Author Archives: Laurence

Introducing: The Ghosts

The Ghosts formed almost a year ago to the day, when singer songwriter Alex Starling, formerly of Ou EstLe Swimming Pool, and drummer Ian Palmer were introduced by mutual friend, The Charlatans’ Jon Brookes.

Completed by Rayna Ferner (keyboards and strings), Dan Whiffin (guitar), and Alex Sharman (keyboards), The Ghosts cite a number of influences, ranging from 80s synth-pop to MGMT, Empire of The Sun, and even elements of The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys.

January 15th 2012 sees their debut release, Enough Time, from dream pop concoction that gives us a glimpse of what is to come from their debut album. This is pop music as it should be, balancing the hooks and melodic sensibility with a bittersweet undercurrent. Their debut album will follow next April.

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Goodluck Jonathan
“The Future’s Got No Love For Us” reworked

Brighton based band Goodluck Jonathan recently released a reworked version of their current single “The Future’s Got No Love For Us” which features London rapper Bradyz. The track is a more restrained version than the original, but has lost none of the bite of the poignant social commentary of Nick Brookes’ lyrics.

Whilst in the studio the band filmed the recording session as a live performance.

The band will release their second album in 2012 on Something Nothing Records.

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The Story of “Power”
by La Torre

“Power” is not a new track, having been written back in 2008. At the time, Producer and Remixer La Torre (otherwise known as Tom) took it to a few labels and got some very positive feedback, but the time wasn’t quite right for a full release and the track was temporarily shelved.



Then in 2009 Tom took on a Publishing role at a globally renowned house label and the corporate world took over. “To be honest,” says Tom, “I became too busy to focus on producing and just sat on all the music I had already written.”

But in the summer of 2010 he got chatting to an old mate who runs a mastering studio who offered to give the track a bit of a clean-up, and the result of that session was sent over to Sasha, who Tom had previously worked with at top DJ agency, Excession.

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Stealing Sheep: rare
London show, 12/13

Stealing Sheep celebrate their signing to Heavenly Records with a low-key show in London this week. The wonderful folk-rock band from Liverpool play melodically sublime songs that show their impeccable influences, and also their creativity.

For a chance to win two tickets to see Stealing Sheep play a rare London show at the Old Blue Last this Tuesday, December 13th (that’s tomorrow!), just retweet this story on Twitter.

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Introducing:
Whales In Cubicles

Taking their name from an Andrew Bird song, it’s immediately apparent that the boys in Whales in Cubicles are hip in a genuine and real way. They take their musical inspiration from American underground heroes like Guided by Voices and Sebadoh, through to genius songwriters such as Neil Young and Stephen Malkmus, with a hint of hard rock and a touch of Britpop thrown in for good measure.

Italian frontman Stef Bernardi is besotted by Anglo-American culture and, after taking a pilgrimage across the English-speaking world, he eventually settled in London. Playing in several British bands since arriving in the UK shores, Stef found musical kindred spirits in Leo, Alex and Jamie, and Whales in Cubicles was born.

Their first single, “We Never Win” is a beauty, and we are confident you’ll be hearing a lot more from these guys in 2012.

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Introducing:
Ellie Lawson

After honing her craft in the US and Amsterdam, South London singer-songwriter Ellie Lawson returned home to release her phenomenal Lost Without You EP on 15th November.

Ellie’s story is a modern tale of overwhelming talent being discovered while young travelling America. This led to a whirlwind courtship by the US entertainment industry including being signed by Atlantic Records, taking meetings with Rap mogul Russell Simmons, and appearing on Ellen DeGeneres’ hugely popular TV show where Ellen extolled: “I play her music over and over again in my house…I predict she will be the hugest, hugest star.”

Ellie Lawson – Lost Without You

The tide turned, the music business began to implode and Ellie decided to respond to a call to work with leading trance DJs like Richard Durand and Ferry Corsten in Holland by co-writing and adding her vocals to some of 2010 and 2011s biggest European dance tunes, including ‘Safe From Harm’ with 4 Strings and ‘Wide Awake’ with Richard Durand.

Having worked with the likes of DJ Lethal and William Orbit, Ellie is now a seasoned pro but is still incredibly young for all she’s experienced. Another EP is planned for next year, with acclaimed Communion Records co-founder and super producer Ian Grimble (Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Everything But The Girl, Manic Street Preachers).

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Who The Hell Is:
Jethro Fox

Jethro Fox is a name that has been popping up all over blog-land recently. We at The Vinyl District became immediate fans and felt compelled to dig a bit deeper into the world of Mr. Fox. Luckily for us he was most obliging.

Can you tell us a bit about who you are and what you’re about?

I’m originally from Essex but now live in Liverpool, UK. I play in several bands – Anna Lena & The Orchids, Dan Croll, Carnival Kids – and my early background was in punk and rock. It’s only very recently that I decided to start my own thing and “Before” is one of the first results.

We really like ‘Before’ and have been listening to it a lot recently. Can you tell us what it’s about?

Jethro Fox – Before 

Thanks! I think this track really reflects what I was listening to at the time of recording – a lot of Beach Boys, Villagers, Arcade Fire. I just holed up in my friend Tarek Musa’s studio for a couple of days, had fun with some old analogue gear, I worked up the song and he recorded and mixed the whole thing. Really fun. In terms of what the song is about, I was very much just trying to conjure up a certain feeling and atmosphere. But the lyrics are quite mournful really.

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Introducing: Ed Vallance

Ed Vallance is a London-born musician living in Brooklyn. His intoxicating sophomore album Volcano is a maelstrom of lush harmonies, brittle drums, and ravishing guitar pyrotechnics.

Set for release in January 2012, the album was recorded with the guidance of veteran producer Mark Ephraim (New Pornographers, Joan As Policewoman, Dirty On Purpose). A swift left turn from the lush acoustic indie-folk of 2008’s debut The Modern LifeVolcano sits incongruously but confidently in mainstream pop. The first single is the eerie and hypnotic “Crystalline” with an accompanying video from LA-based director Andreas Trollf (Devo, Papercuts) due for release in December 2011.

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Diggin’ In The Crates:
McDonald and Giles,
Rodney P

‘Diggin’ In The Crates’ is brought to you by Ben Lewis, designer and record obsessive from Brighton. Ben can usually be found in a dusty corner of one of the country’s many second-hand record emporiums, rooting around in search of rarities and hidden gems.

McDonald and Giles – Tomorrow’s People

King Crimson’s rhythm section gets busy on a digger’s favourite. I love the sleeve, it looks like it was released in 1995, not 1970. Even the typeface (Eurostile bold extended? It isn’t is it)? is forward looking. And the first track on the LP is about Turnham Green in Chiswick.

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Introducing:
The Stepkids

…and we have a opportunity for you to catch the band live tonight—on us!

Every year at this time we start trawling through the piles of vinyl and CD’s, and scrolling down through our digital library to make a judgement on the records of the year. A strong contender in the album category is the self titled debut by The Stepkids.

The Stepkids music is a fusion of punk and jazz, West African and 1960s folk, neo and classic soul, classic funk, and 20th century classical. The band produce, engineer, and record themselves on good old-fashioned reel-to-reel tape. It’s psychedelic music for the 21st century.

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Who The Hell Are:
Vic and Gab

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and where you are from?

We are Vic and Gab, we are sisters currently living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our music lingers in a mix of indie pop/rock with sweet harmonies, hooky bass and guitar lines.

I have been enjoying your track ‘I Haven’t Seen You’ for some time. Can you tell The Vinyl District the story behind it?

Vic and Gab – I Haven’t Seen You

I wrote this song with the idea of wasted love. How sometimes we have so much more left to give but due to circumstances, like distance, it can’t be. So you dwell on the past and start to panic when you can’t remember certain details. Like a person’s face or voice but you force yourself to remember. “I Haven’t Seen You” is about that panic.

Who has influenced your music the most? 

I think the bands that we listened to when we were kids, like Rush, The Who, and The Police are really embedded in our heads. Especially with Rush, we were fascinated with their execution and their musicianship. It’s something we strive for.

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Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion: Making their own way

This lovely duo with a remarkable heritage (Sarah Lee is the youngest daughter of folksinger Arlo Guthrie and the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie; Johnny’s aunt is married to John Steinbeck’s youngest son) recently toured the UK, in support of their excellent Bright Examples album.

They will be back in the UK in January for a special one-off show at Celtic Connections, Glasgow on Wednesday January 25 celebrating the centenary of Woody Guthrie’s birth – ‘Woody at 100’, which will also feature Jay Farrar, Yim Yames, Anders Parker, and Will Johnson. We talked to Johnny at the end of the tour, and posed a few questions for him.

Raising a family, releasing a new album, touring, a kids record…how do you fit it all in?

It’s not easy! We are very lucky to have a very supportive family. Sarah Lee’s sister Annie Guthrie has been a huge help to us…when we do tours without the girls we never do over a few weeks. We just did a month in Europe and they went with us. Olivia, our oldest, has now been overseas 6 times and just got her 2nd passport.

Your heritage—millstone or proud lineage?

My auntie Gail married Thom Steinbeck (John’s youngest son) about 16 years ago. Right around that time I moved to LA where they live. Thom became the history teacher I never had, so he is my uncle by marriage. I am proud of Thom’s work as a writer and have encouraged him over the years ….the only time it feels like a millstone is when someone thinks I am related by blood. I am not.

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Pyramid Vritra: “The Story Of Marsha Lotus”

Pyramid Vritra released his debut LP this Monday and we can’t get enough of it. Combining psychedelic arrangements with avant-garde jazz loops and brilliant rap flows, Hal Williams drags you into his world which is full of love, lust, and heartbreak. The title track ‘The Story Of Marsha Lotus’ reaches an epic fifteen minutes and is a journey through his relationship with one Marsha Lotus, which is full of ups and downs and wondrous production changes.

This Wednesday, Williams will play a very rare live show at Origami Records in Los Angeles to celebrate the release. Hitting the stage at 7pm, Hal will guide you through tracks from his debut LP as well as his various unreleased songs. Entry is free, but make sure you arrive early.

Below is the video for one of the three B-Sides ‘Blu Diamonds’ featuring appearances from various NRK members and Odd Future resident DJ and Internet singer / producer Syd Tha Kyd.

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Introducing: ME

No, not me! The band ME. This lot are a very theatrical guitar outfit, with a nod in the direction of Muse. Signed to Lizard King, the UK home of The Killers, their album’s almost completed and will be with us early in 2012.

A stunning live band, they have played some rather odd shows, including playing at London’s Kings Cross St. Pancras Station on 6th October. They have played both acoustically and as a full-on live band; trumpets, big band drums, and dry ice included! The band are on tour with Evanescence now, and have just confirmed dates with Kasabian. We interrupted their busy schedule to throw a few questions their way.

The sound of the band is unique, who are your influences?

We mostly love the classic British supergroups; The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, etc. As a 4-member musical appreciation committee we love Tchaikovsky and other dramatic classical film soundtracks e.g. Danny Elfman, chorales, requiems, and musicals. Modern stuff we love is Rufus Wainwright, The Mars Volta, Radiohead, System of a Down, and loads of other artists that have got their shit together.

OK, what’s all this about Damian and Mikey meeting at a “spiritualist nudist festival?!”

Well, it wasn’t exactly a nudist festival…though there happen to be a lot of nude people there. It’s a pretty “out there” festival in the Australian bush, by a river, in summer. Really good vibe though, like your Shamballah Festival or Secret Garden Party but with those extreme alternative elements pushed much further (too far for some), much warmer weather and minus a lot of clothing and any historical context. It is a supreme place to jam and make new friends/lovers.

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Norman Records,
Vinyl Haven

Norman Records is one of our favourite record sellers in the UK. This is the place to go for all those cool records that can only be found in the emporiums run by folks who actually care about genuinely interesting independent music. So, if you’re a vinyl fanatic and purist (count us in) and are looking for that most glorious of formats on the latest by Tom Waits, Oneohtrixpointnever, Pyramid Vritra, Acid Glasses, Minks, Puro Instinct or Nils Frahm, then this is the place for you. Norman Records also stocks CD’s, so check out the wonderful selection of music available from the website at highly competitive prices.

We meet up with the founder (Phil) and discovered there is no Norman (!), but there is a passionate music lover running a fantastic online store in a very challenging period for all businesses, not least of all, one trying to ply their trade in an industry on the verge of implosion.

How and when did Norman Records begin?

Just over 16 years ago when I was working in a homeless men’s hostel. I was obsessed about music and records and I used to trawl second hand shops looking for bargains to sell. I ended up buying a typewriter, rifling through my record collection to find some stuff to sell and going to boot sales to find interesting records to sell on. Once I’d gathered enough bits to sell I got typing lists on my typewriter!! (I remember the last one took 16 hours!). I decided to get a website in 1996 and thus Norman Records was born. We just sold used records then and we didn’t start with new releases for a year or 2 and that was a gradual thing. Now we’re pretty much just new releases with a handful of 2nd hand titles so we’ve swapped our emphasis around.

Where did the name come from?

I was desperately trying to think of a name and I liked Normal Records as at the time I didn’t sell normal records so I liked the idea of that. However there was a label in Germany called Normal and I didn’t want any hassle so I changed a letter to make it Norman which just stuck despite the fact there’s no one called Norman here and never has been. It’s not a very interesting story!

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  • SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL INDIE SHOPS SINCE 2007


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