Cambridge Calling Volume Five

The fifth in our series of compilations celebrating the music and musicians of the Cambridge area, compiled as always by DJ Dave Hammond, will be released on Bandcamp on July 23rd and available for wider digital streaming soon thereafter

All proceeds from the sales of this release will be donated to Cambridge Aid which is a registered charity and a point of last resort for those in desperate financial need within Cambridge and its surrounding villages. They offer financial help to individuals and families in need, whilst the referring organisation may be dealing with the underlying causes of distress. The grants give comfort, provide basic essential needs and help to maintain dignity. Cambridge Aid seeks donations from various local organisations, trusts, charities and individuals. The funds are administered by voluntary Trustees who meet fortnightly to consider applications for support which are submitted on behalf of individuals or families. They are recognised as offering a rapid and flexible response with minimal overhead costs. We are happy to support this organisation with this release.

Artists to be featured on the latest release are:

BansheeVa
Death To Slow Music
People Look Like Dogs
Jaymotts
Collars
Creepy Neighbour
Naomi Randall
Dom Howard
Lady Birdface
Sunday Driver
Percy Black
Tom Bainbridge
Keith Somerville
Helefonix
The Routine
Star Pixel
Shambertans
The Mardlers

Once again Dave has selected an eclectic genre hopping list of some of the best music in the Cambridge area. We are also indebted once again to Stewart Harris for his stunning album cover design.

More details on the album will be forthcoming as we get closer to the release date.

From The Kennel

Regular listeners and watchers will know that we put together a charity album around Christmas time. 2020 is no exception with a new 30 (+6) track album being released on Christmas Day.

Our wonderful bands and artists have submitted some excellent tunes to make up an eclectic mix of material which more than adequately describe what the label is about – variety and innovation.

The release is on Bandcamp and features 30 streamable tracks however those who purchase the album will get 6 bonus tracks as part of their download.

Our charity this year is Shelter. We are committed to reduction of the scourge of homelessness which is even more acute this year with an uncaring government and raging pandemic. Local Authorities are struggling to meet the needs of vulnerable people and raising some much needed money will hopefully assist in meeting this ongoing challenge.

The album kicks off with a blistering slice of electro-punk from The Parasite with label owners Ian and Bob getting the party started. The first of many tracks featuring Ian’s vocals he also appears with new tracks from 2 Lost Souls, Four Candles, and in partnership with Mark Corrin.

Our “pop” bands are also well represented with new tunes from Dislocation Dance, Positronik, and a christmas offering from Boz Hayward (video below) plus a remix from Lizard Brain.

Our electronic contingent are in fine form with new tunes from Captain Black, Jed, Night Operations, Inferior Complex and The Junta, plus a remix from Toska Wilde.

Our indie and punk bands also provide a rich mix with new music from Longsight (their debut release for the label), Loop-aznavour, Mark Corrin, La Capsula, The Screaming Love Collective, The Mind Sweepers, Umbrella Assassins, and The Get. A great new track from The Harveys also comes with a great video from Paul Forshaw.

The more experimental corner of our roster is ably covered by m.t. scott, michael and robert, Moff Skellington, Filed Fangs, Passage of Time, and Dominic Carlton Jones all of who have created some cutting edge new sounds.

The album concludes with a chance to hear a track from the excellent new solo album from Ember Rev’s Dan Ecclestone.

The release is priced at £5 (or pay more if you want) which is bargain for 36 tracks!

DISLOCATION DANCE RETURN with DISCOMBOBULATION

New disco, soul and funk flavoured 7 track EP from cult Manchester indie band – Dislocation Dance.

Ian Runacres has been releasing music under the name Dislocation Dance since 1980, when signed to the legendary Buzzcocks label, New Hormones. Moving to Rough Trade in 1982, (along with the Smiths), the band released an acclaimed album, Midnight Shift.

After various line-up changes and writing and producing for other artists, Ian launched Manchester’s BOP label. The ethos was to promote minority music from the North West, along with emerging dance and indie bands. The notable release being Manchester North of England compilation, featuring James and Freak Beats featuring 808 State. After a hiatus of several years, Ian reformed the band to tour Japan and released further albums – Cromer (Vinyl Japan), The Ruins of Manchester, and, Are We There Yet?, (LTM).

The new EP – Discombobulation marks the 40th anniversary of Dislocation Dance releases.

You can pre-order the EP HERE

More importantly all income from this release will contribute towards crowdfunding for the treatment of Ian’s teenage son Joel, who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in September 2019.

German Shepherd Records are pleased to be helping Ian and the band with this release. The EP will be pre-released via Bandcamp on 25th September 2020 with two tracks being available immediately. The full EP will be released on 30th October 2020 and will be available via all the major download and streaming platforms.

Message from Ian Runacres

In September 2019 my 19 year old son Joel, was diagnosed with Glioblastoma. This is the most aggressive and lethal of all brain cancers. To help prolong his life, the best option for Joel is to receive a pioneering new treatment, as quickly as possible. The treatment is in the form of a personalised vaccine manufactured from Joel’s own tumour tissue, but it is very expensive. All income from the sale of this EP will contribute towards crowdfunding for Joel’s treatment.

The aim is to help Joel live longer.

Information about Joel’s story and the fundraising campaign can be found at:

http://www.gofundme.com/f/helpjoellivelonger

http://www.facebook.com/Help-Joel-Live-Longer-103173274841678/

RELEASE DETAILS

releases October 30, 2020

All songs written by Runacres/Lukes except track 6 – Runacres

Musicians:
Ian Runacres: vocals, guitar, bass, ukulele, keyboards, percussion, programming
Phil Lukes: vocals, bass (track 2)
Sam Heywood: vocals
Jon Board: trumpet
Chris Gravestock: Congas
Recorded: Ian’s Playroom, Jon’s shed & Phil’s shed
Engineered: Ian Runacres & Phil Lukes
Produced: Ian Runacres

New Night Operations album and Dislocation Dance EP

Night Operations is the project of Mike Powell which began in 2011 with the release of the long-deleted Colour & Number EP on Prescribed Records. Mike was the keyboard player for KIT B, and has in the past performed and released music with several other bands including Exchange (2012-2014), The Shelltones (2007-2011) and Five Days Of Static (2003-04) as well as releasing 2 singles under his own name, Behind The Wheel (2010) and Dancefloor (2011). After the release of the first EP, Night Operations releases have been few and far between; aside from the track Driving Rain which was released as an EP in 2014 and featured on the German Shepherd charity album Salford Streets. Night Operations has also released remixes, for artists and bands such as KIT B, Exchange and The Junta.

Work began on the Mantra album, the first full release with German Shepherd, as early as mid 2014, but most of the material was recorded in late 2015 / early 2016. The album was released in October 2016, preceded by a promo single, Remember, released in September 2016. A second album Advantage was released in February 2018. An EP featuring tracks Area 51 and Forbidden Fruit via three remixes was released in October 2018.

A new single “Pull The Trigger” was released in May 2020. This is now followed by the third album Protocol which releases on 25th September.

Protocol finds the Night Operations sound developing further with a more experimental approach and a broader mix of material. The finest work to date by Mike Powell shows him developing as a writer and artist. The album was recorded at The Zone, Runcorn and The Zone, Ellesmere Port and engineered & produced by Leon Schneider. Mike plays guitar and synthesizers and sings.

Dislocation Dance – we are pleased to support Dislocation Dance frontman Ian Runacres with a fundraising project to help raise funds for much needed medical support for his son Joel. We will be releasing a charity EP in October all income from which will be used to support the current fundraising project “Help Joel Live Longer”. Details of the appeal are available here – in summary we are seeking donations towards a pioneering treatment for brain cancer that will help Joel and also contribute to developing breakthrough treatment for brain tumours to help others in the future. Our release forms part of series of charity events aiming to hit the challenging target.

Originally formed in 1978 and active again since 2009 Dislocation Dance emerged in the midst of the first Manchester Post-Punk wave with a fresh sound. Perhaps they were a band out of time – their quirky jazz-pop too eclectic to make charts dominated by glossy sugary pop, and, not grim enough to fit in with the same scene as Joy Division or The Fall. We are pleased to add to their impressive back catalogue with a new EP which features new material and is called “Discombobulation”. More details on the release and the fundraising will follow over the next few weeks.

Another pesky one off single

Pending a new full length offering from The Parasite Mr Moss and Mr Osborne have put together a couple of new songs which reflect the state of the world at the moment.
Pimple comments on the Donald’s seeming wish to be Jim Jones a couple of weeks back, he has of course got worse since then and gone even more full on bonkers
My Culture is about cultural appropriation and an ironic statement, at least musically, about the Twitterati’s holier than thou attitude over certain things……
It’s a free download thing but anyone who wants to pay anything we’ll send the money over to the Peer Hat Manchester, our favourite gigging spot, to help them survive the current thing.

GERMAN SHEPHERD RECORDS NEWS – Dominic Carlton Jones, 2 Lost Souls, Longsight, A Raffle, Charitable Work

Hello

We hope you are all well and coping in these strange times.

Firstly, many thanks to those DJs, Bloggers and websites who have featured us recently. We really appreciate the support and time you are giving to the label and its artists.

This news is for releases on June 26th plus details of a new signing to the label and progress on some of our fundraising activities….

DOMINIC CARLTON JONES

Eccles based singer, songwriter, and troubadour Dominic Carlton Jones returns with a new double A side – Reach Out To Your Far Horizon/German Bombers

Dominic Carlton Jones won the Salford Star Best Band/Act 2018 Award for his debut album Salford Punk Poetry Sadness Death New Life, which judges hailed as “inspired and original”. and his work has been rightly praised. The new single sees the seven minute plus “Reach Out To Your Far Horizon” exploring ambient soundscapes with an evocative and emotional spoken word delivery from Dominic. The guitar focused “German Bombers” provides another side of Dominic’s work with layers of picking and riffs building to create an atmospheric bed for more spoken word developing an epic soundscape where vocals kick in with a heartfelt song.

thumbnail_Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 17.24.06

2 LOST SOULS

The ever productive 2 Lost Souls duo of Ian Moss and Paul Rosenfeld are back with another charity focused single. The harrowing “Don’t You Call It Love”, which Ian premiered at his virtual Stonehenge festival performance, is a direct attack on child sex abuse and the evil people who perpetrate it. All proceeds from the sale of this single will be donated to Childline.

LONGSIGHT

We are pleased to announce we will be working with Stockport, GreaterManchester band Longsight starting with a single.

Longsight 1

Longsight are a new indie guitar band from Stockport, North West England. Started in August 2019 their first few gigs have caught the imagination of their peers and music journalists alike.

Si Wolstencroft (The Fall/ Ian Brown’s band) “Absolutely love Longsight. They sound like a cross between The Buzzcocks and New Order”.
The Big issue: “Beg, borrow or steal the entrance fee. Longsight are about to go stellar”.
Cassie Delta KBYD radio California: “The songs have a hurting, haunting, heart-breaking echo to them.”
Manchester Evening News, “No wonder current music sounds banal, Longsight have taken all the best songs”.
Chester Chronicle: “Top new band. Every track sounds like a hit single.”
Glasgow Herald. “Beautifully crafted songs delivered in an unnerving style”.

The band comprises of:

Keo (Guitar/vox) formerly in Jez Kerr from A Certain Ratio’s solo band, The Family Bizarre and The Treatment Organisation.
Adam Halford (Drums/vox) formerly in The Trainset.
Johnny Stringer (Bass/vox) Formerly in The Stipe band.

Longsight’s first single ‘These Chains’ is out now on limited edition 7″ vinyl through Discogs. Produced by Jez Kerr from A Certain Ratio. Their first album is due out early next year through German Shepherd Records pending that a new single is coming soon.

Here’s the band live:

Catch them on Facebook

A RAFFLE

Moff Skellington has made available the original artwork for three of his albums plus the poster designed for his gig at The Peer Hat, Manchester. There are four prizes so four chances to win. All punters need to do is purchase one or more tickets for the chance to enter the prize draw. Entrants get a free copy of Moff’s EP Uncle Roy’s Utopian Vision #1
The closing date for the raffle is Monday 22nd June and winners will be notified by e-mail by Friday 26th June when arrangements will be made for Moff to mail the artwork to the winners.

Pukes A

All proceeds will be donate to The Peer Hat Fundraiser. Tickets can be purchased from this link.

….AND MORE FUNDRAISING

Our recent releases from Four Candles, 2 Lost Souls and Crab Dance GIs are all dedicated to raising money to support The Peer Hat, Manchester a much loved place by everyone at the label and where we hold our annual Meltdown events. We have already raised £265 through these releases but more would help if you are able to support us.

Our recent releases by Moongoose also have a charitable aim with homelessness charity Shelter being the recipient on any income from sales of the EPs.

A partly political broadcast on behalf of the Parasite party

Last Friday in Manchester…..

Revellers stuff their faces with overpriced sausages.nuts and alcohol outside Wooden Huts in City Centre Manchester where mere yards away homeless people shiver in shop doorways in damp sleeping bags.

This is so very wrong in a so called first world country.

It struck us that the homeless might use the Wooden Huts as some form of temporary shelter, and our more anarchistic inner monologues even suggested knocking down the Huts and using them for firewood to keep the rough sleepers warm. These ideas are covered in Moet’s lyrics.

However temporary solutions, a bit like the Huts themselves, aren’t the answer, so we would like to give you the chance to donate to a homeless charity by buying our musical offering. All the money raised from this release will be sent to Crisis after we have paid our admin fees to Bandcamp and Paypal.

A donation of £28.18 to Crisis will give someone this Christmas
-A warm welcome and good company
-Three nutritious, hot meals daily, including a delicious Christmas dinner
-A bed for the night, if needed
-A chance to shower, freshen up and get clean clothes
-A health check and treatment from a doctor, optician and dentist
-Expert help with mental health and addiction problems
-Advice on housing, employment and benefits
-A way out of homelessness for good through Crisis’ year-round training, education and support.

We have 800 followers on Facebook – if each of them donated £1 we could help over 20 people.