUINS :: ‘Dream Analysis’ EP to be released 21st February on Captured Tracks

theartofagency — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:45:16 +0000

Listen to ‘Shatter The Jewel’ // http://soundcloud.com/theartof/jesse-ruins-shatter-the-jewel

Listen to ‘Dream Analysis’ // http://soundcloud.com/theartof/jesse-ruins-dream-analysis

“Here’s a buzzing, swirling electronic soundscape (the M83 comparison has been made) from a mysterious new artist from Tokyo called Jesse Ruins. Subtly anthemic (via huge synths), and very uplifting for a song with indiscernible lyrics.” – Gorilla Vs. Bear

“Little is known about Jesse Ruins. Well, other than he is from Japan and makes doom-laden, industrial-tinged pop that demands to be used as a soundbed to sweeping aerial footage of an erupting volcano. Yes, that specific.” – The Guardian

Jesse Ruins is a Tokyo-based unit, which formed in the spring of 2010 by Nobuyuki Sakuma, as a solo project. In December 2011, Nah joined the band and they shortly thereafter signed to Captured Tracks. Dream Analysis is their second release on the label.

The six song EP conjures a romantic and atmospheric haze, a little bit of the past, mostly a glimpse of the future. Already generating lots of buzz, the complete EP fills in all the missing pieces. Jesse Ruins is using this release as an introduction and a launching pad for more of a good thing.

1. Dream Analysis

2. Inner Ambient

3. Lust & Fame

4. I Knew It

5. Shatter The Jewel

6. Sofija

www.capturedtracks.com

COLOURS :: ‘Drip Haze’ 7″ to be released 27th February :: Download the title track now

theartofagency — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:47:55 +0000

Download ‘Drip Haze’ // http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2633376/1.drip%20haze%20.mp3

Listen to ‘Drip Haze’ // http://soundcloud.com/theartof/colours-drip-haze

Their relentless pursuit of such a sound, just a foggy idea in their youth, stirred by many early 90s bands. This pressed Colours to forge their own direction, one that openly acknowledges their influences, but is more like an audio kaleidoscope, conjuring a loose guide rather than a specific blueprint, to a destination that is completely their own.

Founding Marshall Teller Records has afforded Colours the opportunity to not only create the music they want to hear but to champion it too. Bands such as Gross Magic, Echo Lake, Warm Brains, Total Slacker, THOAP, Cheatahs, Dignan Porch, Weird Dreams, and 2011’s ‘it band’, The Vaccines, have all been handled by the DIY inspired label.

Colours’ latest release was recorded with revered East-London producer/musician, and good friend, Rory Attwell (WARM BRAINS). This has given them the control over their music and consequently allowed the band to produce their most personal, masterly attempt yet. 2010/2011 saw Colours really cement themselves in the London musical collective, playing gigs to sell-out venues and packed festivals, supporting bands Real Estate, The Vaccines, Beach Fossils, Crocodiles and many other London and international acts.

The new 7” will feature three brand new songs, with a bonus track available for download. Side A DRIP HAZE, a 6 minute something of blurry guitars and wondering woozy vocals. When flipping over the vinyl, OUR TRIP takes you away with a blast and surge of crashing drums and fuzzy bass, layered with plenty of dreamy oohs and aaahs! NIGHT CLIMB extracts jangled guitars and builds in waves not too far from Deerhunter track.

To accompany the title track DRIP HAZE, Natalia Stuyk will be creating a video; she recently has produced beautiful work for ECHO LAKE and THE MAE SHI.

The release will be a limited run of 250 records, all screen printed by the band and friends. To celebrate the release COLOURS and SEXBEET will be hosting a release party at the Shacklewell Arms on the 2nd March, with support from DIGNAN PORCH and YRRS.

LIVE DATES

28/01/2012 THE DROP, Stoke Newington with YRRS

02 /03/2012 SHACKLEWELL ARMS with Dignan Porch and YRRS

3/02/2012 OLD BLUE LAST with NOT COOL

Pre-order the 7″ here // http://marshalltellerrecords.bigcartel.com/product/mt012-colours-drip-haze-7

LOS CAMPESINOS! New UK tour dates for March announced

theartofagency — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:29:17 +0000

PRESALE TODAY & TOMORROW: http://www.loscampesinos.com/gigs/

GENERAL SALE WEDNESDAY 18th JANUARY

“focused, punchy and beautifully poetic” Q 4 stars

“Los Campesinos! could well be a British The National. ‘Hello Sadness’, goodbye childlike obscurity.” NME

“Sundry heartbreak anthems… as they’re grown, they’ve accrued a pleasingly emotional weight.” Uncut 4 stars

“Long may true love alude them.” The Independent

“it’s their most fully-realised effort yet” The Fly

Following the release of Los Campesinos!, whose fourth album, Hello Sadness, came out in November last year on Wichita to an accompanying heap of critical praise. The Cardiff-based band are delighted to announce a full UK jaunt this coming March.Recorded in Girona, Spain, Hello Sadness is ten songs of love, loss and heartbreak nail-gunned to a back-drop of broken, tangled bodies, creeping, dead-eyed animals, suffocating, looming shadows and World Cup exits. It is an honest, bare-bones documentation of breaking up and trying not to break up in the process. At just ten songs and 40 minutes, Hello Sadness is perhaps the first Los Campesinos! album that sounds lean and pruned, indulgence shorn away and filler ruthlessly excised. The youngsters that made debut You! Me! Dancing! are long gone. The band they’ve grown into, though, are something to fall for all over again. Hold tight for news on a new single in March to coincide with the following dates:

Tue 20 Mar – Exeter, Pheonix
Wed 21 Mar – Bristol, Thekla
Thu 22 Mar – London, Electric Ballroom
Fri 23 Mar – Oxford, Academy
Sat 24 Mar – Birmingham, Rainbow Warehouse
Mon 26 Mar – Manchester, Academy 3
Tue 27 Mar – Liverpool, O2 Academy 2
Wed 28 Mar – Edinburgh, Cabaret Voltaire
Thu 29 Mar, Newcastle, Academy 2

Fri 30 Mar – Norwich, Waterfront
Sat 31 Mar – Sheffield, Leadmill

www.loscampesinos.com

PULLED APART BY HORSES :: New single ‘V.E.N.O.M’ released today :: Rough Trade East instore next week

theartofagency — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:06:52 +0000

Video for ‘V.E.N.O.M’ here // http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_6-OdsFmLQ

Pulled Apart By Horses are excited to announce that they are once again ready to charge from the starting stalls with the release of a brand new single, ‘V.E.N.O.M’ today through Transgressive Records.

This will be the first opportunity to hear the results of the band’s work with legendary producer Gill Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters etc), ahead of the album’s release in 2012. The single will be released on digital and 7” formats and will be backed with two exclusive b-sides.“V.E.N.O.M. is a raw, breakneck beast that, once written, took on a life of it’s own,” explains drummer Lee Vincent. “It has all the elements that make our band fun to be in. Fast riffing, huge build ups, trashy lyrics and the all important pay- off.”

The band’s self-titled 2010 debut was a sonic maelstrom of screamo and hard disco riffage; here was heavy music that you could shake a tail feather to, pop music at its most corrupted. Dance music played by wiry punk weirdo’s. Essentially, the band’s much-talked about live show captured on plastic, early singles such as ‘Back To The Fuck Yeah’ and ‘High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive’ somehow ended up being played repeatedly by Radio 1, on whose playlists they gleefully sat like the mad tramp that’s gate-crashed the toff’s tea party. Fuck yeah indeed!

The band’s new album ‘Tough Love’ is released next week and to mark the release day, the band will bring their awesome live show to Rough Trade East for an instore at 7pm on the 23rd January. More details here - http://www.roughtrade.com/site/instore.lasso

FEBRUARY 2012 live dates//

13 // GLASGOW, King Tuts
14 // ABERDEEN, Tunnels
15 // NEWCASTLE, Digital Other Rooms
16 // SHEFFIELD, Leadmill
17 // MANCHESTER, Club Academy
18 // BRISTOL, Fleece
20 // BIRMINGHAM, Library
21 // NORWICH, Waterfront
22 // SOUTHAMPTON, Talking Heads
23 // LONDON, Electric Ballroom