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Gone To Ground

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Released this March, Gone To Ground is the second album from Alfa 9. The self produced twelve song set was recorded in their home town of Newcastle-under-Lyme at their own Dungeon Studios, and mixed in London by Myles Clarke (The Who / Pete Townsend). Several years have gone by between the release of their debut Then We Begin and the band have remerged with Gone To Ground as a four piece.

Citing the ’60s and early ’70s folk and country-rock of The Byrds, in particular, Gene Clark, Gram Parsons and The Flying Burrito Brothers, the Paisley Underground, bands of early ’80s LA, Gone To Ground (which was recorded over six months) channels the same love of the past as such contemporaries as The See See, Tame Impala, The Quarter After, Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Beachwood Sparks. “I guess the sort of stuff we were becoming influenced by was far more subtly produced, so it was a pretty natural move,” says Leon of the album’s more spacious production, marked by rich mid-60s harmonies, ringing 12 strings and naturally overdriven and fuzztone guitars.

Gone To Ground deserves a place on the record shelf of anyone susceptible to organic jangle and fine melodies. The album will be preceded by the singles Into The Light and Seedless.

Moves On The Screen

‘Moves On The Screen’ is the second single from Swedish indie-pop 8-piece Mockingbird, Wish Me Luck, and taken from their debut album ‘Days Come and Go‘.

Into The Light

The first single to be taken from the forthcoming second Alfa 9 album ‘Gone To Ground‘.

Leaving For A Day

‘Leaving For A Day’ is the brand new fourth single from Swedish indie-pop 8-piece Mockingbird, Wish Me Luck. It will be taken from a new edition of their debut album ‘Days Come and Go‘ which will shortly be rereleased in an expanded form to include additional tracks. The album made the top five list of albums of the year for Sweden’s national newspaper Sydsvenskan.

Check out the video for “Leaving For A Day” here, a compilation of footage filmed during the bands last visit to the UK, including a Rough Trade East in-store, an appearance at Dot-To-Dot Festival Bristol, a support slot with Camera Obscura at King’s College, a show at the Blow Up Metro Club on Oxford Street and an acoustic session at the V&A.

Then We Begin

The debut album from Newcastle-under-Lyme (nr Stoke) based five piece Alfa 9. The group honed their skills on the live circuit, cemented by supports slots with The Coral, Sunshine Underground, The Charlatans, and Edgar Jones, before siging to Blow Up in August 2005, and the same month walked straight into The Charlatans’ Big Mushroom studio in Cheshire with Liverpool producer Mike Cave (The Coral, Ian McNabb). They recorded the album in under two weeks, with additional production and mixing in the Autumn in Liverpool. The completed album was mastered in Devon by Simon Heyworth (co-producer of Tubular Bells), the end result being the psych masterpiece that is Then We Begin.

For Your Bones

The debut single from Alfa 9, released as a very limited seven as part of the Blow Up 45 Series. Whilst the A-side ‘For Your Bones’ featured on their album debut ‘Then We Begin‘ that followed, the B-Side ‘Little Girl’ was available om the single only.

Deadman

DEADMAN is the follow up to Alfa 9’s debut single ‘For Your Bones’ which received support including Steve Lamacq on Radio 1 and Janice Long on Radio 2 who liked the band so much she booked them in for a session. It was taken from their debut album Then We Begin, which was recorded in The Charlatans’ Big Mushroom Studio in Cheshire with Liverpool producer Mike Cave (The Charlatans, The Coral, Ian McCulloch). Alfa 9 supported The Charlatans at an intimate Xfm Manchester ‘home-coming’ gig, and were introduced on stage by Clint Boon as “the best new band in Britain”, and Clint has already played the full-length version of ‘Deadman’ on his radio show, and the single went on to be playlisted by Xfm Manchester.

Railway Architecture

Railway Architecture, the essential 2nd album from London artrockers Silvery. Their 2008 debut Thunderer & Excelsior was an Artrocker Album of The Year (No.19), and their unique blend of English eccentricity won them fans across the board from Steve Lamacq, Gary Crowley, Marc Riley, Mark Lamarr and David Quantick. The album received strong radio support including sessions for BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6 Music as well as a various other radio accolades (see radio below). The band were invited to play at Rough Trade East’s 1st Birthday, Amsterdam’s annual London Calling festival and as guests of British Sea Power at their “Sing Ye From The Hillsides” Tan Hill Festival and also on their late 2009 tour.

The success of Thunderer And Excelsior fuelled Silvery to continue their creative brainstorming, and Railway Architecture which sees bands singer/songwriter James Orman continuing his journey into the very English and eccentric world of the mad, bizarre and absurd. With a doff of a stove pipe hat to Blur, Bowie, XTC and Sparks, their sound is an eclectic but commercial proposition. Railway Architecture expertly blends post-punk, Britpop (for want of a better word), music hall and 60’s pop into this year’s most exciting release yet, having already caught the attention of BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq with a nomination for his Rebel Playlist for first album single ‘the Naked & The Dead’

C'est Moi

The second single to be taken from Big Boss Man‘s third album ‘Full English Beat Breakfast‘.

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