Before the electro-infused indie and post-rock of today, there was Seefeel. They provided a bridge between the electronic nouveau and indie-rock; being ultimately instrumental in opening up the parallel reality of electronic music to the more adventurous members of the indie scene.

In 2008 Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock relaunched Seefeel and were joined by Shigeru Ishihara (DJ Scotch Egg) and former Boredoms drummer Iida Kazuhisa (E-Da) who fill in the bass and percussive sections respectively.

Following the success of their comeback EP  Faults, Seefeel are proud to announce the true fruits of their recent labours. Seefeel, the band’s upcoming eponymous LP and first full length since 1996’s (Ch-Vox), will be released on January 31st, 2011 on Warp Records…

http://www.myspace.com/seefeelmyspace

Rollin’, batterin’, FUBAR-steppin’, maxed-out, funky-ass bastards. That’s who Dead Fader are. Their hybrid of distorto-death grooves, limited-to-hell wonky-not-wonky productions, sound like Distance playing though Slayer’s back line.. On first impression it’s hardly a production sound you’d associate with the backdrop of Dead Fader’s home base, Brighton. This sounds more like it was born out of some grim industrial slum on lockdown, all pent up anger and a serious need to party hard; 2-step garage from a Hair Police state.

‘It’s playful but sick. Like a puppy with extremely sharp teeth’ –  Justin K Broadrick

http://www.myspace.com/deadfader

Epic45’s acclaimed 2007 album May Your Heart Be The Map was a vivid exploration of the British countryside, tinted by childhood memories and the metamorphosis of the seasons, influenced by dramatic post-rock structures and warm acoustic folk. Last year’s mini album In All The Empty Houses explore the resonances of abandoned buildings; the ghosts of past lives and memories that inhabit them as they fall into dilapidation.

“Tracing emotional reactions to shifting seasons, May Your Heart Be the Map did something new with old materials and gave the Black Country its very own Boards of Canada.” – Word Magazine, Best of the Noughties

http://www.epic45.com/wordpress/

Poster by Tom J Hughes

WOODS are primarily the duo of Jeremy Earl (owner of Fuck It Tapes and Woodsist) and Jarvis Taveniere (Meneguar and Wooden Wand), and aided live by friends G. Lucas Crane on tape effects and Kevin Morby.

Jeremy’s Brooklyn based label, Woodsist, has recently released Vivian Girls, Wavves, Kurt Vile, Sic Alps and Crystal Stilts, among many others.

WOODS released their debut UK single on Half Machine Records on Monday 10th August 2009. The lo-fi Flying Nun-esque,‘To Clean’, is backed with the skeletal psych folk of exclusive acoustic version, ‘Rain On’, recorded live on WVKR radio.

Both tracks feature on their recently released fourth album, ‘Songs of Shame’, released through their own Woodsist label and cassette tape label Shrimper.

“Consistently awesome lo-fi pop” – Gorilla vs Bear

“A distinctive blend of spooky campfire folk, lo-fi rock, homemade tape collages, and other noisy interludes, all anchored by deceptively sturdy melodies.” – Pitchfork

www.myspace.com/woodsfamilyband

Spectrals

Spectrals, the brainchild of L; a stand-up guy from a small town near a few bigger ones in the top half of the UK. With a heart firmly wrapped up in doo wop, girl groups and not a little tape hiss fuzz, Spectrals is a one-man teen dream with Rat Pack flair and a punk rock eye. When not getting upset over people talking about his band on the internet, Spectrals has been known to enjoy Red Bird & Cash Money Records, “Slush” based beverages, writing to Phil Spector in prison, and NYHC in the 1980s.
http://www.myspace.com/spectralspectral

The Doozer

“A recent show that blew all attending asses out of the water was a short gig by a Cambridge UK duo known as The Doozer. The Doozer actually seems to be one guy, and his playing partner is called Ben, but never you mind. Anyway, they have a new LP out on Siltbreeze called Great Explorers (the CD is on the UK Pickled Egg label) and it is a gas and a pleasure of great dimensions. The lazy man’s way to review it to call it a bridge between Syd B and Chris Knox, carrying all the weird damage and superb left field pop motion that implies. The earlier single, “Conversations/Stone Houses” (Doozer Industries) carried whiffs that are fully explored hereon. There is also an earlier LP on Pickled Egg, Sheet Music. We can’t lie and claim we’ve heard it, but there’s no way it’s not a stunner as well”. – Byron Coley / Thurston Moore

http://www.myspace.com/thedoozerman

Poster designed by Tom J Hughes

Black Breath

Although Black Breath is a fairly young band they are quickly becoming everyones new favorite band. They have absolutely stormed onto the hardcore and metal scene with their unique and uncompromising sound. After gathering a loyal cult following the band took their assault around the USA supporting Trap Them and Victims. Late last year Southern Lord released the very first recordings from Black Breath in the form of the Razor to Oblivion EP. Raw, intense and in your face this EP has created a immense buzz and effectively set up the highly anticipated next move!

For this, their debut full-length the band went into Kurt Ballous’ (Converge, Trap Them, Disfear) God City studios in Salem, Massachussets. The end result of those monumental sessions is a recording much darker, heavier and more brutal than anything they have done before. The direction of the album contains many of the punk and hardcore influences that were exhibited on the Razor To Oblivion EP. However, after listening to just five seconds of the albums opening track, “Black Sin (Spit On The Cross)” it’s painfully obvious the band has let their Swedish death metal obsession take control! One of the bands strengths is its ability to truly craft a memorable song with hooks that dig into your skull and never let up. This is heavily apparent on the thrashing burner “Children of The Horn”.

Not since the mid-eighties when bands like Motorhead, Metallica and Discharge were giving metal heads bangovers has brutality been so infectious. The decidedly more Death Metal direction of Heavy Breathing is a extremely bold move that will definitely set them apart from the rest.

http://www.myspace.com/blackbreath

Grimpen Mire

Effortlessly combining traditional Doom by the likes of Sabbath with the aggressiveness of sludge and hardcore, West Midlands trio Grimpen Mire have continued to lay waste to venues since their inception in late 2007. The blend of textured guitars and unrelenting heaviness has seen them rapidly rising the ranks of the UK doom scene, their debut album is due out in 2011 on At War With False Noise.

http://www.myspace.com/grimpenmire1971

Torche

“Thunder Pop.” Sure, this sound was hinted at by TORCHE singer/guitarist/songwriter Steve Brooks’ former group Floor, founded by the mighty Black Sabbath and nearly accomplished by mainstreamers Queens of the Stone Age… but such truly anthemic, triumphant and absolutely massive heavy rock has never been so downright catchy! The mind-rupturing debut album by the Miami, FL quartet—which also features former Floor guitarist Juan Montoya (who, along with Brooks, also played in the mighty Cavity), drummer Rick Smith (ex-Tyranny Of Shaw) and bassist Jon Nuñez—echoes the scooped-EQ tones (all lows and highs with precious little mid-range) of the Melvins classic Ozma, the infectious riff-rock of Nirvana’s Bleach and glissando multi-part harmonies of classic Beach Boys.

TORCHE’s gloriously sung, harmonized and soaring vocal arrangements accompanying the most monolithic riffs of modern times, is truly a massive sound made all the more devastating by the album’s masterful production. The lumbering sludge of opener “Charge of the Brown Recluse” heralds the coming rockpocalypse of raging tracks like the behemoth chamber pop of “Mentor” and the head-bobbing sliding harmonic guitar lines of “Rock It.” Chiming hook-laden tunes like “Fire” and “Erase” are streamlined thunder pop chunks that get right to the point and self-immolate in just over two minutes.

After Floor, er, collapsed in June 2004, Brooks and Montoya immediately started thinking up plans for a new band that would continue where their former group left off. Robotic Empire label founder (and huge Floor fan) Andy Low suggested that the new band work with his friend, Smith on drums. The lineup soon solidified with Nuñez, one of Smith’s long-time friends. TORCHE had ignited.

http://www.myspace.com/torche

Part Chimp

Part Chimp are a band from Camberwell in London that were formed by Tim Cedar, Jon Hamilton and Nick Prior in 2000. Current line-up is Tim (vocals & guitar), Jon (drums), and Iain Hinchliffe (guitar).

They play rock music with elements of noise. Both on record and live, Part Chimp have a reputation for sounding extremely loud. Their records are released in the UK by Rock Action records in Europe & Japan by Play it Again Sam and in the US by Monitor records.

http://www.partchimp.com/

Stinky Wizzleteat

Formed some time in 2008, Stinky Wizzleteat have garnered some sort of a reputation, leaving a trail of blood, sweat and broken amplifiers behind them.  United by a mutual love of the Bad Brains, Wizzleteat carve out a sound informed by groove from across the musical spectrum, whilst staying fully committed to heaviness, good times and volume.

myspace.com/stinkywizzleteat

Red Sparowes

 Creating epic instrumental songs that are given room to breath they allow you to fully immerse yourself in their world. Red Sparowes are brutally heavy and have no need to rely on any hackneyed riff to pummel you into submission. Their cascading sound owes as much to Goblin as it does to Sabbath. Featuring Bryant Clifford-Meyer of the recently disbanded ISIS.
http://www.myspace.com/redsparowes

Mothertrucker

Mothertrucker have been combining the riff power of Sabbath and Kyuss, the quiet menace of Slint and Mogwai and the epic ambience of Isis and Pelican to create a powerful rock onslaught since 2003 and are still rolling. The band have released a number of records in that time, including the album Trebuchet released by Argghh records in France, and have shared the stage with the likes of Boris, Mono, 27, Jesu, Aereogramme and Truckfighters.

http://www.myspace.com/mothertrucker

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Head of Wantastiquet
The alter ego of American musician Paul Labrecque, now residing in Belgium.

He has recorded several solo albums and collaborations (with Chris Corsano and Valerie Webb) and he plays and records with the bohemian group Sunburned Hand of the Man. His new album under the Head of Wantastiquet moniker is set for release on Conspiracy Records in October 2010.

Historically, aesthetically, sonically, his new work bears genuine comparison to ‘American Primitivism’. It’s a mix of psychedelic banjo hymns, apocalyptic space folk and incredible drugged out soul whispers.

http://www.myspace.com/headofwantastiquet

Josephine Foster

One of the most enigmatic, luminious  and enlightening American singers of her time sings Federico Garcia Lorca’s popular folk song collection “Las Canciones Populares Espanolas” with guitarist Victor Herroro and live band.

‘Anda Jaleo’ the recordings of these songs will be released in September by Fire Records. Live the band want to play suitable acoustic spaces. Josephine sings, dances a bit and play castanets with the band whom she describes as “a like a Andalusian jug band playing very energetic and animated music”. Taking their cue from Lorca and La Argentinita’s infectious 1931 recording of the songs, Josephine Foster and her partner Spanish musician Victor Herrero have arranged the poetically rich collection for their new acoustic band, formed while living in the Grenadine Sierra.  Anda Jaleo is the band’s live recording of “Las Canciones”; a visceral celebration of the persistance of popular anonymous song. 

http://www.josephinefoster.info/

Swallows

Swallows is Sian Macfarlane, hailing from the weirdest core of the Midlands and intent on harnessing the hum of the trees and the rattle of electric pylons. She uses samples creeping alongside a heady mix of harmonium, mandolin, and keyboards, weaving simple spells with folk elements and abstract instrumentation, often accompanied by some extra dissonance and her ghostly vocal.

http://www.myspace.com/swallowsoverhead

Silver Apples

An electronic/psychedelic duo formed in 1967 in New York City. They originally consisted of Simeon Coxe III (who played a custom home-made synthesizer known as the “Simeon”) and Danny Taylor (drums). The duo split in 1970. The group was reformed in 1996 by Simeon and new drummer Xian Hawkins. Danny Taylor returned to the band in 1998 and the band toured and recorded as a trio until 1999 when Simeon was injured in a car accident. The band returned to making music in 2006, but without Taylor, who died in 2005.

Contrasting the flowery psychedelic rock music of the late-1960s, Silver Apples created an avant-garde sound based on little more than a homemade synthesizer (named the Simeon after their lead singer – Simeon) and an extensive drumkit.
Silver Apples created what are now widely regarded as the first rock-orientated albums to utilise electronic techniques. The pulsating, droning rhythms of the oscillators, backed by Taylor’s repetitive, free-form drumming, pre-dated the similar sounds made by Krautrock acts such as Can and Neu! by a couple of years, and the records later became a huge influence on such bands as Suicide, Spacemen 3 and Stereolab.

http://www.myspace.com/officialsilverapples

Micronormous

Matt Eaton of Pram

Brooklyn, NY resident Mathew Houck is the sole member of Phosphorescent. Houck’s career began in 2000 when he released the Hipolit album under the name Fillup Shack. A tour of England and Spain followed, and while the European press drew comparisons to Bob Dylan and Will Oldham, the London Evening Standard declared him “the most significant American in his field since Kurt Cobain.” Houck’s first release as Phosphorescent, entitled A Hundred Times or More, appeared in 2003 on the Warm label. The 2004 EP The Weight of Flight was his last release for the label, as the 2005 full-length Aw Come Aw Wry landed on Misra. Two years later the release of Pride began a relationship with the Dead Oceans imprint. To Willie, Phosphorescent’s tribute to Willie Nelson, followed in early 2009.

Fulfilling a dream by playing with Willie Nelson on TV at Farm Aid 2009 (alongside Neil Young and Wilco), and touring with the likes of Bon Iver, Bowerbirds, Akron/Family and Deer Tick, PHOSPHORESCENT is set to be welcomed to the top table on the strength and charisma of this immaculate, breakthrough album Here’s to Taking It Easy, Houck’s first new original material since Pride, set for release May 11 in the U.S. and May 10 in the U.K.

Where Pride was a deeply personal, haunting record that Houck recorded on his own, playing all of the instruments himself, To Willie featured musicians who’ve now become bandmates, rifling and rambling through the Nelson catalogue with an undeniable vigour. Not only did it feed their collective unity as players but gave them the oomph to solidify the makings of what Houck sees as their ‘classic’ sounding record in Here’s to Taking It Easy.

Galvanized by heavy hitters like early 70’s Rolling Stones, Bobby Charles and Dylan’s Street Legal (1978), Houck found his songwriting path through to some killer tunes that are given enough space for them to really fly. If Pride was built for 5am introspection and To Willie soundtracked the last chime at the bar, Here’s to Taking It Easy seems as though it’s made for any time, any season.

http://www.myspace.com/phosphorescent

Forest Fire

“They have been described as a punk band playing folk songs, and they do indeed have the ramshackle quality of a lo-fi garage unit thrashing and bashing their way through their set. But sometimes they sound as ragged and electric, as fast and loose, as an alt-country quartet”

The Guardian

http://www.myspace.com/fuckforestfire

Rich Batsford

One of the most exciting emerging pianist composers in the UK with performances of his hypnotic and beguiling piano music.

http://www.richbatsford.com/

Acid Mothers Temple

Japanese psychedelic band founded in 1995 by members of the Acid Mothers Temple soul-collective. The band is led by guitarist Kawabata Makoto and early in their career featured many musicians but by 2004 the line-up had coalesced with 4 core members and frequent vocal guests.

The band have a reputation for phenomenal live shows and releasing frequent albums on a number of international record labels, as well as the Acid Mothers Temple family record label which was established in 1998 to document the activities of the whole collective.
http://www.myspace.com/acidmotherstemple

Stearica

During the past ten years Stearica have been touring around Europe with legends of the independent scene such as Nomeansno, GirlsAgainstBoys, Damo Suzuki, The Ex, Karate, Acid Mothers Temple and Tarentel. 
A rare story for an Italian band, made of international collaborations with artists like Dälek (Ipecac), Amy Denio (Fred Frith, Derek Bailey), Jessica Lurie (Bill Frisell, Nels Cline), Nick Storring (Damo Suzuki network, Picastro).  

http://www.myspace.com/stearica

Gum Takes Tooth

A thunderous rampage of noise tempered with an aptitude for precise rhythms and splintered melody. Gum Takes Tooth is a single headed beast with two bodies: a duo of Thomas Fuglesang on live acoustic drums, physcially wired into home grown electronic instruments, bare circuit boards, tweaked, moulded and mangled in real-time by Jussi Brightmore.

http://www.myspace.com/gumtakestooth

 

Grails is evocative, sinuous and unpredictable – like all great music should be. So, it stands to reason that nearly everything written about the instrumental band’s music expounds on how much it reminds listeners of particular experiences, sights, moods or dreams. People react emotionally to the Portland, Oregon quintet’s powerfully evocative songs because they compel us to fill the gap between music and language. To quote one 20th Century sage, ‘instrumental music is Total Music’ There’s no voice to quaintly tell us how we should feel, only the emotive musical force moving us to understand and empathize.

www.grailsongs.com/

Windscale was formed in 2005 as the musical arm of the Birmingham based Circuit Bending company “Happy Robot”, and Guitar Effect Pedal company “Ghost” which are both run by Ian Sherwen. Needing some way of showcasing Ian’s handmade devices in a musical recording and performance context, Windscale seemed an ideal solution. Bassist Neil McAuley (Seeland) joined in 2006, leading to the recording of 2 albums – “Schwarzes Ei” in 2007, and “Conflicts in Time” in 2008.
In 2009 drummer Neil Spragg (Omnia Opera/Sand) joined making the band a 3 piece further emphasising the influence of Neu and Galaxie 500 on their sound.

www.myspace.com/00windscale00
www.happyrobotmusic.co.uk

Mothertrucker have been combining the riff power of Sabbath and Kyuss, the quiet menace of Slint and Mogwai and the epic ambience of Isis and Pelican to create a powerful rock onslaught since 2003 and are still rolling. The band have released a number of records in that time, including the album Trebuchet released by Argghh records in France, and have shared the stage with the likes of Boris, Mono, 27, Jesu, Aereogramme and Truckfighters. 
http://www.myspace.com/mothertrucker

“Three Trapped Tigers are a trio from the UK who make some rather noisy, electronic instrumentals. Check out the proggy, time-shifting “1” and head over to their MySpace to hear a few more numerical tracks!”
Pitchfork

“Twinkles and booms like a star being born, this feels like being hugged by a computerized god. this’ll make fans of Lightning Bolt, Battles and Aphex Twin cream themselves”
NME

“It sounds like the end of music as you know it and the beginning of something dazzlingly fresh”
Clash

“This loud and twisted trio are the safest bets to take death-improv to the masses”
Time Out

http://www.myspace.com/threetrappedtigers

From the deepest depths of the industrial heartlands of Middle England comes a small ray of light. Since late 2003 a warm glow has steadily grown into what can only be described as a fireball. From this point on let this gentle fireball be known as Einstellung.
Blending glorious monotonous Krautrock with melodic tones and heavy slabs of Sabbath riffage, whilst finding time to declare sonic warfare on those tinnitus victims who have passed the point of no return.
www.myspace.com/einstellung

It has been five years since Wolves in the Throne Room emerged from the rain-soaked Cascadian underground with a singular musical alchemy. The band’s previous two studio albums, Diadem of Twelve Stars and Two Hunters, in tandem with their incendiary live performances, have unquestionably established the band as a swiftly rising force in the extreme music world.

Their new meditation, cryptically titled Black Cascade, will be released by Southern Lord in the Spring of 2009. With this record Wolves in the Throne Room wholly transcend the limitations of the black metal label to be reborn as an entity entirely unto themselves. The energy conjured by the music is a distinctive manifestation of a personal vision that is not beholden to the rules of any genre.

Black Cascade is characterized by a heavy and powerful analog sound and a deft touch with songwriting and arrangement. The crumbling roar of decidedly old-school tube amps unite with layers of mossy analog synthesizer and cataclysmic percussion. Blazing and crystalline Metal riffs slowly collapse and shift into ritualistic dirges that invoke endless rain falling upon the ancient cedars of the pacific North West. It is as if the instruments are controlled by shadowy and elemental forces of nature rather than three forest-dwellers from Olympia,WA.

http://www.myspace.com/wolvesinthethroneroom

Tweak Bird is a brother duo consisting of Caleb and Ashton Bird. Produced under the helm of Deaf Nephews (Melvins’ Dale Crover and Altamont’s Toshi Kasai), the duo’s debut is a sweeping seven-song intro to a band exploring the depths of heavy experimental, progressive, and psych-infused rock. A sort of musical Armageddon that’s constantly on the horizon, looming. Tweak Bird has played shows with the Melvins, Ancestors, Earthless, and many others.
www.myspace.com/tweakbird

Humcrush is chockfull of astonishingly vigorous interplay at the same time as it assimilates the influence of oriental theatre music, electronica, rock and free jazz in a whirlwind processional that’s much more than the sum of its parts.

“…a wonderful stimulus to the imagination, provoking all sorts of exotic images. Humcrush are open to the resonances of sound. As such, they’re sonic as well as musical explorers.” BBC Music

http://www.myspace.com/humcrush

This event is produced in collaboration with Birmingham Jazz

“Once seen, a live performance by … The Ex is never forgotten. Imagine two men in short pants and army boots, guitars slung impossibly low, careering round the stage like demented dodgem cars, backed by a veritable arsenal of precision-honed polyrhythms” – The Wire

The Ex don’t compromise and so it’s no surprise that they have put together one of the most powerful horn sections imaginable for this highly anticipated bespoke UK tour. Since 1979 this inspired, intrepid and seminal band have consistently pushed the envelope, plotting a restless course from their anarchist punk origins to embrace everything from fractured noise to Ethiopian groove. Their thrillingly raw and rhythmic rock sound is born from their ideals, musical friendships/networks and work ethic. Alive to the moment, they are sometimes described as ‘experimental trance-dance avant-afro-punk improv music’ – and no one knows what descriptions this musical metamorphosis will conjure up.

For 9 dates in Feb 2010 The Ex will unleash a brand new, wild and combustible show in collaboration with four of the world’s most powerful and performative horn players for some unbelievable in-the-red swing time. Brass Unbound comprise Swedish force of nature Mats Gustafsson (saxophone) from The Thing, Chicago jazz heavyweight Ken Vandermark (saxophone), Italian wild card Roy Paci (trumpet) and boundary busting classical/futurist Wolter Wierbos (trombone). This explosive combination of   dynamics, groove, ecstatic noise, free jazz, super tense rock and no bullshit attitude makes it all the more dexterous and dangerous. As players, improvisers and entertainers this expansive group are nothing short of phenomenal.

The Ex have been involved in a steady stream of boundary-breaking collaborations, releases, tours and films that have established them as a unique but under-acknowledged force in rock music, who are always on the move, but always sound like The Ex. 30 years into their career this hugely adventurous band are finally getting their dues, aligning them with contemporaries like Sonic Youth and Fugazi or current bands such as Battles, Zu and Action Beat.
www.theex.nl/
 

Baroness

Straddling the fence between aggressive sludge and technical fireworks, Baroness is carving out their own unique plot in the ever-cramped world of underground metal. If these guys aren’t on your radar yet you need to rectify that little oversight quickly.

Baroness plays an eclectic brand of heavy metal, embracing the ferocity and sharp technique of new-millennium metal but with melodic accents and intelligent guitar work that suggests the influence of sludge and post-punk bands.

http://www.myspace.com/yourbaroness

Taint

Something of an enigma. Many have striven to place their sound within a handy genre definition, only to find themselves wondering whether a band so dynamic and full of surprises can really be called ‘sludge’, or whether music so antithetical to boredom can justifiably be termed ‘post-hardcore’. Taint’s 2005 full-length debut for Rise Above, ‘The Ruin Of Nova Roma’ was a crafty beast that revelled in contructing such riddles for the listener and, of course, the critic. Pigeonholes are for pigeons, after all. It’s the purpose of great rock groups to not quite fit in.
http://www.myspace.com/taintuk

Joe Lally has played bass in Fugazi since their inception in 1987. In 2003 the members of Fugazi decided to take an indefinite hiatus from recording and performing. Since that time Joe has continued to write and perform solo material in collaboration with various musicians and friends.
www.myspace.com/josephlally

Juneau Projects was formed in 2001 as a collaborative practice by Ben Sadler and Philip Duckworth. Based in Birmingham, they have exhibited nationwide and internationally. Their work engages with people and folk histories, bringing together music and found imagery in new interactive combinations. In early performance works they used mobile phones, wood chippers, microphones and cd walkmans, often destroying them to make unexpected sounds. Their work has developed to encompass video, installation, sculpture, performance and painting featuring an array of natural imagery, such as animals and birds, which seek to express how we think we feel about nature in the 21st century.
www.juneaurecords.co.uk/

Chairmakerharnesses the sounds of traditional folk and mixes it up with 21st century electronics. The results are lush soundscapes, pastoral collages and the essence of firelight. Think of Paul Giovanni, old wives tales, ritual magic and english folklore blended together with a hint of 80’s synth pop and a dusting of caustic rhythm.’

www.myspace.com/musictotravelto

Damien Jurado’s solo career began during the mid-1990s, with him releasing lo-fi folk based recordings on his own cassette-only label, Casa Recordings. Gaining a local cult following in Seattle, he was brought to the attention of Sub Pop Records by Sunny Day Real Estate singer Jeremy Enigk. After two 7″ releases (“Motorbike” and “Trampoline”) Sub Pop issued his first full album, Waters Ave S. in 1997. His second album Rehearsals for Departure, released in 1999, was a relative breakthrough.

He often makes use of found sound and field recording techniques, and has experimented with different forms of tape recordings. In 2000 he released Postcards and Audio Letters, a collection of found audio letters and fragments that he had found from sources such as thrift store tape players and answering machines.  After signing for the Indiana-based label Secretly Canadian, Damien Jurado reverted to his trademark folk ballad-based style, releasing four more albums: Where Shall You Take Me? (2003), On My Way To Absence, (2005) And Now That I’m In Your Shadow (2006) and Caught in the Trees (2008).
http://www.myspace.com/damienjurado

Ions
The Black Country strikes again with this latest offering of talent featuring Richard Labran formerly of Black Country legends Solway Fifth, Deadsunrising and Formation Flight and Andrew Walton of the impressive West Bromwich post rock trio, Cellardoor. Ions put together well crafted songs that are a mix of dance, pop and rock, where the notes ebb and flow from the darkness into the light and back again. An intruiging sound that will at times get you dancing and at other times leave you perplexed.

Twelve feet strong with a head for dizzying heights, Health & Efficiency were raised by wolves in a forest. Leaving the pack and relocating to their practice space in historic Deritend, they experiment with sounds and music, surrounded by priceless works of contemporary art.
Their music traverses an encyclopaedia of influences; psych, folk, no wave noise and electronic perhaps being some of the more predominant. They utilise banjo, two basses, two guitars, synths, samplers and more effects and loop pedals than it’s reasonable for one band to need.
Uniquely tuned guitars howl, chiming harmonics sing, drones and loops are punctuated by distant chanting and crisp syncopated drumbeats. Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, always Health & Efficiency.

Poster by Ben Javens

Moving on from their well-received eponymous debut, Starless & Bible Black have drawn together the sounds of ‘70s Topanga Canyon country-rock, ‘80s Mancunian jangle, and space-age psychedelic drones to make this dynamic, warm and woodsy second album. Gone are the dulcimers and banjos of the first record, replaced by an electrifying wall of Telecaster and Moog, and standing in the centre of this bold, widescreen sound resides the earthy and husky voice of Hélène Gautier.

Starless & Bible Black were formed in Manchester in 2005 when Hélène Gautier, guitarist Peter Philipson and synth man Raz Ullah started performing live together and they were soon joined by Paul Blakesley on double bass and Brian Edwards on drums. Drum duties on recent recordings were performed courtesy of Karl Penney, another friend of the band.
Their first record was released in 2006 to unanimous critical acclaim most notably from Pitchfork, Wire, CMJ and The New York Times and a seven-inch single Up With The Orcadian Tide was pressed up in summer 2007. Live shows have included playing alongside Vetiver, James Yorkston, Espers and The Earlies as well as performing at the Green Man.

“they accomplish all this with a firm perception of their own powers, drawing on such varied sources without succumbing to self conscious classicism, and stamping their own personality on their material” Wire Magazine

http://www.myspace.com/starlessbibleblack

“A prolific and committed independent musician, SIMON FOX was formerly leader of Birmingham’s post-rock pioneers, GROVER. Between 1993-2003, Grover released a host of albums, singles and split releases on independent labels around the world. Broadcasts on BBC Radio1 (including a Peel Session in 2001), plus airtime on a variety of independent stations in Europe and the USA, helped Grover build a dedicated international fan-base and influence the UK post-rock scene.

Since then, Simon has quietened down, trading sweeping guitar theatrics for more intimate, acoustic-led songwriting. The new songs, performed under the moniker FOX, show a more personal, reflective side, with deceptively rich arrangements, a disarming wit and a flair for creating intimate moods. Recordings feature Simon playing a wide variety of instruments, including guitars, banjo, percussion, keyboards, theremin, mandolin, even occasional brass and woodwind.

http://www.myspace.com/worldoffox

Twelve feet strong with a head for dizzying heights, Health & Efficiency were raised by wolves in a forest. Leaving the pack and relocating to their practice space in historic Deritend, they experiment with sounds and music, surrounded by priceless works of contemporary art.

Their music traverses an encyclopaedia of influences; psych, folk, no wave noise and electronic perhaps being some of the more predominant. They utilise banjo, two basses, two guitars, synths, samplers and more effects and loop pedals than it’s reasonable for one band to need.

Uniquely tuned guitars howl, chiming harmonics sing, drones and loops are punctuated by distant chanting and crisp syncopated drumbeats. Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, always Health & Efficiency.

Just confirmed as additional support for this show is Lewis Garland. Intimate folk tinged sounds act as a backdrop for intricate wordplay.

poster designed by Ben Javens

Three of the finest US bands swing by as part of the now legendary Shred Yr Face tour..

The Shred Yr Face tour will be hitting the UK for the third time this November, following two previous jaunts around the country showcasing upcoming bands like F*cked Up, Rolo Tomassi, Los Campesinos, No Age.. You get the picture. Well this time it’s some bands from across the pond and they’re all pretty much amazing…

check out the Shred Yr Face blog

WOODS
“Woods’ latest album, Songs of Shame, is their most cohesive collection, and it’s not only quickly lifted them to front of the Woodsist crew but positioned them to be the group that appeals to those who’ve previously been uninterested in the 2008-09 crop of lo-fi. As with the best lo-fi albums, Songs of Shame performs some sleight-of-hand by sounding private and homespun yet also not just accessible but immediately lovable. Along the way, Woods can evoke any number of their lo-fi ancestors, from early Guided by Voices to the murkier depths of the Siltbreeze or Flying Nun back catalogs, but they’re still able to retain their own immediately recognizable off-kilter character… Despite Woods’ humble production values and their fondness for living room ambiance, Songs of Shame has that almost subliminal ability to make one want to move in to listen more closely. And once you’ve been drawn in for a good listen, it becomes difficult not to want to come back for many more.”— Matthew Murphy- PITCHFORK, April 24, 2009
www.myspace.com/woodsfamilyband

ESPERS
Espers is a neo-psychedelic folk band from Philadelphia. They formed in 2002 as a trio of singer-songwriter Greg Weeks, Meg Baird and Brooke Sietinsons but later expanded to a sextet including Otto Hauser, Helena Espvall and Chris Smith. Their music is reminiscent of late-sixties british folk such as that of Fairport Convention, Pentangle and The Incredible String Band as well as many contemporary folk acts such as Six Organs of Admittance, Marissa Nadler and Nick Castro and as such their work is often lumped in with the so-called new weird america movement or naturalismo as Devendra Banhart preferred to coin it in 2006.
www.myspace.com/espers

THE CAVE SINGERS
Despite their name, The Cave Singers do not actually hail from any physical cave that we’re aware of – though Seattle can be a dark and mysterious city, with its share of stalactite-esque hangers-on. Metaphysically, however, said Cave Singers have filled a cave-like void in Matador’s collective musical consciousness this summer. Here is the mystery of Seattle’s Cave Singers: They never listened to much folk music, they never intended to play folk music, and more importantly, their guitarist never picked up the instrument until recently. Yet, this strange trio is writing and performing some of the most hypnotizing folk music we have today.
www.myspace.com/thecavesingers

Fuck Buttons was conceived by Andrew Hung & Benjamin John Power in the winter of 2004. Initially the group was born as an outlet for their nihilistic-noise tendencies but quickly, the two Fuck Buttons realised they could harness the use of noise as a tool to immerse and evoke. No longer afraid of melody or rhythm, the group started fusing all these elements to the point when drone becomes melody becomes rhythm…
http://www.myspace.com/fuckbuttons

Zun Zun Egui conjure up bona fide rebel music that is full of body, raw in spirit
and totally free of precedent. A heavy, heavy dance band, they fire up mighty,
eternal grooves worthy of some dust-caked Lagos street jam, but don’t just
settle for that: tropical melodies, thrilling stop-start time switches, scorching
psychedelics and robust underground rock flourishes are gathered up as the
momentum swells towards frenzied, ecstatic finales. East African guitar
practice is inflamed by multi-lingual incantations (in French, English, Creole,
Japanese…), sinuous prog gets a big bass undertow. It’s roll and roll, a
rainbow blaze of rhythm and sound that pulls both the rockers and the
writhers into its heart.
http://www.myspace.com/zunzunegui

Theo
The work of one Sam Knight, is one for the math rock fans. Taut, chugging guitar loops layer up with frenetic tapping patterns that interweave in spiralling complexity before near sub-atomically precise, powerhouse drumming clatters and builds each song into juggernaut of riffs and rhythms. To achieve something like this recorded is one thing, but to see Theo perform live is quite another as each song blurs into the next and the dazzling guitar and drum acrobatics leave jaws sagging on the faces of all who bear witness to the talent on offer.
http://www.myspace.com/theo1000

poster designed by Ben Javens

ELECTRIC WIZARD is the heaviest band in the world. The oblivion and ecstasy of crushing doom and high grade marijuana, a sonic aural trip far, far away from this world, where only cyclopean walls of crackling vintage valve amplifiers set to the full overdrive and primal ritualistic beats can wash away all the filth and drudgery of everyday life. Our music is DoomMetal, the only true definition. We toll the bell of hell, our sound is a crushing behemoth of funeral march psychedelia.
Violent, bleak and ritualistic, we bow to the black altar of the RIFF. We do not rock, we kill!

Born in Dorset, England in 1993, in a quiet country town, initially we were the product of frustration, unemployment and excessive drug abuse. But through hallucinogenic experimentation and occult sciences we realised our true potential. Eventually becoming a multi-tentacled paen to dark and weird subjects. A celebration of outre low brow art like Weird Tales, 70’s horror and B-movies, head shop art, drug comix, italian pornohorror comics, Crepax, Lovecraft, Howard etc. etc…coupled with a morbid fascination in cults, witchcraft, freemasonry, biker culture, nazi mysticism and ancient occult sciences and how these dark arts can be applied to music. We have created a true one way ticket away from this dead planet.
http://www.myspace.com/electricwizarddorsetdoom

Born out of an obsession with ’70s occult rock, Blood Ceremony’s music resurrects the spirit of groups such as Coven, Affinity, and Black Widow. After a mind-numbing study of hundreds of trashy witchcraft films, the group began to pour their energies into crafting songs, transforming their fascination for horror into a profane musical vision. Blood Ceremony is interested in musical sorcery, the members having made a firm pact dedicating themselves to the twilight world of saturnalia and occult lore.

Blood Ceremony plays a distinctive brand of flute-tinged witch rock. Early on, their sound revealed an infernal marriage of Black Sabbath and the manic piping of Jethro Tull. Eschewing the affectations of modern rock music, Blood Ceremony keeps it simple and heavy; yet their songs are tempered with strong, brooding melodies. This effect is enhanced by their use of the flute; an instrument once prevalent in progressive rock, but which is uncommon in today’s scene. Invoking the mischievous “Pipes of Pan,” Blood Ceremony songs are distinguished by singer Alia O’Brien’s energetic jazz-flute solos – accenting an instrument long-associated with a list of devilish mythic characters. Writing of Blood Ceremony’s situation in heavy music, NOW critic Jason Keller points out: “Once (the flute) enters the forum of heavy metal, there aren’t many other bands you can reference.” Although the tag of Heavy Metal may be a stretch, there is a sense of heaviness and funereal gloom in Blood Ceremony’s music, as well as a lyrical obsession with eldritch themes, that aligns them with much of traditional Doom.
http://www.myspace.com/bloodceremony

poster designed by Ben Javens

A Hawk And AHacksaw- a rooster, a gaggle of geese, bits of tin, two rivers (one in france, one in new mexico), a violinist who began playing at age three, a small cat who has three little kittens, an assortment of gongs, wooden percussive implements, and portable drums, the occasional jazz musician, or tuba player, an oud master, three accordions, a romanian brass band, 4 hungarian cosmopolitans and a stroh violin.
http://www.myspace.com/ahawkandahacksaw

Mills & Boon
Infamous locals channeling the spirit of Beefheart, creating their own ramshackle brand of rambling psych spazz folk.  They always deliver a stunning live performance that bristles with a chaotic excitement and a sense that anything could (and might) happen, these are the wonderful drunks of times gone by, instruments in hand entertaining anyone they encounter.
http://www.myspace.com/millsandboon

Guillermo Scott Herren is a music producer and artist, born in Miami, Florida and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. His father is Catalan and his mother is Irish/Cuban. At an early age his parents encouraged him to play piano and other instruments; his mother “forced” Herren to play a wide variety of instruments, even going so far as to teach him the Suzuki Method, in order to “keep him out of trouble”. Growing up, Herren’s musical tastes branched out, and he became interested in hip-hop, punk rock, and electronic music.
www.prefuse73.com

“A range of emotional grappling usually foreign to instrumental hip-hop“
Pitchfork

Poster by Ben Javens