80 Hertz | December 2011

1. Norman Greenbaum – Spirit In The Sky
2. The Budos Band – Up From the South
3. Flytronix – Scribin’ on tha Edge
4. Papercuts – Future Primitive
5. Rosie Brown – Bliss
6. Roots Manuva – Witness Dub
7. Cannibal Ox – The F Word (RJD2 Remix)
8. Outlines – Matter Of Time
9. Animal Collective – Peacebone
10. Bob & Earl – Harlem Shuffle
11. Twisted Wheel – She’s Not There
12. The Kinks – This Time Tomorrow
13. Lana Del Rey – Video Games
14. alt-J (∆) – Matilda

80 Hertz | November 2011

1. Del The Funky Homosapien – Mastermind
2. Charles Bradley & Menahan Street Band – The World (Is Going Up In Flames)
3. The do – The bridge is broken
4. Hauschka – Radar
5. Elliott Smith – Color Bars
6. Wilco – Born Alone
7. Tom Vek – On A Plate
8. Sleigh Bells – Rill Rill
9. Flying Lotus – GNG BNG
10. Vessels – The Beast
11. Keith – Bled A Rose – Matthew Herbert Mix
12. Grizzly Bear – Foreground

80 Hertz | August 2011

1. Thom Yorke – Atoms for Peace (Four Tet remix)
2. Tom Vek – A Chore
3. Radiohead – Little By Little
4. Kurt Vile – Runner Ups
5. Kurt Vile – Peeping Tomboy
6. Wild Beasts – Reach A Bit Further
7. Kanye West – POWER
8. Dark Dark Dark VS. Tom Inhaler – Dreaming Day
9. Tune-Yards – Bizness
10. Tune-Yards – Gangsta
11. Tina Turner – Getting Nasty
12. Madvillain – Figaro
13. A Tribe Called Quest – The Jam
14. A Tribe Called Quest – Buggin’ Out
15. Radiohead – Codex
16. Sufjan Stevens – Vesuvius
17. James Blake – I Never Learnt To Share

Patterns – Induction 7″

Released October 3rd 2011 on Melodic | Mastered by George Atkins @ 80 Hertz Studio

Both ‘Induction’ and ‘Throwing Stones’ echo their rural hideout’s open terrain and almost cinematic space, evoking a setting where time becomes irrelevant, cast aside as the man made creation it is, and days become lost in quiet reflection, a melancholic tinge affecting the tracks as a result. Patterns’ lead singer Ciaran McAuley paints a more abstract picture, “we wanted to evoke the kind of woozy hypnotic space you get when you’re somewhere between sleeping and being awake,” he explains, “the weird mix of memories and visions you get when you’re disassociated from your body.”

Written “about being young and trying to create your place in the world,” what strikes one about the songs wash of pop-infused psychedelic shoegaze is how they, like seminal contemporaries Deerhunter and Panda Bear, look to those initial walls of dissonance made influential by the likes of The Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, but then soften the edges. Experimenting with electronics and more hushed reverb and delay, they seek to create something otherworldly, yet all the while pushing their vocals forward enough to provide a real emotional core.

At a time when most new bands are shouting loudly, desperately in your face for attention at every turn, Patterns’ rise to prominence is a refreshing recall to the days when new music and sounds were discovered as a result of meandering exploration, when gems were stumbled upon live, hiding away in metropolitan backwaters or isolated rural territories. In the four-piece’s case they were “found” last year in the basement venue of a Mancunian suburb, curating their own monthly shows – having only formed some weeks previously – their sincere, wistful dream-pop drifting up and out of the stairwell, illuminating their surroundings, painting its maudlin Autumnal streets in soft-glow Technicolor.

Mastered by George Atkins

‘Appointment in Samarra’ is the lead single taken from EP released 4^th July on  RT₆₀

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Soaring Fleet Foxes meets Bon Iver stylings, Paul Thomas Saunders (is) tipped for big things”

-Clash Music

“His whisky-soaked vocals belie his years, and the understated delicacy of his songs is a lovely treat”

-The Fly

Paul Thomas Saunders is a rarity. His voice is both powerfully emotive and heartbreakingly delicate. Evoking Elvis Perkin’s on his biographical debut album, there’s a depth and introspective feel to the lyrics coupled with a distinguished, breathtaking vocal.  Live with backing band, ‘The Fever Dreams’, it’s akin to Villagers in its ability to be dramatic and gentle simultaneously. The reverb-soaked guitars and softly stroked drums a perfect backdrop to Paul Thomas Saunders shy, elusive stage presence, both of which create an ambience that’s captivating during and a long time afterwards.

It explains the wave of excitement and subsequent flurry of reviews across blogs and music press after seeing Paul Thomas Saunders and The Fever Dreams various small support slots – Blue Roses, Low, Villagers, Joan As Police Woman, Patrick Watson and Forest Fire, as well as an opening slot at Leeds Live festival in 2010, followed by a prime evening spot this year – and the interest in his self-released debut EP ‘Four Songs in Twilight’, which culminated in tracks being included on the compilation releases of influential indie labels Dance to the Radio and Dead Young Records.

‘Messy and chaotic, yet remarkable well put together, the EP is permeated with rousing bass riffs along side subtle keyboard and synth elements, as well as powerful drums beats and cracking guitar picking. A dramatic, chaotic and almost apocalyptic sound. It’s fantastic.’ The Blue Walrus

Mastered by George Atkins @ 80 Hertz Studios | Manchester

Follow Mammal Club | Everybody’s Stalking Records

“peel back his influences and lurking behind his contributions elsewhere, is this psychedelic bent, exploiting his percussive abilities with striking loops, warm rhythms and a drifting 60’s style… it’s both beautiful and satisfying”
Manchester Music.

Douga is the alias of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Johnny Winbolt-Lewis (ex ‘Keith’ drummer). As well as drumming with Manchesters instrumental trio Plank! he’s crafting his own sounds/vibes taking influence from the following

WILCO, CAN, NICK DRAKE, THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA, ENNIO MORRICONE, TIM BUCKLEY, MADLIB, GRIZZLY BEAR, CARIBOU, DAVID AXELROD, FELA KUTI, SONIC YOUTH, ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, RADIOHEAD, KIERAN HEBDEN, JIM O’ROURKE, THE DOORS, BROADCAST, SIGUR ROS, ANDY VOTEL, BECK and SERGIO LEONE, COEN BROTHERS, TARANTINO films and imagination, echoes, tribal rhythms, reverb, dirty distortions.

George Atkins moved the 80 Hertz gear into Salford Sacred Trinity church for a week to track drums & re amp all sorts of things using the superb live acoustic (skillfully dodging various road noises & sirens). A lot of time was spent on crafting individual sounds and getting the best from the natural acoustic, aposed to using a reverb plug in. Four more tacks to come soon. The new tracks show more of Douga’s psychedelic pop, plus his strides further afield into the land of trippy string filled 6 min epics (helped along by DBH from Manchesters ‘FTSE 100′) with biting solos.

Follow @dougauk

Reviews: High Voltage | Music Dash

Harvey Mandel – Cristo Redentor
Four tet – Sun drums and soil
The Daktaris – Musicawa Silt
David Axelrod – Mucho Chupar
Anton – Ton Och Vardag
Broadcast and the Focus Group – ‘extracts from’ Drug Party and Libra, the mirror’s minor self…….
Serge Gainsbourg – Requiem pour un con
Mulatu Astatke and the Heliocentrics – Live from Tigre Lounge
Yamasuki – Kono Samurai
Gonjasufi – I’ve Given
Yes – Heart of the Sunrise
Susan Christie – Paint a Lady
DJ Shadow – Main Theme (music from the film Dark Days)
Kuusumun Profeetta - Vuosisadan vaihteessa

Mastered by George Atkins

aA Recordings & Static Caravan

“Think Fugazi crossed with Slint crossed with Stereolab crossed with awesome.” – Guardian Guide

Pick Sick (Remix)

Self Harm

PLANK!, made up of guitarist and synth player Dave Rowe, bassist Edward Troup and drummer, Jonathan Winbolt-Lewis, are either unaware or simply unconcerned about the shifting fads of their geographical contemporaries. Refreshingly separate from their surroundings, they instead focus on an electronically expressive sound borne out of a respect to the likes of 70s Krautrock pioneers Neu!, Cluster and Harmonia, alongside more wilfully expansive prog and post-rock leanings. The three-piece’s exact origins aren’t entirely clear; they surfaced without warning in 2010, playing a string of disarmingly accomplished support slots for the likes of Fujiya & Miyagi, The Phantom Band, Crystal Antlers, Zombie Zombie and Sleepy Sun. Before going on to release a critically lauded self-titled EP – a record that also caught the attention of Scottish behemoths Mogwai and championed heavily by DJ Marc Riley.

In 2011 the group look set to cement their sudden emergence with double A-side ‘Self Harm / Pig Sick (Remix)’, a split release on leading independent lights aA Recordings (Akoustik Anarkhy) and Static Caravan on limited run (hand numbered) of coloured vinyl. Time spent in the live circuit’s glaring exposure has proved fruitful; both ‘Self Harm’ and ‘Pig Sick (Remix)’ convey a newly found free-form energy that encompasses an abundance of fresh ideas. ‘Self Harm’ bristles with a rugged math-rock intensity, confidently flitting between atmosphere-altering structures without ever fully leaving its stoic motorik; it’s indicative of PLANK!’s experimental side and willingness to incorporate a plethora of different elements within the studio. Says Winbolt-Lewis:

“We’ll always be open-minded about how we go about recording. Recently, we’ve either jammed and recorded ideas, creating a structure we’re happy with by consistent playing of the song, or we’ve recorded parts and structured them into a track, and then gone to rehearse the song.”

‘Pig Sick (Remix)’ is more ponderous in its stop-start nature. A track that constantly surprises, it pushes and nudges the senses on a whim, never letting the mind rest. The song was actually remixed by the band themselves after Rowe discovered a sound of real “mad resonant frequency” when threading a mic up the studio chimney and adding more effects and layers to it, eschewing the original recording that they had planned.

Like the songs themselves the band often cut elusive figures, what does ring through though is a tight cohesion between the three, as Ed Troup comments:

“Keeping an open mind, putting the music first and respecting others’ tastes is key. The three of us wouldn’t be able to make music together if this wasn’t the case.”

Away from the spotlight, PLANK! have organically cultivated and concentrated their disparate ideas. With these now packed solidly as a unit on this new release, they look set to fully rise up from Manchester’s urban undergrowth – a powerful presence that will turn the heads of even the most introspective souls.

Red Deer Club 14 February 2011 on 7″ CD & MP3

Produced by Joe Wills & Stealing Sheep

Mastered By George Atkins

Liverpool based all girl trio Stealing Sheep have just added the final touches to their latest record, ‘The Mountain Dogs’. Set for a Limited Vinyl release on Valentines Day.

The new single marries lo-fi production with elements of quirky electronica and a wild, catchy vocal harmony. The four track EP brings together effortless vocals, enchantingly melded with intelligent rhythmic patterns and bass organs, creating a sonic patchwork stitched with tremolo guitar chords and Earthy melodies.

Championed by various BBC 6 music presenters, not to mention Sir Paul McCartney, Stealing Sheep’s tracks are beautifully honest to the band’s live shows. On stage the girls appear in Velvet Underground formation, behind two mounted tom toms, an electric guitar and vintage synths. Then a whirlwind of psychedelia ensues, captivating ears and minds.

Thanks to Mo Tucker-style drums, 60′s psych-pop, off-kilter swirl guitars, 80s’ synth beats and water-tight vocal harmonies, these euphonious popsters are the next big thing for lovers of all things rooted in fable, fantasy and harmony. If Feist, Animal Collective, Micachu, Bjork, Cocorosie and Little Dragon are your cup of tea, then consider the kettle boiled.

Purchase the record here

Click here to view the embedded video.

Released December 6 2010

Mastered by George Atkins

Red Deer Club

Six track mini pop album from Manchester‘s finest. Sophie’s Pigeons are now a full on four piece. Recorded in deep dark Dalston and mastered by George Atkins at 80 Hertz. Names And Pictures is also accompanied by their debut video, a community art project based in Levenshulme.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The band are now determined to brighten up the gloomy streets of Manchester with their infectious sounds and colourful pop vision. The album is the Pigeon’s boldest declaration to date, full of vibrancy and calling out to be heard. The future of Manchester pop is in your hands.

“a glorious mess of syncopated staccato rhythms, lush vocal harmonies and repeated minor-major key changes, topped off with the most infectious chorus of 2010 so far” – Fugitive Motel

“cheerily frantic, unadulterated demonstration of how true pop music should be written” – High Voltage

‘has more in common with the tribal leanings of Bow Wow Wow’s Annabell or Adam Ant, and the confidence of early Noisettes material” – Manchester Evening News