To tie in with our new subscription service and the release of m.t. scott’s new single “Don’t Mention The War” we are a offering a very special gift to the first ten subscribers.
A limited edition of ten exclusive prints of m.t. scott’s own unique art have been produced. They are all unique and each subscriber will receive one of the ten.
They will be in the form of laser prints on brown postage paper each signed and packaged by the artist.
With subscriptions going fast make sure you are one of the first ten!
Welcome to the latest German Shepherd Records Newsletter. This week:
Sam Smith returns
Mistletoe Charity Single supports NSPCC
An introduction to Matthew Hopkins
Gig News
SAM SMITH RETURNS
Ex Sam Smith & Company, and, The Parish Church Fire front man, Sam Smith returns on October 29th just after the equinox. Watch this space for exciting news.
Sam’s last single was the memorable “Bad Water”
MISTLETOE SUPPORTS NSPCC WITH NEW SINGLE
Ian Moss returns as Mistletoe with a new single called “Children’s Home” on 26th October. On this release he is accompanied by Foghorn Leghorn.
A harrowing spoken word performance attacks the institutions who are complicit in allowing children to be abused and in that context all proceeds from the sale of this single will donated to the NSPCC.
This a deliberately lo-fi and stripped back recording in which Ian paints a vivid picture. A further EP featuring three new pieces in partnership with Marc Corrin follows next week
INTRODUCING MATTHEW HOPKINS
In 1974, two Catholic schoolgirls met at the age of 5 over a scabby knee and sang together in praise of the lord, ‘til they discovered Salvation in the form of Hex Enduction Hour. An explosion of hair spray, eyeliner and ideas ensued.
Julia moved to Blackpool and joined the band The Tingletones as singer before moving to Manchester, when she became singer for the short lived Arthur Badfrown Band. A move to London at the turn of the century saw her finally pick up a guitar. Upon returning to Manchester, she joined Government Death Epidemic as guitarist. She has recorded with Craig Scanlon and Steve & Paul Hanley (ex The Fall).
Anne has sang, go-go danced and played tambourine in 60’s- garage outfit The Stags since 2001. They are stalwarts of the garage scene playing around the UK and Europe and worked closely with Frank Sidebottom.
Max, Anne’s son, has been playing drums and guitar with bands since the age of 13. He is currently playing his own material in punk outfit Bang Up To The Elephant.
A hiatus in both womens’ musical projects gave them the chance to get together and get creative – Matthew Hopkins was born in 2016. Max completes the team, bringing exceptional musicality and skill to the band.
Their debut single “Something” will be released on November 2nd. Two further tracks “Lachrymose” and “Hey Joe” will be released at the same time but as Subscriber Only specials via our Bandcamp page. More information next week – pending that here is the link to the video of “Something”.
GIG NEWS
Weimar are playing The Peer Hat, Manchester on Monday 5th November, supporting Madmoizel. Jan Doyle Band are also supporting.
Keltrix play The Crown & Pipes, Fenstanton on Saturday 24th November
The Mind Sweepers The Riverside Dumfries on Saturday 17th November
With many thanks to Paul Forshaw for sterling videography we are pleased to present the whole performance from Moff at The Peer Hat on 11th October 2018
Hello and welcome to the German Shepherd Newsletter for this week. We have had a busy few weeks so this edition is slightly longer than normal.
This week
– A new EP from Night Operations
– Bouquet of Dead Crows release the first video from Motus Octo
– Inferior Complex feature in compilation album
– Subscriber Option and first subscriber special
– Gigs
AREA 51
Night Operations, aka Mike Powell, returns with a five track EP including the stand-out track from the Advantage album – Area 51. The release includes radio and album edits of the track as well as three remixes of another track from the album “Forbidden Fruit”. Radical reworkings of Forbidden Fruit are by The Screaming Love Collective, Issac Navaro and The Auster Boys. Pristine modern electronica with pop smarts.
FACEBOOK – @nightoperations
INCESSANT DESIRE
Bouquet of Dead Crows are trailing their new album Motus Octo with the rifftastic “Incessant Desire”. Shot in one take the video is a trip around the bands’ rehearsal space with clever placement of song lyrics:
The band are gigging to support the album.
25th of October – The Samuel Pepys Diary Rooms, Huntingdon (Acoustic Gig)
1st of November – Dublin Castle Pub, London
15th of November – Bedford Esquires
24th of November – The Blue Moon, Cambridge – ALBUM LAUNCH
29th of November – Gringos Mexican Tequila Bar,Norwich
1st of December – The Smokehouse, Ipswich
6th of December – Mama Liz’s, Voodoo Lounge, Stamford
8th of December – The Horn at The Half Moon, Bishops Stortford
We will reveal more about the album in future weeks. The limited edition album bundles are now sold out but fans can still pre-order the album on CD and Vinyl, as well as grab tickets for the album launch at their site
FACEBOOK @deadcrows
SOUTHAMPTON PUNKS
Inferior Complex have donated a track, “Southampton Punks” to a new limited edition CD only charity release called “Taking Liberties”. In a review of the CD for Louder Than War Ged Babey’s says
“….. Their contribution here is a historical artefact in itself. Entitled ‘Southampton Punks’ its a recited list of 70 odd people who were there in 1976-1979. ( Obviously there will be some omissions but…) it’s an attempt at documenting the history as they see it, respectfully including the deceased, the living and contemporaries from Stratejacket, Catch 22 and the Men They Couldn’t Hang. Musically it’s a great piece of distinctive, moody slow-build post-punk. Guest narrator Paul Beazley does a sterling job. It’s an emotional centrepiece to a very enjoyable compilation.”
FACEBOOK @arp2011
SUBSCRIBE TO GERMAN SHEPHERD RECORDS
As trailed last week we have now launched our new Subscription Option via Bandcamp. With our subscription, fans can get all of our new releases for just £40 a year (less than a pound a week!), while supporting our label and our roster of great artists directly. Given we release over 40 items a year this is a great value for money choice.
If fans would like to pay more for the subscription they can. The more generous they are the more we can do!
German Shepherd is owned, operated and funded by us, on a not for profit basis We pride ourselves on being grass-roots, DIY and artist-focused. We started in 2014 and have been slowly growing a fan base and getting the support of a selection of friendly DJs and bloggers who feature what we do. However changes in the music industry, and price increases, have made it harder than ever for small labels like ours to stay in business in today’s climate. A subscription directly helps us to continue releasing great music and in turn support some of the best underground artists out there.
The result a load of great music and special offers
– All new releases automatically added to your Bandcamp account and available to download
– A selection of items from our back catalogue completely free when you first sign up
– A 10% discount on merch items including CDs, T-Shirts and Gig Tickets
– Special releases which are only available to subscribers – they will not be sold anywhere else
– Regular blog updates from us on what we are up to
All income, after admin fees from Bandcamp, goes direct to the bands, or to the nominated charity we are supporting on specific releases.
Our first Special Release will be a new Spoken Word collection from Ian Moss featuring ten new pieces.
FORTHCOMING GIGS FEATURING GERMAN SHEPHERD ARTISTS
October
11th – An Evening with Moff Skellington at The Peer Hat, Manchester
13th – Poppycock playing a Fates set at Yes, Manchester supporting Virginia Wing
14th – Positronik and The Strays are at Fab Cafe, Portland Street, Manchester
17th – The Strays play West Street Live, Sheffield
19th – The Strays play A.M.P. Music Bar, Buxton
19th – Inferior Complex play The Hobbit, Southampton
24th – Umbrella Assassins play Pim Jam Festival Fundraiser at the Haverhill Arts Centre
25th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play The Pepys, Huntingdon – acoustic gig
25th – Ian Moss appears at El Manisero, Innside, Manchester
November
1st – Bouquet of Dead Crows play The Dublin Castle, London
15th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play Esquires, Bedford
17th – Drink and Drive and Four Candles play The Railway, Greenfield
22nd – Inferior Complex play The King Charles, Poole
24th – Bouquet of Dead Crows launch new album Motus Octo at The Blue Moon, Cambridge
29th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play Gringos, Norwich
29th – Four Candles play “Free Rock & Roll” at Sound, Duke Street, Liverpool
December
1st – Toska Wilde plays Saks Southend on Sea as part of Cult 13 Showcase
1st – Bouquet of Dead Crows and Umbrella Assassins play Smokehouse, Ipswich
6th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play Mama Liz’s Voodoo Lounge, Stamford
6th – The Scissors (plus Ember Rev and Goddammit Jeremiah) at Cambridge Cornerhouse.
8th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play The Horn at the Half Moon, Bishops Stortford
8th – Boz Hayward and Keltrix with Misharlo play The Peer Hat, Manchester
8th – Poppycock support Vic Godard at Yes (The Basement) on Charles Street, Manchester with ASBO Derek
8th – Øre will be playing their debut gig at the TA in Dumfries
22nd – Drink and Drive play Strummercamp Fundraiser and Oldham Rugby Club
28th – Drink and Drive play Whittles, Oldham
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the German Shepherd Records Newsletter.
This week
The latest release from Moff Skellington and his forthcoming Manchester Gig
A new release from Night Operations with special remix guests
Our brand new subscription service for fans
Forthcoming gigs
MOFF SKELLINGTON
Poet of the obscure and Eddodi master Moff Skellington returns, on October 12th, with a new four track EP – Uncle Roy’s Utopian Vision #2 – the follow up to August’s six track first volume of the saga of the mysterious Uncle Roy. The creation of this latest four track was spontaneous, taking just one morning, with Moff employing the drum machine to create a different sound than avid Skellington watchers are used to, a surreal re-interpretation of early Cabaret Voltaire (Chris Watson period) and Moff faves Pere Ubu steeped in an bubbling stew of Yorkshire charm. This is Moff stripped back and playing in a different musical kitchen than usual.
Lead track – A Love Song can be streamed here….
Moff plays The Peer Hat, Manchester on October 11th with his popular lantern show. Entry is a mere £3.50, there are no prior tickets, opening time is 7:30pm and he promises an entertaining evening of wonderment.
NIGHT OPERATIONS
Mike Powell returns as Night Operations with a new EP extracting tracks from this years Advantage album with a few added bonuses. Hailed by “Get To The Chorus” blog via a great video from Phil Shaw the new extended play includes a single and album version of the sci-ti tinged “Area 51” and three remixes of the albums standout track “Forbidden Fruit” by The Screaming Love Collective, Issac Navaro, and Auster Boys. More information next week.
OUR NEW SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE
We have been struggling for a while to ensure that we balance our books and maintain our not for profit service. After a bit of research we have taken the decision to use Bandcamp’s subscription service.
With our subscription, fans and followers can get all of our new releases for just £40 a year (less than a pound a week!), while supporting our label and our roster of great artists directly. Given we release over 40 items a year this is a great value for money choice.
If participants would like to pay more for their subscription they can. Ten subscribers would help us balance the books for this financial year but many more would allow us the freedom and flexibility to do a lot more.
German Shepherd is owned, operated and funded by us, on a not for profit basis We pride ourselves on being grass-roots, DIY and artist-focused. We started in 2014 and have been slowly growing a fan base and getting the support of a selection of friendly DJs and bloggers who feature what we do. However changes in the music industry, and price increases, have made it harder than ever for small labels like ours to stay in business in today’s climate. The subscription directly helps us to continue releasing great music and in turn support some of the best underground artists out there.
Subscribers get a load of great music and special offers which are unique to the service
– All of our new releases are automatically added to the subscribers Bandcamp account and available to download – A selection of items from our back catalogue completely free when a subscriber first signs up – A 10% discount on merch items including CDs, T-Shirts and Gig Tickets – Special releases which are only available to subscribers – they will not be sold anywhere else – Regular blog updates from us on what we are up to
All income, after admin fees from Bandcamp, goes direct to the bands, or to the nominated charity we are supporting on specific releases.
Our planned fundraising gig on November 2nd has been put on hold for a short while whilst we sort out a few practical issues. Watch this space for updates. Here are the rest of the planned gigs featuring our artists:
October
5th – Electric Cheese play The Railway as part of Chorley Live
5th – The Scissors are at Oxford Wheatsheaf (Klub Kakofanney).
6th – Electric Cheese play Cunliffe Hall as part of Chorley Live
6th – Toska Wilde plays Saks Southend on Sea as part of Cult 13 Showcase
6th – Inferior Complex play Liberties, Southampton
11th – An Evening with Moff Skellington at The Peer Hat, Manchester
13th – Poppycock playing a Fates set at Yes, Manchester supporting Virginia Wing
14th – Positronik and The Strays are at Fab Cafe, Portland Street, Manchester
17th – The Strays play West Street Live, Sheffield
19th – The Strays play A.M.P. Music Bar, Buxton
24th – Umbrella Assassins play Pim Jam Festival Fundraiser at the Haverhill Arts Centre
25th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play The Pepys, Huntingdon – acoustic gig
25th – Ian Moss appears at El Manisero, Innside, Manchester November
1st – Bouquet of Dead Crows play The Dublin Castle, London
15th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play Esquires, Bedford
17th – Drink and Drive and Four Candles play The Railway, Greenfield
22nd – Inferior Complex play The King Charles, Poole
24th – Bouquet of Dead Crows launch new album Motus Octo at The Blue Moon, Cambridge
29th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play Gringos, Norwich
29th – Four Candles play “Free Rock & Roll” at Sound, Duke Street, Liverpool December
1st – Toska Wilde plays Saks Southend on Sea as part of Cult 13 Showcase
1st – Bouquet of Dead Crows and Umbrella Assassins play Smokehouse, Ipswich
6th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play Mama Liz’s Voodoo Lounge, Stamford
8th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play The Horn at the Half Moon, Bishops Stortford
8th – Boz Hayward and Keltrix with Misharlo play The Peer Hat, Manchester
8th – Poppycock support Vic Godard at Yes (The Basement) on Charles Street, Manchester with ASBO Derek
8th – Øre will be playing their debut gig at the TA in Dumfries
22nd – Drink and Drive play Strummercamp Fundraiser and Oldham Rugby Club
28th – Drink and Drive play Whittles, Oldham
We will be launching a subscription option for our Bandcamp releases in the very near future.
With our subscription, you can get ALL of our new releases for just £40 a year (less than a pound a week!), while supporting our label and our roster of great artists directly. Given we release over 40 items a year this is a great value for money choice.
German Shepherd is owned, operated and funded by us, on a not for profit basis We pride ourselves on being grass-roots, DIY and artist-focused. We started in 2014 and have been slowly growing a fan base and getting the support of a selection of friendly DJs and bloggers who feature what we do.
However changes in the music industry, and price increases, have made it harder than ever for small labels like ours to stay in business in today’s climate. Your subscription will directly help us to continue releasing great music and in turn support some of the best underground artists out there.
When you subscribe you’ll get a load of great music and special offers
All our new releases will be automatically added to your Bandcamp account and available to download
A selection of 10 items from our back catalogue will be completely free when you sign up
There will be Special releases which are only available to subscribers – they will not be sold anywhere else
There will be special discounts for subscribers on gig tickets, merch and other material
There will be subscriber only blog updates from us, regular artist updates, exclusive demo material/live recordings and behind-the-scenes stuff
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the German Shepherd Records newsletter.
This week:
– The new album from Dominic Carlton Jones
– Previewing the new album from Bouquet of Dead Crows
– Looking forward to the Salford Music Festival
– Moff Skellington update
– Welcome Matthew Hopkins
– New gig announcements
DOMINIC CARLTON JONES – DEBUT ALBUM
As trailed last week Salford singer-songwriter Dominic Carlton Jones returns with his debut album “Salford Punk Poetry Sadness Death New Life”. This nine song collection includes a dizzying array of genres and sounds, including spoken word, instrumentals and Dominic’s trade-mark clear and direct ballads; there are also dips into experimental and ambient sounds. The themes of the album centre around the recent death of Dominic’s father from cancer, and in that context there is a heartfelt tribute to legendary Fall front-man and Salfordian Mark E. Smith who also battled the disease. The new release serves also as a perfect follow on from Dominic’s debut release “1”.
The album releases on October 5th in digital form only via Bandcamp and a range of other digital outlets.
Here is a sample track with the emotional “Fall Over Into Something New”
Commenting on the album and his experience with German Shepherd Dominic said:
” 8 months from being welcomed by German Shepherd I’m pleased to say I’m enjoying life on the label.Getting to know the music of the artists. Meeting those concerned and still feeling a genuine thrill to be a part of this movement and scene.
In that time space my EP was well received and achieved some comparative success in terms of sales and genuine appreciation from those connected. I went on to contribute the song “Cats front door “ to the 200 compilation album and The music for “like a poet dies “with Ian Moss and once again genuinely thrilled to be involved here.
My new music is the album:’Salford Punk Poetry Sadness Death New Life” ,which hinges around my fathers death from bowel cancer in January of this year and goes on to explore themes of belonging,spirituality loss,.geographical connection and life after death.It’s a challenging and thought provoking album bringing together an eclectic style of musical forms which I’ve always striven to as an ethic.”
BOUQUET OF DEAD CROWS – TEASER PREVIEW
We are gearing up for the release of the second album from Cambridge band Bouquet of Dead Crows in November with a preview of their track “Cold Inside”.
The band are touring extensively over the new few months please see the gig list below for details (although the band seem to think it’s above!).
Manchester and Salford German Shepherd chums are encouraged to visit Eccles next Saturday for the second night of the Salford Musical Festival. Four Candles will be playing as part of packed evening of fine music including Bobbie Peru, Plexus, Garsoons, Jess Kemp, Surreal Kinnock and Blaney. There will also be a tribute to Mark E. Smith at the start of the evening from 6:30pm. There is a late bar and all of those artists can be watched for just £6. The venue is the Gilda Brook Club (the old Liberal Club) on Wellington Road, which is ten minute walk from Eccles Interchange. Fans can secure their ticket now by visiting the Salford Music Festival site . A full weekend ticket is just £10 which gets you two nights of entertainment and we highly recommend both nights.
MOFF SKELLINGTON UPDATE
Moff has a second EP under the Uncle Roy’s Utopian Vision Saga released on October 12th which coincides with his gig in Manchester the day before at The Peer Hat. Recorded in a morning at the legendary Uterus Cottage studios Moff explores his post-punk side with fervour. The lantern show at the Peer Hat promises to deliver an evening of Moff wonderment with his trademark wit and sideways look at the world. The event is not ticketed and is a mere £3.50. More details on the EP next week.
MATTHEW HOPKINS JOIN GERMAN SHEPHERD
Melodic avant rock trio Matthew Hopkins have joined the German Shepherd family – more details next week but pending that here’s a sample of their excellent song-craft with the track “Something”
GIGS
Poppycock follow up their excellent set at The Peer Hat last week with a new outing on October 13th at new Manchester Venue Yes supporting Virginia Wing. The promoters have listed it as a Fates gig but it will be the Poppycock line-up playing Fates material. – Facebook event link here –
Here is the full gig list
SEPTEMBER
27th – Inferior Complex play Ferndown RBL
27th – Electric Cheese support Tom Hingley at Preston Guildhall
28th – Inferior Complex play The Shooting Star, Southampton
28th – The Strays play Park Hotel, Wigan – Musicians Against Homelessness gig
29th – Four Candles play Salford Music Festival at The Gilda Brook Social Club, Weliington Road, Monton, Eccles
29th – Boz Hayward plays Levenshulme Market (afternoon gig)
29th – The Strays play The Jolly Collier, Heanor
29th – Bouquet of Dead Crows Play Deepdale Festival, Norwich
30th – Keltrix play Camboaters River Festival, Jesus Green, Cambridge, 6pm
OCTOBER
5th – Electric Cheese play The Railway as part of Chorley Live
5th – The Scissors are at Oxford Wheatsheaf (Klub Kakofanney).
6th – Taser Puppets play Lost Bar and Club as part of Chorley Live
6th – Electric Cheese play Cunliffe Hall as part of Chorley Live
6th – Toska Wilde plays Saks Southend on Sea as part of Cult 13 Showcase
6th – Inferior Complex play Liberties, Southampton
11th – An Evening with Moff Skellington at The Peer Hat, Manchester
13th – Poppycock playing a Fates set at Yes, Manchester supporting Virginia Wing
14th – Taser Puppets play TNT Punk Fest at The Peer Hat, Manchester
14th – Positronik and The Strays are at Fab Cafe, Portland Street, Manchester
17th – The Strays play West Street Live, Sheffield
19th – Taser Puppets play Old Courts, Wigan
19th – The Strays play A.M.P. Music Bar, Buxton
25th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play The Pepys, Huntingdon – acoustic gig
25th – Ian Moss appears at El Manisero, Innside, Manchester
NOVEMBER
1st – Bouquet of Dead Crows play The Dublin Castle, London
2nd – German Shepherd Records Fundraiser at The Peer Hat, Manchester – with Drink and Drive, Taser Puppets, The Strays and Flea
15th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play Esquires, Bedford
17th – Drink and Drive and Four Candles play The Railway, Greenfield
22nd – Inferior Complex play The King Charles, Poole
24th – Bouquet of Dead Crows launch new album Motus Octo at The Blue Moon, Cambridge
29th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play Gringos, Norwich
29th – Four Candles play “Free Rock & Roll” at Sound, Duke Street, Liverpool
DECEMBER
1st – Toska Wilde plays Saks Southend on Sea as part of Cult 13 Showcase
1st – Bouquet of Dead Crows and Umbrella Assassins play Smokehouse, Ipswich
6th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play Mama Liz’s Voodoo Lounge, Stamford
8th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play The Horn at the Half Moon, Bishops Stortford
8th – Boz Hayward and Keltrix with Misharlo play The Peer Hat, Manchester
8th – Poppycock support Vic Godard at Yes (The Basement) on Charles Street, Manchester with ASBO Derek
8th – Øre will be playing their debut gig at the TA in Dumfries
22nd – Drink and Drive play Strummercamp Fundraiser and Oldham Rugby Club
28th – Drink and Drive play Whittles, Oldham/
The lead track from February’s Night Operations album “Advantage” is now available on You Tube. You can purchase digital or CD versions of the album via our Bandcamp Page.
