BLOW UP BLOG

We headed up to Liverpool on Friday to see our very own Baltic Fleet named the winner of the 'Scouse Mercury Prize' aka Liverpool's GIT Music Award 2013. Baltic Fleet's Paul Fleming received his award from the Liverpool Echo's Peter Guy, The Quietus' John Doran and Q Magazine's Andrew Harrison. Here's what they said....

"The judges believe that Towers captured the sprawling vitality of contemporary music and married this to a sonic landscape which is indicative of its birth; Northern working class cities which thrive on industry and making things happen. Flawless electronic melodies, breezeblock beats and an effortless futuristic edge"

Baltic Fleet said "Can't explain how much this means. An amazing night for Merseyside culture. Respect to everyone involved who made it happen. Best City in The World"

Merseyside's premier music prize, The GIT Award plays host to 12 shortlisted artists who compete for the £1000 prize and the chance to play Yoko Ono's Meltdown Festival at London's Southbank Centre. The shortlist was then decided by a 12-strong judging panel comprising respected music industry figures including BBC 6 Music presenter and son of John Peel, Tom Ravenscroft, the editor of rock and pop music bible Q Magazine, Liverpool-born Andrew Harrison, Matt Wilkinson, NME's new music editor, leading UK music website,The Quietus' editor, John Doran plus the cornerstones of Liverpool's music and arts scene. The twelve nominees were: Baltic Fleet, Barberos, By The Sea, Nadine Carina, Clinic, Conan, Dan Croll, John Heckle, Jetta, Tyler Mensah, Stealing Sheep, Wave Machines

The Justice Collective won the Inspiration Award for their Christmas No. 1 and tireless work in supporting the fight for JFT96. Tyler Mensah won the People's Choice Award. 

More photos on Flickr and Facebook

Here’s what we've been up to at Blow Up in 2012... Blow Up Records releases included the critically acclaimed Baltic Fleet album ‘Towers’, ‘Lost In Sound’ from Fay Hallam & The Bongolian (their very first collaboration), meanwhile the year also saw the return of the mighty Alfa 9 who have been picking up some great early press for their second album 'Gone To Ground' which is out in March 2013. All three appearing in end of year polls for 2012. Sweden’s Mockingbird, Wish Me Luck returned with the single ‘Leaving For A Day’ and a last minute Christmas track ‘This Year’ and there were  two new signings to the label for David Woodock and Daiquiri Fantomas, so stay tuned in 2013 for releases from these!

The Blow Up club headed back to the USA twice this year, with shows in LA, San Francisco and Sacramento. And in October Blow Up took part in the annual Oxjam series of shows in Leicester. Plus our London residency in West London carried on from 2011 with live guests including Sulk, The Fractures, Thee Faction, Fay Hallam, David Woodcock, B-Movie....

Read more below....

BALTIC FLEET 'TOWERS'...

"Immense. Fleming has upped the ante on an already stellar debut,"
Rough Trade Shops 'Album of the week' & 'Albums of the MONTH'

"Exceptional motorik beats" NME

"A sublimely cinematic blend of kosmische musik and dream pop" 9/10 Subba-Cultcha

"Something very special indeed" Crack Magazine

"One of the finest records from Liverpool in years" Liverpool echo

"A wonderfully well rounded and complete album"
Louder Than War 'Album Of The Week' & an Album Of The Year

AN ALBUM OF THE YEAR: LOUDER THAN WAR, VIVE LE ROCK, CRACK MAGAZINE, LIVERPOOL ECHO, RESIDENT RECORDS & MORE...

More about Baltic Fleet here...

FAY HALLAM & THE BONGOLIAN 'LOST IN SOUND'...

"A match made in heaven. It's timeless and that's the secret ...addictive stuff" ★★★★ Blues & Soul

"An immediate pleasure, and wonderfully seductive" Shindig!

AN ALBUM OF THE YEAR: VIVE LE ROCK & 'DANCING' Podrophenia Single Of The Year

More about Fay Hallam & The Bongolian here...

ALFA 9 'GONE TO GROUND'...

"The Stoke songsmiths are back, and it's been well worth the wait" CLASSIC ROCK

"A beautiful record" SHINDIG!

EARLY ALBUMS OF THE YEAR: VIVE LE ROCK, PODROPHENIA, ACTIVE LISTENER, POP JUNKIE...

Read more about Alfa 9 here...

Blow Up Records is excited to be part of Oxjam this year, with 3 artists Baltic Fleet, The Bongolian & David Woodcock all appearing live as part of the Leicester Music Takeover on October 20th:

David Woodcock 12.50-1.20pm Outdoor Stage

The Bongolian 7.30-8.30pm Outdoor Stage (headline)

Baltic Fleet  10.30-11.15pm The Exchange Bar (headline)

£8 Early Bird Tickets / £10 After more details at oxjamleicester.co.uk and oxfam.org.uk/oxjam

Read more about....

DAVID WOODCOCK

THE BONGOLIAN

BALTIC FLEET

We're pleased to announce that we now have 3 new additions to Blow Up Records' roster for 2012: Fay Hallam & The Bongolian (a new collaboration), singer-songwriter David Woodcock from Southend-on-Sea and Sicilian duo Daiquiri Fantomas. Plus, 'Towers' the long-awaited follow up to Baltic Fleet's self-titled debut will be released this Summer, followed swiftly by the second album for Alfa 9 'Gone To Ground'.

FREE DOWNLOADS:

The first 2 singles for 2012 will be 'Engage' from Baltic Fleet, and 'Dancing' from Fay Hallam & The Bongolian which we'll be giving away as free downloads for a limited time, links below...

FAY HALLAM & THE BONGOLIAN 'Dancing' will be the first track to be taken from 'Lost In Sound' the very first collaboration between Fay Hallam (Makin' Time, The Prime Movers, Phaze) and Blow Up Records' The Bongolian. Both share a serious passion for 60's Hammond Beat and Soul. Due for release very shortly, the album covers a variety of styles: Bossa Nova, heavier 70's grooves and a strong Northern Soul influence. Get ready to get Lost In Sound... Head over to FayHallamAndTheBongolian.com to get your free download.

BALTIC FLEET 'Engage' is the first track to be taken from 'TOWERS' the 2nd album from BALTIC FLEET, released this Summer and which follows his 2008 self-titled debut which was an Album of the Year (No 29) for Rough Trade Shops. Baltic Fleet is the moniker of multi-instrumentalist and DIY producer Paul Fleming. The second record signifies a departure from the travelling and diarising of life on the road (whilst touring as keyboard player for Echo & The Bunnymen), and arrives home to the industrial backdrop of North West England. The album was written and recorded in a room overlooking the industrial landscape a stone's throw from Spike Island, the scene of another Northern band's finest hour. Head over to BalticFleetMusic.com to get your free download.

Some Blow Up highlights of 2011, including HMV's Next Big Thing back in February, another return to the USA and Japan, Latitude Festival in July, The Bongolian's fourth album and the club finally coming of age (b. October 16th 1993).

Baltic Fleet @ Sensoria 2011

Rough Trade Shops will be curating a night at this years Sensoria with a live performance from Baltic Fleet and Rough Trade Shops DJS - FREE ENTRY.

Baltic Fleet's eponymous debut was a Rough Trade East Album of the year back in 2008, and they'll also be showcasing new material from the forthcoming 2nd album:

"A faultless piece of instumental music that captures the spirit of Eno, NEU! all the way through to modern post rock and chamber music. The album swerves from haunting piano pieces ala donnie darko full of melancholy to driving upbeat kraut inspired propulsive grooves" ROUGH TRADE

"BUNNYMAN HAS FUN ON THE AUTOBAHN - Sombre, Sigur Ros-like post-rock, fuzzy bass grooves [and] energising NEU!-style motorik" UNCUT

Read more:  http://blowup.co/BalticFleetSensoria11 / Connect with Baltic Fleet:

We're pleased to announce that Blow Up will be hosting a night at Upstairs @ The Garage as part of the second year of HMV's Next Big Thing festival. Spread over 6 London venues (plus one in Birmingham and Edinburgh) and running between 4th - 13th February 2011, the festival's aim is to showcase and celebrate the very best new and emerging talent drawn from all genres of music tipped to breakthrough in 2011.  The Blow Up night is the first date of the festival on Friday 4th February, and Blow Up Records' artists Baltic Fleet, Silvery and The Bongolian will be playing live, following by the Blow Up club at 11pm until 3am with DJs Paul Tunkin & Ian Jackson bringing you the classic Blow Up mix of Orgasmic Pop, Psych, 60s Mod Soul and New Wave Glam action. Expect to hear a  selection ranging from The Beatles to Bowie to Blur mixed with 60s moves and grooves (Soul, Boogaloo, Garage, Ska, Beat and Swinging Soundtracks). Entry to all events for the festival will be for the bargain price of a flat £10 (incl. b/f), whoever the artist and whichever the venue. Tix here

14/1/2011 UPDATE - BIG BOSS MAN ADDED TO THE BILL - playing a late night show as part of the Blow Up clubnight that follows.

Baltic FleetPhoto: Adam Banister

BALTIC FLEET is the work of Warrington based artist Paul Fleming. Influenced by artists such as Eno, The Doves, NEU!, Sigur Ros and DJ Shadow, his 2008 eponymous debut (written and recorded whilst on a World Tour playing keyboards for Echo & the Bunnymen), was picked by Rough Trade Shop for their monthly Record Club, and went on to be placed in their Top 50 Albums of 2008 (and also in Piccadilly Records' Albums of 2008). His first show since 2008, Paul will showcasing material from his second album, due for release mid-2011. "BUNNYMAN HAS FUN ON THE AUTOBAHN - Sombre, Sigur Ros-like post-rock, fuzzy bass grooves [and] energising NEU!-style motorik" UNCUT "A faultless piece of instumental music that captures the spirit of Eno, NEU! all the way through to modern post rock and chamber music" ROUGH TRADE "A thirteen-track industrial drive along roads of ambient melodies . Skin pricklingly authentic" CLASH

Baltic Fleet 'Baltic Fleet' (Blow Up)

Baltic Fleet's eponymous debut has made it into Rough Trade's Top Album's of 2008 at No. 29. Rough Trade's Top 50 here