Author: HalfEdgeMedia

Newsletter 42 : The return of The Parish Church Fire, Live Scissors, New Dead Crows Video and gigs!!

HalfEdgeMedia

Hello and welcome to the weekly newsletter from German Shepherd Records.

This week

– The Parish Church Fire return with a stunning single
– The Scissors live album from Ipswich
– New video from Bouquet of Dead Crows
– Forthcoming gigs

THE PARISH CHURCH FIRE

Released on May 10th 2019, the single “Hunger” represents the rebirth of Manchester alternative rock band The Parish Church Fire. Coupled with b-side “Adam Raised a Cain” this is the first release by the band since Sam Smith (guitar, vocals, keyboards) & Joe Roberts (drums) combined to release Locamente via German Shepherd in 2016.

Joined by new members John Bardsley (bass) and Timothy Hughes (guitar) for the first time, the full on attack and disquieting quality of Hunger is underpinned by its b-side: a hard rock version of Bruce Springsteen’s Adam Raised a Cain from the 1978 album “Darkness on the Edge of Town”. Marking the start of a new era for Sam Smith, “Hunger” is the crystallisation of 6 and half years of work of trying to get The Parish Church Fire established as a live band as opposed to its previous role as a solo studio project.

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On “Hunger” you hear the band in its new guise for the first time. The single will be followed by keynote gigs to launch and celebrate the band as a live entity. Recorded in April 2019 by founder of the band Sam Smith in his studio and produced by both Smith & drummer Joe Roberts, the release is as direct as its title and lyrics suggest: The Parish Church Fire are “hungry for more” following years of inactivity.

The b-side Adam Raised a Cain was carefully chosen to be a part of this release as its lyrical content is somewhat paired with Hunger and it will be an integral part of the bands upcoming shows in 2019.

An interview with Sam Smith about the renaissance of the band can be found  here  

FORTHCOMING GIGS
26th May – Strummercamp, Oldham Rugby Club
7th June – The Eagle, Salford

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THE SCISSORS

May 10th also sees the release of a mini live album from Cambridge band The Scissors. Captured at The Smokehouse Ipswich with a selection of music from all three of their studio albums this is the band at their very best – vital, unrestrained and packed with energy.

Here’s a teaser…..

BOUQUET OF DEAD CROWS RELEASE NEW VIDEO

Bouquet of Dead Crows have a new video out today! Warning, It’s not for the faint-hearted – but if you’re brave enough then check out ‘Fragments (Black Hole Eyes) from their new album ‘Motus Octo’ now! Plans for a subscriber special version of the album are being assembled, watch this space for news!

GIGS

Forthcoming gigs featuring German Shepherd Artists:

May
1st to 31st – Moff Skellington has an art exhibition at Canwood Gallery and Sculpture Park, Checkley, Hertfordshire
3rd – The Scissors play The Blue Moon, Cambridge
3rd – Electric Cheese play The Ferret, Preston
4th – Adventures of Salvador, Positronik and Pearl Divers play Music on the Market Place Festival , Buxton
4th – The Mind Sweepers play The Frunge Festival, The Elmerglen Hotel, Thornhill
5th – Keltrix play The Green Man Brew Ballyhoo, Granchester
7th – Ian Moss performs in Unseasonal Beasts project with Simon “Ding” Archer at the Castle Hotel, Manchester as part of the MASS assembly event.
10th – Adventures of Salvador play Ramsbottom Cricket Club
11th – Keltrix play The Haymakers, Cambridge (Acoustic Set)
18th -Weimar play the Eagle, Salford supporting St Lucifer
18th – Pearl Divers and Dominic Carlton Jones play Malaga Drift, Church Street, Eccles
18th – Poppycock play Whalley Range Pride event at The Carlton Club
20th – Stewart Harris from Scissors on Dave Hammonds Smellypot Show on Cambridge 105 talking about the new live album
23rd – Inferior Complex play King Charles, Poole
24th – Inferior Complex play Royal Oak, Basingstoke
24th – Four Candles play Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
25th – Sam Smith plays Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
25th – Four Candles play PsyCo Circus Allday Extravaganza at The Peer Hat
26th – Adventures of Salvador plays Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
June
1st – Bouquet of Dead Crows (Portland Ballroom Stage) and Keltrix play Strawberry Fair, Midsummer Common, Cambridge
2nd – Inferior Complex play Bandstand, Eastleigh
5th – The Junta plays West Street Live, Sheffield
6th – Adventures of Salvador and Matthew Hopkins play Liverpool Fringe Festival
7th – The Parish Church Fire and Four Candles are playing The Eagle, Salford
7th – Inferior Complex play The Alexandra, Southampton
8th – Keltrix play Pride!, Jesus Green, Cambridge
8th – Inferior Complex play The Red House, Yeovil
15th – Paul Winter from The Mind Sweepers is supporting JD Meatyard at Leith Depot Edinburgh tickets are £5 with £1 going to local homeless charity.
20th – Inferior Complex play The King Charles, Poole
21st – Weimar play The Eagle, Salford
22nd – Inferior Complex play King Charles, Poole
24th – The Junta plays The Peer Hat, Manchester with Lucky + Love.
26th – Dominic Carlton Jones plays Cuckoo Calling (Featured Artist) Bury New Road, Prestwich
28th – Adventures of Salvador play The Castle, Oldham Street, Manchester – ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
28th – Inferior Complex play The Alexandra, Southampton
July
5th – Mark Corrin’s Elastikbande play The Railway, Didsbury
5th – Inferior Complex play The Shooting Star, Southampton
6th – The Mind Sweepers play Electric Fields Festival, SWG3, Glasgow
13th – Umbrella Assassins play The Smokehouse, Ipswich
13th – Electric Cheese play Indiefest 2019 at The Boulevard, Wigan
19th – The Scissors with Moonstrips at Blue Moon Cambridge
20th – Keltrix play Whoosh Festival, The Missing Sock, Sto-Cum-Quy
28th – Monkeys In Love celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing at The Klondyke Club, Levenshulme – afternoon show between 1pm and 5pm
31st – The Junta plays The Peer Hat, Manchester
August
9th – Mark Corrin’s Elastikbande play The Railway, Didsbury
10th – Weimar play Scarborough Apollo
16th – Keltrix play The Green Man, Granchester
25th – Toska Wilde plays It Came From The Sea II at The Centre, Margate
October
12th October – Scissors play The Six Bells, Cambridge
26th October – Toska Wilde plays CULT 13 – Underground Alternative Night at The Venue Southend.

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The Return of The Parish Church Fire

HalfEdgeMedia

The Parish Church Fire are an Alternative Rock band from Manchester, UK fronted by Sam Smith. As loud as they are soft, the band have carved a unique dynamic with elements of heavy metal, trip hop, punk, jazz and blues. Comparable to Afghan Whigs, Radiohead & Pearl Jam. They have a new single out on May 10th called “Hunger” followed by two high profile gigs at Strummercamp and The Eagle, Salford in May and June.

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Here is a recent interview with band front man Sam Smith carried out by German Shepherd co-owner Bob Osborne.

Hi Sam, can you give us a brief history of The Parish Church Fire?

I put together the band in July 2014 after the disbanding my previous outfit ‘Sam Smith & Company’. Although The Parish Church Fire has solely been a studio project for the last 5 years an original live band was assembled upon formation but were only together for just 21 days. The line-up was myself, Chris Gilman & Rick Jarvis (and also Dave Wooley, Jack Farnworth and Peter Toner briefly). In that time Chris, Rick and I rehearsed relentlessly almost every day to get the wealth of material I had written up to standard for a busy gig schedule which had been booked for autumn of 2014. We had even managed to complete a studio session, recording 5 songs. Unfortunately, shortly after the sessions, the band split very abruptly due to the sudden departure of Rick Jarvis and my own ongoing health problems.

What have you been up to since 2014?

In 2015, I signed to German Shepherd Records and adopted the moniker ‘Franco Bandini’ as a result of increasing discomfort using my birth name due to the global rise of Universal Music Group artist Sam Smith. I released a solo EP as Bandini, entitled  ‘2014 Was a Bad Year’ and supported Australian rock legend Dave Graney at The Eagle Inn, Salford. I also did a radio session with Stephen Doyle at Salford City Radio and that was also released by German Shepherd. The ‘The Parish Church Fire EP’ which contained 3 of the 5 songs recorded with the original Parish Church Fire line up was self released at around the same time.

You pursued your vision of the Parish Church Fire band though?

The idea of assembling a band of musicians to represent the vision of The Parish Church Fire and also the desire to perform the songs written specifically for that band never went away. Whilst continuing to work as Franco Bandini, I met drummer Joe Roberts when we both rehearsed with a metal band which sadly never quite got off the ground. We stayed in touch after that band disbanded and we would occasionally meet to discuss the downfall of Manchester United, brewing methods and music production whilst sometimes exchanging demos via email. In 2016, we released the first Parish Church Fire single ‘Locamente’ on German Shepherd Records which was largely well received and we discussed putting together a live band, however as a result of personal circumstances for both of us getting in the way, this would not happen for another 2 and a half years.


Things picked up a little in 2017 though?

Yes! I returned to using my birth name in early 2017, releasing two singles and a live album along the way whilst performing live as a solo artist across the UK with just a guitar and piano. However I always felt that the Parish Church Fire band would come together as a live entity when the time was right. I was booked to appear at Strummercamp Festival in 2019 on the strength of my solo material and the time seemed right to assemble a band.  I contacted former Sam Smith & Company bassist John Bardsley, who is currently one of the key forces behind The Ombudsmen, and asked him if he would be interested in joining the band in its early stages of rebirth. Joe contacted friend and former Confucius Saint guitarist Timothy Hughes to see if he was interested and an initial rehearsal was soon set up.

So where are we up to now?

From the get go, due to various difficulties each of the four of us was dealing with in our personal lives, the rehearsals took place on the provision that they would always remain light hearted, humour would be at the forefront, and ,that a large amount of beer would be drank during each session!  Building on this foundation, a bond was carved between the four of us and despite the alcohol, professionalism ensued and a set of new material I had written was soon ready to perform, leading to a second gig being added for summer 2019 at The Eagle Inn in Salford.

On Initial listening to the new release we found a newly reborn Sam Smith, an artist with the potential we always knew was there, bursting through  With this new band drawing on the strengths of each individual member whilst always respecting the composition of Sam’s songs, there is a unique dynamic sound, emerging through this rebirth, which can be as heavy as it can be soft.  We took the view that there was a perfect marriage of the rock and punk ethos, exciting!

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Newsletter 41 : More Moff, Live Scissors album, Adventures of Salvador album, Umbrella Assassins T Shirts and Gigs!

HalfEdgeMedia

Hello and welcome to your weekly news for all things German Shepherd Records

This week

– The Pukes of a Hot Cloister re-released
– New Scissors live album coming soon
– Adventures of Salvador new album trailed
– Umbrella Assassins T Shirts now available
– More Gigs announced

MORE MOFF SKELLINGTON

As we continue our programme of re-releasing Moff Skellington’s huge back catalogue we have reached the landmark “The Pukes of a Hot Cloister” which will be re-released digitally on May 3rd.

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The dark days of January 2012 were brightened somewhat by the arrival of The Pukes Of A Hot Cloister album. As usual there was a feast of lyrical athleticism, Moff plucks words out of the ether and re-arranges them in a completely unique and totally compelling way. This album is particularly full of memorable “Moffism’s”, too many to mention and all rather special, there is some degree of continuity from prior releases in parts, with several references to molecules, and the usual bovine references that are scattered across the albums, and the opening instrumental “House of New Bricks” is quoted in the words/music of the penultimate track “Four Peg Wooden Unit”. Two of the tracks “Time for Nervous Questions In The Pub” and “Confident of Pending Treats” formed part of the six song set Moff recorded for Bob Osborne’s “Reformation” radio show on Salford City Radio, the other four appearing on the previous years Embers from the Rapid Eye album, so there is some specific continuity between those two albums. As is usual with Moff you know what you are going to get – the difference with each album though is how he has progressed his art and which particular parts of his “dreamscape” he is addressing in this instance.

The opening “House of New Bricks” sets the scene with a stately waltz around the accordion with bluesy harp wailing – this soon transforms into the strange and somehow beautiful “Crap and Ugly Toys” which is Eddodi in its purest sense. From there on we are gently led through a journey of fascinating words and unique music. A contemporary “manifesto” of Moff’s work, whether it be his art or his music, described a reality comprising three interacting factors – octoberness, perfection and slapstick. Simply put these three elements , anticipation, entropy, and the essentially comedic nature of existence, intertwine to allow innovation, expression and interpretation. We are resisting the urge to release spoilers about the content of this album as we believe that the listener should absorb this marvellous work and draw their own conclusions from the text/sound. All we will say is that the other-worldliness of Moff’s output is never more apparent as it is here. He has always been unique. no one else is doing music like this – it just seems he has built on his work to date to create something rather special. Variety is the watchword here and it is all good. Comparisons, bench-marks, yardsticks etc are impossible so the listener needs to approach it from his/her perspective.

Moff has a major exhibition of his art at the Canwood Gallery and Sculpture Park during May. Exhibition will run from 11am to 4pm each week Tuesday to Sunday. 30 canvasses and 40 prints will be on show at the exhibition.

LIVE SCISSORS

We are pleased to announce the return of Cambridge band the Scissors with a live album recorded at The Smokehouse in Ipswich earlier this year. The raw sound of the live Scissors experience is captured perfectly and demonstrates the pure energy of the band on stage. Release date is planned for 10th May.

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ADVENTURES OF SALVADOR ALBUM TRAILED

The much anticipated new album from Adventures of Salvador “Welcome to our Village” is coming in June. Pending that the band play The Peer Hat, Manchester this Thursday (25th) and Ramsbottom Cricket Club on May 10th, Liverpool Fringe on June 6th with the album launch scheduled for June 28th at The Castle, Oldham Street, Manchester. Watch this space for more details.

UMBRELLA ASSASSINS T’S

Haverhill’s finest are hard at work on new material with an album promised later in the year pending that you can increase your sartorial eloquence by acquiring one of their rather fine T-Shirts at this LOCATION. The trio play The Smokehouse, Ipswich on July 13th.

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GIGS

The Spring Summer gig list is hotting up with extra gigs for Inferior Complex, Keltrix and Four Candles emerging…..the full list is below

April
25th – Adventures of Salvador play the Peer Hat, Manchester
26th – Mark Corrin plays The Railway, Didsbury
May
1st to 31st – Moff Skellington has an art exhibition at Canwood Gallery and Sculpture Park, Checkley, Hertfordshire
3rd – Inferior Complex play Winchester Gate, Salisbury
3rd – The Scissors play The Blue Moon, Cambridge
4th – Positronik and Pearl Divers play Music on the Market Place, Buxton
4th – The Mind Sweepers play The Frunge Festival, The Elmerglen Hotel, Thornhill
5th – Keltrix play The Green Man Brew Ballyhoo, Granchester
7th – Ian Moss performs in Unseasonal Beasts project with Simon “Ding” Archer at the Castle Hotel, Manchester as part of the MASS assembly event. This is a free event but you must reserve a ticket
10th – Adventures of Salvador play Ramsbottom Cricket Club
11th – Keltrix play The Haymakers, Cambridge (Acoustic Set)
18th -Weimar play the Eagle, Salford supporting St Lucifer
20th – Stewart Harris from Scissors on Dave Hammonds Smellypot Show on Cambridge 105 talking about the new live album
24th – Four Candles play Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
25th – Sam Smith plays Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
June
1st – Keltrix play Strawberry Fair, Midsummer Common, Cambridge
2nd – Inferior Complex play Bandstand, Eastleigh
5th – The Junta plays West Street Live, Sheffield
6th – Adventures of Salvador and Matthew Hopkins play Liverpool Fringe Festival
7th – The Parish Church Fire and Four Candles are playing The Eagle, Salford

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7th – Inferior Complex play The Alexandra, Southampton
8th – Keltrix play Pride!, Jesus Green, Cambridge
8th – Inferior Complex play The Red House, Yeovil
15th – The Mind Sweepers and Paul Winter (solo set) supporting JD Meatyard at Leith Depot Edinburgh tickets are £5 with £1 going to local homeless charity.

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20th – Inferior Complex play The King Charles, Poole
21st – Weimar play The Eagle, Salford
24th – The Junta plays The Peer Hat, Manchester with Lucky + Love.
26th – Dominic Carlton Jones plays Cuckoo Calling (Featured Artist) Bury New Road, Prestwich
28th – Adventures of Salvador play The Castle, Oldham Street, Manchester – ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
July
5th – Mark Corrin’s Elastikbande play The Railway, Didsbury
5th – Inferior Complex play The Shooting Star, Southampton
6th – The Mind Sweepers play Electric Fields Festival, SWG3, Glasgow
13th – Umbrella Assassins play The Smokehouse, Ipswich
13th – Electric Cheese play Indiefest 2019 at The Boulevard, Wigan
19th – The Scissors with Ember Rev at Blue Moon Cambridge
20th – Keltrix play Whoosh Festival, The Missing Sock, Sto-Cum-Quy
28th – Monkeys In Love celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing at The Klondyke Club, Levenshulme – afternoon show between 1pm and 5pm
31st – The Junta plays The Peer Hat
August
9th – Mark Corrin’s Elastikbande play The Railway, Didsbury
10th – Weimar play Scarborough Apollo
16th – Keltrix play The Green Man, Granchester
25th – Toska Wilde plays It Came From The Sea II at The Centre, Margate

Newsletter 40 : 26th April Release from The Parasite, Subscribe, What’s Coming, and, Gigs!

HalfEdgeMedia

NEW RELEASE

We are pleased to announce the latest release from The Parasite

The Parasite are Ian Moss (Hamsters, Four Candles) and Bob Osborne (Space Museum, Auster Boys) who just happen to co-own German Shepherd Records. They have appeared in various guises before – The Parasite being their latest vehicle to purvey their mix of spoken word, heartfelt vocalese and sound design.

The latest release, a ten track album, is called “All Limitations Are Self-Imposed is released on 26th April in digital format via Bandcamp and distributed by Ditto to over 30 platforms including Spotify, You Tube, Amazon etc

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The album reflects the usual Parasite themes – the dark worlds behind the shiny veneer of pop music, revenge, identity, politics, and the state of the nation. Musically the album veers between various genres and presents the duo’s off-kilter “tempo ignoring” attacks on perceived wisdom of what melody and rhythm should conform to.

Previous releases by The Parasite are available from the German Shepherd Records Bandcamp page.

The Parasite can be reached on Facebook

SUBSCRIBE!

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.

If you would like to pay more for you subscription you can. The more generous you 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. Your subscription directly helps 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 new releases automatically added to your Bandcamp account and available to download
– A selection of OVER 100 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.

JOIN NOW

FORTHCOMING

What’s coming soon from the Kennel

19/4/19 Mark Corrin Pub Bin
26/4/19 The Parasite All limitations are self imposed
3/5/19 Moff Skellington The Pukes of a Hot Cloister
3/5/19 The Parish Church Fire Hunger
10/5/19 The Scissors Live at the Smokehouse
17/5/19 Loop -Aznavour President of the Noise Abatement Society
24/5/19 sycloner Not Without You
24/5/19 sycloner Lost and Found

GIGS

Although it’s not one of our gigs Ian is appearing with Simon Ding Archer as Unseasonal Beasts as part of the MASS Assembly project from Manchester Uni at The Castle Hotel on May 8th. It is a free event but you need to register for a ticket on the event page.

April

  • 18th – Inferior Complex play The Facebar, Reading
  • 20th – Toska Wilde plays The Venue, Southend On Sea
  • 26th – Mark Corrin plays The Railway, Didsbury

May

  • 1st to 31st – Moff Skellington has an art exhibition at Canwood Gallery and Sculpture Park, Checkley, Hertfordshire
  • 3rd – The Scissors play The Blue Moon, Cambridge
  • 4th – Positronik and Pearl Divers play Music on the Market Place, Buxton
  • 4th – The Mind Sweepers play The Frunge Festival, The Elmerglen Hotel, Thornhill
  • 5th – Keltrix play The Green Man Brew Ballyhoo, Granchester
  • 7th – Ian Moss performs in Unseasonal Beasts project with Simon “Ding” Archer at the Castle Hotel, Manchester as part of the MASS assembly event.
  • 10th – Adventures of Salvador play Ramsbottom Cricket Club
  • 11th – Keltrix play The Haymakers, Cambridge (Acoustic Set)
  • 18th -Weimar play the Eagle, Salford supporting St Lucifer
  • 24th – Four Candles play Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
  • 25th – Sam Smith plays Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club

June

  • 1st – Keltrix play Strawberry Fair, Midsummer Common, Cambridge
  • 5th – The Junta plays West Street Live, Sheffield
  • 7th – The Parish Church Fire  and Four Candles are playing The Eagle, Salford
  • 7th – Inferior Complex play The Alexandra, Southampton
  • 15th – The Mind Sweepers are supporting JD Meatyard at Leith Depot Edinburgh tickets are £5 with £1 going to local homeless charity.
  • 21st – Weimar play The Eagle, Salford
  • 24th – The Junta plays The Peer Hat, Manchester with Lucky + Love.
  • 26th – Dominic Carlton Jones plays Cuckoo Calling (Featured Artist) Bury New Road, Prestwich
  • 28th

July

  • 4th-6th – The Mind Sweepers play Electric Festival, Drumlanrig Castle (North West of Dumfries off the A76
  • 5th – Mark Corrin’s Elastikbande play The Railway, Didsbury
  • 5th – Inferior Complex play The Shooting Star, Southampton
  • 13th – Umbrella Assassins play The Smokehouse, Ipswich
  • 13th – Electric Cheese play Indiefest 2019 at The Boulevard, Wigan
  • 19th –  The Scissors with Ember Rev at Blue Moon Cambridge
  • 20th – Keltrix play Whoosh Festival, The Missing Sock, Sto-Cum-Quy
  • 28th – Monkeys In Love celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing at The Klondyke Club, Levenshulme – afternoon show between 1pm and 5pm

August

  • 9th – Mark Corrin’s Elastikbande play The Railway, Didsbury
  • 10th – Weimar play Scarborough Apollo
  • 16th – Keltrix play The Green Man, Granchester
  • 25th – Toska Wilde plays It Came From The Sea II at The Centre, Margate

German Shepherd Records Newsletter 39 – Mark Corrin album, sycloner, Moff Skellington and gigs!

HalfEdgeMedia

Hello and welcome to the latest news from German Shepherd Records.

This week –

– Mark Corrin explores the Pub Bin
– sycloner bring Gold Coast sunshine to German Shepherd
– Moff Skellington announces huge art exhibition
– gig news

MARK CORRIN – NEW ALBUM “PUB BIN”

19th April sees the release of a new album from Mark Corrin.

Mark Corrin’s early releases as “Shirokuma” were frequently broadcast on the John Peel Show on BBC Radio 1, and his more recent solo work has featured on BBC Late Junction with Nick Luscombe. He also presents a weekly music radio show himself on Salford City Radio and has collaborated and performed with several notable artists from all over the world both live and on record. He has previously also been a member of groups including Una Baines’ (The Fall) band Poppycock, Rose & The Diamond Hand and is currently working with a new group called Elastikbande.

“Pub Bin” a digital only release is described as a dark comedy concept album set mostly in the venues, shops, offices, pubs and bins of modern Manchester. Blending electro pop and punk with Mark’s wry observational humour this is the album to lighten the mood of a distressed nation, and world!

Mark’s recent set at Manchester Meltdown includes many of the tracks from the album

You can check out Mark’s previous solo releases on two separate pages on Bandcamp as well as via Valentine Records Bandcamp page. Links are available on our artist profile page.

Mark is playing live on 26th April at The Railway, Didsbury, Manchester

SYCLONER JOIN GERMAN SHEPHERD RECORDS

Brisbane-Gold Coast duo sycloner (the S is lower case) become the first Australian artists to join German Shepherd Records. We will be distributing their first two EPs, which are currently available on Bandcamp, from May 24th with hopefully new material to follow soon. Their sophisticated indie sounds are deserving of a wider audience and we hope to spread the word about these talented musicians.

MOFF ANNOUNCES MAJOR ART EXHIBITION

Master of Eddodi Moff Skellington has announced a major exhibition of his art at the Canwood Gallery and Sculpture Park during May. Exhibition will run from 11am to 4pm each week Tuesday to Sunday. 30 canvasses and 40 prints will be on show at the exhibition.

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GIGS

Forthcoming gigs featuring German Shepherd artists

April

  • 12th – Inferior Complex play The Shooting Star, Southampton
  • 13th – Positronik play London Road Inn, Buxton
  • 14th – Rose and the Diamond Hand play SpringFest at Victoria Baths, Manchester
  • 18th – Inferior Complex play The Facebar, Reading
  • 20th – Toska Wilde plays The Venue, Southend On Sea
  • 26th – Mark Corrin plays The Railway, Didsbury

May

  • 1st to 31st – Moff Skellington has an art exhibition at Canwood Gallery and Sculpture Park, Checkley, Hertfordshire
  • 3rd – The Scissors play The Blue Moon, Cambridge
  • 4th – Positronik and Pearl Divers play Music on the Market Place, Buxton
  • 4th – The Mind Sweepers play The Frunge Festival, The Elmerglen Hotel, Thornhill
  • 5th – Keltrix play The Green Man Brew Ballyhoo, Granchester
  • 10th – Adventures of Salvador play Ramsbottom Cricket Club
  • 18th -Weimar play the Eagle, Salford supporting St Lucifer
  • 24th – Four Candles play Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
  • 25th – Sam Smith plays Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club

June

  • 1st – Keltrix play Strawberry Fair, Midsummer Common, Cambridge
  • 5th – The Junta plays West Street Live, Sheffield
  • 7th – The Parish Church Fire and Four Candles are playing The Eagle, Salford
  • 7th – Inferior Complex play The Alexandra, Southampton
  • 15th – The Mind Sweepers are supporting JD Meatyard at Leith Depot Edinburgh tickets are £5 with £1 going to local homeless charity.
  • 21st – Weimar play The Eagle, Salford
  • 24th – The Junta plays The Peer Hat, Manchester with Lucky + Love.
  • 26th – Dominic Carlton Jones plays Cuckoo Calling (Featured Artist) Bury New Road, Prestwich

July

  • 4th-6th – The Mind Sweepers play Electric Festival, Drumlanrig Castle (North West of Dumfries off the A76
  • 5th – Mark Corrin’s Elastikbande play The Railway, Didsbury
  • 5th – Inferior Complex play The Shooting Star, Southampton
  • 13th – Umbrella Assassins play The Smokehouse, Ipswich
  • 19th – The Scissors with Ember Rev at Blue Moon Cambridge
  • 20th – Keltrix play Whoosh Festival, The Missing Sock, Sto-Cum-Quy
  • 28th – Monkeys In Love celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing at The Klondyke Club, Levenshulme – afternoon show between 1pm and 5pm

August

  • 9th – Mark Corrin’s Elastikbande play The Railway, Didsbury
  • 16th – Keltrix play The Green Man, Granchester

German Shepherd Records Newsletter 38 – Positronik Album, Sam Smith & The Parish Church Fire Live!! , Mark Corrin, and Gigs!

HalfEdgeMedia

Hello and welcome to this weeks German Shepherd Records Newsletter

Featured this week :

  • Positronik second album revisits old tunes and gives them a makeover
  • Sam Smith returns to the live stage with full band The Parish Church Fire
  • Mark Corrin joins German Shepherd with a new solo album
  • Gigs

POSITRONIK

In the interests of neatness, we’ve decided to collect together all the Positronik material recorded since singer Nathalie Haley joined. Most of it has already appeared on Captain Black albums or individual EPs, also released on German Shepherd Records. However, this collection has been freshly remixed and remastered. So if you’ve somehow managed to miss Positronik’s classic pop stylings up till now, this is the perfect introduction.

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There is one track missing – ‘New Frontier – but that will remain exclusive to the ‘It’s a Dog’s Life’ charity compilation for now.

All songs written and produced by Jeff Black, except:‘Snakes & Ladders’ – written by Jeff Black and Carl Lingard ‘Indian Summer’ (AKA ‘Something’) & ‘That Old Alchemy’ – written by Carl Lingard

Here is a soundcloud link to a teaser – the closing track to the album “That Old Alchemy” a stunning piece of John Barryesque writing from Carl Lingard of Pearl Divers.

If you like classic british electro-pop with a soulful edge then this album ticks all the boxes

The album is a digital only release and will be let loose on the world on 29th March

The band is playing live soon – please see the gig list below

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SAM SMITH

We are pleased to report the return of Sam Smith  with full band “The Parish Church Fire” to the live stage. As well as appearing at this years Strummercamp (see gig list below) the band will headline a date at Salford’s Eagle Inn on Friday June 7th. With recordings underway for new material it ‘s great to see Sam back in front of a full band and we can expect a riotous rock set from Sam and his talented friends.

Gig details

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MARK CORRIN

It is with great pleasure we announce that Mark Corrin has joined us to release his solo album “Pub Bin”.

Pub Bin is a dark comedy concept album set mostly in the venues, shops, offices, pubs and bins of modern Manchester. You’ll hear influences from The Fall, The Bonzo Dog Band, Sleaford Mods, and the impact of other German Shepherd Records artists.

Mark Corrin’s early releases as “Shirokuma” were frequently broadcast on the John Peel Show on BBC Radio 1, and his more recent solo work has featured on BBC Late Junction with Nick Luscombe. He also presents a weekly music radio show himself on Salford City Radio and has collaborated and performed with several notable artists from all over the world both live and on record. He has previously also been a member of groups including Una Baines’ (The Fall) band Poppycock, Rose & The Diamond Hand and is currently working with a new group called Elastikbande.

The album is planned for release on 19th April….more details to follow in future weeks

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GIGS

Forthcoming live events featuring our roster:

March
23rd – Electric Cheese play The Ferret, Preston
30th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play The Blue Moon Cambridge + Basement Strippers & Matt Hammond
30th – Dominic Carlton Jones is playing an LGBT fundraiser at The Rose Of Farington .Leyland.
April
4th – Matthew Hopkins play The Eagle, Salford with Sandells and Wolf Suit
13th – Positronik play London Road Inn, Buxton
20th – Toska Wilde plays The Venue, Southend On Sea
May
5th – Keltrix play The Green Man Brew Ballyhoo, Granchester
18th -Weimar play the Eagle, Salford supporting St Lucifer
24th – Four Candles play Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
25th – Sam Smith plays Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
June
1st – Keltrix play Strawberry Fair, Midsummer Common, Cambridge
7th – The Parish Church Fire and Four Candles are playing The Eagle, Salford
15th – The Mind Sweepers are supporting JD Meatyard at Leith Depot Edinburgh tickets are £5 with £1 going to local homeless charity.
26th – Dominic Carlton Jones plays Cuckoo Calling (Featured Artist) Bury New Road, Prestwich
July
4th-6th – The Mind Sweepers play Electric Festival, Drumlanrig Castle (North West of Dumfries off the A76
19th – The Scissors with Ember Rev at Blue Moon Cambridge
20th – Keltrix play Whoosh Festival, The Missing Sock, Sto-Cum-Quy
August
16th – Keltrix play The Green Man, Granchester

German Shepherd Records Newsletter #37 – Crab Dance G.I.s , T Shirts and Gigs

HalfEdgeMedia
Hello and welcome to the regular newsletter from German Shepherd Records
Our release for March 22nd is the second single this year from Crab Dance G.I.s
Based around the writing partnership of Danny Cusick (KIT B, Hidden Gem) and Craig Bodell (Hidden Gem) the new single “Back In The Day” is a bitter-sweet slice of Manchester pop music looking back to the heady days of the early 1980s.
Primarily a studio based project Crab Dance G.I. can be found on Facebook
The single is available via Bandcamp and all the regular digital download outlets
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We now have available a limited number of T-Shirts via our Bandcamp Merch page –

Priced at £10 plus p&p they will available for shipping from May 1st.  We are currently taking orders to determine how big a print run we need to do.

 

 

GS T Shirt design

Gigs

There are a number of new gigs that have been added to our listing featuring our artists. We are particularly pleased to have two acts on at Strummercamp this year – Four Candles and Sam Smith’s Parish Church Fire – both of who will feature again at a gig at the Eagle, Collier Street, Salford on June 7th

March
13th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play West Street Live Sheffield
15th – Adventures of Salvador play The Deaf Centre, Chester
16th – Bouquet of Dead Crows, The Scissors and Umbrella Assassins play The Smokehouse Ipswich.
16th – The Mind Sweepers play Midnight Breakfast Club at Bathgate.
23rd – Electric Cheese play The Ferret, Preston
30th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play The Blue Moon Cambridge + Basement Strippers & Matt Hammond
30th – Dominic Carlton Jones is playing an LGBT fundraiser at The Rose Of Farington .Leyland.
April
20th – Toska Wilde plays The Venue, Southend On Sea
May
18th -Weimar play the Eagle, Salford supporting St Lucifer
24th – Four Candles play Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
25th – Sam Smith plays Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
June
7th – The Parish Church Fire are playing The Eagle, Salford
15th – The Mind Sweepers are supporting JD Meatyard at Leith Depot Edinburgh tickets are £5 with £1 going to local homeless charity.
26th – Dominic Carlton Jones plays Cuckoo Calling (Featured Artist) Bury New Road, Prestwich
July
4th-6th – The Mind Sweepers play Electric Festival, Drumlanrig Castle (North West of Dumfries off the A76)
19th – The Scissors with Ember Rev at Blue Moon Cambridge

Greetings from Abstercot U.K.

HalfEdgeMedia

March 15th sees the first dual effort by Moff Skellington and Auster Boys. Titled “Greetings from Abstercot UK” the two track release brings together the pyschogeography of Auster Boys and the other worldly genre known as Eddodi. Auster North produced two funky electro backing tracks and Moff added a good portion of Abstercot magic to create something new entirely, here is a sneak preview…… we hesitate to add the usual RIYL thing as this is nothing like anything you have heard before, unless you live in Abstercot!

For the main release the single will feature the two tracks, for German Shepherd subscribers the release will include the two Auster Boys base tracks as an added bonus

The cover art shows the centres of Leeds, Northampton and Eccles – all Abstercot in their own way!

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German Shepherd Records Newsletter #36 – New Album from the Screaming Love Collective and Special Birthday Offers! plus Gigs!!!

HalfEdgeMedia

Hello and welcome to the latest newsletter from German Shepherd Records

This week we preview the release of a brand new album from the Screaming Love Collective and also celebrate our 5th Birthday with a special offer….

ALL THE LIGHT YOU SEE COMES FROM THE PAST

The Screaming Love Collective are back on March 1st with 10 slices of their trademark psychedelic punk rock groove sensations.

Masterminded by Bryn Thorburn the groove is intense and subject matter looks to the stars. “All The Light You See Comes From The Past” is the 10th release with German Shepherd Records from the Collective.

All The Light You See Comes From The Past

At the core of The Screaming Love Collective is Bryn Thorburn who is the drummer for The Mind Sweepers and has years of experience both playing and writing in bands including the Glasgow based self proclaimed art noise terrorists Spacehopper and the Edinburgh based psychedelic band Gram Solo.

Bryn also creates the artwork for The Screaming Love collective.

FACEBOOK – /www.facebook.com/thescreaminglovecollective/

For a  preview check out “Hard” Light from the album on You Tube :

FIFTH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

As we celebrate our fifth birthday we are offering on our Bandcamp page the following FIVE releases for 50 pence only for the next 5 DAYS!

WEST COAST SICK LINE – HOPE YOU ALL HAVE NIGHTMARES EXCEPT KIRSTY
MOFF SKELLINGTON – MARINE SUGARS (LOCALLY GLIMPSED)
HAMSTERS – LIVE ON THE INDEPENDENTS TOUR
HOUSE MOUSE AND SPACE MUSEUM – POST FACT
VARIOUS ARTISTS COMPILATION – 100

Check out our Bandcamp at – http://www.germanshepherdrecords.bandcamp.com

GIGS

Forthcoming events featuring German Shepherd records artists!

February
22nd – Moff Skellington plays at Shangri-La, The Carlton Club, Prestwich
23rd – Electric Cheese and Four Candles play The Railway, Chorley
24th – Positronik play Fab Cafe, Manchester
28th – Cassette Apes play West Street Live, Sheffield

March
2nd – Four Candles, Johann Kloos and Rose Niland play the Peer Hat, Manchester, a benefit for Macmillan nurses as a memorial for Modal Roberts
2nd – Pearl Divers play Malaga Drift, Eccles Town Centre (Near the station and not far from German Shepherd HQ!)
2nd – The Mind Sweepers play The Normandy, Dumfries
11th – The Junta supports Strange Circuits at The Eagle, Salford
13th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play West Street Live Sheffield
15th – Adventures of Salvador play The Deaf Centre, Chester
16th – Bouquet of Dead Crows, The Scissors and Umbrella Assassins play The Smokehouse Ipswich.
16th – Cassette Apes play The London Road Inn, Buxton
16th – The Mind Sweepers play Midnight Breakfast Club at Bathgate.
23rd – Electric Cheese play The Ferret, Preston
30th – Bouquet of Dead Crows play The Blue Moon Cambridge + Basement Strippers & Matt Hammond
30th – Dominic Carlton Jones is playing an LGBT fundraiser at The Rose Of Farington .Leyland.

April
20th – Toska Wilde plays The Venue, Southend On Sea

June
15th – The Mind Sweepers are supporting JD Meatyard at Leith Depot Edinburgh tickets are £5 with £1 going to local homeless charity.

July
4-6th – The Mind Sweepers play The Electric Fields Festival  Drumlanrig Castle