Archive for September, 2010
SO much to tell you, so little time
So I;m afraid you’ll have to put up with the New York battered face (I was beyond hungover/tired when we recorded this) – 
try anyway eh xxx (you’ll love the 4-way play)
Oh and did I mention, as well as all the extra bits and bobs, there’s a free Candle Thieves EP (or other present if you already have it) if you purchase the My First Tooth and Attika State albums. Love you all PoP champs!
We’re at it again! PoP sign Oxford’s finest: Ute
Two signings in two weeks! We’re on it alright, and although this one may not be as surprising as last weeks (anyone who knows me or has ever chatted about the Oxford music scene will have long heard of my admiration for Ute) – it’s every inch as exciting!
As an Oxford label, it seems like an age since we last dipped our toe into the local pond signing The Family Machine back in 2007 for our (and there) first ever full length – and now we’ve finally followed up. Sounding like a mesmeric mix of everything that’s good about edgy indie pop, these boys really do have it all. Lyrics that evoke wonderful imagery, powerfully musical tunes that jerk from tender to terrifying unexpectedly and – they’re pretty strong of face as well.
Basically it’s a delight to invite them to Team PoP – and we do hope you all get on famously. Check them out on MySpace if you’re so inclined about here….
Amongst recent achievements they played at BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend, been voted Oxford band of the year 2010 by BBC Oxford, rocked a number of strong summer festivals – and actually will be opening up the PoP/BSM stage at Southsea tomorrow if you’re about.
We’ve got an EP penned in for early December which will literally blow your mind – and roll out the best dancing pumps, because there’s a tour with Alcopop perennial faves Elephants as well to support the release. Dear Ute – welcome to the family… Let’s go Oxford!
Free JoFo Sparklehorse cover download
And lo – it all went a bit mental over the weekend. Leaking the announcement on Friday that Alcopop have signed Johnny Foreigner was exciting enough – but with Stagecoach playing at End of the Road Festival, preparations for tours, albums and various bits and other bobs going on – I’ve barely had a minute to think since. Firstly though – I gotta say thanks so much for your support! The tweets, messages, texts et al all coming through were really nice, and it’s great to see so many people were pleased to see us hook up with Alexi and the JF crew.
It is a cool thing – and we’ve got another wow signing to announce on Friday of a band who may not be as high profile (not yet anyway), but I pretty much guarantee will capture some of your hearts with an intensity that just aint gonna quit.
Then it’s Southsea Festival! Hurrah – and as the great and the good of the BSM/Alcopop roster (with a little help from Pulled Apart by Horses) take to the seaside… It’s time to prepare ourselves for more carnage. Do let me know if you’re coming down… I’ve been working the very lovely Josie at the Festival into seeing if we can get some free Sailor Jerry shots for all you lovely types there… Still gotta OK it with the venue, but fingers crossed! If not then hell – we’ll just smash something tasty back on the beach afterwards. It’ll be all good.
Aaaanyway – any of you who cruise awesome music blogs may have noted that a very ace Johnny Foreigner acoustic cover of ‘The Most Beautiful Widow’ by Sparklehorse is doing the rounds. It’s a bloody beautiful song, and Alexi has really done it justice, keeping that fragile emotional vulnerability intact, whilst spinning a JoFo twist. Therefore, it’s a lovely way (I think) to welcome you to the JoFo/Alcopop times ahead.
Free download simply by clicking the picture of popular He Man hero Orko below…
Alcopop sign Johnny Foreigner
Been a real strong year thus far, but would you believe – it’s about to get stronger… As I can proudly announce that Alcopop Records have signed the magnificent Johnny Foreigner! ‘Ave it…. Welcome sweet Alexei Berrow, Kelly Southern and Junior Elvis Washington Laidley to Team PoP – where they will be releasing a brand spangly new EP come November entitled ‘There When you Need It’. It will be on 12” (so much vinyl – yum) and digital, and look like a groove-riders wet dream I promise you.
What’s more *deep breath* is that they’ll be teaming with our very own Stagecoach to hit the road in November in a mammoth tour of the UK – accompanied with a <this news is being announced in a week or so… Sorry> which is so awesome it will have to be heard to be believed. I’ll say no more at this stage, other than to say that I never realised Little Matty Coach sounded quite so much like Kelly.
A band that need no introduction I’m sure, we’ve long been big fans of JoFo (in fact we were chatting way back when before that TV/ massively funded record label thing got in the way) – so it’s an absolute delight to start working with them now. They have lots of fans with tattoos and stuff who make JoFo cakes and things… This is ace, and I hope they’ll all be happy wondering through the world of Alcopop too on their never-ending JoFo adventure. Yo! Hello… Do treat em’ good lovely poppers J
Customary to the way we like to do things here at Alcopop, look out for a nice free track for you over the next week or so, but in the mean time – why not watch Salt, Pepper and Spinderella…. And know that the new stuff a-coming is perhaps even better. So excited!
PABH headlining the Alcopop/BSM stage at Southsea
Usually I write my own blogposts, but sometimes others write theirs so damn well, I just need to copy them! Goooooooo Southsea! PS – buy tickets
Pulled Apart By Horses to Head line The Edge of The Wedge.
Alcopop! and Big Scary Monsters have pulled together a line up worth rais ing a grog or two too and to top it off, Alcopop! BSM and Cap’n& Crew got together over some maps, dag gers and shots of rum to bring you Pulled Apart By Horses.
Cannons Ready! Aim! Fire!
Cap’n ‘n Crew
Streaming Music to hi-fi is the final blow to the CD…
…Suggested the Evening Standard last week – and even despite the fact I was cheerily hammering my way to Oxford on a freshly air-conditioned, pretty damn comfortable Oxford Express… I couldn’t help but feel my blood boil for a split second, simmering the normally very contented Alcopop blood….
Now it’s not that I don’t get the fact that these sensationalist headlines grab the attention (nice one Mark Prigg) and it’s very easy to herald every little thing that happens in music as the death of the CD… “Trent Reznor releases free MP3, it’s the death of physical music” yada yada – I’m just sick of the level of tedious journalism that has been calling for the death of physical media for the last 5 or so years. It’s not going to happen – for this simple reason… Humans like tangible things! We all like stuff we can pick up, show to friends, lend to people, take with us on holiday…
Yes – high folluting record companies are going through torrid times and CD sales are well down, but for bands and labels who care, bother to connect with their audiences and produce goods that are lovely enough – there will forever be a market! It’s true, and this particular example (one of the worst death of the CD stories I’ve ever read) is just ridiculous. I love Spotify, and listen to stuff all the time on it – but it doesn’t stop me buying… And even if I did stream to my stereo it wouldn’t…
What the author of this article seems to have forgotten is that a.) Spotify doesn’t have every album ever – and a good proportion of my top 10 aren’t on there, and probably never will be. b.) CDs/vinyls play better quality than online streaming c.) You can’t pick up a limited edition Spotify stream with digital T-Shirt, hand painted artwork – and that’s not even going into the obvious portability/ internet dropping/ song deleting potential problems of completely streaming your music collection.
And while, as an independent label, it is a tough slog (albeit one we love, and think we’re not bad at)– as a consumer I think we’re in a great position at the moment. Yeah Spotify is awesome, great indie blogs are providing free downloads to introduce new hand-picked artists and sure – sometimes I’ll see a CD that I just need to buy cos it looks ace or is just so damn awesome. The truth is, it’s a multi faceted music industry these days. Traditional formats aren’t dying, they’re just thinning out to make room for everything else – and the major victims are those who held a monopoly and could get away with charging £14 for every album they sold. And in truth, fuck em!
Stagecoach pop rocked Reading
Hope you all had a great bank holiday weekend poppers. It’s been a swell one here at Team PoP containing mostly booze, fine people, True Blood series 2 (oh yes!) and of course, Reading Festival 2010 – and with it, the first Alcopop act ever to grace the stages there. Step forward Stagecoach…
Booked (amongst others) this year for End of the Road, Southsea, Swn, Gloucester Underground, Nozstock and The Great Escape – it was always going to be quite ‘the festival summer’ for the boys from oh so glamorous Dorking, with these shows pretty much the icing on the cake.
Playing to a jam packed Introducing stage on Friday (Reading) and Sunday (Leeds) Luka and his troops proved they could kill it just as easily on the big(ger) stage as they could in a 5 capacity laundrette. Pop over to BBC3 for plenty of videos/ pictures etc (it was on TV yup), or just click on the play button below… It was a fine show, made only better via illicit vodka and the free cans of Rubicon given out at the station (how the fuck do I get a Rubicon T-Shirt??).
Also note the finely clad chest of Niggsy, SC guitarist… Resplendent in Alcocroc tee, still available from the PoP Shop for just £6… Ahem.
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