Things To Write To Guarantee Your Email Will Be Deleted #1

We receive a lot of emails from new and unsigned bands looking to work with STA or merely to get some advice and we encourage you if you're thinking of doing the same not to hesitate to get in touch. Some of the bands we've released have started their relationship with the label that way! However with the smooth also comes the rough and today we start an ongoing series that will share with you some of the less well thought-out communications we receive. Today we had an email that simply said with no band details whatsoever (drum roll please) -

Do you have any record deals on offer?

4 Or 5 Magicians on Journalism

We played a pretty standard, raucous show at the Hobgoblin in Brighton tonight, and having nipped out the back to get something from the van, I overheard this rather hilarious analysis from some hoorah henry with short blonde dreadlocks in a bandana that looked like his name was Nathaniel and his favourite album was Blood Sugar Sex Magick or Toots and The Maytals let rip a couple of absolute gems to his lah di dah sycophant friends :

"that band, you know, they had a couple of really good intros, but when the guy started singing, it sounded like they had handed the microphone to a member of the crowd"

...and...

"the guitarist was trying to do all these harmonics while he was playing and it just sounded ridiculous - just play the songs!"

It is quite possible he was talking about someone else. Maybe The Muscle Club. But I reckon having just played it was probably about us.

In other news we have received some rather good reviews from real journalists ...

The Irish Times, apparently the biggest broadsheet in Ireland, gave our album 9/10 and a glowing review; Rock Sound magazine gave our album 8/10, featured us on their cover CD, and hosted a brief interview / feature (with the words "dan ormsby" and "creative genius" without the word "not" in the same sentence), and listed us as the top band on their office stereo section, and BBC Music shared this rather awesome piece.

Expecting some more reviews to come in this week.

My dad, the biggest supporter of the band, suddenly died on Friday, and it is the biggest comfort to know that the "experts", if you will, are digging this album.

RIP Dad, I'm doing the business!

Dan xx

Fighting With Wire: Album 2 Studio Diary Part 1

4 Or 5 Magicians Vs Shirley Bassey

Let's call it a draw.

4 Or 5 Magicians Tour Begins Today

Tour begins today!! I haven't been to bed yet but I'm going to hit the hay shortly, and get a good 9 hours in before we head off to Cardiff, the first time we have actually rented a van, and hit the road with another band for (almost) every show!

Once again, the tour calls at :

5th : Cardiff Buffalo Bar
6th : Bath Moles
7th : Coventry Taylor John's House (afternoon show - on at 3:40pm)
8th : Camden The Flowerpot
9th : Portsmouth Cellars
10th : Brighton Hobgoblin
11th : Southampton Hamptons
12th : Bristol Start The Bus
13th : Newport Le Pub
14th : Oxford The Cellar
15th : Reading Oakford Social Club

All shows are with The Muscle Club, except Coventry and Reading, and all shows are headlined by either us or The Muscle Club, apart from Coventry which is an all dayer, Bath which is headlined by Cold Cave who are an American electro band (gonna be a bit odd that one!), and Reading which is headlined by Violet Violet - a band whose drummer once screamed "AMERICAN HI-FI!!!" at me at a show we did in Norwich, quite unexpectedly.

I highly recommend the show at The Flowerpot in Camden, which is a free entry show, from 6:00pm to 10:30pm, featuring a brilliant bill I have myself curated - Us, The Muscle Club, Stagecoach, Lola And The Clic, and Eelectricity and Lust (their debut gig!).

I'm also putting on the Brighton show which is also free (though we are heavily suggesting a £2 donation to cover tour expenses) with the totally rocking Everyone To The Anderson, and the splendidly spooky Spacenoid.

Lets hope we make it round in one piece eh? I've got a Blue Roses gig to get back for on the 16th!

In other news, we have received some awesome coverage in Rock Sound magazine this month, which I believe came out today.

Not only are we the top band in editor Darren Taylor's 'Decks Of Death' (hehe!), there is also a little feature on us, with spliced bits of an interview I did, and 'Forever On The Edge' is featured on the covermount CD.

The main news though is that they awarded 'Empty, Derivative Pop Songs' a grand score of 8/10, and a nice write up. Hopefully the first of a string of good reports!

To read all this, go and buy a copy, or if you can't wait to see what they wrote, there are cuttings of the article hosted here on the smalltown america blog.

See you on tour,

Dan xx

ASIWYFA: Lowdown On New Records

THE LETTERS EP

Here it is then folks, some brand new ASIWYFA tunage. They had 4 days to do this in the studio between tours and here it is, "The Letters EP". Four tracks in under 20mins, that's a record for them they think?

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it for you. I hear the rumble of an album on the horizon...

Tracklist:
1. S Is For Salamander
2. D Is For Django The Bastard
3. B Is For B-Side
4. K Is For Killing Spree (Ode To)
Release Date:
22/02/10 however it'll be available from the merch desk at the band's HUGE Xmas show at the Ulster Hall in Belfast.



SPLIT SINGLE w/ TALONS

To those who are yet to discover the 6 piece, Hereford based band, Talons have already started making some pretty big waves in the UK instrumental rock scene. Featuring two violins and crushing guitar riffs, their unashamed exploration of uplifting, joyous highs followed closely by dramatic, Apocalyptic lows shows a brave sense of willingness, not usually found in a band so shy of years. 'Bethlehem', a live favourite on their recent, debut UK tour, captures their energy and enthusiasm perfectly, leaving the listener excited and hungry for more.

The split single will be released on limited edition (of 100) 3" CDs via Big Scary Monsters Records on November 23rd.

ASIWYFA

4 Or 5 Magicians: Dan Goes To Shows Part 1

To mark the start of 4 Or Magicians' album tour, we present the first in an occasional series - Dan Goes To Shows - half blog, half review, all Ormsby.

October 3rd : The Hornblower Brothers / Aaron King / Curly Hair @ Prince Albert, Brighton


Curly Hair are friends of mine, in fact, they played their first ever show in my living room at my housewarming party on January 3rd of this year. Then a two piece, Jess on vocals and glockenspiel, and Ben on vocals and guitar, kind of reminiscent of a slightly more earnest Moldy Peaches, Jess was so nervous her hands were shaking too much to play the glockenspiel properly! Since then they have come a very long way. They have added drummer Michael, recorded and self-released a highly promising EP, 'Ivy League', recorded live sessions for Marc Riley and Jon Kennedy, and are main tour support to Malcolm Middleton this month. Not bad for a first year in action! Every time I see them play they get better, and this show continues that trend. The confidence issues of January seem a distant memory as they roll out jaunty melodic pop gem after jaunty melodic pop gem with an assured tone. Definitely one to look out for in 2010.


Aaron King is another friend of mine, he in fact was at one point very close to playing a show with 4 or 5 Magicians on keyboard a couple of years back, but pulled out at the last minute as we hadn't really rehearsed enough for it to be a sensible thing to do! He's been playing his songs around town for a couple of years, with various different guys in his band (bit like us I suppose!) and he's another one that has been getting better and better with every show I have seen, and this one, like Curly Hair, was also the best yet I have seen. The band he has in place right now is also, I think, the best lineup he has had, and he keeps on churning out really strong, melodic, jazzy, piano driven pop songs. Could well work out nicely for him in 2010, and if not, he could make a fortune playing hotel lobbies!


The Hornblower Brothers are not friends of mine. But that's not to say I don't think we'd get on. They have a refreshingly laissez-faire stage presence, and their endearingly shambolic set ends in of the most bizarre scenes I have ever witnessed. There had already been a stage invasion by a heap of their friends, dancing around to 'Android With A Heart', the bouncy lead track from their debut EP 'Adventures In National Geographic', which in itself created a somewhat chaotic scene, but halfway through the song, singer / guitarist stage right leans over to singer / guitarist stage centre, and says something calmly in his ear, both having stopped playing to do this. The rest of the band shortly follow suit halfway through a verse, and the room breaks out in a confused murmur. The singer then announces that he wants the crowd to sing along with them in the final chorus, and proceeds to try and teach them a long series of lines that they are never going to remember. Their set in a nutshell, I'm not sure whether to gleefully amazed at their incredible nonchalance, or simply bemused by their lack of professionalism, but either way, it certainly ends up being a show to remember, and there are a string of infectious melodies and hooks sewn into their polite but cheeky, cardigan wearing, twee-pop.

October 5th : Wild Beasts / Blue Roses @ The Hanbury Club


Around two years ago, an unremarkable promo CD dropped through my letter box, 'I Am Leaving', the debut single by a northen singer/songwriter called Laura Groves. I gave it a spin, and this stunning voice chirped out at me like a nightingale. Not hearing anything of her for a while, I assumed she had been swallowed up by the sea of singing Lauras taking over the UK, until May this year, when, ironically, another singing Laura, the wonderful Laura Hocking (now performing under the nom de plume Lola and The Clic) took me along to see an act called Blue Roses at the Great Escape festival. When she started singing, it clicked that this was Laura Groves, and she was absolutely stunning - the voice, the instrumentation, the arrangements... everything! I immediately tracked down the eponymous debut album, and was hooked - quite possibly my favourite of the year. Live it really shines, her voice free to do whatever seems right in the moment, flying off this way and that - it is unlikely Groves could expel a bum note if she tried. From the beautiful, sprawling 'Greatest Thoughts', through the playful jig of 'I Am Leaving', to the pulsating thump of 'Rebecca', this is a sensational set, in the perfect setting of the ornately decorated, domed, high ceilinged Hanbury Club, the sound ringing out round the venue, amplifying the stunned silence of the transfixed crowd. Kate Bush comparisons are easy to make, but Groves exists in a time not held back by recording and production conventions as Bush perhaps was in the 80s, and possessing a virtually unrivalled level of natural talent, she seems suitably grounded to really go from strength to strength and produce a second album worthy of classic status, as the all too short selection of her wonderful songs she chooses to showcase on this particular night demonstrates.


Headliners Wild Beasts are also very impressive, if in a totally different way. I'd met bass player / vocalist Tom totally at random in a kitchen in Leeds in April while on tour, and had a nice conversation with him, but had never actually got round to listening to them, as from what I'd read about them, they appeared to be a band who I'd appreciate more as a live act than recording artists. To this day I still haven't knowingly heard any recorded material by them, but the live show was spot on - brilliantly executed, and mesmerising from start to finish. I'm not entirely sure comparisons to anything or anyone would be justified or even necessary, but their highly original mix of booming tribal beats, spooky synths, jerky guitars, and split falsetto and tenor vocals was a hugely satisfying live experience, quite unlike anything I had witnessed before. Not something I can ever imagine listening to in the car or in my bedroom, but I hope our paths cross again in a live setting before too long!

October 7th : Fiery Furnaces / Pete Um / Esben and The Witch @ Audio, Brighton


Esben and The Witch are the buzz band in Brighton at the moment, they seem have been supporting everyone for the last year, but somehow I have ended up not getting to see them despite meaning to for a while. Like Wild Beasts, they were a band I had deliberately avoided listening to on record in anticipation of their live show, but this time, I was almost expecting to be disappointed, for them to be a kind of uber-pretentious, posturing, avant-garde pastiche. If I was indeed thinking this, I was very wrong. The hype it seems, is justified, and while their live set may not be fully there just yet - there are better songs to be written, and slightly weaker songs to be phased out for sure - there is plenty to get excited about during a highly original and intelligent half hour of music, and there is a definite x-factor about singer Rachel, an effortlessly enthralling performer. Another band with a bright 2010 ahead of them.


Middle act Pete Um is somewhat of a curiosity, "we met him in Cambridge and asked him along to play with us here. He's pretty nuts, huh?", insists Fiery Furnaces bass player Jason Loewenstein when I corner him later on. Treading an incredibly thin line between clever and amusing, and obnoxious and annoying, Um slurs his way through a flurry of breathlessly short tales of woe, accompanied by his trusty iPod. The lyrics contain the odd witty rhyme, or chortle-inducing image, but for the most part the crowd is left shaking their head, at what essentially appears to everyone to be a rambling madman in a wooly hat. Definitely more "Um" than "Ah!".


The Fiery Furnaces are a band who are renouned for pushing boundaries, conceptual performances, and generally being completely unpredictable. So I suppose in a way Pete Um was a natural choice of support, someone who was sure to polarise opinion, even deliberately antagonise some members of the crowd. And in the past, The FFs have been known to show up and play an incoherent, scattergun 45 minute stream of insanity with more bleeps than Beadle's About. Tonight though, the band are lined up in the classic rock and roll formation of guitar, bass, drums, and vocal. And it is brilliant. Matt Friedburger provides the riffs and hooks on guitar, while the marvellous rhythm section of ex-Sebadoh members Jason Lowenstein (bass) and Bob D'Amico (drums) keep things ticking along, and Matt's sister Eleanor is given free reign to strut around the stage bobbing her head to the beat and delivering an almost constant string of tongue twisting lines. For a band who can at times be so obtuse and overcomplicated, this is a welcome reminder that they simply possess a collection of superb tunes. Even 'Chris Michaels', the epic, almost symphonic centrepiece of their immensely difficult sophomore album 'Blueberry Boat', is stripped back to its basic elements, and it works so, so well. One of the best bands of the decade for sure. Just a shame Jason went to bed instead of meeting me and Sam for a drink in the pub after like he said he would. Boooo! I was going to ask him to record our second album - we had scheduled to record an EP together in summer 2008 but the dates didn't end up working out. Watch this space I guess!

Still to come -
9th : Johnny Foreigner / Tellison / Japanese Voyeurs @ Audio
12th : Stagecoach / Man Ray Sky / Duke Raoul @ Hectors House
18th : Themselves / Devil Man / Robert Stillman @ Freebutt
19th : Le Band Extraordinaire @ Hanbury Club

27th : Japandroids / William @ White Heat
29th : Johnny Foreigner / Super Tennis @ New Slang
30th : Everyone To The Anderson / Kid Pang / Crooked Mountain, Crooked Sea @ Hectors House

Calories vs Slow Club

The following are all stolen from Rebecca Slow Club's twitter. Sometimes guys I really like the internets and the wonders it can bring forth.

edit: please note we're not taking this at all seriously, and we certainly don't think Rebecca is a cow. It's just REALLY FUNNY. REALLY REALLY FUNNY. Seriously, I love Slow Club. Their set at Latitude was just to die for. <333333

SO ANGRY the name 'Calories' for a band is taken and they r SHIT. SO UPSET

about 1 hour ago from web

oh ppl are mad cos i said they were shit. maybe they are not but im too bored to listen to anymore. sorry.
39 minutes ago from web

GOD world sorry Calories are great
38 minutes ago from web

oh, now im worried i started band beef. i didn't mean it Calories. i'm a massive cow in a shit band. there i said it for you.
35 minutes ago from web

Its just that your band name is SO GOOD and im jealous. cos im that kinda girl.
32 minutes ago from web

Calories release a new EP through Big Scary Monsters next Monday, and new album Habitations will follow through us early next year. Slow Club are ace and their album Yeah So is out now via Moshi Moshi.

November Newsletter

Good Evening,

No let up before the Christmas rush at the STA Office, the roster is in full swing - so onto this month's news>>

1. [LIVE] And So I Watch You From Afar, Calories & 4 Or 5 Magicians on tour
2. [ONLINE] Free Calories Download, LaFaro Podcast and Cahir FWW Vs Pumpkin
3. [BUY] Debut Albums from 4 Or 5 Magicians & The Moi Non Plus, Limited Edition Calories EP & ASIWYFA/Talons Split Single On Big Scary Monsters
4. [GOSSIP]

This month's photograph - 4 or 5 Magicians On Tour!
-----
1. [LIVE] And So I Watch You From Afar, Calories & 4 Or 5 Magicians on tour

From Warsaw to Dundalk - STA bands take to the road in November bringing some Autumnal noise to your town. ASIWYFA return to Europe before supporting Oceansize in the UK ----- 4 Or 5 Magicians tour their 8/10 Rock Sound rated debut album with The Muscle Club ----- Calories show-off their new denim with Youves ----- LaFaro and Ice, Sea, Dead People patrol their respective local turfs.

NOVEMBER 2009
05 Calories – Nottingham, The Bodega
05 4 Or 5 Magicians – Cardiff, Buffalo Bar
06 4 Or 5 Magicians - Bath, Moles
06 Calories - Brighton, The Freebutt
07 Calories – Southampton, Lennons
07 Ice, Sea, Dead People – London, Catch
07 4 Or 5 Magicians – Coventry, Taylor John's House
07 LaFaro – Draperstown, Cellar Bar
08 Calories – Reading, Oakford Social Club
08 4 Or 5 Magicians – London, The Flowerpot
09 Calories – Birmingham, The Flapper
09 4 Or 5 Magicians – Portsmouth, The Cellars
09 And So I Watch You From Afar – Germany, Duisberg Steinbruch
10 Calories – London, Barfly
10 4 Or 5 Magicians – Brighton, The Hobgoblin
11 4 Or 5 Magicians – Southampton, Hamptons
11 And So I Watch You From Afar – Austria, Graz Forum Stadtpark
12 4 Or 5 Magicians – Bristol, Heartbreaker @ Start The Bus
12 And So I Watch You From Afar – Austria, Vienna Chelsea
13 4 Or 5 Magicians – Newport, Le Pub
13 And So I Watch You From Afar – Austria, Innsbruck PMK
14 4 Or 5 Magicians - Oxford Vacuous Pop @ The Cellar
15 4 Or 5 Magicians – Reading, Oakford Social Club
16 And So I Watch You From Afar – Hungary, Budapest Durer-Kert
18 And So I Watch You From Afar – Poland, Poznan Pod Minoga
19 4 Or 5 Magicians – London, The Fly
19 And So I Watch You From Afar – Poland, Warsaw, Jadlodajnia Filozoficzna (Philosophical Cafeteria)
20 4 Or 5 Magicians – Lewisham, Fox & Firkin
20 And So I Watch You From Afar – Poland, Krakow, Lodz Kaliska
20 LaFaro – Belfast, Stiff Kitten
21 Let Our Enemies Beware – Peckham, Ivy House
25 4 Or 5 Magicians – London, The Fly
27 Ice, Sea, Dead People – London, Club.The.Mammoth @ The Hobby Horse
29 And So I Watch You From Afar – Dundee, Fat Sams
30 And So I Watch You From Afar – Aberdeen, Tunnels
DECEMBER 2009
01 And So I Watch You From Afar – Glasgow, King Tut's
02 And So I Watch You From Afar – Liverpool, The Masque
03 4 Or 5 Magicians – Leicester, Firebug
03 And So I Watch You From Afar – London, Heaven
05 4 Or 5 Magicians - London, Club COG @ The Lexington
05 And So I Watch You From Afar - Brussels, Beurskafee
06 LaFaro – Louth, Spirit Store

-----

2. [ONLINE] Recent new filings for the tubes of the internet include a free download of a brand new Calories EP track, our chums at Tough Love Records largely wasting the opportunity to plug their records when they took over the STA blogcast plus news and horrifying photos from the recording of the new Fighting With Wire album

Download opening track from new Calories EP
4 Or 5 Magicians & Let Our Enemies Beware swamp Rock Sound

LaFaro get the NIChart podcast treatment
Tough Love Records takeover Public Service Blogcast
The Moi Non Plus London show highlights

ASIWYFA nominated for Best Live Video

Fighting With Wire - Bones Of The Twilight: The Story So Far

-----

3. [ORDER] An abundance of additions to the catalogue this month – deep breath…

The Moi Non Plus - self titled debut album with free Remixed Book & CD set
£8 - out now
sparse, angular and aggressive Liars-esque post-punk; ferocious, syncopated dance-beats and ripped-speaker guitar lines that squeal like particularly melodic stuck-pigs Rockfeedback

4 Or 5 Magicians - Empty, Derivative Pop Songs debut album with free Live In Bristol bonus disc (only 4 bonus discs left at time of writing)
£8 - out now
The band's guiding light, Dan Ormsby, has clearly learnt from the best and his ability to alchemise chrushing lyrical wit and infectious melody with the musical equivalent of rusty nails scraping on an old tin roof expertly conjures up various points the spirit of everyone from Pavement to Pixies Rock Sound

Calories - Let's Pretend That We're Older Limited CD EP in demin sleeve with badge

£5 out now
A very limited (150 copies only) split release with our compadres at Big Scary Monsters - 4 fresh new Calories recordings in unique hand-made denim packaging with the tracklisting etc on a special pin badge. Genius! These songs will not be on the new Calories album so don't miss out!

And So I Watch You From Afar / Talons Limited split 3" CD single
£3 out Nov 22nd, pre-order now!

Another winner from the melding of STA and BSM minds; one new ASI track...one track from new instrumental rock titans Talons ...one 3" CD...limited to just 100 copies. Ever. You've been warned.

Next month: Alan MX's debut album and new ASIWYFA EP available 2 months early...but only at their Belfast Christmas show

-----

4. [GOSSIP]

And So I Watch You From Afar are making phenomenal plans for their Belfast Christmas show ----- The Moi Non Plus recover from hard gigging & partying at CMJ New York ----- Alan MX starts work on Album #2 first song to drop into the inbox is called 'Meat Bag' ----- Ice, Sea Dead People complete AMAZING artwork for next spring’s debut album ----- 4 Or 5 Magicians hyperventilate at the prospect of next year's Pavement-curated ATP ----- LaFaro gear up for their first headlining tour of the UK in February 2010 ---- STA V3.0 to launch mid November including new store!

Thanks for reading,
Andrew, Ash, Daniel, Brian, Ben & Charlene

Cargo Collective November 09

Courtesy Group
Tradesman Entrance
Ma Doocey CD
"Visceral debut from Brummagem grinesters beloved of Messrs Cooper Clarke & Peel, ("Strong spikey stuff I'd say!").

Githead
Landing
Swim
Githead is a group whose members are Colin Newman (Wire), Malka Spigel and Max Franken (Minimal Compact) and Robin Rimbaud (aka Scanner). ‘Landing’ is their third album of sparkling, sophisticated and adventurous avant-pop, striking a unique balance between convention and subtle experimentation.

Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School Of Medicine
The Audacity of Hype
Alternative Tentacles
"Jello Biafra returns with a new band and new music! With members of Faith No More and Victims Family. Psyched, politically charged punk by one of the inventors of the form"

Rio En Medio
Frontier (Deluxe Edition CD)
Manimal Vinyl
“Captivating....Part cosmic fun house, part haunted house, [Frontier] keeps you on your toes, waiting to see if the next song will amuse you, entrance you, or scare you silly. Or all three." - Pitchfork

Alan MX
Warpsichord
Smalltown America
Staggering work of heartbreaking electro genius - debut album by Britain's soon to be not best kept secret Alan MX. For Fans Of: Bjork, Matmos, Peaches, PJ Harvey & Vincent Gallo.

Thee Vicars
Psychotic Beats !
Dirty Water
Their manic energy is palpable, it hits you with a jolt – but that should be the case with teenagers playing raw rock’n’roll shot through with a punk and garage band aesthetic.

Josephine Foster
Graphic as a Star
Fire Records
Based upon the poems of the 19th century American poet Emily Dickenson, Josephine lays her stairsteppy melodies beneath a collection of Dickenson gems & sings them with a burnished soulfulness like the purple sunsets so often described in the poems.”

Rainbow Arabia
Kabukimono
Manimal Vinyl
"Intoxicated dance music made out of dervish rhythms, snakish melodica, and percussion procured from the labyrinthine corridors of some smoky souk." The Guardian

Glass Ghost
Idol Omen
Western Vinyl
The birth of a new musical force with influences from J. Dilla to Deerhoof. Contributions from Luke Temple of Here We Go Magic has "..that irresistible, disjointed mix of pop hooks & Beefheartian abandon" Village Voice.

Katy Carr
Coquette
Deluce
Coquette is Katy Carr’s third album. Infused with recall & reminiscence, it is a character-driven tour-de-force of emotional intrigue, surrender and defiance. ‘Alt-folk star in waiting.’ ****Q ‘Elegant and sensual.’ Mojo ****

Nat Johnson & The Figureheads
Roman Radio
Damaged Goods
Nat Johnson’s (Ex - Monkey Swallows The Universe) critically acclaimed debut solo album, includes the Steve Lamacq single of the week ‘Dirty Rotten Soul’ and the new single ‘Wonderful Emergency’

Beak
Beak
Invada CD
Debut album from new Bristol band who consist of Geoff Barrow (Portishead) / Billy Fuller (Fuzz Against Junk) / Matt Williams (Team Brick) . Referencing Krautrock / Silver Apples /Stereolab , the album was recorded live over a 12 day period. Beak will playing live in the UK in December including a performance at ATP