Sunday 31 January 2010

Cargo's John Dryland Interviewed On BBC 6Music

The guest on BBC 6Music's Tom Robinson's Introducing show overnight was Cargo Records' John Dryland with his expert guide on how to distribute your records. Listen hear on the iPlayer.

Wednesday 27 January 2010

LaFaro Tour Diary Part 5

Well folkers....

its wednesday the 27th of january and we have on the road for thirteen days and counting!!! We find ourselves today in lovely wet lincoln..for a show in the best metal club ever!!! this is the second time that we have been here and the last time was a blast...

well, just an update of whats been happening since london town...well we rocked it there for a start with the gut wrenching sludge that is let our enemies beware...lovely boys too. check them out!!! Then we had the luxury of having a few days off which we spent with our good friend kiri, who is class! then it was off to portsmouth to the show iv been most excited about for this leg of the tour!!!

we landed there a day early and were terrifically well looked after by our bestest buddies, dd and rosie and the rest of the crew down there. we had the pleasure of playin with two great bands, the munroe effect and the great Little London!! then the madness ensued and we went back to party out with 9 pound bottles of buckfast!!!!

We hit the road then and did a pretty big drive to nottingham were we played in the chamelion arts cafe. gig went well and we stayed with our now good friend anouska, had a good night and woke up this morning feeling intact again and ready for tonights rockfest!!! so we are just hanging with our host Matt at the mo and being again totally brillantly looked after before we head down for the load in! then its off to leeds and then who nows!!!! wherever the rock may take us!

thanks to all of ye mad uns that have came out and shown their support..it means so much to us, whether it was buying a cd or a shirt or just signing the mailing list...it means so much to us!!! we will keep you posted with more of the same very soon guys!!! LaFaro loves ye! al. x

You Really Rock Hard But You Have No Singer

And So I Watch You From Afar interview from Eurosonic

ASIWYFA Play Instore At Tower Records Dublin

TUESDAY 2nd MARCH @ 7pm
Wicklow Street Branch
More details to follow

ASIWYFA XFM Session Repeat

John Kennedy @ XFM rebroadcast the And So I Watch You From Afar session on his show again last night. This is the session that the band recorded for XFM last year. Hopefully the tracks will appear on XFM's online session archive soon and the repeat bodes well for next week's final round of the XFM New Music Award!

4 Or 5 Magicians In 2010

Sorry for being cryptic and all before Christmas, we aren't splitting up or anything, or rather, we are, but we aren't. Or something. I'll explain in a bit. But anyway - our Christmas show on December 22nd was the last time the current lineup of 4 or 5 Magicians will play together, apart perhaps from a final show for my birthday in late March / early April.

Alex (drums) and Sam (guitar) have both left the band to get proper jobs so they can eat and pay rent. My thanks to them for playing in the band, and on the album, will be hard to find better players. For the next two months, me and Ivan (bass) will be demoing some new songs I have written, and working on some ideas that I have, in a shed at the bottom of a garden in Surrey, like the Poddington Peas.

We are currently looking for a new guitarist and drummer to join (please email fourorfivemagicians[at]hotmail[dot]co[dot]uk if you are interested in joining!), and we aim to hit the live circuit again in April with the sparkly new songs. I currently have four finished in my head, and they are definitely my best four songs to date (I know everyone says this about their new stuff as it would be silly not to, but it is absolutely true!). Also have a couple of crackers already demoed from past sessions which didn't fit in with the first album, but definitely will with this new one. If everything goes to plan, we aim to have at least seven or eight tracks demoed by April, do a short tour to roadtest the new material with the new band members, and do some festivals and record the album properly in the summer, before a release in the Autumn.

I did for a while toy with the idea of changing the name of the band for horrendous marketing / promotional reasons, essentially to give the industry a chance to hype us as a "new band", but instead I have chosen to keep the name on, and hope that the press / industry judge us on the music we are making, rather than dismissing us as has-beens or also-rans, which is disappointingly all too common with bands in our position. 'Empty, Derivative Pop Songs' got 7s, 8s and 9s, and I have every confidence this new album is going to be miles better. We might actually record this one properly, and I might actually put some effort into writing the songs this time around!

But yeah. I'm off to formulate a great record. Lets hope it works out that way!

Dan xx

PS. I'm afraid I've had to cancel the two solo shows I had booked in for Thursday (28th Jan) and Friday (29th Jan) in Taunton and Barnstaple, as my transport fell through at the last minute and I can't afford the train. I'll be back down that way with the band as soon as we are back up and running, and will be playing some solo shows in the coming months in London and Brighton, so look out for them!

Sunday 24 January 2010

Graham Smith Wins European Photography Award

Friend of STA and ASIWYFA photographer Graham Smith has won the coveted Lex Van Rossen photography award! The award is an annual prize for European music photography.

“Smith is a photo-journalist who documents what he sees. This is always a good starting point but as well as being highly skilled with the camera, Graham Smith’s work has a very genuine and passionate vibe. He has a real empathy with musicians, and is a very good all-rounder.” - LVR Award Judge

Photos by Graham Smith and the nine other nominees are currently being exhibited in the Photogallery Noorderlicht (Groningen, The Netherlands) till the 28th of February 2010. Afterwards the show will go to London.

Graham is currently working on two books, one of which will be dedicated to his time touring with And So I Watch You From Afar
.

Cluas Review For Alan MX's Warpsichord

Cluas Snapshot: Warpsichord is the debut from electro, experimental London based musician Alan MX. It’s different, complicated, and really very good. Electronic, dance, and occasionally pop, it’s a fine record and one to surely pick up pace this year.

Cluas Verdict? 7.5/10 Alan MX

Full Review: “Warpsichord” is littered with catchy loops mixed with delicate melodies and what sounds like millions of layered samples of vocals, synths, guitars, lasers, effects and whatever else he could find. If it sounds all over the place, it’s probably because it is. However each track sounds like 4 minutes of chaos that somehow pulls together. What results more often than not is altogether a pleasure to listen to.

“Warpsichord”, “Cuckoos”, “The Captain America Video” and “Green Tea” are unforgettable. “Cuckoos” is fast paced with an orchestral overture that would not seem out of place in a James Bond themed movie tune. “Captain America Video” doesn’t disappoint either. It’s acoustic guitar driven melody is backed by a thumping percussion, it’s a winner. “Flesh Emergency” with its synthesised melody continues the impressive start to the record. “Green Tea” in this reviewer’s opinion is the best track on the album. It’s an acoustic guitar tune riddled with a relentless drum beat. It’s a piece of perfect modern pop music, the meandering vocals bounce along to the acoustic/percussion driven backdrop.

The record doesn’t take a dive from here but the true quality lies firmly in the first half. “Frank’s Monster” is forgettable, “Strange Bird”, a life lament with a nice orchestral feel is just, well nice. “Chinese Whispers” and “God Song” complete the collection.

So what’s the verdict? Well “Warpsichord”, “Cuckoos”, “The Captain America Video” and “Green Tea” are unforgettable. It’s hard to decide what kind of record this is with regard to genre. It seems to borrow from everything, pop to electronica, rock n roll to dance.

Overall it’s an impressive debut and conveys Alan MX as a potentially serious player. He is extremely talented. He certainly has an open mind, anything and everything can be heard at one point or another on the album. The first half is nothing short of brilliant. Unlike the real thing, the energy levels seem to decline on the album after “Green Tea”.

Kevin Coleman

Saturday 23 January 2010

LaFaro Vs The Fuzz

London England Town

jesus christus! it has unfortunately been brought to our attention that the queens own metropolitan police force are as pathetically ignorant, futile and cuntish as our own. but lack the intimidation factor, because they dont have guns.

first of all they pulled us and fined us for driving a trade vehicle up the queens driveway, even though our vehicle is in fact owned privately and we had as much right to be there as all the other vehicles.

then i had to stand and explain how northern ireland is for now still a part of the united kingdom, therefore i dont need to apply for a separate "english" vehicle test every time i decide to go there. and how its not my fault if the dvla in coleraine forgot to tell the english that we paid a full years vehicle tax.

30 quid straight to gordon brown.

ANYHOO..... last nights gig was pretty fuckin special for us. we had a blast, and could'nt believe how many people came down to see us and show their support. thank you all so much just for being there and allowing us to spout off about jesus and sectarianism and shit like that. i like to believe we live in a world where we can laugh about these things, y'know.

we were'nt sure if our brand of mediocre head-banging bull-sshhhiittt would wash with the average gig-ligging, music-loving brit, but i reckon we're doing alright. we're not dead yet; in fact far from it.

up the hoods, jonny

Friday 22 January 2010

And So I Watch You From Afar World Domination Plans

EUROSONIC
Phew.... just back home from a great weekend in Gronigen on the flat fields of the Netherlands. We played to a sold out crowd in the famous Vera venue, which has seen, the ASIWYFA wet dream of bands, through the doors from At The Drive In, to The Jesus Lizard, to Shellac, to Trail of Dead. We were very humbled to be gracing its stage. Here's a few vids below of the trip...




SXSW, CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK & NYC (MARCH)
It's official folks, we're off to Texas (woohoo). Details coming on where and what shows we'll be doing. Can't wait to get the old Irish skin into the sun, expect some red faces especially from our ginger contingents. In other news we've been confirmed to play this year's Canadian Music Week which we're thrilled about, again we'll let you know where and when our show will take place in the festival. Lastly, we thought it would be rude to go all that way and not pay a visit to New York's fair city (home of Ross, Monica, Joey, Chandler, Pheobe and Rachel). As you can probably predict we are buzzing like children at the prospect of this trip.

CHOICE MUSIC AWARD NOMINATION
This is as big a surprise to the rest of you as it was to us I'm sure, but we've been nominated for this year's Choice Music Prize. It's an absolute honour to even be considered, plus we get to go to a real award ceremony!! We're up there with the likes of Bell X1, Swell Season, Laura Izibor and Codes. It's a real privilege to think that ours songs in anyway merit this so thanks guys.

XFM NEW MUSIC AWARD NOMINATION
Again this came as a complete surprise, but thanks to all you heroes out there who voted for us; we've somehow been nominated for this year's XFM New Music Award. We stick out like a sore thumb in this bunch with the likes of Florence and the Machine, La Roux, Little Boots etc. I know what your thinkin, "Eh?!". Again tho, its an honour to be nominated, especially as it was a public vote, so thanks to you all, as we say over here, "your a lovely bunch of bastards!".

UK "LETTERS EP" TOUR
This is announced and on sale now, and we're delighted to announce that we're gonna be joined by mighty noise bringers LaFaro (http://www.myspace.com/lafaro). We'll have the new EP out with us, and needless to say will be attempting full scale carnage at every show. Please get your tickets now if you haven't already, it'll be worth it to see LaFaro alone, they make my teeth hurt they're so good.

EUROPEAN TOUR
Correct, we haven't forgotten about you guys on the mainland, thanks for all the correspondence and kind words that have been coming in since our last visit. Keep an eye on our myspace as this baby is going to be landing there pretty soon. Stock up on hard hats, knee pads and wrist guards as the last few trips have been fairly intense, you guys know how to rock.

IRISH SHOWS
As if we'd forget about all you Irish heads! so then, we're off to Draperstown and Warrenpoint this weekend, these shows are selling fast so go get yours! We can also announce we'll be doing two mighty shows back to back in Dublin and Derry. The awesome force that is the Richter Collective are putting us on in Andrews Lane Theatre on the 26th March to launch our new EP in the fair city. We will be joined by the ridiculously awesome Bats and Jogging (both Richter Collective signings) this one will cook brains I promise.

Then off to Derry the following night (27th March) to hit the Nerve Centre, this will be our first show up Derry way for a while and we cannot wait. Support is to be confirmed, but needless to say it will be a ferocious bill.

In other news we head across the boarder in next month to play...

11 Feb 2010 20:00
Bakers Place LIMERICK
12 Feb 2010 20:00
Crane Lane Theatre CORK
13 Feb 2010 20:00
Electric Ave WATERFORD

These look to be outrageously good if your feedback is anything to go by. Big thanks to Mitch and Dave at Livewire and the guys at Electric Avenue.

More news coming soon

Over and Out...
Rory

Thursday 21 January 2010

Bands Wanted For IMRO Showcase 2010 Tour

IMRO (Irish Music Rights Organisation) have announced the call for entries for the 2010 IMRO Showcase Tour. First hosted in 1992, Ireland's most established new band showcase has provided a live platform for scores of up and coming Irish acts over the years. Recent acts to have featured include Fight Like Apes, Declan O'Rourke, Halves and Delorentos to name but a few.

Ronan Yourell from Dublin band Delorentos said of the tour "It was an important step in the development of our band as we gained invaluable experience through the gigs and also met some really cool people!"

IMRO are now inviting bands and solo artists across all genres of music to apply for a place on the IMRO Showcase Tour 2010.

Bands and artists who wish to be considered for a place should send a website or MySpace link to showcase@imro.ie before Friday February 12th, 2010. Successful acts will be notified in early March. The gigs will run through March and April.

A number of artists will be chosen from the tour to perform in a Best of Showcase gig which will take place in Dublin venue The Academy on April 30th.

The IMRO Showcase Tour 2010 will feature live shows in the following venues across Ireland:

Thu March 25th The Limelight & Katy Dalys, Belfast
Fri March 26th Crawdaddy, Dublin
Sat March 27th TBC
Thu April 01st Crawdaddy, Dublin
Sat April 03rd Cyprus Avenue, Cork
Thu April 08th TBC
Fri April 09th The Spirit Store, Dundalk
Sat April 10th Crawdaddy, Dublin
Thu April 15th Masons in association with us, Derry
Fri April 16th The Late Lounge, Kildare
Sat April 17th The Cellar Club, in association with 'The G Sessions'Draperstown
Fri April 23rd The Sugar Club, Dublin
Sat April 24th Dolans, Limerick
Fri April 30th The Academy, Dublin - Best of IMRO Showcase Tour 2010

The IMRO Showcase Tour 2009 is supported by RTL 2FM, The Star Newspaper and
State.ie

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Calories Split 7" With William

While we wait for Calories' incredible 2nd album Habitations, the Brum trio have hooked up with our chums Tough Love for a split 7" with the equally great William.

V I L E S T T H U G L O O P

A1: Calories - "Mortal Boys"
A2: Calories - "Drink The Potion"
B1: William - "Dilettante"
B2: William - "Lustreless"
+ free fanzine/poster
7" white vinyl + free download code
Artwork by Gordon Armstrong (Zineswap)
Limited to 500 copies

RELEASED: MONDAY 15th FEBRUARY.
ALL PRE-ORDERS POSTED OUT TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE

Both bands play at 2 special gigs around the release which are must-go shows.

Monday 18 January 2010

LaFaro UK Tour Diary Part 3


I sit writing this in Newcastle, home to tantric tree hugger/bass thumber Sting, amphibian footwear enthusiast Jimmy Nail, the Queen (it's a little known fact that she's a Geordie) and world famous karaoke judge Cheryl Cole.

Here's a quick recap of our last few days -

13th Note in Glasgow was great fun, John fed us spicy, spicy chilli, The Ocean Fracture played and were rocking, our good friend Helen an her friend Cookie came along too so we had a wee tipple with them. Also in attendance were Michelle and Denise who just happened to be away from Belfast at the same time as us, it's always nice to see familiar faces. Bruce put us up in his flat and we were fed breakfast he next day by the lovely Nadine.

From there we headed to Newcastle for a gig in our friends Knuckledragger's practice room with the aformentioned face melting Dragger and Mass, both of whom were so awesome that we had to drink ourselves into near comas before playing in front of a crowd of friends and pipesmokers. Plenty of fun was had but don't ask me what happened after because I honestly cannot remember much, apart from throwing a car bonnet around a park, which I thought was Narnia and all the things that we shall never speak of......

We stayed and Pete & Aaron Knuckledragger's house and Aaron made us a delicious chicken dinner before going to Sunderland to play The Borough with The mighty Dragger. We rocked the tiny corner of the Borough, as did Knuckledragger, who are fast becoming my favourite band. Back to Newcastle for a few drinks before sleeping in the van with Dave.

Today we need to get an ink pad, valves for Jonny's head and figure out what's happeneing with the Durham gig tonight as the promoter just phoned to tell us he's cancelled it.......

Peace out you lovely people, it'll be funnier next time, i promise.

Herb x

Ice, Sea, Dead People Tipped By Sweeping The Nation

Class Of 2010: Ice, Sea, Dead People

In, explode, out. It's the best way of getting your message across should you be sufficiently teeth on edge post-hardcore, and with their twenty minute sets it's something Ice, Sea, Dead People - even they admit they regret that name, but IT'S TOO LATE NOW - understand intimately. The London via Bedford trio take their lead from Fugazi and Q And Not U, twisting taut distorted riffery and hyperkinetic arrythmic understanding into two and a half minute nuggets of splintered, pummelling staccato and most importantly loud art-punk, leaving untold aural damage in its wake. Their debut album, mastered by Bob Weston of Shellac, is out soonish on the reliable Smalltown America, who understand the value of such a thing.

Sunday 17 January 2010

Ice, Sea, Dead People Exclusive MP3 In BSM '10 Collection


Remember we told you about Big Scary Monsters' genius mp3 subscription scheme The BSM '10 Collection a couple of weeks ago?

Well if last week's Walter (Rival Schools, Quicksand) Schreifels mp3 from his upcoming new solo album wasn't enough to entice you to sign-up then how about this? An exclusive preview track Brrrrr from Teeth Union - this summer's debut album by our own Ice, Sea, Dead People. Use this exclusive link to join the subscription for ONLY £13 instead of the usual £15. Be quick, this offer expires 24th January. A great way to use up your Paypal credit from selling those unwanted Christmas gifts on eBay!

As well as receiving a MP3 from a different band every week, every subscriber also gets an exclusive BSM t-shirt, a 10% discount on all purchases from bsmrocks.com/shop for the whole year and free entry into monthly prize draws!

Thanks to Kev BSM for including ISDP in the scheme.

Free Ice, Sea, Dead People Show - London - Friday 22nd

Ice, Sea, Dead People Interview with Archers Bow


Matt Fearon of The Archers Bows Have Broken blog grills Ice, Sea, Dead People frontman Craig Sharp on last year's line-up change and the big year ahead.

Saturday 16 January 2010

Win Tickets For Casiokids/Skibunny In London

Win tickets to see Skibunny support Casiokids at the Camden Barkly on Feb 25th thanks to the Musos Guide.

Let Our Enemies Beware On Kerrang Radio Tomorrow

LOEB ARE ON "THE UNSIGNED SHOW WITH ALEX BAKER" ON SUNDAY!
All the best upcoming, unsigned, minor label music from across the world.
8PM - 10pm (GMT) EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT ONLY ON KERRANG! RADIO
105.2FM UK West Midlands
DAB, Freeview, Digital Throughout The UK

LaFaro UK Tour Diary Parts 1 & 2

STA declares 2010 to be the year of LaFaro who commence their world domination plans in text book fashion - with a 6 week UK tour which started this week. Here's the opening instalments of their tour diary -

ok folks and loyal LaFaro supporters....

tour diary number 1 and we find ourselves in snowy Edinburgh....Todays been a pretty hassle free day which is what we want for the first day of a six week tour. First date is in the lovely bannermans bar at cowgate and we are looking forward to it greatly...im gonna keep you guys all up to date with as much info as possible so you can follow the laFaro train along the way..gonna get some videos up here too so you can see what is happenin for yourselves...so keep in touch and keep up to date...we need all the help we can get so if we are in a city near you then come on on out and see....will be in touch soon....wish us luck!!! Al laFaro. xxx

Well... Edinburgh was great last night! Thanks to everyone who came down. We had a blast! Bannermans is a great spot, with great people who really know how to look after the bands that pass through. We even had a few friends on hand to make us feel welcome on the first date of tour. Nice! Back there on the second leg so we can't wait. Up first thing to put a ticket on the van *yawn* then straight back to bed. Far too early and cold for that. No need at all. So after a kip we hit the road to get to Glasgow for around lunchtime. Changed the tyre on the van outside the venue cos it was as bald as a babys arse. It's all good now though! So that gave us some time to potter around the city and see some of the following sights: Terrapins A 1968 Fender Mustang Lifesize cutout of The Undertaker Adolf Hitler doll (no kiddin...) Onwards and upwards for the show in 13th Note and we're all psyched for this show as the promoters Bruce and John are absolute treats. More tomorrow guys, mucho amore! Dave

Friday 15 January 2010

4 Or 5 Magicians Make Fun Fun Fun Year End List


Fun Fun Fun have placed 4 Or 5 Magicians' Empty Derivative Pop Songs in their best 15 albums of 2009 and you can win a prize by guessing all of the albums on the list just from their covers. The answer to no. 9 is on the house!

Thursday 14 January 2010

Heavier-Than-Air Blog Tip 4 Or 5 Magicians

Englishman in New York Heavier-Than-Air tip 4 Or 5 Magicians as one of his 10 for 2010 -

Inevitably, as another musical year dawns, we begin to move from the favourites that kept us company the previous 364 days and speculate at which bands might fuel our fire during the next 12 months.

To the beaches of Brighton in England next - though not recommended right now with Arctic conditions assaulting the country - to point our ear drums towards 4 or 5 Magicians.

Coming on with a sound owing a few quid to a variety of raw 90's alt rock groups from North America, 4 or 5 Magicians add a quintessentially British streak with the vocals and lyrics of Dan Ormsby. Commenting on horrendous credit card debt and the vagaries of the music business may not be confined to old Blighty, but the dry wit with which they're delivered is characteristic and worthy of writers like Mike Skinner or Alex Turner. Look no further than their most recent album title, Empty Derivative Pop Songs, for the first evidence.

The blend of styles at work here leads to an urgent, invigorating listen. The songs have a distinct edge, one that is made only more hazardously jagged by the rough production. Somewhere between a lo-fi and punk aesthetic, the end result often feels like the instruments might collapse in on one another. In the best possible way, of course. And somehow from this cacophony the band manage to rescue extremely catchy songs and huge melodies. When it all comes together, as on Forever On The Edge, it's quite something to behold.

With no dates currently listed for this year, neither side of the Atlantic can yet look forward to these gems being recreated on a local stage. The critics are being kind, however, and 4 or 5 Magicians appear to be making friends in all the right places, so this could well be their year to break out and travel the globe.

Even if it's not, we can be sure they'll obtain some juicy subject matter from the experience for that next acerbic lyric. Pens at the the ready.......

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Skibunny London Show w/ Casiokids

Happy new year from Skibunny, hope y'all had a good one! January's half gone already and we're busy busy bees once again. We can now announce the first of our 2010 shows, this one is with our friends and faves CASIOKIDS! (LOVE those guys!)

Eat Your Own Ears presents
CASIOKIDS
SKIBUNNY
Plus special guests


Thursday 25th February 2010 Doors 19.00
Barfly 49 Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8AN 020 7482 1268
Tickets £7.50 on sale now and also over here


Monday 11 January 2010

Let Our Enemies Beware Score 11th Week On Total Rock Playlist

Total Rock have kept LOEB's ‘Fools! Philistines! Heretics and Whores!’ on the B-List again this week (week beginning 11th Jan). The single has now been on the B-List for the last 11 weeks. Probably some sort of record.

B LIST
RABID ANIMALS - 3 - METAL BLADE
KEEPS SLIPPING AWAY - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS - MUTE
CRUEL INTENTIONS - AGE OF EVIL - OWN LABEL
DAMNED IF I DO YA (DAMNED IF I - ALL TIME LOW - HOPELESS
WE ARE YOUR DIVERSITY - BELLADONNA - VANDAL
DARK HORSE - CONVERGE - EPITAPH
MARK OF THE GUN - DEATHSTARS - NUCLEAR BLAST
A FLAME FOR FREEDOM - DRAGONFORCE - ROADRUNNER
NOW I'M A FOOL - EAGLES OF DEATH METAL - SONY
WHAT'S YOUR POISON - ELECTRIC MISTRESS - TRAGIC DEATH
A LESSER OF TWO EVILS - FIGHTING FICTION - DEAD PLANET
DYING BREED - FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH - SPINEFARM
MECHANICAL LIONS - HOPELESS HEROIC - OWN LABEL
WHO SAYS - JOHN MAYER - COLUMBIA
TAKE ME AWAY - KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
FOOLS! PHILISTINES! HERETICS - LET OUR ENEMIES BEWARE - SMALLTOWN
DARLING DEAR - LITTLE FISH - CUSTARD
STEP UP (I'M ON IT) - MAYLENE & THE SONS OF - FERRET

ASIWYFA April 2010 Tour Poster

Thursday 7 January 2010

ASIWYFA: R Is For Radio Play

2 more plays on Radio 1 for ‘S Is For Salamander’ (from Nick Grimshaw and Rory McConnell) - that’s 3 spins on Radio 1 for the track this week alone and 12 in total for tracks from February's ‘The Letters EP’. Details of plays below:

Rory McConnell’s Introducing in N.Ireland (Thursdays 00:00 – 02:00 on Radio 1 in N.Ireland)
Played ‘S Is For Salamander’ as the opening track on last night's show. The show is not available to listen back at time of writing, check the iPlayer.

Nick Grimshaw (Mon – Thurs 22:00 – 00:00 on Radio 1)
Played ‘S Is For Salamander’ on his show on Tuesday 5th Jan. You can check out the tracklisting and listen back to the show here – track comes in after 1h 11m 30s.

Wednesday 6 January 2010

And So I Watch You From Afar In 2010

So here we are then......staring into the barrel of a new year, the year 2010, the year of the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, the lesser known 2010:A Space Odyssey, which was equally as off the mark as the first one in terms of human advancement but hopefully this is a year which sees us getting to keep doing what we're doing and playing to all you people out there listening to us.

So then, a quick round up of all things ASIWYFA since December

THE ULSTER HALL SHOW
A night which held a huge amount of importance for us, we really fulfilled a life long ambition that night, and it was only possible because of the fans there, so to everyone who came out to share it with us thank you, you will probably never know how much it meant for us to have you there with us.

We should mention that due to some hold ups and run overs we didn't get to finish our encore, which we were gutted about, we had a pretty special version of The Voiceless planned, but, the house lights came on and that was that.

If you weren't there this is what you missed....
- LaFaro wearing suits
- 2 blood injuries
- a dancing Santa
- The Shank destroying everything
- Paul's mindblowing lights
- insane mosh pits/stage diving/crowd surfing people
- a big fuckin screen

Here's a wee unofficial vid below to get an idea, but believe me there will be something coming soon for all those who couldn't make it down.



ACOLLADES AND OTHER FUN
We were very honoured to pick up the below among some other stuff

Best Live Vid - IMTV Awards (Thanks to Will McConnell for the awesome vid)
Rock Sound Mag - #6 Album of 09
AU Mag - Irish Album of the Decade
BBC ATL - Band of the year (2nd year running)
State Mag - #16 Album of the Decade
State Mag - #6 Album 09
Phantom FM - #2 Album 09
Nialler 9 - #2 Albums 09

We got to play on RTEs the Craic House, presented by Tommy Tiernann and Hector Ó hEochagáin, which was mad to say the least, watch it on the RTE player.

We also played a secret show 2 days after the Ulster Hall show in Thomas House in Dublin to a full house of about 60, absolutely perfect end to the year, it felt like a pretty special night.

SO THEN....WHATS COMING UP?

IRISH DATES

We do a run of Irish shows around the country with our new EP, see below

22nd Jan - The Cellar Bar - Draperstown
23rd Jan - The Square Peg - Warrenpoint

11th Feb - Venue TBC - Cork
12th Feb - Bakers Place - Limerick
13th Feb - Electric Avenue - Waterford

27th March - The Nerve Centre - Derry

OCEANSIZE TOUR

It got postponed in 09 but here are the new dates, bigger, better, faster, stronger!!! (actually their just the same shows on a different date really??)
Thu 28 Jan - The Masque - Liverpool
Fri 29 Jan - Fat Sams - Dundee
Sat 30 Jan - The Tunnels - Aberdeen
Tue 02 Feb - Manchester University - Manchester
Wed 03 Feb - Heaven - London

SXSW
It's official!!! Someone thought it would be a good idea for a certain instrumental band from the coast to go show them Texans how we do it over here.

Over the moon to be selected, we'll let you know when we're playing, tho go check the SXSW website and see a picture of our dirty mugs on the front page of the music section!!

EUROSONIC
Again very honoured to be a part of this, especially as we are playing one of the main venues on the Friday one from top of the bill. Very excited, plus we get to stay in a boatel!!! Yes...a boat, that's a hotel, awesome!

THE LETTERS EP

If you couldn't make it to the Ulster Hall them you wont have got your hands on a copy of this early and you'll have to wait til Feb. Get it soon from our lovely label or wait til we're rolling into your town and get it off us in person.

XFM NEW MUSIC AWARD!!!
Voting is now open for the XFM New Music Award 2010 which helps XFM name the best British album for 2010. ASIWYFA’s debut album has been highlighted in the list of contenders!

The way it works is that the public vote for their favourite debut albums, with the ten most popular albums being shortlisted, and put before the XFM panel (list of who in on the panel below) who then decide who will win the XFM New Music Award 2010, previously won by Glasvegas and The Enemy.

Ben Cardew, Music Week
Carl Barat, Dirty Pretty Things/The Libertines
Clint Boon, Xfm
David Morgendorff, MTV Digital Media Director
Dave Berry, Xfm
Gordon Smart, The Sun
John Kennedy, Xfm
John Leckie, Radiohead/Stone Roses producer
Peter Hook, Joy Division/New Order
Tim Burgess, The Charlatans
Tom Clarke, The Enemy
Tom Smith, Editors

We need your help to get ASIWYFA a place in the final 10 - VOTE NOW FOR 'AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR' AS YOUR FAVOURITE DEBUT ALBUM OF 2009! Then get as many people as possible to do the same. Your clicking and word-spreading is much appreciated by the band and we label types.

Voting closes on 15th January at noon. The shortlist is announced on the 18th February and the overall winner on the 2nd February.
!!!VOTE HERE!!!

TOURING

You know the score by now, we're touring A LOT again this year, expect some anouncements in the next few weeks. See you there.

Tuesday 5 January 2010

Alan MX = Musical Toffee For Your Ears

Alan MX's Warpsichord gets thumbs up from Q Pitch blog.

Vote ASIWYFA for XFM New Music Award 2010

Voting is now open for the XFM New Music Award 2010 which helps XFM name the best British album for 2010. ASIWYFA’s debut album has been highlighted in the list of contenders!

The way it works is that the public vote for their favourite debut albums, with the ten most popular albums being shortlisted, and put before the XFM panel (list of who in on the panel below) who then decide who will win the XFM New Music Award 2010, previously won by Glasvegas and The Enemy.

Ben Cardew, Music Week
Carl Barat, Dirty Pretty Things/The Libertines
Clint Boon, Xfm
David Morgendorff, MTV Digital Media Director
Dave Berry, Xfm
Gordon Smart, The Sun
John Kennedy, Xfm
John Leckie, Radiohead/Stone Roses producer
Peter Hook, Joy Division/New Order
Tim Burgess, The Charlatans
Tom Clarke, The Enemy
Tom Smith, Editors

We need your help to get ASIWYFA a place in the final 10 - VOTE NOW FOR 'AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR' AS YOUR FAVOURITE DEBUT ALBUM OF 2009! Then get as many people as possible to do the same. Your clicking and word-spreading is much appreciated by the band and we label types.

Voting closes on 15th January at noon. The shortlist is announced on the 18th February and the overall winner on the 2nd February.

Monday 4 January 2010

BSM '10 Collection Launches

Big Scary Monsters have launched an amazing mp3 subscription service - details below. Needless to say some STA bands will be muscling in on the action, the first of which will be announced in a few days.

Happy new year! Hangovers aside, we've made it through the noughties and into the bright new hope of the... tweens? Twentytens? Whatever. We're still alive and kicking, and to celebrate the occasion, have launched a new subscription service; the '10 Collection.

Over the next year we'll be releasing 52 MP3 singles - one per week - comprised of the best unsigned bands, along with brand new tracks from our roster (before they can be heard anywhere else in the world), some future stars from our favourite other labels and the occasional hidden gem from our own back catalogue. Each track will be unavailable separately and emailed out to all subscribers the week of release. And not just that, members will also receive an exclusive BSM t-shirt and a 10% discount on all purchases from our webstore, throughout the course of the year.

Subscribing costs just £15 through January, with the price rising to £17 from February. Latecomers will receive all previous tracks when they sign up, with each subsequent one following as and when available.

The 52 bands will only be announced on their week of their release, all kicking off on January 4th with Tangled Hair, the very exciting new solo project from Alan Welsh, singer and guitarist in the much-missed Colour. The rest of the month promises a new track from one of BSM's brand new signings, yet to be announced, something new from one of our favourite other UK labels, and one of Oxford's most promising up and coming bands. After that... Well you'll just have to sign up and see!

ASIWYFA: Here Comes 2010 - Hoopla!

Here's a lovely shot to begin the week/year with, taken from Carrie Davenport's session with the ASIWYFA boys and their band of helpers... results of which will be seen in magazines for hormonal rockers very soon! It looks fucking baltic wherever they all are... what people are prepared to do in the name of ROCK is astounding. Best face goes to the bloke on the far left, I'll have one of whatever he's had missus...


Happy new year!