New Releases! Monday 18th August!

Once again, plenty o’ excellent music for your ears is today set free from their pre-release prisons.

Today’s releases include:

The Duhks - Fast Paced World (folk)

Click here to view our latest release sheet!

Navigator reviewed in The Scotsman!

Having great reviews of the records we distribute is an everyday occurrence for us but recognition of labels seems to be a bit more rare. But Scottish daily The Scotsman seem to have been paying close attention to Navigator, one of our favourite labels who deal with Drever/McCusker/Woomble, Bellowhead, Heidi Talbot, Faustus and Mary Hampton to name but a few.

Click here to read the full review.

For the benefit of our London readers, Scotland is that country above Newcastle.

Also, i have no idea why that black bar is there, i can’t get rid of it.

Cropredy 2008!

Ah, Cropredy! Another festival where we’ve been selling CDs to lovely, jolly festival-goers. And this time we were close enough to hear the stage!

Julie Fowlis, Vicki Clayton, Chris and Kelly While and Robert Plant all joined Fairport Convention in a moving tribute to Sandy Denny 30 years after her death. For the only time during the whole festival the crowd were silent.

Other highlights for me included sets from 3 Daft Monkeys, Whapweasel, Jeana Leslie & Siobhan Miller and The Muffin Men, as well as an organic burger from the organic beef stall and a pork & stilton burger.

Again, if you were there at Cropredy, you’ve probably got more interesting stories than me as you wouldn’t have been stuck in the CD tent all weekend. Leave us some comments on your thoughts.

We’ll get some pictures up here soon. Also, we’ve updated pictures on our blog from Cambridge Festival. Check them out!

Win! Kathryn Williams and Neill MacColl Tickets!

The pair are playing Regents Park in London on Sunday 17th August! We have 2 pairs of tickets to give away on our website.

The competition ends on Wednesday 13th August. If you are reading this between the two aforementioned dates, you can still book a ticket from www.bigwheeltickets.com.

If you are reading this after Sunday 17th, sorry, you missed it. It was wicked, you missed out.

Kath & Neill

Joan Armatrading on TV again!

For those of you who couldn’t afford/get/want a ticket to Glastonbury, you can watch Joan Armatrading playing there from the comfort of your own home. No-one will push or shove past you, you won’t have to queue for an hour to get some food at extortionate prices and (hopefully) your own toilet will be much more appealing.

She is on at 10pm this Friday (8th August) on BBC4, sandwiched between a program about Ella Fitzgerald and Manu Chao at Glasto. In fact, it looks like a pretty cool evening’s viewing, click here to see more details of the evening and the schedule from the BBC’s website.

Joan Armatrading

Cambridge 2008!

I’ve just come back from Cambridge Folk Festival! I’d love to say that it was great and I saw loads of fantastic artists but these would be lies, as I spent the entire time flogging CDs to people.

However, if anyone has any particularly great memories they’d like to share, please leave a comment so everyone can see what a great time you had!

There are some great ones on the BBC Cambridge Festival website which I’d put on here but there’s no way they’d give me permission. There’s a fantastic photo of Eliza on the front page and loads of great videos - Seth Lakeman’s Kitty Jay is particularly impressive.

And here are some of our photos:

The cool statue next to the main stage

It was sunny for at least 5 minutes

Before anyone turned up (hence still tidy)

Look at those right-angles!

Loads o' bargains

Hobgoblin, our noisy neighbours

3 Daft Monkeys do an impromtu signing

Our best customer, we had to bring a spare van for him!

When we were busy (must have been raining)

Tom Rose, of Reveal Records and Navigator fame with our Gaz

Watson Twins Video!

Here’s the video for How Am I To Be, the first song off The Watson Twins’ album Fire Songs.

The Watson Twins were the backing vocalists for Jenny Lewis, formerly of Rilo Kiley, for her album Rabbit Fur Coat.  Fire Songs is their debut.

New Releases! Monday 4th August!

Hurrah! More fantastic releases today! They include:

Mary Black - Twenty-Five Years:Twenty-Five Songs

Mary Hampton - My Mother's Children

We’ve been particularly awaiting the Mary Hampton one; it was originally going to be released by Drift, a small but rather excellent record label who do some rock/electro-folk acts including Thomas White, Matt Eaton, Tandy Hard and Cottonmouth Rocks. Since then it has now been taken on by Navigator, the same lot responsible for releases from Faustus, Lau, Heidi Talbot, Boo Hewerdine and of course the mighty Bellowhead.

For a full list of our releases, click here to view our release sheet.

Ian McLagan @ The Jazz Cafe

A warm Sunday evening and The Jazz Cafe in Camden is full to bursting. Thankfully a quick stop off at The Spread Eagle has taken the edge off and the crowd seem to be in agreeable spirits, all eyes front, as a couple of minutes after our arrival Ian McLagan and his Bump Band take the stage. He seems to sense the vibe and with a broad grin, a quick keyboard twiddle and a couple of brief assides to the expectant throng, is into his stride. His rasping voice betrays a few too many Woodbines (or should that be Ogdens Nut Gone Flake) over the years, but is totally right and what he lacks in finese is more than compensated with shear spirit. The trademark piano flourishes and Hammond groove instantly recall his younger days with the (Small) Faces.

Yes there’s a healthy dose of nostalgia in the air and the crowd are immediately on side with references to the two Ronnies (Lane and Wood) enlivening the onstage banter and several of Lane’s songs making the set. But muc of the material is more recent than that, with a healthy number coming from the recent Never Say Never, which is afterall the record that got me along tonight. The songs hold their own with the title track, I’m Hot You’re Cool and Little Black Number (descibed as his only political song) amongst the highlights.

The current band are excellent with Don Harvey on drums having worked with Mac down the years and a fixture on the Austin music scene, which is now their mutual home town. Mark Andes, formerly of Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne and others too numerous to mention completes the rhythm section with some style and offers a vocal lift where required. The guitarist is Jud ‘Scrappy’ Newton who has the Ronnie Wood licks down pat, but enough of his own flair to cover the newer songs.

But the biggest thrilll of the night are innevitably the crowd pleasing Faces and Ronnie Lane songs with Cindy Incidentally, You’re So Rude and Glad And Sorry all getting an airing. Ther are a couple of surprises as well with Lane’s Spiritual Boy and the Small Faces What’s A Matter Baby (a single b-side) ticking the obscurities Geiger Counter to max. The latter apparently rates as Paul Wellers favourite Small Faces song and he was in the audience, prompting  Mac to quip “If you’re the Modfather, then Jeez, what does that make me…” 

The evening came through to a rollocking conclusion with Watcha Gonna Do About It and (personal highlight) Debris in the mix. A fine night was indeed had by all.

New Releases! Monday 28th July!

Only a couple of releases today but my, aren’t they great?!

Big Blue Ball

Kris Drever - Live

For more details, click here to look at our release sheet.