Hand Sketch

Recent Sketch progress...

The Knife - Tomorrow, in a Year

Sneakily got hold of this album in the new year, having really loved the 2006 album "Silent Shout", which saw the Knife, move to darker more brooding sounds whilst still retaining the catchiness and melody of their earlier two releases. Similaly I completley fell for Karin's solo album under the Fever Ray moniker, which for me, provided both one of the best albums and live shows of 2009.

So the Knife return with their most strange and bizzare release yet. "Tomorrow, in a Year" see's the Swedish siblings Olaf and Karin Driejer collaborate with Mt Sims and Planningtorock to produce this two disc 16 track Electro Opera. Yep. OPERA.
And if the premise of it being an Opera wasn't bizzare enough, it had to be one based on Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species". Of course. it HAD to be.

I always love it when artist's take a massive creative turn, and this is one big turn. I can't imagine this will be every ones cup of coco, especially people more fond of their ealier output. Although you can tell it's still the Knife, it's like nothing they've done before, taking away much of the standard structure, rythm and pop elements of past and adding more elements of Drone, Noise and ambient aswell as Operatic mezzo-soprano vocals. Although the record gets more "normal" in the later half, with more of Karin's voice being present (albiet still fucked up with vocoders and octave effects) The overall result is a darker, experimental, and slighly scary in places...

Personally, I dig it.


Download Here

Buy Here

TANDANORI YOKOO

I recently came across the amazing poster work of 1960's graphic artist, Tandanori Yokoo, who's use of collage, bright colours, intresting layout and slight psychedelic feel caught my eye.

taken from wikipedia, the lazy mans source of all knowledge...

"Tadanori Yokoo (横尾忠則, Yokoo Tadanori) (born 1936, 27 June in Hyogo Prefecture) is a Japanese graphic designer, illustrator, printmaker and painter.

Tadanori Yokoo (pronounced "yoko-o"), born in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, in 1936, is one of Japan's most successful and internationally recognized graphic designers and artists. He began his career as a stage designer for avant garde theatre in Tokyo. His early work shows the influence of the New York based Push Pin Studio (Milton Glaser and Seymour Chwast in particular) but Yokoo himself cites filmmaker Akira Kurosawa and writer Yukio Mishima as two of his most formative influences.

In the late 1960s he became interested in mysticism and psychedelia, deepened by travels in India. Because his work was so attuned to 1960s pop culture, he has often been (unfairly) described as the "Japanese Andy Warhol" or likened to psychedelic poster artist Peter Max, but Yokoo's complex and multi-layered imagery is intensely autobiographical and entirely original. By the late 60s he had already achieved international recognition for his work and was included in the 1968 "Word & Image" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Four years later MoMA mounted a solo exhibition of his graphic work organized by Mildred Constantine.[1] Yokoo collaborated extensively with Shuji Terayama and his theater Tenjo Sajiki. He has also starred as a protagonist in Nagisa Oshima's film Diary of a Shinjuku Thief.

In 1981 he unexpectedly "retired" from commercial work and took up painting. His career as a fine artist continues to this day with numerous exhibitions of his paintings every year, but alongside this he remains fully engaged and prolific as a graphic designer."

New Manatees incoming...

In December 2009 we three mana men entered Dub:Rek Studios in Derby to record our third full length. working title Helvellyn. Under the engineering splendor of Jay Dean (Lords, Lovvers, Pilgrim Fathers), who described it as "Part Chimp on Heroin", the record is currently in mixing stages and is due for release later 2010.
Rocksound In Studio feature has more...
(although photo included is not of said session, (L.Johnson 2007) I have included some snaps of the recording from my LCA)

Sibllye Baier

Recent listenings.

Sibylle Baier
Colour Green.

Some lovley long forgotten folk from 1970's. Reminds me of a female early Leonard Cohen. Beautiful, relaxing, achingly melancholy stuff. Color Green is made up of recordings from 1970's and was only released in 2006 thanks to her now adult son passing around CD's of his mothers work to freinds.

"Sibylle Baier is a German folk singer and actress whose musical abilities achieved belated recognition with the 2006 release of the album Colour Green, compiled from songs she had recorded in the early 1970s.

Having played guitar and piano as a young girl, she was moved to write her first song, "Remember The Day", after taking a road trip with a friend across the Alps to Genoa, via Strasbourg.

She appeared in Wim Wenders' 1973 film Alice in the Cities, and her music is also featured in Umarmungen und andere Sachen (1975) and in Wim Wenders' "Palermo Shooting" (2008) . Baier opted not to pursue an acting or singing career, and eventually moved to America where she concentrated on raising a family.

The songs that went on to make up her album Colour Green were home reel-to-reel tape recordings Baier had made in Germany between 1970 and 1973. Some thirty years later her son Robby compiled a CD from these recordings to give to family members as presents. He also gave a copy to Dinosaur Jr's J Mascis, who in turn passed it along to the Orange Twin label. Orange Twin released the album in February 2006. She is expected to release a second studio album."


Get it here.

if the walls could talk....

Some Great photos From a series entitled "Room 107" by Photographer Lyndon Wade.

Great concept, brilliant pics.

It Hurts me too.

Sublime Video of Underated artist Karen Dalton. With Probably the Best Cover of "it Hurts me too" made popular vy Elmore James. NYC 1969.

Dalton, whose heritage was Cherokee, was born Karen J. Cariker in Enid, Oklahoma.[1] Her bluesy, world-weary voice is often compared to that of iconic jazz singer Billie Holiday. She sang blues, folk, country, pop, Motown -- making over each song in her own style. She played the twelve string Gibson guitar and a long neck banjo

Known as "the folk singer's answer to Billie Holiday" and "Sweet Mother K.D.", Dalton is said to be the subject of the song Katie's Been Gone (composed by Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson) on the album The Basement Tapes by The Band and Bob Dylan. She struggled with drugs and alcohol for many years. It has been widely reported that she died in 1993 on the streets of New York City after an eight-year battle with AIDS.

However, an article in Uncut magazine confirmed that Dalton was actually being cared for by the singer-songwriter Peter Walker in upstate New York during her last months.

Best Men Grover and Cookie Monster

So, we were discussing at work the subject of Sesame Street (civil service, hard at work), which seems to not be on childrens teleivision anymore, and the point that what is now shown to pre school children is dumbed down rubbish, with goo goo ga ga language. So I decided I'd relive some old childhood memories by looking back at my two favourite characters, Grover and Cookie Monster. Turns out even as an adult they have me in stitches, making any blues I feel instantly go. And I learned stuff too. Wowza.
So, some classics...

RIP The Madness

Pictures: The Madness tribute gig poster by Drew Millward. The Madness himself Kossacking to Kerry King of slayer.

RIP Andrew "the Madness" Baldwin.
Regular leeds gig goer and legend. Many a trip to Leeds made unforgetable by the madness who sadly passed away last month.
A tribute gig was held on 25 September at the Brudnel Social Club in leeds featuring Humanfly, Year of the man and a special reformation of Red Stars Parade. I was regretbly unable to attend but was told £1230 was raised for eplipsey action.
Facebook page in his memory here.
A true gent.
Kossack on you crazy diamond.

Bisqui Fatale....

As a big fan of biscuits, (the best food for sharing over a cuppa and a natter), I was amazed to read one of the most intruiging Biscuit news of 2009 surely...
THE MOST DANGEROUS BISCUIT HAS BEEN NAMED!! and the result just happens to be one of my personal favourites...that bad ass biscuit.

Taken from MSN...

A research company has calculated the biscuit most likely to cause someone an injury during a tea or coffee break.

The custard cream was found to be the UK's most dangerous snack, on the basis of something called the Biscuit Injury Threat Evaluation.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the research was carried out by Mindlab International at the request of the chocolate biscuit bar Rocky. Mike Driver, Marketing Director for Rocky said: "We commissioned this study after learning how many biscuit related injuries are treated by doctors each year."

Accidents have included people poking themselves in the eye with a biscuit, falling off a chair while reaching for the tin, sustaining burns after dunking a biscuit in scalding tea, and being hit by fragments flying through the air.

Other people have reported choking on crumbs and damaging a tooth or filling on a particularly hard biscuit. One unlucky person ended up stuck in wet concrete after wading in to pick up a stray biscuit.

Mindlab International director Dr David Lewis explained the background to the research.

"We tested the physical properties of 15 popular types of biscuits," he said, "along with aspects of their consumption such as 'dunkability' and crumb dispersal."

According to Mindlab's calculations, here is the full list of the UK's riskiest biscuits, together with their 'danger' rating:
Custard Cream 5.64
Cookie 4.34
Chocolate Biscuit Bar 4.12
Wafer 3.74
Rich Tea 3.45
Bourbon 3.44
Oat Biscuit 3.31
Digestive 3.14
Ginger Nut 2.99
Shortbread 2.90
Caramel Shortcake 2.76
Nice Biscuit 2.27
Iced Biscuits/Party Rings 2.16
Chocolate Finger 1.38
Jaffa Cakes 1.16

MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE

I received in the post recently a lovley peice of grooved wax in the form of TOTEM ONE from Master Musicians of Bukkake, which feature members of Asva, Sir Lord Bishop, Sun City Girls, Randall Dunn and more.
And I couldnt be more impressed. One of the best of 2009 in my eyes. A mixture of Pysch, Prog, Krautrock, drones and World music with a real eastern vibe. Very much for fans of Grails, Secret Chiefs 3, Can, Flower Travellin' band etc etc. best of all Totem one is the first in a planned trilogy...

The vinyl has now sold out, however the CD is still available HERE.

Consipracy records say...

Master Musicians Of Bukkake’s newest record and part of a Northwest trilogy, Marks an evolution from their first record 'Visible Sign Of the Invisible order' (Abduction records 2005). MMOB has now solidified into a 7 piece cosmic psyche force. Like a reverse dark side of the New Age sound, on the Totem series Master Musicians of Bukkake perform ritualistic electric excursions into the outer and inner reaches. Relying more on the electric power of psyched guitars, analog synth chants, and exotic heavy percussion. Totem one echos with the delusions of a West Coast Death cult. Outer spaced Gamelan, dusty fuzz rock from celestial deserts, meditations of a deranged Krishna gathering, and the Blurry acoustic guitar majesty of The Cascade mountains all reveal themselves here in epic form On Totem One. Every sound and note played put to tape by a group with a singular purging purpose. Totem one also features Vocals By MMOB honorary member Alan Bishop of the Sun City Girls. Totem One will be available early 2009 on Conspiracy records followed by EU and US touring from Master Musicians of Bukkake. Totem Two will be released on Abduction records in mid 2009. Master Musicians of Bukkake began in the fertile music scene of the Pacific Northwest in 2003. Originally founded as a collective of musicians from the overflowing community in Seattle. In 2005 they released 'Visible Sign Of the Invisible Order' a recording of improvised ritualistic musical gatherings by the collective. Recorded mostly outside deep in the Cascade Mountains and in large ensemble sessions at Aleph Studios. The record was released on the Sun City Girls Abduction record label and featured honored guest appearances by Alan Bishop and Charlie Gocher of the SCGirls. Totem One (Conspiracy Records 2009), Master Musicians Of Bukkake’s newest record and part of a Northwest trilogy, Marks an evolution from their first record 'Visible Sign Of the Invisible order' (Abduction records 2005). MMOB has now solidified into a 7 piece cosmic psyche force. Like a reverse dark side of the New Age sound, on the Totem series Master Musicians of Bukkake perform ritualistic electric excursions into the outer and inner reaches. Relying more on the electric power of psyched guitars, analog synth chants, and exotic heavy percussion. Totem one echos with the delusions of a West Coast Death cult. Outer spaced Gamelan, dusty fuzz rock from celestial deserts, meditations of a deranged Krishna gathering, and the Blurry acoustic guitar majesty of The Cascade mountains all reveal themselves here in epic form On Totem One. Every sound and note played put to tape by a group with a singular purging purpose. Totem One will be available on CD/LP/MP3 in May 2009 on Conspiracy records followed by EU and US touring from Master Musicians of Bukkake in Summer 2009 as well. Totem Two will be released on Abduction records in 2009.

Yellow vinyl is limited to 75 copies, red to 125 and black to 300.

Enjoy this video of them live...

The Devil will make work of idle hands...watch out, massive rant ahoy...

In a slightly reflective mood. I feel a good old fashioned rant coming on….

With a few weeks off work and the majority of my friends working all day, in fact pretty much all of them, I have had the task of filling up lots of spare time alone, previously taken up with my job. I have gained an extra 8 or so hours a day. Which I never had before. I’ve been working since before I was 16 so that’s nearly Ten years of working EVERY DAY (apart from when I was part time at college briefly in my mid/late teens), the only time off being for holiday’s, touring with my band or physical sickness. So what to fill it with? Sounds like a dream doesn’t it?! But it’s all very much taken me aback. Starting again, so to speak. Imagine… that’s an extra 56 hours a week, 224 hours a month, 2688 hours a year. Now just really think how would you fill that time? Really think.
I have played music, teaching myself new instruments,(a pretty poor attempt at the piano…), drawing, finding and listening to music, writing, reading, taking photo’s, swimming, driving, and generally pottering about. Striving to be creative and make my time worthwhile. I used to live out in the sticks as a teen, with no other people my age around, which was shit but at the same time, great, as you had to find things to do. I wouldn’t have learned to play guitar or draw or found amazing music other wise, so I’m very much grateful for it! But this time as alone, not as a teen living with parents, or as an adult living with a significant other, but instead now as an adult, single and on his own and left to his own devices, has really made me reflect on a lot of things, including what to do with my time and what people in general do in their spare time, in particular TV and internet “Social networking” sites.

Granted I’ve had a slight lapse on the old facebook for a couple of days but that gets pretty boring pretty quickly for me. “Look at what I’m doing right now!!” yeah I know what you’re doing right now, you’re on facebook, typing this shit! “Alex is…yada yada…” really? Or are you just typing that you are, infact just sat on your lap top/PC/phone...? And infact why should people know what I’m doing or feeling? Do I need them too? It really seems a bit nosey to me. I’m not having a pop at anyone personally, like I say, I too find myself drawn to the facebook phenomena and at times, have spent too much time on it, but I feel it’s stopping people actually doing real things.

See my post earlier this year regarding facebook…

Again, I’m completely guilty of it at times, despite my loathing of it. So this is all just observation. It’s a great tool for keeping in touch with friends over distances or sharing music or film etc, but the whole status updating every five fucking minutes or what animal am I or blah blah blah or just talking crap to someone who is probably in the next room, really gets my goat. And I know it’s not everyone, but I see more and more people getting sucked into it, god knows I nearly did.
I guess it’s just a sign of the generation I suppose. We all want it NOW. We want it this instant. Anyone remember PEN PALS? When you actually WROTE, on PAPER, with a PEN and sent it in an ENVELOPE via a POST BOX…there’s a part of me that knows there are people out there who’d draw blank faces at that. But yes it really happened. I wonder how many people know their friends addresses. As in physical, real, home addresses. You know, like a fine wine, things get better with time. TIME not only is a healer but adds a great appretiation of simple things.
For example, if I wanted to share music with a friend I used to make them a mix tape.(some thing I recently had the absolute joy of doing again).
If I wanted to buy a record from a band, I had to order it from a shop if it wasn’t in or mail order…Yes MAIL ORDER. If I wanted to tell them about a movie I would tell them, most likely, when I next saw them. What’s happening to us? Are we all just staying in our homes, locked away living a virtual life? Even as I’m writing this on microsoft word, it’s like a virtual pen and paper. What is real any more? I mean, what’s left to say when you do bump into someone that hasn’t been on facebook already… Ok maybe that’s a little extreme! Regardless, I’ve called it quits and fucking that shit right off. I toyed with the idea of deleting my Facebook profile, but then again, for the good reasons such as keeping in touch occasionally with friends out of town or abroad, I decided against it. I’ll see. I’m still on the fence with that idea. And of course I do appreciate the irony of me sharing my thoughts on an online blog. Yeah, yeah I know…reading back what I’ve just wrote n’ all… (2009 seems to be the year of cruel irony for me).

And Television.
I don’t really watch television as firstly my room does not have one and secondly, and most importantly, when I have plonked myself down in front of the idiot box in my shared house’s living room, all I seem to find is channel after channel after channel of meaningless mind numbing crap. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not slagging off the entire film and television format. There are some GREAT television programs made (Good examples Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s The office, Larry David’s Curb, pretty much anything Chris Morris has done, some superb documentaries, and some brilliant one off dramas) and there are plenty of amazing films made, which are worthwhile watching. But unfortunately, these seem to be few and far between on broadcast television, which seems to be a sea of trivial, poorly made, junk food for brains.
Talk shows featuring what can only be described as the armpits of society, which appears in a perverse and voyeuristic way, to serve the purpose of making people at home feel a little better about themselves. Celebrity shows, which feature “celebrities”… well… doing things. Reality shows creating “celebrities” who will then later appear on a celebrity show where they do things, (I’m surprised after the media coverage up to and following Jade Goodie’s death TV execs weren’t racing to the drawing boards to create “Cancer on Ice”. Or “Celebrity’s go terminal”.) Talent shows, which, to me, are just a 3 or 4 month long advertising campaigns for idiots to buy a product and make fuckers like Simon Cowell richer. Soaps where people can watch over people leading similar but overly dramatic lives. In fact not that similar. If it was real they’d all be on facebook or plonked infront of the telly, Would you watch a soap which just had folk at work all day, coming home watching a soap? Chances are a lot of people would. A soap within a soap. (big brother a fine example, sitting on your couch doing nothing but watching someone sitting on a couch doing nothing.)
So now what then? Well call me old fashioned but perhaps it’s time we all took the time, you know what I’m saying? Start a REAL hobby. Read a book, watch a good film. Make something. DO something. Go SEE friends. Actually LIVE life.
I feel as though it’s all coming to a breaking point, for me anyway, where enough is enough. What the hell is the point in working 8 hours a day, to earn money so you can live life when that life consists of mainly working and when not working appears to be instead buying crap you are told you need by the same people who want you to tune in a drop out to their products.
Even as I wrap this online rant up, I feel extremely hypocritical, wondering how much time I have wasted writing this and the irony of it.
Funny to think this time last year I seemed to find there wasn’t enough hours in the day…just goes to show, time really is what you make of it. Perhaps I should go for a walk.

…Right, now to how do I link this on my facebook profile….

Southern Steel Trailer

Trailer for upcoming film documenting the Southern heavy music scene in the good ol' US of A. Riffs, Beer, Smoke and Trailers ahoy...

Get Ripped to music?

Possibly the best CD review I have ever read on Amazon.com.

If your wondering for what album...book of horizons by Secret Cheifs 3...(?)

Inspired me to do 17 push-ups, October 25, 2006
By J. Pieretti "kerk 'the tiger' hemschle"

If the movie "Conan the Barbarian" were 10 times better, which is impossible, this album would be the soundtrack to it. When I listen to this album, whatever the name of it is i forget, but it inspires me to achieve great acts of strength and barbarian-like athletic prowessness. Yesterday I listened to it and I punched my dad right in the belly. He didn't care though, because he was listening to it when i punched him and his abs were real tight as a result. Today at work I played it in the office at a pleasent office-appropriate volume and everybody made exceptional progress on the projects they were working on. This made the boss and our clients very happy. I was enjoying this album on my way to the store not too long ago, and i was speeding because i'm an awesome driver and i had on my super-rad spandex, and a police officer pulled me over. when he approached the car and heard the music, which was blasting out of the speakers, he wrote me about ten tickets and then told me to go to court and he'll drop most of the charges. He even apologized because it was overly apparent how awesome i was (spandex and all) and that he couldn't help writing all those tickets. That all kind of upset me so i stopped listening to this album for a few days. But then I listened to it again and ended up doing all kinds of variations of push-ups. Now i'm pumped up and all the ladies want a piece of this. Buy this album a couple of times, because your liable to smash it once or twice out of feeling that it's too radical for this dimension.

A simple thanks.

For all my friends. especially one. You know who you all are.

Guy Garvey Lyrical genius.

MANATEES vs TERRORIZER

A Short Manatees feature in this months Terrorizer Magazine, following from an excellent review of Icaurs the Sunclimber in last months...

Full un edited interview below....

Much thanks to Noel Garderner.



The noise influence seems to come to the fore a lot more on this release – it’s pretty harsh at times (the end of ‘The Sunclimber’; percussion/end part on ‘Untitled’), and not riff-based all the time. How has that come about – what have you guys been listening to that’s prompted this, and was there a feeling that you had to expand your remit a bit to avoid going over old ground?

Good question. Well I guess the subject matter that greg based his lyrics (he did 95% of the the vocals on this record as opposed to the other way round as on other releases) was pretty spiteful, so the music kind of reflects that. The first record was a heavy slab of sludge but pretty hypnotic at times, the e.p was mellow and meditative and this time round I guess we just wanted to vent some frustration and anger. I don’t think it was conscious thing though, maybe being in a struggling band has made us angrier as time has gone on!! We've just been listening to the same music we always have, which is pretty varied. everything from Unsane, to Yes, to Sunn O))) to Leonard Cohen to Sabbath to sleep etc. Pysc, punk, metal, prog classic, folk. mixed bag. So long as it's good, it's good!

How are Manatees songs put together in the main – do they chiefly arise out of improvisation or splicing together parts?

usually, we come in with pretty skeletal parts, jam them out see where they go, pretty free. For Sunclimber, Greg came in with pretty much everything in a solid but skeletal frame and me and Pauley threw our stuff in the mix. A few changes here and obviously myself and pauley's input will have made a difference, but Greg came in with a pretty solid idea for the record. Although saying that there was quite a few bits of improv whilst recording. We always seem to have a stupid amount of overdubs, they just keep springing up to our minds whilst recording!

Also, ‘Icarus...’ is a pretty manageable length compared to that first album. With that one, was it just a case of crazy ambition, like ‘we’re gonna make our first release 75 minutes long BECAUSE WE CAN’? Also the number of labels in the UK that would be willing to fund a double LP must be pretty small at this point... have the economics of the ‘music biz’ impacted on Manatees much, or are you basically operating outside of that?

Well, originally the first record (the forever ending jitter quest of slowhand chuckle walker: an introduction to the manatee) was only 5 tracks in around 45 to 50 mins or something. When we re-released it on vinyl we chucked another tune on adding around 20 or so mins. The first record was really done with no forth planning or anything, just a document of the three of us writing music together. But yeah to a point it was really a "because we can" attitude. We didn’t expect to sell any copies or anyone to take any interest so yeah, we just did what we liked. We named it with a ridiculous title but told the label it was unnamed, roman numerals for track listing, ridiculous art work etc wasted the recording budget till we were happy with the music. I mean, potentially you don't know what’s going to happen, or how long you'll be doing this together, so if it had been our only record you really need to do what you like and be satisfied otherwise why are you doing it in the first place? Luckily we've had labels that respect that and are totally understanding of your vision. And even luckier people have taken interest and records have been sold. I think we do work outside of the "music biz", as do the labels we work for. I mean I think nowadays you have to. It's not so much the "music" biz anymore but a business and that sucks but it's the way it is. When all those big labels are fucked and dead in the water, all the proper "music" labels will be laughing. An uprising! a revolution!!....perhaps...

Was the ‘We Are Going To Track Down...’ CD intended as a kind of temporary diversion before the next album? It takes stuff in a different direction which hasn’t necessarily been carried onto ‘Icarus...’ – for example there’s no guest spots. (Related subject – have you kept in touch with Eugene Robinson since he recorded the spoken part? Did you get to see his recent spoken word tour promoting his book? We put it on in Cardiff, it was really cool!)

Yeah definitely. That's just where our heads were at when we wrote and recorded that one. Just went into our friends studio and knocked it out in two days. It was pretty experimental for us in tones, sounds and moods and I'm really happy how it turned out. It's a shame it was just a tour release really as I would have liked it to be a bit more accessible in hindsight. Maybe that’s a possibility in the future. We do still keep in contact with Eugene. We talk over the net sometimes, and We played with Oxbow again last year and I caught up with Eugene on his recent spoken word tour and had a few drinks. He really is a great guy and it's always a pleasure to see him. His work on the recording was a real pleasure.

Are you, as a band, big believers in the validity of DIY / punk values? What, if anything do you define these as, and do you consider yourself very much part of this network and grateful for it? (This might come off as a ‘well duh, of course’ type question – on the other hand I guess there are a lot of bands who aren’t super stringent about ‘DIY values’ but just sort of find themselves in those circles cos they play music that fits maybe.)

Oh yeah, totally. Not only is it a great ethic but we HAVE to right now!! ha. I don’t think of ourselves as a massive part of it but we definitely work along side it. Its partly by choice and partly just because we have no choice! In this day an age it really is essential to be able to things on your own with your music. It creates a real community and a real drive. The subject matter for Icarus , the Sunclimber is very much tied into bands who think to be "doing" music or for it to be of any value or merit it must be on the grounds of "professional" music labels and "professional" musicians, like money or outside perception makes your music real .As if to say it's not real just because you don’t have a manager or a label or publications aren’t writing about you. ridiculous. People in that frame of mind run the risk of letting the experience and the joy of music pass them by. They really do miss the point. Music is from inside and should be made because you just HAVE to make it play it right?

Is there ever any sense that it’s a slight uphill struggle being a UK band playing music like this? Without wanting to get on a ‘well, you guys sound like...’ tip, or chuck around stupid names for subgenres that no-one likes to use, most of the best known bands *of this nature* are American, with the odd Japanese or Swedish group in there. Do you think there’s a certain mentality that ignores a really good UK band playing down the road while waiting for Pelican or who the hell ever to tour again?

ha, I hear you. Yeah for sure. The kind of music circles we are linked with seem to becoming more and more popular each day. It's always been the way though, that the american bands will be more popular in the UK. I think it's the old allure of the big ol' US. It's lucky for them because I know there are some bands who are pretty much in the position we are in, in the US, but are regarding much more highly here. it's a very strange phenomena really, but just seems as though it's always been. With the exception of prog perhaps. The most well known prog artists seem to be from the UK, but again there are so many amazing ones from other countries who were never as popular such as Italy or even Hungry. Back to the point though, yes it is an uphill struggle. But people who are in the know, they know, if you get my meaning. And that can only be a good thing, spread the word!!

Do you as a band have a certain... plan of action for Manatees? Not like a career arc, so much as just different ideas for future albums. I get the impression that influences come from a lot of different directions and it could be taken in many of those different directions. Or do you just sort of take everything as it comes?

We don’t really have a defined master plan no. When we started we never imagined we'd do one record let alone the four releases we've done so far!! The influences comment is a great observation, thanks. We do have a lot of different influences, some which aren’t so immediate others which are. It really leaves the door open for us, which is good because I guess you have to keep things fresh for yourselves and who wants to listen to albums that sound same the same one after another let alone play them (although there are some great bands who make that a plus!) We don’t have a set blue print or anything like that so who knows what we will come up with in future. The only "plan" is to keep writing, recording, playing as long as we can keep it going and stay interested! So I'm sure we will have some variation in there. We have a two new releases in the pipe line which are quite different from each other already so hopefully they will see the light of day this year or next.

LCA B & W....

...continued. Using Black and White 35mm in the LCA has proved a succsess. More on the way....