The final installment to Mr Fogg's video diary whilst recording his forthcoming Bandstocks-funded record out in Iceland with former Bjork producer Valgeir Sigurðsson has been revealed, this time with electronic maestro Phil Barry trying to navigate Icelandic driving and watching local Reykjavik hardcore before returning home to the UK.
New details have been revealed regarding Patrick Wolf's forthcoming debut via Bloody Chamber Music and Bandstocks. After an initial plan to release a two-part concept record under the umbrella title Battle, with one side documenting a period of hurt and isolation in Patrick's life and one focusing on newfound contentedness, each part shall now be divided into separate album releases.
Released on June 1, the first part in the series, entitled The Bachelor, tackles the pains and spells of depression the 25-year-old suffered touring in recent years. It acts as a precursor to The Conqueror, to be released at a later date, and shall feature contributions from such musical alumni as Eliza Carthy, Thomas Bloch, Alec Empire, Matthew Herbert and Tilda Swinton, the latter appearing as the "voice of hope" on the record (more here).
The Bachelor runs as follows:
"Kriegsspiel (Wargames)" "Hard Times" "Oblivion" "The Bachelor" "Damaris" "Thickets" "Count Of Casualty" "Who Will?" "Vulture" "Blackdown" "The Sun Is Often Out" "Theseus" "Battle" "The Messenger"
As well as a small tour in March, on general sale from today after a week of being available exclusively to Bandstocks holders and listed below, we shall also be announcing Wolf's May UK tour in coming weeks.
March
8 Colchester Arts Centre
9 Glouchester Guildhall
10 Cambridge Junction
12 London Heaven SOLD OUT
13 London KOKO
In addition to his highly anticipated UK jaunt that kicks off next month, Patrick Wolf has announced that he will be performing at London's KOKO after selling out his previously available date at Heaven.
Yet again - as with the earlybird ticket option open to shareholders on the Heaven night - Bandstocks holders wanting to attend the performance shall have priority with the opportunity to book tickets from today (February 12). With the Heaven night having sold out within only three days of being available to the general public but available to investors a week prior to general release, by investing in Battle you can also get this opportunity to jump the queue - another incentive to get involved.
Taking place on March 13 as part of Club NME, this will be many people's first opportunity to see Patrick perform material from the forthcoming record, an artist that has always truly come into his own on stage.
Writing on his Myspace blog Patrick said the following, revealing the name to the first disc of the future double record release as well as plans to tour future afield later this year:
"Ok. Now, thanks to you lot. The first warm up london show at Heaven sold out super quickly so I have added another date at Koko on the 13th of March, the day after Heaven at The Club NME night. Once again Bandstocks holders get first dibs on tickets and then the tickets go on general sale on February 19th. There are still a few tickets left for Gloucester, Colchester and Cambridge I think. As stated before this will be the first time I will be performing all the new songs from the first CD of Battle, now entitled "The Bachelor" but expect full U.K and International tours from late April onwards. This is just my first toe back in the big old world of show. "
So, those dates:
March
8 Colchester Arts Centre
9 Glouchester Guildhall
10 Cambridge Junction
12 London Heaven SOLD OUT
13 London KOKO
Only a few weeks before no doubt unveiling some gems from his forthcoming Dark Young Hearts, now is the last chance you'll have of getting your hands on tickets to see FrYars debut new material when he performs in London early next month.
Taking place on Tuesday 3rd March at the Hoxton Hall, the remaining tickets are available from LiveNation. Support on the evening comes from eccentric folk marvels Six Toes.
Keep up to date with all that's happening in FrYars' world by keeping an eye on his blog widget HERE where you'll find out various facts and other such nuggets as the announcement that Kanye West recently placed the video for "Visitors" up on his blog.
To invest in Dark Young Hearts and to find out more about frYars click HERE.
We are proud to announce that Jersey Budd has now reached his funding target for the release of Wonderlands.
As well as thousands of loyal fans, Jersey has also relied upon more notorious characters to invest in the forthcoming debut from the young Leicester songwriter. These included Budd's friends Kasabian, Leicester City FC and members from The Twang, The Music and The Hours.
There'll be more information on when to expect the release soon, but until then here's a video of Jersey speaking to Absolute Radio a while back. We'll be back tomorrow with news of the forthcoming limited single release of "Visions Of You", available next week.
Jersey Budd talking to Absolute Radio
Following his recent performance on the station, there's plenty more of Jersey to get your teeth in to over at their website.
Currently midway through his UK tour, playing a spellbinding set this weekend in Chelmsford, you can catch Jersey in action at the following:
Until now, most people's will have come in to contact with Mr Fogg having heard his outstanding future-pop single, "Seciov". After receiving airplay everywhere from Radio 1 through to MTV, rapturously received at the Reading and Leeds festival and featuring as a pre-loaded track on Creative Zen mp3 players across the world, his forthcoming record via Bandstocks promises to provide more of the same captivating electronica.
After self-releasing his debut EP, Mr Fogg has built a sound that takes cues from such luminaries as Radiohead, Jeff Buckley and Sigur Ros. After recently completing the recording of his debut album in Iceland with former Bonnie "Prince" Billie and Bjork producer Valgeir Sigurðsson we are now all set for the record's release later this year. Yet still little is known of this enigmatic songwriter.
We spoke to Mr Fogg, a certain Phil Barry, to discuss being locked away in Iceland, first hearing "Karma Police" and releasing the record through Bandstocks.
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What was the most appealing aspect of releasing your records via
Bandstocks?
Now that the album is finished, it definitely has to be the level of
creative freedom. Everybody who is interested in your music will have an
opinion on how it should be done and it's very easy to waste time and
creative energy trying to please everyone, even if some of those opinions
are valid. I knew it was time to make the album, I knew what I wanted it to
sound like, and I knew who I wanted to record it with so Bandstocks was the
perfect solution.
How was recording the album out in Iceland?
If I had been left to my own devices I would still be fiddling with kick
drum EQ 6 months from now, so going away somewhere with a return flight set
in stone definitely helped focus my mind on getting the record finished, and
helped me commit to ideas.
It was also great working in a studio at the centre of such an exciting
community of musicians. It's hard not to be creative with weird and
wonderful sounds coming out of every room - you never know if you're going
to hear a wall of digital distortion, a concerto for prepared piano or even
a scent opera.
And how did the climate effect the recording?
I can't pretend that the climate or surroundings had a big influence on the
album, because 12-hour days meant I only left the studio twice! But to
somebody from the UK, where everything is compartmentalised into sub-genres
and sub-sub-genres, it's inspiring to be able to go to a gig and see a punk
band go on stage ten minutes after a contemporary classical composer and the
same audience equally into both acts.
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Mr Fogg "Seciov"
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What are your first memories of engaging with music? What were the songs you loved growing up?
The first instrument I learned to play was the piano, but even aged 7 or 8 I
had no interest in playing other people's music and so I never really
enjoyed lessons on any instrument. 95% of my musical development occurred
in the spare bedroom, writing melodies on the "electric piano 1" sound on
the keyboard and, later, recording songs on a 4-track. Even now, I can play
less than five songs on the piano that I didn't write myself.
At home the music policy was classical music or Radio 2. I'm sure some of
it was good, but none of it made much impression on me at the time. The
first thing I can remember liking was a tape of 50s rock and roll hits by
people like Eddie Cochrane, which was on the car stereo for at least a
decade and is still kicking around I'm sure. My "eureka" moment, was when I
heard the finale of "Karma Police" by Radiohead on the school bus - that was
the first time I felt compelled to search something out and buy it.
How would you go about describing your music?
Whatever the instrumentation, the focus of my music has always been the
songs, and that's where 90% of the creative energy goes. So it's electronica, but with songwriting at its heart.
What's the most surreal thing that's happened to you as a musician?
Writing on your own is quite an isolated thing and it's difficult to have
any idea of how people are going to react to your work. I received an email
from one of my all-time musical heros last week describing themselves as a
fan of Mr Fogg, which was a strange experience to say the least.
"Seciov" was used as a preloaded track on Zens. Did it seem odd having your
music innocently being listened to by millions?
The strange thing about it is that I have never released a record or toured
outside of the UK, but because of "Seciov" being on Zens across europe, most
of the messages I get on Myspace and my website are from places like Poland
and Germany. The track has been on there for a year now, so it's been a
great way of spreading the word.
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Mr Fogg in the studio
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Get involved and invest in Mr Fogg's record buy clicking HERE. There'll be more from Mr Fogg in forthcoming week.
Patrick Wolf gave investors in his forthcoming Battle a unique experience on Tuesday (03/02/09) with a performance to few more than forty people at London's 1901 Arts Club. As a means of giving Bandstocks shareholders in his record an opportunity to hear new material, the evening - previously reported by us here - saw Wolf perform the following set:
"Who Will?"
"Damaris"
"Hard Times"
"Teignmouth / The Shadow Sea"
"Theseus"
"The Tinderbox"
"Wind In The Wires"
"The Sun Is Often Out"
"The Bachelor"
"Paris"
"Ghost Song / Thickets"
"Black Down"
"Magpie"
"Vulture"
"The Libertine"
"Wolf Song"
As well as showcasing new material Wolf also took the opportunity to perform some material from further back, including a mesmerizing airing of "The Libertine" from 2005's The Wind In The Wires.
Gigwise were there, taking some fantastic shots of the performance. Click here to check them out.
Were you there? Let us know what you thought of the evening in the comments section below.
For your chance to be involved in any future exclusive events, invest in BattleHERE.
Jersey Budd has paid tribute to one of his heroes John Martyn after the legendary guitarist's recent death at the age of 60. Having supported Martyn, an OBE for his services to music, on his Grace And Danger tour back in November, Jersey had the following to say on the man:
"John Martyn was one of only a few people to leave me absolutely spellbound by his musical genius. I'd had Solid Air for a while and loved it but being asked onto the Grace And Danger tour by the man himself was really something special. It turned out that I was last person to ever be asked to support John and whatever I achieve in music this will go down as one of my proudest moments and a great honour.
He will be sorely missed from the music world and im sure will inspire people like myself for a long long time to come.
God bless you John,
Jersey"
Budd begins his UK tour tomorrow taking in the following venues:
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