• Break In The Chain - How The Labels Lost Their Way
by Matthew Slater 15th May 2012Everybody has heard the same tired excuses radiating from the major labels for a while now. Piracy is bad, it’s killing music, no-one buys music anymore. The difference is, that this wasn’t just the proliferation of Napster, torrents and other sharing on the net. It happened decades with decisions that they allowed to happen.
• The Sound Project Presents...
13th May 2012
A massive thank you to all the
people who came along to our
launch night last Friday and a
massive thank you to Dolls for
Idols, Ste McCabe, Seafield
Foxes and The Fnords who made
the night what it was.
You can check out the pictures
here.
The fun doesn't stop there, we
will return with our second
night on Friday 6th July, once
again at the fantastic Wee Red
Bar.
You can check out the event
details
here and/or join the
Facebook event page
here.
• New EP from the Creeping Ivies
9th May 2012
Dundee
duo the Creeping Ivies release their new EP, Ghost Town,
as a free download from 1st June.
The EP will be available from their
bandcamp page, where you can currently have a listen
to the three songs.
• The Sound Project Podcast
8th May 2012
The Sound Project will launch its very own monthly
podcast later this month.
The one hour show will feature a selection of songs from
the unsigned/independent bands we feature here on the
site.
If you're in a band and would like to be part of the
podcast, drop us an
email
or send us a message via our
Facebook page.
• Introducing... Dolls for Idols
by Rik Wolters 6th May 2012
Dolls for Idols are three-piece electro-rock band
from Malta.
The band are made up of Clint Spiteri (guitar,
programming, vocals), Erick Saliba (bass) and Aaron
Sammut (drums, backing vocals). Their sound is
heavily influenced by 80's synthpop and early 90s rave
scene.
• The Sound Project Presents...
4th May 2012
It's now just seven days until the first ever 'The Sound
Project Presents...' at the Wee Red Bar at Edinburgh
College of Art.
The first night has an excellent line up, featuring
Dolls for Idols who are over from Malta, as well as
Edinburgh live favourites Ste McCabe, Seafield Foxes and
The Fnords.
Following the bands will be our club night 'Trash',
where we will be playing an eclectic mix of indie, pop,
punk, electro and rock, with DJ Rik Wolters plus a
special guest appearance from Ste McCabe!
TSP Presents... is just £6 to get in (or £5 in you're a
student with ID) which includes free entry to Trash
afterwards.
Trash is a mere £3 to get in (or £2 if you're a student
with ID).
• Review: Roy Moller & Sporting Hero - The Singing's Getting Better
by Rik Wolters 30th April 2012
Former Six. BySeven frontman, Chris Olley, has announced
his live debut with a show in his home city of
Nottingham next month.
Olivia, from the excellent band Scragfight (who will be
playing at TSP Presents later this year), has started up
a new band called V for Vagina.
So I was reading an article the other day that was discussing the very nature of growing old - how we develop new tastes and generally start to slow our lives down, and one thing stuck out as being a looming obstacle I’ll have to face in future. Lower amounts of dopamine being released into my brain. Scary huh – but would does it all mean? Read on.
Howard James Kenny's new single 'My Wrongs/Shelter Songs Remixes' will be
released on Monday 16th April.
Spiritualized release the first track from the new album
'Sweet Heart, Sweet Light' next week.
Canterbury's Picturebox have now made all the singles,
albums and songs on their bandcamp
page available on a name your price basis.
Sound Project favourites Evans the Death release their
debut self-titled album tomorrow on Fortuna POP!
How many times has it been said? That natural talent, raw and full of feeling, that artist devoid of a musical education whose music defies expectation – they must have a great amount of inner music bursting to get out. It’s almost as if we make the claim that a musical education, and a background in theory, is to the most part a detriment to a musician. We’re of the belief that music is like some sort of Jedi mind trick - that there are those of us who are musical, and those of those us who aren’t.
That can’t be right.
Picturebox have released a new
song via their bandcamp page.
Leeds-based singer/songwriter Stephen Tyndall has released new song 'Eternally'
via his bandcamp page.
The only original member of The Fall, Mark Edward Smith, today celebrates his
55th birthday.
I’m not too long out of university that I don’t still consider myself to fit into a clique, or a social group or whatever. I fit in with what we’d call moshers – we’d generally be into rock music and its subgenres and wear jeans, skate brands and feel put upon. It was us against the neds (who called themselves gadges) who generally listened to happy hardcore, Oasis and wore Fred Perry and Timbies. For you it may be you’re a punk, goth, emo, metal head, hippie or what not – but what I’m talking about is more than the mods versus the rockers.
The Wedding Present have announced via their website that they are to issue a
comic.
Edinburgh-born singer songwriter Roy Moller returns
with a heartfelt third
album, this time a collaboration with Northern
Irishman Sporting Hero.
This is a cracker of an album, highlighted by Moller's
ability to both write great songs songs and perform them
in a way that connects with the listener. Hints of
rock, country, folk, rockabilly and even psychedelia are
all evident over the 36-minute running time.
• Introducing... Seafield Foxes
by
Rik Wolters
23rd April 2012
The Seafield Foxes are a female garage punk band
from Edinburgh.
Their roots can be traced back to 2008 when singer
Lizzie and guitarist Susie first started jamming
together at Susie's house. Their early sound
was more akin to folk than their now trademark garagy punk sound.
• Single of the Week: Allo Darlin' - Europe
23rd April 2012
'Europe' is the second single
from Elizabeth Morris and co's second album, of the same
name, which is released next Monday.
Once again, Morris delivers another
superb vocal performance. It follows in a
similar vein to its predecessor, 'Capricornia', with its
musical roots firmly implanted in
twee. But it's these roots that make, not just
this single, but everything that Allo Darlin' are about.
• Introducing... House Party Massacre
by
Rik Wolters
22nd April 2012
House Party Massacre are an alternative/punk
five-piece from London, who have been creating a bit
of a stir since forming back in 2009.
The band consist of John Pita (lead vocals), Rocco “Rock” D’ambrosio (lead
guitar & backing vocals), Filipe Freitas (rhythm guitar), Dom Pires (bass
guitar) and Seb Fina (drums) and were formed at St Thomas More
Language College.
• Introducing... Dot Dash
by
Rik Wolters
22nd April 2012
Dot Dash are a post-punk pop four-piece from Washington
DC whose sound lies somewhere between The Clash and The
Jam with hints of Pavement and new wave.
Prior to forming Dot Dash in 2010, all four members were
active within other bands. Singer and
guitarist Terry Banks and bassist Hunter Bennett
were both in power-poppers Julie Ocean, who were
responsible for the excellent 'Long Gone and Nearly
There' album, released back in 2008.
• Chris Olley Announces Live Debut
21st April 2012
Olley will be playing songs from his recent 'The Death
of Six. BySeven' album at the Maze on May 16th, where he
will be supported by Winter House and Golden
Troubadours.
You can listen to, and buy, 'The Death of Six. BySeven'
here at Chris' bandcamp page.
• Record Store Day 2012 - Highlights
by
Rik Wolters
20th April 2012
Since its launch back in 2008,
Record Store Day has become a permanent fixture in the
lives of those who frequent their local independent
record shop.
The concept is simple, every year labels and artists
unite to release limited edition material which is only
available in independent stores from 'Record Store Day'.
This is all great if you can actually get your hands on
these releases...
• Evans the Death - Album Review
by
Rik Wolters
20th April 2012
Evans the Death are a five-piece from
London who have burst on to the indie-pop scene over
the past couple of years. It didn't take long
before they signed to indie label Fortuna POP!
A little over twelve months has past from then until
the release of this, their self-titled debut.
It's got all the trademarks of their sound, albeit
here it sounds a lot cleaner than in the live shows.
• New Songs from V for Vagina!
20th April 2012
They added some new songs to their Soundcloud page
here.
• Obituary: Levon Helm (1940 - 2012)
by
Rik Wolters
19th April 2012
Mark Lavon
Helm was born in Marvell, Arkansas, and grew up in
the tiny hamlet of Turkey Scratch, west of Helena.
The son of cotton farmers, Helm was brought up in a
family that encouraged singing in the home...
• The Science Behind Nostalgia
by
Matthew Slater
15th April 2012
• New Single from Howard James Kenny
14th April 2012
It's limited to just 200 12" copies, so you'll need to be quick.
You can get hold of a copy for £8
here.
• The Blanche Hudson Weekend Announce New Single
12th April 2012
The
Blanche Hudson Weekend have announced new single '(Just
Like) Susan George' which will be released by Odd Box on
30th April.
The single is 'three and a half minutes of pop fuzz'
whereas the B-side, 'To Be That Way Again', 'is
something entirely different - but no less intriguing'.
It's super limited with only 300 copies of the 7"
available and you can only get hold of it via the Odd
Box website
here.
• New Fall single for RSD
11th April 2012
The Fall are to release a limited edition 7" single for this year's Record Store Day.
'Night of the Humerons' will feature new song 'Victrola
Time' plus a live version of 'Taking Off' from last
year's 'Ersatz GB' album.
The release is limited to 1000 copies and will be
released by Cherry Red.
Update 23 April 2012:
From Mark E Smith:
We were approached by Cherry Red to make a one-off vinyl single for Record Store Day 2012. We believed this event was created to promote vinyl and help record shops survive. What Cherry Red didn't tell us that they were only going to send one copy to each shop and that meant that some customers were mislead.
I'm just sorry they were inconvenienced.
M.E.S.
• The Wedding Present to Contribute to Record Store Day 2012
10th April 2012
The Wedding Present have announced the release of an EP for Record Store Day 2012.
The 'Chansons EP' will feature French versions of songs
from the new album, 'Valentina'. as well as new song
'Metal Man'.
It's not the first time The Wedding Present have
released songs in French, in 1988 the band released a
French version of the 'Why are You Being So Reasonable
Now?' single, entitles 'Pourquoi Es Tu Devenue Si
Raisonnable?'
Even Gedge's old band 'Cinerama' released French
versions of their singles 'Lollobrigida' and 'Health &
Efficiency'.
You can get hold of the 10" EP from your local indie
store from 21st April.
• More Single and Album from Spiritualized
9th April 2012
Hey Jane will be released by Double in the UK
and is available on 7" and as a download. The
album follows seven days later on the same label.
Check out AG Rojas excellent (and somewhat brutal) video for the single here:
• More News from Picturebox
7th April 2012
Now's as good a time as any to get your hands on a copy
of their excellent 'Wildlife' album.
• Free Download Album from The Holy Roman Army
4th April 2012
Irish
brother/sister duo The Holy Roman Army have released a
free album via their Bandcamp
page.
Back/Before collects together some of the band's
unreleased songs and demos, which date back as far as
2001.
If you like this we highly recommend checking out their
other releases which can all be found on the same page.
• Evans the Death to Release Debut Album
1st April 2012
From the Fortuna POP! website:
"Filled with twelve blistering tracks they weave a distinctive magic, coupling main songwriter Dan Moss’ gift for melody with Katherine Whitaker’s unique vocal mannerisms. The songs both document and channel the exuberance of youth via the prism of five pop music obsessives and were recorded late Summer 2011 with producer Ex-Test Icicle and current Warm Brains man Rory Atwell (Veronica Falls, Male Bonding, The Vaccines)."
Look out for a review on the site shortly.
• Review: The Cathode Ray - The Cathode Ray
by
Rik Wolters
28th March 2012
Six years in the making, The Cathode Ray's
eponymously-titled debut album has been well worth
the wait.
Originally formed as a writing project between
singer-songwriter Jeremy Thoms and former Josef-K
front-man Paul Haig, The Cathode Ray have received a
welcome reception since the release of their debut
double A-side single, 'What's it
All About/Mind' (Pronoia), back in late 2006.
• Single of the Week: The Cathode Ray - Around
26th March 2012
This
week's single of the week is the
download only single from Edinburgh's The Cathode Ray.
'Around' is taken from their debut album, which
finally gets released next Monday.
You can get hold of the single from all the usual
download places.
Here's the band performing the song at a gig at
Edinburgh's Voodoo Rooms last April (the sound isn't
great, though!)
• Natural Musician VS Taught Musicians
by
Matthew Slater
26th March 2012
• New Song from Picturebox
26th March 2012
The catchy new tune, 'Juliana Hatfield', is available on
a 'name your price' basis from the band's bandcamp page
here.
• Review: The Wedding Present - Valentina
by
Rik Wolters
19th March 2012
I have to admit to being
rather underwhelmed at the Wedding Present's last
long-player, 'El Rey', when it came out back in 2008.
The album seemed more of a stagnation by the band rather
than a further development of their sound.
With that in mind I was a little unsure as to where
David Gedge and crew would go, on this the band's
eighth
studio album. I'm pleased to say, though, that my
uncertainty was swept to one side within the first 30
seconds of opening track, 'You're Dead'...
• Plastic Section Does Dylan
19th March 2012
Plastic
Section today released a mini-album tribute to Bob Dylan's 'Another Side of...'
LP.
The album was recorded over the past couple of days and released today in time
for the 50th anniversary of the original album's release.
It's an interesting punk rock & roll re-working of a classic record and well
worth checking out.
You can get hold of it on a name your own price basis from their bandcamp page
here.
• Free Downloads from the De-Evolutionaries
19th March 2012
The
De-Evolutionaries are currently offering three songs for
free download from their bandcamp page.
You can download 'Confused', 'Industry Whore' and the
pick of the bunch, 'Corporate Funeral' by clicking
here.
• Debut EP from The Shh Announced
18th March 2012
Maltese
duo 'The Shh' will release their debut EP 'The Burning Love' on 30th April.
The release will be made available through the band's bandcamp page
here, where
you can currently listen to all four tracks.
You can also follow the band on their Facebook page
here.
• New Track from Stephen Tyndall
18th March 2012
You can check it out
here.
• New Single from Arp Attack Announced
16th March 2012
Arp
Attack have announced details of their new single on their
Facebook
page.
Follow the Rhythm will be available as a physical release from their
bandcamp
page from 16th April.
• New Self-Titled EP from Mirabeau
16th March 2012
Orlando's
Mirabeau have released a self-titled EP through their bandcamp page.
As is usually the case with these things, you can get your hands on a digital
copy of the record via their
bandcamp page.
For readers in the US you can get hold of a physical copy of the EP at one of
the band's gigs.
• New EP from Phil Davis
10th March 2012
Phil
David has released an EP of a collection of songs he has been working on over
the past few years.
'Attic Room' is currently available on a name your price basis on his
bandcamp page here.
• New Album from David's Lyre
8th March 2012
London
based David's Lyre has released the excellent new album 'Picture of Our Youth'
via bandcamp.
The album is currently available on a (temporary) name your own price basis, so
you'll need to be quick.
You can get hold of a copy
here.
• New Album from Silver Swans/h3>
6th March 2012
A
few weeks ago San Francisco's Silver Swans released their new album 'Forever'.
You can get hold of it as a download from the usual places as well as from their bandcamp
page.
Also be sure to check them out of
Facebook.
• Happy Birthday Mark E. Smith
5th March 2012
Here's The Fall back in 2005 appearing on Later... with Jools Holland:
• Widening Genres – Consider Your Clique
by
Matthew Slater
5th March 2012
• Free Riot Grrrl Compilation Available
5th March 2012
Riot
Grrrl Berlin have a free compilation available to download from their site.
The compilation contains two and a half hours of music with contributions from
53 bands.
You can get hold of it by clicking
here.
• Pussy Whipped Returns Again
5th March 2012
Ste McCabe's super popular Pussy Whipped night returns for a third dose in
Edinburgh on Friday 6th April.
From Ste McCabe:
Pussy Whipped returns another instalment of pro-queer and pro-female ass-kicking-live-music-wonder at Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh!
Pussy Whipped presents...
Räuberhöhle,
Ste McCabe and Scragfight
Friday 6th April @ Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh.
8pm sharp – 10.30pm.
(£2 entry)
Räuberhöhle (Berlin)
Rauberhohle is an electro-pop riot grrrl legend, who has been touring the world with her manga-inspired bubblegum pop for the last decade. Her cheeky bubblegum performances (complete with live puppet show) have earned her a cult following in Japan and we are very excited to showcase her first ever Scotland performance.
Ste McCabe (Edinburgh)
Straight from Pussy Whipped HQ, Ste McCabe is a queer-feminist electro-punk one-man-band who has been touring Europe with his sarcastic, witty pop anthems since 2006. His albums have won him praise by everyone from Artrocker Magazine to Peter Tatchell and he promises the make queer politics a whole lot of fun on (very) Good Friday!
Scragfight (Glasgow)
Scragfight are three queer and proud punk rock women from Glasgow, who are one of the best bands in Scotland - fact! Their energetic pop-punk-party anthems will be stuck in your head for weeks and their live show is second to none.
Amazing queer disco club HOT MESS follows Pussy Whipped. Entry to Pussy Whipped is FREE for Hot Mess disco dollys - just pay for Hot Mess when you come.
To never miss our exciting gigs and free workshops, join the mailing list - email
p.whipped.edinburgh@gmail.com
or join our facebook group!
Facebook
event Funded by Awards For All
Scotland. Wee Red Bar has full
wheelchair access throughout the
venue.
• The Wedding Present Publish a Comic
5th March 2012
As per the band's site:
"For Issue 1, Gedge's long-time former bass player, Terry de Castro, teamed up with cartoonist Lee Thacker to create a surreal hotchpotch of on-the-road tales. If the band aren't being menaced by furtive hotel critters, they might be getting pulled over by the Nebraska State Police. Gedge has been touring for more than 25 years, and, with over 250 songs under his belt, he's not short of tales to relate."
'Tales from The Wedding Present' is currently available from the band's
website
for £3.